Valiant Be is a remarkable memoir of pain and resilience, and a gripping history of a family that is at once dysfunctional and deeply loving. Heather’s earliest memories revolved around her parents’ purchase and refurbishment of a gristmill beside the Don River, on the outskirts of Toronto. As World War 2 raged, so did tensions at home; Heather’s father was a passionate artist with a mercurial temper, and her mother was a writer who wrote and published a book about their marriage. Although Heather’s young life was chaotic, she learned resourcefulness from her parents, and never doubted their care. Then, at the age of four, Heather experienced a deeply traumatic incident that would change her forever and lead her to spend fifteen years in therapy for complex post-traumatic stress disorder. Still, her courage never wavered. Told through a series of vignettes, this vibrant collection of stories follows the author through childhood, university, marriage, mothering, teaching, and working as a calligrapher. Tender, revelatory, and always full of humour, this book is both a valuable time capsule and a fascinating look at how drastically the world can change in a single lifetime.

Two generations of one family, two of whom fight in World War 1 at The Dardanelles and The Somme; two are World War II bomber crew, one of whom was killed when his Stirling went down in the English Channel after a raid on Turin in 1942 and his pilot won the VC; another was a soldier in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders captured at Calais in 1940 only to escape in the last few months of the war, and one was a nursing sister captured by the Japanese in Singapore in 1942. She survived brutal PoW imprisonment, then met and married a Polish bomber pilot at a medal presentation in Buckingham Palace in 1946. The seventh was Sir Billy Snedden who left school at 15 without even a leaving certificate, joined the RAAF in 1945 too late to fly but went on to study law, became a barrister and a prominent politician who led the Australian opposition to the 1972 election, losing and failing to become prime minister by the narrowest of margins. Of the seven, three died in battle or of their war wounds, three survived to lead normal family lives and Snedden went on to political success and fame only to die in bed with a lover at the age of 61. All characters lived fought and died as described in this book.

Saville hates sewing. How can she not when her father, the Tailor, loves his bolts of velvet and silk far more than he's ever loved her? Yet, when he is struck ill shortly after they arrive in the city of Reggen, Saville must don boy's clothes in the hopes of gaining a commission from the king to keep them fed. The kingdom is soon on edge when stories spread of an army of giants led by a man who cannot be killed. But giants are just stories, and no man is immortal. And then the giants do come to the city gates, two larger-than-life scouts whom Saville cunningly tricks into leaving. The Tailor of Reggen is the hero of the kingdom, the king promises his sister's hand in marriage, and by the time Saville reaches the palace doors, it is widely known that the Tailor single-handedly killed the giants. When her secret—that she's a girl—is quickly discovered by Lord Galen Verras, the king's cousin, Saville's swept into the twists and turns of court politics. The deathless man is very real, and he will use his giant army to ensure he is given the throne freely or by force. Now, only a tailor girl with courage and cunning can see beyond the tales to discover the truth and save the kingdom again. Debut author Sarah McGuire artfully crafts a story of understanding, identity, and fighting to protect those you love most in Valiant, a rich reimagining of "The Brave Little Tailor."

Since 1995, I set out as an artist to create characters who were hideous, strange and did not fit within the normal boundaries of a modern society. The Circus Freaks, my 1st creations, are such examples of de-humanizing humans, placing them in a world where they are not accepted by the majority and must push their way uphill to gain power. After 15 years of creating many people, places and things based on the real world, publishing books, including this one, I came to an epiphany. Who you are in relation to someone else depends not on skin color, age, religion, sexual preference, language, biology, country or planet. These short stories contain individual lives of those you are familiar with in one social category or another as opposed to those of your neighbor, family member, significant partner, your enemies, and those unlikely youve never met. In the end, a world, a galaxy of prosperity comes with the efforts of all who are related because they are unrelated and thats exactly what this book is about. --Maestro Drake

Your Man Abednego A play in four acts, this is an explosive sequel to the much acclaimed Shadows of The Ancestors. The warrior kingdom of Umudimkpa under an ageing regency, awaits the coming of a crown prince whose birth and mystery life were foretold by the oracles. Instead, it is British colonialists that arrive, bringing with them the daunting challenges of a foreign government and a new religion. The emergent conflicts are exacerbated by language problems, throwing up a villainous interpreter, one Abednego who is as much admired and trusted by the white District Officer as he is hated and vilified by the natives.

The first detailed study of the working relationship and productive friendship between Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) and Adrian Boult (1889-1983).

The great hymns keep on giving strength, bolstering faith. They endure because they "build on the human heart." As do these meditations based on seventy favorite hymns and gospel songs. Sometimes they beckon, softly and tenderly; sometimes they pierce like a trumpet call. Like the hymns, the readings in this books may herald tidings of comfort and joy. Rephrase an old, old story. Remind us that Jesus loves us and bids us to shine. Testify to God's amazing grace. Prompt us to fall on our knees, to lift up every voice. Some of them tie a song's origin to its message. Many weave in moments of epiphany: How and when did a particular hymn touch someone's spirit? All of them lead you to consider God's Word as you face daily victories and challenges. There's something extraordinary about these devotional readings by Evelyn Bence. Put yourself in the hands of a masterful storyteller--who knows how to draw you in and draw you near.

The Christian practice of hymn singing, says renowned biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann, is a countercultural act. It marks the Christian community as different from an unforgiving and often ungrateful culture. It is also, he adds, an "absurd enterprise in the midst of the hyper-busy, market-driven society that surrounds us. In this helpful and engaging volume, Brueggemann discusses both why we sing and what we sing. The first part of the book examines the Psalms and what they can teach us about the reasons that corporate song is a part of the Christian tradition. The second part looks at fifteen popular hymns, including classic and contemporary ones such as Blest Be the Ties That Binds, God's Eye Is on the Sparrow, Once to Every Man and Nation, Someone Asked the Question, and We Are Marching in the Light of God, and the reasons why they have caught our imagination. To know why we sing, Brueggemann writes, may bring us to a deeper delight in our singing and a strengthened resolve to sing without calculation before the God who is enthroned on the praises of Israel (Ps. 22:3).

Can hymn-singing continue as a flourishing tradition with old and new coexisting comfortably alongside each other? Gillian Warson invites us to see that vintage hymn texts should be lovingly preserved so that they can be enjoyed for generations to come.