Archives

Books: For Adults

Hell’s Chimney

Hell’s Chimney

A fantasy that begins with Toby in a dungeon, due to be executed for murdering his father, the king. His escape results in a hue and cry, instigated by his stepmother, the Queen. Toby must be caught and executed along with any who assist him.

While on the run, he rescues a peasant, Far, and an aristocratic young woman, Orly, both of whom have had their families slaughtered. Class and passion complicate their relationship as they struggle to escape the marauding soldiers. Exhausted and battered, they find sanctuary in the cavern of a magician. There, Toby is told he must go down to the Underworld, via Hell’s Chimney, to find the truth of his father’s death.

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The Prince’s Shadow


The Prince’s Shadow

Cadd thinks he’ll spend his life working in the family bakery. Then the King’s soldiers come. The ancient Court Sorceress has foretold that he will escape the siege that tortures their town. Instead, he is captured by the enemy.

A lucky accident saves him from death and sends him on a perilous mission. Plunged into an unfamiliar world, he needs all his resources and the love of a Princess to survive. But that love is based on a lie.

Strikers of Hanbury Street, and other East End Tales

Strikers of Hanbury Street, and other East End Tales

Two Jewish boys picket a mean neighbour to get their ball back; a Bangladeshi man is desperate for a business plan; a black woman is fearful she will lose her job when she loses her childminder; a boy and girl-next-door find love in an air-raid; a middle class woman goes back to the council estate of her childhood; a racist youth and a black boatman are stranded on an island; the mother of a criminal family pins all her hopes on her youngest son.

These simply told tales of East End life speak of pain and despair, survival and hope.

Catching Up

Catching Up

“Catching Up” is a collection of poems which contemplate a range of concerns; time and space, the hidden meanings in stories, meditations on war and the legacy of our environmental sins.

Books: Older Children

The Good Wolf

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The Good Wolf

Joe is a good wolf. He can’t hunt or kill; in fact he’d rather pick blackberries. What a disgrace to the wolf pack! When he is thrown out by his Mum and Dad, he faces a world where no one believes there can be a good wolf. After all, everyone knows wolves eat sheep. And didn’t one try to eat Little Red Riding Hood and her Grandma?

How can Joe convince animals terrified of him, or people who blast him with shotguns, that he is not the sort of wolf they are used to?

Half a Bike

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Half A Bike

Roy has moved to an area where he doesn’t know anyone. He wants a bike more than anything, but Mum is broke and having trouble coping. So Roy gets an early-morning paper round to earn the money himself. He is helped out by Ringer, whose dad is a jailed bank robber. Every morning after the round they go to Uncle’s greasy spoon cafe, where Uncle, when he is in the mood, bursts into song. But Roy loses the paper round and his world falls to bits.

Then he gets the chance to steal a bike…

Fast Food

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Fast Food

Fast Food is an urban fairy tale featuring Billy, a young lad who hates running, the prime reason being his brother Joe, who is a champion athlete. They live in a tower block where Dad, the caretaker spends all his time fixing the lift and eating fry ups cooked by Mum. She has Billy on an extreme diet to cut his weight down to that of her darling Joe.

His only ally is Grandad who has plans for a fleet of peanut vendors on bicycles. He and a friend are going to run as giant peanuts in the London Marathon to advertise the new venture. Billy wants no part of this, what with Joe with a good chance of winning, a massive crowd by the roadside, and Mum and Dad watching on TV, forget it! But then he does a good deed and gets magic shoes…

Baker’s Boy

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Baker’s Boy

When a dragon attacks his village, baker’s boy Will suddenly becomes a hero and is summoned to the Palace. He knows the journey will be dangerous; he’ll meet giants, witches, bandits and a haughty talking cat named Smart. But he’s not prepared for his treatment at the Palace. How could a mere baker’s boy slay a dragon?

A sensible boy would have gone home then, before the King sent him on his first perilous mission: to kill the monstrous Spider of Yoot. But by now it’s too late. Will’s met the King’s beautiful daughter, and he has higher ambitions in mind.

Books: Younger Children

Jack’s Bus

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Jack’s Bus

Jack is a bus driver who has the strangest passengers: a dragon who insists on being driven to Wales, a ghost who haunts the upstairs, a witch who meets some troublesome children, a weatherman who brings foul weather with him, and a giant’s child who can pick up the bus with one hand… With all these problems, Jack keeps in touch with the bus station through Polly over his cab radio – and Mike, the mouse on his dashboard, helps out when he can.

These 7 magical stories are just right for reading aloud, or for younger readers to read on their own.

Lucy-Anne

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The Magical World of Lucy-Anne & Lucy-Anne’s Changing Ways

What is it about Lucy-Anne? Flying buses, talking snowmen and elephants in the back garden are just some of the adventures she stumbles upon in “The Magical World of Lucy-Anne”. As if being a little girl wasn’t exciting enough, “Lucy-Anne’s Changing Ways” sees her turning into a firework, a statue, an ant – even a book! What will she become next? And will Daddy ever believe her stories?