When she finds a wounded member of British Intelligence in her bedroom, Patricia really isn't that surprised. I mean, it happens all the time, doesn't it? However, she is surprised, and really not delighted, to hear that he has a secret task for her. Find his contact, hand over a harmless looking data storage device that just happens to have the details of a superweapon on it and save the world from certain disaster. Her country needs her. Well, that's just perfect. Throw into the mix a missing grandmother who just might have been grabbed by sex traffickers, foreign agents who all want the weapon, and the return of her gin-guzzling friend Lady Mary Bostihill-Swank, and her relaxing, romantic stop in Malta might be the most exciting two days of her life. Get ready for another cozy thrill ride as Patricia, Barbie, Jermaine, and more get in and out of trouble in an ancient island paradise.

When Ceri Levy asked Ralph Steadman to produce one piece of art representing an extinct bird for a recent exhibition, Ghosts of Gone Birds, Ralph said 'yes'. Then 'yes' again ... and again ... and again. An astonishing 100 paintings later, Extinct Boids was born. Ralph got carried away by the birds, taking Ceri with him ... this book details the discoveries they made on their travels through the savage seas of extinction. After stumbling on the previously hidden Toadstool Island, where the extinct birds of the world live on in secretive harmony, the duo spent nearly a year in close proximity to a host of fantastical avian creatures. Ralph documents them all in this series of remarkable paintings, featuring unique interpretations of well-known birds such as the Great Auk, Passenger Pigeon and Dodo, along with less familiar members of the feathersome firmament - Snail-eating Coua, for example, or the Red-moustached Fruit Dove - and a variety of bizarre beasts including the Gob Swallow, the Long-legged Shortwing and the Needless Smut. All are captured in a riot of expression and colour, with a slice of trademark Steadman humour. Based on emails, diary entries and phone conversations, Ceri's accompanying text provides a running commentary, detailing the unfolding madness behind the creation of each piece in Ralph's extraordinary work. Things got tough as the pair discovered just how many amazing birds have been lost from our world forever. This enhanced ebook edition of the stellar smash hit includes animation, readings by the authors, and other unmissable extra content. Don't miss it!

The last thing Nancy Ellis-Bell expected to descend on her life was a neglected, too-tall, smart-mouthed, one-legged, blue-and-gold rescue macaw named Peg Leg. And yet, it made perfect sense. A lifelong animal lover, Nancy could never turn away a stray cat, dog, squirrel, or raccoon from her California farm. But the macaw, quickly rechristened Sarah, was a whole new challenge, as Nancy, her husband, Kerry, and their furry menagerie would find out. Initially timid of her new surroundings, Sarah soon imposed her four-foot wingspan into the family homestead—first claiming the laundry basket, then conquering a prized dresser—and achieved complete household domination. Nancy couldn’t “bird-proof” the place fast enough, and it was not long before Sarah started stealing the dogs’ toys—using her enormous beak to disembowel Ben the mutt’s treasured stuffed bear—and bathing her richly hued feathers in their water bowl. She also peppered Nancy’s phone conversations with expletive-laden outbursts. There seemed no end to Sarah’s realm, nor her destruction, and it dawned on Nancy that the entire house had slowly transformed into a birdcage. On the other side of the coin, Sarah started to abandon her own raptor instincts when she discovered that dog food was pretty tasty and that she had a knack for “barking” (and a few other sounds that alarmed the neighbors). As they all learned to live together, Nancy marveled that Sarah had truly found a place to call home, but she sensed that there was something she could give Sarah to make her feel more complete: a chance to fly again. Touching, eye-opening, and laugh-out-loud funny, The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog is a tender tale of two worlds colliding, two lives enriched, and two souls restored. It is also a rewarding reminder that love can come from the most unexpected places.

Collects caricatures of species of extinct birds, from ancient fossilized birds to recent extinctions, and includes information on each species and the artist's commentary on his interpretations.

When she finds a wounded member of British Intelligence in her bedroom, Patricia really isn't that surprised. I mean, it happens all the time, doesn't it? However, she is surprised, and really not delighted, to hear that he has a secret task for her. Find his contact, hand over a harmless looking data storage device that just happens to have the details of a superweapon on it and save the world from certain disaster. Her country needs her. Well, that's just perfect. Throw into the mix a missing grandmother who just might have been grabbed by sex traffickers, foreign agents who all want the weapon, and the return of her gin-guzzling friend Lady Mary Bostihill-Swank, and her relaxing, romantic stop in Malta might be the most exciting two days of her life. Get ready for another cozy thrill ride as Patricia, Barbie, Jermaine, and more get in and out of trouble in an ancient island paradise.