Showing results by narrator "Billie Fulford Brown" in All Categories

Best friends Mary Lennox, Sara Crewe, and Cedric Erroll are best friends. And thank goodness, since their boarding school is basically insufferable. When one of the friends suffers a personal tragedy, a plan—and a secret—change everything for the trio...for good.

1928: Edward Somers, passing the winter at the Hôtel de Corniche on the French Riviera, happens upon a nearby villa within which lives the elusive and beautiful Countess Katerina. Despite the fact she does not seem to be allowed visitors, he manages to forge a friendship and the pair grow closer and closer. But Edward cannot help but wonder: why is she confined to the villa, guarded by a man with a rifle? Who is observing her with a telescope? Why is she so reluctant to be photographed?

These 16 short tales delve into realms of existential investigation, from dark horror and science fiction futures to fantastical flights of scientific wonder. Each story is a self-contained world of its own, a moment in time that illuminates a thought, a person, an experience or a curiosity.

When her identical twin dies, 17-year-old Willow’s life falls apart. With her parents’ marriage faltering, she finds escape at her Uncle Joe’s cottage. But even as they begin to get to know each other, Willow is plagued with memories of her sister. Then Lucas arrives in her life - troubled, angry, and with a dangerous past. Joe’s cottage is idyllic, but the forest is filled with secrets. What is Joe hiding from her? What events have brought Lucas to her door? And who is the Slaughter Man who steals through Willow’s sleep?

For Londoner Fern King, Annwn is her second home—the dream mirror of London, the city she loves. An astonishing world, a world where Dreamers walk in their slumber, their dreams playing out all around them. And Fern, along with her twin brother Ollie, is now a Knight, a trusted guardian and protector of those Dreamers—and every night is spent in Annwn, fulfilling that previously only-imagined destiny to guard those who sleep.

Fifteen-year-old Londoner Fern is about to uncover a place that she could not have imagined in all her wildest dreams. Annwn is the dream mirror of our world, a place where dreamers walk in their slumber, their dreams playing out all around them. An enchanted, mysterious place that feeds our own world - as without dreams, without a place where our imaginations and minds can be nourished, what kind of humans would we be? But Annwn is a place as full of dangers as it is wonders: it is a place where dreams can kill you.

The heir to the Land should be strong. Fierce. Ruthless. At least, that’s what Beau’s father has been telling him his whole life, since Beau is the exact opposite of what the heir should be. With little control over his future, Beau is kept locked away, just another pawn in his father’s quest for ultimate power. That is, until Beau meets a girl who shows him the secrets his father has kept hidden.

Centuries and centuries ago, the Vale was split in two in a war between witches. Ever since, an evil darkness has been climbing, climbing, climbing out of the Break, infecting everything it touches. The people of the Vale fight it with discs made of lightning - and with an ancient spell. Brier Skystone is the youngest, most talented lightning harvester the Vale’s ever seen. Her twin sister, Thorn, is a sensitive artist who’s braver than even she knows. And young Queen Celestyna Hightower is determined to be Mender of the Break.

The Victorian era is remembered for many things, but one of the fondest is the wide and varied array of short ghostly, suspenseful tales...often enjoyed around the fireside at Christmastime. In this new anthology, Billie Fulford-Brown performs four of the very best, all written by incredibly talented but oft-times overlooked or forgotten female authors.

You know what's best for your child. Don't you? Riley Pieterson is an adventurous girl with lots of questions. There's plenty she doesn't know yet: What a human brain looks like. All the constellations in the night sky. Why others can't see her the way she sees herself. When Riley confides in her parents - Sally and Theo - that she feels uncomfortable in her own skin, a chain of events begins that changes their lives forever. Sally wants to support her daughter by helping her be who she dreams of being. Theo resists; he thinks Riley is a seven-year-old child pushing boundaries.

A spin-off from the bestselling Blackthorn series by Lindsay J. Pryor, set in Lowtown, the neighbouring district to Blackthorn. The product of a brutal class system, the dark, gritty world of Lowtown will grip you and never let you go. Every few days the handsome stranger comes into the café in Lowtown for an hour at a time. Most of the time he keeps himself to himself - one drink and he leaves. Sometimes people meet with him but about what remains elusive, the edge of mystery and danger adding to his allure....

Lana Crewe is a strong, fiercely driven 17-year-old living in a village ruled by fear. With their king and queen both dead, strife and division have taken hold. Ruthlessly attacked by an order called Talons, Lana's father is fatally stabbed. Before he dies, he imparts upon Lana a directive to save the statue of Saint Peter and tells her that the queen yet lives. Now it is up to Lana to unravel the mystery of Saint Peter and bring an end to all of the war by finding the queen.

When Amelia arrives at Nexum House she sparks the fire of revolution. Daughter of a gambler and a scientist, the 16-year-old wants revenge for her parents' murder. But not just against the killers. Amelia wants to start a catalyst that will change the world.

Mary Draper knows she is a normal, gap-toothed schoolgirl--until her sleep disorder is brought to light, she dreams her cat can talk like a toff, she learns how to use the camera obscura and wishing steps, and she rescues her Victorian friend, a suspected jewel thief. The reason: Mary Draper can time travel!

In a world filled with stunning clones Mina Hart is Blemished. Her genes are worthless and that takes away her rights: her right to an education, her right to a normal life, and her right to have a child. Mina keeps a dangerous secret which she never thought she could share until she meets Angela on her first day at St Jude's School.

Adolf Hitler's secret mistress, an upstanding member of the British aristocracy, gives birth to a daughter. The child is whisked away at infancy and raised as an orphan. She is protected from the truth concerning her origins, but that doesn't prevent the remnants of Hitler's scattered empire from seeking her out as part of a plot to reignite their dream of conquering Europe. Enter into our drama the starchy, conservative Jean Hastie, an art historian and official for the Scottish National Trust.

Seventeen-year-old Frankie is obsessed with what everyone else is thinking. She can keep up with the chat - from feminism to boys with tattoos - but when it comes to her own ideas, it's not so easy to hide her lack of confidence. With the help of her best friend, Haruna, Frankie forms a punk-rock girl band to attract the attention of Doc - her spiky-haired, joint-smoking ex-boyfriend. She's got it all sorted: the Instagram page is live, the handmade posters are everywhere, and the band even has a first gig lined up (even if they are playing to a handful of retired bingo fans).

Alexia Falls is 18, living in her parents' New York penthouse and working with superstar boy band The Keep. But with her heart set on independence and a career behind the camera, she trades it all for a take-it-or-leave-it internship at London's Bright Star Productions. There, she meets fellow intern Greta. Greta's East End upbringing couldn't have been more different from Alexia's, but she's every bit as hungry for her big break. But both girls have secrets.

Amelie Ayres has impeccable taste in music. Bowie. Bush. Bob. So when she finds herself backstage at The Keep’s only UK gig, she expects to hate it; after all, they are the world’s most tragic band. In fact, she feels a grudging respect - not (obviously) for their music, but for the work that goes into making them megastars. But the next morning she wakes up, rolls over, and discovers a million new mentions on social media. Overnight, a photo of her backstage has made her the subject of global speculation.

1940. Guernsey is first bombed, then occupied, by the Germans. A year earlier, young, naive and recently married Helene waves good-bye to her husband, who has enlisted in the British army. Protected only by her father and Nanna, Helene must carve out a life on the island for the length of the war. Forty years later, her daughter Roz begins a search for the truth about her father and stumbles into the secret history of her mother's life.