Join Jessica Holt at Black Gull Books on the 14th December 2016 between 6-8pm to get your hands on a signed copy of her exciting new thriller: 'The Man Who Changed His Name'.

The talented author of 'The Bee Hive', Simon Adepetun will be visiting the Sir Thomas Boteler High School in Warrington where he will be talking about his popular book. Make sure to get your questions ready kids, this is a book you will want to know about. Eleven-year-old Daniel Jeremiah Chambers has parents Philip and Susan who love work and shopping and who just don't listen. Daniel is an only child ... no, he's lying ... he has a sister, Alice, who has a dolly fixation; Dan is sure she is an alien. So, Dan has a few problems, none insurmountable, until his friend, Benji, introduces him to the find of the century - a derelict bee hive which could become a den. Of course, such a simple thing is never so simple and when Dan finds a map well, all kinds of things just go horribly wrong. For example - Alice noses her nosey way in and two strange men suddenly turn up wanting what's theirs - and then there's the bank, too. The Beehive by Simon Adepetun is a tight little sharp-witted bumble through a short period in Dan's young life. ‘What's a bumble?' - ‘Shut up, Alice!'

Head to Oundle Bookshop between 10am and 1pm to meet the author Jenny Dunbar. She will be there signing copies of her book 'Thoughts of Time'. Get the chance to meet your local author and poet. Poetry and conversation with this author will make for a great event. Have your book signed and then talk about the complexity and wonderful nature of poetry. In Summer Linen, Jenny Dunbar contrasts "The citrus hay days, apple dawn and wood warm," against "the glass edged ice horn of the winter visitor who made old, hunched creatures of us all." The poem highlights the main themes of the collection; the passing of time, and the sublime power and beauty of nature. With time comes memories; love, laughter, and contemplation echo through the poems. In Last, Dunbar questions, "Where were you as the world tipped? The city spewed. The last tree split." Meanwhile in The Excite, she reminisces of "Rain in summer on a warm night, sounds on mellow wood, under my feet as we stand, undone and freely innocent." Balancing light and dark, Thoughts of Time, An Anthology, is a collection to absorb, revisit and enjoy.

Get your copy of 'Pants Optional' signed by the author herself, Carol L. Steingreaber will be signing her books for a couple of hours. In her first autobiography, Pants Optional, Carol Steingreaber offers a hilarious, unrestricted insight into her life thus far in Iowa, USA. The reader is a privileged passenger on the journey, invited to buckle up for the ride as Carol shares her stories from the sibling squabbles of childhood, to cringeworthy dating moments, marriage and various stages of motherhood. Her witty, "tell-it-straight" writing style conjures up images you can't help but laugh at, often accompanied by photos that speak a thousand (usually comical) words. Carol provides the reader with "UNconventional tips" on a whole range of themes such as housework and hospitals, illness and injury, Nerf guns and nudity, safety concerns and sex, friendship, faith and a great many more. Moments of eternal embarrassment are interspersed with flashes of comic/parenting genius, and every reader will find a nugget or three (or twenty!) to inspire them. A cracking read, and highly recommended.

Make sure to attend the Frome library as the year draws to a very grateful close. This is because the astounding Paula Wilkes will be performing a reading of her well written and adored book 'Annie and the Butterfly Fairies'. Children will love it, and you will love the fact that they love it. Now is the chance to meet the woman behind it all, Paula Wilkes. ‘What? Rescue who? But I'm only seven!' After falling asleep in her mother's car Annie suddenly finds herself in the strange but beautiful land of the fairies, where the King and Queen desperately need her help. Humans, who do not believe in fairies and can only see them as butterflies, have captured their daughter Princess Erin, and it is up to Annie to come to her rescue. She is accompanied on her exciting journey by friends both old and new. Can this be real, or is Annie only dreaming it? A touching adventure in the tradition of The Wizard of Oz, Annie and the Butterfly Fairies shows a young girl learning responsibility and helping others using the inner strength she never knew she had.

If you head down to Feltham Library early March, you can spend an hour of your Thursday night with the author behind 'The Land of White', a enthralling and unique book that combines cooking and memoirs. The Land of White is a combination of cookery book and food memoir which takes the real cooking experiences from the writer straight to your kitchen. The often eclectic recipes, interspersed with charming evocations of the author's beloved homeland, reflect Lebanon's cosmopolitan heritage. The dishes may be simple to make but the results are rich in aroma and flavour, with unique ingredients, and prepare you for a real Lebanese adventure. The fusion of aubergine puree with pomegranate rubies, stuffed Swiss chard cigars and kibbe balls stuffed with minced lamb all create a rich and mind-blowing gastronomic extravaganza!

Whether you're a fan of David C. Pike's most recent work 'Fire - Floats and Fireboats', or you're more interested in 'Beyond the Flames' or 'London's Firefighters', head down to the Excel centre on Saturday to meet the man who wrote all three of these compelling novels. After his autobiography Beyond the Flames and his eclectic anthology London's Firefighters, David C. Pike's latest book about the London Fire Brigade, Fire-Floats and Fireboats, takes as its focus the history of firefighting on the river Thames. Starting in Roman times and bringing the story right up to the present day, Pike's comprehensive survey charts the astonishing evolution of the vessels used to combat fire from the river, pays homage to the intrepid crews of these often unwieldy craft, and vividly recreates some of the most devastating conflagrations the capital has ever seen. With more than 250 fascinating illustrations, Fire-Floats and Fireboats is certain to appeal to lovers of London and aficionados of history and technology, but will also be enjoyed by a wide range of general readers.

'The Chicken and Frog Bookshop' is hosting Sarah J. Jay, author of the vegan cookbook 'Rooted' for a book signing event, so head down to get your copy signed, ask her a few questions about transitioning into a vegan lifestyle and share a few vegan snacks that Sarah J. Jay will be bringing along with her. If you are already a vegan, or thinking of becoming one, have a look at this amazing book that provides you with the best of recipes. If you are looking for a way into vegan food that doesn't look like vegan food to the untrained eye, then welcome. This book is the one for you. What you are holding is the result of the first eighteen months of a transition from omnivore to vegan, made by me and later, my children: the things that were good, and the errors we made. I hadn't intended to write a guide and recipe book, but since I couldn't find one that suited me, I concluded there must be a gap in the market, a need not being met. My food only needs a supermarket, a kitchen space and a little time. No weird ingredients. No mushy, nondescript dishes. This is wholesome, comforting and familiar. Some of it is even naughty! So dive in. What are you waiting for?