Uzbe Is Missing

Meat? Really? Starved, Uzbe swallowed it. But there was something in it. He suddenly felt so dizzy. His consciousness was fading out fast. He fell. Two men emerged from the heavy mist and put him in a sack. Uzbe was horrified. With his last energy, he whined: Dad, Mom, take this nightmare away… But would he ever wake up at all? Bali, 2008, Uzbe went missing. Him and his owners, a Canadian and Balinese couple, relentlessly searched for each other, navigating their way across dog-eating world and mass culling for rabies outcry in an island where social gaps, prejudice, and cultural clashes laid in a plain sight. The journey somehow brought the best of them and those they encountered along the way. Paradise can be deceiving. Hell can be uplifting. This is a tale inspired by true events that will make you wonder what should you feel.

Waiting in the Wings

Completely without any professional qualifications, Brian Hutchinson had 31 different jobs during a long working life. From acrobat to special advisor to a cabinet minister; all completely unplanned through opportunity knocks! Brian (Hutch) Hutchinson: Acrobat, Musician (Sax/Clarinet), one of the youngest Justices of the Peace at Inner London Juvenile Courts, Civil Servant, Special Advisor to Cabinet Minister, Music Business Executive, Theatrical Agent, Recording Studio Partner, Record Factory MD, Director Brixton Business Centre, Board Member Brixton City Challenge, General Manager on secondment The Princess Diana Memorial Fund, Patron Macmillan Academy Teesside, Independent Assessor for Commissioner for (Ministerial) Public Appointments, Corporate Affairs Director Allied Zurich Plc, Chair UK Trustees International Fund for Animal Welfare, Former Trustee National Centre for Circus Arts. Taken out of school at 15 years old to join my Father’s troupe of acrobats on tour with Boswell’s Circus in Southern Africa; I was untrained as an acrobat and learned the basics on the two weeks’ boat journey from Southampton to Cape Town. I also played alto Sax and Clarinet in the circus band. I guess I’m an entrepreneur; it was easier in the 1950s–1970s to succeed without formal qualifications such as a university degree or even a couple of A Levels. I was also one of the youngest JPs in the Inner London Juvenile Courts thanks to advice from the Master of then Rolls and support from Lady (Elspeth) Howe.

Waiting to die... Based on a true story

Not many have lived a life like Rosina’s. Based on the known facts, this is her story:

When Hitler invades Poland in September 1939, sending shock-waves across Europe, thirteen-year-old Rosina Callens is in Oostende, Belgium, dreaming of becoming an Olympic gymnast.

When the Nazis invade Belgium, Rosina and her family must decide whether to flee to England, or to stay and endure enemy occupation, as they had previously in the Great War.

Most of the family head for England, but German Stukas ensure that not all will make it.

Rosina’s is a life of courage and endurance, as she witnesses and survives the terrible horrors of  war, before marrying one of her liberators: a Welsh soldier named John Jones.

She moves to Wales full of love and hope, but life will never be easy for those who have suffered so much. She soon realises she is not welcome in John's family; the mental scars of suffering and the anguish of memories plague her, even as she continues to face oppression and depression daily.

Somehow she survives, raising a family and leaving a legacy. This story is part of that legacy.

Weed Out the Scumbags: The Art of Finding Your Soulmate

This book is a testament to the knowing that soulmates do usually find each other, in one way or another, as the universe deems. The author’s story is meant to enlighten and give credence to those who are desperate to encounter their one and only soulmate. Your soulmate is very likely to appear, but the catch is to sometimes make it happen on your own—as this author has done. Had she not ‘bit the bullet’ by taking certain actions to bring her soulmate to her—unbeknownst to him—this book might not have been written. Her tactics were clear and steadfast, and her story is evidence to her truth that almost anyone can find their soulmate, anywhere in the world. She did. Why not you?

What Do You Think?

Asif Ali's second book What Do You Think? takes a broad, philosophical look at life and all its possible meanings and reflections. It consists of over 150 brief essays on a large variety of topics, written over a span of more than 25 years.

This book aims and aspires to speak for all voices.

What Does It Mean To Be Human?

In the absence of divine direction, how do we decide for ourselves the behaviours that would best serve our own interests, and those of other creatures, and of the planet as a whole? What might we turn to and draw upon to help us in making our own rules and in establishing our own moral principles?

What Now

What Now is written to assist people through times of change. It’s particularly relevant in these very trying times of COVID-19. It is not a how-to manual; it’s an entertaining and humbling account of how one person discovered the most powerful transformation force of all! How he recreated himself after being unceremoniously sacked from the job he had dreamed about as a teenager.

What Now tells the story of how a barefoot and frightened little boy from the remote bush of Australia went on to play State of Origin for Queensland, represent Australia and achieve his dream of being a Head Coach, leading the London Broncos alongside Sir Richard Branson onto the hallowed turf of Wembley Stadium. After tragically losing his father at the tender age of three, he unconsciously sought out older people as role models.

