Dalzell Press

The Lonely Life of Biddy Weir

Lesley Allen

"The Lonely Life of Biddy Weir is a story that will stay with me for a long time."   Chris Whitaker, author of We Begin at the End.

"What a big hearted book this is."  Lucy Caldwell, author of These Days.

A charming and uplifting story, perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, A Man Called Ove and It Ends With Us.


Biddy Weir is a quirky girl.

Abandoned by her mother as a baby, and with a father who's not quite equipped for the challenges of modern parenting, Biddy lives in her own little world, happy to pass her time painting by the sea and watching the birds go by. That is, until she meets Alison Flemming.

Because there are a few things about Biddy that aren't normal, you see. And Alison isn't afraid to point them out to the world.
All of a sudden, Biddy's quiet life is thrown into turmoil. If only there was someone to convince her that, actually, everyone's a little bit weird . . .

A story of abuse and survival, of falling down and of starting again, and of one woman's battle to learn to love herself for who she is, The Lonely Life of Biddy Weir is Lesley Allen's startlingly honest debut novel.

Lesley Allen lives in the seaside town of Donaghadee, in County Down, Northern Ireland. She is a freelance writer and communications consultant.

Never Waste a Good Hysterectomy

Melanie Verwoerd

"I devoured this book. Truly, the work of an artist and a creator."

Dr Erika Mitchell MD

"Wow! I didn’t want to put this book down…. It’s like sipping a warm

tea, comforting and funny and relatable and raw. I LOVED IT!"

Katie Tripp

In 2021 Melanie went for her annual gynaecological check-up. Despite having had no symptoms, an ovarian growth - the size of a grapefruit - was discovered. Melanie was told that it had a 70% chance of being cancerous. A few days later, a radical hysterectomy was performed. 

As the terror grew, writing was the only way for her to make sense of what was happening. The book is a brutally honest reflection of the year that followed the operation. The physical recovery was painful and messy and took much longer than expected. More surprisingly, was the more profound, soul-searching questions that the procedure brought to the fore. 

The physical crisis triggered an intense journey of self-reflection and discovery – commonly experienced by women post-hysterectomy. Although this book was inspired by a hysterectomy, it is not intended just for those who have had or are going to have a similar procedure. It is also meant for every woman who comes to a crossroad and has to reassess her life.  .                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

The Stamp of Beauty 

(click on cover or title to order)


Fionola Meredith

"Fionola Meredith creates a visceral story 

of mistaken love that manages to both

 disturb and entertain."

                                                                             David Park

 

A young married woman begins an intense affair with an older man as a way of escaping her manipulative mother. But she comes to realise that her lover is a mirror image of her mother – just as seductive, just as demanding, and ultimately just as dangerous.

Set in modern-day Ireland, this unsettling novel from Belfast journalist Fionola Meredith charts the course of an unlikely and deeply dysfunctional ‘age-gap’ relationship to its inevitable conclusion. Disturbing yet darkly humorous, forensic but somehow compassionate, this compelling debut unflinchingly reveals what lies at the heart of the male fear of intimacy, and the hidden impulses which can drive our most fatal attractions.

Murder, Memoir, Murder
by Anthony J. Quinn


 

Simultaneously a memoir and a crime fiction story involving a hunt for a missing IRA informer, set in the landscape of a rural parish in South Tyrone, N. Ireland

Did She See You?
by Jason Johnson

Did She See You? tells of a search for truth along a disintegrating border between real and unreal. It is a tale of sacrifice, vengeance and the mighty persistence of love.

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