Betty Shine is known worldwide for her powers as a medium and healer. She is the author of a number of bestselling books, including Mind Magic which was a Sunday Times No.1 bestseller. A former opera singer, she has been a therapist for 40 years and a healer and medium for over 20 years. She is a Daily Mail columnist and well-known television and radio personality and has been invited to lecture all over the world.

From the bestselling author of A Winter’s Fairytale and The Christmas Project Come home for Christmas to the Best Little Christmas Shop – the snowiest, cosiest place you can be! Perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan and Sue Moorcroft Home for the holidays… Icing gingerbread men, arranging handmade toys and making up countless Christmas wreaths in her family’s cosy little Christmas shop isn’t usually globe-trotter Lexi’s idea of fun. But it’s all that’s keeping her mind off romance. And, with a broken engagement under her belt, she’s planning to stay well clear of that for the foreseeable future…until gorgeous single dad Cal Martin walks through the door! Christmas takes on a whole new meaning as Lexi begins to see it through Cal’s adorable five-year-old son’s eyes. But, finding herself getting dangerously close to the mistletoe with Cal, Lexi knows she needs to back off. She’s sworn off love, and little George needs a stability she can’t provide. One day she’ll decide whether to settle down again – just not yet. But the best little Christmas shop in this sleepy, snow-covered village has another surprise in store… Praise for Maxine Morrey… ’A delightful wintery tale full to the brim with drama, passion and heartwarming cheer.’ – Gem~Bee on The Christmas Project ‘As a festive love story, this book has it all: romance, an engaging heroine you feel you could be friends with, a handsome caring hero…lots of warmth and humour and plenty of snow.’ PortobelloBookBlog ‘This book was a real wintry treat, with all the snow nicely contrasting with all the warmth the story exuded. I couldn’t help but find myself laughing away or sighing with happiness and I’m so excited to read more from Maxine if this is the kind of feel-good novel she’s capable of. I just want to read it all over again and probably will do in Christmases to come.’ Sophie at Reviewed the Book ‘This is a beautiful fairytale for adults, set in and around Christmas, with a healthy helping of romance…this story draws you in and won't let you go. It is beautifully written, very easy and pleasurable to read.’ Rachel’s Random Reads ‘Fantastic strong characters, along with beautifully descriptive writing enabled me to immerse myself into their world and become a fly on the wall. I love books that transport me to Christmas and make me feel all festive and warm and Winter’s Fairytale certainly delivered for me.’ Jill Loves to Read

‘This book had me captivated from the start…a really great read.’ The Reading Shed It’s never too late to rewrite your story… It’s always been Emily Cotton’s dream to own her own bookshop. But sitting among shelves of haphazardly stacked books in a damp old barn, the reality feels a little different. Kate Vincent hasn’t been back home in six years. But when she receives a desperate email from her childhood best friend begging for her help she doesn’t stop to think. Scenes of idyllic holidays with the Cotton family dance in her mind and she books a one-way ticket home to Wigtown. But life for the Cottons isn’t all as she remembers and the secrets which once drove Kate and Emily apart are finally threatening to come to the surface. Now as the pair work together to save Emily’s failing bookshop – can they too begin a new chapter of their friendship? Previously published as Summer at Bluebell Bank

