Recommended Reads
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SOE Agent Code Name LILLY
Mary Dumont is a third officer in the Women’s Royal Naval Service working at the Admiralty Communications Centre in London in 1942 where she is recruited by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) to become a wireless operator-saboteur. Parachuted into France, Mary joins a small band of resistance fighters where she leads a double life, a schoolteacher by day, a wireless operator by night; all goes horribly wrong, Mary is captured and tortured by an SS major who is determined to obtain both her codes and the names of her companions. Mary makes a daring escape during an air raid, unknown to her, German Intelligence has infiltrated SOE, a double agent known to Mary has also been parachuted into France to capture a Dutch scientist who is escaping to England with plans for the German V1 flying bomb. Evading capture, Mary’s resistance cell must get the scientist to England before he can be handed over to the Gestapo, but first Mary must eliminate the German double agent. Just when she thinks it is safe on returning to England, Mary and her companions discover the identity of the traitor within SOE, they must try to eliminate him before he can return the scientist to the Germans.
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Sojourns in Vana
Vorclaw must pay! General Baltus Blackpool continues to enact his revenge for his wife’s untimely death by placing the nation of Vorclaw under his military control and begins to hunt down the rulers of Vorclaw, known as The Council of Twelve.
Queen Ooktha, ruler of the arch-goblins, realises she is betrayed and is willing to sacrifice her followers and her own safety in order to garner revenge against the Blackpool brothers
– even if it means devastating her lover, Leif Foehammer!
Hundreds of miles far to the north, Leif and Bjorn Foehammer, Dru Blackpool and others are cut off from returning from their mission. They are forced to fight for their lives against the undead and other creatures. As they sojourn through the mountains to find a new way home, they encounter unexpected allies and a potential revelation about Leif’s past! But if they return, will it be a happy homecoming?
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Solace in Stamps
My memoir traces the many traumatic events I’ve dealt with, in socially changing times, from the mid-1950s onwards. I’ve fought the government’s solicitors because of inequality, survived a rare type of cancer and sepsis, and battled depression too. I’ve written about the emotions I’ve felt over several relationships; a cheating fiancé, a marriage on the rebound and an affair with a married lover. With little education, I tell of my quest to become a surveyor in later life. I’ve recently had to come to terms with the tragic deaths of both parents. Often when times were difficult, especially as a child, I found huge comfort in my stamp collection. Yet there are many lighter moments too!
I am fortunate to possess transcripts that describe my grandfather’s years as a dispatch rider during the Great War. He witnessed horrific sights at the battlefields on the Somme and experienced grief and heartache when a younger brother died in 1914, his older brother died at Ypres in 1915 and his mother died in 1917.
There are also intriguing links within my story to my 2nd great-grandfather who was the illegitimate son of a wealthy landowner and an agricultural labourer’s daughter. Born in 1854, he trained as a tailor and travelled to where the Industrial Revolution had taken hold and mills were springing up in the Midlands and Far North.
In addition, I have an amazing connection to my 14th great-grandfather who fought for King Henry VIII and who was knighted as a result.£9.99 -
Sometimes we feel... Sad
At times, we all feel sad. Reading this book helps children understand negative emotions, the physical sensations that accompany them and healthy ways to feel better.
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Space Drones - Conquering Nightmares
Zachary and his puppy, Wanda, love playing outside. But one day, a noisy drone falls from the sky and scares them!
That night, Zachary has a dream about big, scary robots.
He knows he needs to be brave and face his dream to make it go away.
With Wanda beside him, can Zachary show the robots he’s not afraid?
Join them on a brave bedtime adventure!
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Speaking Volumes
How did a fishmonger’s son from Tyneside, growing up in the 1950s with a Geordie accent, become the person who recorded over 900 audiobooks and received an MBE from the Queen in the Birthday Honours of 2017?
This ‘charming’, ‘entertaining’ and ‘heart-warming’ memoir answers that question.
Reviews:
AudioFile magazine
“…not simply a reader but an artist of the spoken word…”
“…Gordon Griffin, an entire acting company in one person…”
“Witty and moving memoir of how a working-class boy becomes THE voice of the spoken word.
