The Black Pool

The Black Pool spans the life of a Dubliner, who was born in the late 1960s, covering his involvement in gangland events in the City of Dublin and Europe across a 50-year period.

The story will take you through Dublin’s devastating heroin epidemic of the 1980s and continuing on into the underground rave scene of the 1990s. From here the story takes you into the phenomenon of Ibiza’s dance craze, and into the gangland war for control of the cocaine market that was to start flourishing in the era of Ireland’s Celtic Tiger.

This is not a story of heroes but a story of how the reality of gangs and crime can get hold of a city and bring it to its knees. It asks: Is it for the bravado of becoming a household name and main man on the block? Or is it a stain on society that young men and women turn to crime to make ends meet?

This is the story of Thomas Moran.

The Black Willows

A young man named Tommy goes missing in a dense, isolated and unforgiving forest located 45 minutes outside the small town of Jennifer's Ridge. Months pass and there is no trace of him, with his family stricken with grief and the local police having no luck on locating him. His older brother, Jason; and childhood friend, Pete, team up with the local rangers to comb through the forest and bring him home…but they are not alone, the shadows hide ancient evils as they march further into the abyss, the trees seem to reach out and grab them, trying to warn the men as they track through. But they use this fear to push on, to bring Tommy home…to not let the Black Willows claim him as its own.

The Blackpool Landlady and Son

When 18-year-old Helen Ashton meets Joe McCarthy on the moors of Northumberland she instantly falls in love, certain that her humdrum life had taken a new turn. And for several years it did.

On the eve of the First World War, Helen learns that she is pregnant with Joe’s child, but before she can tell him, he enlists in the army and is despatched to war. She never heard from Joe again, and believed him dead.

When their son, Ben, was born, Helen, in mounting desperation, agreed to marry a retired police inspector with whom she had two children.

In time, her husband of convenience leaves Helen for another woman, and she finds herself on her own in the coastal resort of Blackpool with three young children with only a penurious future to look forward to. But fate intervenes, and with growing confidence Helen turns their home into a holiday hotel and begins welcoming guests. From one she learns that her beloved Joe had not died, but had been discharged into a sanatorium where he languished, a shadow of his former self, depressed, uncertain, confused … and lost, lacking the courage to reconnect with Helen.

By the time of Helen’s death, Joe is living a reclusive life, and his son, Ben, married with children of his own, takes over the Blackpool hotel. It is Ben’s wife, childhood friend Mary, who tracks down Ben’s father, finally persuading Ben to meet him … on the day Joe dies.

The Blighted Road

The Blighted Road is a 17^th-century story of two women’s harrowing journeys through plague and a brutal witch-hunt. Orla, renowned healer and mid-wife in rural England, confronts stillbirths and a mysterious, deadly sickness afflicting her community. The local superstitious people suspect these sinister events are the actions of the Devil. Desperate for answers, Orla’s investigation into past plague outbreaks reveal a shocking correlation with the harvesting of blighted grain. Her revolutionary findings lead to accusations of witchcraft. Meanwhile, Abigail, a young Londoner faces the horror of life in the plague-ridden city. After losing her family to the Black Death, Abigail escapes the locked gates of London. She flees on the plague road to Salisbury, which is fraught with danger and despair.

The separate tales of these women weave in and out as they reach a time and place where they are united by grief, loss and an uncanny will to survive.

The Blindfold Doctrine

Michael Walker, a self-proclaimed atheist, is about to begin a journey, a journey that takes him from an Afghan war zone into a war as old as time itself. The battle between good and evil!

After being shot in Afghanistan Michael’s world is about to change forever. During his resuscitation he is propelled into a strange and terrifying place, a place where souls mourn for the life they’ve lost and the body they’ve left behind, and fear for their future under the control of a new god – Death!

It is there that Michael learns the true meaning of his life and is charged with a new mission, one more dangerous than that which had left his body in the arms of the company medic. His mission: to find and free the one true god both spiritually and physically and end Death’s reign of tyranny and torture.

Pursued relentlessly by creatures far beyond his understanding, can Michael battle and overcome his own inner demons in a world far different from the one he thought he knew?

As the armies of darkness amass, and with the foul stench of death ever-present will Michael allow himself to finally believe? Will he once and for all be able to remove the blindfold that has snared religion and sedated mankind into slavery since time began? Only time, faith and trust in an unexpected companion will tell, or the human race will be lost forever!

The Blossoming Lotus

Embark on a transformative voyage of self-exploration and recovery with The Blossoming Lotus.
Through moments of heartache, betrayal, hope, joy, poverty, despair, self-loathing, self-love, homelessness, and friendship, the writer learns to love all aspects of herself, recognising that, much like the Lotus Flower that flourishes in murky waters, all of us have the potential to mature into beautiful and powerful beings.
This collection of poems, written over the past decade, represents a powerful and inspiring message of hope.
‘I hope you enjoy reading this collection.
My prayer is for my messages to reach those
who need them the most.’
Sylvie

The Blue Canvas

A blend of interesting poetry inspired by everyday life things such as the weather, holidays, food, or life in general. Written during lockdown when home-schooling was the new norm, this anthology of poems helps us to remember, be thankful, and be grateful. Listening to the news during the pandemic made people believe that each day was a blessing, and that people should do their best to value their family, friends, and neighbours, and not take each other for granted.

