Birdie Bagshaw has never known her parents. Having grown up in a children’s home for mixed race children in 1950s Leeds, now she has come to live with her great-aunt in the Yorkshire Dales. From her arrival, Birdie is treated like an outsider by the local children. When their bullying drives Birdie to hide in the nearby coal mine, she finds an unexpected rescuer in the form of Mr Duke, the last remaining pit pony in the village. As the weeks pass, Birdie forms a special bond with the spirited little pony. But his future is in danger, and Birdie comes up with a daring plan to save his life in return . . .
Out Now: 16th September Genre: Children’s Fiction Ages: 2-5 years
Blurb
Ellie’s plans for a fun day at the park are dampened by the rain. So when Patrick suggests gymnastics instead, Ellie embarks on a new adventure filled with trampolines, beams, and monkey bars.
Will Ellie have the courage to try something new?
This is a story about being brave, facing your fears, and believing in yourself.
Author bio
Emily Bardwell is a first-time author of the children’s picture book, ‘Ellie the Crocodile goes to gymnastics’.
Working in Social Media Marketing, she has a passion for writing and storytelling. Her book was inspired by her own children, who from a young age, would regularly ask her to tell them stories.
A little crocodile named “Ellie” came to mind, and she began telling them all about an adventure she went on with her animal friends.
For over a year, whenever her children had a quiet moment, they’d ask her to tell them an, “Ellie Crocodile story”.
And so Ellie and her adventures became part of their family. She went everywhere with them; camping, bedtimes, doctor’s surgeries, long car journeys.
Until one day, she decided to start writing them down. ‘Ellie the Crocodile goes to gymnastics’ is her debut story.
Emily lives in Surrey (UK) with her husband and two children.
Enjoy a visit to the idyllic Cotswolds where the blackberry jam is delicious, the pumpkins are ripe and a killer is plotting death.
Vivian Plover is an unlikely murderer but needs must. If her bumbling husband is ever going to reach the exalted office of Lord-Lieutenant, Vivian, in sensible shoes, twin set and pearls has some murderous work to do. She is beset by challenges, from her godson’s fake fiancée to Dee’s meddling.
With the worthies of Little Warthing falling foul of accidents, can Dee FitzMorris thwart her scheme or will she find herself yet another victim?
Rarely has murder been so amusing.
Indulge in this quirky and humorous cozy crime novel that will keep you entertained from start to finish. Set in modern-day England, amidst the charming British Cotswold countryside, “Season for Murder” delivers a captivating blend of mystery and comedy. With its light-hearted atmosphere and engaging whodunit plot, this British detective series is a must-read for fans of cozy crime murder mysteries.
Season For Murder – excerpt
Vivian Plover liked graveyards, especially this one in Little Warthing. She approved of the magnificent medieval church at its heart, famous for being the finest in all of the Cotswolds.The graveyard was a benign resting place, neatly measured out by Victorian railings on three sides and flanked on the fourth by a burbling river, on which glided a pair of swans enjoying the autumn sunshine. The graves were politely placed side by side. Vivian found it comforting that their respective size denoted the social importance of each occupant.
Even in death, breeding will out.
Vivian shifted her miserly weight on the bench beneath the giant yew tree which looked out at the sea of graves. Her uninspiring hair and features were groomed to the point of stiffness and her painfully appropriate clothes added to her air of rigidity. Only her thoughts were original. It’s reassuring that on my whim anyone I choose can end up here. She smiled.
PUBLICATION DATE: 1 DECEMBER 2023 HARDBACK ORIGINAL | £16.99 | ORENDA BOOKS
Blurb
When Óttar Karlsson B OOK S , a wealthy and respected government official and businessman, is found murdered, after failing to turn up at his own surprise birthday party, the police are at a loss. It isn’t until young police officer Sigurdís finds a well-hidden safe in his impersonal luxury apartment that clues start emerging.
As Óttar’s shady business dealings become clear, a second, unexpected line of enquiry emerges, when Sigurdís finds a US phone number in the safe, along with papers showing regular money transfers to an American account.
Following the trail to Minnesota, trauma rooted in Sigurdís’s own childhood threatens to resurface and the investigation strikes chillingly close to home…
Atmospheric, deeply unsettling and full of breakneck twists and turns, Dead Sweet is a startling debut thriller that uncovers a terrifying world of financial crime, sinister cults and disturbing secret lives, and kicks off a mind-blowing new series.
