Not So Long Ago is a collection of short stories set in a Sussex town in the 1960s. The interlocking themes are of chance meetings and changing lives and all stories cluster around one group of characters Here we read about Jos’s and Annette’s meeting at the swimming club, which ignites a long relationship. Melissa and Fred collide when she knocks him over while riding her bike and both stumble towards a relationship. Alfredo and Maria meet at school and stay together, despite arguments. Chris, artistic with wealthy parents, falls for Dora, but on seeing her in a pub is beaten up by her boyfriend. By the end, all the characters have progressed in life and in relationships. This new collection will appeal to readers who want stories that engage them, are prepared for sudden plot twists and enjoy a nostalgic 60s setting. Not So Long Ago offers readers the narrative intensity of the short story with the character development associated with a novel.

A heartwarming collection of short stories from towns within India, possibly from a place near yours and about someone familiar.... The sisters in Benares, whose fate led them to different cities, one to mercurial heights of stardom and the other to the depths of misfortune. Now, thirteen years later, they are back in the same city where they started; will the ghats change the course of their lives? Sethji had been an astute and successful diamond merchant, and his grandson’s passion for “paper money” or stocks was wiping the family fortunes. Ironically, he learnt the most valuable lesson of his life from the old, toothless, homeless, flower seller. Too late or just in time? Where was the property, which the whole family was searching for, hidden? Who was the mysterious old man that Raghu had seen from the train? Will Anirban get away with murder? Why was Priyanka dreaming of her dead daughter’s blue stilettos? Will the women in Kumaon save the trees by “hugging them?” Would the ghosts who lived in the library let the young couple in love live happily ever after? Find the answers to these and many more…. These fourteen delightful tales may end with a twist, but they bring with them the powerful lessons of Hope!

This gentle picture book, written during the pandemic, will inspire readers to be resilient and find joy in tough times.

Every time Mirela was asked about her past, over dinner conversation or coffee, people would tell her she should write it all down. Her story is unique and very different to the lives of the circle of friends she has here in the Western world, but for anyone born in Eastern Europe, the events in this book will feel familiar. Her story could be anyone's, but unlike anyone else's life in Eastern Europe, Mirela had the opportunity to leave Romania at a relatively young age. She met many wonderful people along the way that have helped her achieve a new life in the US and to become the woman she is today. This book shows the differences between the two worlds.

As the young bride of an Afghan student she met at the University of Chicago, the author went to Afghanistan in 1948 where she was intrigued with a popular riddle game in which all members of the family participated. In addition to providing the evening's entertainment, the game nurtured socialization between young and old, and bound family relationships through cheerful merrymaking. In Not So Long Ago in Afghanistan, the author translated her collection of riddles into rhythmical English rhymes and presents them in a manner that recreates the social setting she experienced when she lived there. The original paintings by artist Pat Siddiq hide the clues to the riddle answers, and also acquaint the reader with family members in a social context that enhances the reality of an evening not so long ago when life in Afghanistan was peaceful and full of joy.All net proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to Joan Kayeum's foundation, FEDA (Foundation for Educational Development of Afghans) and other charities designed to promote the education of young girls and boys who live in the provinces of Afghanistan.

International bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay's latest work is set in a world evoking early Renaissance Italy and offers an extraordinary cast of characters whose lives come together through destiny, love, and ambition. In a chamber overlooking the nighttime waterways of a maritime city, a man looks back on his youth and the people who shaped his life. Danio Cerra's intelligence won him entry to a renowned school even though he was only the son of a tailor. He took service at the court of a ruling count—and soon learned why that man was known as the Beast. Danio's fate changed the moment he saw and recognized Adria Ripoli as she entered the count's chambers one autumn night—intending to kill. Born to power, Adria had chosen, instead of a life of comfort, one of danger—and freedom. Which is how she encounters Danio in a perilous time and place. Vivid figures share the unfolding story. Among them: a healer determined to defy her expected lot; a charming, frivolous son of immense wealth; a powerful religious leader more decadent than devout; and, affecting all these lives and many more, two larger-than-life mercenary commanders, lifelong adversaries, whose rivalry puts a world in the balance. A Brightness Long Ago offers both compelling drama and deeply moving reflections on the nature of memory, the choices we make in life, and the role played by the turning of Fortune's wheel.

This book tells a story to shake the conscience of the world. It is the catalogue of the first-ever traveling exhibition about the Auschwitz concentration camp, where 1.1 million people—mostly Jews, but also non-Jewish Poles, Roma, and others—lost their lives. More than 280 objects and images from the exhibition are illustrated herein. Drawn from the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and other collections around the world, they range from the intimate (such as victims’ family snapshots and personal belongings) to the immense (an actual surviving barrack from the Auschwitz III–Monowitz satellite camp); all are eloquent in their testimony. An authoritative yet accessible text weaves the stories behind these artifacts into an encompassing history of Auschwitz—from a Polish town at the crossroads of Europe, to the dark center of the Holocaust, to a powerful site of remembrance. Auschwitz: Not long ago. Not far away. is an essential volume for everyone who is interested in history and its lessons.