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 Sand's Final Serenade

The ways of the old world are dying. Cowboys, pirates and many other ways of making a living are slowly being phased out in favour of progress as the last edges of the varied, violent and often bizarre world of Terralong are being explored as the world grapples with itself in deciding how to progress.

On the tail end of the 19th century, the world is changing with technology seeping through every crevice of this world. However, the majority of its inhabitants remain stubborn in clinging to nostalgia and tradition.

Meanwhile, others try to change around them. Among them is a marshal on a final push to conquer all of Terralong, a soldier seeking revenge and an optimistic tribesman determined to unite his people before facing annihilation in the ways of his ancestors.

Everyone within this brave new world now faces their own personal quests as they try to embrace the world of change about to be presented to them. But will they succeed before the world leaves them behind?

For nothing stops The Sand’s Final Serenade.

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?

The Rose Garden

The Rose Garden is a story of Man,
his greed and his broken world,
his sleepwalking to a disaster of his own making.
This is a story of Man,
it tells why things reached to the catastrophic point,
and warns of his unprecedented end.
This is a story of Man,
whose time is running out.
This is a story of Man,
his survival or extinction on the Planet Earth.
This is a story of Man,
it advises him to open eyes wide and save the World for his children’s sake.

The Road to Truth

The Second World War disrupted many lives. The dedicated doctors and nurses had to try and try and put the injured back together. The story tells of one of these nurses whose family was broken up and she suffered the loss of the man she loved. The welfare system was struggling to protect the vulnerable but in the process, families were separated and the children were not given information about their family. Rosa Williams tried to forget the loss of the only man she loved, but events occurred that meant she would never forget her airman.

The Revelation of Atlantis

For the first time in the well-known human history, the mythical and legendary Atlantis reveals her secrets. The heavy veil of oblivion rises for us to take a look at that incredible age 20,000 years ago through the story of Filton, one of the greatest scientists of that era; and Niria, the priestess of the Temple of Truth. An exciting history of the past in order to know the present and the future.

The Playground Hunter

The Playground Hunter is a work of historical fiction set in 1967-68. It tells the story of four pre-teen children, their friends, family and surrounding township.

It is a tale of shattered lives which graphically describes the effect that lies and deceit have on three families, and how they and the community discover, and then must confront, what has happened in front of their very eyes.

Relationships entwine to a dramatic conclusion.

When something is hidden, it is hidden so as not to be found.

When something is stolen, it is stolen so as not to be returned.

But when something is wrong, it is wrong, and all bets are off.

Thunder began to rumble in the distance as lightning danced across the streets of our town; the last storm of autumn was carrying us to winter.