Richard The Writer – Free Novels: General Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy

My books are all available for FREE download to anyone who wants something enjoyable to read.

I write my books for the fun of it but a lot of effort does go in to their creation.
Any contribution you would like to make to my coffee and chocolate fund
to help with the writing of more books will be most gratefully accepted :D

Contributions can be made securely via Paypal HERE .

In an effort to be environmentally friendly my books are only available as eBooks, in either PDF or EPUB format. They should be readable on most devices including Kindles.

I welcome feedback so don't be afraid to email me.
My email address is: hello@richardthewriter.download
or, if you prefer snail mail, write to me at:
Richard Jefferis, PO Box 100, Harrow, Victoria, 3317, Australia

Everything I have written, all my books and the text of this website, has been written by me personally and all the ideas within the stories came from my head. I can't prove this of course – anything I could do that might prove it could also be done via AI, including spelling mistakes, poor grammar and stupid ideas but that's the way it goes. I will say, however, that I write for fun and I gave my books away for free so using AI would be rather pointless.

Also, all the images on this website, with one exception, were taken by me using my Canon camera or drawn by me in CorelPhotopaint. The exception is the one of me sitting on a rock which was taken by my wife.

While we're on the subject, an amusing thought occurs to me. LLM versions of AI 'scrape' the Internet for things to learn from which means there's a very real possibility that some or all of my books have been absorbed into some AI systems somewhere. What encourages me is that it's entirely possible that some of Autumn Savannah's philosophy is now 'out there' and has some influence, however small, on the discussions many people are having with their chatbots. I think that's pretty cool :)

The unexpected death of the manager sends Kerr through space to Mars at short notice. His brief is to restore the plummeting morale of staff at the mine and in the orbiting control centre; to clarify the cause of the manager's death; and to investigate the serious equipment failures that have been impacting productivity. Despite being rigorously screened for compatible personalities, tempers among the staff are flaring and an aura of gloom pervades everything. It doesn't help that the previous manager's note book computer, which may hold clues as to his untimely death, has been secured so no one can access it.

It's not long before the solid and reliable Kerr starts having vivid dreams. Is he succumbing to the pervasive depression or is there something else going on?

Kaylani: “I suppose I have to get off the train here. There's nowhere else to go except back there and I won't.”
Café owner: “She looks frightened, to be honest. Like she's running away from something evil.”
Kaylani: “I should unlock the door. I should find a job. But I'm scared to."
Tenant below: “Strange girl that Kaylani. I sometimes hear voices in her room and there was that time she just stormed out of the kitchen when I said we might have a ghost in the house. Weird.”
Kaylani: “What the hell ...? A stuffed toy and marks on the wall talking to me? I must be losing my mind.”
Reclusive tenant: “I'm sorry to bother you in the middle of the night but the ghost wants to meet you.”

It is 2039 and the world has coalesced politically into 6 Power Blocks.

Pegasus is a lone operative, a courier for data too sensitive to be sent through the normal encrypted channels. Her latest assignment is a significant departure from routine because she has to deliver a person ~ a young woman with a secret in her head so pivotal to the balance of power that every Block is pursuing her; a woman with no background in espionage and whose fear-fuelled naivety endangers them both.

Pegasus must use all of her skills and cunning as she is forced to go rogue, unable to trust anyone as a traitor leaks information from within her own organisation and the chase spreads across Europe.

Undecided about whether to stay at university to do her PhD or get a job, young historian Lucy accepts what she thinks is a short term project to produce a booklet for tourists of the history of Helene Creek, a sleepy little nothing of a town baking in the outback heat of far west Queensland.

Battling her fears of inadequacy in the face of a 'real' research project rather than just another essay, city girl Lucy is unprepared for the culture shock of life in a remote outback town and the idiosyncrasies of the locals. Initially a curiosity, Lucy slowly becomes part of the town as her research gives her an ever deeper insight into the birth and development of Helene Creek and its role in the broader history of Australia until, finally, she uncovers the elusive Helene, after whom the town is named.

Sydney ER nurse Jennifer O'Donnell is having a bad day.

