In this striking debut collection, characters find unexpected moments of profound insight while navigating daily life. "Clouther’s first collection of stories shows an 'old' talent—meaning, his sophistication in treatment and technique and his wise observations of the human condition have the feel of an author who has the experience of several story collections behind him."—Booklist, starred review "Sharply observed."—Toronto Star "The 10 entries in Clouther’s debut collection all display a sure–handed grasp of craft."—Publishers Weekly In this striking debut collection, characters find unexpected moments of profound insight while navigating the monotony of daily life. Here we find a man who drives to the wrong mountain, a hubcap cleaner who moonlights as a karaoke star, and a deliveryman whose urgent letters have no willing recipient. While lulled by the deceptively simple rhythm of the ordinary, Kevin Clouther offers the instant before momentous change—the view over the cliff, the intake of breath before a decision, a glimpse of stark vulnerability, of faith and hope.

The actor and founder of the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science traces his personal quest to understand how to relate and communicate better, from practicing empathy and using improv games to storytelling and developing better intuitive skills.

'Think Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre, but ten times darker, and you have The Vanishing … as dark and eerie and gothic as the Yorkshire Moors it is set on. One to curl up by the fire with on a windy night’ Stylist On top of the Yorkshire Moors, in an isolated spot carved out of a barren landscape, lies White Windows, a house of shadows and secrets. Here lives Marcus Twentyman, a hard-drinking but sensitive man, and his sister, the brisk widow, Hester. When runaway Annaleigh first meets the Twentymans, their offer of employment and lodgings seems a blessing. Only later does she discover the truth. But by then she is already in the middle of a web of darkness and intrigue, where murder seems the only possible means of escape. Already a Sunday Times bestselling author with her first novel, The Vanishing confirms Sophia Tobin as a major talent. Stunning, twisting historical fiction for all fans of Jessie Burton and Tracy Chevalier. ‘Undeniably page-turning’ Mail on Sunday ‘Entertaining’ Times ‘Vivid, absorbing and wonderfully gothic, with shades of Sarah Waters and Emily and Charlotte Brontë’ Kate Riordan ‘Brilliantly Brontë-esque. Perfect reading for a stormy night’ Anna Mazzola ‘A vivid sense of the period … which stays with the reader long after the final page’ the i ‘The plotting is skilful, with a network of lies being woven so that no one, characters or readers, can be sure of the truth’ Daily Express ‘Atmosphere aplenty and some real surprises’ Daily Mail ‘Echoes Wuthering Heights with its setting and sense of intrigue’ Red ‘An atmospheric tale of betrayal and revenge’ woman&home ‘A thrilling, atmospheric page-turner’ Metro 'Playful and menacing, The Vanishing is a pitch perfect evocation of a classic nineteenth century Gothic novel which confirms Sophia Tobin as a writer of the highest calibre' William Ryan, author of The Constant Soldier

Includes music.