Böcker utgivna av Sid Harta Publishers

Felix Schmidt is backpacking on the Camino de Santiago when he meets the love of his life, the beautiful French Pascaline. He brings her back to Australia where he joins a new firm of management consultants. Deeply engrossed in the company's growth, he neglects Pascaline. She believes his addiction has reduced him as a person, wearies of his obsessive workaholism and returns to France.Felix pines for his lost love, but as the company expands, he advances into management and is totally immersed. Disillusioned that ambition has seduced him to climb a ladder that leads to nowhere, that forces him to inflict pain and make decisions he abhors, he loathes the character he has become. Eventually, he quits his work.Once free of responsibility, he aims to win back Pascaline, but first he must work on himself to restore his former undistorted self. With trepidation he returns to France, anxious about the person he will find in Pascaline.

Paul Arnold, CSIRO scientist, pays $1000 for sex with Rachel Doyle, prostitute from Northern Ireland who has a technique no other prostitute can match. Rachel escapes from Derry to Brisbane after a client threatens an acid attack.Here she meets up with Fergus Burrows who is living in Brisbane.At a barbecue hosted by Fergus, Rachel meets Matthew, who after paying $500 for sex, offers Rachel $20,000 to relaunch her career in Australia. The offer has serious strings attached. Paul has divorced his wife Louise, who returned to Cowra to live with her parents and two sons. Paul switches his research from physics to biology to follow a path to reduce the need for abortions. When Paul sees Rachel, her bodyguard Steve, recognises Paul and pursues him.

An underlying motivation for my writing this book flows from a desire to understand God and His divine creation. We can only marvel that the genesis of God's work In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1) has endured throughout the world today, even amid the evil and devastation around us. I have sought to return to the 'beginning' to research the human journey in order to discover the many people who have worked to bring goodness, love, and advancement through their discoveries to countless lives throughout the ages. Commencing at the beginning, I became aware that the Pentateuch revealed to me a relationship with the world as we know it today. These five books, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, together with other biblical references, completely cover the works of God and His creativity from prior to our existence to the present age. One can be in awe at human endeavour and achievements from Creation to the present time! These questions could be asked: How could we mortals have created so many amazing edifices with such primitive tools? How could artists paint amazing pictures and mosaics throughout the centuries, with such a limited palette? How is it that the great works of literature and epic writings from prior to the invention of the printing press survived, not only during the period of Creation, and that much is still around for all to enjoy today? I will seek to address these questions and many more as I explore the breathtaking musical achievements that have taken place throughout the ages.

The highly decorated pilot, Squadron Leader Charles Scherf, returns home to take up his role of father, husband and heir to the wealthy family estate in northern NSW.It is post-war Australia. A war has been won but for some the battle has just begun. Violent energies within and without infect the whole family and especially the young daughter born when the father was at war. There is a pushback from the snobbish, small-minded community and Charles begins to free fall into a mysterious, early death. In this culture of intolerance and misogyny there is no place for unheralded heroes, women left behind or fatherless children. It is through the eyes of the daughter, that this gritty, true Australian drama is played out. How far will she go to find the answers ?"The living must go on.They continue to live in order to make sense of the dead."

A contract killing on a remote coastal track. A deadly boat explosion occurs in nearby waters soon afterwards.Are the two connected?Meanwhile, Angelina makes an audacious escape with the assistance of her underworld connections and continues her ruthless agenda. To follow is a chain of events that, when unravelled, shocks Nic Drakos to the core and links him inextricably to Elena Perez, imprisoned by Angelina on the other side of the world. But can he believe a word she says, or is this another one of Angelina's ploys to lure him out of hiding and into a trap? As Nic uncovers the truth, it becomes a race against time to save Elena's life. But will he be too late?

The Kenyan bush is breathtakingly beautiful but potentially deadly without the honed skills of a highly trained marksman and experienced "white hunter". Gavin has all the skills needed to run his highly regarded safari tours, but does he have the skills to deal with the additional challenges thrown at him while on safari with Sir William and his beautiful wife? The unexpected keeps happening, including the unscheduled arrival of a fashion model and some unsavoury criminals.

