The world’s first earth-orbit passenger plane, the sensational Celeste Three, takes off from its base in Arizona, also the only place where it is designed land. On a routine flight the craft disappears.
On board is Viktor Karenkov, billionaire oil magnate who has used his wealth to evade prosecution for a murder he committed years earlier. Gregory Topozian, the murdered man’s friend, has been waiting for a chance to bring Karenkov to justice. With dogged determination and considerable ingenuity, he conceives an audacious plan.
Getting the craft down in total secrecy is key. And someone has to pay the huge costs involved.
PUBLICATION DATE: 14 MAY 2020 | PAPERBACK ORIGINAL | £8.99 | ORENDA BOOKS
Fran hates her hometown, and she thought she’d escaped. But her father is ill, and needs care. Her relationship is over, and she hates her dead-end job in the city, anyway.
She returns home to nurse her dying father, her distant teenage daughter in tow for the weekends. There, in the sleepy town of Ash Mountain, childhood memories prick at her fragile self-esteem, she falls in love for the first time, and her demanding dad tests her patience, all in the unbearable heat of an Australian summer.
As past friendships and rivalries are renewed, and new ones forged, Fran’s tumultuous home life is the least of her worries, when old crimes rear their heads and a devastating bushfire ravages the town and all of its inhabitants…
Danni was a trainee corporate lawyer before she was forced to flee her life in London. Having escaped a controlling and abusive partner, she now finds herself hiding from another predator – her employer.
Post-Brexit, the U.K. oil industry is on its knees and desperate to turn a profit, but at what cost?
Many companies in Aberdeen have already been forced to sell out to the Russians, but when a prominent CEO is found dead, the number of mysterious deaths offshore have escalated and oil platforms are being targeted by terrorists. But who is actually calling the shots? There is more to these attacks than meets the eye…
As Danni draws ever closer to discovering the truth, she becomes embroiled in a web of secrets and deceit where doing the right thing could cost her life.
This book is truly exceptional. Applying science to the problems of human relationships, the perils of perfectionism and the pitfalls of social etiquette, Millie has written a joyous, funny and hugely insightful text for all of us – whether neurotypical or neurodiverse. This ‘outsiders guide to the human race’ is warm, witty and a joy to read.’ Prof Gina Rippon, Cognitive neuroscientist/autism researcher and author of The Gendered Brain.
Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of eight, Camilla Pang struggled to understand the world around her and the way people worked. Desperate for a solution, Camilla asked her mother if there was an instruction manual for humans that she could consult. But, without the blueprint to life she was hoping for, Camilla began to create her own. Now armed with a PhD in biochemistry, Camilla dismantles our obscure social customs and identifies what it really means to be human using her unique expertise and a language she knows best: science.
Through a set of scientific principles, this book examines life’s everyday interactions including:
– Decisions and the route we take to make them; – Conflict and how we can avoid it; – Relationships and how we establish them; – Etiquette and how we conform to it.
Explaining Humans is an original and incisive exploration of human nature and the strangeness of social norms, written from the outside looking in. Camilla’s unique perspective of the world, in turn, tells us so much about ourselves – about who we are and why we do it – and is a fascinating guide on how to lead a more connected, happier life.
Josie James is an ordinary 13-year-old until something extraordinary happens during her summer holidays. Whilst staying at her Great Grandmother’s cottage in the country she finds herself swept into the cursed world of Suncroft where it is perpetual winter. Her new friends believe she could be the Chosen One who it is foretold will lift the curse, but there are more pressing matters. The Teardrops of Summer – magical crystals that render the owner immortal – have been stolen. Along with her telepathic husky-dog Protector Asher and her new friends, Josie must race to find the Teardrops and prevent catastrophe for their world.
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In this chapter, we are starting to learn more about why Josie is the chosen one. Here is where she first meets Asher and realises she can hear his voice.
Josie watched Murphy walked towards him as if summoned.
“I’ve never seen a Husky so big.” Josie was still in awe of Murphy’s size.
“As you can see, Murphy here has the same green eyes as my crystal and if you look at his tail…” Her grandad held his crystal against Murphy. It was an exact match to the black tear drop shape on his tail. “Most Protectors are born and bred in Suncroft, their special gift, like ours, being passed down through the generations. But occasionally one is found in your world.”
With these words a red bundle of fluff raced into the room and launched itself onto Josie’s lap, licking her face and nuzzling her ears. Murphy placed one of his huge paws on its back and suddenly it sat down, green eyes staring intently at Josie.
“Asher is the name, protecting is the game.” Josie could hear a voice with a strong Cockney accent echoing inside her brain. She shook her head in disbelief and looked around the room, bewildered. “It’s me talking, well not talking, oh you know what I mean.” Josie looked at the small Husky sitting on her lap. It appeared to be smiling at her.
“Erm…” Josie looked over to her nan and grandad who had leaned forward in their seats, a look of anticipation on their faces. Even Murphy looked like he was waiting with baited breath. “He says his name is Asher?” Her grandad suddenly leapt up, a huge smile on his face.
“Oh Josie, you don’t know how good it is to hear you say that.” He hugged her tightly. “This is Asher, as you know. He was found in London a few weeks ago after Murphy sensed him and we just knew he was meant for you.” Josie scrutinised the puppy. He was about six months old but already quite large. His fur was long, fluffy and a deep auburn colour. His tummy and legs were a dark cream and like Murphy he had a black tear drop on his tail. “We’ve been waiting for you to be old enough to understand and also to see if you were the one we all hoped you were.”
There’s a follow up, if you’re interested in this one.
