News of Leon

            Leon coverKindle   To buy this book from Amazon, click here:

Glowing review below  from ingénue Magazine Autumn 2019:

  
From Jenny Dean, 28 July 2018

Julia is a talented writer whose stories in this book evoke lots of different emotions. She shows her sense of humour in several depicted here and her eye for detail in character via dialogue rings true. My favourites were ‘News of Leon’ and ‘Eyes Wide Shut’. Do give it a go.

From Fatima Rosales Naya, 29 August 2017
This is a collection of varied and imaginative tales, touching on many different topics, situations, characters and outcomes. Some are funny and lighthearted, some heart-warming and some profoundly sad, but they all touch a nerve. I love Julia’s Macfarlane’s simple and direct style with a gift for the mundane and down-to-earth talk, and yet, elegantly written and most enjoyable. I look forward to reading more stories, short or long, from this fine author.

From Skyler,  2 July 2017

I picked up this first collection in print format at a book event. If you are fond of a short story I can highly recommend — there are 19 stories in the collection and there is an ear for dialogue here and a keen eye on the detail of ordinary lives in sometimes extraordinary circumstances. I thought “A Perfect Night for It” was excellent and the relationships so well observed. A “Northern Christmas Ghost Story” had one of the characters commenting on a detail of his recently passed Nan’s life that he didn’t know and that struck a chord with me, you find out about people and their peculiarities after they have gone. This is a showcase collection, some funny stories, some ghost stories, a modern take on an old fairy tale and a new faery tale. There is a prestigious competition short listed story in here too, and I am not surprised the author is being recognised. I understand she is now working on a full length novel, from the quality of the stories here I’d be keen to read more.