We Aim to Live is a collection of fourteen powerful, dark and funny short stories, about ordinary people – mostly men – at moments of crisis, crossroads or revelation. The stories look unflinchingly at men’s behaviour and the moments when masculinity is on the edge of turning dangerous.Some stories portray the toxic world of professional football drawing upon the writer’s past in that world; while others are set in high end hotels, removals firms and sheds.Here, th...

The sudden death of Gordon W. Richards in late September 1998 brought a premature end to a legendary training career which had seen him rise from obscurity to national fame as master of his profession.Consigned to racing's scrap-heap with a broken back at the age of 29, he scraped a living as a livery stable proprietor and horse-dealer in a remote part of Northumberland until, five years later, he `discovered' Playlord and a new dawn broke.Rugged, demanding, often outspoken...

We Aim to Live is a collection of fourteen powerful, dark and funny short stories, about ordinary people – mostly men – at moments of crisis, crossroads or revelation. The stories look unflinchingly at men's behaviour and the moments when masculinity is on the edge of turning dangerous.Some stories portray the toxic world of professional football drawing upon the writer's past in that world; while others are set in high end hotels, removals firms and sheds.Here, th...