Vlad Dracula : The Impaler

1456, the night of Vlad’s coronation: a dastardly plot, a joint venture between the Ottoman Empire and Catholic Hungary to kill the Impaler’s beloved, sets off some of the worst atrocities in history, enshrining the name Dracula as a synonym for terror. He drank the blood of his victims, and filled the castles of the land with wretches destined for the stake: Scourge of the Saxons, champion of the peasants, national hero who saved his country from Islamic conquest, Vlad was all of these, and much, much more... His name has become a byword for cruelty, Vlad’s draconian policies the horror of Europe. But who was the man behind the legend? Written off by historians, the Dacians were thought to have vanished immediately after the Roman conquest of Dacia, but Vlad, Son of the Devil, would revive the ancient Gaulish pride, bringing hope to the oppressed Wallach remnants of Transylvania through a dastardly series of impalements: he would become known in Romanian as Vlad Țepeș, the Impaler! A man more terrifying than any vampire.

Napoleon General: Mountain Paths

In the aftermath of the Siege of Toulon, Napoleon emerges triumphant, driving the British from the Midi Region of Southern France. Yet, the shadow of war with Austria looms ominously. While battling external foes, Napoleon faces internal demons: the treacherous political landscape of Paris, the snare of Barras, and a corrupt Directory eager to undermine him.

Despite saving a government that once sought his demise, having him imprisoned during the chilling Jacobin purges post-Robespierre, Napoleon’s resilience shines. His decisive ‘Whiff of Grapeshot’ during the Vendemaire crisis not only earns him accolades and the command of the Army of Italy, holding back Austrians in the rugged terrains of Genoa and Piedmont but also the heart of Josephine de Beauharnais, his legendary love.

Napoleon General: Mountain Paths meticulously chronicles this turbulent era, offering readers an immersive journey into warfare's evolving artistry and Napoleon’s growing genius within it.

Trouble and Strife

Sometimes the smallest voices make the deepest impact.Josephine Hadley, a 1930s Canadian housewife, fills her days looking after her children, her indifferent husband and a stream of Depression-era visitors. Her contribution to her guests is a bowl of stew and an open heart. Her small world, however, is soon shattered by a tragic event which forces her to become the breadwinner. Can she run a business without sacrificing herself? And is it possible to act on a long-buried desire without remorse?Johanne Levesque’s first novel, Trouble and Strife, is a poignant and heartbreaking look at a woman’s life in a fast-changing time. With intimate details and a deft poetic touch, Levesque has captured the spirit of an age where war and economic hardship altered the workplace, home and women’s lives forever.

The Sword of Calais

1536. Henry VIII schemes to be rid of his wife to marry another. Anne Boleyn is found guilty of her sins and the king sends to Calais for Europe’s best sword executioner.Jean Rombaud will be paid 100 crowns, a huge sum which will help him establish the fencing school he has always desired. With Raoul, his nephew, they are also requested to escort a noble’s daughter, Roselyn back to London from Calais. A bond develops between Raoul and Roselyn on the journey but arriving home she is shocked to discover her marriage has been arranged to Nigel, who she hates.After Anne’s execution, there are celebrations for Henry’s betrothal. Roselyn persuades Raoul to join with her in merry-making. She drinks too much, Raoul takes her home but is accused of kidnapping her by Nigel, they fight and Nigel is badly wounded.Raoul is sentenced to death. Nigel’s father is an old foe of Jean. They once fought a duel over Nigel’s mother, now old wounds are opened and they challenge each other once more.Jean is given an ultimatum by Thomas Cromwell. If he wins the duel, he must become the executioner of his nephew.

The Magpie

It is December 1913 and Detective Constable Frank Bolam has a murder to solve. The victim is found drowned in the River Wear with a vicious knife wound to his lower back. There are no witnesses and no clues.A few months later another body is found with the same vicious knife wound, followed closely by a further two murders with the victims stabbed in a similar manner. This is a clever killer. No clues are found and Bolam cannot find a way to break the deadlock in his most perplexing case.Having risen from a lowly mining family, Bolam has strong moral values and becomes totally obsessed with the killer and the devastating sadness brought to the victims’ relatives. He vows to bring the murderer to justice, whatever the cost.These are turbulent times, with the country in the middle of an attritional war. In his quest to find the murderer, Bolam follows his hunch and enlists in the army, heading for the trenches to track down a cold-blooded killer in the middle of the most mechanised slaughter the world has known.

The Lady

This is a story set in a turbulent Cornwall at a time of hunger and crime, but out of desperation, there was also love, laughter and a bond, starting with a wilful girl and her adoring father, who left her far too early, leaving a legacy behind.In the care of trusted friends, she grew up happy and spirited, surrounded by her loving and yet vigilant guardians.Despite their vigilance, ‘the lady’ made a poor choice in a husband. They had two beautiful children just before he met an untimely end, which left more questions than answers and again, the lady is alone. A stranger enters her life. Is he a friend or foe?With love, murder, sadness and bravery, the little group get through the hard winter to face another spring.