‘Immensely talented new author.’ John Marrs, author of The One and When You Disappeared ‘Engrossing, compelling and twisty from the first page to the shocking ending. This book grabbed me and didn't let go.’ Michele Campbell author of It’s Always the Husband 'Unique and utterly compelling. This twisty psychological thriller will chill you to the bones.' Gemma Metcalfe author of Trust Me ‘A stellar and original concept, brilliantly executed. The final chapters had my heart in my throat! O’Sullivan is certainly one to watch.’ Phoebe Morgan, author of THE DOLL HOUSE A deserted train station: A man waits. A woman watches. Chris is ready to join his wife. He’s planned this moment for nearly a year. The date. The time. The train. But he hadn’t factored in Sarah. So when Sarah walks on to the platform and sees a man swaying at the edge she assumes he’s just had too much to drink. What she doesn’t expect is to stop a suicide. As Sarah becomes obsessed with discovering the secrets that Chris is clearly hiding, he becomes obsessed with stopping her, protecting her. But there are some secrets that are meant to stay buried… Pre-order Close Your Eyes… Darren’s thrilling second book, coming May 2018! Perfect for fans of Clare Mackintosh, BA Paris and Holly Seddon. Praise for Our Little Secret ’Darren O’Sullivan keeps the reader on the edge of their seat in this dark, clever look at what drives people to the edge and how quickly a life can change.’ Phoebe Morgan author of The Doll House ‘This is one of the best books I have ever read. It was nail-biting and had me on edge from start to finish… a must buy!’ Greta Halliday ‘An absolutely phenomenal debut.’ Rebecca Pugh ‘One of the best books of its genre.’ Julia Beales ‘The only thing unbelievable about this thriller is that it's the authors debut.’ Jennifer Kelly ‘Gripping from the moment you start reading it.’ Emily Charlton ‘Incredibly well-written debut.’ Susan Anne Burton ‘One of the best novels I've read in a long time.’ Paul Lane

Status Update: I’m going offline for a while… Wish me luck! xx Lifestyle journalist and thirty-something singleton Melissa hashtags, insta's and snapchats her supposedly fabulous life on every social media platform there is. That is until she wakes up on her birthday, another year older and still alone, wondering if for all her internet dates, love really can be found online? The challenge: go technology free for a whole month! Forced to confront the reality of her life without its perfect filters, Melissa knows she needs to make some changes. But when she bumps into not one, but two gorgeous men, without the use of an app, she believes there could be hope for love offline. If only there was a way to choose the right guy for her…

‘A stylish and sophisticated thriller. With bold, clever writing, this is an assured debut and very welcome addition to the genre.’ – Aviva Dautch A teenage girl, missing in Paris. A young woman, searching for her mother. A female PI on a mission. When police drop the case on missing Mathilde Benazet, renegade PI Veronique Cotillard steps in to prove that she can succeed where police inspector Guillaume Leveque failed… Alice Weston’s father had always told her that her mother died in childbirth – but now, Alice has proof that her mother may be alive and living in Paris. When her father dies, Alice decides to take matters into her own hands: it’s time to uncover her family’s long-buried secrets… at any cost. As Alice and Veronique’s lives intertwine, and the city of Paris prepares to celebrate Bastille Day in the shadows of a gathering storm, both women must face the ghosts of their past – and the monsters in the present. What reviewers are saying about THE GIRL IN THE SHADOWS: ‘Fast paced and kept me on my toes. I couldn't wait to read what was going to happen next. Veronique is a strong female detective which is really refreshing.’ – Dash Fan, Blogger ‘This is the kind of book that you desperately hope will have a sequel; all of these characters (especially Veronique, Christophe and Guillaume) have such depth that it would be a shame not to meet them again in the future.’ – Lynne Frappier, NetGalley reviewer ‘Katherine Debona is a fine writer. This book is both well written and plotted.’ – Joyce Fox, NetGalley reviewer ‘A girl is missing in this complex family drama that is both heart wrenching and infuriating … Keep the tissues handy! The writer's style is very readable. I loved this book.’ – Judy Dowell, NetGalley reviewer ‘A complex and intricately woven mystery.’ – Rosemary Smith, NetGalley reviewer ‘Kept me guessing as there were twists and turns galore, with a surprising ending.’ – Philip White, NetGalley reviewer ‘I was drawn in from the onset.’ – Susan Anne Burton, NetGalley reviewer

‘Charming, original and thoroughly enjoyable.’Katie Fforde ‘A little gem. 5*’ Samantha Tonge, bestselling author of The New Beginnings Coffee Club You’re never too old to try something new! When octogenarian Olive Turner is persuaded by her son to move into a retirement home, she congratulates herself on finding the secret to an easy life: no washing up, cooking or cleaning. But Olive isn’t one for mindless bingo with her fellow residents, and before the first day is over she's already hatching a plan to escape back to her beloved beach hut and indulge in her secret passion for a very good gin & tonic. Before long Olive’s secret is out and turning into something wonderful and new. Only a select few are invited, but word spreads quickly about the weekly meetings of The Gin Shack Club. Soon everybody on the beach wants to become a gin connoisseur and join Olive on her journey to never being forced to grow older than you feel. A journey of friendship, defiance and a quest for the perfect G&T.

