The death of her beloved father, has left artistic and idealistic Tempera and her stunning, scatterbrained stepmother Lady Rothley bereft not only of love but also of money. So when Lady Rothley's womanly wiles attract an invitation from none other than the Duke of Chevingham to join him in the South of France, it's a Godsend. At last ? the prospect of a handsome, aristocratic suitor for Tempera's Belle-m?re who would keep them both in the style to which they would dearly love to be re-acquainted To arrive without a lady's maid is inconceivable ? to afford one impossible. So Tempera escorts her Belle-m?re in the guise of a servant and attempts to coach her in fine art, the Duke's consuming passion. While her stepmother flirts with C?te D?Azur society Tempera contents herself with capturing the local flora's beauty on canvas. And when the flair she inherited from her father captivates and mystifies the magnificent Duke, something stirs in Tempera that she has never felt before. Is it love? Or is it betrayal?

If Fiona was surprised when she inherited Claymore Hall she was even more surprised to find that she had two sitting tenants in the form of mother and son. Yet upon meeting Bertha Carpenter she wondered whether she should have followed her partner's advice and sold the place, but then Clive's eyes had registered like a cash machine at the time. Not that he was prepared to give up his quest however but by this time other characters had appeared on the scene; the man in charge of plotting a route for pylons to serve the National Grid; a secretive character by the name of James Fuller and not least William Carpenter himself who apparently had interests of his own! Thus perhaps the scene was now set for even more sinister happenings destined to disturb the peace of the tranquil Scottish countryside beset now with gold mining rumours. Events that followed forced Fiona into becoming involved as well as falling in love quite unexpectedly!

Baxter Bixley (Two Xs if you please) wins 16 million pounds on the National Lottery. So begins the transition from shop sweeper to multi-millionaire. Not only that but Baxter, unwanted and friendless, finds true companionship in the shape of an aged and diminutive pensioner called Hugo Harper. Together they share a series of adventures that stretch from his end-of-terrace house in Neasden to Venice, Milan and Monte-Carlo. Hugo and Baxter meet many people on their travels including such illustrious names as Lana Turner, Rex Harrison and Alfred Hitchcock. Jane Eyre and James Cagney together with a baby called Dolores and another baby called David Copperfield join in en route as does a fluffy dog aptly named Fluffy. Ava Gardner and The Queen have walk on parts as does Roy Rogers and Tony Blair. It could be true. But I doubt it!

Eviscerated Panda are a newly formed thrash metal band. They are the brainchild of ageing lead guitarist Phil Winter. They represent his big hope for regaining his former musical self-esteem and his luck with the ladies. Phil had to hastily exit stage left from his last band when his dalliances with the drummer's fiancee were discovered. Young singer and underachiever Nick loves the band because it provides an escape from his dull job in a supermarket. For rhythm guitarist Ian it's all he's ever wanted to do. For bass player Jim it's a pleasant hobby, at least to begin with. For drummer Paul it's a step up from being in a covers band and a sometime causer of arguments between him and his wife. A band is much more than just the musicians in it, it's a whole ecosystem. A female perspective is given by close friends Cleo and Jenni as the Pandas play to and hang out with an audience comprised of friends, fans, wives, girlfriends, future girlfriends, lovers, promoters, other bands, interested spectators and uninterested spectators. After a nervous first gig in their native Reading they play in Swindon, Coventry, Oxford, Dudley, Brighton, Birmingham and Camden. In between gigs they mostly go to the pub, eat biscuits, record an E.P, read a girl's guide to heavy metal written by Cleo, practice and make grandiose plans for their future. Occasionally they get laid. Even more occasionally they get paid to play. This is a niche novel and proud of it. If you like heavy metal and reading books which are not designed for education nor enlightenment then this is for you.

Sir Hereward Grantley is angry, as usual. A bad tempered man with little to commend him, he is determined that his niece, the orphaned Diona, will understand the great favour he has done by offering her a home. Never missing an opportunity to mention Diona's penniless status and dependency, her uncle is an arrogant bully. Diona, aghast at being thrust into a world of unkindness and bullish behaviour after the love in her parent's home, mourns their loss and clings to the last thing that her popular, horse-loving papa gave her beloved Dalmatian, Sirius. But no misdemeanor is safe from the mean attentions of Sir Grantley, especially when his sly son Simon is there to pour fuel onto the fire. So when Sirius accidently breaks an ornament, Simon sees his opportunity to avenge Diona for rejecting his fumbled attempts to grab a kiss, by telling his father that the dog is a menace and should be shot. Traumatised at the thought of losing her dog, Diona decides that she can no longer take the misery of Grantley Hall and flees. Scared, but certain that fate is guiding her to safety she seeks refuge with the handsome Marquis of Irchester. A confirmed bachelor and friend of the Prince of Wales, the Marquis has become used to a life of pleasure amongst the Beau Monde following the privations of the war in which he distinguished himself. A prized catch amongst Society debutantes and wealthy widows alike, he has so far managed to evade being trapped, whilst enjoying the companionship of some of the most beautiful women in London. But when touchingly innocent, educated and ethereal Diona begs him for a job, she provokes protective feelings in the Marquis that he didn't realise he had. Accepting her wish to remain anonymous, he admires her determination to save her beloved dog, and swears to prevent anyone harming her or Sirius. But can Diona remain anonymous once her uncle starts looking for her? And just how far will the Marquis go to protect a girl he doesn't know? As fate throws Diona an unexpected wild card the pressure is on and faith, loyalty and true love will all be tested to the ultimate limits.

