Anne's Song


Anne Nolan - 2008
    At the height of their fame, The Nolan Sisters were one of the biggest acts around, touring with Frank Sinatra, performing at the Royal Variety Performance and travelling around the world to play for their adoring fans.Surrounded by a bevy of loving sisters, two protective brothers and parents who wanted to see their children succeed, how could Anne Nolan's childhood have been anything but idyllic? And yet behind the fairytale script - the fame and glitz lay hidden a dark family secret that has, until now, never been told.Anne's story - which starts in her birthplace Dublin and moves to the Northern club scene of Blackpool - tells of this other life - one that had to remain hidden, one of fear and pain that has cast a terrible shadow over her entire life. After so many years of silence, she has decided the time has come to speak of the brutal truth behind the carefully cultivated image, that was The Nolans.

Weaponsmith


Mike Crawshaw - 2013
    Seven years of the worst war in history – so far – have turned the region into a wasteland where only the sword rules, and only the rats and the bankers grow fat. Roger Hawken, seventeen-year-old Englishman, black sheep of a family of minor landed gentry, leaves his Wiltshire home to take service with a free company of mercenary soldiers based in the Netherlands. Roger’s indiscretions have resulted in his being apprenticed as blacksmith in place of a more gentlemanly occupation, and as a smith he joins the company. Pitchforked into the bloody conflict of the siege of Breda, he finds there is more to his job than shoeing horses and forging short-swords, and starts to make his name as a fighting soldier…

The Land is Bright


Elizabeth Murphy - 1989
    Sally lavishes all her hopes and dreams on her baby sister Emily, determined that she’ll leave the mean streets of their Liverpool home and enjoy a better life. When Emily is sent to live with rich relatives, it seems like her wish has come true, but the chance is bittersweet.Sally and her family may face poverty and hardship in Liverpool, but the warmth and love shared will help them overcome whatever the world has to throw at them; Emily, however, wanting for nothing, might find out that happiness is harder to find…Full of authentic details of Liverpool life at the turn of the century, The Land is Bright is a totally absorbing saga perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Helen Forrester.‘A family saga you just won’t be able to put down’ Prima‘The whole-heartedness of Liverpool shines through in a refreshing tribute to Merseyside’ Liverpool Daily Post‘Murphy is born and bred, and sets her first novel in her beloved city, giving the book that vital authenticity which makes it so realistic’ Hull Daily Mail‘Rich in authentic period details, The Land is Bright is a time machine back to the past. This is how history should be written!’ Terrace Review‘Evocative writing’ Woman’s World‘Richly nostalgic’ Publishing News‘A thundering great read’ Liverpool Echo The Liverpool Sagas The Land is Bright To Give and To Take There is a Season

The Wolf Cub


David Pilling - 2015
    The great city of Constantinople, last remnant of the once-mighty Roman Empire, falls to the Ottoman armies of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. An English knight named Sir John Page is taken prisoner by the Ottomans, and forced to entertain the Sultan with tales of the West. Page chooses to tell the story of his own long career as a soldier of fortune in France, Bohemia and the Italian city-states. Page’s tale begins in the year of Agincourt, Henry V’s famous victory over the French. As the bastard son of Thomas Page, a famous mercenary captain known as The Half-Hanged Man or The Wolf of Burgundy, Page soon acquires the nickname of The Wolf Cub. After slaying his cousin in a duel, Page flees his home and joins a band of outlaws in the forests of Sussex. At last - tired of the brutality of his companions - he decides to leave England and join the English army in Normandy. There he endures brutal sieges, vicious combats, torture, betrayal and imprisonment, all to win glory and redeem his father's name. Trapped in the Sultan’s prison, Page must hope his story is enough to save him from the executioner’s blade....at least for another three days...

The Black Mountains


Janet Tanner - 1981
    Charlotte, James and their seven children are independent spirits, united by strong family values.Living in a mining community is never easy, and when the shadow of impending war threatens, they must pull together to face the hardship to come. Can this close-knit family overcome whatever tragedy life throws at them?The Black Mountains, a moving saga of love, happiness and heartbreak, is perfect for fans of Rosie Goodwin and Katie Flynn. ‘Sensitive and exceptionally polished’ Manchester Evening News The Hillsbridge Sagas The Black Mountains The Emerald Valley The Hills and the Valley A Family Affair

The Christmas of 1943: Hope for the future


Alex Amit - 2020
    For months now, Monique doesn’t know who she is anymore.Monique is living under a false identity in German-occupied Paris. No one knows that she is Jewish.Since last summer, Monique has been involved with a Nazi officer, and she knows that she will pay with her life if anyone discovers her secret, but she has no other choice.In the days leading to Christmas, Monique and Herr Ernest, the German officer she lives with, are preparing for a German officers’ reception which they plan to attend. Monique ardently continues to hide her secret. Still, she can’t ignore the signs of her past, and as the evening of the reception progresses, Monique finds it increasingly difficult to keep her true identity a secret, fearing that some may suspect her of hiding something.Monique must keep her secret, but can she continue to deny her identity and heritage?With the backdrop of illuminated Christmas trees and Hanukkah candles, Alex Amit’s short story illuminates the simple and extraordinary acts of courage by a young woman, fighting for her life and identity during those dark and dreadful days, and continuing to believe that next year will bring with it winds of change and hope.

