Patricia M Osborne

I’m especially proud to introduce my very good friend and critique partner, Maureen Cullen, as she launches her brand new novel Kitten Heels with Ringwood Books. Maureen has been published in various anthologies, won numerous short story competitions, and shortlisted umpteen times. Her new book is a fabulous story and one not to be missed.

“Was this what being an adult meant? Clamping down on tears and growing a backbone? That’s how it felt. I had to be the dependable one, Mum wasnae up to it. I peered in the mirror at my thirteen-year-old self. I didnae want to be grown up yet .”

About Kitten Heels

“It was a man’s world, that was for sure. It certainly wasnae a thirteen-year-old girl’s.”

Kathleen Gallagher is resourceful, brave and tireless — but fated to work in the bra factory like her mother. It’s 1962, and Kathleen resents her situation. She has to look after her three younger siblings whilst her mother works part-time; collect the wages from her absentee father; and sacrifice her social life for responsibilities she never asked for. When Kathleen’s grandmother dies, the entire family dynamic changes — leaving the relationship with her mother to suffer.

Kitten Heels is a moving coming-of-age story, set in 1960s working class Clydeside and told from thirteen-year-old Kathleen’s perspective. Dealing with issues of poverty, mental health, and the role of women, Kitten Heels follows Kathleen as she finds comfort and support in the community of women around her — learning from the way in which these women find ways to grow, nourish and heal each other, despite hardships and institutional obstacles set in their way.

Pre-order your copy of Kitten Heels now for just £9.99 (plus P&P) to guarantee a signed first edition copy which will be sent to you before the launch. The official launch will take place at the Helensburgh Community Hub at 2pm on Saturday 12th October. Look out for more updates soon on the Ringwood website!

or buy from Amazon

About the Author

Maureen Cullen is a retired social worker living in Argyll & Bute. After thirty years’ commitment to social work, she turned to writing poetry and short fiction, completing a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing from Lancaster University in 2015 and achieving a distinction. Maureen has had poetry published in multiple magazines and online webzines, and had a poetry conversation written with Patricia M Osborne, Sherry and Sparkly, published by the Hedgehog Press in 2021. She has been shortlisted in numerous short story competitions, including the V.S. Pritchett Prize, the Fish Prize, and the Bristol Prize. She also won the Labello Prize for short fiction in 2014, and the Ringwood Short Story competition in 2022.