Alyssa has begun a career as a counsellor at the upmarket Donald Clinic for mental health. To her dismay, this proves an increasingly treacherous environment and lives are in danger. Can she discover the truth about what is really going on before it is too late? After all, Alyssa's own name even means "Truth". Yet everywhere she turns, all she finds are lies. For the sake of her own survival, the truth about the Donald Clinic needs to be uncovered.Why then is Alyssa not telling the truth either? Why is she not forthcoming about the deaths associated with her own past? What is she hiding? Is everyone at this clinic a liar? Are we about to discover the most frightening truth of all: the truth about Alyssa? The truth about the Truth. Alyssa should have been dead by now, but she's not.Just don't mess with her.

To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself.Soren KierkegaardIt is often said that the most important relationship we have in life is the one we have with ourselves. Within this idea is a path of self-discovery and self-understanding in relationships with others - implying that our best life teachers are those with whom we have the closest connections. In this collection of poems, the author reveals her trajectory of self-understanding - evolving from a deliberate conscious desire to fulfil her potential to love and be loved. She gives herself permission to experience the risks as well as the joys that would inevitably ensue. The collection provides glimpses into a life-altering journey as it flows from 'deep and reflective' poems in Part I, to the 'hopes and dreams' love poems of Part II, and the 'light and joyful' connections with nature in Part III. An opportunity to create her own large expansive garden on top of a hill in sub-tropical Queensland, allowed the author to become fully immersed in nature's abundant gifts - perceptually, physically and metaphysically - thereby finding unexpected treasures within herself.

WARD OF THE STATE - AIR FORCE - BRITISH NUCLEAR TESTS VETERAN - COLD WAR DIPLOMAT - BUSINESS This is a true-life story told by a man who believes that despite his start in life he succeeded in reaching the almost impossible goals he set for himself. There is much to interest the reader: Domestic and child abuse - Ward of the state - Orphanages - RAAF service, British nuclear tests at Maralinga, Office of the Air Attaché, Washington, DC, USA; and Foreign Service at embassies in Moscow, USSR in the '60s and again in the '70s, at Santiago de Chile, and the Consulate-General in Chicago, USA, and Business.The author spent his formative years in orphanages run by the Christian Brothers in Western Australia. After serving in the Royal Australian Air Force, he travelled, lived and worked in western Canada, and Washington, DC with the Office of the Air Attaché, Joint Staff HQ. He served with the Department of Foreign affairs (DFA) with postings to Moscow, Santiago de Chile, Chicago, and Moscow again, until being declared persona non grata by the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs after which he continued his career with the DFA back in Australia. After retiring from DFA, he had a successful career in business as a restauranteur on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia, and later managed several film and video companies. His last business before retiring was as Agency Head of the French company Bollé in Queensland. After working as a volunteer, he returned to the workforce and joined the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in Brisbane. He now works with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and the Department of Foreign Affairs as a Protocol Officer facilitating the visits of royalty, foreign presidents, prime ministers, and foreign ministers to Australia.

Joe Burnett was living the dream; retired young from the corporate world and volunteering with his local fire brigade. It didn't last.First the black summer fires sweep through, then strangers start shooting at him, then he meets the mysterious Jessica. He's barely had time to walk his dog before his safe, ordered world disappears, and he crashes head-on into a merciless international criminal organisation and the corruption it propagates.

