Search results for ""The Book Guild Ltd""

1880s. When it got too cold outside to play lawn tennis, the British upper class brought the game inside, and Table Tennis was born. It was simple: all you needed was a table, a paddle, and a little ball. But in the years that followed, what started as a simple English game spiralled into a global phenomenonPing explores the seemingly innocent game of Ping Pong, where antisemitism and communism were intertwined from its beginnings in the 1880s to the 1970s when the U.S. opened diplomatic relations with China. Ping is a fictionalised account of this time and reveals the politics that ensued and the devastating fallout that followed.

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Lakeland Larks, Laughter and Lunacies is a quirky memoir poking fun at the travails and tribulations of Anna Nolan's car-less exploration of the Lake District, her home and playground, and reflecting her Polish ebullience.This exuberant and frolicsome book is shot through with humour, suffused with satire and drenched in comedy, striving to strike a balance between her mountain escapades and mishaps on one hand and jocular musings and satirical asides on the other. The latter touch on a wide range of topics including the hilarities arising out of culture clashes between native Britons and a foreigner in their midst, the quirks of human nature and the delights of a more mature age.Lakeland Larks, Laughter and Lunacies is a series of humorous anecdotes and witty digressions richly interspersed with comic verse with no particular chronology, which makes it perfect for being dipped in and out.

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William Dunbar, the younger son of a Scottish nobleman, craves wealth, and marriage seems to be his simplest way to achieve it.His pursuit eventually leads him to Mercy Grundy, an old maid in the eyes of mid-1740s society who fears lifelong spinsterhood. Her father has offered a substantial dowry to the man who will take her hand in marriage.For William, marriage to Mercy would be a match made in heaven. But for Mercy, who has succumbed to William's charms, would marrying him necessitate her taking one false step?

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Too Small for Physiotherapy is a frank and, at times, humorous account of Grace Dorey’s childhood, which was overshadowed by a very controlling mother and a wonderfully laid-back father, whom she adored. Her mother insisted that her home life was centred around Union Church in Totteridge. Grace desperately wanted to be a ballerina, but this was not encouraged and the door was sadly shut. Grace was persuaded by her mother to train to be a physiotherapist even though she had no idea what it was all about. After four hospitals in London refusing to accept her as she was very small, she was finally given a place to study physiotherapy by The London Hospital in Whitechapel. This book is the prequel to Rubbed Up the Wrong Way: A Physiotherapist’s Story.

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After fifteen years of (fairly) devoted parenting, a shocking incident forces mother-of-three and ex-psychologist, Sofia Gardner, to acknowledge that her former A-grade brain now contains absolutely nothing at all.Determined to validate her academic worth, Sofia embarks on an extraordinary journey to re-educate herself but as she delves deeper into the world of information, she unearths a good deal more than forgotten subject matter, unleashing disturbing realities regarding fidelity, memory, and the nature of truth itself.A darkly playful foray into the field of knowledge, Subjects offers a unique take on mid-life self-discovery for anyone out there still wondering who they are, what they really know, and where, exactly, what they thought they knew went.

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A Bit of Spirit and a lot of Spit is the emotional and empowering true story from Anna Mae, sharing with you her life experiences of love affairs, life observations and personal loss.Told from the heart, through a unique blend of prose and poetry, A Bit of Spirit and a lot of Spit was born from popular demand, after a successful poetry roadshow for charity in 2009. Her poems provoked both tears and laughter, in celebration and commemoration of her late son's 30th birthday.Within these pages lies the story between the poems.

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When recently widowed Kerry travels to St Ives, her main reason for visiting is to take the same boat trip that took her late husband's life in a horrific accident. Accompanied by her fiercely protective teenage son, Dan, Kerry sees the boat trip as the start of her healing process.But when Kerry meets Italian widower, Gian, this chance encounter releases a cascade of emotions that make her question her immediate choices and her future; not only for herself but also for Dan.Hers is a story of hope, of digging deep, of finding the strength and resolve to overcome one of the most difficult events in her life of losing her best friend and soul mate. She discovers that, during her holiday, her coping mechanism is helping Gian, who has his own battles to face.

