Nature’s Universe

Deborah Marie Newbitt, a resident of Christchurch, New Zealand, has been an avid poet since the age of eight, when her Nana Ivy Preston, a renowned author, encouraged her to write. In her debut anthology, Nature’s Universe, Deborah’s passion for the natural world is evident in each of the 30 poems included. Whether read as a family or individually, the poems are infused with detail and insight, reflecting Deborah’s unique perspective on the wonders of nature. Each poem in Nature’s Universe celebrates the beauty and diversity of our planet. So, whether you’re a nature enthusiast or simply looking for a moment of quiet reflection, Nature’s Universe is the perfect read.

Not Our Own Is This World

What does it mean to have an individual identity? In this short collection of poems, B. Ronald Judd explores the obstacles that the modern world imposes upon our understanding of individual identity, while also exploring the foundations of individual identity in both nature and community. Far from having total freedom to define ourselves, we must at last submit to the limitations that are imposed upon us.  We must discover that this world is not our own.

Six Stories of Aphrodite’s Well

This is a story of loss and being taken on a journey of self discovery by people who come from differing walks of life. Some come from a very plain lifestyle while others come from a military life. They are drawn to a place that does not exist in the normal world but one that comes from the past that was dying from the lack of life, these are beings who do not come from our time, but a time of gods and heroes where everything was ruled by the gods. All characters are brought to a place they bring back to life. They stay and bring life to it and the forces that drew them to it, in this place they all find peace. They find a place to live rather than a place to stay.

'15.53.52.44'

On a chilling night in February 2019, Bradly Moore, a 32-year-old man, was discovered brutally murdered in his home.

The London police were on the case immediately. But this was no ordinary murder. Moments after his death, an emergency message was sent to eight individuals from Bradly’s contacts. All of them were summoned to the crime scene, making each one a suspect. With eight potential culprits and zero evidence, the investigation seemed nearly impossible.

But among the suspects, one stands out: forensic psychologist, Oliver Johnson. Oliver isn’t just any professional; he was Bradly’s oldest and dearest friend. Pressured by Bradly’s grieving family and driven by personal loss, Oliver is thrust into the center of the inquiry, using his expertise to unravel the case.

As he delves deeper, Oliver grapples with his own whirlwind of emotions, from anxiety to grief. And amidst the chaos of evidence and testimonies, a haunting question remains: Who killed Bradly Moore?

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.

150 Words That Will Never Sound Angry (most of the time)

In this book, Australian actress and author SuzanMarie has curated a dictionary of words that will never sound angry in any conversation. SuzanMarie discusses and digresses words from 'aglet' to 'zoo' by influencing mindfulness into our daily conversations.

150 Words That Will Never Sound Angry (most of the time).

Use them wisely...

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...

233 Domain

Who tried to kill US President Lyndon Johnson on his 1966 visit to Australia? What links the Prime Minister to a Cold Case murder inquiry? Only one man alive knows the answers… If he can be found.

Among the many news crews covering Johnson’s visit was young TV sound recordist Harry Hansen. Now it’s 2019 and Harry, long retired, discovers his original sound tapes from that day and what he believes is proof of an attempt to kill the President. Harry assembles the other members of his former crew and they set out to chase the scoop of their lives: Find the man who holds the secret.

But the head of Australia’s top-secret cyber security agency, The Cowgirl, has launched her own mission of kidnap and murder. Does she really want to stop the 50-year-old Johnson Plot from becoming public knowledge, or is it her task to bury new evidence linking the Prime Minister to murder?

Risking their lives, the old newsmen finally find their man and win journalism’s highest award for exposing the Johnson plot; only to find they may have got it wrong. Now they’re on the run from the Cowgirl and a religious cadre within the government as they try to prove the PM could be a killer. And they don’t know who they can trust.