Bücher veröffentlicht von Austin Macauley Publishers

Magnificent scenery, ostentatious luxury, vicious storms, and unexplained deaths in France's premier alpine ski resort set the scene for this international crime novel. Western societies have lost their moral and ethical compass. Many people seek escape in luxury, dangers and thrills, beautiful surroundings, sexual escapades, and the opportunity to flaunt conformist norms. Courchevel offers them the perfect escape on every count. But not this year. In search of soft targets, wealthy criminals and rootless terrorists roam the world freely, forming new international gangster bands that buy prestigious buildings and industries and use them to launder money. In Courchevel, international high rollers, abetted by the ruthless Russian mafia and unscrupulous politicians are conspiring to steal the cultural and physical inheritance of France. Terror is their tool. Russian and Japanese businessmen launder massive amounts of money, and displaced American jihadi brides ply the murderous trades they learned in Syria. Only a novice Canadian security agent and a shell-shocked CNN reporter stand between them and their goals. Christmas ski vacations promise escape, but this year the pristine snow hides an astonishing plethora of sordid detritus, greed, conspiracy, and unwarranted death. Global elites ski, play and invest in the most magnificent ski resort in the world. But all is not well. Not even here.

This is at once a personal memoir and the story of what it is like to grow up and live alienated from the values of the society into which one was born. In the deeply fissured modern world, many now find themselves similarly in places where rival ideologies and interests are tearing their worlds apart. This is an account of how awareness of such a world reveals itself. In South Africa apartheid succeeded in enshrining its own particular values in law. But the roots of what had brought its monstrosity into being have never been confined to South Africa. They remain plain to see in the world today: intolerance, bigotry, fanaticism - xenophobia, racism, nationalism. In this memoir, Hitler's installation as German Chancellor and the rise of Nazism leads directly to the author's early sense of not belonging: a growth in awareness of the reasons for the feeling and acute sensibility to the rifts and fractures lying beneath the surface of a comfortable domestic life. It clarifies how personal beliefs may become diametrically opposed to those of the society to which one belongs by birth. So the question of identity quickly arises: 'Where do I fit in? Who am I?' It was this that many Whites asked themselves in apartheid South Africa, but it is also one that increasingly must be asked by many today.

On the remote isles of Skarrak, a creature stalks the night, preying on the people of the towns. Jon of Gor, a beastslayer of some renown, is hired by the local jarl to hunt down the monster. But wherever he searches, he encounters a wall of silence, of half-truths and denial, of superstition and suspicion. The creature's victims are shrouded in secrecy and finding them is only half the battle. Desperate to continue his own search for his lost sister, he must battle against time, deception and the beast itself; a battle that soon becomes personal...

Living close to the beach promised long, relaxing days, reclining peacefully and contemplating life, not prolonged screeching and jumping along the sand with a live crustacean taking residence in your pants.Life in France for Viv is not what was expected. Perception based upon memory and recall alone is just not up to scratch. Who knew about the live lions parked in open containers in rural car parks. What about the monkeys tethered to grass verges eyeing you suspiciously? Why do horses have their heads poked through town house kitchen windows? Are they hoping for sustenance for the long night ahead? Just what is this obsession with drains blowing smoke up sewage pipes and making the colour of water especially grey? And just because there is a bus stop, can it be presumed that any type of vehicle has ever stopped there? Residence in rural France might just be a tad more tricky than first anticipated.

Four prison inmates are thrown randomly together during recreation time, to play scrabble, with the added zing of occasionally telling stories about a word on the board. The stories reveal their characters and histories, but the scrabble itself is a mere transient remission from the vagaries and harshness of prison life, which continues unabated around them and through them.We are party to a voyage through calm settled waters of support, camaraderie and story-telling, to storms of violence, abuse and abject despair in a rigid, alien and unforgiving environment. We feel the emotions of the highs and lows of prison life through the victimisation, determination and hope of our players, who ultimately all show resilience in one way or another.It is a fable about humanity, garnered with wit, insight and encouragement, with a little whodunnit? thrown in for good measure.

Little Green is a witch. Not your ordinary, wearing black, pointy hat, cat-owning witch. She is more of a feisty hippy, green dress, bare feet, blonde-hair with-flower-in-it and no-cat witch, and you mess with her at your peril.Armed with only a garden gnome, she fends off marauding goblins. When homeless hillbillies arrive in Brooklands, she's there to help: racing against bullies in Lord Maxwell's horseless chariot race, using extraordinary magic to help the circus Indian find his way home, dealing with cruel and wicked witch-finders. All this and it's her birthday too. She really doesn't want any fuss, so who's the strange sailor knocking at the door?Oh yes, Little Green is certainly a witch and, my word, what a witch!This is going to be magic!