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On a medieval world called Wayan, where wondrous beings unravel their destiny through Tarot reading, a powerful sorceress commits a shocking act by abducting the queen's young children and spiriting them away through enchanted portals. Their memories erased, the children grow up on Earth, oblivious to their heritage.Now, after twenty-one years of searching, opposing magical forces are racing to lay claim to Andrew and Amy. In a race against time, the siblings must embark on a perilous journey to rediscover their past and save their birth mother, Queen Lillian, from the grip of a malevolent star.A captivating tale of love and bravery, Tarot Crossing Worlds explores the unbreakable bonds of family and the extraordinary lengths we are willing to go to for the ones we love.

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When traumatised aid worker John Cousins arrives in north-east Africa he hopes to find a sense of personal peace among a gentle people rebuilding their lives following a bitter and prolonged war. In Eritrea he begins to forget his own emotional pain and lay to rest the ghosts of his previous mission in Pakistan. Will the work with fellow aid worker and nurse Hannah Johnson help heal the scars? And what is the secret of her own past?Cold Coffee in Asmara is a story of personal loss, redemption and love set against a backdrop of humanitarian work in a remote corner of the world where African, Arab and European influences collide.

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What A Wag! is an engaging collection of poems written from the dogs' perspective. It is the eighth book of original metric rhyming verse by Gill Rowe and contains beautiful hand-drawn illustrations.Starting with the Alaskan Malamute and Alsatian, What A Wag encapsulates the charming traits and personalities of fifty different dog breeds. Whether you're dotty about the Doberman, mad about Miniature Poodles or crazy for Cavapoos, there's truly something for everyone in this cheery homage to dogs.W

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On an archaeological dig in 1930s India, Rebecca pursues love but violence and a lone man on the mountain disrupt her plans. The excavations reveal dramatic finds but there is more danger present than Rebecca and the team realise. She must fight her way up the wild Indian coast to discover the truth. Almost eighty years later, Magsie also struggles north on her own journey - to Scotland. Driven onward by a story of shattered lives from her youth, she must save her grand-daughter from the prejudices of the 21st century.

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A special birthday deserves a special birthday treat! Olivia has just turned ten-years-old. Her father takes her to London for a fun day out in the big city.

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It's not all about winning, butJames Hogan's career as an English teacher is in tatters. All he has left is the boys' football team he coaches, but rival manager Kieran Butcher threatens to take that away too. After years of doing things the right way, he is determined to come out on top, by any means necessary.But just how far will James go to succeed?Single mother and police officer Hayley Birnham is worried about her career, her son, and the string of unusual crimes connected to the local football community.Fair is foul and foul is fair as James and Hayley try to balance doing the right thing with getting the right result. Game on.

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When Russian mafia boss Viktor Makarov attempts to muscle in on the lucrative and highly profitable Formula Super, a global motor racing empire, its founder and owner is forced to act. As death lurks on the high-speed circuits, hitman Jack Wyatt, a former CIA senior agent, is hired to eliminate the Russian threat.Meanwhile on the track, the fight for the world championship intensifies, with the leading drivers vying for the title. Among them is a tenacious American, the first female driver to compete at this level, but rumours swirl, suggesting that she only secured the drive because of her relationship with the team owner. Can she prove she's a formidable talent on the track?As the season-long rivalry among the drivers reaches its climax, Wyatt cunningly lures Makarov into a fight to the death, but the question remains, who will come out on top?

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Afghanistan, 2012. Mackay Connolly has been medically discharged from the British army following an IED explosion killing three members of his team. He barely survives. To keep Mackay alive, a cutting-edge synthetic bone structure called Phragazom is implanted. Back in the UK, PTSD engulfs him, leading to a deep depression. However, a budding friendship with Renee Cross, a wheelchair-bound military boxing instructor with her own traumatic past brings a glimmer of hope. When tragedy strikes again and Mackay’s brother and most of his family are killed at an Australian winery, he is driven to uncover the truth and find his surviving nephew. Together, Mackay and Renee embark on a quest, travelling from one corner of the world to the other to bring those responsible to justice. Mackay, however, has no idea how powerful his synthetic upgrade really is…

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It is late summer 1780 and Heathcliff leaves Wuthering Heights after overhearing Catherine say how it would degrade her to marry him. The few possessions he takes with him include an amulet; his only possession other than the rags he wore when found as an urchin in Liverpool. When he wears it, the amulet seems to bring him luck. Heathcliff travels to Liverpool, where he makes his way to India as a deck hand on a ship of the East India Company. On arrival in Madras, Heathcliff finds work, love and wealth, but will his luck last and will he ever be able to put his past behind him? Imagining the short period of Heathcliff’s absence in Emily Brontë’s acclaimed novel, Heathcliff’s Fortune depicts the events which sees him transformed from a rough farm boy to a wealthy gentleman, and relates how he acquired, in India, the great wealth that made enacting his terrible revenge on those who wronged him possible.

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Two tales of misadventure and crime, illustrating the role of both a church organ and its player and also of a lay Justice of the Peace, drawn from the author’s experiences in both title roles. In ‘The Organist’, a well-known elderly organist slumps into a coma while giving a recital to a packed church audience. The regular organist, a mysterious young lady, has vanished. In a plot that sweeps from a country town in England to the Rock of Gibraltar, the stakes could not be higher after nefarious plans which could lead to an international crisis are uncovered. ‘The Magistrate’ is an adventure tale of kidnap and revenge. When the Justice becomes the victim of a man who holds some kind of grudge against him, he unwisely pursues his own investigation. Contrasting characters then emerge to demonstrate the avenues open to magistrates to exercise common-sense justice while at the same time coping with the sorry state of the criminal justice system.

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It’s spring 2020 and fifteen-year-old Molly McFlynn is uprooted from town life by her mam to live with her bohemian grandparents in rural Northumberland. Molly is furious – her friends abandon her, the food is inedible and her grandmother is doing strange things in the garden at night. Life takes a new direction when she meets a girl in the woods who appears to be on the run. Martha is from the seventeenth century, and a life lived on the edge of society. She is fleeing from the witch finder and the men who have hurled her mother, Ann Watson, into the dungeons in Newcastle. As Molly’s friendship with Martha grows, Molly reconciles with her true self, develops a love of nature and moves away from her consumerist lifestyle. However, as Covid strikes, and a local witch hunt takes place, Martha’s is not the only life that is in danger. Molly must stand up for what is right, help heal family rifts and come to the rescue in a moment of peril. 'We all need a Molly in our lives. Brave and impetuous, with an honest, distinctive and timely voice, this girl is the real thing. I loved getting to know her.' Ann Coburn, author of Glint

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Body Cycles is a natural health plan that is practical, realistic and great fun, and will deliver excellent results that suit modern lives perfectly. Body Cycles brings the whole subject of seasonal health together into a single practical guide by celebrity wellness expert, Jacqueline Harvey, author of Your Health Is Your Wealth. The book informs your everyday health practices. It is not built on cutting things out, but is based on healthy eating, real fitness and mental wellness. With training plans, dietary advice and mental strategies to enhance your life, Body Cycles will help you to adopt a more balanced, stable and healthy lifestyle: Offering techniques to lift your mood, get fit and manage stress. Showing how to work at your best by aligning your life to the seasons. Teaching you how to work with your own individual cycle to cope with stress, maintain your emotional balance and build greater self-awareness. Bubbling with vitality and energy, Jacqueline will show you the way to living a healthier, more vibrant life!

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Ever since she turned eighteen and moved from an adolescent mental health ward to an adult one, Heather’s life has felt isolated and grey. She’d never attempt to suggest that climbing over the back fence of the hospital in the middle of the night is her sanest decision, but with a life that feels empty and a head full of memories that she doesn’t want to think about, she doesn’t feel like she has a choice. Heather is barely over the fence, however, when she meets Maeve. While, at first, Heather only allows Maeve to accompany her to keep the younger girl out of harm’s way, events soon lead to the lives of the two teenagers becoming increasingly entangled. As the night goes on, Heather is soon forced to consider who will be saving who.

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DCI Matthew McCallum is a cultured copper, overseeing major crime for Police Scotland in Edinburgh and surrounding areas. A few months from retirement, he is hoping for a quieter life, but another case of murder hits his desk, closely followed by two more cases. A man hanging in his house, a woman brutally stabbed to death and an arson attack on a community centre stretch his team to the limit. Devil symbology is left at each crime scene, leading them to conclude that they have a serial killer on their hands. Just as the situation threatens to get out of control, they catch a break and apprehend a suspect. However, it soon becomes clear that the person they have in custody is only one small part of a dark and disturbing plan. The killing doesn’t stop, leading Matthew and his team on a wild and frightening journey to discover the real reasons behind the murder spree. Will Matthew be able to crack The Devil’s Code?

