Local man launches collection of short stories

Tullamore writer John Saunders has launched a new book of short stories.

'Over My Dead Body and Other Stories' was launched last night, Thursday, at Tullamore Central Library.

John Saunders welcomed the gathering and read extracts from six of the short stories in his new book, which runs to 175 pages, and is for sale at €15.

Many of the stories focus on how ordinary people respond when life asks the impossible of them.

A mother forced to make an unimaginable decision. A refugee searching for dignity. A teenager fighting to be herself. A lonely soul longing to be seen.

In his striking debut collection, John Saunders explores the moments when ordinary lives collide with extraordinary circumstances. His characters face impossible choices, wrestle with grief and guilt, confront prejudice and loss, and discover unexpected moments of hope.

By turns unsettling, moving and darkly funny, these stories reveal the complexities of human nature with insight, compassion and quiet wit. Over My Dead Body and Other Stories is a powerful collection about the choices we make, the lives we lead, and what remains when everything else is stripped away.