‘One of the best stories I’ve read in a long time…I can’t wait to read the other two!’ Stacey Rebecca (NetGalley reviewer) Life begins at forty… Trish Ford always dreamed of living in a little chocolate box village like Cornfield – but she never expected to be starting over at forty! Joining the Cotswolds Cookery Club seems like the perfect recipe for finding happiness again, along with her new friends Connie, Melody and Kate. From mouth-watering paella to sweet, honey-drenched pestinos, Trish finds a delicious distraction in the Spanish cuisine whilst doing her best to deal with her stroppy teenage daughter and her cheating ex-husband and his pregnant girlfriend. But it will take all of Trish’s new-found confidence – and maybe a helping of her irresistible leche frita – to risk her heart on hunk single dad Steve… Fans of Milly Johnson, Caroline Roberts and Jill Mansell will love this heartwarming read! The Cotswolds Cookery Club is a story told in three parts. A Taste of Spain is part two.

It’s the trip of a lifetime – with just one catch! Aspiring travel writer Mia Walker dreams of covering dream destinations for a living. So when she’s offered the chance to write a romantic travel piece, taking in turquoise oceans, tropical beaches, and a fairy-tale Scottish wedding, she knows it’s the opportunity she’s been waiting for. It’s the trip of a lifetime… but it comes with a catch. The photographer who’ll be travelling with her is Hunter Scott, who Mia last saw five years ago – when she ended their engagement! Mia knows she’d be mad to say no – even if it does mean traveling the world with the one man she never wanted to see again! But, whether it’s the stunning locations or the wedding on the horizon, Mia soon finds herself wishing she hadn’t cancelled her own engagement after all… If you’re dreaming of sipping cocktails from a pineapple surrounded by palm trees and flamingos don’t miss Maxine Morrey’s gorgeously uplifting summer romance, perfect for fans of Holly Martin and Jo Watson. Previously published as The Christmas Holiday

‘The author tells an evocative story that is both illuminating and engrossing at the same time.’ Allie Burns, author of The Lido Girls ‘Lush and evocative.’ Rosemary Smith ‘The writing elevates this beyond many historical novels.’ Joseph Morgan Vienna 1907 Wally Neuzil must find a way to feed her family. Having failed in many vocations, Wally has one last shot: esteemed artist Gustav Klimt needs a muse, and Wally could be the girl he’s been waiting for. But Wally soon discovers that there is much more to her role than just sitting looking pretty. And while she had hoped to establish herself as an emerging lady, the upper classes see her as no more than a prostitute. With her society dreams dashed Wally finds herself at rock bottom. So when young artist, Egon Schiele, shows her how different life can be Wally grabs hold of the new start she’s been desperately seeking. As a passionate love affair ensues will he be the making of her or her undoing? Praise for The Artist’s Muse ‘Richly entertaining, wry and funny, and at the same time dark, thoughtful and allusive, I shall look forward to reading this one again, and any more that come from this writer.’ Kate Jackson ‘A richly layered read, that delivers on many levels.’ Joseph Morgan ‘Postle has taken me into a world full of characters that jump off the page with life, who inhabit a Vienna oozing with culture and modernity yet bursting at the seams at the height of empire and all the inequalities that go with it.’ Rebecca Barton ‘This novel evokes a time and a place with such power. Wally Neuzil , so brave, yet so tragic, speaks with a voice to break your heart.’ Pam Dennis

Are you willing to gamble with your life? Some debts can’t be repaid. The Gambler’s Den lies in ruins, its staff scattered across the Sand Sea, all but a memory of the minds of its past patrons. But when the Morning Star appears, ruled by a mysterious figure known only as the Hare, the comparisons can’t be helped. Who is this larger-than-life character? Why do the showgirls wear masks? What are they hiding? The answer…they should be dead. Franco and Misu were safe only in their anonymity, but with Franco gone Misu must find him – jeopardising all they have built. In order to save the man she trusts Misu must put her faith in the villain. Wilheim does not forget disobedience lightly, and Misu’s was a great betrayal, so now he will call in his debt, and his revenge on the staff of the Morning Star. Who will win? Who will survive? Who will the odds favour?

