Isaac is a twelve-year-old human, George is a talking pig, and together they’ve been on many outlandish adventures, most of which have been given to them by the Queen. This time, she’s sent them to kill the deity Thunder. Why? I don’t know. They don’t know either. They’re just trying to have a fun day trip.

For the longest time, our home defined who I was. The moods of the Kalahari ... the river of my being rising and dwindling, yet always finely in tune with the undertow, the ebb and flow of the desert.' So writes Emma, daughter of Deirdre and Alf Johannsen. Captivated by the remoteness and beauty of the Kalahari Desert after a chance visit in 1884, Emma's father makes the decision to leave his home in Europe and return to settle in Africa. On his journey back, he meets the woman who will become his wife. Together they take on the challenge of making their home in the vast desert wilderness. During the first fourteen years of her life, Emma develops her father's passion for the Kalahari and the singular people who become part of their lives. The desert and its creatures fulfil her; she is at ease. But when a profound and tragic difference arises between her parents, her serenity is shattered, her life disrupted. Tsamma Season is a moving, beautifully written novel of passionate love and the loss of love; of challenge and betrayal. Most of all it is about the Kalahari - its moods, its limitless horizons and rugged beauty. But the desert deals harshly with those who have the courage to live on its terms: ultimately, it is uncompromising and unforgiving ... and this is something that Emma has no power to change.

What happens when your ‘Happily Ever After’ is a lie? Queen Beauty and King Charming lived happily ever after. At least, until the birth of their daughter. Despite their invitations, none of the fairies show up to give the princess a name-blessing, something Beauty is determined her daughter should receive. Rashly, she decrees that her daughter will either have a name-blessing or no name at all. With that one decision, she unwittingly casts a dark shadow over the land. Growing up, the princess shared her mother's dream of getting a name-blessing, but that's the only thing that they have in common. For everything else, there's the Lady in the Mirror. The Lady listens to her, and unlike her father, isn't afraid to criticise her mother, Beauty. After many years of waiting, the fairies are finally coming, and the princess will do anything to get her name-blessing. Anything

The author describes her life, from her childhood living with a nomadic tribe in Somalia to her position as a spokesperson against female genital mutiliation.

Victory always has a cost. The fight is over, and Leigh Morgan won. After spending months spying in Otherworld as a servant, she’s rescued the humans who were abducted by the Others and sent them safely home. She had to stay behind to destroy the gateway between worlds and keep them safe, but tough luck. She’s prepared to pay the price. But she didn’t expect the curse that the queen of Otherworld lays on her: a thorny vine growing under Leigh’s skin that will kill her when it reaches her heart. The queen will lift the curse… if Leigh uses her connections in the human realm to locate a magical weapon lost hundreds of years ago. To ensure she succeeds, the queen sends her son, Dredarion Rath, the cunning prince Leigh had to betray to save her people. With anger and hurt still fresh, they can barely stand to be in the same room together, much less cooperate on such a dangerous mission. But as Leigh’s friends risk everything to help her, she’ll have to find a way to reconcile with Dredarion before their quest gets her and everyone she cares about killed. The Dark and Otherworldly series continues with deadlier threats, darker romance, and deeper secrets. Return to Otherworld and buy it now.

In 1793, Lord George Macartney and an enormous delegation—including diplomats, doctors, scholars, painters, musicians, soldiers, and aristocrats—entered Beijing on a mission to open China to British trade. But Macartney’s famous refusal to perform the traditional kowtow before the Chinese Emperor was just one sign that the two empires would not see eye to eye, and the trade talks failed. The inability to develop a trade relation would have enormous consequences for future relations between China and the West. Peyrefitte’s vivid narrative of this fascinating encounter is based on extraordinary source materials from each side—including the charming and candid diary of Thomas Staunton, the son of one of Macartney’s aides. An example of history at its finest, The Immobile Empire recaptures the extraordinary experience of two great empires in collision, sizing each other up for the first time.