Finding Her Sprinkles

Have you ever lost something you love?

How far would you go to retrieve it?

Who would help you along the way and what truths would you uncover?

Curl up with the love and kindness that fill the pages of this tale, that is as sweet as the smell of homemade choc chip cookies on a cold winter’s day.

Join a beautifully stubborn fairy angel fuelled by a fiery spirit and determination in her belly as she travels across different terrains on her quest to find the sprinkles that are missing from her magical wand.

With each page turn, what obstacles will she be met with? Will she realise that as long as you never give up, your strength will always overpower the challenges you face.

Hidden between the text is an indulging invitation for your imagination to explode with colour, fascination, belief and anticipation.

Will she find her sprinkles or will she find something much more important?

Finding Ruby

"I wasn't the same girl that had left London pining for my Whistles dress, and my high heels, or the one who had gone to Pai, in love and counting down the days until I went home." Ruby Jones would rather have a designer handbag than a backpack. Ruby doesn't 'do' backpacking. But that is exactly what she finds herself doing when her boyfriend buys her a round-the-world trip for her birthday. Horrified at first by the chaos, smells and woeful accommodation, Ruby surprisingly begins to enjoy herself. She finds herself zipping around Thailand on a moped; swimming in the sea at dawn after a full moon party and elephant trekking in the jungle. However, Ruby's world is suddenly turned upside down and she finds herself alone and scared in the middle of Southeast Asia. Ruby decides to continue her journey alone. But will she be able to finish the journey by herself? Will she be able to overcome a catastrophe unlike anything she's experienced before? And in so doing, will she discover a different Ruby Jones?

Finger of Suspicion

This novel depicts events that happened to officers from Strathclyde Police covering the periods between 1990 and 2003. The names have been changed in most circumstances to protect those involved but the detail within the stories reflect events that happened and written by me in my own words as an interpretation of what I recall.

Being a police officer during this time was rewarding and I met many lovely people whilst I worked there and still remain friends with many of them.

Policing during that era was difficult and drugs were a major scourge in the deprived areas in the north of Glasgow and many families lost loved ones through overdose or other serious drug related illnesses. The criminal gangs operated in these areas ruled by fear with many drug dealers only doing it to repay a debt.

The stories provide an insight into a behind the scenes look at how investigations are managed and the characters involved in running them. It is a sad depiction of life at the front end of policing, dealing with death and misery. More alarmingly, it will discuss the lack of support provided by senior officers towards other lower level colleagues.

The author used every power of strength and determination to set the record straight with some of the events and was helped by a few other like-minded friends. It is a story of belief in one another and colleagues involved in these incidents all looked out for one another—which didn’t always happen but I am glad we did!

Fire and Wire!

Speedy the Sloth lives in the rainforest with his friends, Jaguar, Spider-Monkey and Tapir. As he slowly moves across the treetops, he sees a strange sight, but Toucan has all the answers.

Read on to find out what happens next in this delightfully illustrated book for children.

FiveChamp

Discover an electrifying tale where Mother Nature herself orchestrates a new dawn for humanity, converging five extraordinary strangers in the pulsating heart of New York City. Together, they form FiveChamp, a sports team unlike any the world has ever seen, epitomizing endurance, determination, strength, and sportsmanship. But can any team possibly defeat them? The stakes are high: it’s the world versus five!

As they navigate the high-octane arena of sports, FiveChamp also grapples with a darker challenge: the insidious corruption and underworld mafias infiltrating the glamorous world of athletics. Their battle intensifies when an infamous New York serial killer is mysteriously resurrected, unleashing chaos in the city they call home.

Immerse yourself in the gripping saga of FiveChamp as they battle both human vice and supernatural malevolence. Armed with unwavering teamwork and virtuous sportsmanship, they not only aim to vanquish evil but also inspire a new paradigm for unity and valour. Can they triumph over overwhelming odds and capture our hearts? The clock is ticking, and the game has just begun.

