Shaun Dryden's Writing Portfolio

When battle-hardened SBS Sergeant Major Brad Maddison hitches a ride home from Cyprus aboard an RAF Atlas C1, he expects nothing more than a quiet return to civilian life. But as he watches a spectacular meteor shower over the Mediterranean, fate has other plans.

Days after his discharge, Brad rescues Dr Teresa Halcroft, Britain’s leading expert in astrobiology, from a violent assault in West London. Their meeting seems like more than a coincidence, especially when news breaks of a meteorite crash in Glencoe, unleashing a deadly, fast-spreading virus that wipes out everyone except one survivor: Robbie McAllister, a Highlander with a mysterious immunity.

As civilisation teeters on the brink of collapse, Brad and Teresa head north into danger, racing to uncover the truth. What connects the global meteorite strikes, a shadowy organisation, the soldier, the survivor, and possibly even extraterrestrials? Is this the end of humanity, or just the beginning of something far more terrifying?

This gripping sci-fi thriller is perfect for fans of military science fiction, high-stakes thrillers, ufology and doomsday scenarios.

Inspired by the works of Lee Child, Dean Koontz, Chris Ryan, and the hit documentary series Ancient Aliens.

When Professor Teresa Halcroft, brilliant academic and Brad Maddison’s partner, narrowly survives an attempt on her life. Then Brad’s closest friend, a former Royal Marine, is kidnapped and tortured for information he doesn’t have. It feels targeted. Personal.

Before Brad can make sense of it, the unthinkable happens: the Prime Minister’s estranged son is abducted and held to ransom.

Three violent acts. No obvious link.

Or so it seems.

Coincidently at the same time, under the direction of the secretive Major Ron Taylor, Brad assembles a hand-picked team of ex-special forces operators for a secret mission but now they are diverted pulling at threads that stretch from the quiet streets of Morpeth to the heat of Phuket, through Camden’s underbelly and on to the volcanic landscape of Lanzarote.

Their secret mission is bigger than terrorism. Bigger than politics.

Buried deep beneath Alaska’s Mount McKinley, whispered about in conspiracy circles as the Dark or Black Pyramid, lies talk of an underground alien base and technology far beyond human capability. Satellite blackouts. Classified airspace. Disappearances that were never explained.

Surely an attempt on Teresa’s life, the torture of an ex Royal Marine, the kidnapping of the Prime Minister’s son and a secret base in Alaska cannot be related.

Sometimes the only thing that can save you is a sarcastic Angel disguised as a dog…

When Jack Brown’s wife dies suddenly in a tragic car accident, his world falls apart. Once a proud father, a devoted husband, and a man who loved his job, Jack now finds himself jobless, rudderless, and drowning in grief. With his daughter living halfway around the world in Australia, and each day blurred by cheap booze, whisky, weed, and long, sleepless nights. Jack’s life is spiralling fast, and rock bottom is calling.

Then, after learning of the death of his oldest friend, Jack decides he’s had enough. He walks to a remote cliff edge, ready to end it all convinced there’s no one left who cares. But just as he’s about to take the final step, a voice interrupts him.

"Oi Jack, please don’t do it."

To his right stands a small, scruffy white terrier, who’s not only talking, but full of opinions. Sarcastic, snarky, and strangely wise, the dog introduces himself as a trainee angel on his very first assignment to save Jack’s sorry backside.

What follows is a heart-warming, hilarious, and sometimes dark journey as Jack and his unlikely companion navigate grief, friendship, and redemption, one day and mishap at a time. Together, the unlikely pair set off on a bizarre and beautiful road trip through the Scottish wilderness, camping, arguing, healing, and laughing in equal measure. Along the way, Jack finds that redemption might not lie in forgetting the past, but in rediscovering joy, friendship, and the simple magic of a dog who refuses to give up on him.

Darkly funny, deeply touching, and delightfully absurd, Jack and an Angel called Trevor is a tale of second chances, and the most inappropriate angelic advice ever given.

Perfect for anyone who believes that healing can come from the most unexpected places, even in the form of a foul-mouthed, opinionated speaking dog.

Meet Bailey, a lovable, inquisitive Cockapoo with a nose for mischief and, as it turns out, time travel!

After a violent storm, Bailey discovers a mysterious green mist behind Grandad’s model railway room. Being a curious dog, there’s only one thing to do: investigate. One paw through the mist and suddenly Bailey isn’t at home anymore. He’s arrived in Halcroft Village in 1943, where steam trains thunder along the tracks, wartime secrets are waiting to be discovered, and a collection of new friends, both two-legged and four-legged, need his help.

But there’s something rather special behind Bailey’s adventure.

Bailey is real!

He really is a black Cockapoo: clever, curious, occasionally mischievous and convinced that anything left unattended probably belongs to him.

And Halcroft Village is real too.

Well… sort of.

It’s Grandad’s model railway, built over many years with streets, shops, churches, a haunted house and even the wreckage of a crashed German fighter plane. While puppy Bailey watched Grandad working on the railway, stories began to grow around its tiny inhabitants.

Then a real storm struck the garden — and imagination did the rest.

Inspired by a real dog, a real model railway and childhood memories, The Amazing Adventures of Bailey: The Time Travelling Cockapoo is a funny, exciting and heart-warming tale of friendship, family, courage and adventure.

And if you ever see a mysterious green mist at the bottom of your garden?

Don’t go into it.

Although, knowing Bailey… he probably will.

Perfect for children, dog lovers, and well-behaved adults!