Introduction
My earliest memories of Kenan are from the summer of 1966 when I was visiting Turkey for the first time. I had just arrived in Istanbul, tired and dishevelled after hitchhiking across Europe. Overwhelmed by the sights, sounds and smells of the bustling city, I landed on Kenan’s doorstep late one sticky evening, a total stranger, to be greeted with a welcoming smile and a warm invitation to stay the night… Read More »
September
This morning I was awoken at 2.30, 4.08, 5.32 and 6.41. As my alarm went off, I lay there with my eyes closed taking deep, cleansing breaths and forgiving my mother. Then I swung my legs out of bed, noticed that my toenail polish was chipped, dug through the pile of clean washing to find an outfit and said to myself, ‘Isabella, you can do this. Mummy won’t be living with you forever and Milo is just teething… Read More »
‘Excellent mystery featuring clever detection and brilliant characters, in a well-imagined, post-apocalyptic society. Highly recommended.’
Brian Price, author of the DC Mel Cotton series
This winter, we will all be facing incredible challenges. With recession looming, growing NHS backlogs, an unprecedented energy crisis and widening inequalities following the pandemic, it can be hard to know where to find hope. In Ben Mears’ new novel, we discover what difference courage can make in a dystopian world very like our own… Read More »
‘Gives me great hope for many of my friends … Buy it, read it, and pass it on.’
Gavin Calver, CEO, Evangelical Alliance
When Manoj Raithatha was born in Watford in the 1970s, the country he grew up in and the faith he followed were very different from those he knows today. Back then, no one could have imagined that this shy, young Hindu would become a committed, public Christian, and that this child of immigrants would become the first South Asian Chair of the Board of the Evangelical Alliance. But how did this happen? Read More »
Prologue
1st Elventide, winter 1795 ad (after Doon)
A thick snow carpeted the field, though the fall had ceased some hours before. It now rested like a work complete. Like deep frosting on an endless cake, concealing all. Hiding who knew what beneath.
A boy threw a stick. His wolfhound fetched it. A tried and tested game. A scene familiar throughout ages.
And yet, there was something different here. Something wrong… Read More »
Many years ago, before I was a Christian, at a time when I was chasing money and essentially living for myself, I would often say to my wife that I wanted what her mother had. Life hadn’t dealt her a great hand, yet she was by far the happiest person I knew.
She had a peace and joy that were painfully lacking in my own life. Where did they come from? Read More »
1
Selling Sand
Filthy rich! That’s how rich I wanted to be. What was the point in being ‘just rich’, when you could aspire to own the stars! I’m not talking about a few nice motors on the front driveway. I’m talking the full monty: private jet, lush apartment in New York, mansion in the country, and enough staff to cater for my every whim. Oh, and a sushi chef for my refined palate and expensive tastes. I wanted it all… Read More »
‘A masterpiece of historical fiction.’
Wendy H Jones, author and writing coach
The BBC’s recent series, Forgiveness: Stories from the Front Line, thoughtfully explores the power of forgiving. Perhaps surprisingly, the presenter concludes that self-forgiveness is the hardest kind, being so bound up with regret and shame, yet it has the power to transform our lives.
In her new historical novel, The Pilgrim, Joy Margetts sensitively tackles the subject of forgiveness, in particular self-forgiveness… Read More »
1
Brampton Barre, Late summer 1202, England
The sound of clanging swords echoed around the stone walls of the castle, punctuated by grunts and yells and, incongruously, laughter. Hal wandered up the path from the bailey below and paused, leaning on a gatepost, to watch his brother, Robert, and four others taking turns to spar with one another on a small, flat patch of ground at the foot of the motte. He grinned… Read More »
‘An informed consideration of leadership, underpinned by the careful use of Scripture, wide reading and recent research.’
Rev Dr Derek Tidball, former Principal of the London School of Theology
In recent years, there has been a craze for all things ‘leadership’, with one fad after another promising dramatic change. But as headlines have proven in recent months, just what constitutes good leadership is very far from settled. So if the quick fixes don’t work, where can we turn to discover how we might lead well, in church or in the workplace, when our time comes? Read More »
