-
An Agony of Flame and the Fury and the Mire
A two-part climax to The Last Vigil, An Agony of Flame and The Fury and the Mire, concludes the story of the fall of Constantinople. Here is an intense evocation, both of the gruelling eight-week siege itself and of the chaotic as well as terrifying aftermath.
In part three, Niccolo and Demetrius serve on the great Roman land walls, enduring bombardment and nocturnal hand-to-hand combat. Nestor-Iskander reappears, a deserter now from the Turkish camp. Niccolo is badly wounded, recovering in Theodora’s house in the suburb of Studion. Then comes the night of the final Ottoman assault when, after a valiant defence, treachery leads to massacre (including the death of Demetrius) and Niccolo finds himself among a scatter of survivors.
Part four centres on Niccolo’s frantic attempts to find a way through a city, now being systematically sacked. Moreover, he must think of others. Demetrius might be dead but Nestor-Iskander has survived and demands refuge. Then there is Theodora locked up with the faithful in Hagia Sophia. Can Niccolo reach her before the marauding enemy? So, he travels deeper and deeper into his adopted city’s heart of darkness. Nestor finds protectors, loses, then regains them. Theodora is found then lost forever. Mehmet appears once more; Cinnamon never reappears. Finally, after the city has been overwhelmed and pacified, Niccolo sets sail westward across the Mediterranean, not home to Venice but to an Atlantic shore where a new age of exploration is about to dawn.
-
An Ideal Daughter
Annie Grant loved her family, her violin, and her study. Once, a long time ago, she had also loved Liam.
When Annie opened the door that evening, she expected the supermarket delivery. Instead, it was Liam on the doorstep, begging for help. Annie, still a schoolgirl, was drawn into a situation that threatened not only Liam’s life, but the lives of many others, including her own.
The Covid-19 pandemic was raging as Annie fought to keep Liam, her family and herself out of danger. It would take every bit of her remarkable intellect and her incredible ingenuity to achieve this. All the while, she had another struggle on her hands – to maintain her focus and achieve the ambition that involvement with Liam was threatening to derail.
If it all went wrong a lot of people were going to die and not just from Covid-19.
-
And There's A God Who Is Close By
What is the meaning of our existence? From a human perspective, life may seem chaotic and full of contradictions. However, these contradictions are not at odds with each other, but rather they complement one another. Life doesn't recognize individuals, it recognizes our souls and our presence in the world. The days turn into nights, and the nights turn into days, and in an instant, light and darkness become one.
Our purpose as three-dimensional beings is to be awake and aware. But we often get lost in our own world and forget the essence of life. To gain more insight and understanding, it’s better to start from the surface. We must accept where we are and delve into the subtlety that the surface holds. By exploring the depths of the surface, you will find peace within yourself, from your body to your actions.
In these letters, I hope to awaken humanity to the realization that without contradictions, there can be no peace. By accepting our contradictions, we can find relaxation in our bodies and behaviours, and ultimately find reconciliation with our inner selves. Remember, you are a God.
-
Andrew and the Midnight Ape
Most children in the world like to play and have fun. Many children have pets that they like to play with, usually a dog, a cat, a hamster, or a guinea pig.
Some lucky children even have a horse or a pony to play with.
But what if you were a nine-year-old boy or an eight-year-old girl, and you had a big, male silverback gorilla to play with? What would you do? Where would you go?
Well, this dream becomes a reality for Andrew Tyler and his sister Gemma.
Their adventure of a lifetime began when they went to stay with their grandparents, as they often did. You see, Andrew’s grandad has a menagerie in his back garden, a large and exotic menagerie.
However, there was a secret enclosure in the garden, which contained a big, hairy surprise for Andrew and Gemma…
…A large male gorilla named Fudge.
So now, at the stroke at midnight, the children secretly go outside and have the times of their lives with their new friend Fudge…
-
Angel In The Mirror
Since losing her dad at a young age, Annith Padra has always feared losing those closest to her. So when she looks at her new-born half-sister Leanne’s reflection in an old rustic mirror and sees a dark figure looming there, she begins to panic. Annith becomes obsessed in finding a way to remove it, especially when she discovers this dark threat has the ability to destroy Leanne the same way it died — by fire. But this doesn’t appear to be the only threat, as only since this dark figure has appeared has Annith started to learn about her dad’s death nine years ago.
-
Angel O’Clock…
On the edge of mortality, a profound transformation occurred within Matthew Johns. They came to a realization: events they once believed simply occurred to them were, in reality, orchestrated milestones leading them toward a greater purpose. The introduction of a soulmate in their life acted as a beacon, illuminating their newfound spiritual path.
Delving into this spiritual realm, Matthew Johns cultivated a deep and intuitive bond with The Divine. Their blossoming psychic understanding opened a sacred dialogue with Spirit, unveiling profound truths. Through their exploration of Angel Numbers and numerology, they discerned that Time wasn’t merely chronological, but a divinely orchestrated symphony. In this grand tapestry, ‘coincidences’ have a role, but it’s synchronicity that wears the crown.