After attending a protest for better pay and conditions and her outburst towards a sexist TV news crew, she's now facing disciplinary proceedings by hospital management and possible police charges of criminal assault. On top of all that her ex is giving her a hard time. So, when a stranger turns up at her front door offering to whisk her away in a private jet to the tropical paradise of Tahiti, Jennifer isn't necessarily in the mood to believe him.

A mix of worry, whisky and lack of sleep can affect one's judgement but opportunities are nevertheless opportunities. In taking this one though, Jennifer's values, integrity and strength of purpose come into conflict with blatant wealth and power.

Reggie is quite happy with his life until a hooded figure throws open the passenger door of his car at traffic lights and threatens to kill him. Panicked and afraid, Reggie is forced to drive 4000km across Australia.

Previously perfectly content with his solitary life as a bookkeeper and Director of the museum which is his passion, Reggie finds that the journey from Brisbane to Perth becomes more than just an unwilling road trip. It is a voyage into the strange confronting world of human contact and relationships; a world that placid, mild-mannered and reclusive Reggie finds mystifying.

Nor does it come to an end when Reggie returns to his home in Brisbane as his life becomes irrevocably changed.

Trapped in a minimum wage café job in London, Sylvia is running hard simply to stay still, her ambitions fading as time moves on. Her gran has died too, leaving Sylvia only a little cash and an old ring that has been passed down through the generations.

Perhaps spurred on by a subconscious desire for change, Sylvia puts in a bid on eBay for an ornate share certificate for a long defunct railway company in Yorkshire, UK, thinking it would make a interesting wall hanging or something. She was a little drunk at the time, having been to a party. Still, her inadvertent purchase dramatically changes her life and leads to her falling in love. Unfortunately the man concerned is a smuggler who was hanged 160 years previously.

Conspiracy theories, Artificial Intelligence, even religions are caught up in a public backlash against widespread falsehoods and mass deception. The Empirical Police are ready to swoop on any who flout observable, measurable fact and re-educate them.

Nick, on the run from the Empirical Police because of his esoteric skills, is invited to join SANE, a secretive group that has a solution to the problem of climate change. Unfortunately SANE's definition of the problem is radically different to everyone else's and to Nick's horror their solution is a frightening new application of AI. Unless, of course, it turns out to be just another conspiracy theory created by Nick himself in a past he does not remember.

Laura didn't want to be the shopping centre management's answer to how the Plaza is perceived; to update the security staff's image from 'tough and macho deterrent' to 'tough but motherly facilitator'. Still, a job's a job and this one involves a move to a sleepy seaside tourist town which can only be good – almost like being permanently on holiday. Surely her three week online course had covered all she'd need to know?

Laura soon finds “mostly you'll be telling people where the toilets are,” simply isn't true as she battles her own insecurities as well as oddballs, sleazy patrons and even some occasional crime. The appearance of a hunky police officer, there to make an arrest, only adds to her inner turmoil.

Privileged, elitist and well educated, Elisha is going places, at least in her head. The reality is that after six years of studying classical clarinet she's back living with her parents and doing the occasional bit of freelance orchestral work when she can get it. Her boyfriend has been in the USA for the last three years and doesn't seem to be going anywhere either, except perhaps from bed to bed.

Then one day Elisha meets a homeless guy in the disused chapel where she's been practising during the COVID lockdown …

Seven years after the Chinese invasion of Australia and the execution of her journalist boyfriend, Natalia is barely getting by as a driving instructor in a small coastal town in NSW. Depressed, impoverished and alone. Then, unbelievably, a handsome man books a full course of driving lessons.

Are Natalia's fortunes about to change? Absolutely.
And being unexpectedly arrested for treason is just the harrowing beginning.

It's an idyllic rural retreat for David, a retired computer security expert, and his wife Angie. Twelve acres of peaceful woodland on a hillside on the edge of a small town in Queensland. Perfect.

But the locals won't talk about the place; they go quiet or change the subject. No one wants to live in any of the deserted properties along their isolated road, apart from the town's recluse. Then strange things begin to happen with the electricity. What is going on? Even the normally chatty local historian can only give the vaguest of hints of something that may have happened a hundred and fifty years before. And what about the invitation to afternoon tea from someone living on the supposedly vacant neighbouring property? Someone who, it seems, is living in a confused Agatha Christie-style 1930s novel.

