Alumni Authors

Written by Annie Percik (1990-1996) Published by Markosia.com How can a novel focusing on a female superhero present two paradigms of life? Visionary Old Girl Annie Percik leads the way with her timely second fantasy novel, Spectrum of Heroes. The alchemy focuses on biochemist Anushka Mahto who is accidentally contaminated by a mysterious substance while disposing of it. On the run from the laboratory where she used to work, Anushka must learn to control her multiple new powers while being hunted by the laboratory’s Security Chief (and her former lover), Charlotte. When alien life Ergo comes onto the scene, Anushka suddenly finds the fate of humanity resting in her hands. Can she navigate her personal relationships and prevent an interstellar war? This latticework, courageously imagined by Percik, interlaces the opposing existence of energy-based life forces which exist through the consensus of collective thought, vying with an autonomous corporeal life-form. The philosophical Ergons have the “great intellectual challenge, trying to convert purely theoretical science into practical applications in ways they are able to engage with” as opposed to a race of people which “embodies a physical existence”. The narrative questions whether two such divergent powers can combine successfully to defeat a common enemy. The Ergons are keen to link with humans: “where we can design and theorise, they can build and implement. All of us are eager to find out how this new people will respond.” The tale zeros in on how people from a “blue and green planet” would react to communication from a different race when they ask for assistance. With free will in question, Percik’s superhero, Anushka, must traverse a new world which makes little, or no sense to her. The story flings us humorously into the thoughts of Ergons as they acquire bodily form: “The human who is there to receive us gives no indication of discomfort or surprise, instead rising to greet us calmly. We wish we could be as calm. Instead, we focus on remaining upright and moving our long limbs in the appropriate fashion for walking. It would not form a good first impression, or prove intimidating at all, were we to fall down at this human’s feet.” The delicate and wry exploration of the many configurations that strength and love can take to overcome zealots, knit together this narrative. A Spectrum of Heroes shines a light on our innermost curiosities about life beyond Earth and the extent of human resolve. It may be an indictment of a world which dreads and chokes, rather than embraces the unknown. A second, must read novel by Annie Percik, which would make a fantastic film. Jacki Waters (Director, Red Literary Agency and Former Girls’ Division Staff)

Written by Christine Cottam (1960-1968) A young woman’s life is turned upside down in this poignant tale about university life. No stranger to challenging circumstances, Doctor Christine Cottam’s debut novel, Such A Nice Girl, cleverly traverses the chasm between anticipation and reality. Surely a nice girl is safe at university, isn’t she? She can trust the people there, can’t she? In the late 1960s to the early 1970s the wicked failure of an assortment of people to provide a haven for university students lies at the heart of Such A Nice Girl. These were the days when colleges at university were single-sex and, like the BBC, new entrants were assigned a ‘college mother’ who was meant to guide them. The author, Doctor Cottam, exposes a world where the value of academic success is prized more highly than compassion. Katy, the reader discovers, finds life at her new university is not really made for people like her, she’s not super rich. Alone and isolated, she places trust in the only like-minded girl at her college. This mistake sets in train a search for friendship that ends in tragedy. Everyone she should be able to depend upon has played a part in driving Katy into a corner, where even her life is at risk. The novel is a complex thriller. It offers a stimulating interrogation of a world based on differing realities where people from a range of backgrounds compete to belong. “In the 1960s, because of re-emergent Irish Troubles, Celtic names were disfavoured, a problem being their pronunciation. At the Principal’s Freshers’ Party, an exasperated Catriona kept reiterating ‘It’s Cut-TREEerr-NA with the emphasis on TREE: like Loch Katrine, in Scotland; not Cattery-owner’. Naturally, someone dubbed her Kitty; another Kit Kat. The soubriquet K-K-K-Katy stuck.” “Being shrewd, she grasped at once what was going on and christened it ‘The Name Game’ articulating that it was a form of Class Warfare. ‘It’s ideological subordination; arrogating your right even to know your own name; just power-plus-prejudice,’ she declared. Letting tormenters know she knew the name of the game was a way she had of defending herself against snobbery.” Katy’s college mother, the reader learns, is undependable Meg, who was born in the Far East and talks about shipping her Rolls Royce from India to exhibit at Blenheim Palace Vintage Car Show. Meg’s earliest memories were of soft, warm air and the waving fronds of palm trees glimpsed through latticed windows called jalli. She was unsure where, as names of towns and countries changed along with the boundaries during de-colonialisation and the seemingly never-ending wars accompanying it. Katy cannot trust Meg because the girls’ lives are poles apart. This chilling novel shines a light on both class and gender assumptions. The issues some women faced in the 1960s are trials which some women still encounter. If you are interested in publishing Dr Cottam’s debut novel, or adapting it for a film or TV series, please contact redalloverjdw@gmail.com. Jacki Waters (Director, Red Literary Agency and Former Girls’ Division Staff)