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What’s a rock star to do when his talent fails him and his career has withered and died? Fed up with never-ending humiliations, Dave Masters fakes his own death in an attempt to boost his record sales, walking away from an industry that turned its back on him. But what’s a dead rock star to do when he realises too late that he can’t live without the stage? Dave decides to set up as his own tribute act, and starts all over, soon discovering that building a new life isn’t as easy as he might have thought. Dead Man Singing is a rollercoaster ride through Dave’s posthumous life; his brushes with fans, lovers, rivals, stalkers, gangsters, the law and the most dangerous enemy of all – himself. Can he come out of the other side of death alive?

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Why do Agatha Christie’s novels continue to inspire each generation? The answer is the quality and range of her puzzles: her rich and varied structures of deception. Christie broke the mould of detective fiction and rewrote the implicit rules of the whodunnit. Agatha Christie: Plots, Clues and Misdirections examines Christie’s skills as a whodunnit writer. It analyses her methods in setting her puzzles. It shows how she uses a combination of diverse plots, cunning clues and subtle misdirections. In the sheer variety and profusion of each of these elements Christie is without peer, and her combining genuine puzzles with entertaining narratives has never been surpassed. In this unique analysis of how Christie sets her puzzles, two medical professionals and enthusiastic Christie fans explore the greatest of Christie’s deceptions – the impression that her writing is simple.

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Can a love born in war survive the peace? A war-time romance, long-held secrets and a suspicious death disturb life in a quiet corner of rural America. And when the secrets are revealed, the pull of the past proves that belonging is more than just where one lives. When her American husband is found dead in a seemingly accidental drowning, Caroline writes home and asks her young cousin Elizabeth to join her. After Elizabeth arrives, Caroline is forced to reveal a secret she has held ever since she first met her husband in Devon during the war, nineteen years ago. Elizabeth’s arrival gives Caroline new hope. However, as suspicions grow around her husband’s death, Caroline realises she can never fully move on from her past. Torn between love and duty, she must make a terrible decision.

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As she awaits her execution at Oxford Castle, a newly wed woman from a God-fearing family, convicted for murdering her housemaid, is pardoned at the last minute by King George II. A butcher suddenly disappears and changes his identity after the tragic death of his young wife. A picture-frame maker from humble origins becomes ‘the richest man in Oxford’ and is at ease socialising with the luminaries of the Victorian art world. And a lovestruck local member of parliament with a serious gambling addiction dies in suspicious circumstances. These are some of the stories of individuals connected with the land and property on Middle Way in Summertown, Oxford, where the author now lives. The book presents an alternative history of Oxford and explores how Summertown evolved from being primarily an artisans’ village to becoming a well-heeled suburb of Oxford. Extensively referenced and using archival sources and interviews, a voice is also given to the living relatives of people connected with the land and property on Middle Way.

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After a botched spinal operation left her partially paralysed aged forty-five, Bizzie Frost found herself unable to enjoy the active lifestyle she loved in Saudi Arabia. That was remedied six years later when her airline captain husband, Frosty, proposed they buy a Harley-Davidson. An invitation to join friends on a 2,500km ride to Oman was irresistible and they bought a customised Road King. They named her Maridadi, meaning 'beautiful' in Swahili. Travels with Maridadi is an epic account of their adventures on Maridadi in Saudi Arabia, a country rarely visited by outsiders during the thirty years that Bizzie called it home. Riding pillion with Frosty, she travelled thousands of kilometres across the deserts and mountains of the Kingdom, as well as other Middle Eastern countries. Her stories and photographs breathe life into the scenery, people and culture of the Kingdom, and convey the freedom and healing power of motorcycling on the open road.

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The thistle plant has a beautiful bloom, but it is protected by sharp barbs and prickly leaves. How many blooms would be plucked if not for those organic fortifications? Thistle, a name she adopts for herself, is an emotionally damaged young woman who experiences abuse, abandonment and loneliness in her childhood. As she attempts to move beyond her traumatic past, Thistle develops complex relationships with two other women, Hilary and Fliss. Set against the social landscape of the 1970s and 80s, this sensitive and considered psychological drama explores themes of friendship, self-discovery and the female experience. As in real life, there is humour and pathos. The novel invites the reader to consider the circumstances which lead its characters to make the decisions that they do and to empathise with their personal conflicts.

