From Thrillers to Fantasy
Grief in Brief
One man shares his journey through grief in the hope it will help others.
HOW DO YOU COPE when a loved one dies? When your life seems to have stopped but the world expects you to ‘just man up’ and ‘get on with it’?
In GRIEF in BRIEF former journalist, television producer and business owner John Harris shares his journey of grief following the death of his wife of 40 years and mother of his four children. He offers practical tips on coping with loneliness, loss and despair.
- Using bullet point headings, ‘GRIEF in BRIEF’ is a practical go-to guide for anyone who has lost a loved one.
John comments: This book is my modest but heartfelt contribution to the literature already available on the subject of grief. I hope it will go part of the way to meeting the immediate needs of people, especially men, who cannot face the idea of reading a long book on grief but want some pointers on how to cope with the crushing pain of the loss of a loved one.
It is very personal. I have related my own experiences in the belief that these have more impact than generic advice.
The Grumpy Mole gets a Digger
In the first book, The Grumpy Mole, the old mole learnt to laugh instead of growling – thanks to the kindness of the tiny forest creatures. In The Grumpy Mole gets a Digger, the mole has his friends come to afternoon tea. Fairies and butterflies, beetle and bee. His house looks quite crowded – he’d like it much bigger. So he goes into town and comes home with a digger. That’s when the problems begin. He doesn’t accept any driving lessons, and promptly crashes the digger through his front door. Then he buries the ladybird, one of his small friends, in the mud. He digs the beetle out, looking a bit flatter than before but not badly hurt. He decides the advice of his friends was wise – his claws are quite adequate. So he sends the digger back to the shop. “My claws saved the day,” he declares, “and my friends are all happy.”
The Grumpy Mole
A Story about Kindness for Youngsters.
The Grumpy Mole is a delightful story about kindness and forgiveness, written by John Evan Harris and beautifully illustrated by Minky Stapleton (Roo and Vladimir, Nanas with No Manners). It’s a magical story in rhyme, aimed at 2 – 5 year-olds.
The story: The grumpy old mole wants nothing to do with the tiny forest creatures who pass by his door each day. But when he falls sick, the cheerful little fairies and mice get busy and spring clean his house. Their kindness sparks a change of heart in the grumpy mole.
The Grumpy Mole is fun for parents to read aloud, and children will find cute characters hiding on each page.
Henry Appleton Boy Hero and the Burgess Gang
(Adventure for middle-grade readers): Bank robbers, classroom bullies, highwaymen, and a rampaging bull. The challenges Henry Appleton faces, as he struggles to stand up for what he believes in, make this a classic ‘cowboy’ yarn.
The American dime novelist Johnny Slick, who met Henry Appleton and also attended Richard Burgess’s hanging, writes his own version of Henry’s adventures from an early age up to the trial and hanging. They are ‘mostly true’ but embellished for his young readers.
The Physician’s Gun
(Adventure – inspired by actual events): Young Henry Appleton, starting a new life in a New Zealand goldrush town, is drawn into a web of evil and temptation and must fight to save his soul. The infamous highwayman Richard Burgess insists he is Henry’s birth father, and offers Henry a place in his murderous gang. (Download a sample chapter from the FREE STUFF page!)
The Girl and the Guardian
(Family adventure): Headstrong Shelley Arkle (15) is drawn into the mythical land of Aeden. Waiting for her is a grim Guardian knight Lord Korman the Outcast, and together they set out to find the Arcra Nama, the lost Heartstone, and restore it to the Tree of Life. They are hunted not just by the Thornmen, but also Shelley’s own devious brother. One of her few allies is Quickblade, the leader of the Boy Raiders. This is a journey of wonder, love and transformation in the midst of terror, through the enchanted labyrinth of Aeden. (Written by Peter Harris, original story by John Harris.)
The Nautilus Project
(Thriller): Rebellious young computer games addict Arthur Pike is summoned by his mega-rich grandfather to help develop a revolutionary computer. Arthur drawn into the heady world of cutting-edge software which promises to change the world. It gets even better when he meets Tess, daughter of a mysterious Maori survivalist. But then he stumbles on a shocking secret. The computer is actually a living sea creature, a Giant Nautilus, imprisoned in a subterranean chamber. An international terrorist organisation, INC, has heard about the Nautilus Project too, and is on its way to steal it. Arthur resolves to defy both INC and his grandfather and, with Tess’s help, to set the Nautilus free. (Written by Peter Harris, story by John Harris.)
