Trevelyan

It is the end of the 18^th century and the end of schooling for four Cornish youngsters. They share their aspirations for the future, not realising there is a price to be paid.

Cornwall is the land of mystery, legends, folktale and myths. Tiny villages with narrow winding streets nestle around rocky cover ideal for landing and distributing contraband. The fishermen are dependent upon the sea in all its moods and are forced to subsidise their catch with smuggled French brandy, tobacco, tea, and silk. The only other possible occupations, the tin mines and the farmed estates, are in the hands of the wealthy few, like Lord Trevelyan. For most Cornishmen life is harsh.

To fulfil her own hopes of a better life, one young girl Karenza, discovers there are secrets to be concealed and seemingly impossible promises to be honoured, played out against an austere and merciless Cornish landscape and the ongoing hostility of the French.

Trampled Grass

This novel is based on a historical account, going back to early 19th century when Great Britain defeated Napoleon Bonaparte, expanding the empire. That led to the need for considerable manpower. The captain of a ship is not only responsible for navigating the vessel skilfully, but should be a leader to all the naval trainees and junior officers. He should make right decisions which can be harsh, without emotions, for all. This novel tells a story of the kind-hearted Captain Fraser who led his ship to near-disaster on the Thames. After abolition of slavery, the need for farm labourers was filled by a 'new system of slavery' called 'indentured labourers from India'. This novel describes their suffering and what happened to them, which the world hardly knows about.

To Have and To Hold

In 19th Century England, two small girls are ripped from their families and sold into cotton mill slavery. Lost, confused and alone, Emma and Susie find solace in each other's company. They search for freedom and identity as they battle the cold and miserable conditions and their place of nonentity in the mill. How will their dreams of freedom be achieved?

When not working in the Hell on earth that is the spinning-room, they are locked in the mill garret. Their owners recognize them as 'hands', implements of labour, rather than living, breathing people. Then, one night changes the course of each girl's life. After this one night of freedom Susie's restless nature cannot be calmed, and the two must learn how to survive their newfound freedom, and to discover who they are truly are.

Time to Move On

It’s the end of the 1950s, Mary, an Irish girl, is nearly 16 years old, struggling with her bleak and lonely life in Western Australia, missing Ireland. Mary grasps at the opportunity of happiness and a different future without foreseeing the dire consequences that follow.

In 1970s, Harry, as a teenager, loses his parents in a car crash. Now homeless and jobless, he finds love while he is struggling with others’ expectations of him.

Each of them finding resolution of their situations – a story that carries you with the narrative, exploring the difficulties of life, infused with issues of culture, religion and identity.

Thirty Pieces of Silver

The Roman Empire and the world is about to change and over the next several hundred years, millions will die as a result.

In the Middle East a child has been born – a child who will grow into a man who will eventually change the way the world is run. He is a man destined to fulfil a prophecy. A man who will start a global revolution. A man who will shake the very foundations of society. A man whose philosophy will be misinterpreted and twisted to give power to what will become one of the richest organisations on Earth. A man whose name will be used to justify the most horrific deeds this world has ever known.

Caught between the rule of mighty Rome and the power of the High Priests, this man wants to free his people and bring them closer to God. This man will become a legend.

This man is called Jesus.

The Price of Pearls

During the Napoleonic Wars, England sent many soldiers and spies to France. Many soldiers and sailors had been captured and imprisoned for years, incurring wounds and disablement, even in prison. They could only hope their wives, lovers and other members of the family were well. They just hoped that when families heard they had been captured, it did not cause any problems, but it often did cause broken hearts and aristocratic titles to go to distant relatives, who were not always wealthy enough to maintain properties that had been in the family for generations. Thieving and murder became common. Estates were sold. Many families did not know if their sons were alive or not. Should their daughter marry someone else as they thought her fiancé was possibly dead? It wasn’t until after Napoleon Bonaparte was captured and sent to Elba that life settled down but many hearts were already broken.

The Wind in the Grass

Life in the village of Hammerwell, situated in a remote part of Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, would appear, on the surface, to be a peaceful rural existence. Set in the period between the two world wars, the order of things is still very much as it has been for hundreds of years. But for Arthur Lever, life suddenly takes a dramatic turn. Set against a background of rural life, seed time, harvest, ploughing and lambing, The Wind in the Grass has lust, romance, cruelty, violence and sudden death. But worst is yet to come for the inhabitants of Hammerwell, insulated from the outside world by the grandeur of The Plain, they are unaware that their lives are about to be devastatingly changed forever.