I Dreamt I was Flying is an authentic, timeless and transformational book about a true and magical journey of healing, guided and supported by dreams, symbols, and synchronicities. In the time of chaos, insecurity and lack of leadership, we need to be our own authority. Gro Elisabeth Walle is reminding us that we need to trust our inner knowing and let our heart lead. When her life collapsed, Gro Elisabeth Walle finally had to choose between letting go - or giving up. When she chose to let go of everything that she owned and was known to, she discovered a never-ending supportive and magical universe. She learned to trust, she was surrounded by "e;road-signs"e; and supported by "e;unseen help"e;. She discovered the universe was just waiting to help her when her life forced her out of her comfort zone. She heard the words "e;read the signs"e; whispered again and again, continuously through her magical journey. That showed to be her rescue. She saw her life in perspective, and it all made sense: both her perceived pain-stories and her journey. It all became magical when she discovered every experience had been an attempt from her Higher Self to awake her from an unconscious life.

Forty years after the world's four strongest nations banned all wars, fostered equality for all, and made major leaps in education and research, the Custodian of the World Ralph Rathbone looks at the gruesome picture appearing on his computer: the mutilated body of the chief geneticist at his laboratory in Rosamund, California.Two years ago, when his father Jordan Rathbone's planet hopper was lost in space, Ralph earned the title that his father held for many years, by winning all martial arts bouts. Now the four autocratic rulers, the Big Four, summon Ralph to come and solve this murder.Ralph had heard the stories of the Big Four's greed, self-interest, and disregard for the population. It was rumoured that they kept the population in a state of stupor with free drugs readily available: to make it easier to keep them in subjugation. Ralph realizes that he has to outwit these icons-no easy task as they are highly educated and held in deep respect by a large percentage of the population.This is the story of one man with the interest of his people at heart, pitting himself against four multimillionaires who, for years, had been held in high esteem by the population.

Each and everyone of us has our own human emotions. Days can be filled with happiness whereas other days can be full of sadness. The uniqueness of one's emotions can very rarely be understood by others. It is really difficult if not impossible to tell others how you feel or for them to understand how you are feeling. I have tried in this book to cover the inner most boundaries of human emotions splitting my poems into different realms of human thought. Hope, fate and destiny, joy, life, the world, loneliness, love, regrets, religion and the future are all covered in this book. I hope the reader can relate to and understand my poems and bring some perspective and reasoning towards their life. We are all not the same and never can be but we all have a heart and soul. By identifying these moments of thought I hope I can bring perspective and understanding to the reader. I hope you enjoy my book.

Walking long distance across a large part of Europe is quite daunting. You tell your friends you're going to walk from the southeastern-most tip of the UK across France, over the massive range of the Alps and down to Rome and they look at you as though you are crazy. But what would your friends have thought a thousand years ago? Rome must have seemed remote and the journey quite terrifying. Life now is very different from that of the described short, nasty and brutish tenth century. But was it so bad? This book follows two travellers as they set off from Canterbury on their journey to the eternal city of Rome. One is Archbishop Sigeric, who journeyed to Rome in AD 990 to collect the pallium that conferred the Pope's authority on him, and the other is now in the 21st century, a thousand years later treading in his footprints. Has the road changed much?

Against the background of broad brush strokes of Nepal's history and geography, David Hawker tells a dramatic story. After 20 years working in Nepal, Nurse Ellen Findlay saw an opportunity to go and attempt to meet the desperate needs of people living in the remote and inaccessible mountains of Nepal. With vision, determination and bravery, she and surgeon Mike Smith pioneered outreach into some of Nepal's most isolated and poverty-stricken communities. For 25 years, 7-10 day surgical, medical and dental camps were organised, treating more than 100,000 sick people during civil war and political upheaval, many in places with no roads or airstrips. Finally, after the massive earthquake of 2015, specialist gynaecological and ear centres were established to provide ongoing treatment and training for Nepali clinicians.

Who or what is an anaesthetist? That strange individual who attends a patient on the morning of major surgery and says, "e;Hello, it was you I was looking for."e;Is that person a technician? Is that person a doctor?As the patient, you are about to put your life entirely in their hands. As a patient would you not like to know more about this shady character, the gasman or the gasoose?Sleeping with the Gasman is written as a story by an anaesthetist. It is based on personal experiences, observations, stories and anecdotes.Ultimately, the patient and the gasoose are both human, or are they?

