10 Days of Dad

Dad and I rarely saw eye to eye. We fought so much when I was growing up, I think we yelled ‘I hate you’ more than ‘I love you’.

But Covid-19 changed all of that...

It was meant to be an enjoyable holiday, the cruise of a lifetime, but really it was the giant floating petri dish that allowed Covid-19 to dock on Australian shores.

Through tragedy, came forgiveness and second chances.

Dad, you are a cockroach – an atomic bomb couldn’t kill you...a virus named after a beer has no chance...

12 Presents

It is December 2019, and preparations for Barbados Prime Minister Jeffrey Motby’s annual Christmas reception have been thrown into disarray when a close and dear friend of his dies in a vehicular accident. One week later, another long-term friend dies by drowning. Motby becomes concerned. Was this coincidence, or were his two friends’ deaths connected? He is unable to comprehend their untimely deaths and his friendship with them going back over 30 years as Mango Club members.

While not strictly a national security matter, Motby quietly asks the Barbados Intelligence Bureau (BIB) to investigate the deaths to see what, if anything, connects either or both deaths to him, his family, or his government. The apparent suicide of a third friend makes the investigation official. BIB operatives and Barbados police officers review the three deaths in different Caribbean countries. Other Mango Club members' lives are also threatened.

Can the Chaos Theory help? Are the killings being made due to anger, envy, jealousy, revenge, or elements of all four of these factors? The Barbados crisis has the potential to ripple across the Caribbean Sea and beyond. Long-held personal secrets are exposed and friendships fray. Only hard work, cooperation, trust, ingenuity, and some luck help in solving the 12 Presents puzzle.

14 Apartments

Lady Elizabeth Barrington-Elsworthy’s charred remains are discovered after her home, Barrington Hall, is burned to the ground. She was ‘the keeper’ of the infamous Barrington jewels and heirlooms and her untimely death means that their whereabouts are now unknown. It is believed they are hidden somewhere on the estate. The estate is closed. Years pass and then Cavendish House, a palatial building, now stands where Barrington Hall once stood.The property is now divided into fourteen apartments. Cherishé Love lives in apartment 4. She discovers a book, ‘The History of Barrington Hall’, that references the missing heirlooms and also that a substantial reward is being offered by Lord Henry Barrington-Elsworthy if they are found. Cherishé and her best friend Sonia are determined to seek out the treasure but they are not alone - others are also keen to look for them.So begins an hilarious journey where lies, deceit, betrayal and lust all have their part to play.

1984 – Diary of a 16/17-Year-Old

Transport your mind back to 1984 – an era where there were no mobile phones, no internet, no nothing...

Immerse yourself in this poignant diary of an innocent 16/17-year-old... living every day to the max! 

Enjoy reading her intriguing, witty and delightful diary... 

2+2MayB5

When a Member of Parliament is found murdered and hidden behind a statue in the entrance of Westminster, retired Detective Chief Inspector Friender is called upon by Scotland Yard to use his skills and expertise to solve the case. As Friender delves into the victim’s life and relationships, he follows a trail of clues that takes him on a journey along the River Thames and into the heart of the House of Commons. Along the way, he must use his divergent thinking and unique approach to private investigation to uncover the truth behind the MP’s shocking assassination. Could competition be the motive driving the murder, or is there something deeper at play?

2034

A futuristic, dystopian novel that charts the absolute division of modern society, as the majority of the population dutifully and readily accept the new medical-digital dictatorship in exchange for peace-of-mind and alleged safety. A hardcore, significant minority refuse to bow the knee to chemical tyranny and totalitarianism. As a result, the majority are medically protected from the untreated vulnerable minority by a geographical division of society, policed not by concrete walls and barbed wire, but by lethal drones. The majority are controlled and protected in their ultra-safe, utilitarian, futuristic, world, complete with artificial food, driverless electric taxis, permanent social distancing, and little need to work. The renegades in the excluded world are left to fend for themselves, to build new communities in the abandoned wild lands, living hand-to-mouth, without electricity or any mod-cons, but they are free.

The consequences for the two communities unfold through the story, piece by piece, are not what you would expect!

2047

Natasha, raised in an orphanage in Hiroshima, has always been searching for the truth about her past. But when she becomes one of two female commanders on a space lab tracking two massive asteroids, she finds herself in the middle of a mystery that threatens to end life as we know it.
With the Earth on the brink of destruction, everyday objects are appearing in the strangest places – over 250,000 years old, and seemingly out of time. From digital watches in museums to modern spectacles in ancient Egyptian digs, something is not right.
And as the asteroids change direction, heading straight for the planet, a third, massive, metallic sphere appears. Will Natasha and the team be able to stop the impending extinction event, or will the Earth be lost forever?

