Severed
Page 32
Next I’ll thank a special trio of trios, starting with Jean, Julie and Norman (better known as my mam, sister and brother). They’re the longest running relationships of my life, and they’re brilliant. You should invite all four of us to your Karaoke Night some time. Thanks also go to that other well-known trio: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. As far as I can tell they don’t want to decapitate each other. Phew! Instead, these three individuals are so close that they are actually one. Yes, the concept of the Trinity fascinates me, not least because it tells me that love and unity really is a plausible goal, even amongst wildly diverse individuals. Then I offer a massive, hugging thanks to my own, blessed little Trinity – Joy, Emma and Adam. Along with me, we’re four individuals that create one unit. That’s kinda divine if you ask me.
And finally, I want to thank you, the reader. Especially if you feel rejected right now. Maybe it was a crappy email, or an unexpected phone call. Maybe it was a throwaway comment, or a formal letter in the post. Maybe it was the depressing discovery of a betrayal, or just the unbending rules of an institution. I don’t exactly know what’s left you feeling like you’ve been kicked off the ship, and that you’re plunging into cold while everybody else is dancing on deck. But I do want to thank you most of all. Not least for noticing, and even reading, my book Severed, which was once the much-rejected Congregation. Who knew that you’d be there for this story one day. As I sat in my kitchen years ago, staring at a ‘no thanks’ email in panic, thinking that this story (and every other I had) would only ever be trapped in my own head. Who knew that many years later, someone as cool as you would pick it up, see it’s face and say, ‘Yeah. I think I’m going to take you home.’
So thank you. Thank you for saying yes.
Peter Laws, eating a Cluck’n’Ale Burger (just arrived) in a Bedfordshire pub
Thursday 13th September, 2018
We hope you enjoyed this book.
Do you want to know about our other great reads, download free extracts and enter competitions?
If so, visit our website www.allisonandbusby.com.
Sign up to our monthly newsletter (www.allisonandbusby.com/newsletter) for exclusive content and offers, news of our brand new releases, upcoming events with your favourite authors and much more.
And why not click to follow us on Facebook (AllisonandBusbyBooks) and Twitter (@AllisonandBusby)?
We’d love to hear from you!
About the Author
PETER LAWS is an ordained Baptist minister with a taste for horror. He writes a monthly column in the Fortean Times and also hosts a popular podcast and YouTube show which reviews thriller and horror films from a theological perspective. He is also the author of The Frighteners which explores our fascination with the macabre. He lives with his family in Bedfordshire.
peterlaws.co.uk @revpeterlaws
By Peter Laws
THE MATT HUNTER SERIES
Purged
Unleashed
Severed
Copyright
Allison & Busby Limited
11 Wardour Mews
London W1F 8AN
allisonandbusby.com
First published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2019.
This ebook edition published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2019.
Copyright © 2019 by PETER LAWS
The moral right of the author is hereby asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All characters and events in this publication other than those clearly in the public domain are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978–0–7490–2326–3