Danube Legion

The Roman war machine is on the moveBut behind the Centurions and Legionaries, a vast support network grinds into motion mobilising a new legion towards a hostile river border, its human cogs turning across Roman society: from downtrodden bath slaves, to legionary blacksmiths trying to get through the day, from unscrupulous traders who supply food and materials to corrupt politicians with their own cynical motives.Danube Legion is the darkly amusing story of what happens behind the scenes – the chaotic, the venal, the incompetent and the corrupt. In amongst it all, and driving most of it, is Lady Lassalia, a ruthless merchant out to ensure her place in Roman society.

Kindling Ashes

Spanning fifty pivotal years of the Northern Ireland Troubles, this novel weaves personal histories with national events—from the 1969 torching of Bombay Street to the 2019 commemoration of that fateful day. Through an intimate lens, the Dunmurry Train bombing, Omagh attack, and other harrowing milestones unfold.As the final instalment in a trilogy of poetry and prose about the Troubles, this work captures their tragic yet humorous essence with wider scope and more conclusive understanding. Sombre yet insightful, the novel traces one family’s journey through the violence as they try to make sense of Northern Ireland’s bloody history. From the uneasy beginnings in 1969 to the reflective memorials decades later, their story confronts the past while moving uncertainly toward peace.

Luthuli Detachment – The Hwange Thunderbolt

After intense military training abroad, Umkhonto we Sizwe freedom fighters are determined to return home to South Africa as armed combatants alongside the masses struggling for liberation. Their planned route back necessitates crossing through Rhodesia. So they share their intentions with fellow comrades from the ZPRA forces also battling Rhodesia’s regime.This dialogue gives rise to a joint military alliance when ZAPU and ANC leadership approve the strategy. Thus, the Luthuli Detachment is born – a combined battalion from ZPRA and Umkhonto we Sizwe named in honour of the late ANC President General Albert Luthuli. On the eve of departing to reach South Africa, these joint forces cross into Rhodesia, though not without casualties.After successfully navigating the treacherous Zambezi river into Rhodesian land, an explosive encounter in Hwange Game Reserve turns it into the chilling rendezvous point where the Luthuli Detachment’s destiny collides with history’s call to duty. Will they accomplish their mission of participating alongside South African masses hungering for emancipation?

The Lost Keys

On the island of Singapore, Zacharia Pattara shares his lavish home in the suburbs with his five lively daughters and his beloved wife Anthoula. One fateful night in 1942 whilst they slept, the bombs of an invading Japanese Army signal the beginning of an uncertain future. With the clock ticking and the threat of advancing soldiers he does all he can to keep his family safe. Forced to separate, Anthoula and three girls evacuate the crumbling city whilst his youngest daughters take refuge in the convent. Soon Singapore falls under ruthless Japanese rule and along with thousands of citizens, Zacharia is taken as a Prisoner of War and held in appalling conditions. Haunted by regret and with limited food rations he gradually starves, awaiting news of his loved ones. With no end to the war in sight and with nothing but time, he has many questions. Did his wife escape unharmed from the island? Are his daughters safe in the convent? Will they ever be reunited, and can he survive the cruelty of his captors to see that day?This heartfelt family saga full of twists and turns shows that during the darkest of times, the strength of the human spirit can overcome the worst hardships. The Pattara family were among thousands who lost so much to the Japanese occupation during World War II. Based on real events, this is a story of survival and bravery when all hope seems impossible.

The Stoker Trilogy, Book III - Acceptance

It is January 1940. Tall, broad-shouldered, and handsome, Charlie Stoker is loved by everyone. Seen by all as the man who has it all, he is tortured by the belief that he lives a lie, a double life. His religious upbringing and inborn sense of righteousness demand that he resolve his problem, but WWII intervenes. Charlie, Bobby, Harry Bateson, Billy Walters, and even mild Percy Spence vanish to serve their country.While Charlie completes his army training, Sally Spence gives birth to a beautiful daughter, Shirley, and Charlie becomes godfather to his own child. Then, the ‘phoney’ war explodes. The drama of Dunkirk is followed by the Battle of Britain and the Blitz. London is in chaos. The lives of all those associated with the Stokers are endangered by the constant threat of the never-ending air raids. With all the men absent, their families spend their nights in Anderson shelters or hiding behind black-out curtains. Somehow, stirred by Winston Churchill’s passionate speeches, they keep up their spirits and find a way for most to survive.Charlie becomes a commando officer, who endures some of the fiercest battles of the war in Europe. He is saved from near death by the French Resistance; then, later, he leads his men through the entire Italian Campaign. His experiences there teach him to see his problems in a different light. Is there, at last, a path to acceptance?

