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Last night I dreamt I was Emily BronteI was hanging linen on the line, washed the old-fashioned way ... Lost moments and memories provide a window onto a time before the present, a place where the past is full and vivid yet never quite within reach. This is a search for something missing but unknown, a farewell without being certain it is goodbye. Satya Bosman sets out on a journey through myth and relationships, interior lives and everyday moments, carrying an alluring feeling of connection that lingers on the edge of the senses as we ask - is this where I belong? Full of longing, Dream Logic opens the space between loss and renewal, where the idea of what might have been weaves through real memory, and becomes just as powerful. *Praise for Satya Bosman* ‘[Satya Bosman] brings to this debutthe assurance of a poet attuned to nuance and silence … Lyrical yetgrounded, Dream Logic invites readers to linger in the spaces betweenthings — where absence hums with meaning, and where the boundaries between thereal and the remembered dissolve into something tender, uncertain, and true’ – The Madrid Review  'Funny and odd and charming ... This felt alive, it carried me along and left me wanting more' - Ella Frears, judge of the Kent & Sussex Poetry Society Annual Folio Competition 2025 on her prize-winning entry About the Author:Satya Bosman is the founder and co-editor of the Black Cat Poetry Press. She has been featured in several publications including 14 Magazine, Acropolis Journal, The Lake, Porridge Magazine and The Storms Journal. Her poetry won Third Prize in the Kent & Sussex Poetry Society annual folio competition 2025 judged by Ella Frears.

'The nomad within and the journey call to me still ...' Travelling by road, rail and sea, and carrying everything she needs with her, including a healthy sense of the ridiculous, Caroline sets out in the 1970s on a lifelong adventure around the globe. This is a journey which will take in working in Libya, backpacking across Afghanistan, India and Thailand, and voyaging deep into the wild reaches of the Sahara Desert with just her husband Graham by her side in their ageing Land Rover. It's time to exchange sensible shoes for hiking boots; security, warmth, a comfy bed and food on her plate for adventure and the uncertainty of life on the road, as Caroline finds herself making tracks once again ... Humorous, warm and full of wild landscapes: this is the story of a lifelong journey that will make you want to pack your bags and follow in the footsteps of the Globetrotting Grandma

We were born into the no moreThe no more warm smell of a cattle shedmy grandfather's hands, worn and beatenbecame withered and pale, his buckets emptyfields aching with emptinessA stag runs into the forest, along the hedge and into the shadow of branches, carrying with it the trace of a memory. Time and nature have shaped the Forest of Dean - and the people who call it home. Always changing, this landscape carries the marks of every generation. Steeped in the scent of moss, Rose Day's debut collection is both a mourning and a celebration of the land, culture and history of the VorestWith illustrations by Jeremy Brookes About the author: Rose Day is a poet from the Forest of Dean. She began writing as a teenager, drawn to the quiet intensities of rural life and the emotional undercurrents that shape it. Her work has since appeared in several collections and has been recognised by awards including the shortlisting of Redemption Song for the Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize, her winning entry War Child for the Remarque Prize, and her short fiction Reminder for the Jane Austen House Museum programme. Vorest is her debut collection.

'We give it various names. Fey magic. Fell magic ...' 1947. A police manhunt is underway in the Marlborough Downs above Swindon. Their target is no ordinary suspect. When the soldiers came home, they brought something unexpected back with them - a spark of power in their fingertips - and the fearful public uses the language of fairy tales to describe it. Now a body has been found, partially transformed. He has been murdered by magic. Eleanor Elliot shares her firsthand account of events at her farm and the race to reveal the origins of this new era of enchantment. With footnotes by magical literature expert Helen E. Sutton Magic merges with mystery in an enchanting 1940s crime novel of transformation and illusion in the downlands of Wiltshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire - from the author of Bert's Books 2025 bestselling read SWINDON MOUNTAIN **Praise for Harriet Hitchen**'Unique and captivating''Definitely left its mark on me ... 5 stars''Fascinating''Absorbing'About the author: Harriet Hitchen is a former archaeological illustrator and writer. She has a degree in Fine Art, particularly focusing on figure painting. She loves to unpick the emotional stories behind the facts of great artworks and heritage locations, trips to London and exploring rambling country houses. Her first novel nude reimagines the secret life of a female Pre-Raphaelite artist. Swindon Mountain combines her passion for archaeology with Science Fiction. Fey Fell Fo Fum is her third novel. She lives near Cheltenham with her husband.

