A Cape Town Decameron

The plague struck the City of Florence in 1348. A contemporary poet and writer, Giovanni Boccaccio, imagined a group of fashionable young people fleeing the plague and spending a “lockdown” on an estate in the Tuscan countryside. They entertained themselves by telling stories. Of course, the tales were all written by Boccaccio himself and he published them in 1354 under the title The Decameron.

When the Covid-19 pandemic produced lockdown in Cape Town, author Stanislas M. Yassukovich decided to emulate this idea, and wrote a collection of over 20 stories which he circulated to a group of family and friends – all in lockdown in various parts of the world. These are the ones his first readers liked best.

Boccaccio’s Decameron contains some one hundred tales. This collection is more sparing of the reader – just as the Covid-19 pandemic has fortunately been more sparing than the 14^th century Plague.

A Careful Death for Some

Merrydale is a small village. Nothing ever happens there.

A fundraising team of six villagers decide to hold a summer event of a Safari Supper. Selected houses hold different meal courses but Death visits one of the houses on the night of the supper.

More deaths follow. How are they connected and what do they have in common?

With the help of some of the villagers, the fundraising team decide to hold their own investigations as the police appear to be at a loss in finding any connection between the victims, who have died in completely different ways.

In the meantime there is a bail absconder who is hanging around the village. Is this person connected with the deaths?

The village sleuths need to find some answers before anyone else dies.

A Case of Gravity

To Christian Simpkins, time was of the essence. His old friend, a rather eccentric rotund scientist had been abducted from his own facility in Cornwall, England.

Simpkins was on the trail, piecing together tiny snippets of information to steer him onward into the unknown. Others also desperately wanted this scientist, they wanted his knowledge and they wanted a particular little prototype that could seemingly defy gravity.

Slowly, too slowly, Simpkins begins to unravel the workings of those that took his friend and their murderous intentions. Highly skilled in their deadly arts, they turned their attention to this worrying thorn in their side. Simpkins’ survival plan was based on luck, circumstance and very little else except his strangely tuned mind, a strategy somewhat lost to the seasoned professionals on their deadly errand.

A fast-paced windmill of twists of thought and cryptic subterfuge.

A tale of intrigue, death, love and unerring friendship set in today’s world of unforgiving hard truths.

A Cat Called Cookie

Cookie was a little black cat who was always exploring the house, the backyard and the trees around the house he lived in with Mrs Prentice.

When he was chasing a fat mouse one day, Mrs Prentice put her straw broom in his way and told him to stop chasing the mouse! Cookie wanted to tell Mrs Prentice that the mouse was running into the kitchen to eat her breakfast toast on the table, but she didn’t give him a chance to give his side of the story?

Find out what happens next. When Mrs Prentice walked back into the kitchen, what do you think she saw? Did she then understand what Cookie was trying to tell her before?

Join Cookie to find out about being fair.

A Challenger's Song

A sensitive and lovingly told story mixing fact, action, letters, journals, song and oral history.
Pearson writes with a rich clarity and intelligence about his great grandfather, Charlie Collins, the boy who ran away to sea to become head stoker on the celebrated scientific expedition of the HMS Challenger (1872-76). Finding his feet as a blacksmith back in Brighton with wife Mary and family, we learn about the joys, hardships and everyday heroism of their lives within the grand sweep of 19th Century history.
Andrea Watts, writer and creative writing tutor

In 1872, HMS Challenger, powered by sail and steam, left Portsmouth for an epic voyage of ocean exploration. A Challenger’s Song combines a lifetime reimagined with a fresh account of the voyage seen through the eyes of the crew and scientists, drawing on their own letters and accounts.

‘I had read about the voyage of HMS Challenger before, but this combination of imaginative reconstruction and factual information for me shed a new light on life for those on board ... my appreciation of the men and boys whose hard work kept the Challenger going, and made possible the collection of samples which led to a transformation of our understanding of the deep oceans, was increased enormously ... The sea shanty section at the end is a nice bonus!
Angela Colling, Editor, Ocean Challenge.

A Cheetah's Cubs

This is an inspirational story about the life and struggles of two cheetah cubs on the African plains. The time has come for the cubs to leave their mother's protection. Will they pass the test? Facing many obstacles, they will have to use their instincts and the knowledge their mother has passed to them if they are going to survive. This book takes the reader on a visual journey through the eyes of cheetah cubs, introducing many African animals along the way. The cheetah population today is classified as 'vulnerable'. By exploring cheetah conservation with our children, they can see what can be done and what's being done to save these beautiful animals. For more information please visit www.cheetahconservationbotswana.org

A Christmas Tail

It’s Christmas and Scat and his friends are experiencing all that comes with it for the first time. Everything is new, and exciting, and a wonder for all the cats and they all wonder what this ‘Santa’ could be bringing them.

Join Scat, Chips, Alleyoops, Tiger, and the others for a fun Christmas of snow, presents, food, and a bellyful of laughs.

A Clarinet Almanac

More than 60 years’ experience in playing the clarinet has led to a very personal and idiosyncratic review of the repertoire. From the point of view of being both a player and a programmer the author has endeavoured to find works for unusual combinations involving the clarinet. This book includes a few orchestral solos and several vocal works (both chamber and operatic), but it is focussed on chamber music and includes gems from the repertoire for the standard wind quintet. The clarinet features as a solo instrument, in duos with a surprisingly large variety of instruments and in mixed trios, quartets and so on to larger ensembles. During the course of one year the reader will be exposed to 366 works, probably some unfamiliar, by 245 different composers. The author hopes it will whet the appetites of students, teachers and concert organizers alike.

A Collection of Reflective Poems

Every poem tells a story, and the poems in this collection are no exception.
A poem like ‘Jessie and Josh’ is based on the author’s early memories, while he and his friend – both passionate writers – were the inspiration for ‘Two Old Boys’. ‘In My Mind’s Eye’ is a loving message to his wife, and ‘The Old Man’ was written for his children, The poem ‘I Never Noticed’ is based on a friend’s comments during a country walk; ‘Joe’, by contrast, came from conversations overheard while sitting on a park bench in Windermere.
With poems that are by turns powerful, emotional, passionate, personal, funny and thoughtful, this is a book to carry with you for those moments of personal contemplation.

A Conspiracy of Serpents

The brutal murder of an Oxford undergraduate in the City of London. The trial of the prime suspect. The theft of a research paper from an Oxford laboratory. A deadly pandemic, and a desperate cover-up by the British establishment to suppress the truth.

A story of love, loss, hope and redemption, from the spires of Oxford to the streets of London, from the Kremlin in Moscow to the port of Shanghai, and beyond. 

And the story of the integrity of one jaded lawyer pitted against the ruthless forces of international politics which will stop at nothing to get its way – even murder.

A conspiracy, breath-taking in both its scope and ambition.

A Conspiracy of Serpents.

A Couple’s Journey – Finding Cassie

A Couple’s Journey – Finding Cassie is a heartwarming and honest autobiographical book that tells the story of a woman’s life-changing journey alongside her partner, who has come out as transgender and now goes by the name Cassie. Through this compelling and intimate memoir, readers will gain insight into the challenges and triumphs of managing family life, raising children, and navigating a shifting dynamic in a long-term relationship. The author’s candid reflections on their journey together to explore new dimensions of love and intimacy, provide a refreshing perspective on gender and sexuality. From attending LGBT Pride events to exploring nightclubs and meeting supportive people along the way, this book is a tribute to the joys and surprises of life’s unexpected journeys. With humour, compassion, and love, A Couple’s Journey – Finding Cassie is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the complexities of gender identity, and the transformative power of human connection.

A Crude Vision

A tale of unlikely success: of a man’s journey in oil exploration across four continents before he climbs the foothills of the London Stock Exchange. An often lonely voyage of ambition and irrational perseverance, where knowing who you’re not is just as important as knowing who you are.

“The particular morning, standing in silence in my punt, musket in hand, looking out southward to the end of the earth that was the Caspian Sea horizon, I concluded that we must sell.”