Breaking Stones

The phenomenon of human potential is never beyond our sight.

An opportunity is always offered to people. Sometimes in a mysterious way. Whoever ignores or rejects it will never truly experience life’s journey. Staying on the same path is to constantly relive the same day. That’s why exploration embodies mankind’s natural need to deal with the secrets below the surface. Although the facts about us as human beings speak in an understandable language, this doesn’t mean we’re not an enigma to ourselves. Understanding oneself is a very demanding process, similar to an autopsy. Not a physical autopsy, but a spiritual one. Discovering the anatomy of one’s soul cannot be done abruptly. Moments of inspiration will make the realization of whether we are controlled by our consciousness or our subconsciousness easier. Hiding behind a heavy veil until the very end is not truly living.

Sometimes a mere piece of paper under a windshield wiper with just three words and a phone number can change your life instantly.

The hero of this novel who only refers to himself as “The Recorder” dared to call a number left on a piece of paper beneath his windscreen wiper. He sensed an opportunity. A few weeks later, a telegram arrived:

IT’S TIME. IT’S YOUR TURN NOW. MOVE NOW!

A trip to an unknown estate marks the beginning of an adventure, and he begins writing the history of his life.

Breast Cancer Smiles

On a cold day in February, 2018, Shazia goes from a tennis court in the morning to a hospital in the afternoon where she is diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. As her journey unfolds, humour becomes her crutch, writing becomes her tool and a powerful connection to her South Asian roots becomes her purpose.

This isn’t a tale of cancer and the devastation it undoubtedly brings. It’s the story of a life-altering journey enriched by time. Shazia tells a tale of re-birth swathed in love, humour and pain. She unveils the shame of breast cancer in her birth culture that is killing women before their time. In her birthplace, Pakistan, cancer is casually known as ‘the kiss of death’.

For Shazia, it is quite the opposite. This is life through a different lens and a questioning of the status quo. Her musings provoke debate and challenge existing beliefs, holding up a different mirror to society. These chronicles are written during 18 months of chemotherapy, sepsis, surgery and radiotherapy. They are written with hope and an intermittent smile.

Breath of God

We’ve crossed the border and are in the Republic of Ireland. I’m wondering whether I’ll see snow again, all over Ireland, falling on every part of the dark central plain, on treeless hills, falling softly upon the Bog of Allen and on Shannon waves. Would I ever again read Joyce?

“Sit there,” Thomas says. He looks over his shoulder at William, says “Come on,” with a directive nod of his head and gets out of the car. William gets out and the two stand at the front of the car where I can see them talking. Their talk becomes animated with much hand gestures, and head noddings, and jerkings. They come back to the car, but instead of taking me out, get in.

“Stanley,” says Thomas.

Mary Ford has asked Stanley Eigerman, a Messianic Jewish detective, to find her son Stephen, who has been made to disappear during the troubles in the Belfast. For 21 years Mary has grieved for her missing son, and in taking the case Eigerman gets more than he bargains for.

Breath of God is a novel

Written in language that elevates the soul

Is an anti-depressant

Has a theme that speaks across the ages

 To each of us

Living in a world of violence, fear, and pity.

Breathless Without You

Adam Estrada has a bit of a reputation for his serial dating prowess and is not looking to get into a serious relationship. But when he finds out his sister’s best friend, Kit, is attending his brother’s wedding, he thinks he might be in a little bit of trouble. Especially since he seems to be turning up everywhere Adam is. Kit is the only one who has ever made his heart race, but he’s straight. Kit Richards has never thought much about his sexual orientation until he comes back into contact with Adam. Adam has suddenly brought up emotions in him that he hasn’t felt since they were teenagers, and he realises that he’s definitely gay. Especially when he decides to throw caution to the wind and kiss Adam. Now he’s found a relationship that he can see himself putting his all into, but will Adam be able to commit? Will they be able to keep this relationship intact, or will something or someone tear them apart?

Brett: ‘Love of My Life’

Sometimes a girl’s dream is to have a safe home.

Steph’s escape is listening to her Queen records and dancing at the discos. It is the ’80s; music keeps her mind safe – it is the only thing she trusts. At 16, she finds love and friendship in a bikie called Brett. She never knew her first love would be the ‘love of her life’.

Brett is as damaged as Steph; tragedy seems to follow them. He is the only person who ever believed in Steph and her dreams.

However, with no money and no family to help her, Steph hits obstacles at every turn – with sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll.

Will Steph ever escape and follow her dream?

Brighton Schlock

What happens when a biker drag queen uncovers an evil trafficking plot, with the help of his dominatrix side-kick from the flat downstairs; a certain type of wart invades a hospital ward; your teenage GBF turns out to be related to you; shredding machines and other devices take on a life of their own; and horny gargoyles abseil into cocktail parties – all in one of the nation’s most louche hotspots? And just who are these two young boys, skulking through many of the tales? With shared locales and dramatis personae, Merryman Downes’ Brighton Schlock is a fast-paced, surreal, happy, sexy, sad, and ultimately tender suite of interrelated tales where intrigue, horror and seemingly magical occurrences affect the well weird residents and enclaves of Sodom-on-Sea – or Brighton, as those of us who love it, call it.

Oh – and did anybody mention the astral body-snatching?

