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Borrowed Air Borrowed Land
Love is the spirit of humanity, but can one love a spirit? Julius, a bookstore attendant, is certain of his undying love for a spiritual apparition. However, she is now gone, deceased from this world for centuries, so how can he pursue someone that no longer exists in the world of the living?
His answer is to create her from within. If he cannot find the one he loves, then seeing her again through artistic expression will be his only salvation. Yet, Julius himself is no artist, so who can guide him on this journey?
Laura, his colleague who has recently endured the anguish of a bitter breakup, finds solace in Julius’s presence. As a talented artist she guides Julius in his journey to find the beauty that lies within his emotions. As she watches Julius develop into the artist that parallels herself, she grows closer to him and forms an attachment that gives her the bond that gives meaning to her life.
But unbeknownst to Laura, the object of Julius’s desire lies elsewhere, in a sphere beyond even her artistic thoughts. Will Julius’s journey continue endlessly without resolve? And will it be another cycle of anguish for Laura? Or maybe love and understanding can still find a way to connect them together.
£10.99 -
A Year in the Life of Rebecca Saunders
New beginnings and a dark secret collide in Rebecca Saunders’ chaotic world. Frustrated by a jobless husband, unruly children, and rambunctious dogs, Becky seeks refuge in a quirky job working for Leo, a blustery wine importer with an attic office in his grand home.
Leo’s wife, Fizz, adds to the unpredictable mix with her eccentric personality and champagne-cork temperament. Amidst the swirling chaos, Becky discovers a hidden secret that threatens the heart of her newfound sanctuary. Can she navigate the tangled vines of her own life while preserving the fragile peace she’s found?
£9.99 -
A Tarnished Life
An alcoholic close to death, Emma, a once beautiful woman with the promise of a bright future, lives the last few years of her life in a squalid basement room. In an attempt to banish loneliness, she takes comfort in recalling happier moments shared with loved ones, but is also forced to relive a series of disastrous relationships.
This gripping family saga traces her story from childhood, life as a young woman in war-ravaged London, and a period of affluence and happiness filled with the desire of creating a family of her own. Her hopes are thwarted, and her marriage starts to fail. During this time, she forges a bond with a Scottish couple who bear the scars of a tragic past.
Unable to cope with her disappointments, broken dreams, and a devastating revelation, inexorably she embarks on a spiral of self-destruction. Even the unwavering presence of the man who gave up everything for her cannot release her from the prison of her own making.
£12.99 -
In Tiger Country
In a bustling surgical theatre, where life, death, and difficult decisions intertwine, the lives of Eliza, Ibrahim, and Henry collide, each carrying their own dreams, burdens, and secrets.
Eliza, a junior doctor driven by ambition and insecurities, finds an unexpected champion, only to uncover ulterior motives lurking beneath the surface.
Meanwhile, another, haunted by the specter of racism, yearns to rise above it, but the path forward requires unlikely allies. As tensions reach a boiling point, a sinister conspiracy unfolds, threatening to unravel the very fabric of their profession. Amidst the chaos, a pillar of unity and strength emerges, grappling with the complexities of identity.
In Tiger Country delves into the intricate tapestry of diversity, prejudice, and the hidden depths that reside within us all, offering a thought-provoking exploration of the human experience in the high-stakes world of medicine.
£11.99 -
Dead Man Walking
Billy Collins’ childhood on Portland Isle, Dorset, is a tapestry of idyllic moments, albeit cast against the ominous backdrop of World War II. His life takes a dramatic turn following the tragedy of Operation Tiger, leading to his forced evacuation to the isolated Yorkshire moors. Here, he spends the remainder of the war in the company of a taciturn government official, far removed from the world he knew.
At the age of 18, imbued with a sense of duty, Billy joins the Royal Engineers, embarking on a career as a bomb disposal officer. After years of service, filled with brushes with danger and meticulous snipping of wires, Billy decides it’s time to retire. However, fate has a twist in store; his final assignment takes him back to Portland Isle. Confronting his past and the fears that have shadowed him, Billy stands on the precipice of full-circle closure. This poignant tale weaves the threads of memory, duty, and destiny into a narrative that captures the essence of a life lived in the shadow of war.
£11.99 -
The Long Road Home
This narrative unfolds the life of Ernst, a young German soldier during World War II, caught at the crossroads of duty and family loyalty, stretched between Germany and England. At nineteen, Ernst navigates the tumult of his own moral dilemmas against the backdrop of a war-torn landscape, accompanied by an officer who has vowed to see him safely home.
As we journey through the pages, we’re drawn into the visceral experiences of war-torn Germany. Nightly, as Ernst and his comrades traverse the roads under the cover of darkness, the ominous hum of bombers overhead is palpable, each man acutely aware that their loved ones are in the crosshairs. In the daybreak’s light, the crimson hue of their burning cities stains the horizon, a constant reminder of the devastation being wrought upon their homeland.
The story doesn’t shy away from the shared fear and terror that grips both German and American soldiers, delving into the harrowing plight of US troops captured and held as prisoners of war. Despite the hospital’s eerie quiet, indicating few casualties are being brought in, the war’s end in 1945 doesn’t immediately herald peace for Ernst and his comrades. It’s not until four years later that they can finally part ways.
