We opened for business at 5 p.m. and already there was a queue of hungry customers on the cobbled street of London's East End. In 1950s and 60s Bermondsey, the fish-and-chip shop was at the centre of the community. And at the heart of the chippy itself was 'Hooray' Hilda Kemp, a spirited matriarch who dispensed fish suppers and an abundance of sympathy to a now-vanished world of East Enders. For 'Hooray' Hilda knew all to well what it was like to feel real, aching hunger. Growing up in the slums of 1920s south-east London, the daughter of a violent alcoholic who drank away his wages rather than put food on the table, she could spot when a customer was in need and would sneak them an extra big portion of chips, on the house. As Hilda works in the chippy six days a week - cutting the potatoes and frying the fish, yesterday's rag becoming today's dinner plate - she hears all the gossip from the close-knit community. There are rumours that the gang wars are hotting up: the Richardsons and the Krays are playing out their fights across south-east London. And the industrial strike is carrying on for a painfully long time for the mothers with many mouths to feed. At home, Hilda's children are latchkey kids, letting themselves in from school and helping themselves to whatever is in the larder until she gets in from her long, hard day at work. Despite tragedy striking her family, Hilda never complained of the loss of her daughter at a tragically young age, nor the tough upbringing she narrowly escaped. With a cast of colourful characters - dirty ragamuffins, struggling housewives, rough-diamond gang members - 'Hooray' Hilda's story is one of grit, romance, nostalgia and British endurance. Told to her granddaughter Cathryn, this memoir is the uplifting sequel to 'WE AIN'T GOT NO DRINK, PA' and is a testament to a woman who lived life to the full, who enjoyed laughter and loved fiercely - even though her heart was broken many times over.

    Seven years later, that promise is broken, and the Maasai must choose between war with a powerful enemy and a perilous trek to the land allocated them by the government. Ole Sadera has risen from village scapegoat to leadership of his people. Now, they look to him for answers, while he struggles with betrayal and rapid change - and his desire for another man's wife. British administrator George Coll arrives in East Africa to face impossible choices of his own. How can he do the job he has been given and stay silent? And how can he ask the woman he loves to share an uncertain future? The Maasai gather to make their historic decision...and an Empire holds its breath.

    So when the childless Tysons, owners of Kendal's shoe factory, offer to adopt her son, Callum, and employ Kate as his nanny, she seizes the chance to ensure he has a better life.To be so close to her son, yet no longer be his mother, is bittersweet. But Kate is not prepared for the jealousy the new arrangement provokes in Eliot Tyson's brother, Charles, who sees Callum as a direct threat to his inheritance… The first heart-rending instalment of The Poor House Lane Sagas are perfect for fans of Rosie Goodwin and Dilly Court

     A beautiful slave girl. A missing royal daughter. A carefully wrought revenge.Iceland in the 10th century. There is nothing unusual in a wealthy farmer returning home with a slave girl, even if she is a mute. But she conceals a secret that will echo across the oceans.Based on an episode from the great Icelandic Sagas, The Tale of Melkorka will grip you with an unfolding mystery of loss, triumph, and the rough justice of revenge. Melkorka's world awaits you...

    Evicted from their resplendent home in the fashionable part of York after her parents’ deaths, Kitty must fight the legacy of bankruptcy and homelessness to secure a home for her and her siblings. Through sheer willpower and determination she grabs opportunities with both hands from working on a clothes and rag stall in the market to creating a teashop for the wealthy. Her road to happiness is fraught with obstacles of hardship and despair, but she refuses to let her dream of a better life for her family die. She soon learns that love and loyalty brings its own reward.

    But for one woman, it seems things have changed too much already. From the bright-eyed girl growing up in a small Irish village, to the confident young woman running a fine English hotel, Tara's life seems to have changed beyond recognition. On the way, she's met love and heartache - from becoming mistress of Ballygrace house and marrying the dashing Gabriel Fitzgerald, to losing that same sweetheart and being left a desperately young widow. But some things remain, and despite her tumultuous life, Tara still carries with her the spark and determination that has brought her this far. With a spirit as fiery as her striking Titian curls, Tara knows she must face the future with a bold heart, wherever it may lead. TARA'S DESTINY is the captivating final part in Tara's story. Filled with the warmth and charm that have won her so many fans, Geraldine O'Neill delivers a stunning saga, full of passion and drama.

    Teased for her unladylike behavior all her life, she has finally decided to fight back against her brother and his cruel friends.Duncan Flemming, the Marquess of Galeran, enjoys nothing more than getting under the skin of the explosive Evalyn. But ever since it is announced that they are to spend the summer together, their fights only seem to be getting worse.As Duncan starts to realise that the feelings raging in his heart might be more than hate, another suitor shows up to claim Evalyn’s heart. And when Duncan falls inexplicably ill, Evalyn faces the reality of losing him forever. What both of them don’t know, however, is that someone awfully familiar has set a trap for them, and they’re walking right into it.