Abduction was the furthest thing from Aimalee Robertson's mind when she applied for a research position, but it occurred, unceremoniously and intrusively.Thrust into a world she could not comprehend and did not believe existed, she soon discovers the secrets behind the research position for which she so innocently applied.Aimalee finds herself in a brand-new world amongst strange and intriguing ... aliens!These creatures are not at all what she imagined. In fact, they are intelligent, attractive, peaceful and loving. As she is drawn into their world, she finds herself attracted to a particular alien and, unable to resist his advances, succumbs to her inner guilty pleasure. Now that she's tasted the coveted "e;honey"e;, she realises there is nothing sweeter!

Refugee is the final exciting novel in The Sloping Meadow trilogy. This time the principal storyteller is Mahir, a 13 year-old boy who has no choice but to start out on an epic journey from war-torn Syria to try and help his mum and little brother. In this gripping adventure, he has a series of escapades, including a fight with a large brown bear in Slovenia, and is constantly either greatly helped or really mistreated by the people he meets. Lucy and her friends find him in Antalya, in the Temple of Apollo, the worse for wear. They agree to help him escape to Northern France with a very daring plan that carries a lot of risks... This illustrated novel has a non-stop, action-packed story, including insights from others featured as storytellers commenting on war and what it means to be a refugee. It carries a very important message for all who read it and their outlook on war and refugees will change forever.

On his 21st birthday, Glenn spies his rogue of a grandad making his way through the throng of the party to where he stood at the bar. Victor is a war veteran and a hero from Dublin, but these days, fifty years later, he is seen usually outside of a pub. Loved by all the men and despised by the women, what secrets does he hide?He tells Glenn a fantastic story of hidden war treasure and challenges his grandsons to go to North Africa and find it. The story is laughed off until Victor's untimely death leaves the full-written story and a pot of money. The grandsons feel they have to follow Victor's footsteps, and so begins across continents an adventure of murder, treasure hunting and love...

How can a seven-day-old blackbird survive after her nest was destroyed by workmen who were unaware of the nest?Find out how she escapes the cat and how a most unusual animal befriends her and even teaches her to fly.Learn about their many adventures together.

As Ben Baxter continues to write his diary, we find him faced with several more curious crimes and the odd mystery. He is helped as usual by his pal Johnny, his sister Katie and Chippy. Ben and Johnny return to being store detectives; this time, however, they have been invited back by the store manager. Knowing they have solved crimes in the past, the manager has offered to show them his store's crime prevention set up. However, things don't run as smoothly as expected, which leads to a certain amount of danger and excitement all round!Soon after this, Ben's detective team gains a new assistant in the form of Millie. She is an ex-police sniffer dog who was injured during the course of her work. Although largely recovered from her injuries, the police decide she should be retired and rehomed. What better home to go to than Ben and Katie's, where she will be well-loved and possibly help sniff out the odd crime? She does indeed prove valuable in this respect.When it comes to investigating a haunted room in a local vicarage, even Millie's hair is seen to stand on end. What on earth is behind this spooky business which we are told has been happening on and off over the last one hundred years?

Can we ever figure out what life is about? Dig deep into the rhyming symphonies of enticing love, fly over the dazzling winds of ambition, push through the bright lightening of daily struggles, and always remember: It will definitely shine after the darkness!This book is a collection of poems written across many years of social and emotional explorations that we go through in life. "e;Rhymes of Life"e; focus on the social aspects such as self-help topics, family relationships, friendship, life-changing decisions, social struggles, ... "e;Rhymes of Love"e; focus on romantic relationships all the way from falling in love to dealing with break-ups and then moving on.

How shall I lead my life? What will bring me happiness (and can I possibly know this in advance)? Where do my ethical values, feelings and opinions come from? How do I know if I really understand something, or are my judgements always just opinions? Should I be optimistic or pessimistic about 'human nature' - including my own, of course? Finally, are there any 'objective' answers to all of this or is any answer always as good as any other?If such questions seem important to you personally, then this book is written for you. Its focus is precisely on methods for understanding better the nature of our experience, behaving more ethically and with greater emotional awareness.Don't Expect a Standing Ovation is a reworking in contemporary terms of an ancient Buddhist teaching on meditation, but it is intended for readers of any 'faith' (or none), i.e., for anyone who is open to meditation as a possibly helpful practical response to the sense of unease arising from the questions listed above. Buddhist teachings are, therefore, introduced not as a 'religion' but as a combination of psychological, ethical and philosophical ideas that are nevertheless in themselves not unfamiliar.The teaching consists of fifty-nine slogans or maxims, which taken together form a practical handbook of guidance in responding skilfully (and indeed, therefore, 'wisely') in our everyday interactions with others.