Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Communication Breakdown
    Communication Breakdown
    Communication Breakdown
    Ebook61 pages39 minutes

    Communication Breakdown

    By Stephen E Pennykid

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    This is a trilogy where in each of the short stories, two people have become estranged due to their personal circumstances. In This Boy, Martin, a successful author living in the USA, receives an e-mail from his step-brother, who still lives in their home town in northern England. This gets Martin reminiscing over his childhood, an early relationship and what might have been had his work, success and subsequent emigration not got in the way.

    In each of The News from Spain and Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, a daughter receives a letter from her father, estranged from her since shortly after the death of her mother. But there the similarity ends; they are different people with differing circumstances. What will the outcome be in each case? These two stories have previously been published individually by S & S P Publishing for Amazon Kindle.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherS & S P Publishing
    Release dateFeb 11, 2015
    ISBN9781311645395
    Communication Breakdown
    Author

    Stephen E Pennykid

    Born in 1952, Steve Pennykid grew up on a Leicester council estate built to accommodate new families after the war and the baby boom of the 50's and 60's. Steve was an only child and although he had plenty of friends with whom to play football on the green outside his home, he had time on his hands to develop his love of the written word, and as a child always had something to read whether it be a football annual at Christmas, a thrilling children's story or a Look and Learn comic. Writing though did not come until much later. Steve took early retirement in 2005, which gave him a few years to achieve a number of goals he set himself to do before he was 60. One of these was to write a short story and try to get it published. This was a big ask as he had never written anything before. However, it was achieved in 2010 when a local story-writing competition gave him the opportunity. By then he had written one story – The News from Spain. He began to amend this story to suit the framework required for the competition but it soon became a completely different tale – Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. These are both gentle romances but Steve's writing has now become more eclectic with a number of other tales including two detective stories, from his Chief Inspector Robert Casey series, two children's short stories and a non-fiction title under his belt. Steve also loves music and you will undoubtedly notice a common theme in many of his stories of titles and chapters containing the names of songs, particularly those from the 60's. His passion for music of this era encouraged him to write his own personal favourite, the non-fiction "MisHits of the Sixties". Steve lives in Loughborough and is married with two sons, a daughter-in-law and two delightful granddaughters.

    Read more from Stephen E Pennykid

    Related to Communication Breakdown

    Related ebooks

    Short Stories For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Spellbinding Reads

      Nov 11, 2022

      READ THIS BY RACHEL JOYCE DOUBLEDAY In The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, the title character set off on foot on his unlikely trek across England to find his old friend Queenie Hennessy, while 1his embittered and grieving wife, Maureen, was le

      3 min read

    • Article

      Santa Montefiore

      Oct 1, 2020

      Santa Montefiore
      7 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Feb 17, 2023

      Books
      4 min read

    • Article

      I Met Fear on the Hill

      Dec 15, 2018

      It’s the summer of 1966, and Sheila and Peter are a young married couple living in Berkeley. They are very much in love, and also very high—tripping on acid for the first time in their lives, in Tilden Park—walking in a shallow stream full of primord

      32 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Nov 18, 2019

      Books
      4 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Sep 16, 2019

      Books
      4 min read

    • Article

      No Apologies: On Writing About My Mother’s Life

      Mar 15, 2021

      I am halfway through a first draft. On bad days, I long for the comforts of fiction: the anonymity, the deniability. The post No Apologies: On Writing About My Mother’s Life appeared first on The Millions.

