Synopsis:

What would life be like if Florence Nightingale had been marked absent from history?

We would all be living twenty fewer years, for a start. This would mean Howard Carter would die in 1919 meaning that he wouldn't be around in 1922 to discover Tutankhamun so would resort to increasingly desperate measures to locate King Tut at least three years early.

Neville Chamberlain would need to be declaring 'Peace in our time' before 1920 as opposed to 1938.

The world would be devoid of soap operas and The Nightingale Pledge would be just another furniture polish.

Florence Nightingale Marked Absent also explores other routes the greatest pioneer of modern nursing would've taken had she been derailed from the one she is famous for. Had she done the exact opposite she would've been responsible for the introduction of 'Fast Food' and 'Couch Potatoes' to the nineteenth century, but not as we associate those terms today.
The option of her doing something similar is also examined in the form of her becoming a wheel clamper, so that she becomes known as 'The Lady with the Clamp' and she becomes famous in the Crimean War, not for her effective nursing, but for putting the brakes on 'The Charge of the Light Brigade'.

These, and many more, outcomes are investigated in humorous and entertaining style as the conclusion is reached that holograms of Peter Brough with Archie Andrews, Harry Houdini and Donald Campbell are needed to be sent back to 1844 to ensure that Florence Nightingale isn't marked absent from history.

What They're Saying About The Marked Absent Series:
☆'Absolutely Riveting.' Gustave Eiffel.
☆'Highly Readable.' Sir Edmund Hillary.
☆'The best I've read this year.' Mark Twain January 1st, 1886.
☆'I couldn't tear myself away from it....That's the last time I chain myself to railings near a bookshop.' Emmeline Pankhurst.
☆'A real page burner.' Joan of Arc.
☆'I couldn't put it down.' Neil Armstrong aboard Apollo 11 in 1969.
☆'This series transcends many boundaries. I haven't removed it from my travel bag yet.' Alexander The Great.
☆'I couldn't start reading it.' Arnold Dyslexia, 1844.
☆'These books went down well with everyone on board.' Captain Smith, RMS Titanic, 1912.
☆'I've recommended this series to all of my friends....Ah, here come four of them now.' Thomas Beckett.
☆'The author has a gift for comic writing. I've been tasked with finding where he's hidden it.' Sherlock Holmes.
☆'These books cannot be beaten. They prop up my driver's seat nicely.' Juan Manguel Fangio.
☆'So engrossing that I had to put the iron curtaining on hold.' Joseph Stalin.

Previous Titles in the Series:
1. Boudicca Marked Absent.

Forthcoming Titles in the Series:
Horatio Nelson Marked Absent 
Isambard Kingdom Brunel Marked Absent 
Sir Walter Raleigh Marked Absent 
Warwick the Kingmaker Marked Absent 
William Shakespeare Marked Absent 
Isaac Newton Marked Absent 
Charles Darwin Marked Absent 
Plus more to follow.

Synopsis:

Second of the Alien Artifact books, this novel is set in the 2070’s, on the same past and future time track as The Man Who Conquered Mars and Titus Andronicus Scott. This story transports the reader billions of miles across the Solar System, from Earth, to Mars, to Callisto and to Luna. With Augie Rodriguez, Boy Scout, Mars Colonist, mutineer, inventor, reluctant diplomat, chess player and math genius as your guide, you will learn more about the purpose of an alien structure discovered on Mars 25 years earlier. You will be present at the invention of a new propulsion system for spacecraft and witness a revolution as the extraterrestrial colonies break free of their Earth-side masters. While on a diplomatic mission, Augie is kidnapped by desperate men who wish to abort that mission. How their plot is unraveled is both exciting and thought provoking. Interwoven with interplanetary intrigue is the story of a young man whose strength of character is tested when he finds himself confronted with problems that would challenge the most world-wise. This book is hard science fiction and as such utilizes the most current information regarding planetary science, rocketry and the solar system. Enjoy the action, intrigue, romance and science that fill this exciting story.