Genre: Sci-fi / Fantasy Pages: 413 Publisher: Vulpine Press
Blurb
In 2030 Dr. Marc Walker discovered the cure for cancer. In his genetic research, Walker unexpectedly uncovers the answers to humankind’s most significant questions locked deep within the DNA code of every human being: Who made us? What are we? Where are we going?
The answers bring together Dr. Walker; his twin brother Jon, a decorated war hero; Alana, one of the top US female Olympic athletes; and Aaron, an assassin working for a shadowy government group called The Order, as the unlikely last line of defence against the greatest threat to humanity … its creator.
While fighting against powerful forces attempting to exterminate human life and colonize Earth, the four face the reality of their distrust of mankind. Their struggle to answer the question, “Is humanity worth saving?” will ultimately decide the fate of the human race. The human species is on trial—and the verdict will determine the future of life as we know it.
The Family: Tempest is the shocking, suspenseful story of the universal conflicts of racism, slavery, terrorism, and, ultimately, survival, both on Earth and beyond.
Author Bio:
Luke Lively worked as a bank executive for over thirty years, leading three banks as CEO. Following his career in financial services, Luke pursued his passion for writing. In 2009 his first novel, A Questionable Life, was published by Beaufort Books, earning excellent reviews. The Family: Tempest is the first book in a planned trilogy. Luke enjoys time with his family, living on the US East Coast.
Denver Bryant’s passion for pie has sent him across Wyoming in search of the best slices. Though he dutifully posts reviews on his blog, he’s never been able to recreate his brief moment of viral popularity, and its trickling income isn’t enough to pay his rent next month.
Driving home from a roadside diner, Denver witnesses a UFO explode directly over his tiny town of Muddy Gap. When he questions his neighbors, it appears that Denver is the only person to have seen anything – or to care that the residents’ strange behavior, as well as a shower of seashell hail, might be evidence of something extraterrestrial. Being both non-binary and autistic, he’s convinced his reputation as the town eccentric is impeding his quest for answers. Frustrated, he documents the bizarre incidents on his failing pie blog, and his online popularity skyrockets. His readers want the truth, spurring him to get to the bottom of things.
The only person in town who takes him seriously is handsome bartender, Ezra. As the two investigate over pie and the possibility of romance, the alien presence does more than change the weather. People start disappearing. When Denver and Ezra make a run for it, the town refuses to let them leave. Reality is folding in on itself. It’s suddenly a race against time to find the extraterrestrial source and destroy it before it consumes not only Muddy Gap but everything beyond. Denver’s always been more outsider than hero, but he’s determined to ensure that a world with Ezra – and with pie – still exists tomorrow.
Key Lime Sky is the second book from AL Hess at Angry Robot – check out his previous work, World Running Down.
Al Hess is also a fantastic artist – check out his instagram!
Lost among the dune-swept ruins of ancient glass towers, 14-year-old Spiric hunts for his stolen memories. Guided by the exiled scholar that found him, he embarks on a perilous journey across the Droughtlands to uncover his origins.
He’s told his red eyes mark him as a Hytharo, one of the long-extinct storm callers that sealed all water into the air itself before they were erased from history. In the thousand years since, thirst has been quenched simply by breathing, but that hasn’t stopped the surviving runic peoples from wanting water any less.
For without it, there’s no ink, no runes, no magic, and in the vast desert wastes of the Droughtlands, magic means power.
To Spiric, the mantra is eerily familiar.
Word of his presence ripples across the Droughtlands and pressure mounts on him to reverse the Hytharo’s final, sacrificial act. It’s only as his memories begin to return that he realises the true reason his people were wiped out.
With the fragments of Spiric’s memories growing bloodier and more desperate, he must determine whether carrying out his supposed fate will cause history to repeat, or if he can forge a new destiny, both for himself and the Droughtlands.
Author Bio:
Jonathan Weiss is an Australian Fantasy and Science Fiction author of The Flux Catastrophe and The First Hytharo series. He has a background in Journalism and commercial cloud sales and lives with his wife and three budgies in the Illawarra region of New South Wales.
