Two independent stories of historical and religious intrigue are linked by the Voynich Manuscript, a centuries-old document and blueprint of advanced knowledge kept under wraps by religious authorities in the Vatican. The Vertebra of God details the fight of a Vatican priest who deciphered it, forced to flee Rome and go into hiding in Amsterdam, pursued for years by a shadowy, ruthless hitman with orders to kill him to prevent the knowledge in the manuscript becoming widespread. When word of the priest's whereabouts leaks out, the chase is on and the final battle is joined over a young student brought back to life by the priest. Set in Sicily, The Temple of One Thousand Crystals ranges from the Roman/Greek era to discoveries unearthed at a present-day archaeology site, a mysterious and macabre find that leads a pair of young students on a perilous journey. Romance blossoms along the way as they follow leads that bring them perilously close to revealing the existence of a...

It is 1936 and the headmistress at Roehampton Secondary School, pioneer and suffragette Octavia Smith, is steering her pupils towards success as her exemplary girls' school moves from strength to strength. But as Europe rumbles towards war, Octavia's drive to change the world burns as bright as ever and she finds herself caught up in covert plans to rescue Jewish families from the Nazi advance in mainland Europe.Meanwhile, talk of an evacuation of schoolchildren is increasing and Octavia will have to uproot if she wants to continue her students' education. Furthermore, Octavia's prize student Lizzie has quite an interesting father – Octavia's old flame Tommy Meriton is back on the scene, and once again Octavia finds herself torn between love and duty...As a new World War strikes closer and closer to home, bringing challenges and tragedies along the way, Octavia's war is only just beginning

Traumatized by his past as a Bolivian soldier who, in a sudden coup d'etat, was forced to participate in atrocities, Alfredo flees to Montreal, haunted by the dead. He rides the Montreal metro and pours his guilt and shame into his writing, until he falls for a woman without a nation—a Kurdish freedom-fighter trying to blast an independent Kurdistan into existence. As the net of intrigue closes in on his lover, Alfredo is forced to face more fully his own violent past.In a world where the intimate collides with the official and the past is made and remade again in a new country, Alejandro Saravia's novel in turn refuses to be bound by a single genre, style, or even language. Reminiscent of Michael Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion in its exploration of the complicated relationship between nation, memory, and identity, Red, Yellow, Green considers what a place can mean to people who are out of place. At once heartbreaking and uplifting, bleak and humorous, Saravia...

Rules of engagement! Army trauma doctor Major Felicity Delaunay likes the rules and regulations that give structure to her life. But the arrival of maverick hotshot Colonel Ash Stirling is about to turn her world upside down! Ash hasn't overcome his troubled past to get where he is without taking risks, but he never crosses the line. Not with a colleague...no matter how gorgeous! Yet Felicity gets under his skin like no other, and he soon finds himself breaking all his—and her—rules.

Gemma Goodeve, a young actress with a promising career, is involved in a terrible train crash in which many lives are lost and many people are injured. Gemma herself has to have her lower leg amputated before she can be freed from the wreckage. When she wakes from the anaesthesia she has to face the difficult truth, deal with a long and painful recovery and accept that she will not be able to act anymore.Her young doctor, Nick Quennell, becomes more than professionally involved in Gemma's care as he tries to protect her from the media circus that surrounds the rail accident and her own mother, who is far from being supportive. But is his care and romantic feeling really what Gemma needs and wants in this terrible moment in her life?In Gemma's Journey, first published in 1997, Beryl Kingston sets the romantic plot against the difficult issues of recovering from a life changing accident and with her characteristic interest in social problems she also explores the...

A desire they can't resist...A consequence they'll cherish foreverStill reeling from her failed marriage, Archana Coates is ready to rediscover the vibrant, fun-loving woman she once was. So an unexpected encounter with her childhood crush, playboy surgeon Kaspar Athari, leads to temptation she can't resist... Then Archie arrives in LA—pregnant! And when she and Kaspar discover their baby is at risk, Archie will do anything it takes to fight for her new little family.

It is 1852 and Alexander, a young biographer in search of the truth about William Blake, has parted from his new bride and travelled to the village of Felpham. For it was here that the scene of Blake's darkest hour – the mysterious incident that caused him to be tried for Sedition – occurred. But the villagers hereabouts don't have much to say on the subject, and go strangely quiet whenever the trial is mentioned.We travel back to 1800, when William Blake and his faithful wife Catherine have just moved to Felpham to take up the promise of work under a new patron, William Hayley Esquire. This tireless taskmaster soon gives Blake so much work that his own poetry is neglected. Trying to appease his patron and still find time for his masterpiece frays Blake's nerves beyond endurance.Witnessing this exchange are Betsy and Johnnie, two young lovers employed in Mr Hayley's service. In awe of Blake's beautiful engravings and glorious paintings, Betsy enlists Johnnie...

After reading about her sister Hannah’s success in homesteading to Denver City, Paulina Hoffman decides to embark on the adventure of a lifetime, traveling with an older couple to the Kansas Territory. What she hadn’t anticipated was wagon master, Samuel Tucker, who catches her eye from the start. The handsome outdoorsman is responsible for this group of homesteaders, seeing to their safety and guiding them along the Platte River on the Oregon Trail. As the days turn into weeks, their relationship grows, especially after Paulina falls victim to Cholera and Samuel nurses her back to health. Falling in love with one of the homesteaders is the last thing Mr. Tucker had expected, but, as he rescues the beauty from disaster, more than once; he finds himself unable to resist the pull of Paulina. Living in Denver City was never the plan, but the dictates of his heart might just change his mind…and his life. This is the second book in The Colorado Brides Series, chronicling the lives of the Hoffman sisters and their adventures in finding love out west. Look for: An Unexpected Widow An Unexpected Bride An Unexpected Annulment An Unexpected Mother And The Arizona Brides Series will be available in the fall of 2013.**

Elemental, timeless stories, set in Italy, Finland, Ireland, Russia, Germany, Scotland and America, reveal the impact the seasons can have on our inner beingAlthough each is complete in itself, these beautifully crafted tales contain recurring motifs so our understanding of one is enriched by the reading of others. The perspectives shift mesmerizingly as layer upon layer of human experience is uncovered. Ambiguity, mystery and spiritual searching abound, as the author meditates on many of the themes found in his highly acclaimed poetry: betrayal, lostness, bullying, the miraculous, faith and the power of love.