Othello and A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Cunningly, and little by little, Iago begins to undermine Othello’s faith in Desdemona’s fidelity whilst appearing to be reluctant to say anything at all…

“So, speak to me your feelings, the good as well as bad.”

“Oh my Lord,” replied Iago, “such an order makes me sad,

For although in acts of duty, in every way I’m bound,

As a man who’s free, I am not bound, to give my thinking sound.”

“Why, say my thoughts were vile and false…as thoughts can oft times be,

What if I were mistaken Sir, would you then take note of me?

Why then build a troubled mind, with what is vague…unsure?

It would not serve your interest so…do not press me, I implore.”

“My interest?” Othello asked, “What is it that you mean?” 

“I’ll explain Sir,” said Iago, “let me set for you…a scene.

Steal the purse of a man or woman, very little have they lost,

But, steal from them their good name…and they cannot count the cost.”

Ottilie Rose, A Collection of Poems

This book is many things but firstly it is heartfelt. It is about a father, a human observing life in every way it presents, through his personal struggles and the struggles of the world. The many big questions posed are underlined by the hope that the world can be a better place for his young daughter for whom this book is titled and all the children of the world and the future. Many books will be written about this world, its challenges, and its complexities. Ottilie Rose attempts to wade through all that through poetry such that through the artistic exploration of the human condition we might discover something more beautiful about us.

Otto Papesch

Otto Papesch was my father. I was four years old when he died. I asked myself for years what kind of a human being he was. I have attempted to paint a picture of that handsome, charismatic, cultivated, professional chemical engineer, enthusiastic sportsman, photographer and family man by basing myself on the vast correspondence that still exists, his diary of 1917, stories about him from my mother and grandparents and the innumerable photos he took over the years. This has been an attempt to describe his prominent characteristics but also shed light on his dilemmas and the contradictions in his personality and thereby to describe the important events of his short life. Would his destiny have been different had he been born a year later?

Ouch in the Pouch

This book is about animals only found in Australia. Baby marsupials like kangaroo joeys grow up in their mother’s pouch where they breastfeed. Echidnas and platypus are monotremes. Their babies hatch from eggs, but they are mammals and they drink their mother’s milk like other mammals do. This book is full of poems about mammals playing musical instruments. It also has some strange facts: I bet you didn’t know that wombats make cubic poo. Well now you do.

Our Future Selves

Imagine waking up inside someone else’s body, and in a different century. What would you do? How would the new world around you react to you? This is what happens all the time to Zak Emblin, an editor from 21^st century Birmingham, UK, and Sarah Templeman, a prison service doctor from twenty second century New Palm Springs, USA, who are ‘reincarnaters’, connected across time by a shared soul.

Imagine you are a bright, young scientist, Carmen Fry, who stumbles across the truth behind reincarnation. All you need is a subject to prove your theory to the world, but you can’t find one. Until one day, when you are chatting online, you find Zak, and are immediately attracted to him.

This is the story of three people, caught in a love triangle, sharing a secret that no-one else will believe, that when we die we form a connection with a future self, who shares our reincarnated soul. A connection so strong that sometimes we can become that future person and they can become us. We can swap bodies across time.

Our Inherently Controversial Human Nature - and How We Should Hack It

Human induced climate change, overuse of natural resources, overwhelming amount of waste and pollution, gender inequality, elevated stress levels, flood of fake news. All these have a lot to do with our controversial human nature and how our race has formed, besides making our life more difficult and less sustainable.

You are to see the controversial process of how we began to become the only highly intelligent species, how widespread is our impact on our environment and why we are inching ahead to the point where extinction will be an issue to deal with. This book provides an original context of the links to our roots and hints at what we should do. It offers a solution to the seven decade-old Fermi paradox and answers the eternal question of meaning and importance of happiness.

It is easy to get the idea. Accepting the conclusions might be a harder task. The real challenge is making a change. Are you ready to start seeing the whole picture?

Our Lost Boy

A tragic secret, a broken family, a lost boy – who was Edward, and what happened to him?

Life for Jen and her family, including 11 year old, autistic son Ned, hasn’t always been easy, but things are improving. Ned is thriving in the right school, and getting the support he needs to navigate his way through an alien and sometimes frightening world.

