On a sultry autumn evening in Toronto in 2003, death came to Trevor Nicholson -- writer, graphic designer, championship worrier -- and changed his life in ways he never could have imagined. At twenty-six, Trevor was not having much success accepting his sexuality: he was trapped and floundering in a frustrating emotional swamp of his own making. The arrival of death gave him a few more things to worry about than being gay.
On the other side of the ocean in a picturesque English village, Cate Nightingale -- attractive young mother, recent grandmother, and lifelong psychic -- was slowly realizing that her village was sick, getting sicker by the day, dying. People were dying too, being murdered in grisly, horrific ways. By something. Some thing. A psychopathic spiritual presence that had cast a poisonous shadow over the entire village, that had tainted the fragrant rural breezes with the stench of rot and decay.
The Light at the Top of the Stairs is an epic, moving tale about good people coming together to fight fearsome evil; about love, friendship and family bonds; about ancestry, bloodlines, family trees and the hidden secrets of the past; about our human journey to self-discovery and self-acceptance and the roadblocks we unintentionally create to sabotage our progress; and about how the fear of experiencing life can sometimes be much worse than the fear of experiencing death.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Volume 4 of THE LIGHT AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS is NOT a stand-alone story. Rather, it is the fourth installment -- ALL 5 VOLUMES NOW AVAILABLE! -- of an unforgettable tale that begins in Volume 1, then continues and concludes in subsequent volumes -- ALL 5 VOLUMES NOW AVAILABLE! -- also in e-book form.
Cover design by Borealis Creative Agency -- Toronto, Canada
Praise for THE LIGHT AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS:
“I have to keep stopping reading every now and again — in awe. I would use the word MASTERPIECE.”
— A Satisfied Reader
“Everything about the characters seems very real. They are very real to me and I can relate to them. I love them all!”
— A Satisfied Reader
“[The Light at the Top of the Stairs] is very readable! The characters are so well formed and believable.”
— A Satisfied Reader
“The ending is absolutely satisfying!”
— A Satisfied Reader
“I couldn’t stop reading until I was finished! I absolutely LOVED it! I was always wondering how [the author was] going to end this amazing novel, and [he] nailed it! It was perfect, in fact, picture-perfect because I could picture the scene so very clearly.”
— A Satisfied Reader
“I love stories that I can picture in my mind, and this is one of them.”
— A Satisfied Reader
“You know how some characters and stories stay with you long after you’ve read the chapter or book? Well, that’s what’s going on with [The Light at the Top of the Stairs].”
— A Satisfied Reader
“[The] writing is beautifully descriptive…. One of those amazing reads that you don’t want to end.”
— A Satisfied Reader
“[The Light at the Top of the Stairs is] one of the best of the best.”
— A Satisfied Reader
“The dialogue seems very authentic — like real people are talking, and they all have their own individual way of communicating.”
— A Satisfied Reader
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Wayne Shepherd was born in Bombay, India, lived his early years in London, England, then decided at age eleven to emigrate to Canada, because that’s where the rest of the family were going. He’s been a writer his whole life — a significant chunk of which was spent writing The Light at the Top of the Stairs.
Wayne lives in Toronto with his sister Gillian who is a perpetual source of joy and inspiration, and a constant reminder of what is truly important in life.