The Wild Boy of Van Dieman's Land

What do you think could be the worst thing that could happen to you if you were so hungry you stole a bun?

In Victorian England, any theft at all could see you hung or sent to the other side of the world to a penal colony where you would be taught a lesson you would never forget. Your wickedness must be punished.

Davy’s father dies and he and his family are destitute. In a moment of weakness, ten-year-old Davy steals a bun. Now his troubles really start. He is brutalized and bullied in the prison until his wild behaviour ensures that he is transported to the notorious Van Dieman’s Land. Once he is there, life just gets harder and he begins to earn his name of ‘The Wild Boy.’

Meanwhile, his sister, twelve-year-old Hannah has been left to find work and fend for the family. She takes work in service to the prison chaplain’s family where her ingenuity and courage ensure that she is on the same transportation ship as Davy. Can she save him from life as a convict in the harshest colony of all? Can she ever reunite their shattered family?

The Tales of a Templar Knight

The youngest child of a Norman noble family, Oliver is fated for the monastic life until his life is turned upside down after a grotesque altercation at the abbey. He trains as a Templar Knight, travelling first to the Holy Land, then to Sicily and ending in Spain.

His quests across the Mediterranean Sea bring him to the courts of the most powerful men of his time, from the King of Jerusalem, to the Byzantine Emperor, and to the court of Roger II of Sicily.

He becomes a pawn in the hands of the rulers he has pledged his fidelity to, experiencing both the treacheries and the horrors of war, in all its ruthlessness, and the diplomacies extended to him, from people of all faiths.

His adventures begin when the mysterious words of a fortune teller tell him, ‘‘The lion will travel to the east but will settle to the west. You are destined for victories in many battles but none of them will bring you glory and only your enemies will recognize your true value... Remember that the cross and the crescent moon are both in your destiny and they will always cause you struggles. Three times you will fall in love but only one will bring you happiness and joy.”

Oliver has no idea these prophetic words will set him on the most fantastic journey of his life.

The Swordsmith

The Swordsmith is set in the darkest of the Dark Ages, during the early settlement of England by the Anglo Saxons. It is a time of danger and violence where a boy like Osgar
leaves childhood early and is thrust into the battle between Christian and Pagan, Angles and Britons. When his village is raided by Cadrod of Calchfynedd, Osgar sees his father killed and his mother and twin brother taken. His life takes on one purpose; to avenge his father and to rescue his family.
Osgar proves his worth in battle and at the anvil, becoming a blacksmith apprentice to his uncle. While his mother and brother live the pain and humiliation of slavery, he learns the craft of the swordsmith. Eventually, after skirmishes and minor battles, he joins Cuthwulf’s army to fight Cadrod, in a battle to determine the survival of the Anglo Saxons and the future of Britain.
There are five kings and a saint in this story. They all truly lived at this time. Osgar, his brother and mother meet all of them.

The Stoker Trilogy, Book II

Six feet two inches, blond-haired and blue-eyed – Charlie Stoker is the handsome, highly principled son of a dead father whom he revered and a deeply religious Catholic mother. In the dark economic atmosphere of 1931, Stephen Collick, his late father’s friend and his mother’s benefactor, offers twenty-year-old Charlie the opportunity to build a commercial career in London’s East End. Charlie, already committed by his inbred sense of duty to life in a loveless marriage, soon becomes popular and successful. His remarkable ability to win friends without ever becoming too personally involved enables him to establish a wide circle of admiring customers and colleagues. Charlie is always prepared to help solve their problems.

As a lifestyle, this works. That is, until he meets Sally Cutter in 1936. For the first time in his life, Charlie discovers true love. The world continues to become a darker place and the growing menace of Hitler’s Nazi Party in Europe is echoed by Moseley’s anti-Semitic Fascists marching through Cable Street. Charlie watches helplessly as Sally’s life spins out of control.

With the threat of war ever nearer, the upright Charlie carefully devises a scheme to secure Sally’s future. But he is surprised when Sally resets the scheme on her own terms.

The Small Hill

The Small Hill is a sacred place, a healing place, where the ancients buried their dead and holy men came to preach. In the reign of Henry I, a knight stood on the hill, a young warrior straight from the heat of battle and knew the hill and the surrounding land was to be his. A settlement grew and a Norman church with a solid square tower was built on the top.

Over the centuries many who owned the land and many who worked on the land were equally drawn to stand on the hill in front of the tower to look out into the distance. From the knight in the 12th century to Tom, an old retired tenant farmer in the 20th century, men stood on the hill looking out to the horizon, to dream of the future or remember the past, each one feeling the small hill’s spell.