A man looks back on his life so far and finds he can chart each moment by the presence of a cat. Old friends at a twenty-year reunion confidently tell different versions of the same tales. A boy remembers playing with lead farmyard animals. While in another time, a soldier at Troy tries to explain a very dubious battle plan. As we grow older, we treasure our memories, but how real are they? Brilliant, funny and sometimes evoking Michael Bartlett's life and long career in radio and television, each of the people within these pages has a story to tell ... 'Memories they may be but that does not make them true ...' A powerful, humorous and thoroughly surprising exploration of the past we treasure **Praise for Michael Bartlett**'A beautiful read. Made me smile and bought a tear to my eye''Gentle and wise''Poignant''Definitely a book to recommend to others''Utterly engaging''Difficult to put down''It feels totally true and is just what we all need''Some of the best stories are quests ... This is a book to make everyone think twice about easy assumptions' author SIMON BRETT

'The tradition of stand and deliver is older than we might have thought ...' For centuries, the roads of Oxfordshire were the haunt of highwaymen and footpads. From Elizabethan villains to famous names such as Dick Turpin, Captain Hind and Claude Duval, traces of their stories survive in historical documents and even their own testimonies. But who were these elusive rogues of the road? Who held up a duchess from the household of King Charles I? How did a ghost pull off his largest crime? And which band of brothers made robbing the highways their family business? Take a journey from Oxford to Banbury, through the wilds of Wychwood Forest, to Henley-on-Thames, Abingdon and Wantage, into Witney's inns, and even through the doors of Britain's oldest university. Four hundred years after the term highwayman was first coined, meet Oxfordshire's rogues of the road

On 27 September 1825, the steam engine known as Locomotion No.1 hauled the first passenger train on the opening day of the Stockton & Darlington Railway - paving the way for modern rail travel and reshaping the British landscape for ever. Celebrating 200 years of railway journeys, sixteen authors take a journey through personal memories, history and poetry. Join them on an adventure into the past glory of steam and engine sheds, along heritage lines and 21st century main lines, through feats of British engineering, the rise of diesel and electric, and aboard the famed Orient Express. A glorious pocketbook of 200 years of rail travel told through memoir and verse, with photographs 'The constant clatter, a manmade steel lullabyA gentle sway of carriages as changing landscapes rattle by ...' Featuring Diana Alexander, James Armstrong, CarolineBradley, Myles Cutler, Bronwen R. Evans, Asma Khan, Rebecca McDowall, Sally Mills,Jeff Nicholls, F. David Potter, Graham Powell, Margaret Royall, Stuart Samuel,Anne Swan, Tim Taylor and Julie Wiltshire

'I had to give in and stop working because I really wasn't well. This is where things start to become a little hazy in my memory ...' Over a year has passed since Lockdown, and Jen Higgs has managed to continue working at a children's day nursery without contracting COVID-19. Then, in late 2021, she receives the news she has been dreading. An infant at the nursery has tested positive - and now, after an anxious wait for her own test results, so has she. Two weeks later, Jen is deteriorating fast. She is admitted to hospital with pneumonia, which quickly leads to sepsis, multiple organ failure and a stroke. While doctors warn her mother, Steph, that she has narrowing chances of survival, Jen is experiencing the disorientation of a medically induced coma in intensive care. Through the long months of illness and fear, the kindness of the nurses and doctors shines through. They chart her progress by asking one reoccurring question: can you tell me where you are? A story of hope and recovery, resilience and healing - told through Jen and Steph's personal memories, and diary extracts from the NHS medical team in ICU Full of heartache and hopefulness, this book is a tale of family, sharing strength and enduring love even when they can't be together. It is also a stunning portrait of the people who work in intensive care, the kindness and the attention to detail, even when the patient is unable to respond.

A pumpkin-flavoured fairy tale Princess Talia isn't like the other princesses on Plenty of Palaces Lane. Everyone talks about her (and what they say isn't very nice). When Queen Edwina of The Posh Peacock Palace decides to throw a Halloween party for her son, Prince Theo, Princess Talia isn't invited. But Princess Talia decides to take matters into her own hands. She's going to make her mum's magical recipe for Halloween treats, and sneak in wearing a disguise. What could possibly go wrong ...? An adorably unconventional fairy tale about being yourself and making friends, featuring a rebellious princess, a Halloween party, and a recipe for magic! “I don’t have any friends on this lane, but tonight, if I get all the ingredients right, that is all going to change!”

Guildford, 1626 'He'll lead this country to disaster if he gets his hands on enough money ...' From the sanctuary of Alice Jerrard's crumbling home, High Stoke, the deadly schemes at the heart of the court of King Charles I seem very far away. But a carriage accident on the nearby road to London has filled her home with stranded passengers, and with them comes a hunt for a dangerous cargo. Lord Hardcastle and his companions may be carrying more than just domestic items from Paris. And Lord Buckingham, adviser to the new King of England, is relentless in his pursuit of a treasure which could unseat Charles's young French queen. Alice must be on her guard - for the battlelines are being drawn, and someone in her household is dreaming of betrayal ... The fourth page-turning mystery, filled with royal intrigue**READER REVIEWS**'Couldn't put it down ... A fantastic read''Mesmerising''Couldn't put it down!''Authentic detail carefully crafted ... absorbing'

