Before The Pearly Gates

Miles Appleby is a complicated and tormented soul. A successful oral surgeon at an exclusive practice in Chicago, he has always been driven by the high expectations of his father. Increasingly, he feels isolated and slowly comes to the realization that he leads an empty life. Miles, however, carries a secret that involved a woman who Bill, his close friend, had been seeing shortly before he suddenly left his homeland for another life in London.

Ever plagued by relationships that fail, Miles meets an engaging woman, Juanita, who finally ignites something in his life giving him warmth and meaning. In a strange turn of events while attending Bill’s untimely funeral near London, he gains a different perspective as to why certain events unfolded, and the secret that Miles had been so careful to protect is slowly revealed by a person called Laura. As the story reaches its zenith, the stories of these four characters finally become pieced together.

Benito's Truth

Amidst Peru’s rebellion against Spanish rule and an impending blockade by the Chilean fleet, the Viceroy of Lima and its priests devise a plan to safeguard the fabled Treasure of Lima. Captain Bennett Grahame, commanding the HMS Devonshire, is entrusted with this crucial task and instructed to return once the coast is clear. However, fate intervenes as Bennett falls deeply in love with Teresa, the enchanting daughter of the Viceroy. Their passionate affair leads to unforeseen consequences – Teresa loses her virginity, thwarting her father’s carefully arranged marriage plans and resulting in her exile to Spain on the galleon Santa Katerina Isabella, destined for a life in a distant monastery.

Driven by his unwavering love, Bennett embarks on a daring pursuit of the Isabella, defying all odds to rescue his beloved Teresa and confronting the Spanish Captain in a fateful showdown that forever alters his path. Cast into the realm of piracy, Bennett embraces his new persona as Benito ‘Bloody Sword’ Bonito, a fearsome figure renowned throughout the Spanish Main.

Compelled by both love and ambition, Benito sets sail from the Caribbean, in possession of the legendary treasure said to be hidden in a Queenscliff cave in colonial Australia. A tale of love, piracy, and insatiable greed unfolds, spanning from the shores of the Iberian Peninsula to the distant reaches of Australia’s colonial past. Revealed through the perspectives of Benito, Teresa, and their son Benjamin, Benito’s Truth offers a breathtaking account of the events that truly transpired—a narrative so incredible, it defies the boundaries of fiction. Prepare to discover that truth can be more astounding than any tale ever told.

Betrayal

Can you mourn someone and despise them at the same time?

Anna believes she has the perfect life. Happily married with four beautiful children, she is content spending her days looking after her family whilst her husband focuses on his career.

Stephanie, a career-driven businesswoman, thrives on her independence but is fiercely loyal in her relationship.

When tragedy strikes one cold December night just before Christmas, it is revealed that Anna and Stephanie’s lives are more entwined than either of them could have ever imagined. Are they both able to overcome lives full of deceit and learn to trust again?

Betrothed

Audrianna has been betrothed to Prince Henry to be the next queen of Nadeau. But, according to Nadeau law, they both must wait six years before they can be married. As far as Henry and Audrianna are concerned, they don’t mind waiting because neither one like each other. Pulling pranks and talking sass to one another seem to be the only way they know how to behave. However, when the castle is invaded by the marauding Andjety, Henry and Audrianna are forced to flee together to escape the murderous plans of Zymjai, the witch. Now, forced to trust one another to stay alive, they travel throughout the countryside, and discover intriguing friends to assist them. Can they look past the contempt they have for one another to allow their allies to help them retake the castle? Also, what is the strange noise that keeps howling every night in the castle? What dirty trick does Henry play on Audrianna? What secret has he kept from the princess? Does the king have an ulterior plan for the two of them?

Between Friends

Between Friends explores, in thirty-six texts, friendship in the modern world across a range of scenarios. Several texts investigate the special nature of male sporting affinities while others reveal the pleasures and disappointments of friendships with literary writers. The collection’s concern with the neuroses of masculinity is evident in ten vignettes devoted to male clothing, bodily adornment or sports equipment. The last six stories, mostly based on archival photographs, imagine scenarios of extreme male anguish or difficulty.

Overall the collection is a provocative psychological study of sometimes unconventional relationships which takes readers to a new level of understanding of the bonds between individuals. A particular strength of the work is its vivid powers of evocation – of scenarios, events and relationships – and its witty and often humorous expression of the significance of the situations recounted. Ranging over a wide spectrum of social and sporting subjects and interactions – from boxing to fashion, from the gym to home situation, from war to peace, from exotic places to familiar environments – the stories’ varied styles and forms aim to capture the particular flavour of the experiences recounted.

