The Camel and The Butterfly
Sometimes, an unexpected rumour on social media can change everything…
Ninety-year-old Thomas Mirren has always been happy with his usual, quiet routine. But when the story came out in the local newspaper that Thomas Mirren was a fraud, his quiet life became a little more interesting. To everyone.
Ian is tasked with writing a story about a military imposter in order to keep his job at the paper but everyone in town knows Thomas is an old soldier; they see him every November in the parade. Everyone, that is, except the national war records. Ian is torn between keeping his job and disrupting a kind old man’s life for the sake of filling a page in the newspaper.
When Ian’s daughter is hospitalised in a hit and run, suddenly, he finds himself questioning what truly matters in life. Sure, Ian hates his boss but is the job worth keeping if it means ruining someone else’s life? Does it truly matter if Thomas never served?
If perception becomes reality, does the truth even matter anymore? Well, it matters to Thomas and it looks like his past is about to catch up with him.
The Camel and the Butterfly is a heart-warming story of love, friendship, and one man’s undeniable strength of character.
Michael Whitworth
Michael is a former banker from Lancashire originally, and though he has travelled and lived in many different parts of the world, he still considers it his home.
At university, Michael studied Chinese language and after graduating, lived in Japan for a while. Following a Masters in International Studies, he started a career in London, for the most part working in banking.
During his early years in London in the 90s, Michael wrote his first novel, which is still on a floppy disc somewhere. The Camel and the Butterfly is his second novel, but first to be published, and writing it has been a wonderful and thought-provoking experience.
Michael has also been an extra in films; climbed mountains in the snow; walked along the Great Wall of China and sat beneath the cherry blossoms of Japan. But if you ask him, Michael will tell you that none of these holds a candle to spending time with his wife and son.