Erwin James lost his mother when he was seven. Shipped from home to home after his father turned to alcohol and violence, he committed his first crime of breaking and entering when he was ten. His petty crime turned increasingly violent, culminating in his convictions for murder, for which he was jailed for life at the age of 27.Entering prison, James struggled to come to terms with the enormity of his crimes and a future without purpose or hope. Then he met Joan, a prison psycholo...

During the nineteenth century, more than three hundred boats met their end in the steamboat graveyard that was the Lower Missouri River, from Omaha to its mouth. Although derided as little more than an "orderly pile of kindling," steamboats were, in fact, technological marvels superbly adapted to the river's conditions. Their light superstructure and long, wide, flat hulls powered by high-pressure engines drew so little water that they could cruise on "a heavy dew" even when fully loaded. ...

Born in Somerset in 1957 to itinerant Scottish parents, Erwin James lost his mother when he was seven. Shipped from home to home and subject to the whims of various caregivers after his father turned to alcohol and violence, he committed his first crime of breaking and entering when he was ten. His teenage and early adult years were spent drifting, and his petty crime turned increasingly violent, culminating in the terrible events for which he was jailed for life in 1984.Entering pr...

Family is not always a place of safety.Kathleen was just eight years old when her mother was tragically killed in a car accident. And when her father remarries it is to the bitter and resentful Irene who has two children of her own and no space in her heart for another. Irene goes out of her way to make Kathleen's life as miserable as possible and will stop at nothing to get her out of their lives…When Kathleen is sixteen, a shocking incident rocks the family, and life take...

A dramatic and terrifying memoir of a ‘catfish’ scenario – when a woman meets a man online but nothing is what it seems.25-year-old Megan Henley put her five-year-old daughter to bed one evening and switched on her laptop. A Facebook ‘friend request’ seemed to be genuine. There were a few common friends and very similar interests, so Megan accepted.With that one simple act, she changed her life forever. In her words: ‘looking back on it, it was as if I had opened my front d...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERIn his unique and engaging voice, the acclaimed actor of stage and screen shares the emotional story of his complicated relationship with his father and the deeply buried family secrets that shaped his life and career.A beloved star of stage, television, and film—“one of the most fun people in show business” (Time magazine)—Alan Cumming is a successful artist whose diversity and fearlessness is unp...

Charlotte Crosby has been one of the UK's best-loved TV stars since she burst onto the celeb scene in 2011 with Geordie Shore. Laugh-out-loud hilarious, genuine, and a proper Geordie, Charlotte's popularity has even seen her crowned winner of 2013's Celebrity Big Brother.With her trademark humour and warmth, in ME ME ME Charlotte takes us on a very unique journey through her eventful teenage years (where literally nothing is off limits!), her attempts at ...

The British comedian recounts the highs and lows of his wild years: "A gifted writer with a perfect sense of comic timing and anecdote-spinning . . . Lots of fun." — Kirkus ReviewsBy his early thirties, Stephen Fry—writer, comedian, star of stage and screen—had, as they say, "made it." Much loved on British television, author of a critically acclaimed and bestselling first novel, with a glamorous and glittering cast of friends, he had more work than was per...

'I defy anyone not to snort, howl and recoil' The Sunday Times**'Full of wicked asides, tart observations and sharp remarks that could only have originated in Graham Norton's witty brain.' Terry WoganLooking around the room I saw what life really was. It was made up of my passions. I saw my life reflected back at me. People I liked, people I loved, people I had shared half a century with. All the stories of my life were togeth...

“Your heart will break…then soar” (Redbook) when, far from the neon lights of the Vegas strip, three lives collide in a split-second mistake and a child’s fate hangs in the balance.Avis thought her marriage had hit a temporary rut. But with a single confession in the middle of the night, her carefully constructed life comes undone. After escaping a tumultuous childhood and raising a son, she now faces a future without the security of the home and family sh...

By turns, it is riotous, deeply serious, practical and sad. Reading it is like being at her kitchen table with a glass of wine to hand. (Daily Telegraph)Lynda Bellingham was a tremendously gifted storyteller with a rich collection of tales of love, loss and laughter and this memoir brings her kind heart, courage and emotion to the page in vivid detail. There's Something I've Been Dying To Tell You is a brave memoir about Lynda's battle with cancer, facing death sh...

RED MAGAZINE's BEST NEW AUTHORS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT NOW'It's no secret that psychological thrillers have been the big hitters of the literary world in recent years (remember Gone Girl anyone?). Well this debut from Aly Sigdwick is set to do the same.'Who is the Lullaby Girl?Found washed up on the banks of a remote loch, a mysterious girl is taken into the care of a psychiatric home in the Highlands of Scotland. Mute and covered in...