Below The Surface

No food. No help. No escape.

From the author of Lost Solace comes a short tale of two strangers, shipwrecked on a lifeless rock, unable to speak the same language. And when the tide comes in, the whole island is submerged.

Quick Drinks are standalone versions of Karl Drinkwater’s best-loved short stories. Discover characters to root for – and characters to dread – in tales of humanity, endurance, and spirit.

If you buy here then more money goes to the author. Yay! But if you prefer to buy from online stores such as Amazon, Kobo, Nook or Apple then that’s cool too: here are links to the book on those sites (including print versions where available).

Reviews

"Short stories are great because you don’t have to commit to long periods of time. In our busy lives, we can read one when we have time and then read more later.
Below the Surface was a short story that was terrifying. The writing was so powerful that I could visualize all of it. I could almost feel everything that the characters were going through.
The author really knows how to grab you and hold you with such intensity of emotion!"
— Lisa's Reading

"Below the Surface follows two shipwreck survivors who are clinging for life on a small rocky outcrop. As they struggle to survive the elements while they desperately wait to be rescued, this suspenseful, exciting story is also rather emotional and even quite life-affirming. I loved the way the prose changes here to reflect the increasingly confused mental state of the stranded man battling the high tide and burning sun with very little in the way of sustenance. Highly recommended."
— Hair Past A Freckle

"Over the past year Karl Drinkwater has become one of my favourite authors. I frequently found myself holding my breath in Below The Surface."
— Literary Flits

"It’s not easy to create characters and situations in short stories that capture the reader, but Drinkwater has achieved this and much more. You’re desperate to know what happens to the two strangers stranded on a rocky island in the middle of the ocean, fighting for their lives as hours, then days, pass. Once again Drinkwater has surpassed himself, proving that anything he writes is a must-read."
— Pink Quill Books