Could it be that someone is growing drugs on David and Angie's property and is trying to scare them away? Or perhaps some past computer criminal is seeking revenge? Certainly David, with his logical mind, would never have guessed the truth.

Outwardly successful but inwardly struggling with an angst she can't define, Penny has sacrificed her dreams of beautiful engineering to run the family's sheet metal fabrication business. It doesn't help that her meddling grandfather, the founder of the business, doesn't approve of women in the workplace and wants to run the business again himself.

Three strangers come into Penny's life: Sarah, a victim of domestic abuse; Richard, an elderly enigmatic eccentric; and Gail, an unorthodox Art student. Each in their own way challenge Penny's preconceptions and free her to embrace a new and risky pathway with potentially far reaching humanitarian consequences.

Titan Colonisation Mission: Crew Selection Test Results Summary
Name: Phillip Roach, aka Felippe
Occupation: Pet Portrait Artist
Age Range: 40-49
Scientific Qualifications: None
Engineering Qualifications: None
Physical Fitness: Poor
Psychological Fitness: Poor
Motivation: Non-existent
Team Commitment: None

Status ~ Selected; Primary Crew

Destiny can show itself in many forms. Some who have a destiny may find their lives little changed for their destiny may be to change the lives of others.

Ben is self-absorbed, care free and commitment phobic. He spends his days travelling from town to town, busking for coins and enjoying what life brings without ever becoming involved. But circumstances begin to embroil him in his destiny when he is adopted by an abandoned dog, injured and starving, and Ben decides to stay a little longer in the fading seaside town of Fairchester-on-Sea. As the days and weeks go by, Ben's destiny unwinds and the lives of those around him are irrevocably changed in the process.

Brought together by a falling steam iron and buoyed by banter, Estelle and Nick's budding romance is tested by death threats and falls apart when Nick's secret is revealed.

Obviously their romance is rekindled and the death threats resolved without any fatalities, it's that kind of book, but how are they connected? And isn't reuniting young lovers asking a bit much of the anonymous sender?

Humorous and quirky, this novel touches on darker themes of suspicion, fear, prejudice and (in)justice and shows that, so everything can end happily, wonderful things must come from adversity.

Appendix C ~ Initial Target: Primary
Name: Trinity Moss (aka Trina), female, 36
Domicile: lives alone in high security women-only housing complex
Occupation: promotional video creator and influencer
Spouse: Damien Moss, non-exclusive marriage, lives separately
Children: none (0)
Parents: both deceased (2023); killed in riots in aftermath of Cyber War 8
Servants: one (1) – type CL-D:331 holobot (Claude); domestic manager and personal/professional co-ordinator; low to medium security protocols enabled
Pets: one (1), type RB-i holobot (Ruby)
Affluence: high to very high
Psychological status: assessed medium level paranoia; displays high level dependency on domestic holobot; normal/adequately compensated on all other psychometrics
Rating: HIGHLY SUITABLE
Selection: APPROVED
Commencement: IMMMEDIATE

What happens when your boyfriend sleeps with your best friend then, as a joke, puts his used condom over your souvenir rock?

Toni, a student of Norse Mythology, is about to find out. That souvenir rock is no ordinary rock. It's a 'god-egg'. It's been fertilised. And it's going to hatch. The Giants are out to destroy the egg before it upsets the balance of power in Utgard.

Toni, the de facto mother of the egg, and Bjorn Halftroll, the centuries old berserker who is the egg's protector are joined by a Light Elf, a Wizard and Toni's newly reinstated best friend as they are pursued through Jotunheim, the Land of the Giants, in search of the Norns, who weave the threads of life, to protect the egg's destiny.

Tom is the archetypal stuffy old accountant. His nickname at work is Tom the Apostle. His life, since his wife died, is a self imposed prison of safety, a sanctuary filled with routines that protect him from more pain.

Then that sanctuary is violated. Reluctantly, Tom takes Jessica into his home, giving her sanctuary from domestic violence. Slowly, Jessica and her gay teenage son become an important part of Tom's evolving world. But that too is shattered when Jessica and her son move to Australia and Tom is made redundant from work.