But Jen is troubled by something from her past. She’s haunted by a nightmare that has disturbed her since childhood, and she’s increasingly uneasy about her relationship with her cold, distant parents - what are they hiding from her?

‘Our Lost Boy’ follows Jen’s search for the truth, taking her back to her childhood home in Yorkshire where shocking memories are reawakened.

Jen and her mother, Maureen, have been pulled apart by a tragic secret, but when the truth is out can they mend their broken relationship? Can Jen forgive Maureen, and can Maureen forgive herself?

And what about Ned - can the 21^st century offer him, and others like him, the future that Edward was denied?

Out Of 2020

2020 was different for all of us. It may have been difficult but if we look at it through a different lens and see how we can grow then it becomes a new experience – a way “Out of 2020.”

It is only when things become a challenge that we learn to grow and evolve. The last few years have become the start of a new revolution towards an experience we all need to achieve our purpose.

Out Of The Dark

Imagine you could no longer use the internet or your mobile phone!

This is the scenario in 2050 when the oil runs out and Britain can’t produce enough electricity.

Drastic power cuts then become the norm, and many people lose their jobs and their homes.

The story is seen through the eyes of two women. Jess, in her thirties, is tied to a job she hates and has to live apart from her husband and young son, while Gertrude, in her seventies, has not left her flat for twenty years and cannot contact her son in Australia.

Their lives are linked, but neither woman has a real concept of the struggles that the other faces each day. Both of them are seeking a solution to get out of the dark.

Out of the Frame

In a society ruled by strict social norms, Magdolin finds herself struggling to navigate the choppy waters of societal expectations. Despite facing criticism and rejection, even from those closest to her, she refuses to be swept away by the tides of conformity.

As a girl born into a world where she never quite feels like she fits in, Magdolin inadvertently challenges the status quo with her unconventional ways. When she enters the most prestigious school in society, she is exposed to new knowledge and a world vastly different from the one she grew up in. Through her experiences, Magdolin discovers that the society she thought she knew is full of hidden complexities and contradictions.

Over the years, Magdolin embarks on thrilling adventures, uncovering secrets and learning invaluable lessons that sharpen her skills and help her to navigate the treacherous waters of societal expectations. Despite facing numerous obstacles, she refuses to compromise her true self and becomes a beacon of hope for others who feel similarly out of place. With its relatable themes and gripping narrative, Magdolin’s story is a powerful reminder of the importance of staying true to oneself in a world that often demands conformity.

Out With Time

When Charles Dickens rescued Oliver Twist from the clutches of Victorian depravity, he created villains and victims to serve his purpose. Out With Time gives some of those maligned characters a chance to redeem themselves and tell their own story. To Dickens, Mr. Bumble was the pompous beadle of the workhouse and Oliver’s tormentor. Nancy, on the other hand, was Oliver’s protector, but Dickens sacrifices her to the evil machinations of Bill Sikes. In Out With Time we learn that Nancy is not simply a hapless victim but a fighter for what is right. Mr. Bumble, it must be conceded, does only what he can.

Together, Nancy and Bumble are an odd couple but also a formidable team. They strive to return a sense of civilization to the small Kentish town where Dickens started his tale. Even before Oliver makes his appearance, we see the couple wrestling with racism, sexism and even leading the way in a refugee crisis. In a curious resonance with the modern era, this story shows that the story of Mr. Bumble and Nancy is one that is not bound to a bygone age. Their destinies may be, in part, predetermined but Out With Time gives them the space to assert their own identities in defiance of any author.

Outnumbered by Daughters

The book is an adult fictional novel, based on a young man’s struggle with sadness, tragedy, complicated romances and family life. He attempts to bring up twin girls and an older stepdaughter as a single parent through their middle school years.

He encounters all sorts of problems that readers could relate to in their own personal life, involving mixed emotions and hardship, including his own complicated and failed romances on his journey through this stage of parenthood.

He has to deal with embarrassment and overcome all sorts of new experiences as he tries to understand the problems and needs that young girls have to face as they grow up. 

The girls’ teenage years present him with a completely different set of problems, but he does at least have better success with romance, resulting in a wife, new daughter and stepdaughter finally completing his family.