Still Crazy.

Can first love survive the lives built without it?

When Phil, an undergraduate at Cambridge University, performs in cabaret at a party, he meets and falls in love with Melanie. As she in turn appears to have fallen in love with him, he cannot understand why she then plays hard-to-get, even after he learns of the traumatic events that shaped her teenage years. But the influence of former boyfriend Simon is still strong, and she and Phil part.

Twenty-five years later, both now married, they meet again by chance and resume their relationship. Soon each faces a tough choice: will Melanie decide on love or on loyalty? Will Phil commit to his estranged wife or to his first love?

R.N.F. (Richard) Skinner has published several poetry collections; composed lyrics for a range of songs, including a musical; and written a clutch of published short stories. He has a degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University, where, as well as being a member of the famous Footlights club, he co-founded and performed with the cabaret-revue team Headlights. He continues to write and perform sketch-based comedy. A south-east Londoner by upbringing, he moved to Devon in 1975 to pursue his writing while working in a variety of jobs, mainly in the mental health sector. In 2012 he was awarded a doctorate from Exeter University for his thesis on religion and evolutionary theory. He lives in Exeter with his wife, four hens and, until recently, two cats. 'Still Crazy...' is his first published novel.