Can Tom return to the safety of his routines or can he now, at last, take a risk again? Perhaps the biggest risk of his life?

Illicit romances are best kept secret. Usually.

One from the long distant past snatches Sheila from her empty, lonely life in Australia. An unknown, reclusive uncle has left her his entire estate in London. An inscription in a children's book leads Sheila into her uncle's past and helps her understand her own childhood and the heartbreaks from before she was born. More than that, though, the inheritance propels her into a new beginning with plans for the future. But to realise them she must face and overcome the tragedy in her life.

* The companion book, Toska of Toy Town Tunnel by Miranda M Moor, is only available as a facsimile in PDF format.

Armed only with a new hairstyle and a sense of relief, Charlie heads for the Mediterranean and endless scuba diving. Her loveless, child-less marriage and career lie in tatters behind her.

A tense encounter with a lustful French truck driver on the Channel ferry jerks Charlie out of her old, familiar world. Alone and with growing self-confidence, people and situations take Charlie on a powerful journey of self discovery. Confronting her old values and stale pre-conceptions, Charlie emerges into a new life, empowered, self-reliant and free to love again.

Walter is on the fast track to mediocrity.

In one fateful 24 hour period, Walter loses his girlfriend, his job and his home. His descent through a cycle of uncaring bureaucracy and casual accommodation begins. In desperation he applies for the job of keeper of an isolated lighthouse; the only lighthouse still manned because something there isn't quite right …

And just who is the flame-haired girl who appears in the mist? And why does she think Walter is a long dead druid?

Henry finds everything a mystery; girls, jobs, social interaction, ambition, even manhood At the age of 24, Henry's father throws him out to 'get a life'. Bewildered and confused, Henry retreats into coping one tiny step at a time and ends up spending the night in his car in a local park.

Denise and her daughter, Julie, need a lodger and Henry moves in. Under the influence of these two women and their partners, Henry begins to feel part of a family for the first time. Slowly his fragile confidence builds but his overly literal interpretations and complete ignorance of nuance lead him into a heartbreaking situation and, ultimately, a terrifying confrontation.

Diane is an impoverished single mother reduced to begging for handouts on the street. Bill is a highly specialised travel facilitator for the mega-wealthy. Ordinarily their worlds would never overlap. One day, a chance meeting at an intersection in Melbourne leads Bill, on impulse and out of character, to offer her a job.

Thrown into a miasma of eccentric celebrities, global travel and office dynamics, Diane must cope as best she can in a world she barely knew existed. Bill, on the other hand, is slowly growing disenchanted with a world with which he is over-familiar, one that includes an expanding list of ex wives. Set against a background of idiosyncratic staff and clients, the story bends and twists through office politics, female empowerment and unexpected romantic entanglements as well as one or two illegal activities.

What happens when a couple go in search of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and one feels left behind?

Escaping London, Miranda's counselling business looks set to forge ahead in the the tranquillity of the Lake District. As a session musician, the narrator won't be able to find work there. Miranda's pregnant, too.

So how does he find a new purpose in life? And after a lifetime of one night stands before Miranda, how does he come to terms with fatherhood? And how does he handle discovering his perfect Goddess has her own insecurities and that they have devastating consequences?

Autumn is joined by Logan as she begins to explore Aferraron, a land where magic is real and the gods roam freely. Faced with a corrupt ruler, a rebel warlord and Yammoe, the Lord of the Undead, Autumn and Logan try to return Darius, a talking lynx, to his homeland. Their quest aided only by a length of silver ribbon and a small black stone, gifts from the mysterious Mother Midcarn.

Autumn and Logan head North and need money to buy warm clothes. In the process they encounter the destructive power of primitive capitalism personified by Cymogene Hirao Sastruga, the owner of a copper mine in the Mapdil Mountains. In league with an augetreinn from the underworld Land of the Cysciec, Cymogene is destroying the natural world and Autumn must seek the spirits of Havildar to counter her threat.

