Other Works
For young children:
An Alphabet of Animal Adventures
A children’s book of 26 exciting animal adventures, from Aaron the amazing aardvark to Zebedee the zoo zebra!
For older children:
Back to the Dark Ages!
Join two eleven-year-old children, living in England, on the adventure of a lifetime who are spun back on a carousel to the 8th century AD. There they meet the Venerable Father Bede, a famous scholar and monk, who educates them for a while in the customs and lifestyle of the period. Then they are sent by him on a perilous mission to take two valuable manuscripts to a king for safekeeping before finally being spun back to our own century.
Back to Medieval Times!
Join Augie and June again, who are now twelve, on another fantastic historical adventure! This time they are spun back on the magic carousel to 1209 AD. There they help a special group of scholars to get to Cambridge and on the way meet many dangers which they have to overcome using a mixture of ingenuity and brute force. They also meet some very famous people who turn out to be not at all what they expected. The story incorporates suspense, excitement, magic and a fun way into history, all elements which children between about 9 – 12 love to read about. So enjoy!
Back to Joan of Arc!
Join Sophie and her blind brother, Philippe, two French children, on an amazing adventure as they are whirled back on a magic carousel to France in the Middle Ages. There they meet 16-year-old Joan of Arc who they help with her momentous decision to leave her family and ride off to do battle for her country. They then accompany her on a dangerous journey right across France to see the heir to the throne where her amazing abilities convince him to let her lead his army against the English!
Back to the Sioux in 1876 America!
Join Billy Brighteyes, a modern Sioux native-American boy, on an astonishing adventure as he is whirled back on a magic merry-go-round to South Dakota in 1876. There he has a crash course in Sioux culture, getting his own spirit symbol and being blooded before playing a crucial role in Custer’s Last Stand. When he is, finally, spun back to the present, he finds he has brought something back with him! This book is ideal for children aged about nine to fourteen and adults too who may be interested in native-American culture and history.
Back to Louis Braille in 1823 France!
This story, the fifth in the Back to … Series, takes us with Philippe, the blind French boy, and his sister, Sophie, back to early 19th century France. They are spun there by the magic carousel and their great horses lead them to meet Louis Braille, the inventor of the writing system for the blind. He is only a boy himself and he introduces Philippe to life in that period before they all go to Paris where they have a violent confrontation with a criminal and take a walking tour of the city. They stay in Louis’ special school for the blind and Philippe finds out what it’s like to live in a boarding school of that time before they are whirled back to our own century. The book, like the others in the series, is suitable for children between about ten and fourteen and contains the same elements of fantasy and real history.
Forward into the Future!
Our five adventurers, adults now, are together all spun on their great horses to a distant, alien planet where they meet a race of creatures that collectively have all the knowledge of the universe at their disposal. Most of their questions about their adventures are at last answered, and they meet the creatures’ leader, who sets them on what seems to be an impossible task. In the meantime, among other things, they are shown the imminent destruction of the planet they’re on and have a horrifying encounter with some truly evil trees. This book is the last in the Back To series and is quite different from the others in that it is not based on real history but is pure sci-fi. It was written, like the other five, for anybody aged about ten to adult who likes stories of fantasy and adventure.
Cassandra, the Magic Pony
Cassandra is a very special pony. She has many amazing magical powers such as the ability to make herself tiny, down to the size of a toy pony, which is what she usually is except when she’s being ridden by her owner, Julia. Together they have a lot of fantastic adventures but, as you will see if you read this collection of ten illustrated short stories about them, Julia can never tell anyone about Cassandra’s powers or they may disappear for ever!
Cassandra, the Magic Pony was written for children aged roughly from 8 to 12 years of age.
This Forest Is Ours
In this modern fantasy, two tribes of leprechauns and fairies live next to one another in a remote corner of Ireland. But, when the humans decide to build an airport on their land and start cutting down their forest, the leprechauns and fairies have to go into battle to get them to change their minds. They must deal with two corrupt but important people, one a minister in the government and the other a big property developer. It is not an easy journey….
The novel is aimed at young people aged roughly between 10 to 14 years of age. But there is no reason at all why adults can’t enjoy it too!
Just Leave Us Alone!
Happening ten years after the events described in ‘This Forest is Ours’, this is an account of the adventure of a lifetime for an investigative reporter on a big Dublin newspaper who discovers the existence of two tribes, one of leprechauns and one of fairies, in a remote corner of modern Ireland. He wants to write an article about them but his first problem is to get inside their heavily fortified forest. And even then, will he be allowed to see them?
The book is aimed at children aged about 12-15 years of age – and adults who like fantasy!
For teenagers:
Teen Spirit
Anna is a fairly typical 15-year-old girl. However, her entire world is brutally torn apart when, after a terrorist attack in her city, her mother ends up in hospital, very seriously injured. Anna’s father is not around and she is forced to grow up very quickly but then she meets a boy….. Read on!
For Adults:
Serious Fiction:
A Life in Notes
When Adrian’s long-term partner, Peter, dies of cancer, he becomes profoundly depressed, starts drinking heavily and loses his job as a music teacher. However, he then meets a psychotherapist who suggests possible ways forward and he embraces her suggestions wholeheartedly, trying to turn his life around. He finds out first about his unknown father – a shocking story in itself, which brings him closer to his family, both living and dead – and starts to write a book about music. After this, he meets a young professional, John, and subsequently, they move into a house Adrian inherits from an elderly aunt. But when something horrific happens to John, the old depression returns and he needs the help of three strong women to come to terms with it. This, then, is a story about dealing with grief but, as such, it’s also ultimately a story of hope, even after the darkest of events.