Broken Roads Lead Me Here

Broken Roads Lead Me Here tells the true-life story of a boy born into unimaginable abuse in Glasgow in the sixties. By the age of eight, Colin had been abandoned by his mother and continued to be sexually, physically, emotionally, and spiritually traumatised by the man she left him with. Blunted by severe trauma, Colin went through one unimaginable nightmare after another, each more traumatising and soul shattering than the last, with no one to tell and no way to understand why. He wondered as he drifted through life, what was to really become of him? Or his half-sisters? All the while, deep down, sensing that one day it could be his last.

At fifteen, he was thrown out of school, and at sixteen he was sent to prison. Colin survived rejection, abandonment, homelessness, gang wars, addiction, mental illness, overdoses, suicide attempts, and abusive adult relationships. But it always seemed as if he was living on borrowed time…

Even as he started writing his memoir, Colin had suffered a stroke, and near his recovery’s conclusion was then diagnosed with what was initially suspected as pancreatic cancer. While Colin’s diagnosis was eventually re-assessed as not immediately life threatening, it did leave him with a series of conditions which would continue to limit the quality of his day-to-day life. His illnesses and his experience of this instead of instilling a sense of profound hopelessness surprisingly led him to a profound sense of inner peace, clarity, and re-awakened purpose through his renewed faith in the real presence, love, forgiveness, and grace of God. His is a miraculous story of faith and redemption.

Colin Mackell is a husband, father, and grandfather. In his professional life as Psychotherapist, he has helped people who struggle to overcome drug and alcohol addiction, and helps them find new meaning, and explore new life paths. He is also the founder of Chrysalis Supported Association & Group CEO of Chrysalis Group Services, providing homes and support to some of life’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged people.

Broken Wings

Returning to her family’s village in Scotland for the sombre anniversary of her brother Max’s passing, Martha, a dedicated primary school teacher from Camden, northwest London, braces herself for a flood of painful memories. Instead, she’s enveloped in the warmth and affection of her family and rekindles her bond with her best friend, Izzy.

However, her trip takes an unexpected turn when her father’s old Ford Escort breaks down en route to Inverness. To her dismay, the recovery truck that arrives is driven by Jackson, Max’s childhood best friend and the local mechanic. Martha has always held Jackson partly responsible for Max’s death, as he was with him on that fateful night.

Despite her best efforts to keep her distance, the undeniable chemistry between Martha and Jackson is palpable. She’s determined to resist any feelings for him, but when adversity strikes, Martha realizes that Jackson might just be the one person she can rely on.

Bronita the Queen of Night

In the kingdom of knights, Bronita reigns as Queen. But as she prepares to give birth to her young son, she knows that his innocence and curiosity will put him in grave danger. Dark evil lurks, waiting to ensnare him in its trap. But Bronita and the creatures of the night will not stand idly by. They will fight to find the antidode to a terrible curse, but their journey will lead to unexpected discoveries. Through the trials and battles, they will come to understand that even in the darkest night, love can triumph.

Bronita Queen of the Night is a thrilling fantasy novel that explores the power of love in the face of darkness.

Brotherly Love

Roddy Roan is an intense young man who attends the prestigious Wellington Private School in the Herefordshire countryside. As the dislike of his English teacher Bill Solomons becomes an obsession of revenge, his friends slowly distance themselves from the impending carnage. Solomons turns to his brother for help and circumstances unite them in a common cause, but as each of them battle their own demons, personal tragedy strikes.

Justin Kell reluctantly takes on the case of the suspicious disappearance of a city banker and quickly finds himself at the heart of a ruthless crime syndicate. It becomes a race against a time as he puts his life on the line with the stakes even higher when his personal life is turned upside down.

Brown Girl

Shelly Nacre is the brown face in a sea of white, washed up on the rocky shores of Long Island. Life changes suddenly when tragedy befalls her family, leaving Shelly to make sense of what has happened in the only way she knows how. Her father, an armchair activist, feeds her plenty by way of philosophical ruminations, but these words do not anchor her. Shelly must breeze carefree into her daydreams and drift into the realms of the past to visit her ancestors.

And somewhere between these worlds there is Dolly, who never fails in giving her comfort and advice.

But when Shelly tries to befriend two of her teenage classmates in a neighbourhood where prejudice is deeply rooted, she brings about havoc on a mystical level, making waves much too big for Long Island in the 1980s.

Bruny Island Girl

In the year 1879, William and Jane Burns from Durham, England, migrated to Newcastle, Australia, in the hope of finding a better life for themselves and their two children, Joseph, aged three, and Elizabeth, aged one. Stormy seas, interspersed with weeks of boredom, made their three-month-long voyage on the sailing ship, William Stonehouse, anything but pleasant. William, like his father, was a coal miner and found work easily in a Newcastle colliery. During this time, he befriended a German immigrant, Wilhelm Zschachner, and learned that a new coal discovery had been made in the state of Tasmania. The thought of moving to Tasmania was challenging to the Burns family now that they had two additional children. Nevertheless, they repacked their furniture and treasures brought out with them from England and moved to remote Bruny Island, off Tasmania's southeast coast. Here, they were true pioneers. Between working the new coal mine, William and his still-increasing family cleared a parcel of land on Coal Point and built themselves a cosy home from axe-split palings. Sadly, William died young after a rock fall at the mine, forcing Jane to become a midwife in order to keep the family together until they reached adulthood and married. Joyce - the 'Bruny Island Girl' - was born in 1899 to Louisa, one of Jane's daughters, and this book tells the story of her remarkable life on the island before marrying Cecil Cutcliffe. Max Cutcliffe is one of their sons and the author of this book.