No Turning Back

Published author Fred Smith is back with the second installment of the life of James Williams.

James Williams is the son of Robert Williams, a bailiff who readers first met in the novel The Devil Returns Twice as Deadly. 

Robert's son James has a consuming passion for all things involving engineering and he starts and builds a highly successful engineering works and iron foundry.

In common with many entrepreneurial engineers of his day he joins forces and becomes involved in the early days of the advent of what was to become the railway network of the United Kingdom and made their fortunes.

However, it wasn't an easy task and there are many trials and tribulations that beset James as he works hard to establish himself.

The story is filled with a number of subplots and mysterious events and some rather unexpected twists and turns along the way.

It's a compelling novel written in a rapid pace that takes the reader back to the early 19th century to a daring and dashing time of disappearing vicars, of outrages and revenges.

It's published by The Book Guild at £8.99 and will make a most excellent Chirstmas stocking filler.

You can purchase it here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

Conkers and Grenades

Conkers and Grenades is set in the city of Bristol in 1916 in the midst of the Great War.

This is the debut novel from Hillary Lee-Corbin and is a book for children.

Mar and Appy are two ordinary boys, living in Bristol. Their fathers are both fighting on the front, so not unnaturally they both decide to do their bit for the war effort to help defeat the Kaiser and his Imperial army.

However, they inadvertently become entangled in a net of spies, secret agents, special secret codes and an ever-present sense of danger.

They find themselves caught up in a world of intrigue and menace where people are not quite as they seem ad they run the risk of betrayal.

They find themselves facing foes who are much older than they are who are far more experienced than a pair of Bristol boys who are also facing shortages of food, and the ever-present risk that their families might receive a telegram about a loved one who had gone missing in action. Or worse.

They discover a German spy ring and an audacious plan to murder the King and Queen of England.

But what can two boys do against a team of dedicated German spies? However, they've probably not met any Bristol boys, before!

This is a very intriguing mystery for children and hopefully the first of many novels about Appy and Mar.

It's published by Matador at £7.99 and will make a really good Christmas present.

You can order it here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

At Reception

At Reception is the debut novel of Galahad Porter.

Sally is a lonely person. However, it's a lonely world that she inhabits that is, largely, of her own making.

She is a victim of psychological stress which is, unfortunately, mistreated and unsupported.

She lives alone by choice, with only stuffed toys for company.

She seems locked into a situation that she is unable to break out of. She is, in effect, crippling her life.

Sally works at a hotel and a guest arrives there. This proves to be an event which is a catalyst for helping Sally to become more open to the idea of forming human relationships.

The novel follows Sally's life over a period of three days, and shows how she reacts with guests (such as new arrival John) and other staff members and how Sally's opinions on love, life and relationships begins to develop some interesting changes in her own perception of self and how she perceives other people.

John is a charming man, yet can his charm help Sally come out of her shell and will she be ready to consider going on a serious date with him and potentially developing a relationship with him?

It's a very well written book and will make an excellent Christmas gift for the lover of romantic fiction with a bit of thought behind it.

It's published by Matador at £7.99 and is available to purchase here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

Anything is Possible

Anything is Possible is a love story which is a debut for former bank worker Rob Osborne.

Matt is an ordinary sort of bloke, he leads a normal enough life, he works at a bank in London with Bully, who is his best mate.

Rob has a healthy fantasy life which seems to revolve around his celebrity crush, Abbey Jones who is a popular TV soap opera star.

He can't believe his luck when Abbey Jones herself has to come inot the branch where he is working to make a money withdrawal.

Unfortunately he makes a complete idiot of himself, irritates Abbey and the moment, his moment to shine when he met her, was lost. Or was it?

Because over a period of time and following a chain of events and happenings they meet again and the actually seem to be developing romantic feelings for one another.

But can Matt's dream come true? Or is it possible that after years of unrequited pining for her, he will be unable to sustain a long term relationship with someone who is as famous as Abbey?

So, can Matt and Abbey work out a way to remain together as a couple? Or will they be spun apart by Abbey's fame?

But can his friend Bully help him to pull it out of the bag?

An ideal Christmas gift for the romantic fiction lover in your life, it's published by The Book Guild at £8.99 and can be obtained here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

The Boys From the Bridge

The Boys From the Bridge is an incredible true story of how, in 1976, Richard Attenborough directed the film A Bridge Too Far.