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An engaging story of life and death, An Odd Undertaking features Bill Wood’s memories of his career as an undertaker in London during the 1990s. From learning the trade, to the challenging work of body removal, to humorous tales about what happens when things don’t go quite as planned, this is a thoroughly entertaining and thought provoking read. Follow Bill in the wake of the Grim Reaper as he meanders through topics as varied as funerals, exhumations and mortuary tales, while respecting the solemnity of death and quelling some of the myths and misunderstandings about undertakers and funerals along the way. An Odd Undertaking is a book that is as much about life as it is about death, a fascinating read on an unusual topic.

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A bittersweet love story exploring why good people sometimes do bad things… Millie Malone, a spirited, thirty-something journalist returns home to Northern Ireland after a life-changing decision leaves her London life in ruins. A family reunion soon unravels, opening old wounds and igniting new grievances regarding the murder of her father by the IRA decades earlier. Retreating to the family cottage in Donegal, Millie soon meets Finn McFall, a fisherman originally from west Belfast, who loves to paint and recite Irish poetry. In the new modern Ireland, Millie believes religion is no longer a barrier for love. But she soon finds home is a place still struggling with a fragile peace and simmering sectarianism. As events unfold, Millie is forced to decide between love and loyalty, eventually having to ask herself the ultimate question: can love really conquer all?

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Richard Trahair shares an insider's experience of the wide-ranging 'goings on' in a large Church of England diocese in the south of England from the 1980s. As estate manager - Diocesan Property Secretary - for more than thirty years, he reflects on the astonishing range of characters he worked alongside, and the diverse buildings and land for which he was responsible. Richard delves into the nature of a parsonage house, its parish loyalties, and the keen controversy over selling the grand old houses and replacing them with smaller ones so that the impoverished clergy and their families can at least keep warm. Both people and places were a heady mix of the delightful, the worthy, the curious and the downright eccentric. With encounters recounted that range from wacky and hilarious, to thought-provoking and historical, catch a glimpse into the life of a twenty-nine-year-old surveyor in a diocesan office dominated by retired military gentlemen, rattling around in a huge 15th century former city workhouse, as he grows into his role.

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Often more interesting than great battles, royal weddings or grand state occasions are the weird and wonderful tales of ordinary folk. These memories turn into valuable currency as our familiar world is vandalised in the name of progress… Rantings of the Loon Pant King is a flippant, irreverent and tongue-in-cheek account of Tex Austin’s 'madventures' touring with various 1960s Beat Groups and Mod Bands. After this Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster ride ended he became a fashion guru and the guy who invented loon pants in the early 1970s. Admittedly a dubious claim to fame, but to be fair, absolutely everybody was wearing these outrageous bell-bottoms at the time and many people made a fortune flogging good old loons. Originally sold from the back of a minivan at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival featuring The Who and Hendrix, sales went stratospheric when they hit London’s Kensington Market. Flying off shelves nationwide, the loon pant became iconic throughout the UK as the 'post hippie' uniform, staying in style for half a decade before being displayed at the V&A Museum… Tex reveals all this plus a zillion more rants and escapades on his loony trip.

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Yeti (male 28) seeks mate. Can be seen Christmas/Easter roaming Ben Nevis, Snowdon some weekends in between. Migrates to Alps around June. Very friendly, generally harmless, except on ski-slopes. Very safe experienced motorcyclist Britain and abroad – would get sidecar, if nagged. Please write. . . (Personal ad published in a national mountaineering magazine.) From an asthmatic childhood spent on post-war Birmingham bomb-sites, Mike Leaver escaped from cruel State boarding schools to careers as a lab technician, accountant, pleasure-boat captain, and local builder. Mike has also been: a homeless hermit inhabiting a derelict boat surrounded by drug addicts; an adventurer/mountaineer in the UK, Scandinavia, and North Africa; and finally, a semi-retired handyman writing books while enjoying an ideal life off-grid in a converted lorry in a pretty coastal town. Embark on an extraordinary journey of an eccentric pursuing dreams of love, writing and the path to happiness in a memoir that’s as charming as it is quirky.