The Book and the Ring

On Torka, Baroness Penelope Birkenwood, Brenosian Ambassador to Genna, is visited by a member of the Council of Magic and told of a dark spirit in the world looking to exploit divisions and create instability. Penelope is tasked with stopping it with the aid of a ring.

George, the young and inexperienced king of Brenos, is being urged by some of his advisors to marry Suzannah, niece of King Francis of Amerton. But doing this will involve a major change of foreign policy which others oppose. When Penelope returns, they make a decision which turns everything upside down.

Another country, Korinth, is engaged in a long-running feud with Amerton, under its seemingly mad queen, Marilyn.

Penelope is cast on a journey in which she will need to use her wits and diplomatic skills to ease tensions between nations and prevent the dark spirit’s power from leading Torka to disaster…

‘The Book and the Ring is an immersive and intricately woven work of fantasy. As with Anne Hampton’s previous books, her skill with word-building is as nuanced as it is wide-reaching: from the first page we are introduced to a vibrant new world with a cast of characters who guide us through the story, using natural dialogue which successfully avoids being over-expository. The relevant themes of the book are dealt with tactfully and do not detract from the plot or risk becoming too political.’ – Stefanie Seaton, Editor, Austin Macauley Publishers

The Book of Shenanigans

Geoff is having a biblically bad day. For a start, his car gets written off and he loses his job at a call centre in Manchester. Then the Devil tells him he’s the Anti-Christ and unless he delivers the apocalypse, he’ll be tortured for eternity at a call centre in Hell. With the help of the Devil, his best friend, Rob, who turns out to be an infamous duke of Hell, and Mr Sox, a Hell hound trapped in a cat’s body, they are chased by the forces of good and that’s when all the fun starts…

The Book of Shenanigans is the word of God that is full of:

MORE Nuns with Guns                        MORE Talking Animals

MORE Decapitations                            MORE Cute Musical Satanists

MORE Cordless Drills                          MORE Evil Nazis

MORE Tea Drinking                             MORE Scary Stuff

IMPORTANT READING GUIDANCE

The following groups are strictly prohibited from reading The Book of Shenanigans:

British Royal Family               Cancel Culture                             Cartel Members

Catholic Church                      Cats                                               Folk Bands

Mexicans                                 Norwegian Blue Nose Rabbits     Nuns

Penguins                                  Satanists                                        Scots

Seal Pups                                 Serial Killers                                 Snowflakes

Swedes                                    Unicorns                                        Witches

The Box

The Box tells the story of Rupert and Lucille; their lives, loves, families, achievements, and failures. Lucille is the last child born to a family of generationally poor dirt farmers, while Rupert is the only child born to multi-billionaire parents. Rupert and Lucille’s paths cross due to a confluence of seemingly random events, and, as their business relationship grows, so do their friendship, love, and respect grow for each other. The Box tells how a simple invention has the potential to transform not only their two lives, but the story tells how the invention has the potential to change the lives of thousands of people. Where does it all lead though? Does the invention lead to the good that Rupert first envisioned? Does the invention help Lucille out of her generational poverty? Does the invention help anybody? Or, is the old adage that says, “No good deed goes unpunished,” really true?

The Bricken Arch

The lives of two teenage sisters and their cousin boyfriends are forever changed by the mores of their time, by separation to different parts of the world, by relationships with others and by a cruel tragedy. When, after seventeen years, there are reunions and liaisons over two decades, in furtive circumstances, none can imagine that the questionable and consequential actions of one of the lovers will lead to savage repercussions for all: repercussions that will bring on further catastrophic tragedies but more importantly, risk fulfillment of their enduring loves as a foursome.

The Broken King

Far from his home in the Kingdom of Ferinatia, Thorn continues his journey through the dying world of Elcina and the plan to bring the disunited realms and peoples together that he may guide them from the dying world into the safety of his own. With the kingdoms of Isthia and Taroth behind him, and the unexpected departure of the Ranee, Thorn enters the land of the Keegan nomads accompanied by the wolf pup Rark and the living crystal Lorak Ledel intent on finding a way to unify the tribes to his cause and find Princess Ranee who fled here after the destruction in Rata.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Varth prepares for their invasion of his world and his own kingdom. Secretly controlled by the Sorcerer Tarna, now emboldened by the murder of Thorn’s friend Penias, who was known as the Crown Prince Jarel Whitethorn. As Thorn enters the nomad lands, the Varthians stretch out their hand against the nomads and all other kingdoms and peoples who would stand against them, and their sorcerous leader.