Attenborough created a group that became known as the APA, or Attenborough's Private Army. The APA consisted of a group of 50 handpicked young British actors who were brought together to train under the expert guidance of a former SAS officer who trained them so that they would be able to recreate, with exact military precision, the heroic deeds performed by the members of the British Paratroop Regiment who were able to hold, against incredible odds, the bridge at Arnhem, in 1944.

The APA worked for a half year with major stars of the day such as Michael Caine, Sir Laurence Oliver, Sean connery and Anthony Hopkins.

The account of what happened is revealed in this thrilling and amusing account by someone who was actually there throughout it all, a member of the APA, a then young British actor by the name of Sebastian "Seebo" Abineri.

He tells stories of how they drank the town dry (do remember that 1976 was the hottest, driest summer in decades) and how they spent three weeks hard infantry training to be able to not just act the part of soldiers but be the part of soldiers. The first time such a feat had been attempted in the history of film making.

There are stories of camaraderie and of incidents and injuries both on and off the set.

Seebo also touches on his acting career both before and after A Bridge Too Far. Including causing a bit of a stink at a casting call. Literally causing a stink. It's an amusing story and told in the self-deprecating and entertaining manner that he employs throughout this very readable book.

Included is the story of a man who had the ability to swallow and regurgitate whole pickled eggs to order, and the fellow actor called  Patrick Hannaway who laughed so much at the egg man and an ensemble performance of "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" that his lungs collapsed and he was close to death when he was taken by ambulance to a Dutch hospital were surgeons were able to save his life.

All-in-all this is a great memoir published at £9.99 by The Book Guild and it will make a fantastic Christmas present.

It's available for purchase here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

Saving Africa

Saving Africa is a very thoughtful book on the situation in Africa, by Ivorian author N. Timolen Amessa.

In his book Amessa identifies several important factors that he believes are an inhibiting factor in developing countries, with particular emphasis on post-Colonial Africa.

He examines the impact on the social life of the peoples of Africa and explores a range of cultural factors such as problem in reconciling varied cultural traditions and practices with the more westernised way of life.

He also gives consideration as to the potential impact of how political and economic systems that are currently in place may increase or add to these problems.

Amessa employs to very good effect the case of Cote D'Ivoire (the Ivory Coast) as a main example. He uses this to illustrate how the legacy of colonial rule and the scale of local corruption amongst the political elite, when one factors in other problems such as poor infrastructure, managerial inefficiencies and limited provision of educational services, causes endemic problems with the lifestyles of most citizens of African countries.

But what's to be done? Amessa outlines a blueprint for change, a plan for how to bring about an evolution in Africa.

Should his plan be implemented it would allow all African people to enjoy the benefits of living within a modern society, with a stable economic system and a sound political structure, yet which would preserve the best of its traditions and customs, yet which also take advantage of opportunities that Western culture can also offer.

It's a well-written book which, although well researched, is not an arid exercise in academic speak and is to be heartily recommended to all students of Africa, third world issues, foreign aid and the like.

This will make a moist excellent and thought-provoking Christmas gift.

It is published by Matador at £10.99 and is available for purchase here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

Legacy of a Duelist

Legacy of a Duelist is a novel from author T. C. Sutton.

It opens with a child who is starving and dressed in a few pitiful rags of clothing. He is wandering through some woods, searching for anything that he can eat to assuage his gnawing hunger.

He hears the sounds of voices and laughter coming from within the woods and he spies a scene that bewilders his youthful mind, so different is it from anything he has ever known before.

This chance meeting changes this scrap of a boy's life for ever, as fate intervenes and introduces him to a lifestyle through childhood into adulthood that he could never have dreamed of.

He finds ease, learning and the love of a family, becoming a member of the upper classes of 18th century English society, a far cry from his extremely humble origins.

However, his life is populated by fervent and dedicated foes, enemies who will do anything to bring about his destruction and death.

He must always be on the alert, ready to repel a foe, unable or unwilling to offer anyone his friendship or trust in case they might betray him. 

But will he be able to claim his own legacy after all?

Eventually the novel ends in a thrilling denouement with a duel to the death, where two implacable foes faced each other. But they had both been trained by the same man, so which would win?

This novel is a classic piece of 18th century adventure and is extremely well researched and very well-written. Readers will be taken to the time of duelists and will see and hear a duel to the death. A remarkably enjoyable book. An ideal Christmas present for £8.99 from The Book Guild.

It can be purchased here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.