The Guardian: Fresh voices: 50 writers you should read now Cynical, solitary Stanly Bird used to be a fairly typical teenager - unless you count the fact that his best friend was a talking beagle named Daryl. Then came the superpowers. And the superpowered allies. And the mysterious enemies. And the terrifying monsters. And the stunning revelations. And the apocalypse. Now he's not sure what he is. Or where he is. Or how exactly one is supposed to proceed after saving the world. All he knows is that his story isn't finished. Not quite yet ...

The Guardian: Fresh voices: 50 writers you should read now Stanly is frustrated. Having set himself up as London's protector, he's finding that the everyday practicalities of superheroism are challenging at best, and downright tedious at worst. So it's almost a relief when an attempt is made on his life and Stanly finds himself rushing headlong into a twisted adventure, with enemies new and old coming out of the woodwork. However, even with his friends and his ever-increasing power behind him, he may have bitten off more than he can chew this time. The monsters are coming ... and nothing will ever be the same!

The Guardian: Fresh voices: 50 writers you should read now Twenty-three-year-old Vanessa is adrift in London. A year out of university and marooned in a quietly deflating relationship, she can't work out where her passion and creativity went - and on top of that, she is experiencing frightening visions, and an overwhelming sadness that doesn't seem to belong to her. Then something impossible happens: her best friend Mark, who vanished without a trace seven years ago, reappears, not a day older. As far as he is concerned, no time has passed. Shocked and confused but determined to help her friend make sense of what's happening, Vanessa returns to Llangoroth, the rural town she left behind after he vanished. Torn between her responsibilities as an adult and the adventurous passion that Mark inspires in her, she must fight for him, and for herself, confronting painful memories and a terrifying pursuer who would rather see her friend dead than back in the world.