Interloper

From birth Michael hasn’t belonged anywhere, and from birth no one has really liked him. At 17 he sets out to find himself and to find a place and people where he belongs. He tries drugs, rock and roll, but doesn’t belong. He travels across the United States and still nothing. He travels to Europe and through 20 countries, and while he makes some friends, he still doesn’t belong.

Michael doesn’t seem to fit into society nor any religion that he’s tried. He’s a happy and an optimistic guy for some reason, and every day he gets up expecting that this is going to be the day he finds someone or something that he fits into and belongs with. Will he find it? Will he finally find that he fits in with somebody or something? Will he find happiness and contentment?

Insurrection—Democracy Under Attack!

In a world teetering on the brink of chaos, Insurrection – Democracy Under Attack! boldly explores the urgent need to preserve and defend democracy by upholding the sanctity of election outcomes: a timely message delivered through a captivating allegory featuring anthropomorphic characters.

Enter the world of Bimbo, an insatiable and power-hungry political leader whose unbridled narcissism blinds him to the true essence of democracy. Only when election results align with his interests does he grudgingly accept them. However, when the people’s will takes a different course, Bimbo’s fury knows no bounds. Rallying his zealous followers, he descends into the abyss of violence, striving desperately to cling to the presidency of Mukwa Island, regardless of the electorate’s verdict.

As anger consumes him, Bimbo shreds the nation’s constitution and reduces the parliament to ashes. Yet, hope emerges in the form of Captain Eagle, a symbol of true leadership, who emerges victorious in the elections and leads a courageous uprising against Bimbo and his loyalists. In the face of unwavering unity and the resilience of democracy, Bimbo’s grip on power crumbles, and he and his followers are forced to flee Mukwa Island, paving the way for the restoration of democracy.

Hope

Our world is experiencing a daily decline of cultural, moral, and other important values.

Persisting on the edge of nuclear and environmental disaster, for consolation and happiness the novel Hope returns trust to the individual and society, as his characters find themselves in the focus of depressive influences, but never forget their values.

Love, perseverance and hope are levers for advancing the human being in the true direction, which primarily implies healing human dignity and achieving success that serve as an example.

Hatrack

In the time of Cromwell’s rule, young and out-of-work Navy navigator, Charles ‘Soap’ Karma is tricked into joining the cunning and oftentimes comedic crew of the Blunderbuss, a pirate ship captained by John Dunsworthy, set to sail from England to Cuba.

Along the voyage, he quickly makes friends, enemies and a few in between, as he experiences the true highs and lows, that come with the life of a pirate.

Garden City

Gabriel Walter has the makings of a materially comfortable life, but he lacks purpose inside. He ponders his past and wonders about the source of his unease. The worst thing is him lacking a sense of connection, he feels that we can never really know and love another person fully.

The thoughts and dreams that Gabriel faces grow more and more intense with each passing day. It is the message of purpose, excluded from the fabric of a relativistic world, but burning strongly within each individual. He comes to realise the necessity of God in the world, the unifying principle that has guided his life up to that point. This book is an instrument to freeing oneself of oppression that every human can wage, and a manifesto for self­ discovery.

This is a modern epic about the utter randomness but simultaneous prosaicness of modern life; and how to address the necessary but comforting tedium that civilization brings. The story is an anthem to spirituality in a materialistic age, counter to the assumption that the only values that matter are those that can be quantified.

The more that we estrange ourselves from our innate beliefs, the higher the price we pay.

From Wellies and Chapped Legs to Brogues

Ten-year-old David’s life is not easy, living in dire circumstances with his alcoholic mother in a wreck of a home. His one true friend is Rebecca, the other children tolerate or make fun of him.

Following an accident, he is befriended by Hobo, who moves in and out of the village with his belongings in a pram.

When David’s mother dies over the Christmas period, he spends time at Rebecca’s home and is then taken into care. He escapes, seeks solace with Hobo and together they escape the village, and in time, David is sent to live with Hobo’s brother on the South Coast, where he learns Hobo’s story.

Here, David's life changes completely, but there are still setbacks and challenges along the way before he returns to the village and his life becomes entwined once again with Rebecca.

