The Mullins Family Saga
Alice is approaching important changes – not only in herself but in the world around her. The daughter of a GP and an academic research scientist, she has spent what others might call a ‘privileged’ childhood in Oxford, attending a good private school, and spending regular holidays at her maternal grandmother’s beautiful home in West Cornwall. What is there to rock the boat beside her sister Zoe’s annoying new friend and the approach of important exams and career choices.
Over the late spring and summer of 2007, when the weather is unusually cool and wet, she has more on her mind. Firstly, concerning her mother’s stepsister, a feisty aunt they now seldom meet. And who is the woman her supposedly gay godfather is seeing and why? Why do her parents insist she renews friendship with a girl who was her ‘bestie’ at nursery? What is wrong in that family?
And throughout this time, can she see a way to avoid being ‘tramlined’ into a scientific career, as a clone of Dad or Mum, now she has realised the importance of the arts to human flourishing?
A coming-of-age story incorporating ethical — and surprising cultural — differences, told with humour and a light and empathetic touch, by an author well acquainted with the clash of academic parental ambition and teenage striving to comprehend the sometimes secretive adult world.
The Labyrinth Year
THE MULLINS FAMILY SAGA, BOOK 2
‘You gave him those girls.
What’s he giving you?’
Jenny’s heart is in genetic research. Max is everyone’s idea of the caring family doctor. It’s 1997, there are new horizons offering wonderful opportunities, and there are birth family loyalties… And then there are the kids… Can these two young professionals rely on their values to guide them? Is life a deluding maze, or a purposeful labyrinth?
In this sequel to Baby, Baby, Max and Jenny struggle with the pressures of work and family life.
‘A sparkling and keenly observed story from a writer who dares to look closely at the society around her. Once again Mari is prepared to tackle complex subjects with clarity, sensitivity and courage’
Bridget Plass, writer & speaker, author of The Apple of his Eye and other books, some with husband Adrian Plass)
Baby, Baby
THE MULLINS FAMILY SAGA, BOOK 1
‘Don’t let them seduce you—you were raised on enlightenment thought’
Set in1984-88, a story of life after graduation, confrontation, compromise, and learning curves.
Her wildly unconventional stepsister Daisy drives Jenny mad, but then, the birth of Daisy’s dysmorphic baby sparks off for postgrad scientist Jenny a bizarre research project and a romance with her old flame, medical student Max. This brings about an excruciating clash between their family cultures — the one secular and sceptical, the other fundamentalist. Can the two of them find a place of stability together?
I loved it. You write superbly combining such detailed accuracy with a surprising light touch …your characters were so delicately drawn that they grew in substance the more you got to know them….So many lovely tiny touches … just the right amount of information … setting a scene. (personal letter from Bridget Plass, writer & speaker, author of The Apple of his Eye and other books, some with husband Adrian Plass)
A compelling story exploring the potential conflicts and clashes between religious faith and the pursuit of science ……a real page-turner that I didn't want to put down. The ending was intelligent, satisfying and rewarding. (Debbie Young, author and book blogger at 'Debbie Young's Reading Life'
Poetry and short stories by Mari Howard
Live Lose Learn
This collection of poems is a look back back over in middle age at family, friendships, and maturity
Most of the poems are from 1998-2016, and the collection was first compiled for use at the Hawkesbury Literary Festival in April 2016. The poems reflect on family relationships, with a friend loved and lost, using humour as well as sensitivity. The collection also include some ‘realistic reflection’ on the classic Christmas and Easter stories from the angle of the women involved. These include ‘The Magus’ Wife’s Tale’ in homage to, or criticism of, T.S. Eliot’s well known ‘Journey of the Magi’.
Price £7.50 (+ £1.50 p&p)
Life in Art and Practice
STORIES FROM MY YOUNGER SELF
Mysterious stories for fireside reading, written towards the end of the 20th century, and featuring ambition, deception, despair, longing, and dreaming…the magical in the ordinary, confronting reality and human relationships sideways, with question What if?
Published 14 February 2022, Paperback, price £6.99
(to purchase e-mail request: office@hodgepublishing.co.uk)
What readers have said about Life in Art and Practice: Stories from my Younger Self by Mari Howard
“Written with the visual acuity of a painter and the insight of a sociologist, Mari Howard’s tales of the human condition are also filled with compassion” (Debbie Young, founder of the independent Hawkesbury Upton Literary Festival, ambassador for the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLI) , author and blogger)
“In ‘Appletime’, Mari Howard confronts the reader with a contemporary problem in modern medicine. And within this framework she gently weaves enchantment, back and forth: fragments of Creation and Foundation myths, redemption and magic. We are lulled into dreaminess and hit by the realities of modern life all at the same time.” (Ceri Leeder, artist, illustrator, & ex-art-teacher, from Wales)
“Mari Howard has a gift. A fabulous read that will haunt you long after you have put the book down.” (Rachel Lawston, book designer & children’s author)