Out With Time

When Charles Dickens rescued Oliver Twist from the clutches of Victorian depravity, he created villains and victims to serve his purpose. Out With Time gives some of those maligned characters a chance to redeem themselves and tell their own story. To Dickens, Mr. Bumble was the pompous beadle of the workhouse and Oliver’s tormentor. Nancy, on the other hand, was Oliver’s protector, but Dickens sacrifices her to the evil machinations of Bill Sikes. In Out With Time we learn that Nancy is not simply a hapless victim but a fighter for what is right. Mr. Bumble, it must be conceded, does only what he can.

Together, Nancy and Bumble are an odd couple but also a formidable team. They strive to return a sense of civilization to the small Kentish town where Dickens started his tale. Even before Oliver makes his appearance, we see the couple wrestling with racism, sexism and even leading the way in a refugee crisis. In a curious resonance with the modern era, this story shows that the story of Mr. Bumble and Nancy is one that is not bound to a bygone age. Their destinies may be, in part, predetermined but Out With Time gives them the space to assert their own identities in defiance of any author.

Porter

This is the tragic tale of two souls that had been separated at birth. They had begun their lives being left by their mother to die on the steps of a millionaire's mansion. Fortunately, the owner had found them when he had gone to water his beloved roses and had heard the babies crying. He eventually managed to adopt one of the twins, the boy. His name would be Varcy. The other twin had been adopted by an American couple.

One day Varcy had seen a girl practising her yoga on the top step of the Guildhall situated next door to the Crown Courts. Varcy fell immediately in love with her and felt as if he had always known her. One day she had gone and the Guildhall had closed its doors forever. He had mourned for her and then his life had spiralled out of control into the depths of despair.

Varcy had to attend a meeting on behalf of a friend and had seen the girl seated at the bar gazing into her champagne glass. Varcy had approached her and when Porter had spoken to him his ears had been caressed with the sound of her American accent. Porter had told Varcy that she had been a Lawyer practising in the States. They had left the hall hand in hand and their ardent life together eventually began.

Porter became a very naughty passionate provocateur and Varcy her submissive but sometimes he would not always submit and Porter had loved that. They had loved life and all that it had to offer them and it had offered them a great deal.

This amazing unconditional love story now unbolts its doors for you to enter.

Possession

Anna doesn't have the easiest start in life nor a happy relationship with her mother. She grows into a very beautiful, successful, but lonely young businesswoman.

She meets an equally successful businessman who sweeps her off her feet. However, he controls her life completely and, as time passes, her life becomes increasingly traumatic and ultimately in danger. How can she escape, and will she ever find the peace and happiness she craves?

Rainbow over Rocheville

Meet Jacques, a charming yet aimless singer-songwriter and carpenter residing in the quaint French town of St Auban. Irresistibly good-looking and laid-back, Jacques seems content to let life happen around him, whether strumming his guitar for an enchanted audience or crafting intricate woodwork. Business savvy may elude him, but talent and affability are in abundant supply.

In a life unmarred by grand ambitions, Jacques finds solace in the simple things – a moment of daydreaming, the fleeting beauty of a rainbow. When a vivid rainbow arcs over the neighbouring village of Rocheville, it inspires Jacques to pen a new song, but also leads him to question if such symbols of luck and happiness could ever truly be his.

As we follow the ups and downs of Jacques’ existence, an unforeseen love threatens to add a layer of complexity he’s never had to face: the commitment and responsibilities of marriage. Will love finally give Jacques the focus he lacks, or will it prove to be another fleeting moment in a life spent drifting?

Journey with Jacques through the undulating terrains of love, friendship, and self-discovery, as he grapples with the possibilities of a life that could either find direction or continue to meander. Will Jacques unearth the fulfilment and happiness he unconsciously seeks, or will he remain a soul forever wandering?

Raisham

Set in the Indian subcontinent, with a Muslim culture background, this is a fictional story of a migrant doctor who tries to win the heart and mind of a feudal lord who believes in tribal rules and dislikes migrants.

Eventually, the feudal lord gives in, mainly because of the excellent character of the migrant doctor, who also provides support to the daughter of the feudal lord, at a time when she has been left in a limbo due to the rules of the tribe.

The pair eventually wins and goes on an expedition in which the girl Raisham, an army officer, plays a key role.

Resolving Dr Nick

Abandoned as a baby by his druggie parents, Nick fell foul and abused in the care system. This was halted when his grandparents, using DNA and a professional found him.  A bright boy, he was transformed by the life on the farm, eventually able to attend the nearby public school. Here on the first day he met Ikbal, a lonely Indian boy. With Ikbal’s support and discovering the piano he survived a difficult time at school.

Ikbal also became a doctor. After working on a voluntary basis in Jordon, Nick joined him in a practice in a Norfolk town near his grandparents. He became involved with a Partner who was crazy about ethnic, gender and other issues attending rallies in London. Nick tried hard to respond to her obvious overtures, but as on many previous occasions found it impossible to get into bed with her. Knowing he should see someone about his huge underlying issues, it just never seemed to happen. This relationship ended in a big, frightening diplomatic drama.

Meanwhile, he failed to see the gentle practice manager, a widow with a ten-year-old daughter. Jane had her own problems but was immediately attracted to Nick recognising another not entirely happy person. Both were musical and reserved.

Maria, a cheerful disorganised motherly doctor married to a Polish architect nearing the end of a long struggle with multiple sclerosis supported Nick emotionally.

Nick became involved with many big issues which he handled expertly, except for one where he was struck off the medical register.

Restored dramatically, he had a totally unexpected, explosive happening enabling him to finally face effectively his gremlins.