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38-year-old Hawkwind fan and Stoneway’s removal porter Peter Booth has recently split up with long-time girlfriend, Sarah, and finds himself in a tiny studio flat, self-confidence dwindling and alcohol levels rising. Possible salvation appears in the form of Stoneway’s new employee, the attractive and sophisticated, Emily. A relationship tentatively blossoms but Peter is aghast to learn that Emily’s baggage not only includes her over-protective and impudent teenage son, Charlie but also her jealous ex-husband, the notorious local crime lord, Ray Henderson. Peter finds himself unwittingly dragged into an underworld of sexual intrigue, blackmail and murder. Set against the backdrop of council estates, squats, pubs, café’s, Saturday afternoon football and the omnipresent humour of removal men, No Lift and No Stairs is a romcom thriller full of colourful characters that won’t let the reader rest until the very last page.

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This book is aimed at fuelling the transformation that the best and most successful organisations are seeking from their leaders. The transformation that leaders with the most passion and potential are demanding from their organisations. To enable positive culture change and create fulfilling, rewarding and enjoyable work environments. Leadership which drives successful outcomes for people, customers and shareholders/stakeholders: Making their organisation a more positive place Building highly motivated teams of people who love coming to work Leading effective organisations to achieve amazing things Promoting and valuing a healthy lifestyle and a decent work-life balance. Positive People Leadership provides leaders with fifty different ways to challenge and develop themselves – to enable them to become a 'Positive People Leader' and revolutionise themselves and their organisations. "Three decades of experience distilled into fifty ways to create fulfilling and enjoyable work environments. The benefit of this precise structure is that the pragmatism and experience revealed in Rowe’s text rises to the surface without being hindered by graphics, tables, case studies and all the other paraphernalia that pads out most management books… A useful tool for engineering managers everywhere." Nick Smith, Engineering & Technology magazine

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Maggie Greville lived in obscurity, until her father William McEwan changed everything. He was a self-made man, controller, and philanthropist, who staged the rise of Maggie A to Maggie G. Power, money, and tutoring created the new modern emancipated woman, who bought her own house in her own name (Polesden Lacey), even though she had a husband. Thrown into a world of opulently dressed aristocrats, royalty and maharajahs, politics and charity combined with money, initiated success. The Long Walk at Polesden Lacey became a secret political venue, away from prying eyes and ears. With close connections to Edward VII, George V and Queen Mary, George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and International Royalty, Maggie acted as the new manipulator at court to gain international recognition. The far-reaching effect of the procurement of money, and power in its various aspects, was demonstrated so clearly by Maggie G – the lady who made a difference.

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Joined by something that can inflict change on an unimaginable scale, the creatures of the Field must put aside their differences to avoid losing everything. The world is a field, the parts of the field – the Hedgerow, Copse, Riverbank and more – are countries and the different creatures who call them home are us. Like us, these creatures become ever more reliant upon one another and, through trial and error, have to learn how to live together, which often involves conquest and bloody fighting.

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Some strangers are dangerous, some embody kindness. Joanna can survive only by learning who is who, and which is which, before it is too late. Get ready to expose the hidden reality of a cosy society that cannot see beyond labels, stigma and prejudice. Institutions are failing, and at the centre of that failure is a socially isolated and lonely misfit girl called Joanna. In a world hidden by a veneer of respectability and insipid social consequence, join Joanna on her quest for survival, identity and independence as she discovers how slavery and insidious cruelty envelops the vulnerable. The abandoned child in search of her mother rages against the establishment, and in doing so uncovers a slave racket embedded in the affluent South East of England. The unwanted are snared by their circumstances. The rigid rule of law that prohibits their freedom creates ideal conditions for the slave-masters to prosper.

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Ollie & Ada cross paths in a bereavement support class. There's an instant attraction but both are lost broken souls who need to find the road to recovery. Despite the tragic environment they find themselves in, they hope together that love can heal heartache but in this most delicate and challenging of environments, danger lurks at every turn. Will they push each other along, or will the demands of a new relationship cause them to crash and burn as crushing grief threatens to take over everything consuming them both? They will need to find strength, courage and rediscover their self-worth. The path of true love seldom runs smoothly. Can the pair leap from trauma to tranquillity or will fate have other ideas? One thing is for sure, life will never be the same again...