Returning to a country he can call home, Ernst confronts the suspicion and distrust from those around him. It is during this turbulent time that he meets a young woman who helps to heal the bitterness of war. Together, they embark on a life filled with hope, leaving the shadows of the past behind as they step into a shared future.
£16.99 -
It's What Friends Are For
Anne is an aging widow facing a small, lonely life with even fewer prospects. Unexpectedly, her tiny social circle expands by one with the arrival of Beverly. As the two women bond over their many commonalities, Anne’s dreary existence brightens. Their blossoming friendship soon sparks something more, sweeping Anne into an emotional affair before embarking her on an adventurous new journey beyond anything she’s known.
What first appears as a fun, lucrative modelling gig becomes the initial step down a winding path of exploits entirely outside Anne’s norm. Under Beverly’s guidance, Anne’s life grows increasingly removed from convention – yet isn’t that what friends are for? When domestic circumstances then steer events toward seedier terrain, Anne finds herself immersed in the sex industry, again chaperoned by her new companion.
From bad to worse, a family crisis threatens to embroil Anne’s daughter in her unconventional lifestyle. Finally, Beverly bares menacing true colours through blackmail, leaving Anne hapless and despairing. With nowhere left to turn, could a humble bookkeeper hold the key to her salvation?
£9.99 -
The Unloving Household
In the poignant tale of Madiya and Dalim’s offspring, we witness the profound impact of a loveless childhood on the fragile fabric of adult life. The narrative spotlights the children, now bearing the scars of emotional neglect, navigating a world where they grapple with understanding love and safety. The story underscores a universal truth: the formative years of parenting indelibly shape a child’s conception of affection and security in life’s unpredictable dance.
£10.99 -
Milk and Venom
Millicent Milner is over 30 now but still floundering and in pain, still running away. So is her big sister, Geena. Why? Everyone fawned over their suburban American parents. “You girls are so lucky! Such a charming mother you have! And that dynamic father!” Geena – wickedly funny and outrageous – goes at it alone, slashing out brutal sculptures with a chainsaw. As she proclaims: “A scream made of wood shrieks forever.” Millicent is divorced and also alone, with seven-year-old Alice. She hates her ‘stupid self’ but clings to the image of her past, present and future as brightly glowing pink. With sex as her art form, she’s certain that romance is her calling. When an Italian lover offers Millicent a teaching job – in Rome – she buys one-way tickets for herself and Alice. Finally! The answer…And off they go.
£10.99 -
For Heaven’s Sake
For Heaven’s Sake is a humorous, light-hearted depiction of Norfolk village life, centred around the village church of St Jude’s in Forling Down. Centre stage is its larger than life rector, Father Cyril; his eccentric curate, Father Aubrey; and many other very idiosyncratic characters. The reader is very quickly drawn into the chain of disastrous situations and the author’s first-hand knowledge of East Anglian life makes them all very believable. Many of the chapters are ‘laughing out loud’ amusing, so be prepared for a roller-coaster ride of village humour!
£8.99 -
Corona Crisis: Nature Strikes Back
What is the relationship between Congo, Corona Virus and Mobile Phones?Cause and effect! Yes, they are interconnected and interdependent!Scientists can show us that the root cause of the corona virus is political and financial control. This harmful behaviour causes: Poverty, corruption, geopolitics, Rwanda genocide, deaths, rape, pillage, Congo rare-earth minerals mining by terror and forced child labour, unethical trade, blood phones made in China, Wuhan wet markets to feed poorexploited phone factory workers, bioweapon development, ecological destruction,biodiversity loss, hungry people eating bats and other wild animals, corona virus, lockdowns, more deaths, distrust, dehumanisation and so on… Hence the future is more uncertain than ever and more and more people are in despair.But one man dares to stand up and scares the hell out of those responsible…‘May I call you the Dutch John le Carré?’ In an interview with Alphonse Muambi, Congolese Expert on Africa and Strategic Resources, Globalisation and Development.‘I have to say, this is an exciting book.’ In an interview with Pim van Galen, Journalist at Dutch Public Television (NOS). ‘We could perhaps stop the bleeding, but not the bullets.’ Cecile Dehopre, Doctors without Borders.‘Van Campen not only tells an enthralling tale, he raises awareness and confronts some major issues like child labour, working conditions and conflict minerals in Congo’s mining industry today.’ Bas van Abel, Founder Fairphone.
£10.99 -
Write of Passage
Gerald Wainwright is a self-obsessed narcissist, but never-the-less a world-renowned author who is murdered — and that’s just the beginning of his problems! Waking in a celestial half-way station, he needs to complete a series of tasks. These are designed to teach him some serious life lessons while at the same time helping others to find solutions for their own current crises thereby setting them on the road to fulfilling and happy lives. Helped along the way by his supervisor, Mr Smith, Jerry learns things he never knew about himself — nor wanted to know— but will it be enough for him to finally become the man he was always meant to be and in turn to earn his own ‘Write of Passage’?
£8.99