In his story, Dan Stains reflects on his quest in search of the most powerful transformational force available. The lessons he uncovered on this journey lead the reader on a path to reveal their own What Now. The rollercoaster ride takes the reader on a sometimes uneasy and humbling path. From the foothills of East Cooyar, to the raucous applause of screaming fans at the best football stadiums in the world, Dan discovers that the ‘open sesame’ to change is by simply loving all of life, including and especially yourself, and the rest is taken care of.

What's The Worst That Can Happen?

In 2006, I was told by a spirit guide that I would write a book. Yes, I see spirits. “That sounds good but what story had I to tell? Tell the story of how you came from the slums of Glasgow, pushed away your gifts of ‘sixth sense’ and rediscovered them as an adult.” Okay, from the slums of Glasgow to discovering that you’re a psychic in your late forties sounds good but the part in between might sound uninteresting. “Think about it,” I was told, “You will soon be given the opportunity to write.” My life was to follow two paths; communicating with spirit and learning to replace fear with love. My guidance came from two sources; spirit and dreams. My childhood had been a ‘lie’ and I came to realise that much of my adult life was a ‘lie’ also. I wasn’t quite the person that I thought I was. During my childhood I had been the victim of abuse from an adult who I trusted. Unfortunately, I continued with this habit as an adult and would have difficulty facing up to anything. I had two options: run, as I had been doing, or face the truth about myself. I opted for the latter. Today I do not acknowledge negativity. I learn from every experience and think positively. It does help somewhat when the guidance that I receive is ‘out of this world!’

Whatever It Takes

In 1915, the world is in turmoil. A war, the likes of which has never been seen, involves much of the known world. An Englishman, John Norton Griffiths, proposes using miners to tunnel under the enemy lines and destroy them from below. Once his idea is accepted, other countries of the Empire decide to raise similar tunnelling companies. Canada, New Zealand and Australia provide companies of men, drawn from mining and trades backgrounds, to assist in the defeat of an aggressive enemy, intent on domination.

These men are asked to do the unthinkable, in less than satisfactory settings. They dig long tunnels and blow up hundreds of men at a time, whilst all the time, not knowing how close the enemy was to them, trying to do the same thing. For these men it was a war in the dark, a war of nerves. Some held, some did not.

We follow the life of one man through his wars, the one he is fighting without and the one he is fighting within, whilst at the same time, he falls in love, however improbable it may seem. We experience how the decisions of one person can continue to impact several generations after.

When the Knives Rattle in the Drawer

Ryan Tanner is an average family man battling alcohol and the demons from his childhood, while struggling as a husband and a father. Drowning in a life that often makes no sense, he turns to an insightful, no-nonsense psychologist as a last resort to try and save his volatile, but altogether beautiful marriage with his beloved wife Tess. Surrounded by Ryan’s drinking, memories of their traumatic childhoods and the gut-wrenching lows of married life, When the Knives Rattle in the Drawer is a cathartic recount about understanding the damage that life can cause and searching for the strength to be the best partner and parent possible.

Set in two different worlds, the story evolves between the couple’s small-town family life and wild, alcohol fuelled nights in the inner suburbs of Sydney. After meeting at 17 years old, they have been married for 23 years and play a simple game: 20 questions, ask anything you want. They explore every aspect of trust, love, fidelity and desire before they go to the club. A club where they enter a world of primal sexual energy, a world where wild things happen.

When the Last Note Sounds

These are the recollections of the life and work of a great singer. They explore the true accounts of great happenings following the Second World War when a Renaissance of British music took place, giving birth to several great composers, producers and conductors and a school of singers that led the way to rival the Europeans. Richard Lewis was among the main architects of that Renaissance. His wife Elizabeth was with him for many years, and her reminiscences showcase what a singer’s life is like, its dramas, its humour, and what happens When the Last Note Sounds.

When ‘Will’ is More Than ‘Won’t’ - Your Journey Begins

I’ve always been a dreamer, wanting more from life than it was giving me, whilst still making the best of what it did.

I never thought in my darkest moments, or wildest dreams, that one day I would, with my partner of ten years David, find myself in a Land Rover we called Lizzybus driving around the world.

If I had imagined this, it would have been nothing like the reality of it, of blistering hot desserts, snow-covered mountains, civil wars, and uprisings, with our life depending on each other and Lizzybus.

From the very first moment I stepped foot on African soil, I wrote about the reality of living two feet from your other half 24 hours a day. The intimacy, hygiene, isolation, and loneliness, so far removed from my life to this point. But slowly, without even realizing it, it became part of me, and me it, seeing only the wonder, the joy, and the privilege.