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Set in the Indonesian rainforest, Blind Eye is a fast-paced political environmental thriller exploring moral predicaments and personal choices. Ben is an economist whose life is falling to pieces. The last thing he needs right now is to compile a report for the government on sustainable exportation of timber from Indonesia. But he has got to keep the pennies rolling in. Everyone seems to have an angle. The Government want trade, the businessmen want low-cost products, the environmentalists want to maintain endangered habitats and one young woman, Yulia, is determined to protect communities. Ben rushes through the report, but then tragedy hits. A community is shattered, and Ben realises, there is no staying neutral. He has a part to play in the global picture. "A compelling environmental thriller that underscores the challenge of combating environmental degradation in the face of powerful interests." Lord Jonny Oates, Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson on Energy and Climate Change "Your book had a different meaning to me than for other readers. For me it is real." Dr Leonie van der Maesen, Life-long campaigner to save forests.

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After his mom dies, PJ reluctantly leaves his New York home and everyone he loves, to live with his Aunt Katie in Edinburgh. A series of strange events begin when his aunt's elderly neighbour and her cat Azrael convince him that his mom, weirdly, is still very much with him. At a bereavement counselling group, PJ makes a new group of friends, all of whom have lost loved ones. Drawn together by their shared experiences, they soon discover they have something else in common, an interest in the supernatural. Freya is the daughter of a white witch, Sunny has a scientific and enquiring mind and Shuggie, a superfan of ghost hunting programmes. Led by PJ, they try to prove that there is life after death and that their loved ones are still with them. But will they succeed in a fight of good against evil? “If you are, or know someone who is a teenager with a newfound interest in the supernatural and paranormal, this is the book for you.” The Courier and Advertiser (Fife Edition) “PJ and his friends make a great group of characters, and there’s lots of laughter to be had as well as scares, while ‘auld reekie’ provides the perfect backdrop for these ghostly goings-on.” LoveReading4Kids & LoveReading4Schools “This is a terrific story for teen readers to devour on a spooky autumn evening.” The School Librarian (TSL)

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Take One, Action! takes you behind the scenes of swordplay in film – written by professional swordsman and film director Andy Wilkinson who has appeared in over seventy-three films, including many Hollywood blockbusters. Part memoir, part film and swordplay manual, this is a must read for all aspiring actors, swordsmen, fight choreographers and film directors. It will also appeal to theatre, film and fencing students, entertainment historians and those who thirst for an insight into the world of swordsmen and the art of making movies. It also incorporates intriguing nuggets of information from both swordplay and film worlds, such as: Why do spiral staircases rise clockwise? Which Hollywood star was a British Army fencing champion? Where did the term slapstick originate? With advice, anecdotes, a valuable guide to fencing terminology and illustrated with photos, this is an unusual guide to a greatly misunderstood art.

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The first-ever complete study of the Aldwych farce films (1924-1954) and the plays they were based on. The thirteen Aldwych farces were phenomenally successful in the West End between 1922 and 1933. The stars - Ralph Lynn, Tom Walls and Robertson Hare transferred their work to the screen equally successfully in the early 1930s. With humour that relied more on characterisation and clever wordplay than slapstick, they became top stars of the new sound films, 'talkies'. Also covered in the book are the screen originals written for the team by Ben Travers, the 1930s solo vehicles for both Lynn and Walls, and the later plays and films in which Hare appeared with Alfred Drayton. Each of the forty-eight films featured in the book is described in full, with its cast, credits, plot, history, availability and reviews. Ninety short profiles of the personnel involved (stars, leading ladies, supporting actors, playwrights, screenwriters, producers and directors) are included, as well as 200 rare illustrations.

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Randal Forbes calls his phenomenal telepathic powers 'the gift'. In this third book of the Poetic Justice series, he achieves widespread fame, as an author and entrepreneur. He has left a complex trail of murder and shattered lives behind him, from his formative years at Tarnside Primary School, Redwood Private School and through his university education at Beaumont College, Oxford. The police are closely monitoring his movements but has anything been proved? His relationship with Clive Hargreaves is still thriving, as he remains his devoted partner and protector. His wife-to-be, Alison Whitaker, is unaware of 'the gift' but those who are suspicious, still wish to discredit and expose him. Randal Forbes has a dark side so powerful, that only someone with a similar 'gift' will be able to challenge him. But who would dare?

