From Under the Bed
by Fiona McClean

Alice loves to paint pictures of fish. Her only problem is her addiction to cakes and pastries. To feed this obsession, she steals . . . and to rid herself of her spoils, she makes herself sick. Stick thin, Alice puts her fragile mind into the care of a psychiatrist, Professor Lucas, and tries to learn the rules people should live by. But her recovery soon brings a new and dangerous addiction—Brendan. As Alice struggles to cope with Brendan’s violent outbursts, her dying father and poverty, she takes solace in her job at a massage parlour where she finds comfort with motherly Helen. But these are just temporary respites as her life with Brendan spirals downwards becoming a nightmarish maze.

Fiona McClean was born in Dusseldorf, Germany as the daughter of an army family.  After studying Fine Arts at the University of Wales, Newport, she now lives the life of an accomplished painter in South France. Fiona loves to spend her time writing and painting, walking and horse riding. From Under the Bed is her debut novel.

‘Compelling . . . fulfilling read’ The Bookseller

‘From Under the Bed is like no other book I have read. It opens up the world and gives it a kaleidoscope of colour. It takes ordinary, everyday things and turns them into unique objects in a way you have never seen them before. From Under the Bed is more than a journey, it is an experience . . .’ Mary Wood, Author of An Unbreakable Bond (Legend Press)

‘From Under the Bed which I read from page to page without skipping a single sentence, came as a surprise. I discovered a writer, a real one . . . . She tells her story from the inside, with a sensitivity that made me think of Sylvia Plath . . .’ Anke de Vries, Author of Bruises and 75 other books

‘Fiona is a painter as well as being a poet. Visual acuity and sensitivity are the tools of her trade.’ Laurent Félix-Faure, Author and Former Editor

‘Impossible to remain unmoved by this lyrical account of a young person’s struggle to haul herself out of highly contemporary and, sadly, all too commonplace, psychological black holes. A must-read for anyone . . .’ Lesley Geekie Dawe, Author of Dennis the Dinosaur (Macmillan Education)

‘Unique and unforgettable. With a painter’s eye for detail and a poet’s way with words, McClean shows us a world where cakes and conventions are as much the enemy as the fists of an abusive lover.’ Jean Gill, Author of Someone to Look up to (CalliOrum)