Lady Alkmene and Jake Dubois are back in a gripping new adventure facing dangerous opponents at a masked ball in the countryside. Masked danger… Lady Alkmene Callender has always loved grand parties, but when she receives an invitation to a masked ball thrown by Franklin Hargrove – oil magnate, aviation enthusiast and father of her best friend, Denise – she’s never seen such luxury. The estate is lit up with Chinese lanterns in the gardens, boats operated by footmen float across the pond and the guest list features the distinguished, rich and powerful! But below the glamour, evil is lurking. When a dead body is discovered, it forces Lady Alkmene to throw off her mask and attempt to find the true killer before Denise’s family are accused. If only her partner, Jake Dubois, weren’t hiding something from her… This case might just be more dangerous than either of them could have imagined. 1. A Proposal to Die For 2. Diamonds of Death 3. Deadly Treasures 4. A Fatal Masquerade

The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (Charity No. SC 016085; Company No. SC480530), is dedicated to promoting Scottish Country Dance. The Society exists to promote and develop Scottish country dancing worldwide for the benefit of present and future generations. It has a world-wide network of Branches and Affiliated Groups, with a small administrative team at its central office in Edinburgh.

The brave owls of Ga'Hoole are back in their second mythic adventure as they strive to preserve owldom from the evil that lurks around them. Join the owls in their quest for the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, the legendary place where ordinary owls are transformed into the heroes that guard the owl kingdom. Out of the darkness a hero will rise… It began as a dream. A quest for the Great Ga’Hoole Tree, a mythic place where each night an order of owls rises to perform noble deeds. There Soren, Gylfie, Twilight and Digger hope to find inspiration to fight the evil that dwells in the owl kingdom. The journey is long and arduous for Soren, Gylife, Twilight and Digger. When they finally arrive, they realize that the journey has barely started and that greater challenges lay ahead. If they succeed in following in the footsteps of their leaders, they will soon become true Ga'Hoolian owls– honest, brave, true and wise.

Everything a romantic novel should be - an absolute delight.’ - Veronica Henry Meet Molly New York’s most famous agony aunt, she considers herself an expert at relationships…as long as they’re other people’s. The only love of her life is her Dalmatian, Valentine. Meet Daniel A cynical divorce lawyer, he’s hardwired to think relationships are a bad idea. If you don’t get involved, no-one can get hurt. But then he finds himself borrowing a dog to meet the gorgeous woman he sees running in Central Park every morning… Molly and Daniel think they know everything there is to know about relationships…until they meet each other that is… 'Wonderfully romantic and sumptuously atmospheric.’ -Alex Brown, author of The Secret Orchard Cottage

From gentleman to rogue Who had her former fiancé become? Captured by pirates off the Virginia coast, Lady Cassandra Shepherd is shocked to see in the blue eyes of Captain Rose the young man she loved and lost. What has caused him to exchange his honour for a chance at revenge? But now he needs her help. Dare Cas believe the captain can reclaim his life as an upstanding gentleman and with it, her hand in marriage?