Josie James and The Velvet Knife
“For you to find the Velvet Knife, you must solve the riddles thrice.” A mysterious hooded figure, known only as the Velvet Knife has appeared in the cursed village of Suncroft. No one knows who he is or what he wants but when he starts leaving riddles around the village, it is time for Josie to return to Suncroft for a second time. With Asher, her faithful husky Protector by her side, Filan, a half elf, and her great grandad, will they be able to solve the clues in time and discover his identity? The Velvet Knife is not the only one causing problems for Josie. Her rival for the position of the ‘Chosen One’ continues to grow stronger, and now he has a Protector of his own. What does all this mean for Josie? Is she destined to lift the wintery curse of Suncroft or will another take her place as the ‘Chosen One’?
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Author Bio
Lily Mae Walters chose her pen name in honour of her beloved grandparents who also stare in the Josie James series.
She is married with two teenage children, and two huskies that are the inspiration behind Murphy and Asher in the books.
Lily Mae lives in Nuneaton, England and finds herself using local places and even her old school in her stories.
Family and friends mean the world to Lily Mae and many will find themselves popping up throughout the series.
Lily Mae also writes for adults under the name of Florence Keeling.
PUBLICATION DATE: 28 MAY 2020 | PAPERBACK ORIGINAL | £8.99 | ORENDA BOOKS
The first in the electrifying new Forbidden Iceland series, The Creak on the Stairs is an exquisitely written, claustrophobic and chillingly atmospheric debut thriller by one of Iceland’s most exciting new talents.
When the body of a woman is discovered at a lighthouse in the Icelandic town of Akranes, it soon becomes clear that she’s no stranger to the area. Chief Investigating Officer Elma, who has returned to Akranes following a failed relationship, and her colleagues Sævar and Hörður, commence an uneasy investigation, which uncovers a shocking secret in the dead woman’s past that continues to reverberate in the present day…
But as Elma and her team make a series of discoveries, they bring to light a host of long-hidden crimes that shake the entire community. Sifting through the rubble of the townspeople’s shattered memories, they have to dodge increasingly serious threats, and find justice … before it ’s too late.
This book arrived yesterday from Pen & Sword, and I’m getting really into it. Henry II was a massive twat-bag. However, it’s the many mentions of his mother, Empress Maud/Mathilde that has me thinking. Maud was named for her mother, Edith/Mathilde, the daughter of the King of Scots, and the neice or great-neices of Edward the Confessor, making her an actual legitimate heir to the throne of Wessex and thus England.
Henry I had to buy England from his brother Robert of Normandy after William Rufus was ‘accidentally’ shot while out hunting. Robert didn’t want England anyway but he needed the cash so he gave up his claim as eldest son of William the Bastard to his younger brother. Legitimate claims being something even that theiving lot liked, he married a woman with an actual claim, and also linked his family to the Royal House of Scotland.
Henry wasn’t doing anything new. In the years immediately following the Conquest, English noble women were forced into marriages with Norman knights so that they could claim their lands. Some of the women were forced to marry a succession of men, usually brothers, after each died, in order to keep the land in the men’s families.
Some of those women were dragged from nunneries by force, and forced into marriages against their will.
Forced marriage went against the teachings of the Catholic Church and would have, under ordinary circumstances made the marriage illegal and any claims to land of inheritance null and void. It was not ordinary times.
[Meanwhile, Gytha of Wessex organised the defence of the West Country and tried, once pushed back, to organise an invasion force. Her male relatives in Denmark and Norway were all for it, except it was too much like hard work.]
The women could have just murdered the Normans in their sleep.
Stabby, Stabby while he’s sleeping.
Why didn’t they?
I’m pretty certain, given the Papal reaction to the invasion, that had a woman said, “I was dragged from a nunnery and forced into a marriage I didn’t consent to, against holy law.” even the most belligerent priest would have said, “Good point, here have a tiny penance for killing your rapist. Half a hail Mary and a full our father should just about do it. And that’s because you kicked him in the balls after.”
I wonder about the children of those marriages. Did they realise they were the product of rapes? Did they know their mother was probably forced to marry their father? That their mother might have hated their father? Did they care? How many resented the situation? How many became ‘their father’s sons’?
Reading about Empress Maud, Eleanor of Aquitaine, her daughters, it’s clear women were brood mares for dynastic marriages and clever alliances. Even the well educated and intelligent woman couldn’t escape. Eleanor of Aquitaine married twice. The first marriage was arranged, the second was her choice. Neither were a success. Louis of France was a monk in a King’s crown and Henry of Normandy and England was a bully who planned to steal her lands and lock her in a nunnery as soon as she reached menopause. In return, Eleanor mocked Louis and tolerated Henry for her own purposes.
Not really surprising that the middle ages was an utter mess when you have this lot for exemplars of behaviour. ‘It’s fine because the king does it’ is not a good argument.
If the wealthiest, most well-educated women could be kidnapped, bought and sold, what happened to the ones who had a couple of manors inheritance from their dad or brother killed defending England? If even a nunnery can’t protect them? If the antagonism and violence we saw between princes were the example, what does that say about the behaviour of the first Anglo-Norman children? Does it have any baring on the later violence of ‘The Anarchy’, the civil war between Maud and Stephen after Henry I’s death. The people who killed their neighbours then were the children and grandchildren of the Conquest. Were they acting on impulses imbibed from traumatised mothers or parents?
How did this one event go on to affect the psyches and thus actions of later generations? How long did the affects last?
Generally, English history is written about personalities and times, of social movements and changes in culture. We get the names of kings, tales of plagues and glory, but that’s not even half the story. I’ve yet to read anything about the psychological effects of living in the period or being the product of forced marriage. I know there probably isn’t an awful lot of written records left from the time, and even less that could be mined for this sort of information, but it does make me wonder how many of those people who set out on the early crusades were exorcising the ghosts of their traumatised mothers or expiating the sins of their fathers, as well as their own
Everything Is Better With Dragons 