"On 14 October 1881, forty-five fishing boats set out from Eyemouth harbour, heart of the Scottish Borders's fishing industry. Only twenty-five returned. A small community was torn apart by the loss of husbands, brothers, fathers and sons. Get Up And Tie Your Fingers dramatises the daily lives of the herring lassies and fishwives who lived in this community: lives dominated by work, overshadowed by the moods of the sea, but released in the telling of stories and the singing of songs." "Safe plunders story-telling techniques of a different kind - namely fairytales - to investigate a very contemporary concern: the safety versus freedom debate for parents and children. As a group of parents gather in a disused warehouse to construct a carnival float, fairytale conventions and symbols begin to invade reality, and the parents have to face up to the dilemmas of modern parenting and the failings of their own fathers and mothers." "Devil's Ground is the story of an historical act of genocide, told through the personal tragedy of one Reiver family. These are parallels with Mafia families and with twenty-first century gang-warfare in this determinedly unromantic slant on the lives of sixteenth century bandits in the Scottish Borders. The political cynicism of James VI in ridding himself of old supporters who had become embarrassing liabilities also has contemporary echoes. An exploration of what happens to a family when left with no option but to stand and face its own destruction."--BOOK JACKET.

Includes the plays Get Up and Tie Your Fingers, Devil's Ground and Safe Get Up and Tie Your Fingers, Ann Coburn’s first play, was premiered at the 1995 Borders Festival and had a successful run at the 1996 Edinburgh Festival. It is the achingly sad and ultimately uplifting story of three women coping with death, dealing with guilt, and learning to let their children go. Safe is a play which taps into the deep, shared roots of childhood in order to explore contemporary parental fears about the safety of their children. Devil's Ground is the story of an historical act of genocide, told through the personal tragedy of one Reiver family.

"Every historical fiction novel should strive to be this compelling, well-researched and just flat-out good." — Associated Press For fans of The Nightingale and The Handmaid's Tale, Cradles of the Reich uncovers a topic rarely explored in fiction: the Lebensborn project, a Nazi breeding program to create a so-called master race. Through thorough research and with deep empathy, this chilling historical novel goes inside one of the Lebensborn Society maternity homes that existed in several countries during World War II, where thousands of "racially fit" babies were bred and taken from their mothers to be raised as part of the new Germany. At the Heim Hochland maternity home in Bavaria, three women's lives coverage as they find themselves there under very different circumstances. Gundi is a pregnant university student from Berlin. An Aryan beauty, she's secretly a member of a resistance group. Hilde, only eighteen, is a true believer in the cause and is thrilled to carry a Nazi official's child. And Irma, a 44-year-old nurse, is desperate to build a new life for herself after personal devastation. Despite their opposing beliefs, all three have everything to lose as they begin to realize they are trapped within Hitler's terrifying scheme to build a Nazi-Aryan nation. A cautionary tale for modern times told in stunning detail, Cradles of the Reich uncovers a little-known Nazi atrocity but also carries an uplifting reminder of the power of women to set aside differences and work together in solidarity in the face of oppression. "Skillfully researched and told with great care and insight, here is a World War II story whose lessons should not—must not—be forgotten." — Susan Meissner, bestselling author of The Nature of Fragile Things

Tom A. Coburn, a congressional maverick who kept his promise to serve three terms and then leave Washington, offers a candid look at the inner workings of Congress-why the system changes politicians instead of vice versa. Breach of Trust shows readers, through shocking behind-the-scenes stories, why Washington resists the reform our country desperately needs and how they can make wise, informed decisions about current and future political issues and candidates. This honest and critical look at "business as usual" in Congress reveals how and why elected representatives are quickly seduced into becoming career politicians who won't push for change. Along the way, Coburn offers readers realistic ideas for how to make a difference.

A collection of three plays by Irish playwright Dylan Coburn Gray.