Man With A Gun

That the gun was kept in a drawer of the old Singer sewing machine was never a secret; although, when his father died, its significance as a reminder of the old man’s mysterious occupation was quickly overshadowed by the discovery of a fortune in banknotes in the loft.

There was, too, the emergence of some alarming connections with an extreme nationalist organisation. And if all that wasn’t enough to disrupt his quiet existence, the presence of dognappers in the village presented a more immediate cause for concern than how to deal with an unexpected legacy, although the inherited gun would come in handy there.

For the new owner of the gun, and very quickly too, the quiet Scottish village of Beachborough was transformed into a centre of smuggling, money laundering and revolution, such a situation of turbulence as had not been known since the Jacobite rising, centuries before. As a singularly unremarkable man, would it be possible for him to stay such an unsettling tide of change, or could he maintain his studied convention of spectator?

Mangrove Sands – The Enchanted Sea World

The Epic Journey is the third book of the Mangrove Sands series. It aims to inspire and educate children who for one reason or another have difficult starts in life, either by fate or disability.

Based on an island in South East Queensland, Australia, five children experience many adventures and mishaps through an enchanted underwater sea world with their magical talking animal friends.

A young Swedish girl has recently had her leg amputated. She struggles to accept the loss of her leg and has no interest in making new friends or attempting to walk until she meets her Enchanted Sea World friends and her life is changed forever. She starts doing things she never thought possible. She shows her friends how to make Dala horses, bake Swedish buns and join in traditional Swedish celebrations.

Mangrove Sands, The Epic Journey is full of magical adventures in the Enchanted Sea World including surviving a cyclone, a pandemic, and the realm of horrors. Magical spoons, a magical sea god, a wedding, and a death will keep young minds curious and captivated.

This book is full of fun, adventure, and many magical moments. It aims to provide hope and inspiration to children around the globe and encourages children to embrace, respect and learn about other cultures and languages. It further encourages children to exercise humility, love and understanding to all.

Marelle

The nature of war is that there is no normal; emotions are always running on the surface; fear, hope, sadness and love can all manifest themselves in an instant.

In this setting, four central characters embark upon a daring and extremely dangerous journey through war torn France in 1944. Two French orphaned children have no idea how they will reach what they believe to be their only surviving family. Meanwhile, two Allied prisoners of war escape their captivity, but behind enemy lines they are uncertain about their survival and their ability to get back behind Allied lines.

They each carry a burden of their own personal heart-breaking tragedy as fate brings them together. The sadness and despair from the loss felt by each of them must be overcome if they are to survive. Survival, however, is not guaranteed as each step they take on the journey is fraught with danger.

They soon realise that love and friendship are the most important ingredients to help them reach their personal objectives. Despite the perils they face they demonstrate courage and determination and never lose hope, because as each day passes and with each crisis they face, the bond between the two vulnerable children and the soldiers grows stronger.

Marnari Rashna

The story starts with Marnari Rashna, the last from the order of magi, being summoned to the king. On her way there she meets Quinn, the most interesting street urchin ever. Quinn has an amazing talent: one that Marnari has only heard of, but never seen. Marnari invites Quinn to join her the next morning. The girl has nowhere else to be so agrees.

The two of them head to deal with the king’s business, only to realise it is a trap: a threat on the king’s life looms. Racing back, they are too late. The only friend Marnari now has at court, the stable master, tells her that there may be an heir. The only one who may know about this has long since left the continent and headed to the northern shores. Quinn doesn’t want to leave her new horse behind so opts for the gateway, never used since the great war. There is only one quick way to get there: across the plains.

Dangers await, yet the gentle soul of Quinn has only ever known one life. This will become the greatest adventure of her life and of all those she meets.

Marsupial Tracks

As a jaded regular in the city’s underground music scene, the only thing that mattered to Jacob Blythe was punk rock. When the arrival of a mysterious girl tempts him into seeing a vision of the world that exists beyond the confines of his cosmic nihilism, Jacob finds himself helpless to resist it.

Now, sitting alone in an unfamiliar train station, and possessing no memory of how he got there, Jacob has no choice but to piece together the scattered remnants of this fractured past before he is consumed by the sinister creature chasing him.

With time running out and one of the greatest punk bands of all time about to take the stage, Jacob has only one chance to discover the answers to life’s most complicated questions.