The Green Gates Story

There are certainly many historical accounts of wars, military experiences, and cultural reactions to politics, but many of these works lack a personal and sentimental touch to what it really feels like to endure a battle. In The Green Gates Story, Bernard Fredericks presents a historically accurate, delightfully moving, and honest tale of a British boy who is evacuated from his Liverpool home in WWII. Told from the perspective of a child, Fredericks narrates his memories of an eight-year-old boy who is snatched from the city and transplanted to the country. He shares the triumphs and struggles of a child required to acquaint himself in a new setting and lifestyle. While he manages the heartache of missing his family and friends, the boy is also thrilled and challenged with new adventures as he acclimates to the pace of country-life. From the beginning of his evacuation to his return to home, the boy relates his feelings and doubts about so many events that crop up not only in wartime, but every child's time of coming of age.

The Collector

Brave, inquisitive, entrepreneurial: Joseph Banks personified the spirit of late 18th century Enlightenment Europe. Banks’ fascination with the plant and animal kingdom began when he was a boy in rural Lincolnshire. A privileged upbringing saw him schooled at the famous institutions Harrow, Eton and Oxford. As a well-connected, independently wealthy adult, Banks developed a particular friendship with Montagu, fourth Earl of Sandwich, who introduced Banks to the pleasures of angling, and the debaucheries of the London club scene.In 1768, 25-year-old Joseph joined a round-the-world voyage led by the great English navigator, James Cook. This introduced Banks to the freedoms of traditional Polynesian society. He became an ardent lover of indigenous women and an assiduous collector of exotic flora and fauna. Following his return to England, Banks became a figure of renown, lionised by English society. But his dreams of a second world voyage with Cook ended before they began. How did this happen? How did Banks’ vision become a chimera? This novel tells all.

Tea with Kong Zi

Do you think hate is a stronger emotion than love? How can I forget my problems? In China, they say that the first bird out of the tree gets shot. “Tea with Kong Zi (Confucius)” is a work of historical fiction based on the great teacher’s Analects in the form of a collection of dialogues between modern-day manager Pete (the book’s author) and Con (Confucius) on topics such as character, loyalty, integrity, success, and greed. Peter Alatsas, an experienced international manager and consummate traveller, has written a simple and pleasant “value guide”. “My inspiration was corruption and lack of ethical moral character in leadership,” he says. He also mentions that Confucius would never have engaged in active dialogue, unlike the Socratic way, because in Chinese culture the master is always above his students. This is one big difference between China and the West. For Confucius, questioning was the role of the teacher. Having studied the Analects and the literature that Confucius based his knowledge on, Alatsas tries to be practical and to the point being of Spartan origin brevity is the philosophy. In the end, Confucianism was more of a pragmatic wisdom than a philosophy. Among the dialogue, the reader can find creative cartoon images that bring the author’s ideas to life.

My Pain, My Country

It is May 1998, and riots have sprung up across Indonesia with attacks targeting the ethnic Chinese. Buildings are being set alight all around as helpless crowds watch their communities burn to the ground. Nina, a young Indonesian woman of Chinese descent, feels compelled to help her fellow student activists but finds herself in harm's way amid the mass gang-raping of Chinese women. Despite the government's best efforts to deny these allegations, the lives of many were dramatically changed by the traumatic events. Nina's heart-breaking experience is laced with cultural imagery and an emotional depth that will leave you awed. 'A powerful and engaging story about a national scandal the nation prefers to deny or forget. A must-read for anyone interested in contemporary Indonesia and her recent past.'Ariel Heryanto, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia  'Dewi Anggraeni creates poignant, interweaving plots of three generations of women in a family struggling to come to terms with a tragedy, which blends unspeakable violence, tormenting guilt, and lingering shame with the beauty of the batik-making art and the poetics of writing, to open up a slippery path toward a healing process that refuses to forget while continuing to move on. The life journey of each of the characters allegorizes the growing pain a nation must experience to fulfil its destiny as a diverse, multilingual and multi-ethnic society against deeply rooted prejudice and bigotry.' Manneke Budiman, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia

Marian

King Richard is on a crusade. Prince John will do anything to take England from him. Someone must take a stand. Marian has been running from her past and started a new life in Nottingham. When the Sheriff dies unexpectedly, her world changes forever. The new Sheriff puts not only Marian but the whole of Nottingham in danger. She must confront her past and step up to protect Nottingham when no one else will. Along the way, Marian makes friends as well as enemies. She meets an old acquaintance, Robin Hood, but things are not what they used to be. They have vastly different lives and responsibilities. Can they overcome their differences and work together? Can Marian be the leader everyone needs? Will she finally find peace?

Malory's Quest

March 1471, Rogue Malory is dead. His friends, the Newgate Three, set out to fulfil their promise to him to deliver the finished manuscript of Le Morte D’Arthur to the friars of Winchester. But national events intrude and the three find themselves cast out from England. Advised by their old friend, Sir Anthony Tanner, and his betrothed, Margaret Limpsett, they set out to Bruges in Flanders where they seek advice on how to proceed to protect the manuscript. New characters are introduced, including William Caxton who becomes integral to their lives. Previous friends – and enemies – reappear and play their parts. But not all is well. At the end, there is a shocking discovery. Will the quest be fulfilled?