If It Is Turtledove to Water Back

Luca Fiocca, in this breviary, responds with irony and cheekiness to a recent statement by Charlize Theron, in which she said: ‘I’ve been single for 10 years, it’s not a long shot. Somebody just needs to grow a pair and step up. I’m shockingly available.’

To do this, he enjoys listing a series of creative approach techniques…

All That Love Is

Have you ever been in love? Ever wanted to be in love? Or thought, ‘I’ve had enough of love – it’s so overrated’. Perhaps you’ve sat on the bus or the train going to work and every day the same guy sits opposite you and gives that nod and a smile that makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck and you think, ‘Yes, he is the one’. Or maybe you’ve already met the man of your dreams and knew instantly you would spend the rest of your life with him. Lucky you! Or had your heart broken so many times that when the right guy did come along, you turned and ran a mile.

How about the guy you went to school with, the tough sporty type who always had the girls fawning over him, but you bump into him one day, chat and arrange to meet up for drinks, only to find out that he was in love with you all the time. Relationships in the straight world can be fickle at the best of times, but hey, in the ‘Gay’ arena of life, there are normally no rules except when cupid, that little devil, pokes you both with that pink fluffy arrow, and then… nothing else matters except LOVE.

An Open Letter to Everyone I Have Ever Loved

An open letter to everyone I have ever loved unveils the transformative journey of an individual who finds healing love and acceptance after abuse. Written in an intimate format of a letter addressed to each individual, it lends a unique perspective into the relationship between her and all the people who have left an indelible mark on her heart.

From fleeting romances to deep rooted connections, each letter serves as a portal into her soul, delving into the complexities of love loss and longing. Bittersweet memories and personal anecdotes intertwined with universal truths serve as a timeless reminder that healing and beginning on the road to find true love starts from within.

Brown-Eyed Stranger, Greek Holidays, Lemons and Oranges

These three humorous and heartfelt stories, brimming with romance, adventure, and drama, are set against the stunning backdrops of the Greek islands and the Amalfi Coast during the 1950s and 1970s.

Brown-Eyed Stranger

When Henry accidentally rings the bell at a neighboring villa, Helen's life takes an unforeseen turn, offering her a second chance at love. However, the path is far from smooth, with surprising obstacles – including an unexpected visit from her estranged husband. Meanwhile, Henry uncovers a long-kept family secret that changes everything he thought he knew about his life, setting off a series of transformative events.

Greek Holiday

Guliermo embarks on a two-day trip from Skiathos to Athens to document the student uprising, never imagining he will return a changed man.

Lemons and Oranges

Seventeen-year-old Franca arrives in Sorrento with her family for their eagerly awaited summer holiday. To her surprise, she experiences her first kiss—and finds herself caught in a love triangle.

Fairy Tales for Adults

Mr. Artemis Moon and Miss Solaris reside in the Kingdom of Sky, where they have a bird’s-eye view of events unfolding on Earth. Both are deeply passionate about children’s welfare, feeling compelled to intervene when they witness injustice.

Solaris, Artemis Moon’s lifelong friend and confidant, appreciates his wicked sense of humour and love of pranks. She often enlists his help in playing practical jokes on humans who have strayed from the path of kindness.

These enchanting tales showcase the triumph of good over evil, illustrating how our words and actions can profoundly impact others. Each story carries a moral lesson, as the residents of the Kingdom of Sky invite readers to join their campaign to improve humanity.

The book calls on each of us to become advocates for compassion, empathy, and kindness, in the hope that love may ultimately conquer all.

Onwards

Onwards marks the captivating third instalment in the beloved Cornucopia series, a collection of short stories that masterfully blend humour, pathos, and a keen eye for the human condition. Spanning the past seventy years, these tales weave together events, relationships, loves, and losses, creating a rich tapestry of life’s varied experiences. Each story is crafted to resonate with the reader, promising hours of enjoyable, thought-provoking, and deeply satisfying reading.

In today’s fast-paced world, where reading time is often a luxury, the short story format of Onwards is especially relevant. Perfect for busy individuals, this collection is an ideal companion for those moments of pause – whether you find yourself in transit, in a waiting room, or relaxing on a beach, at a bar, or in a hotel room.

