White Slave

In 1815, Captain James Riley and his ten-man crew set out from New Orleans on the cargo ship Commerce, bound for Gibraltar. On their homeward journey, they are shipwrecked in a storm off the west coast of Africa but manage to reach the shore, only to be confronted by hostile natives.
Their narrow escape, accompanied by tragedy, is only the beginning of an extraordinary series of adventures that sees Riley and his men enslaved as they navigate the arid wastes of the Sahara desert, stripped of dignity and driven only by the urge to survive and regain their freedom.
Based on Riley's actual journal, which led directly to the abolition of slavery in the United States, White Slave is a remarkable story of endurance, friendship and redemption, which shows the depths to which humanity can sink - and the pinnacles it can reach.

White Slave
David Maislish
Hardback 418 pages
ISBN 1904754-98-8 UK £14.99
Order from Amazon>>

Odyssey

This is essentially Mary's 'odyssey' - from the time her mother was born on board a ship bound for Australia at the end of the nineteenth century, to Mary's birth at the beginning of the twentieth century. Mary's grandparents had been filled with much optimism to start a new life in Melbourne.

Plunged into life in the Australian outback, the family grows and travels… through the war years… through experiences of life in New Zealand, briefly back in post-war England, on to Europe, Sri Lanka, the Far East…

A hugely readable saga, Odyssey is an education in itself, capturing the essence of many different places and lifestyles within its own warm-hearted, imaginative and captivating tale.

Odyssey
Barbara Morley
Paperback 177 pages
ISBN 1904754-83-X UK £6.99
Order from Amazon>>

Runslip - Fact or Hypothesis

In RUNSLIP Jon Randym first meets Belinda as a teenager, and over the years their love grows until Jon must leave to complete an engineering degree in Alaska. Returning only after a riding accident leaves Belinda in a coma, Jon, along with Belinda's father Peter, keeps vigil at her bedside. But a series of financial irregularities at Peter's coalmine, followed by Peter's own disappearance, force Jon to investigate the shady goings-on at Runslip mine.
The action ranges from an idyllic Derbyshire village to the frozen expanse of Alaska, and beyond. In a thrilling climax and moving aftermath Rob Wood keeps the tension and forces the reader to question fundamental beliefs about human nature and existence.
Where did we come from, and where are we going? These are some of the questions Robert Wood poses in FACT OR HYPOSTHESIS, his account of the origins of humankind. He suggests that we are all connected, in a fundamental way, through the great 'I am', which has existed since the beginning of time. If we open ourselves to its wisdom, Wood argues, we can only advance our capabilities as individual human beings, and as a race.

Runslip - Fact or Hypothesis
Robert Wood
Hardback 273 pages
ISBN 1904754-85-6 UK £9.95
Order from Amazon>>

Home & Colonial - A South Coast Comedy

Shifting between South London and the South Coast of England, Home and Colonial is the story of three generations of women, all working in a comprehensive school in Camberwell. While Deborah deals with a hundred requests a day in the general office, her 78-year-old mother Lily serves teas in the staff room and daughter Cheryl struggles to teach sex education to youths more streetwise than herself.
When Deborah meets the new caretaker, Simeon, who puts her in mind of Luther Vandross, memories of the husband who deserted her begin to fade and suddenly the school seems an exciting place. She begins to wonder if a 50-year-old can dare to hope for love again.
But Deborah has reckoned without several outside influences: Simeon's arrogant, disapproving son; his troublesome grandsons; her own interfering family and friends, who seem to know what's best for her; and the return of her errant husband Dave, who appears to have had a sudden change of heart...

Home & Colonial
D. J. Edwards
Paperback -356 pages
ISBN 1904754-84-8 UK £7.99
Order from Amazon>>

The Standard Bearer

Herman Scruple, estate agent and local councillor is determined to become the most powerful man in Thurnham. 'I want total control of this town. I was nothing, but now I am everything.'
However local newspaper editor, Dick Chinnery, constantly waging his own war against the local council, has other ideas…
Intent on exposing the council's devious and secret practices, Dick and his dedicated small team of reporters face some fierce opposition, including high-class local thuggery and a serious rival. Just what is the link between the rushed planning permission granted for a concrete batching plant and the local football club committee - and why does everyone involved seem to be a Mason?
Set against the backdrop of the buzz of the newspaper world, The Standard Bearer is a cleverly plotted and cracking good story - throwing a whole new light on local council politics!

The Standard Bearer
David Scott
Paperback -275 pages
ISBN 1904754-88-0 UK £7.99
Order from Amazon>>