Design accessible and creative games across genres, platforms, and development realities About This Book ? Implement the skills and techniques required to work in a professional studio ? Ace the core principles and processes of level design, world building, and storytelling ? Design interactive characters that animate the gaming world Who This Book Is For Whether you are a student eager to design a game or a junior game designer looking for your first role as a professional, this book will help you with the fundamentals of game design. By focusing on best practices and a pragmatic approach, Practical Game Design provides insights into the arts and crafts from two senior game designers that will interest more seasoned professionals in the game industry. What You Will Learn ? Define the scope and structure of a game project ? Conceptualize a game idea and present it to others ? Design gameplay systems and communicate them clearly and thoroughly ? Build and validate engaging game mechanics ? Design successful business models and prepare your games for live operations ? Master the principles behind level design, worldbuilding and storytelling ? Improve the quality of a game by playtesting and polishing it In Detail If you are looking for an up-to-date and highly applicable guide to game design, then you have come to the right place! Immerse yourself in the fundamentals of game design with this book, written by two highly experienced industry professionals to share their profound insights as well as give valuable advice on creating games across genres and development platforms. Practical Game Design covers the basics of game design one piece at a time. Starting with learning how to conceptualize a game idea and present it to the development team, you will gradually move on to devising a design plan for the whole project and adapting solutions from other games. You will also discover how to produce original game mechanics without relying on existing reference material, and test and eliminate anticipated design risks. You will then design elements that compose the playtime of a game, followed by making game mechanics, content, and interface accessible to all players. You will also find out how to simultaneously ensure that the gameplay mechanics and content are working as intended. As the book reaches its final chapters, you will learn to wrap up a game ahead of its release date, work through the different challenges of designing free-to-play games, and understand how to significantly improve their quality through iteration, polishing and playtesting. Style and approach A practical step by step guide to get you up and running with Game Design from scratch

Perfect for fans of Nicholas Sparks, Cecelia Ahern and Jojo Moyes Can love truly conquer all? When a vicious attack leaves Paul in a coma on his wedding day, the doctors fear he will never wake up. But his fiancée Fran will never give up hope. Fran has always known Paul is the only man for her, from the first moment they locked eyes as children to the day he finally told her he loved her. Paul can’t leave her, not now their lives are just about to begin. Love will always find a way… won’t it? What readers are saying about Almost Forever: ‘A wonderful love story that had me laughing, crying, getting frustrated with the characters and smiling too.’ NovelKicks ‘Definitely had me crying at points’ FNM ‘Much more than just a love story. It is a tale of hope, perseverance and about life after the worst case scenario.’ Cheryl M-M’s Book Blog ‘An intelligent and sophisticated romance, I’ll be adding Laura Danks to my list of authors to look out for in the future.’ Cosy Books ‘I couldn’t put it down!’ Amazon Reader ‘Emotional, thought provoking and endlessly romantic!’ Amazon Reader ‘It's about growing up, it's about love, loss, and having the courage to take action and be who you want to be. Loved it.’ Amazon Reader ‘A love story with a twist that will have your emotions in turmoil’ Amazon Reader ‘Thoroughly enjoyed the book. very moving, could not put the book down.’ Amazon Reader

Improve the speed of your code and optimize the performance of your apps About This Book ? Understand the common performance pitfalls and improve your application’s performance ? Get to grips with multi-threaded and asynchronous programming in C# ? Develop highly performant applications on .NET Core using microservice architecture Who This Book Is For This book is for .NET developers looking at improving the speed of their code or simply wanting to take their skills to the next level. Basic C# knowledge is assumed. What You Will Learn ? Measure application performance using BenchmarkDotNet ? Explore the techniques to write multithreaded applications ? Leverage TPL and PLinq libraries to perform asynchronous operations ? Get familiar with data structures to write optimized code ? Understand design techniques to increase your application’s performance ? Learn about memory management techniques in .NET Core ? Develop a containerized application based on microservices architecture ? Learn tools and techniques to monitor application performance In Detail While writing an application, performance is paramount. Performance tuning for realworld applications often involves activities geared toward fnding bottlenecks; however, this cannot solve the dreaded problem of slower code. If you want to improve the speed of your code and optimize an application's performance, then this book is for you. C# 7 and .NET Core 2.0 High Performance begins with an introduction to the new features of what?explaining how they help in improving an application's performance. Learn to identify the bottlenecks in writing programs and highlight common performance pitfalls, and learn strategies to detect and resolve these issues early. You will explore multithreading and asynchronous programming with .NET Core and learn the importance and effcient use of data structures. This is followed with memory management techniques and design guidelines to increase an application’s performance. Gradually, the book will show you the importance of microservices architecture for building highly performant applications and implementing resiliency and security in .NET Core. After reading this book, you will learn how to structure and build scalable, optimized, and robust applications in C#7 and .NET. Style and approach This book will be a step by step easy to follow guide with focused examples to increase performance of applications and provide optimization techniques.

