Ellie Martin McKinsey: From Theatre to Literature

Turtle A

Boy meets girl. Girl rips to shreds boy’s idea of the Universe.

Binge read Neil Gaiman and Matt Haig till you had an existential crisis? From debut author Ellie Martin-McKinsey comes an equally thought-provoking philosophical fiction book, Turtle A.

Turtle A chews on Strawberry B, which causes a string to pull the platform up, releasing Coin C to…you know what? I don’t think I am going to tell you much more than that…

Here’s the thing though: one event leads to another until you have a chain of events completing a set goal; at least that’s how The Girl believes The Universe works. Following The Universe’s instructions to set in motion a series of events, The Girl believes that to be her purpose…until she finds Nico, who staunchly believes that The Universe’s grand cosmic plans are a load of horseshit.

Which one of them is right? The Girl, who has no identity or place in the world, or Nico, who has worked so hard on his sense of self that somewhere along the way he lost his purpose. How will these two come together to resolve the mysteries of The Universe?

When the Universe calls, will you answer?

After; Life

Death, it turns out, is anything but peaceful.

Tetra never imagined the afterlife would involve dodging overeager humans, especially two self-proclaimed “ghostbusters” convinced she doesn’t belong.

Somewhere else, a placement demon in hell faces an unprecedented problem: Calia, an undeniably good person, patiently waiting to be punished for sins that don’t quite exist.

Aspen reflects on the strange irony of existence—on being human once, long before becoming something else entirely.

Anis, trapped in a maze of endless twists and turns, wrestles with a dilemma that even death hasn’t resolved.

And these are only a few of the souls navigating what comes next.

With centuries of theories about what happens after we die, one truth stands firm: your beliefs shape your afterlife. Heaven, hell, purgatory, and everything in between take form through the minds of those who enter them.

Told through nine unforgettable voices—most of them no longer living—this collection brings the afterlife to life in unexpected, darkly humorous, and deeply human ways.

Because death isn’t an ending here. It’s a beginning shaped by belief.

Broken Mirrors, Spilt Salt, and a Lifetime of Bad Luck

For as long as she can remember, Mallory has been bad luck. Yes, you read that right—she’s not just unlucky; she is bad luck. With The Universe hell bent on bestowing misfortune upon her and subsequently those around her, can she find a loophole to turn things around?

Belonging in an Ivy League but through a twist of misfortune, stuck in a community college pre-law program, Mallory’s doing her best to minimize the misfortune she brings to those in close proximity. Her only haven is a group of gamers she befriended while playing Arcana Quest. Online camaraderie quickly morphed into real friendship with one standout friend—Valkyrie, whom she told about her cursed luck.

When one of their friends suffers a particularly bad interaction with a threatening man, Valkyrie suggests an unconventional idea: Mallory should harness her bad luck to take down jerks on dating apps. It works like a charm—well, a broken one.

Mallory wrestles with the ethical morality of her actions, while trying to balance her internship with an enigmatic personal injury lawyer, who seems immune to the torrent of disasters that follow her.

Can she use her curse to deliver justice without spiraling into chaos? Or has she found herself a more dangerous way for her bad luck to bring her to ruin?