They met in early May, during a rare Sunday that broke from the disappointment of a damp and miserable spring. Sensing a change in their fortunes, Clayham-on-Sea’s locals flocked to the beach, rabid in their drinking up of the sunshine. Still so far from summer, it was a welcome break from the drought of hope that had loomed overhead. To some, this was proof enough that the tourists would be back and that their town would continue to be nourished by the attention of outsiders

Unlike so many of her friends, Envy found it easy to embrace the gloom of winter. Within its darkness, she saw opportunities to burrow deeper, creating a nest of warm lights and blankets where she might feel safe. Even with her acceptance of the season, however, early mornings remained a challenge for Envy. Outside, a sharp wind had spent the night charging at the walls of her student residence. In response, the cold permeated her room like a dull ache, and the allure of her

Even as February lingered just out of sight, winter was not yet done with Clayham-on-Sea.  As January faded, the tides became fiercer, dark water heaving and lashing at the shore. The very vibrancy of the town seemed to drain along the seafront; everything had paled in its presence. Once-golden sand was now dulled by the cold, the skies were iron white most days, and even the marquees with their pulsing lights and garish hues seemed muted under the oppression of winter rain.

On the shore, silence; dawn was still a distant hope, a promised kindness in the face of the ice and gloom blanketing Clayham-on-Sea. In heralding the coming light, a sharp breeze had pushed all clouds from the pale sky, leaving a clear view from the mainland right out to the horizon. The vista was a small mercy amid the cold January cruelty; Havannah reckoned it was something to be thankful for. During her first time at the water’s edge, there had been a certain defiance, ev

Previously on PIER... By the time the fireworks began, the bruised pastel sky had darkened into a barely-lit canvas. Light speckled against the gathered clouds in explosive glory as the crowd below cheered from the shoreline. Out at sea, the faint boom  echoed among the waves, a fleeting whip cracking from so very far away and disappearing into the void.  The evening was going better than Havannah had expected, flourishing from hesitant expectation into raucous celebration. H

It was 2:13am - I checked my phone and winced at the glare - and this was surely the last house party on planet Earth. Smoke hung heavy...

I would like to remind you all that Britain is ancient; she has lived many lives, each one a thick-rooted history that tangles its way...

The world is coming to an end. That's what mama says. It hardly feels real. But then, Uncle Bishop says it's all too big for us to grasp....

Please note: the following snapshots contain spoilers for PIER Episode Seven. Be sure to catch up before reading any further.

The last day of Kristi Hallett’s life started as uneventfully as it could. At least, it felt uneventful for her as she blinked sore eyes...

Damon liked order, and not because it meant he was in control. No, Damon liked order because it meant there was something – some chaotic...

Of all the places he’d been - all the campsites that looked the same, all the towns that felt no different to one another - Ronan felt...

In the early days, though she would never have said it aloud, Claire had been content with their situation. That is to say, she didn’t...

Eating lunch in one another’s company was such a small gesture, and yet for Ronan and Havannah it had become a compulsory ritual to look...

The faded pink walls of Claire’s bedroom had become as familiar to Envy as those of her own. With a keen eye, she could trace every faint...

Despite the growing panic along the shoreline, the flames continued to roll lazily across what was left of the pier; it would take its time in bringing the whole structure into the sea, unrushed by awe-filled eyes. They watched and took in the whole sight: the way the fire crowned the waves below with a blazing glow; the disturbance when another burning fragment fell into the water, releasing a faint hiss just out of earshot; the fledgling flames licking and lashing at the sk