Honest and vivid account plus excellent advice for those of us who work with words.” Miriam Margolyes£9.99 -
Spring Summer Autumn Winter
Haiku poetry is a unique form of poetry in that it is regarded in itself as an intrinsic embodiment of ancient Zen philosophy, now powerfully resurgent in both the eastern and western worlds. In Spring Summer Autumn Winter, Zen Master Brahm’s collection of monastic haiku places him at the forefront of the few modern haiku poets who write within the classic traditions of the greatest Japanese haiku masters of past centuries.
His work has been described as captivating and inspirational and reflects his deep perception of the wonderment of nature and the breadth and beauty of the human condition. Above all, each haiku is a Zen lesson in mindfulness. In essence, this is a book of wisdom.
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Starnberg Series: Book 2 – You Don’t Own Me
Juliette Simon is married, more or less unhappily, and is the most popular folk/pop singer in the German speaking world. She is Marie and Arabella Cooper-Nyman’s new neighbour, and lives in her purpose-built villa on Lake Starnberg in Bavaria.
She meets and falls in love with one of her backing singers, Jodie Sanchez. Their story is one full of trials and tribulations. Juliette must confront the homophobia rampant in the folk music world. Jodie must decide: her solo career in the USA, or Juliette?
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Starnberg Series: Book 3 – Give Me Time
In Starnberg Series: Book 3 - Give Me Time, the story unfolds around Leonie Brandt, a nineteen-year-old aspiring artist and theatre designer, daughter of the Cooper-Nyman’s housekeeper. Her life takes an intriguing turn when she meets the accomplished young director, Pia Hartmann. Despite an undeniable attraction, Pia hesitates, finding Leonie too youthful for romance.
As Leonie starts her career, their paths cross intermittently, sparking a tumultuous mix of longing and frustration. Leonie’s journey into romantic relationships between women begins under the mentorship of an older companion, leading her into a passionate affair with the enchanting opera singer, Thea Doukas. Meanwhile, Pia, trapped in a lackluster relationship, yearns for the bond she once shared with Leonie.
As Leonie matures and becomes entrenched in the world of theatre and opera, both women navigate the complexities of their desires and careers. Pia finds herself struggling to break free from her unsatisfactory relationship in hopes of rekindling what she and Leonie once had. With emotions running high and ambitions at stake, the question remains: Have they missed their moment, or is a shared future still within reach?
This third installment of The Starnberg Series delves deep into the emotional whirlpool of sex, love, and ambition, capturing the essence of youthful aspiration and the trials of the heart.
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Stay and Die
Las Vegas, New Mexico Territory in 1879, when the railroad arrives, is a boomtown for men and women of dubious virtue from all over the West. Gamblers, gunmen, crooks, shady ladies, they all drift in, and the result is explosive.In this febrile and dangerous environment, real historical characters interact with fictional ones to create an atmosphere of tension which will climax in violence and passion.John Joshua Webb is one of those who arrive in town looking for action. Josh will run into old friends from Dodge like Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, and will cross paths with the likes of Jesse James and Billy the Kid.But most of all he will have to deal with the sinister éminence grise of the wide-open town, Hoodoo Brown, who first hires Josh, but then needs him gone.Josh will find love and lose it, and he will have to decide whether to leave, and live, or stay and die…
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Steelsbridge Angels
Steelsbridge Angels is a gritty, compassionate and community-led story of Gary Minton and his burning ambition to play football as a goalkeeper for his hometown club. This leads him to the ultimate glory in the summer of 1966!
Gary strives hard to become a success! Out of poverty, he influences family and friends and all who he encounters in his life.
This is a comical, tragic, uplifting and inspirational novel all about Gary Minton and his Steelsbridge Angels.
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Steeple City
Steeple City is set in Cork City, Ireland and is a humorous story of how selfishness and loneliness can consume a family whose mother dies giving birth. We get to see life through the eyes of the main character Fin, a funny, lying, stealing fourteen-year-old bastard who despises his older gay brother and womanising father. The only rock in his life is his granny “The Mad Mullah”. The more hardship Fin inflicts or is inflicted upon him the more relatable he becomes. His toxic humour helps him and the reader navigate a year in his life. Fin’s immediate and extended family experience a year of love, laughter and death where an array of characters enter Steeple City with their own unique self-destructive story.
£8.99