Ghost Breezes

6x9 inches, 210 pages

ISBN 978-1-990187-42-1

The slightly indeterminate quality of the landscape enables place to act at times as a relief, as a background for almost biblical stories of human lives. At other times this landscape also appears forceful, not to be ignored, neither by the characters in the stories, nor us, the readers.
What I mean by 'biblical' is in the sense that these are stories of characters and their life lessons. But these life lessons do not prescribe an obvious sense of morality. They are foundational stories; there is love, infidelity, sentimentality and loss, family relations, stiffened gender relations, aging, resignation and death.
In general, life lessons might have a quality of everydayness, but Lillford’s stories are funny, contrary, twisted and sometimes dark. There is nothing ordinary. Readers will quickly give up predicting how a story might end…
Daniel Lillford writes with a precision, a presence, an awareness of complexities of feelings, and with a great sense of humour. This I envy, and appreciate having in my life. It is a gift.
- from the forward by G. B. Ween

In a world where information is dependent upon Google, where approvals by bots and fake accounts are the norm, where social influencing is seriously recommended by job counsellors, where review by celebrities and reality stars outweighs critical scrutiny and the emerging generation is hard-wired to prefer image over literature, the maestros of serious writing are those who can genuinely interpret the world for us.
And this is what Daniel Lillford so brilliantly does. He uniquely interprets his world with an amazing array of oddities, so matchlessly that Dylan Thomas might consider plagiarising a few for a rewrite of Under Milk Wood, Roald Dahl might benefit from a Lillford workshop and Edgar Allen Poe might learn a trick or two about twists and turns.
I kid you not. His writing is genius. Informative, insightful, unpredictable, character driven and alive with imagination. Read them. You’ll thank me eternally.
Daniel’s writing is a legacy to humanity, now, tomorrow and forever.

Ray Mooney, author of A Green Light

Ghost Breezes reads like Lillford wrote 20 novels, then sliced out the best chapters of each, and created a kaleidoscope of stories. A great book to pick up and read.

Jon Tattrie, Atlantic Books Today

These stories are, at once, both riveting and arresting…if you like your reading to reflect and illuminate the wonder of being here, with humour, thoughtfulness, and an almost palpable edge of mystery, then this IS the book for you.

Daniel Giverin, Amazon Canada review

The characters are so vivid, so finely drawn, so touching in many cases. The stories are like little jewels each in their own velvet case…In French there is the expression coup de coeur, a movement of the heart, when we find something that stands out and that we particularly love. Ghost Breezes is my coup de coeur. Thank you.

Elaine Normandeau

Engrossing, insightful, dark, funny, piercing. Loving. Brilliant.

Brooke Johnson

I loved this moving collection of short stories chronicling the seemingly joyless lives of the hardy, plain-spoken souls who inhabit the harsh coastline of Nova Scotia and beyond; places so remote they seem suspended in time, where buried emotions run as deep as the currents of the unforgiving sea. How can such haunting tales, steeped in sadness, seem so strangely uplifting? Because of Lillford’s remarkable prose, which is so decidedly delicious it can give Dylan Thomas a run for his money, and his deep love for and understanding of the unorthodox characters he has created. Worth every penny!

John Thomas Waite, Amazon USA review

Ghost Breezes is a collection of short stories written from a perspective that is at once heartbreakingly honest and wickedly funny. Daniel Lillford uses his talents as a theatre artist to weave a certain magic into his stories which rivet our attention as we cheer for his characters’ fortunes based on Just Desserts. His voices and dialogue ring with the authenticity of rural Nova Scotia or the Channel Islands in which they’re set. The reader will not want this collection to end! Highly recommended.

Howard Rosenstein, Amazon Canada review

This is one truly FABULOUS book of short stories! Some of them are very funny, others really pull at the heart strings whilst others are beautifully dream-like .. but one thing they all have in common is the ability to arouse so many thoughts and emotions in the reader .. well they certainly did for me!
Daniel Lillford's portrayals of the characters and their environments, (most of the stories are set in Nova Scotia but some in the British Channel Islands), show that he has a truly deep understanding of humanity in all its forms as well as a great artistic sensitivity and communion with nature.
The brilliant illustrations by Daniel's son Jesse beautifully enhance all of the above :)
I was actually 'slowing myself down' so as to savour each sentence and felt quite sad to reach the end of the book - yes it really is that good!

Kim Birkhauser, Amazon UK review