Beyond entertainment, Onwards offers profound insights into the intricacies of life. It reassures adult readers that their doubts, worries, joys, and tears are universal experiences. This collection is not just a book to read; it’s one to treasure, revisit, and cherish, becoming a beloved addition to your literary collection.

The Shortbread Tales

The recipe: the rich mixture of stories that comprise The Shortbread Tales brings the reader face to face with a diversity of yarns, covering encounters with the SAS in Borneo, robberies, horse racing, financial escapades and ghostly experiences. The locations are as varied as the subject matter: from South Shields to the South Seas. All the short stories have the cachet of being true, or taken with a pinch of salt; the majority were experienced first-hand by the author. A vital ingredient is comedy. The stories recognize and amplify the funny side of life, they are devoid of social comment. Instead they aim to uplift the spirit through humour. The twenty tales comprise quick, easy and rewarding reads, with which people of all ages, can readily relate. The Shortbread Tales provide ideal bedtime reads, travelling material, or waiting room companions. They are delivered with insight, and are well-crafted to entertain and amuse the reader. Cook’s tip: perfect for reading on a tea break. Serve with a cuppa and a shortbread biscuit. Bon appétit!

Shooting at Morals

A man dies, yet lives on to tell about it; another man travels to Vegas seeking the base but instead finds the noble; a young woman too eager to please gets in over her head; a young man mistakes cowardice for revolution; and a teenager decides to take justice into her own hands. All these and others find themselves Shooting at Morals. But they also find that when they do so, morals can, and do, shoot back.     "Veteran non-fiction author and philosopher Loewen turns to fiction. The results will amuse you. Disturb you. Shock you. Shooting at Morals: truly 'the most dangerous game' of all."

White Shadows

When Reason Dreams

We live in a rational age in which science and modern technology have removed doubt and ignorance. We no longer fear the dark, we no longer need to use superstitious symbols to protect our houses and families. We know what is happening in the world and are in contact with friends and family who might live miles away. Ours is a rational world… or is it?

These short ghost stories are not set in remote Scottish castles or haunted Victorian houses. They are about the modern world, places where you would not expect to encounter the supernatural. Just because we can see the world on television, speak with people across the oceans and know exactly what causes natural phenomena, the happenings that so terrified our ancestors, does not mean that ghosts have disappeared. Scientific progress has not buried the supernatural.

Children play with long dead ghostly friends, a cruise ship is haunted, a Stuart tragedy reveals its secret in a horrifying way, a married man revisits his past in Florence where he meets his death lured by the ghost of a former lover, a doctor fails to save his wife’s death in a car accident and is haunted to destruction by her spirit, a man is obsessed by a dream, an art dealer steals a painting from an old lady but her ghost returns to pursue him, a man buys a First World War memorial plaque and wished he had never seen it.

Reason and logic still dream.

We’ll Be Alright

Fighting is the most natural instinct in mankind,  whether they are young or old; whether it is fighting back an oppressive system; fighting in wars; fighting back our desires, or fighting each other. We all fight.

A memorable history lesson that will change the course of two teenagers lives, little voices that speak up big words, a soldier’s diary and the vows of a broken lover.

We’ll Be Alright tells the story of everyday struggles wrapped up in extraordinary events but grounded with emotions and humanity.

Tile Tales

When young I often wrote stories, either to fulfil the requirements of school or for my own pleasure. At one point I joined a circle of budding writers; we never met but circulated our tales by post. This was a short-lived experience. The rather harsh criticisms dampened my enthusiasm, it would appear. Thereafter, a working life and family needs pushed the idea of writing largely out of my mind, until that light-bulb moment arrived. Like so many others, I had been playing the popular word game, Scrabble, with family and friends over many years, and more recently a similar internet-based game using a tablet. I decided that, by keeping note of the final medley of words from each game, it might be possible to write a short story utilising some of these words, which might trigger in my mind a setting, a plot or characters of a short tale. One more constraint I imposed was that each story should be no longer than one printed page. So, this I set out to do, and while not every game produced words that fired my imagination, many did. This collection of short stories is the result.