Breaking Stones

The phenomenon of human potential is never beyond our sight.

An opportunity is always offered to people. Sometimes in a mysterious way. Whoever ignores or rejects it will never truly experience life’s journey. Staying on the same path is to constantly relive the same day. That’s why exploration embodies mankind’s natural need to deal with the secrets below the surface. Although the facts about us as human beings speak in an understandable language, this doesn’t mean we’re not an enigma to ourselves. Understanding oneself is a very demanding process, similar to an autopsy. Not a physical autopsy, but a spiritual one. Discovering the anatomy of one’s soul cannot be done abruptly. Moments of inspiration will make the realization of whether we are controlled by our consciousness or our subconsciousness easier. Hiding behind a heavy veil until the very end is not truly living.

Sometimes a mere piece of paper under a windshield wiper with just three words and a phone number can change your life instantly.

The hero of this novel who only refers to himself as “The Recorder” dared to call a number left on a piece of paper beneath his windscreen wiper. He sensed an opportunity. A few weeks later, a telegram arrived:

IT’S TIME. IT’S YOUR TURN NOW. MOVE NOW!

A trip to an unknown estate marks the beginning of an adventure, and he begins writing the history of his life.

Breath of God

We’ve crossed the border and are in the Republic of Ireland. I’m wondering whether I’ll see snow again, all over Ireland, falling on every part of the dark central plain, on treeless hills, falling softly upon the Bog of Allen and on Shannon waves. Would I ever again read Joyce?

“Sit there,” Thomas says. He looks over his shoulder at William, says “Come on,” with a directive nod of his head and gets out of the car. William gets out and the two stand at the front of the car where I can see them talking. Their talk becomes animated with much hand gestures, and head noddings, and jerkings. They come back to the car, but instead of taking me out, get in.

“Stanley,” says Thomas.

Mary Ford has asked Stanley Eigerman, a Messianic Jewish detective, to find her son Stephen, who has been made to disappear during the troubles in the Belfast. For 21 years Mary has grieved for her missing son, and in taking the case Eigerman gets more than he bargains for.

Breath of God is a novel

Written in language that elevates the soul

Is an anti-depressant

Has a theme that speaks across the ages

 To each of us

Living in a world of violence, fear, and pity.

Breathless Without You

Adam Estrada has a bit of a reputation for his serial dating prowess and is not looking to get into a serious relationship. But when he finds out his sister’s best friend, Kit, is attending his brother’s wedding, he thinks he might be in a little bit of trouble. Especially since he seems to be turning up everywhere Adam is. Kit is the only one who has ever made his heart race, but he’s straight. Kit Richards has never thought much about his sexual orientation until he comes back into contact with Adam. Adam has suddenly brought up emotions in him that he hasn’t felt since they were teenagers, and he realises that he’s definitely gay. Especially when he decides to throw caution to the wind and kiss Adam. Now he’s found a relationship that he can see himself putting his all into, but will Adam be able to commit? Will they be able to keep this relationship intact, or will something or someone tear them apart?

Brett: ‘Love of My Life’

Sometimes a girl’s dream is to have a safe home.

Steph’s escape is listening to her Queen records and dancing at the discos. It is the ’80s; music keeps her mind safe – it is the only thing she trusts. At 16, she finds love and friendship in a bikie called Brett. She never knew her first love would be the ‘love of her life’.

Brett is as damaged as Steph; tragedy seems to follow them. He is the only person who ever believed in Steph and her dreams.

However, with no money and no family to help her, Steph hits obstacles at every turn – with sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll.

Will Steph ever escape and follow her dream?

Bright Shadow

This is the story of Katherine Plantagenet, self-proclaimed “daughter, sister and aunt of kings” who endures extraordinarily traumatic reversals of fortune, as her life swings through wealth and adversity.  A glittering future as an English princess is swept away by the untimely death of her father, Edward IV, and the usurpation of her brother Edward V's throne. Surrounded by murderous intrigue, conspiracy and ambition, Katherine and her sisters fear what lies in store … The pragmatic marriage of the eldest, Bessy, to the victor of Bosworth, Henry Tudor, brings an uneasy peace to Katherine's young life but the shadows of suspicion and rebellion continue to swirl around her.  

Katherine witnesses first hand the events that plague her brother-in-law's reign. As a political expedient, she is given in marriage to William Courtenay, heir to the Earl of Devon, but Henry Tudor's paranoia soon falls upon her beloved young husband who is imprisoned in the Tower. An intelligent and resilient woman, in a world where men hold all the power, Katherine fights her way alone through a tense decade that ends in personal tragedy. With a vow of celibacy as her chosen route of self-preservation, Katherine continues to tread a wary path of survival ... until the charming Benedict Haute enters her life. However, the failure of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon to produce a living son changes the way any Plantagenet is viewed by the king; Katherine knows her royal blood could cause trouble for her family.

