These twenty four short stories are ideal for advent reading or whenever you can fit them into the busy month of December. These festive snapshots into other people's lives aim to enliven and entertain. A handful of the stories are set in the recent past, because Christmas is a great time for nostalgia. There are stories about anticipation, hope and that tingling feeling you get when waiting for something pleasant to happen. There is a cast of characters of all ages and not all of them are human. There are themes of time and counting, dark and light, change and renewal. The book is two dozen slices of Christmas, waiting to bring cheer at the dark time of the year.

A woman granted a superpower discovers it's more trouble than it's worth. A neighbourhood forum becomes the setting for a bizarre ghost story. A children's entertainer wrestles with problems that are nothing to joke about. A harassed dad attempts to meet the challenge of the primary school cake competition. By turns tender and satirical, witty and bizarre, the stories in this debut collection cast a fresh eye on first-world problems. Funny and humane, they zoom in on the absurdities and poignancies in work, family, love and loss in our frenetic modern lives.

A cat with attitude, green-fingered garden gnomes, a Roman helmet and two fiercely protective ghosts feature in this delightful anthology. Each tale has been written to accompany a cup of tea and a biscuit, whilst pleasantly disorientating the reader and challenging what they believe to be 'real' for a few moments. When finished, the book will be lovingly replaced on the coffee table leaving the reader smiling to themselves and wondering, 'could that actually happen?'

Knowing beforehand, events past and present without having any prior knowledge can, at times be a disadvantage in some respects and a blessing to be able to see beyond the five physical senses in some others. Not forgetting future events which haven't manifested into the material world can also be predicted by a good medium/clairvoyant - some people have the gift of knowing - intuition and an awareness appears to be a built-in mechanism. Some say it is passed on from a previous life, providing you believe in reincarnation, a third of the world's population believe in this phenomenon - mostly in the Middle- and Far-eastern countries. In some instances you don't have to be with a person to know about their past, present and future events. This doesn't alter my physical condition. I still have heart failure, renal failure and Parkinson's Disease. I appear to be ticking over on medication.

Many of these stories are based on real events, and the author's own experiences - such as a visit to the Morteratsch Glacier in Switzerland with her sister in l966, which inspired "Murder in the Mountains". An organised coach trip through Austria in 2006 with her husband and several curious characters is faithfully recorded in "An Austrian Adventure", but with all the names changed. In the story "Jennie's Oak" this old tree existed in Hazelbadge Fields in Poynton, Cheshire where Carol and her family lived for twenty years. "Bedside Matters" was a painful recollection of the author's stay in Maccles - field hospital. "The Speaker for Tonight..." was gleaned from many talks given by the author to various organisations over several years and is apologetically accurate. Many of the shorter stories grew out of suggested titles given during Creative Writing classes, and projects for homework. This collection follows "Soap In My Eyes", 2005, memories of her career in television, which is still available to order. "DiVerse Re flections" published in 2012; "From Bottisham to Barcombe", a childhood journey through the second world war; "Stage Right", sketches and monologues for ladies; "Simply Stage Struck", the art of acting for amateurs, are all available from Fast-Print Publishers. In 2011, Carol wrote "The Cob Story", published privately in Porthmadog for the U3A, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the building of the great embankment.

Full Circle is a collection of unusual and intriguing short stories with a twist in the tale. They place ordinary people into unintended circumstances outside their usual comfort zone with unexpected consequences. Humour, greed and sadness are the driving human characteristics that run through the thread of each story.

WWW - enter the Weird And Wonderful World of Hughie McFadyen. Science fiction, fantasy, human tragedy and much more. In Abomination a woman's strange pregnancy upsets the midwife. Forty Two tells how the Book of the Dead comes to life resulting in the death of a prostitute. And what frightens a monk in an abbey in Christmas Past, Present and Future? Children running from a wood in A Tall Tale, but from what? Redemption sees a priest with non-celibate feelings towards a Titian-haired beauty. Just some of the surprises you will encounter as the author's pen swings like a pendulum from one theme to another.

Beasts and Lovers is a wonderful collection of provocative modern fairy tales. Frogs turn inappropriately into princes, an old hag pursued by social services reveals her true identity as a seductive Sheherazade, two brothers are brought face to face with the source of their savage longings, and three generations of secrets and lies are unravelled to reveal a healing truth. The stories explore our deepest fears and the surprising workings of the human heart, and shed light on the mysteries that lie at the roots of our very existence.

Ashok Sawhny has in his six years of writing been prolific in the writing of poetry, both in English & Urdu, with eleven and three books, respectively, having been published. This collection of short stories is the beginning of his writing prose. The stories all seem to be based in England, perhaps, because of the time that he has spent in that country. It is indeed interesting to see a poet turn to writing prose. He is also working on another set of stories based elsewhere.

Vatmaar vertel die boeiende verhaal van 'n klein gemeenskappie buite Kimberley, van die draai van die eeu tot ongeveer 1930. Die leser word bekend gestel aan 'n magdom fassinerende karakters sowel as aan nuwe perspektiewe op bekende historiese gebeure. Die stories is vol kleur en opwinding, dit voed jou siel en laat jou soms uitbars van die lag, net om netnou weer trane in die oë te kry.

"Why do stories come into one's head, or odd names or first lines? Perhaps deep in the brain there is a part that makes things up and they occasionally pop out if the stimulus is right. If nothing else is occupying the mind then the idea can be developed. Most of my poems are written at one sitting, with later tweaks. I use the form to be able to be more adventurous with words and to use the end of lines and the beginning of new ones to highlight a word or re-enforce an idea. Inspiration comes from events or sights or just thoughts. Often one works with a picture in one's head. An illustration therefore is sometimes a natural extension. I hope those included will add rather than detract from the reader's picture."

A haunting exploration of the human psyche, where despair and hope collide in a series of gripping narratives.

Sheldon de Klerk masterfully delves into the lives of individuals teetering on the edge, revealing their deepest fears, darkest secrets and the lengths they will go to find peace. From the chilling tale of a fireman haunted by his deeds to the poignant struggles of a mother facing unimaginable loss, each life story is a testament to the resilience and fragility of the human spirit. This compelling novel invites readers to confront the complexities of life, death and the choices that define us.

A must-read for those seeking a profound and thought-provoking journey into the heart of human emotion.