A Fine Line

A story of the extraordinary lives of ordinary people.

Set between Victorian Liverpool and Dundee and the battlefields of the First World War, three families face the perils of life on the economic cliff-edge, where a single misstep can send lives plunging out of control.

Crossing a century of dramatic change, their journey begins in the aftermath of the slave trade, moving through the era of Empire expansion and Industrial Revolution to a time of religious strife and global conflict.

The world they navigate is one fraught with hazard in which exploitation, zealotry and violence lead to rape, prostitution, fraud, and murder.

At its heart, two indomitable women – lifelong friends – choose very different paths as they strive to hold their worlds together, and to survive.

A Slaver’s Tide

When George Tyler, captain of the slave ship Charlotte, is becalmed in the middle of the Atlantic, time is not on his side. In the cargo hold are hundreds of thirsty slaves, and water supplies are low. Running out of options Tyler orders the crew to do the unthinkable and throw many of the slaves overboard to drown.

As Tyler sails back into Bristol, the story of the Charlotte ignites a debate about the future of slavery. On one side are the abolitionists, determined to force the government to end slavery; on the other, the traders themselves, uncaring about anything except maintaining the wealth the trade brings. And in the middle, imprisoned and awaiting trial for murder, Tyler must confront his own morality and pick a side – the abolitionists or the traders.

Told from the perspective of the men who ran the trade and the sailors who participated in it, and those who worked to end slavery, A Slaver’s Tide is at times confronting, shocking and moving. It is the story of the best and worst of humanity and one man’s journey through guilt and damnation to what lies beyond.

A Thread of Fate

It is the late 1800s and thoughts of Hell and the Devil are all scary bedtime stories to Josephina. That is until a Son of Hell comes to earth.

In the small village where she lives, Josephina’s life is predictable and mundane. Desperate for adventure and excitement, she turns to unconventional hobbies that feed her soul. When a handsome duke arrives in town, Josephina becomes the envy of all the other girls. However, their courtship takes a dark turn, and Josephina will stop at nothing to escape.

As she seeks refuge with Zephyr, a mysterious and alluring figure from a dangerous world, Josephina finds herself torn between her familiar life with her family and the allure of the underworld. With Zephyr’s undeniable charm and the revelation that not everyone wants her there, Josephina must weigh all of her options and determine the fate that will ultimately shape her future.

A Way to Go

An intense romance developed out of an illicit and highly sensual affair of more than 10 years which survived many hurdles.

Freed from the ties of work and family by retirement and bereavement, the couple embark on a trip of a lifetime around the coasts of Europe, with its idyllic beaches, historic cities, fascinating art galleries and ancient sites.

This is a gripping and highly readable novel full of wit, fun and escapist pleasures, but with disturbing happenings which raise serious issues of love, estrangement and loss.

Almost Down to Earth

In this fable for our times, feisty M’bali Hoyle has returned to the town of her youthful disgrace. 

Will tiny, isolated Quimbleton take her to its heart this time?
Two glamorous visitors drop into her world just as she meets ex-rock star Hayes.
Only M’bali sees the dark threat behind their glitzy facades.

How can she convince Hayes and the starstruck locals, a cast of rural eccentrics, that her intuition is right?

Can she draw them all more or less together when danger strikes?

With a dry wit, the narrator observes the foibles of human nature as the reader is launched into a twisting, turning adventure with the future of life on Earth at its core.

An Agony of Flame and the Fury and the Mire

A two-part climax to The Last Vigil, An Agony of Flame and The Fury and the Mire, concludes the story of the fall of Constantinople. Here is an intense evocation, both of the gruelling eight-week siege itself and of the chaotic as well as terrifying aftermath.

In part three, Niccolo and Demetrius serve on the great Roman land walls, enduring bombardment and nocturnal hand-to-hand combat. Nestor-Iskander reappears, a deserter now from the Turkish camp. Niccolo is badly wounded, recovering in Theodora’s house in the suburb of Studion. Then comes the night of the final Ottoman assault when, after a valiant defence, treachery leads to massacre (including the death of Demetrius) and Niccolo finds himself among a scatter of survivors. 

Part four centres on Niccolo’s frantic attempts to find a way through a city, now being systematically sacked. Moreover, he must think of others. Demetrius might be dead but Nestor-Iskander has survived and demands refuge. Then there is Theodora locked up with the faithful in Hagia Sophia. Can Niccolo reach her before the marauding enemy? So, he travels deeper and deeper into his adopted city’s heart of darkness. Nestor finds protectors, loses, then regains them. Theodora is found then lost forever. Mehmet appears once more; Cinnamon never reappears. Finally, after the city has been overwhelmed and pacified, Niccolo sets sail westward across the Mediterranean, not home to Venice but to an Atlantic shore where a new age of exploration is about to dawn.  

An Ideal Daughter

Annie Grant loved her family, her violin, and her study. Once, a long time ago, she had also loved Liam.