Women at War


Jan Casey - 2021
    One war.For Viola Baxter, 1939 was supposed to be a wonderful year. After meeting and falling in love with dashing Fred Scholz at Cambridge University, they planned to marry and start their new lives together. She never imagined her father would say no to the marriage. Fred is half-German and, with war fast approaching, he must travel to Germany to bring his sister home. But that journey is enough for others to suspect him... and Viola.When Annie Scholz heard her beloved grandmother was seriously ill, she wasted no time rushing to Germany to be by her side. She didn't realise it meant she would not be able to return home to the UK, or that her decision would endanger her brother, Fred, as well. Even reuniting with her childhood beau is bittersweet – how can she love someone who stands for everything she opposes? With everyone watching Annie and Fred so closely, there is no room for error... or dangerous resistance.With war the only certainty, there's just one thing in question: where do Viola and Annie's loyalties lie? Women at War is the thrilling and heart-wrenching new WW2 story from Jan Casey, author of The Women of Waterloo Bridge.

Melting Point


Roger S. Collins - 2008
    He was at Auschwitz. But, not as an inmate. Now he has to tell his story to his daughter and grandchildren. What will they think? How will he explain what he did and why? Will they ever see him the same way again? If you've ever said to yourself "I couldn't have been a perpetrator of the Holocaust," you need to read this book. And then ask yourself. what would YOU do? Well researched and technically detailed, the book takes you behind-the-scenes and into the machinery of Auschwitz and other Nazi death camps, as told from the viewpoint of an engineer. A classic historical fiction tale of an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances. About The Author Roger Collins is a software engineer living near Bodega Bay, California. An avid reader of history, Melting Point is his first published work.

Storming the Gap First Strike


Brad Smith - 2019
    Their mission: protect the bridges over the Fulda River in a desperate bid to halt the onslaught of Soviet Armor before it can strike west and bring the Western alliance to its knees.As the first volume of a series that tells one version of the war’s progress, First Strike can be enjoyed as a companion to the platoon-scale wargame or by casual readers as a close-up view of mechanized combat in a war that never was.“The M1’s round carved into the hull deck of the rear tank. A bright emerald glow filled the thermal sight. When, at last, it dissipated, the T-80 was nothing but a heap of smoldering steel. The remaining enemy tank was caught between the two dead T-80s. It pivoted left and right, but the thick woods on either side blocked its progress.”

The Dream Stitcher


Deborah Gaal - 2018
     Hard times are forcing Maude Fields to take in her estranged mother, Bea, whose secrets date to World War II. Bea arrives with a hand-embroidered recreation of La Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde, the iconic 11th century Bayeux Tapestry. The replica contains clues to the identity of Maude’s father and the mythical Dream Stitcher, Goldye, a Jewish freedom fighter who helped launch the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. With the help of her pregnant daughter Rosie, Maude is determined to unravel decades of family deception to learn the truth about her parentage. With Poland on the brink of invasion by Nazi Germany, Goldye discovers—with the guidance of imaginary friend Queen Mathilda—that she can embroider dreams that come true. She becomes an apprentice at Kaminski Fine Fabrics, where she gains a reputation for creating wedding dresses for Aryan brides that bring their dreams to reality. She becomes known as the Dream Stitcher. Goldye meets and falls in love with Lev, a freedom fighter who wants to unite Jews and Poles to fight the Germans. Goldye sews images to help him. And she creates a powerful symbol for the resistance of the common people: a stitched hummingbird that spreads hope. Goldye leaves the ghetto to live with her sewing mentor, Jan Kaminski, who gains identity papers for Goldye as his Aryan niece. A Nazi commandant takes Jan and Goldye on a dangerous trip to France to decipher the symbols in The Bayeux Tapestry. The Nazis hope images in the Bayeux will reinforce Germany’s right to world domination. In California, Maude’s quest for the truth leads to family she didn’t know she had, and perhaps, love.