He saw in Jane the love of his life, he courted her and slowly and painfully resolved all problems.

Return to Hunterville and the Mānuka Honey Shop

Vulnerability, emotion, passion, lust, kindness, caring, tenderness, commitment, respect and the incredible power of a smile – this is William and Aoife’s love story. William is a quiet and reflective man from Hunterville in New Zealand, escaping rural loneliness. Aoife is a beautiful and trusting woman from Galway in Ireland, escaping an abusive partner.
They fortuitously cross paths for the first time at Nonna Russo’s cooking class in Naples, Italy. Their relationship starts very slowly, but in just 10 short days, total strangers quickly become inseparable lovers as they are intoxicated by ‘la bella vita’ of Naples. William and Aoife embrace the Napoli café culture, go to an opera for the first time, go horse riding on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius, experience aperitivo, visit jaw-dropping museums and churches, and swim down at the waterfront. They give kindness, respect and a friendly smile wherever they go. They are gifted the same by the people of Naples.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Seven weeks after a painful and emotionally charged farewell in Naples, Aoife is reunited with William on his farm in New Zealand. William proposes, Aoife is pregnant, there is a wedding and a funeral. As William walks from the Hunterville Cemetery, an old lady beckons him over. What she says has unimaginable consequences for William and Aoife’s journey ahead.

Ride a Red Pony

Charles Macleod had a plan when he became the guardian of his youngest granddaughter, Jariah. Denied a childhood, Macleod saw Jariah's potential as he guided her to be his heir and successor, while controlling and manipulating those around her. Under tragic circumstances, Jariah is thrust into the leadership of her grandfather's business empire and the custodianship of his personal vault containing detailed dossiers on each family member. Ride a Red Pony travels across international borders and oceans, embracing the breadth of Macleod's global empire to the idyllic pastures of Jariah's mountain farm, where she encounters challenges, threats and treachery. There are romantic affairs, relationship breakdowns and betrayals as Jariah takes control and embraces love and happiness on her own terms, while endeavouring to resolve Macleod's meddling.

Romeo & Julio & Friends

25-year-old Julio Clifford, a successful gay black British and South African designer returns to London, Britain, from abroad after seven years. He reunites with childhood friends and through them meets the charming, handsome and disconcertingly confident Romeo Moses. Romeo is a 29-year-old white British and Italian Architect/Model. Julio is the opposite of Romeo, he is gentle, sensible and warm-hearted.

Everything is perfect and sparks are flying but there is a problem. Romeo has a girlfriend, Julio’s older sister’s childhood friend, Poppy, who is also one of Julio’s oldest and dearest friends. Will Romeo act out his yearning for Julio? Will Julio betray his old friend in the name of love falling for Romeo’s charms?

Romeo likes how smart, independent and confident Julio is. He likes the soul within Julio. Julio likes Romeo’s charisma, assertiveness, strength, and how he cares for others.

But then, Julio’s emotionally abusive ex-husband, Hassan, arrives in town and begins to stalk him. Will it tear Julio and Romeo apart?

A story about love and friendship with many twists and turns showing Romeo and Julio’s lives unfold while they, with their friends, deal with the stress of living and working in 21^st century City of London. Romeo & Julio & Friends shows the people of multicultural Britain and their queer lives unfolding in the high-pressure modern-day world.

Romeo and Juliet & The Merchant of Venice

Shylock speaks: "This man abused me, so many times, laughed at my loses… my gains Scorned my people, thwarted my deals… causing such heartfelt pains He's heated my foes, cooled off my friends, why does he do such things? I'm not of his race or religion… from that… his enmity springs. "Have I not eyes? Have I not hands, organs, passion and heart? Do I not eat, fall ill, get healed? If slapped, do I not smart? If I am pricked, do I not bleed? If tickled, do I not squirm? If I am poisoned, would I not die, like him, lie feeding the worms? "If we are wronged, should we not fight, as you have taught us to do? That which you taught us, we will improve, it will, go harder for you!"

Sacrifice

Hairdresser Phoebe Roberts has had a rough start in life after her parents were brutally murdered at a young age. Phoebe’s life went from bad to worse in a matter of days, her life shattering into a million pieces, however, her best friend Spring put her back together again. Living in London had its perks but the best perk of all was meeting the green-eyed sex god Lincoln Maguire, owner of Maguire Securities. A typical tall, dark and handsome feral male. Things progress fast, wrapped up in lust and love, electrifying the air around them until Phoebe bumps into the past that she thought she had left behind when she was a young girl.

Sempre: Finding Home

When an old man dies in a London park, a family heirloom slips from his finger, and is found by a young woman who is instrumental in reuniting the past with the present as old and new love stories are told.

Through these interweaving stories we witness destiny’s hand in both historic and contemporary Portugal and Britain, and the drama comes not from villains in black cloaks, but from situations which are out of the characters’ control. It is due to the trials of these ordinary people, and a happy ending that ties in so many of the plot’s strings, that this is one of those stories you will want to read a second time in order to fully appreciate how the characters’ lives overlap, and the hand fate plays.

This story owes a great amount to four songs: ‘Ordinary Girl’ by Alison Moyet; the author wanted to know why the protagonist of the ‘story’ thought she had to leave the way she did. ‘Take a Drunk Girl Home’; a country song about a man who takes a drunk girl home and doesn’t take advantage of the situation. ‘Symphony’ by Sarah Brightman; about the end of a love affair that leaves one half of the couple uncertain of what went wrong. The fourth song is, ‘If You Could Read My Mind’ by Gordon Lightfoot; it mentions ‘a ghost in a wishing-well’ and was a spur for writing about the mystery which the author feels has a place in all our lives…