Book Corner

Published by The Book Folks (http://thebookfolks.com) as an e-book and in paperback, both available via Amazon
An escape to the country turns into a holiday nightmare in this cozy murder mystery. Having left the police force, Kate George is looking forward to a long, relaxing retreat in a village in the north east of England.

Unfortunately, her dream of a quiet countryside break is dashed when local teacher, Dawn Fraser, is found dead in the garden shed of Kate’s cottage. Not only that, Kate suffers a fall in the local shop and is knocked unconscious. Having received a mixed welcome, it is only her new neighbour, Sam, who shows her any real human kindness.

Despite having wanted to put a life fighting crime behind her, Kate finds it hard not to get involved in the case. And as she does so, she discovers that the small town is full of secrets, each more worrying than the next. She’ll have to work out whom, if anyone, she can trust.
Will she be accepted? Will she want to stay on? And will the killer be found before they strike again?
If you like traditional murder mysteries with a cozy feel, then A Dangerous Time is for you. Packed with northern wit and brimming with intrigue, it will keep you guessing to the end. Bud Craig is the author of the PI Gus Keane series of detective books available in the combined edition, Salford Murders, and the collection of short stories, High Profile.

‘No. 1’ was first published in 2014 and then after about two years it was withdrawn by the author Tony Stowers (Darlington-born) from sale for 18 months to have a massive facelift and restructuring (including a glowing review from Tony Fox of Durham Historical association as a Foreword). Thanks in large part to the editing skill of Sylvia Suddes of Foolproof.com and Julie Martin for the new cover, it is now back on the market and in the author’s view worth every penny re-invested into it.

The book can be borrowed from Crown Street and Cockerton Libraries or bought at North Road Railway Museum but isn’t available in shops like Waterstone’s, though it should be. Perhaps next time you are in Waterstone’s you might mention it to them?
So here it is, a fitting tribute to our world-famous Stockton to Darlington Railway Story, on sale online now: https://www.amazon.com/NO-1-Tony-Stowers/dp/1985663058

Pam Bassington is a Parish Administrator, Artist and., She has worked in Nursery Education for over eighteen years and has had the pleasure of reading stacks of stories to countless children. In 2012, she gained a BA (Hons) First Class in Contemporary Fine Art.’What People Do’ is aimed primarily at pre- school children; the verses are simplistic yet educative, and Pam’s thirty individuals provide a quirky insight into a variety of occupations. Jolly little rhymes about endearing individuals and how they earn a living, she hopes it makes you smile.The book is available on https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-People-Do-Pamela-Bassington/dp/1979813701/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?_encoding=UTF8&keywords=what%20people%20do%20pamela%20bassington&qid=1513844902&ref_=mp_s_a_1_1&sr=8-1

Check out Mike Jarvie’s novel of intrigue in the art world. Black Art can be purchased at
https://www.amazon.co.uk/BLACK-ART-Michael-Jarvie-ebook/dp/B076KK1SJS/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1508483388&sr=1-2&keywords=black+art
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/BLACK-ART-Michael-Jarvie-ebook/dp/B076KK1SJS/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1508607560&sr=1-2&keywords=black+art

The second novel by Tracey Iceton has been published. Herself Alone in Orange Rain is part two in the Celtic Colours trilogy by the author, who is one of the organisers of Darlington Arts Festival. Kaylynne Ryan is a promising art student, used to fighting for her place in a world of men, but when a forgotten friend turns up she realises there is more than her own freedom at stake.
Learning the truth about her Irish heritage, her grandfather who fought all his life for Ireland’s independence, her parents who gave their lives for the same cause, she finds herself drawn into the dangerous world of the Provisional IRA with its bombing campaigns, bloody violence, hunger strikes and patriotic sacrifice.
She didn’t look for the Troubles, but they found her nonetheless, and now, whatever the cost, she must join the cause to help rid the Six Counties of the British.
You can buy the book at https://www.cinnamonpress.com/index.php/hikashop-menu-for-products-listing/fiction/product/292-herself-alone-in-orange-rain-tracey-iceton

Published through Inscribe Media. During his Inauguration speech, newly elected American President Alan Maddox announces in it is his intention to initiate a project that will rid the world of toxic waste. A project visionary in concept to transport it into the Sun; disposing of it permanently, “The Icarus Project”.
When one of the Canisters carrying radioactive and chemical wastes goes rogue and is drawn in to the gravitational field of nearby planets the die is cast for a catastrophe waiting to happen. By vagaries of the sling shot effect its velocity is accelerated dramatically, and now easily leaves our solar system.
Its path through the immense emptiness of space is influenced only by space winds and the gravitational pull of planets or comets it passes. And so it travels at ever increasing speeds carrying it over time to; and beyond Galaxies mankind cannot even see let alone comprehend.
Inevitably, it collides with a planet and its lethal cargo, which has fermented over aeons bursts killing the people that inhabit it. This Galaxy convenes a tribunal to try Planet Earth, as defendant it selects Syfax a Roman Gladiator from 129 AD, and by accident David Greenham from the present day. These two men must defend earth from the wrath and vengeance of a vastly superior race that has the ability to travel through time and space, and to who the destruction of a planet and its people is of little or no consequence.
You can buy the book at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B075FS8KYC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1504789138&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Icarus+Project