The sun dipped behind a cloud and made a mirror of his computer screen. He saw a pair of eyes, his eyes. But they were elongated, angled and a deep, angry red...Thame is, on the surface, an average guy. Suffocated by the politics of his city job and his increasingly complicated love life, he seeks refuge in his weekend football and the hope that there is, somewhere, something more for him. He has always felt that underneath he is special; destined for greatness. As his world becomes darker and his frustrations grow, this sense of difference grows more powerful. Daydreams are no longer idle fantasy but visions of a dark history; his reflection in the bathroom mirror is no longer quite...human. What beast lurks beneath the man? Why is he being watched? And what terrible consequences accompany the fulfilment of his ancient destiny?

They say that crime doesn't pay, but somebody has forgotten to tell the criminals! Burglary, drugs, car theft and anti-social behaviour are all in a day's experience on the Belthorpe Estate in Leeds. However, some people have had enough and are fighting back, taking the law into their own hands. Who is behind the vigilante attacks? And what happens when the forces of law and order can't, or wont, do anything about it? Welcome to Bandit Country...From the killing ground of Northern Ireland at the height of 'The Troubles' to the mean streets of a contemporary housing estate, and with the War on Terror as its backdrop Bandit Country takes us on one man's journey through modern Britain - a Britain where people live with the stress of economic meltdown and lawlessness on the streets. But what lies at the heart of this journey is a quest for justice that will, in the end, threaten to reveal the deepest, darkest secrets at the heart of modern government. Will those secrets be revealed, or will the journey end as it began, in an explosion of death and destruction...

The Adventure is a highly comical account of a quest to seek and locate ancient lost treasure. The mastermind and mentor behind this odyssey is a rather eccentric, unorthodox wizard, who is always comically human, even slipshod, but nonetheless very omniscient too. The central characters, who are very bizarre to say the least, encounter the wizard immediately after he has dynamically slain a dragon. They then deign to form an allegiance with him and to journey with him through a multi-dimensional fantasy world, which is just as monstrous as it is enchanting. They encounter many wild and wonderful things on their way, but ultimately find themselves hopelessly and, even hysterically lost the vast majority of the time. Of course, the wizard is never responsible.

The last person that teenage twins, Vicky and Josh, expected to meet when they moved to the New Forest was a time-shifter. But Julius has been looking for them because he needs their help: he wants to stop the Titanic from colliding with an iceberg! He takes them back in time to Cherbourg on April 10th 1912 where they board the great ship in a desperate attempt to save the lives of over 1500 people. Determined to stop them is another family of time-shifters who have their own reasons for wanting the ship to sink. The adventurers meet and befriend the actual people who were on the Titanic, including the officers, crew and passengers. Armed with the knowledge of hindsight, can they prevent the collision and how will the experience change their lives? Julius and the Titanic will captivate anyone who wants to discover more about what happened that fateful night of 14th April 1912 as well as fans of time-travelling.

When Becky Ferguson left her teaching post as well as her current boyfriend to move north in order to look after her father she firmly believed that she had finished with men. Not so, however, as she was soon to find out and what was more in the most unorthodox of fashions; for the men who now invaded her life after first receiving the mysterious note pushed through her door, consisted of a variety of characters, not all of whom were acceptable. Even so there was the one called Martin, who after involving her with that research cell in the Lake District; she was to discover that the solar flares he spoke about were not all astronomical. Unfortunately however events are seldom destined to run smoothly and with the advent of others from a past life, Becky realised that she was in grave danger of losing Martin. But Becky still had friends, one in particular who quickly guessed her secret and moreover felt determined to do something about it.

"Yitzhak and I still keep in touch and exchange Christmas and Jewish New Year cards. He now has four daughters, but still no son as insurance against his old age. I make no secret of the fact I rate Mossad very highly. Mossad's intelligence gathering capabilities are second to none. They allegedly informed the CIA and FBI in August 2001 that as many as two hundred terrorists were on US soil. Mossad's intelligence indicated terrorists were planning an attack on a major American target. The Mossad warning was ignored. One month later, the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked..." "Last of the Cold War Warriors" is set in the shadows of the world of intelligence. It covers two decades of international Intelligence Services' covert operations worldwide, from East Germany to South Africa, from Russia to Morocco. The author has retired to a small, quiet moorland village, where ninety per-cent of its inhabitants are unaware of his existence. As he himself stated: "Old habits die hard..." It is necessary for this book to be classified as "Faction", not least because of a small problem known as The Official Secrets Act. It falls upon the reader to determine which parts are fact and which fiction...