    When Amy visits her husband Hugh at Beckett's Park Hospital, he doesn't recognise her. Broken after serving four devastating years in the First World War, Hugh is a shadow of the man he once was. Can he ever again be the man Amy knew and loved?Barnsborough, 1912. The first time Hugh and Amy meet, the connection between them is instant and electric. While a librarian's assistant and a collier might not be the most conventional pair, the two come together over a love of books that quickly turns into more. Neither suspects their families have secrets that threaten to tear them apart...True love's path is rarely simple... but can Hugh and Amy find their way back to each other?

     ABOUT THE SHORT STORY’S PRICE: Hello, you lovely people. Odd to talk about money straight up, but I know that some of you might be thinking, £1.99/US$2.99/CDN$3.99/A$3.99 is a lot for a short story. Let me explain how it works in the UK. A rate of 20% VAT (Value Added Tax) applies to eBooks. This doesn’t apply to ‘real’ paper books. That means 33p of the £1.99 goes straight to the British government. Amazon takes around 2p to deliver the story to your Kindle, then takes another 48p as its cut. The remainder, £1.16, goes to me. That's not a great deal, I hope you agree. A roughly similar story applies in foreign territories. In these times of falling sales, and authors losing their contracts, and only one in seven traditionally published authors being able to write fulltime, stories like this are a vital way of YOU supporting the authors whose books you enjoy. So THANK YOU for your support! Think of it in terms of a pint of beer or a cup of coffee: they cost £2-4, depending on where you live in the UK. This story will give you more enjoyment (I think!) than either of those things, and last for a longer time, and cost you less money. This is the third time I have self-published a short story. (Massive thanks here to Pete Simpson, who designed the cover for me!) It’s been an exciting project since the day I did the poll on Facebook, asking you lovely people which of my characters you wanted me to write about. Centurion Tullus won out, narrowly, and this is the result. The one hundred and something people who backed the Kickstarter campaign got to read this story almost 7 months ago, but now you can too. Oh, what's it about? The war of the Batos, or the Pannonian War, which took place between AD 6 and 9, a general emergency that had almost 100.000 legionaries sent to modern-day Croatia to sort out the rebels. Enjoy the story, and please email me if you have any questions about it or anything else – ben@benkane.net Ben

    William and his sister Virginia are found by a passing army patrol but Phillip is missing. Eighteen years later at the Fort Laramie Treaty Council a close family friend sees a warrior identical in looks to William. Follow the Lane's west as a courageous family seeks the missing twin, Phillip.

    It is the story of the struggles, simple joys and wisdom surrounding a young girl growing up in the 1940's in Appalachia.

    Zac knows he is not the same man that went to war but has never heard of PTSD.As Zac is dragged into hopelessness, he moves forward with fierce determination, leading old neighbors and freed slaves, Lem and Phoebe, away from Texas, to the Colorado gold fields, hoping for a new start in life for all of them.Hard work, a few lucky breaks and a meeting with a starving Polish immigrant geologist lead the three Texans forward. Reg Quist delivers a story full of hope for the hurting!

    All are linked to the new Dorset Gardens Theatre where feisty young Betsy Brand is playing First Witch in Macbeth. It seems that a shadowy figure called The Salamander, who haunted London during the Fire, has returned to wreak cruel revenge on his enemies. With the authorities utterly baffled, Betsy takes on a new role as an investigator. She reasons that perhaps a clever, courageous actress can unravel the deepening mystery. But soon she faces a more terrible foe than ever stalked upon a stage—and finds her own life is at stake.

    She sets up her medical practice there. One night she's called out to help a gang of outlaws that have been shot to pieces while trying to rustle cattle. One of the outlaws is a young man that she develops feelings for, but he's in and out of her life for months on end. The outlaw attempts to change his life and go straight. It's a challenge that Rose encourages. It's the tale of two people who grow to care deeply for each other, and when Rose is kidnapped, the outlaw, now her husband, rides out to save her. Another novel of the Old West from the pen of R. O. Lane.

    Her husband and elder son rode off to save slavery in the Confederate Cavalry. Their plantation would now be controlled by a brutish slave master and sadistic slave overseers. Would their slaves revolt? Would Yankee armies attack and destroy their way of life? The slave master already had designs on Clare Ellen Fairchild and couldn’t wait until her husband rode off to war and hopefully die for his Cause. It was April, planting season. The very long and very hot summer awaited them. Clare Ellen was told that this war would be over by September and to ‘not worry her pretty little head’ about it. Clare Ellen was told wrong. She and her children should have worried their pretty little heads.