About the Author

Naomi Young currently works at the University of Cambridge. She has lived in America, Switzerland and in Guatemala between 1993 and 1996, undertaking human rights work with the Presbyterian Church. She has edited various newsletters and worked voluntarily with the World Council of Churches. Her first novel, If It Falls, was completed as part of MMU’s Online MA Creative Writing programme and was published by Discovered Authors in June 2008.

About the Book(s)

Set in Guatemala in the late 1990s ­ at the end of the civil war ­ If It Falls is the story of Raphael, a journalist haunted by his past. Raphael and Josue are in love with the same woman, Lola. So how do they cope when she is killed? Josue is beaten by the police and later arrested for her murder, while Raphael thinks the best of everyone but himself. He is tormented by guilt that he survived the war, but his wife and son didn’t.

Although the novel is a work of fiction, it is inspired by Naomi’s time in Guatemala; in 1995 a colleague and friend, Rev. Manuel Saquic, was kidnapped and murdered.

If It Falls

Novel published by Discovered Authors (June 2008)
ISBN 978𔂿�󈞥𔃀

Reviews

"I am intrigued by this story, not simply because it is well written, but because of the command of another language and culture so easily displayed amongst the seductive elements of the narrative. Death, war, bereavement, sex, relationships, politics and the voice of the disenfranchised ­ it is all combined in a relentless journey of discovery."
Velvet Magazine