I’ve recently started writing a series of adventure/mystery novels for teenagers. The Misfits are a group of teenagers from Dorset who all feel themselves to be social outsiders for one reason or another. They form a close-knit friendship group and try to help other unfortunate local people, often solving off-beat crimes while doing so.
Kerry, 17, is the group leader. She has anger issues caused by her troubled background.
Rowan is Trans. She is also 17.
Lee, 15, feels that he is probably gay but is unsure of himself.
Josh is Black. He too is 15.
Fatima is an immigrant from war-torn Syria. She is 16.
Danny, 14, has Asperger’s syndrome. Danny is Kerry’s brother.
Wolfie, also 14, is wheelchair bound, having suffered from a spinal defect since early childhood.
Sammie, who joins the group in novel 2, has a birthmark covering half her face. She is also 14.
The Lost Tramp (Misfits 1): a woman rough-sleeper, who the Misfits have befriended, disappears. The search for her develops into something more serious as they clash with a violent thug who is distributing illegally smuggled goods around the region.
Read about this vibrant group of teenagers as they meet for the first time and get to know each other, then set about helping a local down-and-out. Have you ever felt sympathy for people who are homeless and find no alternative than to sleep rough in shop doorways? In this story the teenagers find out that something more serious is troubling the rough-sleeper they’ve befriended. Then she disappears completely, leaving bloodstains and a short help message.
Publication date: February 2023
Available as a paperback (£5.95) and e-book (£1.95)
The Missing Pilot (Misfits 2): a small plane lands in a field near the coast. Was it in trouble? When two of the Misfits investigate, they find the plane but no pilot. Things turn more sinister when they are confronted by an angry thug who is clearly up to no good.
When the Misfits investigate more thoroughly, they realise they’ve stumbled on a group who organise illegal dogfights. The criminals involved are both cruel and desperate. Can the Misfits win through?
Publication date: April 2023
The Poisoned Meadow (Misfits 3): an idyllic scene on a Dorset Farm. But some of the Misfits spot two cows collapsed on the ground, close to some fly-tipped waste. A closer look reveals possible toxic liquid that the cattle have licked. Someone is up to no good, running an illegal dumping business that could have a devastating impact on both farm animals and wildlife in the area. The Misfits set out to put a stop to this awful practice.
Publication date: Late November 2023.
The first two Misfits books will be published for Kindle and e-readers during winter/spring 2023, available from Amazon. Paperback editions will follow soon after, also available from Amazon.