Join Matthew Johns on a journey of discovery, where the wisdom, love, and guidance of Angels and the spirit-realm continually shine through. By embracing this presence and seeking its signs, readers are invited into a majestic dance choreographed by the Divine – a harmonious blend of destiny, partnership, and co-creation. In this world, Spirit Guides are ever vigilant, always ready to lead the way. All one needs to do is reach out and trust in their unwavering guidance.
-
Angels and Demons – The Scroll of Seven Seals
The cousins – Ella, Emma, Olly, Catherine and Tom are excited to be together again for Christmas. Soon after arriving at the old farmhouse in North Cornwall they discover the truth: they are from a family of Angels! Now, they must begin a journey to a faraway island to learn more about their past and discover their future.
Admitted to the School of Enlightenment for Young Angels, the cousins make new friends, learn to fly and explore the secrets of their school. However, their fun is disturbed by Ella’s dreams about an ancient scroll which has the power to destroy the human world. Can the cousins discover the truth about the scroll in time to save humanity?
So begins a story of incredible bravery and amazing adventure.
-
Angels Can Love
Mike is an angel tasked to help the homeless of New York City. On the streets of Manhattan, Mike runs into Alice. Overwhelmed by love at first sight, he realises he would need to become human in order to be with Alice. Mike approaches The One in hope of experiencing human life for one day. The One grants Mike until sunrise the following day to make a crucial decision: to remain human or return to his angelic existence. What Mike decides to do will change his fate forever.
-
Araminta Malarkey: Lion Tamer Extraordinaire
This is a girl who wears pink silk pyjamas and drinks from a bone china cup. She has every single designer to boot and a butler to wake her up. Do not be mistaken, dear reader, that this is a tale of a well-behaved girl, who keeps every toe in line. In fact, quite the opposite you will find, during the tale I had in mind. You see when we encounter a spirit of fire, especially in this day and age, we must all be willing to put judgement aside and prepare to be amazed.
Araminta Malarkey should have been happy with her life, a beautiful house, beautiful things, and adoring parents. Alas, she wants more, to be exact she wishes above all else to become a lion. This story follows Araminta as she behaves very badly, runs away from home, and joins the circus in a bid to become what she has always dreamt of.
-
Art, Design, Craft, Beauty and All Those Things…
Responding to many recent calls for redress and restitution, Richardson summarises the historical and current situation and attributes its problematics to the fact that theorists and historians have taken the concept art as a generic that includes both design and craft – which are actually and validly distinguishable from art by application of the concept function/al – or else ignored the two entirely. Considering the concept function/al, he maintains, calls into question the view that the three may be sub-classes of the one class: whereas in a work of art, typically there is a resolution of the tension between form and content, in works of design and craft the resolution is between form and function. How this recognition can clarify the issue informs the entire book.
The book’s other major thesis is the realisation that aesthetic values are inherently human and that, therefore, they apply not only to art but to life in general. Far from being frivolous or a mere ‘emotion’, the aesthetic is a sense of equivalent psychic status to sight and hearing and, like them, is employed at almost every moment of our daily lives – which fact grounds art, design and craft deeply in human life. This is reflected in the universal use of the human form (including the exhibition of sexual characteristics) in art.
The eternal conflict between making art and making a living from making art is examined and contrasted to the rarely-recognised, but positive, role of design in planning and industry.
Richardson also critiques common theories of representation and composition, including ‘creativity’, Albertian perspective and scientific and geometric theories of beauty and composition; also the relevance of the camera and the computer in the field.
-
Avalon Days
This gentle fantasy about Olivia’s visits to her ‘New World’ of Avalon, accessed through her grandfather’s picture of a robin which hangs on her bedroom wall, is a children’s story. Yet, it is much more than what is normally implied by that description.
The robin comes to life and calls her through the picture frame into Avalon where she is crowned queen over the forest birds and animals. Olivia explores their world and helps save them from various disasters. But she also grows up. In the first Avalon adventure she is a child, but by the final one she is sixteen, a teenager tracing her individual path as the slightly lonely, youngest child in her real-life family. More than that, she is a teenager dealing with the loss of the beloved granddad who was the person who understood her best. Avalon’s lesson about the continuation of their relationship, beyond death, is the theme of Olivia’s last adventure.
Avalon Days has overtones of the writing of the Austrian novelist, poet, and painter Adalbert Stifter (1805-1868). Stifter’s concern for conservation and environmental issues is increasingly relevant today.
-
Awakening
Have you ever pondered the deeper purpose of existence or the mysteries that lie beyond our understood reality? Joanne Banyer has. Amidst life’s inexplicable moments, there are some you simply can’t ignore.
On the eve of her father’s sudden passing in January 2014, Joanne encountered an intelligent vibrational energy so tangible that it altered her perception of life itself. This wasn’t her only rendezvous with the unknown. Four years later, in June 2018, that very energy sought her out once again, initiating an awakening. Dive into this riveting true tale, chronicling Joanne’s ongoing journey of spiritual discovery and connection. An intimate account of one woman’s dance with the unseen.
We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience and for marketing purposes.
By clicking any link on this page you are giving your consent for us to set cookies