Farewell Bergerac: A World War II Thriller (World War II Adventure Series)


Fredrik Nath - 2012
    Fredrik Nath is one of those few."- The Masked PersonaFrom the author of wartime adventure novel 'The Cyclist', the Historical Novels Society editor's choice February 2011.A reluctant hero in war-torn France...A teacher in St Cyprien, a small town in Aquitaine, France, descends into an alcoholic daze, after his son dies in the Spanish Civil War. His life seems meaningless and he moves to Bergerac where he survives by poaching and fishing. Isolating himself from the world, he ruminates over his hatred of the Fascists who killed his son. He is dragged back to reality when, after the occupation of France by the Nazis, he witnesses Security Police beating a young Jewish girl. He reacts by killing the Germans and hides Rachelle, the young teenager. She breathes life into the world in which he has hidden himself and gives him a reason to go on.Dufy begins a path of revenge on the occupying Germans. A sniper in the Great War, he uses his skills to devastating effect, always posing as the town drunk.Then the British drop supplies and a beautiful SOE agent whom Dufy falls in love with. But as the invaders hunt down the partisans in the deep, crisp woodland, nothing works out as Dufy had hoped.Farewell Bergerac is an unforgettable wartime tale of fragile love, loss and redemption.

FALL EAGLE ONE


Warren Bell - 2011
    Nazi Germany reels from nightly battering of her cities by the RAF. Catastrophe looms at Stalingrad. With the Allies poised to invade Western Europe, Luftwaffe chief Hermann Göring desperately seeks to delay the invasion and slow the Red Army’s inexorable westward march. He turns to Siegfried von Rall, the “best pilot in the Luftwaffe,” to solve his dilemma. Siegfried hatches strategic air strikes designed to buy time for Germany to refine Hitler’s vaunted “Victory” weapons. Two targets galvanize his attention: Soviet hydro plants in the Urals and killing FDR. He chooses cutting-edge aircraft and a team of combat experienced experts for the missions. Göring fast-tracks detailed planning and training. In Britain, codebreaker Evan Thompson reads Siegfried’s radio messages but can’t detect his objective. The chilling truth emerges only after an Amerika-Bomber bearing “smart bombs” leaves Norway for the U.S. FALL EAGLE ONE has aerial combat, trans-Atlantic assassination flights, Eastern Front action, codebreaking at Bletchley Park, intrigue at the highest levels of the German High Command, and fast-paced wartime romance.

Time of the Wolf


Elizabeth Harris - 1994
     Henry and Thea felt an almost supernatural attachment to the Fens of East Anglia and to the woman who guided them there - Florence, Henry’s grandmother. The two were fascinated by her stories of Dark-Ages passions, murder and betrayal. They knew that through her stories, Florence was trying to tell them something else, and that her interest in their growing love for each other seemed to have another dimension… Unknown to them, their passion had an extraordinary power — one that could awaken the ghosts of an evil that has survived the passing of the centuries. Tormented by visions of the past, knowing the future was not theirs, Henry and Thea are thrown back to the Dark-Age world of The House of the Wolf and a destiny from which only one person can save them … Praise for Elizabeth Harris '[Harris] writes these gorgeous books in modern day style, producing intense and beautiful tales of ancient charm' - Bangor Chronicle 'A worthy heir to Ellis Peters, though grittier, materialises' – Poison in the Pen 'Proof that a writer of medieval crime fiction can deliver something fresh' – The Times Elizabeth Harris was born in Cambridge and brought up in Kent, where she now lives. After graduation she did a variety of jobs including driving a van, being a lifeguard and working in the Civil Service. She has travelled extensively in Europe and America, and lived for some years in the Far East. Elizabeth Harris was one of the finalists of the 1989 Ian St James Awards. She is an acclaimed writer with many novels to her name. In The Quiet Earth, she deftly weaves the challenges and questions of modern life into those of the distant past, to deliver a story brimming with intrigue, history and romance. She is also the author of The Herb Gatherers.

Mail Order Bride: Ora and the Orphaned Baby (Brides and Orphans Book 2)


Emily Woods - 2016
    She quickly finds that things can always get worse when she learns she traveled west under false pretenses.Sheriff Jasper Darnell takes his job seriously and is dedicated to protecting the innocent people of Pioneer, Nevada.When Ora and Jasper are thrown together with an orphaned baby because of a mail order bride scheme, their lives will never be the same again. The only thing that remains to be seen is if they will fall in love.This book is a sweet, clean, western, historical, romance short story. It is a complete story, but it is also part of the Brides and Orphans series. Be sure to read them all - in any order!

A Flight of Golden Wings


Beryl Matthews - 2007
    Britain is at war and Ruth Aspinall, a gifted pilot, is determined to join the Air Transport Auxiliary, an organisation of civilian pilots who ferry aircraft to wherever they're needed. Meanwhile over in America, siblings Jack and Lucy Nelson, both experienced pilots themselves, are keen to join too.After a perilous journey by sea, Jack is soon having his first experience of the London Blitz before being posted to White Waltham, where he quite literally bumps into Ruth and romance soon blossoms. On D-Day, Jack is sent to France to deliver a Spitfire, but he is declared missing in action after his plane fails to arrive. Heartbroken, Ruth must accept that the love of her life may never return . . .