This is a thought-provoking work, capturing the march of time which overtook the maritime world in the last quarter of the 20th century. The final crumbling of the British register caused officers like Hall to find themselves in a strange new world, sailing under flags of convenience with all the old certainties of life at sea having vanished. There is both sadness and a rage at seeing a way of life disappear forever under the wheels of commerce, made more poignant by the author himself sw...

Simon Hall went to sea in search of a way of life that he believed was glamorous, adventurous and disciplined, a life where smartly-uniformed men ran ships in a tightly organised manner. At this time the British fleet was still one of the largest in the world and the Red Ensign a common sight in most large ports. In over three years as a Deck Cadet he explored this world and although he uncovered much of the magic of the sea, he also encountered brutality, exploitation, dizzying hard work ...

Simon Hall’s second book is set in the mid-1970s during the closing years of the golden age of British shipping, when cargo carriage at sea saw radical change and the romance of being at sea in old-style cargo ships came to an end. Hall’s account is of five years during which he worked as a junior officer in the Far East and South Pacific. This is no ordinary memoir; the prose is vividly expressed, often shocking, sometimes elegiac as evidenced by his description of a night watch in the In...

In the aftermath of the mysterious death of their lead singer, the young members of a now-legendary British acid folk band hole up at Wylding Hall, an ancient English country house with its own dark secrets. There they record Wylding Hall, the album that makes their reputation—but at a terrifying cost, when Julian Blake, their new lead singer, disappears within the mansion and is never seen again.Now, years later, each of the surviving musicians, their friends and lovers—i...

**I knew I was taking a risk loving a man like Julian Markham. But I thought that love was enough to cover over his darkness.I thought wrong.*****Ivy Leavold came to Markham Hall looking for a home and a new start, and instead she found the enigmatic Julian Markham--along with a love that threatened to consume them both. Now Mr. Markham is offering her a new life as his bride, as the mistress of Markham Hall, and Ivy wants nothing more than to say yes.But Iv...

I am alone.I am afraid.And I am completely his.When Ivy Leavold is left destitute by her brother's death, she is taken in by her cousin's brooding, tortured widower—Julian Markham. Handsome and possessive, it's not long before Ivy falls for him.But Mr. Markham has dark secrets, secrets that may put Ivy in danger…This collection of provocative gothic romances includes:The Awakening of Ivy ...

**I ran as far as I could, but I knew he would find me. In fact, I counted on it.I counted on him punishing me too.*****When Ivy Leavold ran away from Markham Hall on her wedding day, she knew that it wasn't the end. But what she didn't count on were the surprises, betrayals and horrors that awaited her outside of Mr. Markham's world.As for Julian Markham, he is determined to find his bride and win her back, but when the sins of his past return with a vengean...

Eighteen-year-old Clare Timms, desperate to earn money to help support her guardian Sarah, and stop them both being evicted from their cottage, goes to Breakheart Hall to plead with their landlord: the masterful Lucas Tolliver. To her amazement she is given the chance to save their home if she agrees to serve as a "Hall Pet". These are a secret stable of naked female sexual submissives and playthings, who are provided for the entertainment of both the Tolliver clan and the exclusive attend...

It had all the ingredients of a best-selling thriller the clandestine activities of mercenaries, an impossibly dare-devil plot to topple the regime of one of the worlds most corrupt countries; the boys own approach by arrogant old public school pupils and the controversy and intrigue from within governmental departments. Add in high-profile figures embroiled in the plot and the far-reaching repercussions and you have what was to become one of the most talked-about exploits of the twenty-fi...

**One empty bed.One bold plan.One tragedy that changes everything.*****Silas Cecil-Coke is not a man who is easily dissuaded. So when Molly leaves his bed without a word of goodbye, he is even more determined to save her from her enemies and claim her as his bride. But neither of them are prepared for the betrayals and tragedies that await them before they can even approach the altar...***The Wedding of Molly O'Flaherty is a 40,000 word novella...

**One empty bed.One bold plan.One tragedy that changes everything.*****Silas Cecil-Coke is not a man who is easily dissuaded. So when Molly O'Flaherty leaves his bed without a word of goodbye, he is even more determined to save her from her enemies and claim her as his bride.But neither of them are prepared for the betrayals and tragedies that await them before they can even approach the altar...

One playboy billionaire.One heartbroken heiress.One sham marriage.What could go wrong?—That's what notorious playboy Silas Cecil-Coke thinks as he returns to England to persuade Molly O'Flaherty to marry him.Certainly, their brief fling last year ended in heartbreak (and a black eye), but matters are different now. Molly must marry to save her company, and Silas is d...