Confessions of an Heiress
Annabelle’s mother is successful, generous and intelligent; the perfect businesswoman and mother – or, at least, that’s what the world believes. For Annabelle, however, home life with her mother is a very different story. There are lies hiding under the surface and an undermining, controlling atmosphere that leaves her feeling trapped and depressed. When she discovers that her mother has decided, on her behalf, that going to university and getting a decent education isn’t the right move for a young heiress, dashing her hopes, she’s had enough. With an overwhelming desire to achieve true independence and knowing she can only do this through her own merit, Annabelle must break every rule and learn how to hold her own to realise her dream – or so she hopes…
The End?
David’s once care-free marriage starts disintegrating after he and Jenny, his wife, have a baby with Down’s syndrome. She stops communicating with him on any level and devotes all her time to the baby. But then David manages to persuade her to make friends with another lady, Jane, who also has a baby with Down’s. However, he soon starts an affair with Jane and, after Jenny finds out about this, she dies, having seemingly committed suicide. This makes David feel extremely guilty but he gets back together with Jane, who starts her own business, and they finally get married. But David has medical problems of his own…..
This family drama, set in modern-day Britain, is told mainly from David’s perspective but is interspersed with comments from the two women in his life describing how they feel about the events as they unfold.
Political Thrillers:
The Double Conspiracy
When an operation by the government and MI5 to replace the Queen with a double after she dies is leaked to a ruthless criminal mastermind, the Prime Minister calls in his oldest friend, Jack Sanderson, to sort out the mess. In a desperate race against time, Jack is sent on a delicate and highly dangerous mission to retrieve some incriminating tapes and must use all the skills he learnt while an MI5 agent to thwart the criminals. Amidst all the violence and intrigue, he falls in love with the double but discovers in the end that she has secrets of her own to hide…
Set in the near future, this is the first in the Jack Sanderson series of political thrillers. Subsequent ones include Traitor in our Midst, The Dirty Bomb Affair and The Drone Attack.
Traitor in Our Midst
When the serving Prime Minister is assassinated, Jack Sanderson is sent by his boss, Sir Maurice, head of MI5, on a desperate mission to find out who did it and why. With the help of an old police friend and his counterpart in MI6, he quickly discovers the assassins name: Yuri. He’s a foreigner and when he’s shot dead in his home city, it strongly suggests that Russia might be behind the assassination. But then Jack finds out that the Deputy PM, Nick Henshaw, who is slated to become the next properly elected Prime Minister, is himself involved somehow with the Russians. Now the hunt is really on but its not until after Jack is threatened and his wife abducted that he and Sir Maurice finally gather enough evidence to confront Henshaw… This is the second Jack Sanderson political thriller after The Double Conspiracy.
The Dirty Bomb Affair
After some truly worrying intelligence is received at NSA headquarters in the USA, Jack Sanderson is sent over there to find out more about it as it involves Britain as well as America. He discovers that ISIS, the terrorist network, has managed to get hold of the material used to make two “dirty bombs” which, when primed, have the power to devastate both London and New York. Now it is a race against time to find and defuse the bombs. However, this is not the end of the story for Jack or his wife, who then have to run for their lives after a contract is put out to kill him in revenge for foiling the plot…
The Dirty Bomb Affair is the third political thriller in the Jack Sanderson series after The Double Conspiracy and Traitor in our Midst.
The Drone Attack
When Jack Sanderson’s boss at MI5, Sir Maurice, tasks him with interrogating an IRA defector, he uncovers a mind-boggling plot to destroy the entire Royal Family in one blow with Novichok, one of the deadliest nerve agents known to man. This is supposed to happen in a mere ten days while they are all celebrating Christmas at Sandringham, using a special drone designed by the defector. Then it is a race against time to foil the conspiracy. But, even when that is done at the very last second, it’s still not finished for Jack, who is sent on a final mission by Sir Maurice to kill the instigators of the plot….
This is the fourth in the Jack Sanderson series of political thrillers after The Double Conspiracy, Traitor in our Midst and The Dirty Bomb Affair.
BRACE YOURSELVES
A massive power cut hits London and, almost immediately, Jack Sanderson is summoned to an unexpected COBRA meeting. There the Prime Minister tells the Committee about a warning she has received that climate activists will close down the national electricity grid – unless she starts taking steps within the next two weeks to reverse climate change. Soon though, he’s desperately trying to prove blackmail, murder and cyber terrorism by a rich businessman with Russian connections. Can he do it in time to prevent another major power outage? Read on…
This is the fifth in the Jack Sanderson series of political thrillers, set a few years in the future, which also include The Double Conspiracy, Traitor in our Midst, The Dirty Bomb Affair and The Drone Attack.
The Nuclear Pulse Threat
After Jack Sanderson is called to an extraordinary meeting of the COBRA committee, he discovers that the PM and the President of the USA have been sent letters, purportedly coming from ISIS / Al Qaeda. They claim they have acquired two nuclear missiles capable of totally destroying the electricity grids of Britain and the USA if their outrageous demands are not met within two weeks. Then it is a race against time first to find out if the letters are hoaxes and second, if not, to foil the plot. But even after this is done, Jack still has one more important task to perform before he can wrap the whole affair up…This is the sixth novel in the author’s Jack Sanderson series of political thrillers, set a few years in the future, which include The Double Conspiracy, Traitor in our Midst, The Dirty Bomb Affair, The Drone Attack, and BRACE yourselves!