      6 min read

    • Article

      It Was Always You

      Nov 3, 2022

      It Was Always You
      5 min read

    • Article

      It Was Always You

      Nov 3, 2022

      It Was Always You
      5 min read

    • Article

      Reading CORNER

      Feb 26, 2023

      Writer Eva delivers a February to remember Pop music lovers who remember the ’90s are going to get a huge hit of nostalgia while reading this novel. Set in London, it brings the era and its sounds alive vividly. However, it is billed as a feel-good

      3 min read

    • Article

      DEFINING Memories

      Aug 5, 2021

      DEFINING Memories
      7 min read

    • Article

      Reading CORNER

      Feb 26, 2023

      Writer Eva delivers a February to remember Pop music lovers who remember the ’90s are going to get a huge hit of nostalgia while reading this novel. Set in London, it brings the era and its sounds alive vividly. However, it is billed as a feel-good s

      3 min read

    • Article

      Blake Morrison

      Sep 25, 2023

      Blake Morrison
      5 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Aug 21, 2020

      One critic described The Lightness as the love child of Donna Tartt and Tana French, and that’s a pretty good description. Sixteen-year-old Olivia has run away to The Levitation Center, a remote retreat and the last place her father had been to befo

      5 min read

    • Article

      Finding my LONG-LOST SON

      Mar 1, 2024

      Finding my LONG-LOST SON
      4 min read

    • Article

      Robin Ince Is On The Road

      Dec 4, 2023

      Boarding the train at Taunton, I remember the last time I disembarked from here. Now, after 14 months, I am off to the final Bibliomaniac bookshop talk at Liskeard Books. Then, my final destination was Stoke Mandeville hospital. My father was dying,

      2 min read

    • Article

      Wedded To The Talent

      Aug 6, 2021

      Wedded To The Talent
      3 min read

    • Article

      This Is Not a Defense of the Power of Art

      Jan 25, 2018

      If you’ve never cried while reading a book or watching a movie, this essay isn’t for you. There are only three times I remember out and out weeping in response to either: As a child on the roof of my mother’s house, in my wife’s and my first apartmen

      8 min read

    • Article

      Q + A

      Nov 28, 2022

      Q + A
      10 min read

    • Article

      Ashleigh Bryant Phillips

      Jun 10, 2020

      Ashleigh Bryant Phillips
      6 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Aug 19, 2022

      Books
      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Communication Breakdown

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Communication Breakdown - Stephen E Pennykid

      Communication Breakdown

      by

      Stephen E Pennykid

      Communication Breakdown

      by

      Stephen E Pennykid

      Copyright © 2015 by Stephen E Pennykid

      Smashwords Edition

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Communication Breakdown

      CONTENTS

      Introduction

      This Boy

      Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

      The News from Spain

      About the author

      By the same author

      Other titles from S & S P Publishing

      Children’s titles

      Introduction

      The News from Spain

      I took early retirement in 2005 and one of my ideas to maintain interest and brain function was to list eight tasks to be achieved by the age of 60, seven years away. One of these tasks was to write a short story and see it published. This story is the first of my efforts and is dedicated to my wife Sue in recognition of her support and dedication, and the happy times we have spent on holiday in Spain.

      Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

      My wife noticed an article in the local newspaper concerning a short story competition. The story, in order to qualify, needed a local connection. The only story I had written at that time, The News from Spain, was set mainly abroad and I therefore decided to adapt it to include the local settings required. However, by the time I had completed the story it turned out to be substantially different. Although it did not win the first prize it was considered worthy of a place in Charnwood Tales, a collection of ten short stories, thus fulfilling my ambition to see one of my stories in print.

      This Boy

      This one is for Maureen, who pointed out to me that there are very few stories which include a leading figure with her name. I hope this story meets her expectations.

      This Boy

      Another day in paradise. Well, that’s how people would see his life. How could a world renowned author with a Californian mansion and a millionaire’s lifestyle deny that? Why then did he feel so empty? Although he knew that this was not a new feeling it was probably exacerbated by the latest communication from his step-brother in England. Crossing the room to his computer he opened up the e-mail and re-read the short message.

      Hi Martin, just wanted to let you know that Alan Clitheroe has sadly passed away. I know that you were good friends at one time, so thought you should hear it from me. His funeral takes place next week. Be in touch soon.

      How could so few words bring back so many memories? A stiff drink was required. Mixing himself a whiskey and dry ginger he made his way through to the sun room with its spectacular view down the valley. Settling into his favourite recliner he let his thoughts drift back. His earliest memories were of

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1