Fleeting Images from a Bloodied Past

Ships against the sea! Was…STILL IS, a threat to all the vessels who sail upon her, and especially so, an ever-present threat to the crews who do their duty and put their lives in harm's way. Of violent storms, tempests… All the unpredictable hell of crosswinds, headwinds and tailwinds, roaring madly like some frenzied monster, changing direction, attempting to plunge the man-made object under the vengeful, towering and swamping thunderous waves, against which so many hardy ships have foundered, perished and been lost. The fact that the CSS Alabama came through such a storm and survived this maelstrom is testimony to the meticulous skills and concentrated painstaking patience and hard work of Laird's well-led and well-managed shipbuilding workforce and professional seamanship, that ensured the crew's safe passage and escape from this seaborne wretchedness. Warships, which survived incredible battle experience, and - at war's end - were reviewed for conversion, replacement or the breaker's yard was a consideration. Not all, however, because the fate of HMS Zealous continued in a new page of history, when she was transferred to the Israeli Navy. Later, in 1967, whilst out on patrol in the Eastern Mediterranean, she was suddenly attacked by Egyptian warships equipped with superior firepower. The new crew of this old warhorse knew that the fate of their emerging and vibrant new nation, fighting to retain her hard-fought existence, was dependent upon their spirited defence. Despite the fact that they were up against Soviet-supplied STYX surface-to-surface missiles, against which they had no defence, they steered into battle, undaunted. With battle pennants flying, they bravely challenged the enemy. Their fearlessness and courage shone in the face of certain destruction and ultimate sacrifice. The Cammell Laird scenario is riveting and strikingly dramatic…

Fleo, Master of All Men

Fleo is a very talented flea, with impeccable cooking skills. Differently to all other fleas within the flea kingdom, Fleo was a vegan, not by choice, but due to his intolerance to blood, and all other animal products, which he could never stomach. Whenever Fleo saw blood as a child, he would faint.

Fleo is loved by all in the animal kingdom for his kindness. His kindness would not only make him loved and famous but would ultimately save his life.

After his sudden disappearance, his absence brought out the respect of animals across the animal world, and made them realise the importance of appreciating what they have before it is lost.

Flicker

After discovering that her nemesis is none other than her friend, Lexi must live to fight another day. But now he knows that she’s a witch.

Can she survive long enough to her abusive step-father face justice, or are her days numbered? And can she carry on alone, or is there someone out there to help her?

Flora and Fauna Part 1

This is one of a series of stories about the great Orme goats in Llandudno. On 31 March 2020, a group of 122 Kashmiri goats captured the world’s attention on social media and television, and from the United States of America to Australia, when they came down off the mountain and into the streets of Llandudno, eating all the shrubs and plants in people’s gardens. Some of the homeowners and businesses moved them on, but most people let them be and filmed or photographed them.

The world press was in attendance on 14 September 2021 during a five-hour rescue mission by the RSPCA, coastguards and Conwy council trying to rescue 15 stranded goats from Austin’s rock, but unfortunately, one was killed.

On 8 February 2022 police were called to an incident when fighting Kashmiri goats locked horns in an Asda car park causing chaos and gridlock.

Sometimes the goats disrupted traffic wherever they went, but fair play to the motorists, they gave the goats a wide berth as they roamed the streets in search of food.

Because of the pandemic and the lack of people and holidaymakers, they knew they would be safe.

Even now, in 2022, people from all over the world are still coming to Llandudno especially to see the goats.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Phil Wilson is an ageing saxophone player who washed up in the Ocean Breeze caravan park, like flotsam left on the beach after a storm. Even for those somewhat on the margins of the good society, life can be pleasant. Phil and his fellow caravan park renters thought so.

But life throws a series of curveballs and they can give in or fight back. They will need to navigate the testing waters of interpersonal relationships, bureaucracy, and the unpatrolled worlds of online communities.

Set on the Surf Coast in Victoria, the novel is a wry study of male mateship and the challenges of friendship and relationships.

For Redder

Harry Larsen’s boyhood in post-war Sydney is marred by the death of his Danish father. With the loss of their breadwinner, Harry and his mother move to a new life in the country in New South Wales. He takes with them an old biscuit tin containing letters and items left by his father. The letters, in a language he cannot understand, and the words ‘For redder’ levelled in anger at his father, become posers that the Harry seeks to solve. The adult Harry learns of his mother’s death while employed as an engineer on a copper mine on the island of Bouganville, a mine that is increasingly opposed by the islanders. Returning to Australia for his mother’s funeral he decides to give up his life as an engineer and go to Denmark to find the truth of his father’s wartime activities; to his resistance to the German occupation of his country. For Harry it is a journey of discovery to find the family that he has not known and, ultimately, to love.

“A debut novel of a boy raised in Sydney to the adult who seeks to find the truth of his father’s participation in resistance to German occupied Denmark.”

Foraging

She can be found anywhere – sitting in a café, walking along a rocky beach, cramped in coach class, or bored at her desk. Heartbroken and lonely, she seeks solace, another chance, and redemption in snippets of words, phrases, and puzzling rhymes. These missives to others capture her passions, grief, and bubbly glee. Her mind fades in and out at these moments, almost drunkenly grabbing any napkin to jot down cryptic notes in pencil or pen before folding it haphazardly and shoving it into her wallet.

Years later, she retrieves these tattered memos and in the quiet of early morning coffee or late evening wine, she writes, drafts, edits, and trims, perfecting the feelings, capturing the place, time, and emotions that were almost lost.