1973 Hoping to reclaim the peace of her rural childhood, Margo moves with her husband to a remote corner of Gloucestershire. She is following her dream of working with horses, but finding her feet in this scattered community is harder than she thought. The horses are highly strung Arabs, the previous groom seems to haunt every shadow, and her neighbours have some very peculiar customs. Now something sinister may be roaming the village at night. Life in this strange place is turning out to be very different from the dream ... Warm, unflinching and funny. This is rural life stripped bare **Praise for Mary Griese** 'Beautifully written with clear knowledge of farm life''Tense, funny ... Completely transporting''Funny, beautifully written''This book will stay with you''Gripping, full of heart, like nothing you've read before''Refreshing''You use language like paint, with an attention to light and shade' - BERYL BAINBRIDGE

An account of the citizens of the town through their Misdeeds, Thefts, foul crimes against their Betters, petty Arguments, Breaches of the peace and Tales of Drunkenness in the oldest INNs of the Place. From the mid 18th century through to the early 20th century, the Gloucestershire town of Northleach has boasted its fair share of criminals. Drawn from archives and legends, Deri Marshall uncovers their stories. How did a coach driver foil a robbery? What happened on election day in 1845? And who was sentenced to hard labour in the infamous Northleach gaol? With maps and photographs of the principal locations Northleach boasts an extraordinarily well-preserved prison, built in 1792 and seeing continual use throughout the Victorian period. This pocketbook history is a fascinating insight into law and order in rural England. A brilliant pocketbook full of the misdeeds of the citizens of a Victorian town

'After the war, the country got back to the Season when young ladies were on show like the racehorses in the paddock prior to a race ...' In 1940s England, three generations of women share their stories. The youngest of them is being prepared for a good marriage. She navigates life at a country boarding school. She takes lessons on deportment at a prestigious Finishing School, and gets ready to be launched onto the marriage market as an elegant debutante.  But determined and independent, this young woman wants a different life. Can she follow her own path and find freedom?  Inspired by true events  A glorious fictionalised memoir of a young woman’s journey through wartime schooling, Finishing School, the London Season as a debutante, and more  With poetry from present day life on Dragonfly Lane 'Give me the mountains, those great craggy peaksWhere the air is brilliant and the silence speaks' About the author: Anne Swan's childhood was idyllic, with dogs and ponies, happy schools and holidays abroad. Her work as a secretary both in the UK and overseas was interesting and enjoyable. Later, she was happily married. Anne is also a pianist and composer.

Laetitia is quietly enjoying her life in England with her husband and children. She is settled and happy. Her childhood connection to France lies in the past, fading and almost forgotten. Then her mother becomes ill, sinking into a prolonged hospital stay while her life hangs in the balance. Laetitia abruptly finds herself returning regularly to Paris to be by her side. What begins as a moment of necessity becomes a journey of transformation - an adventure into her roots, and an opportunity to reconnect with the parts of herself she thought she had lost for ever. A gorgeous, healing poetry collection about travel and finding ourselves in the places we thought we had left behind 'I will remember my time here for everMy time in no woman's landSuspended between two livesFor a very brief hour' About the author:Laetitia Devic started writing when she was eight years old. Born in Paris, she has lived in the UK since 1995 and now lives in Wiltshire with her husband, two children and cat. An avid reader of literary fiction and memoir, Between Two Lives / Entre Deux Vies is her first poetry collection.  *This collection is written in English with French vocabulary and references*

'Sweet? thought Snowy. I am in my prime. A cat of distinction ...'  In the village of Dinglefield, twenty-nine cats share their world with their humans and three dogs. This is a completely satisfactory ratio in the minds of the feline population.  But the addition of two rescue cats, misunderstandings with their Two Legs (the cats’ term for their humans) and the antics of a passing stray means that their comfortable lives are about to get much more complicated.  Find a comfortable armchair and settle down with this community’s most important residents 'It seems that the Two Legs of this world fall into two camps – they are either Cat People or Dog People ...'

A mountain unexpectedly appears in the Marlborough Downs, overshadowing the city of Swindon. It arrives quietly, straddling the boundary between Oxfordshire and West Berkshire. It looks as if it has always been there. But it hasn't. No one knows where it has come from. Clare Holworth joins an archaeological investigation alongside a multi-agency team tasked with understanding and managing the site - before public pressure grows out of control and the truth is lost in the stampede for the summit. 'The mountain appeared overnight behind that ridge. It arrived five months ago without fuss or storm or earthquake' Science Fiction merges with archaeology in this sublime exploration of mystery, landscape and personal rediscovery **As seen in New Scientist's 'The best new science fiction books of February 2025'****Bestselling Book of the Year 2025 at Bert's Books, Swindon - independent bookshop** PRAISE FOR HARRIET HITCHEN'Definitely left its mark on me ... 5 stars''Fascinating''Absorbing' Original Paperback edition with artboard cover with flaps, and archaeological maps created by the author.