Kertamen

A front-line game of cat and mouse between cops as tough and cunning as the conspirators – a murderous, satanic cabal intent on influencing the 2014 Scottish referendum. Kertamen is a fast-paced thriller involving recurrent darkness, some moral dilemma and portal-stepping into Jerusalem in 30 AD, seen primarily through the eyes of Detective Inspector Chuck Kean of the Drug Squad. Kean is running a deniable investigation into a masonic cabal among the Edinburgh establishment, who are allegedly linked to child abuse. His team soon experience various unanticipated twists including the discovery that the background on the faction is an intricate one with links to Rosslyn Chapel and a migrant Templar, Adam de Gordon.

The clandestine investigation quickly becomes entangled within the foundation roots of a much bigger political conspiracy encased within the 2014 Scottish Referendum. Martone resurrects the political climate, passions and concerns of the voters, whilst cannily revealing a conspiracy, akin to that of Dallas in 1963, lurking within the shadows. Connections to the oil and the arms industries, whose peripheral strategies are somehow aligned with the cabal, develop while Kean discovers that he is involved in an age-old supernatural struggle between seraphs and fallen angels. One angel – Dai, mentors Kean in what develops into his own moral quest, after revealing to him that the referendum, along with other events around the globe, are all the chess games of the divine.

King's Spur

Occasionally Emily could see the glint of the river, some thousands of feet below before the clouds closed in again and she was forced to stop, breathing heavily, the shotgun still clutched to her swollen stomach. 

She tried not to look down, putting her faith in the good Lord.

But the good Lord had better keep out of her way until she had finished what she had to do that night!

Kit and the Wolf

From Queensland, Australia, comes new author Anne Marks with a compelling romance novel, set in Canada, with many unusual and intriguing twists and turns throughout.

Kit’s whole life was on the verge of changing forever. Snowed in, alone, with wolf packs nearby, she sensed the imminent danger she was in. But even in her wildest dreams, she would never have guessed how a lone wolf would impact her life.

Was friendship with a man she knew little about, enough foundation for marriage, or was there more? The realization shocked her, but not as much as the hidden secrets contained within a box in the store room of her childhood home. How does the reason for these secrets change her life? Will she find the answers to her myriad of questions regarding the mystery surrounding her family and their lives?

This is a moving story filled with love, loss, courage, intrigue, compassion and confusion as Kit is pulled by unexpected emotions she doesn’t fully understand. It is a mesmerizing tale of a young woman with fears of abandonment ingrained into her from childhood, of being torn between the love of two very different men, of forbidden kisses and of the inner conflicts created.

Lasseter's Truth

Jack Johnson is both lucky and unlucky. He survives the Vietnam war as a decorated helicopter pilot, marries the girl he left behind, and lands on his feet at Australia’s leading advertising agency, as a launch pad to spectacular success in the industry. Lucky, you might say.

But luck can change. Jack is hit with a bogus criminal charge that chases him into the Great Australian Desert, in a quest for Lasseter’s fabled gold reef.

But Jack is not the only one looking. A mysterious Chinese company called Triple Eight is buying up leases in the desert, and people are dying.

Back home, he leaves not only a heartbroken wife but a beautiful and very determined daughter who has had her own problems. Expelled from Australia’s most prestigious public school, Tess Johnson vows to clear her father’s name.

Lasseter’s Truth follows them both as they take on the odds. A story that ranges from the greed of the nineties, into a famous legend of Australia’s outback, with a compelling climax for our own time.

Last Keeper's Lighthouse Stories

The very nature of lighthouses captures the imagination. Being marooned on different lighthouses throughout my career has produced many memorable incidents and humorous stories. Diverse locations like Lundy, Alderney, Wolf, Sark, all have something unique to offer. Rock tower lighthouses, land lights or island lighthouses, each one is different. Cooped up on a tower and being pounded by heavy seas is not only exhilarating, but frightening as well. Fog signals can play a huge part in a good duty period and the relief for going ashore is always welcomed. The characters are what makes this book such a good read. It gets your chuckle chops in overdrive, especially at some of the antics on the lights. A month’s duty is filled with incidents and the constant change in weather conditions has an effect on everything that you do. These stories will show how hardship goes hand in glove with humour whilst aboard.

Laura's Year

In January 1976, it is an excited, but nervous family of four who board a Jumbo jet, to leave England to begin a new life in a small town, on the Persian Gulf in Iran.

Adrian, an ex-Royal Naval Officer, thought this new job in Iran would be a chance to earn big money, and although neither parent had wanted to disrupt their children’s education, they thought it was worth the risk, giving them both valuable life experiences, and a chance to see ‘something of the world.’

Once settled in their new home, with the children happily enrolled in an excellent international school, they immediately made friends with like-minded ex-pats, and got involved in an active and well-established social scene, with parties and functions most weekends, and daily trips to their ‘club’ in town, which housed a bar, and swimming pool.

Caroline and Alex, having made friends at school, as well as with some local children, who lived in mud huts, in the desert at the end of their road, also seemed happy with their lot, but Laura becomes pregnant, which threatens to disrupt their idyllic lives, and events that followed, appear to have changed Laura’s, once devoted and loving husband’s feelings towards her.

But, had Laura changed? And that was why her previously, caring husband didn’t fancy her anymore.

How was she to get their relationship back on track, when there were so many exciting distractions and choices which held his attention, which didn’t include her?

Letters from Another Galaxy

Prepare for an out-of-this-world experience in Letters from Another Galaxy. When toolmakers from an outer cluster of the Milky Way Galaxy arrive on Earth, they’re in for a surprise. Instead of the aggressive, sex-addicted species they expected to find, they encounter humans with complex emotions and desires. The Messianic aliens are on a mission to convert humanity, while the Bruin capture humans for genetic experiments and keep them as pets. But why do these alien species resemble monkeys?Meanwhile, the Space Gypsies boast an extraordinary sense of smell, even in space, and the Nautica are seeking new habitats for their species, with plans to seed the Red Sea. As if that weren’t enough, the novel explores the story of an abandoned shipment of human slaves, dumped on a cluster planet and left to fend for themselves. Turning feral, they embark on a journey of self-discovery, exploring what it means to be human.But the alien humanoids aren’t all benevolent. Some are bent on raping and pillaging, leaving the reader to wonder about their true motives. Letters from Another Galaxy is a gripping, thought-provoking novel that challenges our assumptions about extraterrestrial life and what it means to be human in a vast, mysterious universe.

Letters to Doberitz

This unique and compelling story has laid dormant for a 100 years. Inspired by real events and based on my own family during the First World War, Letters to Doberitz is set between a German prison-of-war camp, the battlefields of France and family back in Bristol, as father and son endure very different wars. These were real people. They are my ancestors and family who left an extraordinary tale to be told. A lie is made in the name of love, with letters written compounding the deceit for years, all to protect the man that they loved. This is their truly unique story.

Life According to Brian

Life According to Brian chronicles 44 stories of mishap and misadventure of a scale unparalleled in modern man. Disguised in comedy to protect the seriously guilty, the story follows Brian’s escapades traversing the world and captures not only the lunacy of life but the luck involved in avoiding one’s own death.

The guidebook for the mentally impaired includes: poaching, drugs, imprisonment, kidnapping, poisonings, alien hunters, crocodile suicide and much, much more…

The sorry episodes are being played out via a game of chess. God and Charles Darwin, seeking to save mankind, are plotting Brian’s untimely demise. The winner of each play gets to choose the method of death. Constantly interrupted by visiting deities, kings, queens and E.T., the two main players are frustrated in their attempts to have some peace and play the game, with a nice cup of tea and some Mr Kipling cake.

Send the kids away, euthanise the cat, find a comfy chair, pour a pint of the finest whisky…have a reliable psychiatrist on speed dial.

Come inside and enjoy the ride…

Little Gibraltar Street

Escape into the gripping tale of Saffi, a young, privileged, and restless girl yearning for a life of adventure. In the backdrop of 1929, on a fateful Christmas morning, she coerces her friend and family employee, Lottie, into embarking on an impulsive journey from Melbourne to Perth. Little do they know, the uncharted path that lies before them spans over two thousand miles of rugged dirt roads.

Ill-equipped for the arduous journey, Saffi and Lottie’s fate takes an unexpected turn when they encounter Raana, a resourceful and destitute Afghan girl whose indispensable guidance propels them beyond Adelaide. Their group reaches its full complement when they chance upon Sam, a wounded young man scarred by a harsh upbringing and distorted views on relationships.

Venturing into the unforgiving wilderness west of Port Augusta, they confront a land ravaged by drought and the looming shadow of the Great Depression. In the face of scorching heat, swirling dust storms, shifting sands, poverty, and the ugly face of racial intolerance, their disparities become glaringly apparent.

Despite the hardships, Saffi cherishes every moment of their odyssey, as the splendor and solitude of the bush, shared trials, and a fight for survival forge an unbreakable bond among the travelers. As they navigate the untamed terrain, the beauty of their journey lies not just in the breathtaking landscapes, but in the transformation of their own spirits.

Little Heart Beats

Imagine when you first fell in love. What did it feel like?

Little Heart Beats captures a love journey stemming from when you first met your soulmate, how you reacted, how you knew you were in love, what it felt like, and what it means to not only give out love but also to be loved back.

It is subdivided into four sections that will leave you believing in love again.

Liverpool Kids of WWII - Part 1

The Liverpool Blitz is over…

The seven-year-old boy who was evacuated in The Green Gates Story, comes home after many months away, and is faced with changes to his life: house moves, new districts, new faces…

No sweets, because Mum’s used the coupons for sugar.
What are bananas?
What’s ice-cream?
White bread?

Upon his return to his home city and with his evacuation experience behind him, he views his life ahead as a series of hurdles, but the War is ongoing…

Toys? – Pretend games and a good healthy imagination.
Free-time? – Fun of collecting waste paper, scrap metal, bones and rags, in support of the war effort.

His first trip into town, shopping with Mum, and the surprising sight of big blackened shells, once shops, now dark spaces between buildings, which had suffered direct hits, torn apart innards and burnt deposits.  
Blast waves obliterating shop windows and doors of adjacent buildings, displaying:
Heaps of broken bricks
Shattered concrete supports
Splintered wood floors hanging drunkenly, with massive heaps of dust and debris deposited on the piled remains, awaiting attention and clearance.

How to cope with the unnecessary death of a classmate, killed at play, after accidentally falling through the blitzed roof of an unsafe bomb-damaged house?

When the supply and demands of shortages cause the theft of a family bicycle.

Kids discovering the incomprehensible: German POWs sitting smoking, chatting and laughing, employed in collecting and stacking usable bricks from a bomb site, watched by a grey-haired bespectacled British soldier sat in his parked army lorry when he was not reading a dog-eared copy of Lilliput magazine.  
Same kids, frowning and mindful of captured British soldiers packed into overcrowded huts inside barbed-wire enclosures, overlooked by machine-gun towers, in the Fatherland!