Autumn and Logan head south to the Ahon Hara Mountains where they are forced to flee into a cave system and, bizarrely, find a pair of mittens left as a gift from Mother Midcarn. Autumn and Logan become entangled with the Esuaqi; fanatical worshippers of Mor’upita-sehen, god of volcanoes. Their god went missing and the Esuaqi called in Mother Midcarn to help. Unfortunately she, too, has gone missing.

Autumn and Logan are cast ashore on the Island of Zuit and encounter a strange new god with voracious appetites, unusually pliant plantation workers and a victim from a past encounter. All is not what it seems on this island and Autumn must face a grievous insult to everything she holds most dear – the wealthiest man on the island wants to hire her as an assassin.

Autumn and Logan are attacked by a shark and their boat capsizes, leaving them stranded on the desert coast of Neander. They struggle through the arid sands and are rescued from near tragedy by a trading caravan taking goods to the capital, Cim-Irsou, where lives the Karoi, Soros, and his court sorcerer, Subota. As Autumn and Logan explore the strange new culture of Neander, Logan's shadow, rather worryingly, begins to take on a life of its own …

Autumn and Logan come upon a scroll addressed to Autumn yet written by Xanos, a long dead elder from Autumn's Esyup. The scroll enjoins Autumn to undertake a quest for a dragon which is absurd since everyone knows dragons don't exist. However, the re-appearance of Darius brings with It the existence of forbidden knowledge and an age old conflict between Zeeth and Xanthous over a truth-seeing artefact. Is this conflict between Gods too much even for Autumn?

Autumn and Logan head into Wase, intending to explore the country. They encounter a man whose skills in some ways are better even than those of Autumn and a bandit leader of surpassing cruelty who is obsessed with Autumn's fingernails. As so often before, Mother Midcarn sends her aid when the time comes for a showdown but this time the magic in her gift doesn't work …

Autumn and Logan decide to winter in the city where they encounter extremes of poverty and ostentatious wealth and where money rules every act. Their easy companionship and apparent naivety attract both the best and worst of the city folk. Autumn's healing skills quickly become in demand while Logan becomes involved with the girl next door. Meanwhile, Mother Midcarn arrives unexpectedly. Autumn and Logan's easy going relationship is finally put to the test when antipathy raises its head and Autumn is forced to flee the city, but must she flee alone?

The Island of Danornor is land of diversity; with its jungles and fields, mountains and flat lands on the one hand and strange inhabitants and wild life, even soskas and gangsis on the other. Divided by the Wall of Loriki, Danornor is a land of contradictions and risk and these have a profound impact on Autumn and Logan. After crossing the Wall, Logan has to take on responsibilities and leadership while Autumn must confront her vulnerabilities and, through necessity, consider renouncing her vows and making Danornor her place.

After prolonged negotiations a Treaty is agreed between Aferraron and Sassese'lte which must be signed by Logan, the reluctant Roinad. Still travelling incognito with Autumn, Logan is found by Mother Midcarn and they are sent to Sassese'lte. The task shouldn't disrupt their travels for long as the Treaty only requires a simple signature. What could possibly go wrong? Well, pirates, Logan's political betrothal, ferocious swamp-dwelling hydrabeardis and Autumn's entrapment by magic are unexpected complications.

On 31st December 2018, after a bout of depression on Christmas Day, I decided to test my creativity by taking three words from a dictionary and writing a short story using them. Despite how bad it was I wrote another the next day, and the next, and the ...

I have compiled these short stories into a book, together with a commentary, which explores my journey into creativity: from my first (fairly dismal) 300 word attempt at writing to what became the first chapter of Miranda, my first novel. Each of the short stories is as I wrote it, complete with spelling and grammatical errors, logic holes and whatever other faults you can find. The point being that errors can be corrected later but you have to write something first.

I have produced this compilation in the hope of encouraging others to discover and develop their creativity by persisting and not giving up when the first few attempts turn out to be depressingly bad.

December 2019 ~ short stories ~ 358 pages
download PDF | download EPub

There's some more about me on my Frequently Asked Questions page, here.

COPYRIGHT
All documents and images on this site are copyright Richard Jefferis 2019-2026 and may not be copied or distributed or used in any way as part or all of a product or service without the express permission of the copyright holder.

This website was designed and created by Richard Jefferis, including all photographs and other images.