Ariel takes the rocky road: A novella

Rocky Road is a 'coming of age' novella set on the road between Belfast and Dublin, in the summer of 1965. It is about crisis and responsibility, conscience and conformity but ultimately about being true to yourself.Sammy Wilson, a young loyalist band leader, isn't marching anymore. Folk music and CND have replaced his sectarian certainties and he's forced to run from home. While selling 'Sanity', he meets the enigmatic Sweeney, a trainee priest in crisis, hiding behind his alter-ego, Pierre Rascal, a fast tongued prankster. Inspired by the mysterious Ariel they travel across 'the border'. Sammy has never been to the Republic before. But it is the ill-defined border between Sweeney and Rascal that proves most contentious. After a night among the destitute and demented in the County Home, Rascal crash lands and Sammy finally understands his dark secret. Unburdened, Sweeney turns to face the future and Sammy's resolve is vindicated. 'I ain't marchin' anymore'.