Synopsis:

When family history turns into life or death….

In 1940, a British tanker was sunk in the Indian Ocean and the crew taken aboard a German surface raider. In the close confines of the ship, a secret mission, undertaken on the instructions of Heinrich Himmler, is revealed.

When Tom McLean discovers the journal recording his Grandfather’s time as a merchant seaman, he embarks on a mission to follow the trail left for him, and to find the location of the secret that was so important to the Nazi leader.

As Tom searches for information online, it soon becomes evident that he is not the only one interested in the movements of the ship on which his Grandfather was transported to North Africa as a prisoner of war.

What begins as a harmless interest in his Grandfather’s memoirs becomes a dangerous and frightening chase, with Tom having to decide who he can trust and who is out to double-cross and kill him in order to preserve a secret.

The action takes Tom from his home in Cheshire to the Greek Islands and eventually to the Egyptian desert where, at last, an old wrong is finally put right.

Synopsis:

The second and final part of the first book sees Ted Friend and Dan go much deeper into the strange World in Between in their quest to get back the Magic Jumper and save his home, Snowflake Mountain, from the evil witch Blacky and her army of bad tempered Ex-Men. The journey is bound to be dangerous and difficult, and help will be needed for sure, but could it be the witch has her own race against time? All secrets will be revealed as the strands of our action packed story join. Please read part two of Ted Friend and the Magic Jumper for the ride of a lifetime.

What some people said about part one:

“I loved the book and I’m a grown up (albeit with a vivid imagination and a love of fantasy)! From start to finish it is a fun adventure and I really wasn’t expecting to enjoy it quite as much as I did. I review many different types of book and thank the author for making this one so enjoyable. A truly fun read” (Maria Fitzgerald, Teddy Bear Times , May 2014)

“I was enchanted by this story, a real roller coaster adventure and I can’t wait to read part two” (Falkirk Herald, August 2014)

“Huge fun… I can see it’s funky and tongue-in-cheek and I’m sure Ted Friend will find many admirers among its target readership” (Tim Bowler, Carnegie Medal winning children’s author of twenty books, via email September 2014)

Synopsis:

Sophia awakens to find herself on a deserted beach, with no memory of how she arrived nor any idea how to get home. She doesn’t yet realize she’s landed in an esoteric world populated by ghosts from her past, a fallen angel with a slow Southern drawl and a quick temper, as well as a beautiful woman who may, or may not, be the mother of all creation.

Aided by a handsome young man and a band of demigods, she embarks on an allegorical journey to correct psychological damage accrued over the course of a lifetime. Sophia needs to move forward and conquer her past in order to create the life she wants to live.

Synopsis:

What really happens in the heart of Brittany to everyday ex-pats?

We have all read the ‘air brushed’ versions of the idyllic lifestyle down in southern France and the ramblings of some authors with their cosy life in their rural retreats, and the plethora of escapism TV programs cleverly edited to make more exciting viewing!

But let us scratch beneath the surface as we follow the Taylor’s from their mundane lifestyle in the UK to France.

What will be the fallout when “white van man” and his family arrive in a tiny hamlet in a small Brittany village? Will they upset the French locals or will there be more sparks flying from other ex-pats!

A White Van Man is probably better known as a ‘Jack of all Trades’ in the US, a bit of a ‘Jack the Lad’. There is also a series on BBC 3 called White Van Man which is coming to the US. The main character in the book Barry, is very much a ‘White Van Man’

How much strain will it put on their relationship, will they cope in a foreign country with so many different laws and idiosyncrasies?

The Taylor’s in France will give you a real insight into the real rural, ex-pats lives, so sit back open a nice bottle of French wine and enjoy the ride.

Synopsis:

This is a story about a llama, who escapes from a wildlife park, and a girl who tries to find him.  It’s a lot more complicated than that, of course; furniture vans, the Police, Scotland, golf courses, sheep, underground rivers and bouncy castles are also involved, but that wouldn’t all fit on here.  So, you’ll have to read it, to find out what it’s all about. Good luck!