Between Heaven and Earth

     "There must be an angel playing with my heart."-The Eurythmics

Between Heaven and Earth is a contemporary love story that combines tragedy, companionship and divine intervention resulting in a powerful, moving and ultimately uplifting confirmation of what it means to be human. It is a poignant reminder of how the impact of death and grief affects people differently and how love and commitment can heal even the most broken of hearts.

Teddy and Mona Goodson are childhood sweethearts. They are shattered to discover that she is seriously ill. Teddy becomes so absorbed in caring for his wife that he begins to neglect the needs of their son, Guy. Teddy therefore decides to engage the services of a child therapist, Dana Weston, who unbeknown to him, falls victim to her own catastrophe and heartbreak. When Guy is later diagnosed with Leukemia, the pain and grief intensify to the point where the powers-that-be on high seem to be conspiring against them.

What follows is a complex interplay of relationships, memories, and synchronicity, touching, and in equal measures, both tragic and heart-warming, which reaches an emotionally charged and inspirational finale. When the human spirit is most tested, just when it seems all is lost, heaven and earth come together in a most profound way.

Beyond the Blue Girl

Katie Brown is a troubled girl from Edinburgh. She suffers horrific abuse from her evil father. She decides one day to leave home for a better life in London but things don't go smoothly for her and she spirals downwards into a life of stripping and drug abuse. After meeting a rich and handsome photographer, Katie feels her life is starting to look brighter but the charming man has other plans for her that involve his psychopathic friend, the Wallpaper Man. She is introduced to the dark world of high society and has her eyes opened to the sick and twisted activities of the elite!

Beyond the Cane

James Royston had sent his twelve-year-old son, Fredrick, to a private boarding school where he learned he was being excessively caned by one of the masters.
As private investigators, he and his partner Fred Baker wanted to know why, so set about uncovering what skulduggery was going on. They set out to learn who the master was and his background. Anthony Oliver, a ruthless businessman who had purchased the school only to make money was the villain around what the school was about. In the process of investigation, blackmail, attempted murder, illegal gun-running and skeletons in cupboards were discovered. Criminal exploits including military service were exposed, and family reputations ruined. It was a good case to solve, to sell to a newspaper and a good story for the reader to enjoy.
Read on!

Beyond the Division

Pilsung and Soon are star-crossed lovers. He is from South Korea, and she is from the North. Their love is so forbidden that when Pilsung tells his boss, she is immediately worried about the police finding out.

Soon escapes from North Korea after the shutdown of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and plans to fake her own death with the help of a police officer in South Korea. Pilsung is out of the loop and spends most of the story looking for his love, not realizing she is supposed to be dead.

Soon has been watching Pilsung’s every move, waiting for the right time to reveal herself, only to be heartbroken when she misunderstands a close bond between friends. She decides to leave him, but Pilsung flies to Yanbian to look for her and attempts to smuggle himself into North Korea.

Beyond the Moon

Beyond the Moon is an intimate collection of poetry about enormous stigma, Otherness and marginality, detailing with my personal experiences as a young woman living on the cusp of two very different worlds. As a young girl growing up in the United Kingdom, I was continuously made aware of my ethnic differences. The conventional Western education made no allusion to the Mauritian Muslim; I found no commonplace, no companionship with another in this world, no one like me.

Even I deceived myself with the expectation to normalise and acclimatise to the Barbie doll model. I was taught that I was not beautiful because I did not resemble this traditional model. Thus, this collection of poetry materialises and communicates such experiences, exploring the ‘dark side of the moon’.

Big Gig in Rock ’N’ Roll Heaven

Never get sexually involved with a client. I should’ve heeded my own advice. But one look at Mandy and you’d have fallen too. She was a real ball breaker. Serving divorce papers shouldn’t get a private investigator shot. But it happened to me. But life goes on, right? I was summoned upstairs to Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven. Someone was trying to sabotage the upcoming big gig. A humorous tale of music and intrigue on a fantasy world.

Billy

Billy was very lucky to have been found and saved by the bin men. After being with the dog warden for quite some time and seeing all his friends get adopted he became very sad. Will Billy ever get adopted by the loving home he has dreamed of for so long now?