Ibiza Nights: A Short Story
A short story from the hilarious author of A GIRL CALLED SUMMER – find out what Summer was up to before her Ibiza adventures!Summer has been seeing her boss, David, on the sly for a few months now. But while David is keen to make things public, Summer isn’t quite so sure. With a night out with old friends on the cards, Summer needs to decide whether she can take their relationship to the next level, or if she needs to break free for good…A cracking short story that takes place just before the events of A GIRL CALLED SUMMER.
I Know This Much: From Soho to Spandau
I Know This Much – by Gary Kemp, Spandau Ballet's prime mover – is simply the freshest, most exciting and best-written memoir to arrive for years.Gary's story begins in North London, where the Kemp family rented a home with no bathrooms and chickens in the yard. After a couple of failed attempts to kill his brother Martin, his parents gave him a guitar for Christmas.From schoolyard battles between the Bowie Boys and the Prog Rockers to Mrs Kemp's firm insistence on net curtains, from acting for the Children's Film Foundation to manning a fruit and veg stall on Saturdays, Gary brilliantly evokes an upbringing full of love, creativity and optimism.As the Thatcher years begin, Gary's account of the outrageous London club scene centred around the Blitz and Billy's is just sizzling. Out of this glamorous mayhem of kilt-wearing mascara'd peacocks would emerge Spandau Ballet – the band that would define the era, and hold high the victorious standard of the New Romantics.Gary's thrilling journey with Spandau Ballet would see them record worldwide hits such as True, Gold and Through the Barricades, play the biggest stadiums in the world, and take to the stage in togas when their luggage gets lost in flight. Stallions, supermodels and dwarves would be hired for video shoots, and through it all, Gary records the wonderful friendships, and the slowly-building tensions that would eventually see five old friends facing each other in court.I Know This Much tells the story of Spandau Ballet, but it's far more than a book about being in a band. Whether it's meeting Ronnie Kray before filming The Krays, sketching out the fashions and subcultures of the day, or hanging out with Princess Diana, this book offers a story on every page. And all the more so because it's all written – brilliantly – by Gary himself.
I Am No Longer Myself Without You: How Men Love Women
Why do words fail men when they need them most? Why is the subject of what men want emotionally, shrouded in silence? This is a book that attempts, in the style of Blake Morrison and Richard Rayner, to put men’s experience of Love into words.’A slim, elegantly written account, packed with quotations from poetry, fiction, cinema, items from newspapers, popular culture and personal anecdote, which argues that silence in the face of emotion is the predominant male response. Inarticulacy is still the norm… Rutherford doesn’t offer solutions but his assessments are both thoughtful and revealing and his anecdotes, particularly those from his own experience, pinpoint why men do what they do… As befits this huge subject, his frame of reference is wide from T.S. Eliot to Francis Fukuyama, Families Without Fathers to Men Behaving Badly. Non academic in tone, this book is very much for Rutherford’s own generation, those in their 30s and 40s who have had the post-war upbringing he explores. It will have less to say to men in their 60s and 70s, though it might help them understand their sons. And women, emotionally articulate lot that they are, will love it.’ CAROLINE GASCOIGNE, Sunday Times
I Am Heathcliff: Stories Inspired by Wuthering Heights
16 modern fiction superstars shine a startling light on the romance and pain of the infamous literary pair Heathcliff and Cathy.Short stories to stir the heart and awaken vital conversation about love.Sixteen stories inspired by Wuthering Heights.In ‘Terminus’ a young woman hides in an empty Brighton hotel; in ‘Thicker Than Blood’ a man sits in a hot tub stalking his newly-married love on social media; and in ‘A bird half-eaten’ an amateur boxer prepares for a match.A woman recalls the ‘Heathcliffs I Have Known’ and the physical danger she has borne at their hands; in ‘Anima’ a child and a fox are unified in one startling moment of violence; and in ‘One Letter Different’ two teenagers walk the moors and face up to their respective buried secrets.Curated by Kate Mosse and commissioned for Emily Brontë’s bicentenary year in 2018, these fresh, modern stories pulse with the raw beauty and pain of love and are as timely as they are illuminating.The full list of contributors is:Leila Aboulela, Hanan Al-Shaykh, Joanna Cannon, Alison Case, Juno Dawson, Louise Doughty, Sophie Hannah, Anna James, Erin Kelly, Dorothy Koomson, Grace McCleen, Lisa McInerney, Laurie Penny, Nikesh Shukla, Michael Stewart and Louisa Young.
Hybrids: Saga Competition Winner
A thrilling sci-fi novel set in a believeable – and terrifying – near future… Hybrids is the winning entry to the HarperCollins nationwide new author competition with SAGA Magazine.Johnny Online and Kestrella are hybrids – victims of «Creep», a pandemic sweeping the country which causes sufferers to merge with items of technology when over-exposed to their use. Kestrella persuades a wary Johnny to help her find her missing mother, but the Gene Police have other plans for him…Powerful, compelling, and narrated alternately by Johnny and Kes, it questions our human dependence on technology, and our reactions in the face of nationwide panic. This was the outstanding winner of the Children's Book Writing Competition run in conjunction with SAGA Magazine.Orange-prize winning author Helen Dunmore – one of the judges – says: “The writing is sharp, the dialogue good, and the action pacey and page-turning. But there’s a real depth to this story, too. Like all good fiction it makes the reader see the world in a different light.”