A debut collection of ghost stories from Darlington-born writer Joe Hetherington. An amulet with an unusual power, strange figures in the arctic wastes and a terrifying night shift at an art gallery all feature in this disturbing anthology of nine tales.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Haunting-Peters-Other-Ghost-Stories-ebook/dp/B071SK5MGR/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496821055&sr=1-1&keywords=the+haunting+of+cole+peters

The Tormented Witch is the first book in the trilogy from new author J.C. Beckham
Apart from the fact that Leila Albergo was born in England, she was just like any other seventeen-year-old U.S. high schooler. That was until, by a dark twist of fate, she develops supernatural powers.
Leila is convinced that her feelings for school heartthrob Luca Jareau will remain unnoticed until he turns out to be her greatest ally. With his help, she must learn to control her magic and conceal the truth from everyone else, in order to protect the people she loves.
Leila also realises that some friends are not always who they seem to be and that staying alive at any cost, can sometimes be too high a price to pay.

Glasgow-born Tom Benson, now in Darlington, joined the British Army at 17, serving from 1969-1992. He next took up Retail Management which he continued from 1993- 2012.
Tom started writing in 2007 and has had four short stories published in anthologies.
November 2012 saw the self-publication of his debut novel ‘Ten Days’ as an eBook with Smashwords. During March 2013 he revamped some details and altered the cover and title. It is now, ‘Ten Days in Panama’ and published on Amazon.
Tom is currently serialising his 730 poems as genre-based eBooks and working on his next novel. An excerpt from ‘Hawk – A Manhunter’ is now included at the end of ’10 Days in Panama’.
In 2012, he established a website to feature his writing and artwork, at
http://www.tom-benson.co.uk
You can buy Ten Days in Panama at Amazon 

The latest thriller by North East England author Roger Barnes has been published. Snow Birds, published as an ebook through Inscribe Media, is the third novel by the Darlington taxi driver following on from White Gold and Lost Souls.
After a number of high profile drug related deaths from pure cocaine supplied through London clubs to their patrons from the Financial Sector, Political Elite and ‘A’ list Celebrities the authorities realise something out of the ordinary is happening and must take action.
A team set up to investigate and deal with the threat immediately realise it relates to a planned terrorist attack using biological weapons. The situation becomes increasingly more complex when it’s later found that similar attacks are also planned for New York and Berlin.
The team, comprising Special Forces personnel, a retired Police Officer along with representatives of the British, American and German Security Services, establish the drugs’ route from Bolivia to the targeted cities. Subsequently they discovered where the biological weapons are being produced and put in place an operation to eliminate all those involved. With the deadline for distribution fast approaching it becomes a deadly race against time to stop the attack and the disastrous consequences.
The final resolution is hampered by the indecisive action of Politicians, who while they themselves are being targeted are more concerned about their own image then the welfare of the citizens that elected them.
The ebook can be purchased from http://www.amazon.com/dp/B016AKL49O

The second crime novel by Darlington author Michael Beck has been published.
Making A Difference, which is available as an ebook published by Inscribe Media, is set in a fictional northern town and tells how Greg Preston, Mister Average in his mid-thirties with a wife and two children, becomes radicalised by an extreme left wing anti-capitalist movement.
The book starts with the funeral of Greg’s younger brother Allan, who committed suicide in prison having been convicted of possession of a firearm that he was moving on behalf of the Movement. Allan had quit university in London, disillusioned by the inequality of life and had lost touch with his family who only discovered he was back in the area when he was arrested in a nearby town. The funeral is the starting point for Greg’s desire to find answers as to why his brother took the decisions he did and what ultimately drove him to suicide.
Greg had already been identified as a potential recruit by the Movement and when they become aware of his quest they approach him and offer to give him some of his answers. He agrees and this is the start of a process of subtle manipulation by members of the movement who play on his feelings for his dead brother and, combined with other events, steadily draw him towards them. The novel ends in a dramatic climax with a number of twists.
The book can be purchased for £2.50 at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N3ND8E0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479114904&sr=8-1&keywords=Making+A+DIfference+by+Michael+Beck. Michael Beck also wrote Harry’ Torment, which is also available on Amazon.

For a native of Darlington, especially one born in the early sixties, this book will be an absorbing read. As the author says on page one, a “nostalgia-fest” though not an indulgent one. It’s a mixture of autobiography, social and local history, the author’s philosophy of life and his views on some of the social and political issues of the time.
There are some gems “Looking ridiculous is the price to pay for serving God”, “The Plovers (neighbours) are Methodists but I don’t know whom they communicate with” and the author’s description of his feelings about Maths which must resonate with many readers. Some passages are moving:- the story of the swift, the memories of his grandmother and her death and the references throughout the book to his Mam and Dad – never sentimental but loving.
For people not born in Darlington, or from a different era, Grainger Street’s appeal may be more limited, but it contains the elements of more than one good book: the social history, the autobiography, local history, philosophy and politics. Some editing, expansion of some parts, reduction or deleting of others could produce a book or books of wider appeal, as could a change from what is essentially a collection of essays to a continuous narrative. The writer’s style is relaxed, easy to read and entertaining. For a Darlingtonian, even one born sixteen years earlier I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Grainger Street is available to buy now, including at Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grainger-Street-Mr-Tony-Stowers/dp/1523915803/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471238772&sr=1-1&keywords=grainger+stower

