The Silvercage

Any worker attempting to help an abused and neglected child must gain the victim’s trust – much easier said than done!

The drawing took shape, the thin almost angular face with its little nose, sad mouth, and alert eyes. As I worked on the hair, I could sense Stella’s footsteps, quiet though she tried to make them. A moment later, I was just quick enough to prevent her from snatching the book away from me and only just observant enough to catch the amazement on her face when she saw what I had made of her. I held my work out of her reach and was rewarded by the cry: “Let me see it! Ah, let me have it!”

I gave her the drawing. “I don’t want it torn up, Stella.” She carried it away with her into the bedroom and closed the door.

The Six Macs and the Slime Monster from Loch Ness

Thrusting their arms into the air with clenched fists they shout, "The Six Macs". Scruffy MacTuffy had no ideas that his nightmare was about to almost come true. Meeting for a fishing trip could have been a bad idea after their biggest catch got away, but what was it that got away? The Six Macs explore the opposite side of the river after a daredevil bridge crossing where they find a long dark cave leading to a journey of danger and something a little bit on the scary side. That evening they tell their parents what they saw, but they think their stories are a bit too imaginative. So a second trip is arranged for the following day with their parents coming along. The parents keep joking about the Six Macs' story but they will soon believe every single word they said.

David J Dawkins has been writing stories for his son for many years. It's only recently now he is older that his son suggested that he should get them published.

The Skip Monster

Penelope and Paddy are very confused by the arrival of a large metal monster, it seems to just sit while Daddy feeds it more and more, what is it and when will it stop eating? Overnight they are shocked to discover that the monster has grown, Penelope needs to take action quickly before the monster grows even more and devours the contents of the house for dinner and Mummy and Daddy for dessert!

Penelope needs adult help if she is to tackle the monster before it starts eating her and Paddy. Daddy explains what the metal monster is and what will happen to everything that Daddy has fed it over the last couple of days. Problem solved, then what should arrive but a dinosaur!

This book is to promote conversation about what happens to our waste, and how it can be recycled, upcycled, and reused to create anything from artwork to recycled enrichment in Z00s.

The Skylark

This is a collection of Haiku poems with watercolour illustrations manifested with the heartfelt plea that as one we can regain the balance of nature.

‘What if there is no bird song?’

Then it’s too late. We haven’t listened and we haven’t acted.

‘Greed feeds corruption

 A continual circle

Corruption feeds greed

Disorder then chaos

As everything will dissolve Into entropy.’

The Small Hill

The Small Hill is a sacred place, a healing place, where the ancients buried their dead and holy men came to preach. In the reign of Henry I, a knight stood on the hill, a young warrior straight from the heat of battle and knew the hill and the surrounding land was to be his. A settlement grew and a Norman church with a solid square tower was built on the top.

Over the centuries many who owned the land and many who worked on the land were equally drawn to stand on the hill in front of the tower to look out into the distance. From the knight in the 12th century to Tom, an old retired tenant farmer in the 20th century, men stood on the hill looking out to the horizon, to dream of the future or remember the past, each one feeling the small hill’s spell. 

The Snow Dome Storybook

Have you ever gazed into a snow dome and wondered what it would be like if the world inside was real? Well, 12-year-olds Ali Wiseman and James Newman don’t have to wonder. When they stumble across a secret storey of Rose Cottage, they discover a magical snow dome and are swirled into the world within.

The Snowman

This delightful story follows the excitement of four children when they realise they have the day off school and can now play in the snow. They quickly get up and get dressed with a mission to build a snowman.

The Spaceman

Older than all the known stars, June watched the universe turn. He watched too as the old gods failed. Now he is tired and beset with doubt, his effort wasted, his strength to hold back the tide of indifference diminished. But with allies and enemies gathering and those with loyalties beyond his understanding he commits to change.

Against the old order change will be hard. There will be pain before the fruit of his sacrifice is known. But into the ash and darkness and into fear he places hope. It is a hope that will, given its time, bring enlightenment, a hope that will bring relief and a hope that will bring an enduring, steadfast kindness.

Maybe in time then, the curtain will fall.

The Spaces Between

Catherine has come to feel that we have hardly begun to understand the forces in us and around us, and our connections with them and with each other.

Underlying daily life, other forces exist. Intersecting work-life dramas, vibrant language, sea swimming, and the dunes and gardens of the sea, all held together by a tenuous thread, other means of communication and other presences take their place, alongside which relationships flourish or fail.

The Spark: An Ode to Life

Through this book of poems, I wanted to express the dynamic mystery that is existence, as well as the innate essence of life that we each carry in us as human beings, and show how language can be a medium for pure desire, as well as the desired. Through this book, with verses that flow like dance and rhythms that silently echo as music, my wish is to bring the above to life, and to highlight a sense of magic upon you, the reader.

The title, The Spark: An Ode to Life, accentuates both the wild and calm nature of fire, and the words written on each page are like sparks ignited, celebrating creativity and possibility.

Upon these lines I strive to linger for moments upon the edge of the cliff, and then soar someplace within myself. Come, fly with me.

The Spectre of Stanhope Lane

Macnutt has done it! He has made the foray from his previous architectural, travel,
and cultural books into a work of unique fiction and has done it with great skill. The
Spectre of Stanhope Farm is written with imagination, creativity, and amazing insight and
attention to historical detail and research into the Scottish world and the place of the
diaspora. What an exciting way to explore the 1770s world of Prince Edward Island
through the character of Frank and the spectre of Stanhope. Sense of place, heritage,
genealogy, class, and mystery are woven together and exhibit a writer who has come of
age. Warmly recommended to Islanders and visitors to the Island and atl who are intrigued
by all things Scottish. I want to see that wall!
- Dr Jack Whytock, author and lecturer

The Squirrel Who Split His Trousers

Sammy spotted a button on the floor. As he bent over to pick it up, he heard a loud ripping sound. "Oh no!"