Brighton Schlock

What happens when a biker drag queen uncovers an evil trafficking plot, with the help of his dominatrix side-kick from the flat downstairs; a certain type of wart invades a hospital ward; your teenage GBF turns out to be related to you; shredding machines and other devices take on a life of their own; and horny gargoyles abseil into cocktail parties – all in one of the nation’s most louche hotspots? And just who are these two young boys, skulking through many of the tales? With shared locales and dramatis personae, Merryman Downes’ Brighton Schlock is a fast-paced, surreal, happy, sexy, sad, and ultimately tender suite of interrelated tales where intrigue, horror and seemingly magical occurrences affect the well weird residents and enclaves of Sodom-on-Sea – or Brighton, as those of us who love it, call it.

Oh – and did anybody mention the astral body-snatching?

Broken Link

Owen Link, working as a hitman for the mob had one job to do, little did he know this job would lead to his undoing.

Now on the run from the mob and the law, Owen must prove that although several murders he may have committed, this one was not done by his hand. Running out of options Owen turns to an old friend, Robert, for help. Now working for the F.B.I. Robert would hold Owen’s fate in his hands.

Going against his better judgement Robert decides to help, unaware this would uncover secrets he thought had been buried long ago. Keeping Owen out of jail, however, would prove difficult when Robert and his partner Charlie, realize that this murder holds many similarities to their existing case. Now on the case, will Robert help Owen escape, or use him to save himself from the demons of his past?

Broken Wings

Returning to her family’s village in Scotland for the sombre anniversary of her brother Max’s passing, Martha, a dedicated primary school teacher from Camden, northwest London, braces herself for a flood of painful memories. Instead, she’s enveloped in the warmth and affection of her family and rekindles her bond with her best friend, Izzy.

However, her trip takes an unexpected turn when her father’s old Ford Escort breaks down en route to Inverness. To her dismay, the recovery truck that arrives is driven by Jackson, Max’s childhood best friend and the local mechanic. Martha has always held Jackson partly responsible for Max’s death, as he was with him on that fateful night.

Despite her best efforts to keep her distance, the undeniable chemistry between Martha and Jackson is palpable. She’s determined to resist any feelings for him, but when adversity strikes, Martha realizes that Jackson might just be the one person she can rely on.

Brotherly Love

Roddy Roan is an intense young man who attends the prestigious Wellington Private School in the Herefordshire countryside. As the dislike of his English teacher Bill Solomons becomes an obsession of revenge, his friends slowly distance themselves from the impending carnage. Solomons turns to his brother for help and circumstances unite them in a common cause, but as each of them battle their own demons, personal tragedy strikes.

Justin Kell reluctantly takes on the case of the suspicious disappearance of a city banker and quickly finds himself at the heart of a ruthless crime syndicate. It becomes a race against a time as he puts his life on the line with the stakes even higher when his personal life is turned upside down.

Brown Girl

Shelly Nacre is the brown face in a sea of white, washed up on the rocky shores of Long Island. Life changes suddenly when tragedy befalls her family, leaving Shelly to make sense of what has happened in the only way she knows how. Her father, an armchair activist, feeds her plenty by way of philosophical ruminations, but these words do not anchor her. Shelly must breeze carefree into her daydreams and drift into the realms of the past to visit her ancestors.

And somewhere between these worlds there is Dolly, who never fails in giving her comfort and advice.

But when Shelly tries to befriend two of her teenage classmates in a neighbourhood where prejudice is deeply rooted, she brings about havoc on a mystical level, making waves much too big for Long Island in the 1980s.

Bruny Island Girl

In the year 1879, William and Jane Burns from Durham, England, migrated to Newcastle, Australia, in the hope of finding a better life for themselves and their two children, Joseph, aged three, and Elizabeth, aged one. Stormy seas, interspersed with weeks of boredom, made their three-month-long voyage on the sailing ship, William Stonehouse, anything but pleasant. William, like his father, was a coal miner and found work easily in a Newcastle colliery. During this time, he befriended a German immigrant, Wilhelm Zschachner, and learned that a new coal discovery had been made in the state of Tasmania. The thought of moving to Tasmania was challenging to the Burns family now that they had two additional children. Nevertheless, they repacked their furniture and treasures brought out with them from England and moved to remote Bruny Island, off Tasmania's southeast coast. Here, they were true pioneers. Between working the new coal mine, William and his still-increasing family cleared a parcel of land on Coal Point and built themselves a cosy home from axe-split palings. Sadly, William died young after a rock fall at the mine, forcing Jane to become a midwife in order to keep the family together until they reached adulthood and married. Joyce - the 'Bruny Island Girl' - was born in 1899 to Louisa, one of Jane's daughters, and this book tells the story of her remarkable life on the island before marrying Cecil Cutcliffe. Max Cutcliffe is one of their sons and the author of this book.

Brushstrokes

And for a brief moment, we finally set aside

The shield that we don, beneath which our hearts hide

Brushstrokes is an exploration of the nuances of love, the ebb and flow of hope, as well as the search for meaning, clarity and purpose.

A moving composition of poems and prose, it recounts the tale of an electric encounter and ensuing, all-consuming love – with its irresistible highs and perilous lows – that sets into motion a cascade of events. What unfolds is a transformative story of self-discovery, unveiling one’s deepest fears, longings and dreams.

Timeless and universal in message, Brushstrokes invites us on an intimate journey steeped in passion and wonder.