This is series 5 of Green Lane Estate stories. It includes: Petal the Kitten; The School Trip; Fete Day; Handicrafts. Suitable for age seven onwards.

This is series 4 of Green Lane Estate stories. 1 - Playing the Lottery 2 - Spending the Winnings 3 - Fish and Knit 4 - The R.T.A. Suitable for age seven onwards

The Faery Flag of Dunvegan.

Revisit your childhood with this tale, for old and young alike; make a cup of cocoa, crack open the shortbread and enjoy reading it in your favourite place. Older children will enjoy it too. Fandanzel is created to raise awareness amongst young and old readers alike of nature and the countryside in a creative way, taking them on a journey that is not only factual and explanative, yet exciting with lots of focus on the haunting mystery of nature.

When twenty-seven year old Tamasyn Hargreaves travels to the heart of Northamptonshire to fulfil a deathbed promise to her mother, she soon begins to sense that something surreal and supernatural has drawn her there. Who are the strange children she keeps bumping into? What secrets are concealed within the contents of a box of memorabilia she is given? Why does she look uncannily like a photograph of Jessie Smith, who gave birth prematurely in 1910 after being raped by a nobleman? As Tammy uncovers shocking secrets about her own family, she soon realises she must resolve the mysteries of the past before she can keep her promise to her mother. Only then can she finally allow herself to fall in love.

Venice, the watery hub of international trade and espionage, Europe's bulwark against Ottoman conquest and home to the indomitable Zorzi, orphan of a renowned 17th Century glass blower. Through Zorzi's eyes we witness both spectacular ceremonies and the horrors and deprivations endured by humble folk. His encounters reanimate for us long forgotten heroes and his misadventures unravel the intrigues of scoundrels and of honest statesmen. Morosini, last of the warrior Doges, is poised to make a pre-emptive strike against the all conquering Turks. Beyond the Lido shore regiemnts of marines and fleets of war galleys await his personal command. However, the ferociously energetic old Doge has also commanded a splendid musical send off and will not set sail without Mako his talisman and ship's ratter - a cat whose famous bones now repose in a shoe box at St. Marks's. Such great matters of state naturally require the assistance of our streetwise little urchin Zorzi (George) Miotti de Brayda.

A coming of age story that starts out in an English boarding school and ends up many years later with a series of gruesome crimes. Includes lashings of dark humour! It's the autumn of 1978 and the start of a new term at Arsington Hall, a boarding school which has seen better days. A disparate group of new pupils become friends and we follow their lives through school and beyond, as they enjoy various adventures and pursue their different ambitions. The story is spiced with dark humour and contains many allusions to the popular culture of the day. There is some adult content and the book gently mocks politicians, religious zeal and pomposity in general. We meet Katy, deeply religious and brought up by corrupt parents in Nigeria. She struggles to adapt to life in England and is often at odds with the values and behaviour of her friends. Judith and Bunty are inseparable friends from day one. They love nothing more that a good picnic with lashings of home made lemonade and a spot of wrestling. Chongy is the intellectual of the group. He is something of a dark horse and has a keen eye for the ladies. Twins Sanjeev and Asif are born entrepreneurs and their dodgy business dealings begin while they are still at school. Barry 'The Tosser' Toszer is a strange boy, whose best friend is the school dog, Killer. However, appearances can be deceptive and behind Barry's quirky exterior lies a real creative talent. Squabbling cousins Greg and Jools both choose careers in the arts, one as a pretentious rock musician, the other as a dull Radio 4 comedian and writer. There are stories from different periods in the characters' lives: a Blytonesque adventure involving smugglers in an underground tunnel; a school disco that goes badly wrong; a disastrous visit by an old boy now an ambitious, alcoholic politician; a pre-university weekend away that does not go according to plan; and an eventful five-year reunion garden party. There is a twist in the tale at the end, as one of the group of friends turns out to have committed some fairly gruesome crimes. A whimsical and irreverent rites of passage story ends with an unexpected moral conundrum.

Having the power to change time is not that easy if you don't know when and where you are or how and when you are going to go home. Do not worry, though, because Jac has a plan for everything and if he hasn't, his trusty sidekick Enid will have the back-up plan he is looking for. The only people who need to really worry are the ones who cross his invisible line of childhood justice. If that's you...beware because Jac Frazer is out there. If your name is Crum or Reeder, be careful because you are already on his radar and your cards are marked! You will not escape your destiny.