When Annie opened the door that evening, she expected the supermarket delivery. Instead, it was Liam on the doorstep, begging for help. Annie, still a schoolgirl, was drawn into a situation that threatened not only Liam’s life, but the lives of many others, including her own.

The Covid-19 pandemic was raging as Annie fought to keep Liam, her family and herself out of danger. It would take every bit of her remarkable intellect and her incredible ingenuity to achieve this. All the while, she had another struggle on her hands – to maintain her focus and achieve the ambition that involvement with Liam was threatening to derail.

If it all went wrong a lot of people were going to die and not just from Covid-19.

And There's A God Who Is Close By

What is the meaning of our existence? From a human perspective, life may seem chaotic and full of contradictions. However, these contradictions are not at odds with each other, but rather they complement one another. Life doesn't recognize individuals, it recognizes our souls and our presence in the world. The days turn into nights, and the nights turn into days, and in an instant, light and darkness become one.

Our purpose as three-dimensional beings is to be awake and aware. But we often get lost in our own world and forget the essence of life. To gain more insight and understanding, it’s better to start from the surface. We must accept where we are and delve into the subtlety that the surface holds. By exploring the depths of the surface, you will find peace within yourself, from your body to your actions.

In these letters, I hope to awaken humanity to the realization that without contradictions, there can be no peace. By accepting our contradictions, we can find relaxation in our bodies and behaviours, and ultimately find reconciliation with our inner selves. Remember, you are a God.

Angel In The Mirror

Since losing her dad at a young age, Annith Padra has always feared losing those closest to her. So when she looks at her new-born half-sister Leanne’s reflection in an old rustic mirror and sees a dark figure looming there, she begins to panic. Annith becomes obsessed in finding a way to remove it, especially when she discovers this dark threat has the ability to destroy Leanne the same way it died — by fire. But this doesn’t appear to be the only threat, as only since this dark figure has appeared has Annith started to learn about her dad’s death nine years ago. 

Angels Can Love

Mike is an angel tasked to help the homeless of New York City. On the streets of Manhattan, Mike runs into Alice. Overwhelmed by love at first sight, he realises he would need to become human in order to be with Alice. Mike approaches The One in hope of experiencing human life for one day. The One grants Mike until sunrise the following day to make a crucial decision: to remain human or return to his angelic existence. What Mike decides to do will change his fate forever.

Avalon Days

This gentle fantasy about Olivia’s visits to her ‘New World’ of Avalon, accessed through her grandfather’s picture of a robin which hangs on her bedroom wall, is a children’s story. Yet, it is much more than what is normally implied by that description.

The robin comes to life and calls her through the picture frame into Avalon where she is crowned queen over the forest birds and animals. Olivia explores their world and helps save them from various disasters. But she also grows up. In the first Avalon adventure she is a child, but by the final one she is sixteen, a teenager tracing her individual path as the slightly lonely, youngest child in her real-life family. More than that, she is a teenager dealing with the loss of the beloved granddad who was the person who understood her best. Avalon’s lesson about the continuation of their relationship, beyond death, is the theme of Olivia’s last adventure.

Avalon Days has overtones of the writing of the Austrian novelist, poet, and painter Adalbert Stifter (1805-1868). Stifter’s concern for conservation and environmental issues is increasingly relevant today.

Benito's Truth

Amidst Peru’s rebellion against Spanish rule and an impending blockade by the Chilean fleet, the Viceroy of Lima and its priests devise a plan to safeguard the fabled Treasure of Lima. Captain Bennett Grahame, commanding the HMS Devonshire, is entrusted with this crucial task and instructed to return once the coast is clear. However, fate intervenes as Bennett falls deeply in love with Teresa, the enchanting daughter of the Viceroy. Their passionate affair leads to unforeseen consequences – Teresa loses her virginity, thwarting her father’s carefully arranged marriage plans and resulting in her exile to Spain on the galleon Santa Katerina Isabella, destined for a life in a distant monastery.

Driven by his unwavering love, Bennett embarks on a daring pursuit of the Isabella, defying all odds to rescue his beloved Teresa and confronting the Spanish Captain in a fateful showdown that forever alters his path. Cast into the realm of piracy, Bennett embraces his new persona as Benito ‘Bloody Sword’ Bonito, a fearsome figure renowned throughout the Spanish Main.

Compelled by both love and ambition, Benito sets sail from the Caribbean, in possession of the legendary treasure said to be hidden in a Queenscliff cave in colonial Australia. A tale of love, piracy, and insatiable greed unfolds, spanning from the shores of the Iberian Peninsula to the distant reaches of Australia’s colonial past. Revealed through the perspectives of Benito, Teresa, and their son Benjamin, Benito’s Truth offers a breathtaking account of the events that truly transpired—a narrative so incredible, it defies the boundaries of fiction. Prepare to discover that truth can be more astounding than any tale ever told.