It’s Hard to Tell You This

Michael’s father didn’t leave much behind. A handful of battered paperbacks, a few family photos, and an ancient tape recorder – the scattered remains of an old man’s empty life. But that tape recorder sparks something in Michael, a need to take stock of his own thoughts. His memories. His regrets.

Turning the recorder on, Michael begins to speak. About the loves he lost. The girls who slipped away. The women he hurt. Each memory spools out of him and onto the tape, raw and unedited.

As the recorder fills with Michael’s confessions, his days grow longer, his relationships stranger, his shelves emptier. And Michael finds himself on the precipice of an ending…

Also available to order from all good bookstores, and as an eBook.

It’s Hard to Tell You This on Goodreads.

“mental health from a male prospective, which is very important and not really seen enough.” – books_onthecoast, book blogger

“the unique premise and emotional depth made this a captivating read” – the bookishbrunettee, book blogger

Parallels

“THE MATRIX” MEETS THE FOREVER WAR IN JAMES KINSLEY’S BREATHTAKING SCI-FI ACTION ADVENTURE

Two worlds. One mind. Endless uncertainty.

Jeff is stuck in the mundane now, drifting through aimless days and gnawing doubts. Until the moment he sees the Pale Woman—and reality shifts. Suddenly, he’s Jezz, a mercenary trapped in a savage conflict, battling swarms of alien insects on a war-torn front line.

Is he a restless young man just scraping by, or a desperate soldier risking everything for humanity’s survival? As identities collide, one question rips through his fractured psyche:

What is reality?

Also available to order from all good book shops, and as an eBook

Parallels on Goodreads.

“What stands out… is the characterisation and world-building. The future war-torn world of an alien-invaded China is terrifyingly tangible. Depictions of conflicts and skirmishes are pulse-pounding and fraught with the terrors of war. The split character of Jeff/Jezz is truly three-dimensional; a man going through a mental breakdown, while wanting to stay sane. It’s an intimate study of humanity” – SciFiNow

“This is top-notch storytelling, whip-smart and engaging from ground zero to the out-of-the-blue ending that promises more to come” – readerviews.com

“Parallels is an interesting and enjoyable read. It kept me guessing about what was actually going on the whole time. A sense of  something more I am missing always keeps me engaged,” – Paul Grenyer, blogger

Greyskin

As settlers flood into a new continent in search of a better life, they must confront the indigenous population who call it home. Follow the journey of a determined young widow fighting to keep her farm, a newlywed couple navigating the challenges of marriage, a small-town lawman determined to maintain order, and an academic looking to make his name by documenting the indigenous peoples; and tying them all together, the orc wanderer watching his people being swept aside by the human settlers.

This powerful collection of interwoven short stories brings together multiple perspectives to create a new mythology of settlement, and raises the question of what the future holds for a nation built on blood and bones.

Also available to order from all good book shops, and as an eBook.

Greyskin on Goodreads.

You can hear me read from the book on this clip from the book’s launch.

“…presented with a rare mixture of realism, fantasy and historical fiction. Kinsley is a talented writer, confronting topics that are often hard to swallow, and even harder to ignore.” – The Fantasy Hive

“The stories are populated by memorable characters. The writing is excellent, full of voice and redolent of the time period.” – The British Fantasy Society

“Bleak tales, beautifully told” – Daily Mail

Playtime’s Over

In the seconds before death, Will finds himself transported from the depths of the North Sea to the end of a deserted pier. Deserted, until Viktor appears… Together they journey across time and place, bearing witness to the beauty of the life Will has turned his back on.

Scrutinizing the interminable balancing act of being alive, which ultimately led Will to make his final, fatal move, Playtime’s Over is a story about resilience and surrender, told with darkly absurd humour. It is both a powerful meditation on mental health in a world with little refuge, and a touching portrait of a friendship forged in the most bizarre circumstances.

Also available to order from all good book shops.

Playtime’s Over on Goodreads.

“does something few else have managed to – he has constructed a grounded and familial absurdist narrative without the surrealist, disorientating, and potentially bizarre attributes one commonly finds stitched in too… Kinsley is a talented writer who can do more in 95 pages than most can accomplish in 1000.” – The Fantasy Hive

“Playtime’s Over is a thoroughly enjoyable novel, with valid and insightful questions about the meaning of life, pain, death and everything between” – Rrramble.co.uk

“Norfolk’s answer to It’s a Wonderful Life ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐” – Amazon review