Des Pond, Special Agent

Des Pond is probably unique as special agents go! He is indifferent to the lifestyle usually associated with this employment, but his determination to catch those responsible for the murder of five Russians in a British prison leads him into adventures in several countries.

Will he catch up with the murderers and bring them to justice?

Cinderella Timkins

The staircase in Dormec House, a Ministry building, is certainly elegant, but to Arthur Timkins, messenger, one of the quota of variously disabled employees, it is the scene of an encounter that changes his life miraculously.

Selected as one of Professor Knowle's guinea-pigs in a pilot trial to enhance intelligence, he is whisked away to a world beyond his wildest dreams. Workers at Matcham Grange, from kitchen staff to the Professor himself, treat Arthur kindly.

Everything that puzzled him slowly clears, he is like a man emerging out of thick fog into sunlight. This new life comes to an abrupt end.

By the merest chance, Arthur left the Grange before the explosion that kills all his companions: his brief experience of luxury is over.

Hunted down by the spies responsible for destroying Matcham Grange, he changes identity with the tramp killed by a bullet intended for him. Grief-stricken and suffering physical hardship, he owes it to the Professor to reach the Ministry, proving there is one guinea-pig left. An outcast from society, after a hard journey, Arthur has to convince headquarters that he is the real Timkins, not a spy impersonating him.

The transformed Arthur is taken to Dormec House. The psychiatrist (who had selected him) swears that no one will recognise the down-trodden slow-witted messenger in this handsome, well-heeled executive, but someone does, on that very staircase...

Child of a Bygone Era

This book is written with charm and humour by a child who grew up between two worlds – an idyllic childhood in Hong Kong in the 1950s which was shattered by his return to England at the age of seven to a new life as a boarder at a Catholic preparatory school.

From the age of seven to seventeen, he travels between these worlds and comments on all the changes that occur in this dynamic decade. He sees Hong Kong develop from an entrepot to a booming manufacturing powerhouse with the effect this has on the Cantonese and their relationship with Europeans and compares this life to the smog-bound, tired English way of life only just beginning to recover from the devastation of the Second World War.

It is a joy to read and is a fascinating record of two worlds by a child of a bygone age.

Candles in an African Wind

Rogues, Romance, Rhodes, Railways, Raids, Rebellion, Rinderpest… The sabres rattled amongst nations: Great Britain, Germany, the South African Boer Republic, Rhodesia, Bechuanaland and the great African warrior tribes…

Resource-hungry power brokers and their lust for fame and fortune shape the destiny of common people from different nations and ethnic backgrounds whose lives are inextricably intertwined and shaped by the colonial expanse of the 1890s, all within the fabulously rich but untamed interior of southern Africa.

Cecil John Rhodes, Prime Minister of the Cape and Natal Provinces, will stop at nothing to expand British influence and lay claim to the wealth and riches within the region. His vision is to push his railway north as far as Cairo to expand the influence of the Crown.

Willam Brady – a humble prisoner deported from England and in the bond of a military Colonel – grasps his opportunities in southern Africa, experiencing enthralling adventures, the rekindling of his faith and unlikely friendships before winning the hand of a beautiful wife.

Border Wars

The Kurils, the border islands in the north of Japan, have been in dispute for many centuries. Taken as reprisals by Russia at the end of World War 2, they were eventually returned in the year 2056 in exchange for favourable trade deals across the Northern Pacific region. Just over a century later, the islands were taken again, by the Russians, and the entire population was relocated to Hokkaido, the northernmost of the Japanese Home Islands.

This is the story of the deception, and the duplicitous method used by the Russians to steal and keep the islands and their plan for the newly discovered oil riches that lie below.

What the Russians did not factor in, in their carefully created plan, was the meteoric rise of the career of Jackson Nakagawa; the man who was to eventually become known as the most fearsome and innovative ground forces commander for more than 200 years.

Never overawed by any assignment, his innovative methodology was to see the decisive defeat of the Russians in what was to become known as the Border Wars; but what no one could foresee was the war that was to come just a few short years later.

Blue Water Blue

Why are strangers travelling to St Gilberts and aiming for Rodney Leon? What do they think he knows?

St Gilberts in the Indian Ocean, dubbed; ‘The most beautiful tropical island on the planet’ is home to Rodney Leon who, having lived there for all of his 25 going on 26 years, still feels like an outsider. His heritage, inheritance, physical appearance, and occupation, all mark him out as ‘different’.

A chance find and a casual internet enquiry bring a series of ruthless emissaries to St Gilberts who threaten both Rodney and his small circle of friends. What are they looking for and why do they think Rodney knows where it is?

As Rodney and his friends struggle to work out what is happening while dealing with the escalating threats to their safety, they also find themselves confronting the big questions in life; questions to do with wealth, friendship, loyalty, love, and belonging. How they respond to those questions will irrevocably affect, not only their own lives, but that of the whole island as well.

Betrothed

Audrianna has been betrothed to Prince Henry to be the next queen of Nadeau. But, according to Nadeau law, they both must wait six years before they can be married. As far as Henry and Audrianna are concerned, they don’t mind waiting because neither one like each other. Pulling pranks and talking sass to one another seem to be the only way they know how to behave. However, when the castle is invaded by the marauding Andjety, Henry and Audrianna are forced to flee together to escape the murderous plans of Zymjai, the witch. Now, forced to trust one another to stay alive, they travel throughout the countryside, and discover intriguing friends to assist them. Can they look past the contempt they have for one another to allow their allies to help them retake the castle? Also, what is the strange noise that keeps howling every night in the castle? What dirty trick does Henry play on Audrianna? What secret has he kept from the princess? Does the king have an ulterior plan for the two of them?

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.

Alone Against the Ocean

This novel is a fictional story. The idea for it was in my mind for a long time during my night watches on the bridge when I sailed as an officer, chief mate and captain. The question was, if I remain alone on the vessel in the middle of the ocean, can I bring it alone to a safe landing? However, to be alone, something must have happened to all the other crew members. What if all this happened – not in the present when I have enough experience as a captain, but as a cadet on my first voyage – and not only did I have to solve technical problems but also survive after the vessel was attacked by pirates? Can somebody solve all these problems and more psychological ones that appear due to loneliness and disappointment when the vessel is not found by the maritime authorities? Will the main character Răzvan Mândrescu be able to solve all these problems and save his life, the vessel and its cargo? You can find out if he succeeded or not by reading the captivating story Alone Against the Ocean.

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.

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.