No Fireworks

Abe Stone is a 61-year-old alcoholic with a Henry VIII fixation going through his third divorce. When he starts receiving letters from his dead mother, Evelyn, he is thrown into a late-stage identity crisis. His fourteen-year old grand-daughter, Lucille, is expelled from school and the unlikely couple embark on a quest to work out what Evelyn is trying to impart and how Abe can begin to put his dishevelled life in order. 'A fine debut highly readable and hinting at even better to come.' The Herald'[A] superb debut novel ... Like the best tragi-comedies, it is written with a pin-sharp sense of character, isn't afraid to take swings at the deepest subjects and can spin between the two modes at will.' Scotsman

Rodge Glass is originally from Cheshire but has lived in Scotland since 1997, where he graduated from Glasgow University with an MPhil in Creative Writing. He writes for The Herald and is a regular contributor to a number of other magazines. He is twenty-nine years old and Hope for Newborns is his second novel. His first novel, No Fireworks, was published in 2005 and was shortlisted for four awards. His biography of Alasdair Gray will be published in Autumn 2008.