If only he and his friends hadn’t drunk so much first…

Martex Renver in Search of a Better Life

Planet Capo is situated on the other side of the black hole. There was a war and after a chemical fallout, the humans were left with an altered DNA. They must get to Planet Earth because they believe that by combining their altered DNA with that of the Earthlings, it would revert to the way it had been. On the night before the official launch to Planet Earth, Martex Renver and his friends go on board the spacecraft for a tour. After a mishap Martex becomes the new Commander, and his friends the new crew and they are on their way to Planet Earth to find a cure for their altered DNA. Martex must first destroy a meteor as big as a bus that is about to collide with them. When they land on Earth, they discover a problem. They are much smaller in size than the Earthlings. Martex meets the American President's daughter, Angela Andrews. They fall in love, but their size difference makes it impossible to have a normal relationship. Can Martex get back to his planet in time with the cure to save his father from an early death?

Martinup

The year is 1967 and Martinup, situated in rural Western Australia, is largely unaffected by the sixties revolution that is sweeping the rest of the world. High school is the focus of attention for Brian MacArthur and his friend, Trevor Stewart.

It is so different from primary school. They make their own entertainment in the bush.

Their science teacher, Paul Newton, is on his first teaching post, straight from Perth, missing his girlfriend and sharing a dreadful flat with an outrageous person who works as a primary school teacher. Life is unbearable and conflict inevitable.

Brian has reluctantly accepted the position of altar boy in the local Catholic church. The priest hides a dark secret involving church funds.

The Vietnam War rages on, threatening Brian’s older brother, Roger, with conscription should he fail in his exams at university.

Brian and Trevor launch a hot air balloon which starts a bush fire and causes the deaths of hundreds.

Well, no. But it could have.

Marvels, Mischief, and Mishaps

Immerse yourself in this new collection of funny tales, advice, and observations. Once again, the author provides amusing and embarrassing stories of life, wearing her heart on her sleeve.

This is the author’s second collection of poetry and poetic tales, following the success of A Few of My Favourite Things. Laying her emotions bare for all to see, she hopes to bring a little joy and a large helping of humour to as many people as she can. The book is so relatable, and it should come with a warning as it will journey you through many emotions. You could be in tears at one point and then laughing out loud the next.

As with her first book, Amanda continues her efforts to raise money for Alzheimer’s care and research. So, once again with every book she sells, she will donate £1 towards charity.

So, sit back, hold on to your hat, and let us take this rollercoaster of emotions together!

Mary Copeland: Victorian detective

Mary Copeland: Victorian detective examines the life of this young woman who is raised by her uncle and aunt in London in the late nineteenth century and who develops into a detective of stature who works on request for Scotland Yard. As a woman, however, it is almost impossible to fulfil a social function and so she has to do her job anonymously. She is assisted in this by employees of Scotland Yard, with whom she forms a secret unit over time.

The stories, which take place from 1888, include many painters from the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. The titles of the four stories are taken from paintings from that time. Swiers impressively manages to portray the London of those days, just after The Ripper Murders and before The London Dock Strike.

In the Netherlands, the first four books on Mary Copeland were published between 2019 and 2022 and subsequent volumes are in preparation.

Master Builders

Chris finds himself in a foreign environment and form, ten light years from Earth after his untimely death. His mentor, Brian, explains the new order of things. He discovers that he is now in a mechanical shell and bemoans his loss of some body parts. Chris joins three other junior builders, that have been tasked to seed the universe with newly tailored and tested sentient beings. Chris gets into trouble with the Sentient Species Test and Evaluation Facility management but is then instrumental in saving Earth from an Orion reptilian attack. He interacts constructively with the galactic federation based in the Pleiades, leading to the resurrection of an old treaty between Earth’s United Nations and the federation.

Matthew's Tears

Matthew is born in 1974 and his proud father, Geoffrey, takes him to their family doctor for his first triple antigen vaccination. Within 24 hours, Matthew begins to incessantly convulse. This is a time when no one questions their doctor, their word is sacred.

Nothing can be done to stop Matthew’s fits, and the doctors only say they are continuously causing more and more brain damage.

Geoffrey blames himself and descends into a self-destructive pattern of behaviour, causing his life to spiral downward and out of his control.

May I Have a Word

The collection of poetry contained on the pages of this book serves as a peek into Lukasz Kuraj’s within. Subjects he chooses to explore are vessels of his thoughts carefully steered towards their final port. Structure is the current which propels them forward taking the reader on board for the brief moments deserving to be written into the captain’s log. Whether fighting a storm or admiring a clear blue sky, the journey undertaken is worth the while spent discovering the great care for each line put down on paper to exist even beyond the horizon. Feeling harboured in every verse reflects his inner voice the way a tract throws light back into the heavens. Upon arriving at the destination Lukasz would like the reader’s trip to be one to treasure and his love of words to be seen from below deck as well as from the crow’s nest. Let’s leave the shore together in search of an adventure and immortality of the soul.