The Watsons

To be so bent on marriage - to pursue a man merely for the sake of situation - is a sort of thing that shocks me; I cannot understand it. Poverty is a great evil, but to a woman of education and feeling it ought not, cannot be the greatest. I would rather be a teacher at a school (and I can think of nothing worse) than marry a man I did not like'. 'I would rather do anything than be a teacher at a school', said her sister.
Emma Watson has been brought up far from home by wealthy and cultured relatives, but after her aunt makes a foolish marriage she is sent back penniless to a family she hardly knows. 'From being the life and spirit of a house where all had been comfort and elegance, and the expected heiress of an easy independence, she was become of importance to no one, a burden on those, whose affection she could not expect .... surrounded by inferior minds'. Her father has not long to live, her home will be broken up and her three sisters are all desperate to get married, viciously fighting each other for the few available men. Emma soon meets a man she could love, Mr Howard, the tutor at Osborne Castle. However, the rich and powerful Osborne family have other plans for them both.

Jane Austen abandoned The Watsons after 17500 words, in 1805, but she told her sister what the ending would have been. Two hundred years later, Merryn Williams has completed this realistic but delightful novel according to her guidelines.

The Watsons
Jane Austen
(completed by Merryn Williams)
ISBN 1904754-938-7 UK £7.99
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Strangers in Focus
Curiosity about an old black and white photograph provokes Helen Turner to find out more about her family history. Puzzled by finding a picture of himself as a baby in an old album he picks up at auction, Peter Milton also sets out on a quest to find out more. As these two strangers delve deeper, their past - and their future - become extricably entwined until at last their quest becomes an urgent search to find each other.

Set in contemporary Canterbury, this compelling novel is both a detective and a love story. Delving into their family's history, both Helen and Peter have to confront the simmering resentments and deep-rooted prejudices lurking just below the surface as the tales are told and truths unravelled.

Strangers in Focus is an enthralling and hugely entertaining read.

Strangers in Focus
Paul Crampton
ISBN 1905203-48-9 UK £7.99
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Rutland's Curse

Afghanistan, 1878 - Peter Rutland, newly-commissioned army officer, has been posted to Kurram. Bloody battles ensue, ultimately resulting in keeping the advancing Russians out of India. Eager to follow in his father's footsteps - a retired Major having served in the Afghan war of 1840 - Peter was puzzled and disappointed at his father's initial request for him to give up the commission.

Discovering the reason for the Major's reluctance, Peter is undeterred by the 'curse' on the Rutland name - 'When your blood returns here it will darken the stones of our valley.' The courageous young officer embarks on a dangerous mission to return a precious holy relic to its rightful owners - the religious authorities in Afghanistan.

Rutland's Curse vividly recreates the horrifying and explosive action on the battlefields in the hostile terrain of Afghanistan, where cultural misunderstandings and revenge become a personal war...

Rutland's Curse
Roger Carpenter
Paperback 213 pages
ISBN 1905203-13-6 UK £7.99
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A Knight on his Bike and the Princess in the Tower

Jamie Peterson is a clever, happy-go-lucky young lad, the middle son of a Scottish engineer and would-be music teacher. His friendship with Amy, the daughter of a wealthy financier and his actress wife, blossoms into love at an early age but fear of rejection on both sides keeps them apart as they both pursue their chosen careers.

It is only when Amy becomes the victim of a cruel and violent act, that they are able to break down the invisible barrier that has divided them for so long. Confident that the repressed but deep love they have always had for each other will overcome all life’s challenges, they are able to finally relive their dreams.

Sensitively written, A Knight on his Bike and the Princess in the Tower is a warm-hearted tale of the journey of true love – captivating reading.

A Knight on his Bike
Ronald Blaber
ISBN 978-1906206-52-9 UK £5.99
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The Professor

The Professor had everything - a perfect career, an OBE, five houses, three cars, an impressive social life and Barbara, the perfect wife who had given him four children yet turned a blind eye to his many extra-marital affairs. He enjoyed the cheating, He was addicted to sex… and Nina, was addicted to the Professor.

But Nina's heart was broken. She lived a nightmare, on the verge of physical and mental breakdown while cherishing his every word and every moment she stole from his perfect life. Struggling with painful memories of past complicated and tangled relationships, Nina's life became an emotional roller coaster.

The Professor is a compelling and explicit story that Nina simply had to tell - 'I couldn't take his sin and this secret to my grave.'

The Professor
Alex Bolt
Paperback 94 pages
ISBN 1904754-86-4 UK £6.99
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