Hummingbird Bakery Mother’s and Father’s Day Treats: An Extract from Cake Days
This is an extract from the bestselling Cake Days by The Hummingbird Bakery.From pretty Rose Cupcakes or Pistachio Whoopie Pies, to an indulgent Chocolate Guinness Cake or Boston Cream Cupcakes, this is a scrumptious collection of treats, perfect for any special Mum or Dad.
Trying Too Hard...: A steamy standalone sports romance
The French rugby team is in town – and Catrin’s world is about to be turned upside down.Hired as an intern at a coveted talent agency, blonde bubbly Catrin Owens knew she could excel at the job. The rules are strict – business is business and pleasure is separate. Not a problem for hardworking and determined to excel Catrin. She’s never veered off the path for success. And a certain 6 ft-something wall of lean muscle that is her latest client is not going to distract her now.Scarred, and brimming with forbidden sex appeal, French rugby star Henri Chevallier crashes through the walls of Catrin’s neatly-ordered life – tearing through her professionalism like a scrap of cheap lingerie.The sex is fierce, exhilarating…life-changing – and almost all the more exciting as she knows she’s risking the career she dreamed of. Catrin knows she should step away. But Henri is a temptation she can’t seem to resist…
Three Days Missing: A nail-biting psychological thriller with a killer twist!
‘Utterly compelling!’Lisa Hall on The Marriage LieThe gripping new psychological thriller from the #1 eBook bestselling author!The wrong child was taken that night…He’s yours.Six-year-old Ethan is on an overnight trip with his school when he disappears. The police are called and so is the young boy’s mother, single mum Kat. Her abusive ex-husband, Andrew, seems the perfect suspect – violent, bitter, and out for revenge. And now he’s not answering his phone.So when another mother, Stephanie, receives a call demanding ransom for her son, Sammy, who is safe, the investigation takes an unexpected turn. Whoever her enemy is, he’s taken the wrong child. And the more Stephanie questions her son, the more she’s convinced he’s hiding something…Will they uncover the truth before it’s too late?What readers are saying about Three Days Missing:‘Warning – clear your calendar…because you aren’t going to want to stop reading once you start!’‘An unputdownable, thrilling, rollercoaster ride of a book!’‘Kept me on the edge of my seat and way up past my bedtime, flipping page after page!’‘This book is a cliff-hanger, a knuckle-whitener and one that kept me riveted to the final page.’‘A binge read with the inability to stop reading.’‘A must-read!’
The Pleasure Principle: A steamy standalone romance
It’s time for Verity to get a new kind of education…When it comes to sex, shy and awkward Verity is as reluctant as a virgin. So imagine her horror and shame when her ex reveals her inadequacies to the entire world online!Verity is out to prove that she’s definitely not frigid, like her ex claims, and sets out to sleep with the very next man she sees.So when her boss, Cal Bailey, a man completely confident in his own sexiness, invites her to one of his legendary parties Verity leaps at the chance. She gets Cal right where she wants him but at the last minute her insecurities take over, leaving Cal confused and her frustrated.Verity, convinced she can’t do it, is set for rejection again but Cal is a sexpert and he’s determined to turn Verity’s pain into her ultimate pleasure…
The Pearl Locket: A page-turning saga that will have you hooked
We’ll Meet Again…When Ali inherits her great-aunt’s house she immediately moves her whole family in, despite the warnings that there is something strange about the place.Unfazed Ali begins redecorating, going through the rooms, making each one her own with the help of her daughter, Kelly. But when under the wallpaper in Kelly’s new room they discover a scrawled message from 1944 Ali begins to question the history of the house as she knows it.Her family has always seemed so picture perfect, not a blemish or a secret to be found. Yet, this discovery throws her into confusion and Ali begins to question exactly what she knows about her family and the mysteries they have kept hidden…Perfect for fans of The Emerald Comb, Rachel Hore and Kate MortonDon't miss Kathleen's new book – The Girl from Ballymor out in 2017!Praise for Kathleen McGurl'There were twists and turns galore that had me gripping my Kindle to within an inch of its life…' – Becca's Books on The Pearl Locket'An engrossing family saga' – cayocosta72 on The Pearl Locket'If you want a book that is exciting, fast-paced and impossible to put down, with plenty of twists and turns, then you need to buy this book! I can't wait to read more of Kathleen's novels.' – Emma's Book Reviews on The Emerald Comb'The Emerald Comb is fantastic.' – Books & Baby'An edge of your seat read, that is a page turner and griped me from page one.' – Comet Babe's Books on The Emerald Comb