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 Wartime Adventures of Harry Harris

The Wartime Adventures of Harry Harris follows a lieutenant in the Bartonshire Light Infantry, from the outbreak of World War II until it ends, and into peacetime.
He has many hair-raising adventures and emerges a hero, much admired by his soldiers and his girlfriend, Mildred.

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. 

The Ship Called The Pharaoh

"Populate or Perish" was the mantra after World War II as Australia sought to boost its population through immigration. This gripping story follows the lives of two young sisters as they embark on a journey of hope and opportunity, leaving behind war-torn and debt-ridden England for the promise of a better life in Australia. But as they navigate the challenges of a new country and grapple with the harsh realities of the immigration process, they are forced to confront the tragedies and heartbreak that come with the consequences of their choices. With a backdrop of a world in turmoil and a nation in flux, this novel explores the human cost of political decisions and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

The Seed of Freedom

In the heart of Dublin during the tumultuous Easter Rising of 1916, two young boys, Sam and Christy, grow up under the care of their widowed mother and aunt. As they navigate their way through troubled times, the brothers find themselves drawn to the cause of Irish freedom, joining the Volunteers in their fight for independence. Immersed in the savage Irish War of Independence, Christy serves in the Dublin Brigade while Sam becomes a member of the ASU and later joins the legendary ‘Squad’ under Michael Collins. Against the backdrop of 1920s Dublin, Sam finds love when he meets Kate, only to be captured and locked away in Kilmainham as his first child is born, released only when the Truce is signed. The brothers, united in their commitment, follow Michael Collins into the National Army, only to face the tragedy of the Irish Civil War, a horror that still haunts Irish society to this day. Upon their discharge from the Army in 1924, Sam, now a family man, and Christy seize the opportunity to reclaim their lost youth on the football fields of Dublin, Ireland, and Europe, where they excel as part of the famous Bohemian FC team of 1927/28, ultimately reaching the pinnacle of international football for the Irish Free State.

The Secrets of Kensington Place

London – 1860

Isabella de Claire, Ward of Lord Thomas Braxton, is an orphan of no means, no family and no social standing. 

Tired of the theatrics of London, Isabella yearns to explore the world outside the confines of the social season. Her dreams of exploration come true when she receives a surprise letter postmarked Bombay. Torn between loyalty and the comfort of the only family she has ever known, her heart and the promise of new beginnings, she must make a decision that will alter the course of not only her life but those around her.

The Satin Moth

This novel is a powerful, grim, historical fantasy story, based around the slave trade of the 17^th and 18^th centuries and its repercussions on a family whose wealth is built on it. The first part of the story introduces the present-day 10^th Lord of Eastlyn, Robert Montague, and his family, who continue to endure the consequences of a voodoo hex placed upon them centuries before. The second part describes the 1^st Lord of Eastlyn, George Montague, a wealthy but cruel and callous slave trader, and the enslavement of an Amazonian warrior named Nabila. Much of the novel’s strength is rooted in its foregrounding, which depicts man’s inhumanity to man and the vile and heinous nature of slavery. The final part shows the effect the curse has had on the Montague family and describes the actions and courage of young cousins who set out to free themselves from the voodoo hex placed upon them. The twists and turns that take place as a result are comprehensive and will provide entertaining relief for the reader following this tale of human suffering and vindication.

The Sash and the Crucifix

Lance-Corporal Edward Vickers, was born on the 12^th July 1900, in the Tigers Bay area of Belfast, under the shadow of Harland and Wolff Shipyard. Edward and his four friends watched some of the greatest ships ever to be built, as they towered over their streets. These five friends made a playground out of the shipyard and got to play on the decks of the greatest ship ever built, The Titanic. As they got older, WW1 shattered their lives like countless others. What they had to endure was hard to comprehend, but this first hand story had to be told. Not only was his story about WW1, but WW2 as well, where he had to fight his way through Belgium and France yet again, to get to the Dunkirk beaches.

Through his life he had some unforgettable ups, but they were overshadowed by unthinkable downs.

Edwards’s story is a remarkable one; of life through the wars, abroad and at home, and it’s a story that spans 105 years of his remarkable life.

The Russian Galatea

On July 16, 1918, Nicholas Romanov, the last Tsar of Russia, and his entire family were supposedly murdered by Russian Bolsheviks in the basement of a house in Yekaterinburg, Siberia. One year later, Alexander Kolchak, the Supreme Commander of the White Army, appointed a legal investigator to prove, beyond any doubt, that all members of the Romanov family had indeed been executed. The investigator’s name was Nicholas Sokolov.

The Russian Galatea is a story based on Sokolov’s investigation. It takes place in Siberia, 1919 – with the Russian Revolution as its background. The major thesis is fiction but woven around true historical facts. It is a detective story about one courageous investigator’s obsession with finding out what really happened to Russian Tsar Nicholas II and his family. It is also a story about Sokolov’s deep relationship with the girl in a faded photograph. Is she alive or dead?