Emma's Rock

Meet siblings Deli and Emma. Emma never procrastinates. Her to-do list is tiny. She has an array of tools to ensure that no task ever gets left behind. Deli, however, delays everything. He wants immediate pleasure, doing easy activities, just to avoid the pain that comes with working on the hard stuff. Follow the course of their contrasting lives. How does Emma get started and then always deliver? Can Deli rescue himself from the harmful consequences of his behaviour? And as you read, ask yourself, are you more Emma or more Deli? Do you habitually put things off? Is it adversely affecting your life? What can you do about it?

Emile Zola's Ark

Émile Zola (1840–1902), prominent leader of French Naturalism in novels and drama, was also an environmentalist, way ahead of his time. He had a great love and respect for animals of all kinds and shapes. Throughout this book, you will discover his love from the smallest creatures: ants, spiders, bugs and frogs, bats and rats, all the way to birds, rabbits, cats, dogs, donkeys, cows and bulls, horses, and even zoo lions. The stories, which are partly fictional but mostly realistic, clearly show his love of and admiration for most animals. In the process of telling them, he inter-mingled some humorous episodes. Who wouldn’t laugh at the description of Gédéon, his donkey, getting drunk after savoring a bucket of red wine and raising havoc in his stable? And who wouldn’t cry at the death of a dear pet? The stories in this book have been gathered after reading his complete works (fifteen volumes of more than 18,000 pages of Émile Zola: Oeuvres Complètes, edited by Henri Mitterand, the most eminent scholar of Zola’s works, professor emeritus at the Sorbonne in Paris and at Columbia University in New York City, in the ‘Cercle du Livre Précieux’ edition).

Emersyn

The Whiley family have survived a whole lot of misadventures but now that Mason is in charge of the dynasty, he is hell bent on changing their checkered past. Mason feels like there is a deep calling to move out of the early centuries and be more modern. Soon a conflict develops between him and his mom about a business decision he has to make. Val, his sister, convinces him to go with his instincts and as a result, the past converges with the present and all hell breaks loose. Will their family be able to survive the betrayal and the deception? Will love overcome their sins?

Draw Me a Fish

The world was falling into a downward spiral and there seemed to be no stopping to it. The news was bad on TV and the radio all the time. People from the city were getting sicker and sicker with illnesses that didn’t have a name yet.
Needless to say that the village’s infrastructure could not bear the load of more new arrivals. The fresh settlers were using the lake as, a public swimming pool, a bathtub and as a washroom, and the streets as a playground for their children.
Does this image stir some odd feelings inside of you?
Do you believe that we can just sit back and let go?
Well, I don’t!
What about another chance to turn the odds towards a better tomorrow, one that resembles our children books’ images, a place where it is still possible to dream of pink clouds in a blue sky.
What about teaching our children to do so, in an easy and smooth way. If we start today, before tomorrow, we have better chances to make that dream come true.

Dog's Conundrum

Dog has a problem. His beautiful world is in crisis – again! Should he let events take their course, or should he interfere?

This book is an invitation to see planet Earth through the eyes of Dog and Mother Nature, from the era of the dinosaurs, though times of plenty, to our current and future crises. Who’s to blame? Is it us? Is it them?

This magical read takes us on an insightful journey where individual stories from around the world blend and unfold as Dog’s intimate understanding of the big picture grows. Despite the gremlins, can humans recognise what it is really that matters? Will the warmth and humour of the sprites be strong enough to help people rediscover the wisdom in their souls when faced with fear of losing everything they hold dear… or will Mother Nature not be prepared to wait any longer?

The best and worst of human nature is exposed here. Our assumptions are challenged as this book digs deep into ideas which will resonate with many.

Dodgson’s Dodo

This is the story of six characters, all birds. What begins as a quirky woodland tale evolves into a challenge to the mismanagement of the environment by humans, and their abuse of power over all other species. There’s banter between the birds, information about the natural world, there’s serious debate and there’s satire. It’s fun and it’s thought-provoking.

The title refers to the fact that Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) immortalised the otherwise extinct dodo in ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’. The dodo was yesterday’s bird, but what will be the fate of tomorrow’s birds, of tomorrow’s humans and of our fragile, suffering planet?

The hero of ‘Dodgson’s Dodo’ is a feisty rook, Rachel, who plays a smart role in this fascinating, imaginative and beautifully realised story. All the birds are real characters, and everyone reading it will be both entertained and better informed. It’s witty and memorable, but above all it’s topical and relevant. Its message is urgent.

“It should be prescribed reading for high school Biology students.”    Anne Kendall - retired high school science teacher.