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London, 1858. Passionate, contradictory, and fiercely loyal to his friends, John Ruskin is an eccentric genius, famed across Britain for his writings on art and philosophy. Haunted by a scandalous past and determined never to love again, the thirty-nine-year-old Ruskin shuns polite society in favour of a quiet existence at Denmark Hill, the home he shares with his domineering parents. Reluctantly accepting a request by an Irish aristocrat to tutor her daughters in art, Ruskin becomes infatuated with his enigmatic student, Rose La Touche, an obsession with profound consequences that will change the course of his life and work. Unto This Last is a portrait of Ruskin’s tormented psyche and reveals a complex and misunderstood soul, longing for a life just out of reach.

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Twelve-year-old Marius is on the run from the Government. He’s the only one in the whole nation that values his sense of humour. Everyone else was de-humoured at birth – well, most people were. Yet somehow with Marius there was a glitch. He is captured on the run, but this time it’s not the soldiers. He has been taken by The Funnies – renegades who, like him, somehow escaped the ‘zappers’ at birth, but were betrayed by their loved ones. Marius meets their leader – Clown, plus Punchline, Slapstick, Stand-Up, Dummy (and his wooden owl, Too-Wit), Corny, Sick, Sarky, Mimic, Poo (yes, sorry) and Mime. He is entranced – kindred spirits – fellow laughers. His loyalties are put to the test when The Funnies snatch his best friend Peter, humourless son of Mr. J, the Deputy Minister of Humour. Marius dreams of being able to make Peter laugh. Could the de-humouring be reversible and if so, could he restore the humour of an entire population?

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Some of Millions is a collection of personal real-life stories from people who have struggled with various forms of mental health challenges - psychosis, anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder. They share what it feels like to have various experiences of mental distress, their strategies for managing their symptoms and how to approach their futures. With mental health issues currently affecting one in four of us, Some of Millions is an inspiring collection of stories - from breakdown to breakthrough!

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A fast-paced action thriller inspired by real events in the aftermath of the Iraq War. With Saddam Hussein deposed and an entire country in need of rebuilding, former Royal Marine John Pierce hears the siren call of adventure and opportunity. His fledgling UK business is struggling to support his young family and he has connections in the Iraqi capital – fate seems to point one way. In early 2004, Pierce rolls the dice when he jumps into a taxi in Jordan and heads for the turmoil of postwar Baghdad to grab a share of the reconstruction gold rush. But when Iraq spirals into the hell of a full-blown insurgency, he must rely on his wits and his local friends if he's to evade the rampant bloodshed. As the action rolls across the blood-stained Iraqi landscape and embraces London’s seedy underbelly, Pierce tangles with the authorities at home and finds himself thrust into the heart of British and American covert operations against Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Having set out with little more than ambitious goals and an appetite for risk, can a determined ex-bootneck survive the mounting chaos unscathed and succeed in hitting the jackpot? Jack Leavers is a former Royal Marine with over thirty-years’ experience working in the military, private security, corporate investigations, maritime counter-piracy, and risk management. His varied career has included numerous deployments to conflict zones around the world such as Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan, trouble spots in Africa, and the Somali pirate-infested waters of the Indian Ocean. He continues to work in challenging environments and has now begun to pen novels inspired by some of the more enterprising projects that got the green light and other audacious plans that didn’t. When knuckling down to write, he is normally based in London, UK.

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Delirium Diaries is a gripping medical memoir that chronicles Pete Mackenzie Hodge's unlikely survival in the ICU during a near-fatal illness, followed by the drama and sometimes comic absurdity of deep psychosis.Offering hope for a post-COVID readership seeking connection and understanding, it explores the contrast between the comfort of home and the sterile hospital environment, from an innocent swim to an induced coma. Pete shares a tale of love and resilience, emphasising the power of sheer grit and determination in defying the odds.In an era shaped by the aftermath of COVID-19, this memoir provides insight into the human experience, bridging the gap between curiosity and understanding amidst the chaos of uncertainty and upheaval.

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