20A Lordship Road

The house in which I was born (20A Lordship Road), had only been occupied by my future family for a few months before my birth. Coming from the London suburbs, they settled in the green-belt area of Cheshunt in Hertfordshire. Unlike the other two-storey houses in our street which were parallel to the road, ours, at three storeys, was not only bigger than all the others, it also faced at right angles to them and parallel with Cheshunt Great House.  

In the stained-glass window on our front door was a picture of Oliver Cromwell. Why Oliver Cromwell should be depicted, as he had no known attachments to Cheshunt unlike his son, Richard Cromwell, who resided, using a hidden identity in the form of John Clarke in Cheshunt around 1680, until his death in 1712, remains a mystery. Though recorded as being buried at Hursley, in Winchester, there was rumour that his real resting place was, in fact, in an unmarked tomb in the grounds of St Mary’s church, in Cheshunt.   

St Mary’s church was close to, or in part of, the former grounds of Cheshunt Great House, which was gifted to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey by Henry VIII; and, as the crow flies, St Mary’s church was less than two minutes’ walk from our house. In fact, Cheshunt Great House was only ten minutes away. Our road was a cul-de-sac; its name was ‘Lordship Road’.

Oh, I forgot to say...our house was haunted...

21st Century Balance

Global poverty has declined, people have better access to medical care, and at the touch of a button, humans have access to instant entertainment. So, if life is better than it’s ever been, why are so many of us feeling depressed, burnt out, and anxious on a daily basis? As wonderful as 21st century innovations have been, they’ve created a range of new problems.

Thankfully, the solution to these problems is simple: we need balance. In 21st Century Balance, author and balance consultant Mark H. Law takes a deep dive into the history, philosophy, and practice of balanced living.

Follow along as Law outlines an indispensable set of strategies that will refine your self-awareness, establish confidence, and help you make informed decisions. Whether you’re seeking balance in your career, your relationships or in your general state of mind, this book will show you how to reach your goals and live a more harmonious life.  

26 Years Behind Bars

The book is written from the perspective of a participant observer. It is not strictly an autobiography or a history, although it has elements of both, as it would fail without them. It is intended for both the general reader and criminal justice professionals. My intention is that the book is educational, showing the prison system over three decades in the context of social, political and organisational change, in particular the impact of the decline of deference, the growth of public managerialism and the rise of political correctness. The trenchant opinions expressed are based on intellectual rumination, observation of human behaviour, and personal and professional experience. I have deliberately chosen a thematic approach for the book so that explanation and information work in tandem, giving a unique insight into the modern prison service and the workings of the public sector.

284 Munros

Since the Rev A E Robertson first accomplished the feat in 1901, over 6,500 people have registered their “compleation” of the Munros with the Scottish Mountaineering Club. There are records for the fastest round; for “compleating” in a continuous walk, or in a single season; for the greatest number of rounds; etc.

David Barraclough took a more leisurely approach, taking 51 years and 164 days to walk 2,086 miles and climb 690,000 feet between ascents of Sgùrr nan Gillean, his first Munro climbed when he was fourteen, and Beinn Dòrain, his 284th. David’s book is more than a diary of his achievement. He includes descriptions of the often non-standard routes he took to the summits and tries to rationalise the many changes that have been made to the Munro listings over the years. Beyond the mountains themselves, he discusses the effects on both access and the environment of the dams and enlarged lochs associated with hydro-electric power schemes, and the more recent threat to the wildness of Scotland’s more remote areas from industrial-scale wind farms. Throughout the book, David’s lifelong love of the Scottish mountains shines through.

3 Boys, 2 Dogs, 1 (Ex) Husband and Absolutely No Idea

‘I never thought, when I met my husband at 18, got married at 25, had my third baby at 30 or even two years ago when I started writing this book, that I would find myself in the position I am now… a single mum to three boys, two dogs with a now ex-husband.

This is a brutally honest account of life since I weed on that stick. Pregnancy, haemorrhoids, cabbage leaves, mum mates, tantrums, holidays, hormones, sex, dogs and divorce.

This is definitely not a guide to parenting but it may make you feel a little less alone on the journey.’