In his first novel, Anthony Cropper skilfully draws a picture of life inextricably linked to the environment, the elements, and the ever changing weather.

Ken sits out the back, in the flatlands that surround Old Goole, and watches the weather. That's what he was doing with poor Lucy, that fateful day, sat on the roof of his house, lifting her up to the sky. Lucy's friend, Florrie, she knew what would happen. All of this is picked up by Alfie de Losinge's machine, which he had designed to control the weather. Instead, amongst the tiny atoms of cloud formations, he receives fragmentary images of events that slowly unfold to reveal a tender, and ultimately tragic, love story.

"Anthony Cropper is a real find; a truly original writer who uses words in quite a unique way. This is an extraordinary first novel."
Julia Darling

Anthony Cropper is the author of the short story collection Nature's Magician and has published two novels, Jack and Sal and Weatherman. He has co-edited three collections of short stories, Next Stop Hope, Naked City and Wonderwall. In 2005 his play, I'll Tell You About Love, won the BBC Alfred Bradley Award for Radio Drama.