Gus Gresham

Gus is very happily married with two children. His short stories have appeared in literary magazines and online. He has travelled widely and worked as a mechanical engineer, construction worker, fruit picker, environmental community activist, writer, English tutor, audio-book producer, interpersonal skills facilitator, and building surveyor.

His latest novel, KYIV TRANCE, is a crime thriller set in Ukraine during the Orange Revolution.

Haunted by the mysterious, tragic death of his girlfriend five years earlier, university tutor Richard Farr escapes his spiralling life in London by travelling to Kyiv, Ukraine, to teach English. It is the winter of 2004 / 05, the midst of the Orange Revolution. Hundreds of thousands are taking to the streets to protest election-result rigging. Richard's arrival coincides with the first of a series of murders in the capital. Then he meets Nadya, who may turn out to be the love of his life or a femme fatale, or both. As they grow closer, her own tragic history is revealed. Ultimately, Richard will tread a dangerous, obsessive path, seeking happiness against the odds – as his life, the reign of the serial killer, and the political unrest in Kyiv all lead towards a shattering, interconnected climax. Suitable for adult readers.

His previous novel, MARMALADE SKIES, is by turns entertaining, quirky, thrilling, dark and comic. Younger readers: discover how growing up in the 1970s was strikingly familiar but deliciously different. Adult readers: enter a pop-culture time-capsule that is part tribute, part polemic. Vonnie is struggling to find her true self in a time when society does not favour strong, sassy females. Matt may be the closest she has to a friend, but Matt has problems with honesty and loyalty, and he is obsessed with another girl. Soon after starting at secondary school, Matt and Vonnie plan to run away from Blackthorn – Matt to escape the bullying gang-culture of school life, Vonnie to escape the dysfunctional domestic hell created by her “scaredy-cat mam and nutter of a stepdad”. Then their lives get really challenging …. Suitable for ages 9+ young adult and adult readers.

MARMALADE SKIES is the first book in a planned series about coming of age in the 1970s.

Gus's first novel, EARTHRISE, is a pre-dystopian thriller with elements of science fiction and fantasy. It explores coming-of-age themes set against the backdrop of environmental crisis and the human condition. Can one 14-year-old girl infiltrate the nerve-centre of an all-powerful corporation in time to avert eco-Armageddon? Erin is haunted by thoughts of our fragile blue world floating in the infinite blackness of space, and she doesn't want the environment to be trashed. With the help of her friends from the rock band – Nisha, Kane, Josh, Logan – she aims to raise awareness and lobby politicians and business leaders into action before it’s too late. But then Erin uncovers evidence of a terrifying supernatural conspiracy that can only be stopped by risking everything in a parallel dimension known as Chthonia, a place usually only glimpsed by humans during nightmares or psychosis ... Suitable for ages 11+ young adult and adult readers.

Additional publications include short stories in literary magazines Brittle Star (2014), Under The Radar (2014), The Journal of the Irish Studies Workshop (2020).

Gus writes regularly on Medium.com. More of his work can be found there including fiction, travel and life writing.