Disabled as a result of childhood meningitis, Paul has written this hard-hitting autobiography together with Mike in order to challenge the stereotype of the wheelchair-bound victim condemned to a life on the sidelines.
Far from being a passive spectator, we learn about his life on the road as a fan of Darlington Football Club, a journey punctuated by a series of mishaps and drink-fuelled escapades, which are themselves invariably laced with laugh-out-loud black humour.
The harrowing and thought-provoking account of how he struggled to care for his mother through several strokes and Alzheimer’s disease – and of the rift this caused within his own family – reveals yet another side to his nature. He also speaks candidly of his three-year love affair with a married woman, his experiences of education and employment, the Community Care system, the loyalty of his friends and his numerous fund-raising efforts.
Give Them Wings – sometimes told using strong language – is a graphic story of one man’s fortitude in the face of severe odds, and it offers a unique insight into what it means to be disabled in modern society.
The book is currently in the throes of being turned into an independent film. You can buy it at
https://www.amazon.co.uk/GIVE-THEM-WINGS-Hodgson-Paul-ebook/dp/B01LX8SC0V/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474531685&sr=8-1&keywords=give+them+wings

The Inkerman Writers’ latest book, Out of the Shadows, was launched as part of the Darlington Arts Festival 2013. The Inkerman Writers, for whom 2013 marked the tenth anniversary, attend creative writing evening classes at the Friends’ Meeting House in Skinnergate, Darlington.  The groups were asked to imagine walking through a darkened house.  Eventually, they came upon a room in which they found a single shaft of light. They were asked to say who stepped into the light. The result was the anthology.
The book can be ordered from www.blurb.com

What do you do when you wake up one morning and decide that your life sucks? Change it, right? Not Jackie Lawson…
Until a woman moves in next door who stirs up murky secrets from her past, and forces Jackie to look at the one thing that she can’t run away from, her self.
Treading Water is a powerful story of the struggle we all have, to be who we were born to be.
Allison Agius
Writer of modern gritty spiritual thrillers for the thinking mind designed to challenge, inspire and entertain.
Subscribe to Allison’s newsletter at: www.allisonagius.com
Facebook: Allison Agius Writer
@writer_agius
www.allisonagius.com

The second book in the trilogy from new author J.C. Beckham Leila, still in London and hell bent on claiming her revenge, goes in search of the two men who murdered her father. But aware of her presence and her abilities, they’ve gone to ground.
Luca, still hopeful he can stop her from making the biggest mistake of her life, is determined not to let her out of his sight.
Who will win this battle and will there be anything left of their relationship when it’s over?

The Repentant Witch is the third and final book in the trilogy from new author J.C. Beckham
On returning to the U.S, Leila is approached by a blast from Luca’s past and offered a possible alliance with a group of witches.
Tempted by their plan, Leila struggles to decide what to do for the best and turns to Nora for advice.
Will Nora get what she’s wanted all along? Or will Leila fight the evil inside to restore her true soul.
About the author: Jemma’s life has always been about travel. She spent her first ten years visiting many countries with her family due to her father’s job in the army.
The family eventually settled in the North East of England, where she lived until a few years ago.
At the age of twenty-one, she decided she wanted to go back to her roots and see more of the world and found the best way to do this was working for airlines.
She has lived near Heathrow airport where she works as a flight attendant for a leading British airline, visiting amazing cities, countries and people; providing a wealth of knowledge and ideas for her books. But, Jemma has never missed the opportunity to go back home to visit her family including a niece and three nephews. She is now moving her base back to her home in Darlington so she can spend more time writing.
Jemma has yearned to be a published author for many years and recently she has been able to put her dream into motion with the publication of her first book in the Crowded Souls Trilogy.
She is an avid reader of a wide variety of genres, but chose to write in her personal favourites, young adult and supernatural, as she is still hoping for the day she develops her own super powers!
You can order at http://crowdedsouls.com/

Maggie Thatcher – my part in her downfall – By Tony Stowers
Who writes: “Despite initially having a touch of the “Adrian Mole Diaries” (Sue Townsend) about them, these are entries from my own edited diaries from 1982 – 1984: the time of the Falklands Conflict, Cruise Missiles at Greenham Common, the Cold War, the Miner’s Strike, Scargill, the Brighton Bomb, the IRA, the Ethiopian famine and the first hacking at the Welfare State. On 12th January 1982 I was admitted to hospital with bacterial meningitis after losing consciousness to an intense head pain. Two days later I woke up, groggy but in one piece and from that moment decided I’d write about the world through the eyes of a 18 year-old dumb, naïve, clumsy kid still living at home in a small town in Thatcher’s Britain intent on getting himself an education in the School of Life.
You can buy the book at https://www.createspace.com/4975645