Enhance your software deployment workflow using containers About This Book ? Get up-and-running with basic to advanced concepts of Docker ? Get acquainted with concepts such as Docker containers, Docker images, orchestrators and so on. ? Practical test-based approach to learning a prominent containerization tool Who This Book Is For This book is targeted at system administrators, operations engineers, DevOps engineers, and developers or stakeholders who are interested in getting started with Docker from scratch. No prior experience with Docker Containers is required. What You Will Learn ? Containerize your traditional or microservice-based application ? Share or ship your application as an immutable container image ? Build a Docker swarm and a Kubernetes cluster in the cloud ? Run a highly distributed application using Docker Swarm or Kubernetes ? Update or rollback a distributed application with zero downtime ? Secure your applications via encapsulation, networks, and secrets ? Know your options when deploying your containerized app into the cloud In Detail Docker containers have revolutionized the software supply chain in small and big enterprises. Never before has a new technology so rapidly penetrated the top 500 enterprises worldwide. Companies that embrace containers and containerize their traditional mission-critical applications have reported savings of at least 50% in total maintenance cost and a reduction of 90% (or more) of the time required to deploy new versions of those applications. Furthermore they are benefitting from increased security just by using containers as opposed to running applications outside containers. This book starts from scratch, introducing you to Docker fundamentals and setting up an environment to work with it. Then we delve into concepts such as Docker containers, Docker images, Docker Compose, and so on. We will also cover the concepts of deployment, orchestration, networking, and security. Furthermore, we explain Docker functionalities on public clouds such as AWS. By the end of this book, you will have hands-on experience working with Docker containers and orchestrators such as SwarmKit and Kubernetes. Style and approach The simple end-to-end guide will help you learn everything about how to containerize, ship, and run both a traditional application and a modern microservice-based application on-premise or in the cloud.

Build rich and collaborative applications using client-side code with React, Redux, and Firebase About This Book ? A practical guide covering the full stack for web development with React 16 and Firebase ? Leverage the power of Firebase Cloud Storage, messaging, functions, OAuth, and database security to develop serverless web applications. ? Develop high-performance applications without the hassle of setting up complex web infrastructure. Who This Book Is For This book is for JavaScript developers who have some previous knowledge of React and want to develop serverless, full-stack applications but without the hassle of setting up a complex infrastructure. What You Will Learn ? Install powerful React.js and Firebase tools to make development much more efficient ? Create React components with Firebase to save and retrieve the data in real-time ? Use Firebase Authentication to make your React user interface secure ? Develop React and Firebase applications with Redux integration ? Firebase database security rules ? Firebase Cloud Storage Integration to upload and store data on the cloud ? Create a complete real-time application with React and firebase ? Using Firebase Cloud messaging and Cloud functions with React ? Firebase Cloud Storage integration with React In Detail ReactJS is a wonderful framework for UI development. Firebase as a backend with React is a great choice as it is easy, powerful, and provides great developer experience. It removes a lot of boilerplate code from your app and allows you to focus on your app to get it out quickly to users. Firebase with React is also a good choice for Most Viable Product (MVP) development. This book provides more practical insights rather than just theoretical concepts and includes basic to advanced examples – from hello world to a real-time seat booking app and Helpdesk application This book will cover the essentials of Firebase and React.js and will take you on a fast-paced journey through building real-time applications with Firebase features such as Cloud Storage, Cloud Function, Hosting and the Realtime Database. We will learn how to secure our application by using Firebase authentication and database security rules. We will leverage the power of Redux to organize data in the front-end, since Redux attempts to make state mutations predictable by imposing certain restrictions on how and when updates can happen. Towards the end of the book you will have improved your React skills by realizing the potential of Firebase to create real-time serverless web applications. Style and approach Practical insights rather than just theoretical concepts while including basic to advanced examples – from hello world to a real-time seat booking app and Helpdesk application.