Every cloud has a silver lining… doesn’t it? Anna is thirteen years old, lives in London with her father, and has Asperger’s syndrome. When her father dies, she moves to Scotland to live with her estranged, reclusive mother. With little support to help her t in, she must use every coping strategy her father taught her—especially her ‘Happy Game’—as she tries to connect with her mother, discover her past, and deal with the challenges of being thrown into a brand new life along the way.
Ancient civilizations, parallel worlds, aliens, time travel, epic fantasy, dragons and college! The Everville series can be read as stand-alone novels and have it all for teens, new adults, and all ages alike.
Two very different worlds, Easton Falls University and the magical realm of Everville are in dire need of a hero. Owen Sage embarks on an epic journey of monumental proportions to save these worlds all while fighting to keep the world within himself intact. This quest is not for the faint of heart nor is it for the weak of mind—only the bravest will succeed. Discovering the well-kept secret of The Fourth Pillar of Truth is only part of the feat. Owen will have to outwit the ever-powerful villain Governor Jahal and overcome countless other challenges along the way.
Mike Nolan grew up in the deprivation of post- war Britain. As a young man he had a dream that somehow became a reality; to live his life on the high seas to indulge his passion for all things nautical. Eclectic employment as a musician, a hod carier, butler and boatbuilder meant that Nolan’s life never confirmed to a nine to five existence. All the while the call of the sea, like a siren, was impossible to resist. His life as a sailor, fulfilled his wildest dreams but saw him hit by a series of catastrophes, including hurricanes and a violent shipwreck. On a more positive note, he did at least manage to save both his wife and her cat! This is a rags to riches story with a sharp sting in its tale.
It was a warm, balmy evening as we had just watched a dazzlingly beautiful sunset, the bright crimson globe had just dipped below the horizon, as the last haze of daylight surrendered to the night, it became dark almost instantly, as there is very little twilight in the Caribbean, we were en route to St Maarten, having left the anchorage at Guadeloupe in the Caribbean Sea.
Our ship, Hafan-Y-Mor, was an 85 ft LOA Brigantine Schooner. She was our home, as well as providing us with an income, she was the end result of many years of blood, sweat, and tears. All of the sacrifices and effort that we had put into this project was now being repaid in spades. All our hopes and aspirations had come to fruition, and the dream that had been mine for many years was now being shared with Viv. Our future prospects were looking more positive after a couple of successful charters, we were living the dream.
We were running the ship with a crew of four on this particular passage, this was fine for short island hopping. Viv and myself were accompanied by Molino, a South American sailor on his way to St Maarten, along with Magnus a young Swede; these guys were working and paying for their passage.
All was well after completing my evening rounds. Magnus and I went below, Molino was on the helm, he spotted a red light, he called me, I came up on deck to take a look, using the trusted, mark one eyeball and a hand-bearing compass. I was sure that this was the island of Nevis. I went below to the Nav station, checked the chart, and the Satnav confirmed it was Nevis. The chart stated that an all round red light signalled that it was the harbour at Charlestown, we were about two miles distant. I told Molino to keep the light on his starboard side, visible between the mainmast and the shrouds. I returned to our cabin. Suddenly, I heard, and felt, a sickening grinding crunch as the ship lost all forward movement and it stopped. I quickly scrambled up the companionway out on to the deck. I looked puzzlingly at the strange angle of the rigging. My mind would not register the severe degree of the list of the deck. Somehow Molino had driven the ship onto the reef. Instinctively, I knew that the dream had been well and truly shattered, and that it had turned into my worst nightmare.
Huge congrats on publications day to Benjamin Gohs. Out today and we are celebrating with a book blitz from Love Books Tours!
When 19-year-old Abeona Browne’s renowned abolitionist father Jon Browne dies in summer of 1860, devastating family secrets are revealed, and her life of privilege and naiveté in Southern Michigan becomes a frantic transatlantic search for answers—and someone she didn’t even know existed.
Still in mourning, Abeona sneaks aboard the ship carrying her father’s attorney Terrence Swifte and his assistant Djimon—a young man with his own secrets—on a quest to Africa to fulfill a dying wish.
Along the journey, Abeona learns of her father’s tragic and terrible past through a collection of letters intended for someone he lost long ago.
Passage to the Dark Continent is fraught with wild beasts, raging storms, illness, and the bounty hunters who know Jon Browne’s diaries are filled with damning secrets which threaten the very anti-slavery movement he helped to build.
Can Abeona overcome antebellum attitudes and triumph over her own fears to right the wrongs in her famous family’s sordid past?
