A World Away — James Cochrane

Short stories telling tales from a small world; an eclectic, compilation from different corners of the globe. Sixty-one heartfelt sketches often laced with longing.We travel to Europe, Scandinavia and Oceania, The Middle East, Africa, Asia and The Americas; visit places of seclusion and reflection, mountains and memories, quiet towns and villages, cities immersed in their hustle and bustle. We visit the obvious to find the not so obvious. We visit the unusual. There is history and humour, mystery and regret, an odd assortment of bibs, bobs and bibelots - often nostalgic, reflective, happy or sad - sometimes all of the above. We meet many people along the way, including teachers, doctors, backpackers, country and city folk along with travelling souls of all ilks.Most of these offerings have been previously published here and there, in some form at least, scattered across various blogs, websites, the occasional newspaper and/or offered up in some literary competition.While there is lots of 'travel' in this world-wide wander, the stories are very much focused on people, places and the human condition. The tales vary in length, a menagerie of the tall and the true, all intended to lead the reader to who knows where.