Nazar's Journey

Nazar, a boy on the cusp of his 14th birthday, has always enjoyed a peaceful and idyllic life on a simple farm in the Nineveh Plains of Iraq. His days were filled with helping his father with chores, attending the small village school in Karemlesh, and playing soccer with his friends whenever he had a spare moment. However, his quiet world is abruptly shattered when radical militants conquer the city of Mosul and unleash a tsunami of terror across the entire Nineveh Plains region. Faced with the horrifying sight of his own people frantically fleeing the tranquil village he grew up in, desperately seeking safety, Nazar is forced to make challenging decisions that will forever alter the course of his life. Within mere hours, he must leave his boyhood behind and embark on a journey that will forge him into a young man of extraordinary selflessness and courage.Featuring nine expressionist masterpieces by internationally acclaimed Iraqi-American artist Qais Al-Sindy.

Those Trees Outlive Them

Spanning five generations from 1870 to 2013, this fascinating saga begins in a small village in colonial India and ends in modern-day New York City. Each chapter unfurls both an individual story and part of an epic family history.Jani’s prose is visually rich and poetically weaves characters’ tales with intense, lyrical details. From British colonial rule in India, to Pakistan’s chaotic democracy, to 21st century America, inquisitive readers will adore this multi-dimensional cultural journey.We first meet Fakir, a fatherless child who becomes a mystical storyteller, then an unlikely entrepreneur. Runaway teen Alam reinvents himself as an art teacher and womanizer over his adventures. Ambitious Ali Gohar journeys from Pakistan to attend NYU, while Jani grows up enduring racial tensions in 1980s Sindh before pursuing the “American Dream.” Finally, young physician Kabeer gives up a lucrative U.S. career to volunteer overseas, only to get swept back to his homeland by devastating floods.Spanning continents and colourful personalities, Those Trees Outlived Them is an intimate look at one family’s roots across borders and generations.

The Agony of Poland

In the latter part of 1939, German leader Adolf Hitler made a pact with the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to invade Poland. Confident that British and French leaders would opt for a weak peace settlement, Hitler’s army stormed in from the north, south and west on September 1st, while Stalin’s Red Army invaded from the east on September 17th.This story, part fact and part fiction, is an account of the suffering endured by the Polish people at this time, many of whom were imprisoned in Siberia and forced to work under dreadful conditions. Yet when Hitler turned on Stalin and invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Poland’s exiled found common cause with their Russian captors to take up arms against Nazi oppression.Though the Allies emerged victorious in 1945, a heavy price was exacted from occupied Poland. Many survivors discovered they no longer had homeland to which they could return, their former communities now under firm Soviet control.

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.

Strings of Destiny

In an era where freedom remains elusive, a young man finds himself at the heart of a struggle for the most fundamental human right: the right to be free.Set against the tumultuous backdrop of 1950s Cyprus, this tale, inspired by true events and interwoven with a touch of magic, sees Herodotos championing the cause for independence on multiple fronts. His story marks a timeless testament to the resilience of the few who dare to defy the might of the many.

Will from Melrose: A Romantic Trek Through a Web of Conspiracy

The year is 1317, and relations between Scotland and England are strained.Will is from Melrose, Scotland, where his father has been telling him heroic stories of fighting the English. Filled with enthusiasm, he runs away from home and joins a raid into England.After crossing the border, he is attacked and left for dead, but is found and brought back to health by a village girl, Rachel. But she is English…It isn’t long before Will is falling for Rachel, but at the same time, he senses a plot to assassinate King Robert of Scotland. What will he do now, torn between the girl he loves and the King he worships?

We Were Not Heroes

History is told by the victors and dare to write about the losing side. Writer Mark Kurt dared to bring to the reader the book We Were Not Heroes, a fictional novel about the diabolical scenario of the Second World War where men and women were trying to survive the boundless cruelties.Never has so much detail been written about the strategy of a pack of German U-boats trying to intercept an Allied convoy, the cold-bloodedness during naval combat and the pursuit of their enemies with destroyers in an attempt to annihilate them.Mark Kurt in his narrative of suspense and intriguing describes the incursion of a German command in British territory led by Max as main character and in the pursuit of the Germans an intelligent and selfless British investigator in the attempt to stop them, but to each one of the characters is reserved a different destiny despite the same scenario of the Second World War.