So named for an African proverb, A Thin Porridge is a Homeric tale of second chances, forgiveness, and adventure that whisks readers from the filth of tweendecks, to the treachery of Cameroons Town, across the beauty of Table Bay, and deep into the heart of the fynbos—where Boer miners continue the outlawed scourge of slavery.
Benjamin J. Gohs is a longtime award-winning news editor whose investigative journalism has included stories of murder, sex-crime, historical discovery, corruption, and clerical misconduct. Benjamin now divides his time between writing literary thrillers and managing the community newspaper he co-founded in 2009.
Before Roxy found herself “Single in Buenos Aires,” she was a single girl in London in search of true love. The third installment of The Polo Diaries series takes us back to that time, and we follow Roxy as she hires a love coach to help her navigate the dating scene. But the love coach comes up with an unexpected assignment: reconnect to a long-forgotten passion. For Roxy this means horses. Within weeks, she finds herself playing polo, thanks to a series of unforeseen events.
Torn between her desire to become the best polo player she can be and the dream of falling in love, Roxy steps fully into the exciting and demanding world of polo, where injury and recovery mix with hard training, and where celebrating the victory of a tournament comes at a high price. Will Roxy eventually become the polo player she dreams to be? And with polo being such a demanding sport, can there be any space left for love?
Aussie Jill arrives in Edinburgh at Festival time, at the start of a gap year. Unfortunately, her boss at the temporary job she’s taken turns out to be her grumpy neighbour, Andrew, aka Mr Bossy. As the Festival fireworks explode over the city every night, they start to fall in love. Then Jill has to return suddenly to Australia. Can their budding romance survive or will the fireworks fizzle and die?
Extract
She wondered what Mr. MacCallum-Blair would be like. Late fifties, she thought, balding, with a large stomach and a pinstripe suit. Or perhaps fortyish with longish hair and lurid ties, a live-in girlfriend who works in advertising or as a model, and….
Jill was so busy conjuring up her new boss’s lifestyle that she had passed the number before she realised it. She quickly doubled back and ran up the broad steps to the entrance to number 76. According to the nameplate, MacCallum-Blair Enterprises was on the first floor. She buzzed and gave her name, then waited for the click of the door’s release.
She ran up the stairs and, as she turned to climb the final flight, she was surprised to see a woman sitting at a desk at the top of the stairs, watching her ascent.
‘Good morning,’ she said. ‘I take it you’re from the agency?’
‘Yes, I’m Jill Kennedy.’
The woman nodded. ‘Take a seat,’ she said, gesturing at an armchair in the corner next to a coffee table of glossy magazines.
Like an upmarket dentist’s, Jill thought, and I feel exactly as if I was going to have several teeth pulled.
The phone rang and, while the woman answered it, Jill took the opportunity to size her up. After all, she would probably be working quite closely with her. Early forties, neatly dressed in a dark blue trouser suit, with a pale lilac patterned blouse and wedding and engagement rings. Not the boss’s fancy woman. Probably the PA she was replacing had that role. Or maybe Mr. MacCallum-Blair was happily married. Here’s hoping, at any rate. She didn’t fancy having to cope with amorous advances as well as the new workload.
‘Mr. MacCallum-Blair will see you now.’ The woman pointed to a dark wooden door. ‘Just go in. He’s taking a call at the moment, but he won’t be long.’
Jill tapped on the door and went in. The room was dominated by two long picture windows, through which Jill could see the trees in the private gardens. A nice outlook for the boss then. In front of the windows was a wide, old-fashioned desk with a very modern laptop sitting on it. Mr. MacCallum-Blair had swivelled his chair round to face out of the window while he took the call. While he ummed and said ‘Right’ and ‘Fine’ to his caller, Jill took the opportunity to admire the high ceiling decorated with an elaborate cornice of grapes, vine leaves, and flowers, and a centrepiece, similarly decorated, surrounding the base of a chandelier.
It’s stunning, she thought, as she admired the crystal pendants waterfalling from their fixture. The light from the windows caught them, and glints flashed around the ceiling and walls. She was enchanted.
‘Good God, not you,’ said a voice.
Ann Burnett has been writing for many years and covers many genres. She wrote Postman Pat stories for a comic for five years, adapted Moomin stories as picture books, and scripted over 100 programmes for BBC children’s TV and radio. She also writes short stories and articles and has even tried poetry and drama!
Her latest writing is a contemporary romance, Festival Fireworks, for Ladybug Publications.
She was once almost sold to a Masai warrior for two cows but was only saved because her husband wouldn’t have been able to get the cows on the plane home!
Everything Is Better With Dragons 