C.M. Donaldson

C.M. Donaldson is a London-based independent author, and an avid reader who loves science fiction, detective stories, murder mysteries and courtroom dramas. She writes under two names.

Having kept diaries over the years, the first work under the pseudonym of Pearl Barley is a real-life humour tale about the dieter's struggle, as candid as you like, pulling no punches as told from the point of view of a hapless, no-hoper yo-yo dieter, amusing and relateable. This has now been followed by the sequel (two years in the making) Waist Not; Want Not? (also, available in paperback) as the struggle continues with no end in sight, and middle-age has crept up with all its quirks and foibles to kick her firmly in the teeth. There's no dieting advice or tips - you have been warned - just observational humour throughout on an issue not to be taken too seriously.

Although a humble medical secretary, C.M. Donaldson also compiled some humorous light verse (a la Pam Ayers) that she entered into poetry competitions.

After that she got her first inspiration for a quirky sci-fi lite tale about dreams, thus creating The AL-EX Project (Alternative Existence) in which a clinical researcher who, with his scientist mentor, discovers a way to travel back into his dreams at will through highly unethical experimentation, and embarks on numerous adventures in his sleep, recorded and played-back for clarity, and the experiments become an obsession as Alex tries to identify the stalker in his nightmares.

This came about through having an interest in dreams, dream interpretation and the mysteries surrounding the dream state, and the fact that quite often people feel frustrated that the tail-end of vivid dreams are all that is left on waking. It was the author's curiosity and fascination into the dream phenomena that led to the writing of an amusing and imaginative tale of adventure, testing age-old theories, pushing the boundaries with unethical practices and meddling in the unknown heading down a spiral towards an inevitable mishap.

It must be noted that the dreams described in detail in The AL-EX Project novel are dreams the author has actually had, some of which had been written down and saved some years before so it was useful to use material that had a touch of realism to it, albeit of a dreamy, sometimes whimsical nature.

A sequel is now half-finished, namely Mind-Reader where we meet up with Alex again; this time suffering the side effects of the past experiments which give him the ability to read minds. Someone unknown learns of the past, blackmail is afoot and Alex is kidnapped. More about the book release nearer the time.

Check out the book website for more info. http://www.authorsden.com/pearlbarley