A book of touching messages across an ocean between a man and a woman."It is late and I know I have just responded to your message but I want you to know that I deep in my heart and I can not explain this, that I miss you so much. I understand that there are many differences between us but when I even question these things it seems to matter very little, all I know is that you, my dear Tuan, will until, I see you again, remain always within my heart the dearest and most special love. Much love Antoinette"

There's a deepening mystery that the world's written language kept disappearing for good, with no explanation. Schoolgirls Davidia and Slirander catch a perpetrator finger-licking his way through a book, making the words disappear, and were puzzled. They spring into action to find the cause of the destruction and find themselves on a journey, trying to solve the puzzle of the disappearing words. A Moonah tree whose leaves represent the letters of the alphabet help them on their journey, transforming them to strange and mysterious places where they find the fateful pit of lost letters, but not before they had to escape the traps set for them by the different keepers of the alphabet who hung tenaciously to their letters. All the while they had to outsmart their adversary, the enemy who had stolen the written word from the world. Who was this character? Were the girls successful in their mission to save the language of the world?

Best friends Davidia and Slirander find themselves caught up in yet another adventure, this time in the fascinating land of Dododotovia.Davidia is one of five guests invited to a lavish mysterious dinner with four other perfect strangers. Slirander feels it is too dangerous for Davidia on her own, so she travels incognito in the magical black pearl pendant which Davidia wears on her neck.A five-course dinner of unusual taste sensations awaited; each course imbued with imaginative flavours and weird-named offerings, served by overly-attentive staff and five changes of clothes. But why? Did the free dinner come with a price? There was certainly an air of foreboding to this one. The guests didn't have an inkling?The precocious, outspoken Davidia questions her hosts' every motive, much to their chagrin and those of the guests. Determined not to comply with the subserviency expected of the dinner guests, and warned by Slirander about the foods she should not consume, Davidia ventures outside the dining room to feign eating and falls down a shaft, disappearing into a tunnel of sludge and into the chocolate factory land of Dododotovia. To assume obscurity and escape, she has to make the right twists and turns in the labyrinth of tunnels in this chocolaterie. She discovers that Dododotovia is the secret factory farm for the mysterious ingredients used in the exquisite brand of chocolates served to the dinner guests, the taste guinea pigs. How did she escape being the target of a life of servitude to the Dododotovidians? And what of the other guests? Another fascinating adventure in the Davidia series.

This time, Davidia and Slirander's adventures take them to the old clay-quarrying town of Humpletoon to look for Davidia's long-lost, distant relative, Aunt Mavis. The quarry is made up of a special seam of clay used by the town's potters to turn out specialist mug off erings which they use to compete in the Dimpletoon Mug Festival. Scrool fiercely guards the Ring of Clay, using its ancient secret of using red ruby eyes to protect its inhabitants from greedy humans whose actions will cause extinction of this lost race. The town also holds another secret - the true ownership of the land.The only thing holding back the town from bulldozing the quarry is the council's inability to purchase the dilapidated house standingon the quarry edge in which lives an old "witch" who is unwilling to sell. The townsfolk believe she is cursed and are therefore scaredto make contact with her. This is Aunt Mavis' way of keeping people away - camouflaging her real younger identity behind thedirty, flowing rags and a modern home underneath the pretend, dilapidated structure, the eyesore of the town.To help Aunt Mavis claim her rightful ownership of the quarry and save it from destruction, the girls get involved in her plan, engagingin secret activities including a role-play, talking with Milo Mac, interpreting secret messages from Scrool, the keeper of the Scrollof Scrollinger, and confronting the town's antagonists to retrieve stolen items which reveal Aunt Mavis' true identity as owner of the land.Another fascinating adventure in the Davidia series as these best friends once again stake their claim on being able to solve a mysteryduring their school holidays.

Astudent exchange program, under a ruse, offered to Vlad College by the supernatural Senora College in the land of Cluids, was supposed to determine the premier education facility in the State of Victoria.Davidia and Slirander formed part of the student exchange. Sinister undertones existed in their new teaching environment, which was grey, dull, digitally controlled and sterile and provided every unnatural need and teaching methods. Students were isolated from each other and impregnated with a knee device to maintain strict control over their every move. Life expectancy was on a digital timer.The exchange college allotted two escorts to shadow the girls and ban all access to normalcy. They had to extract themselves from the clutches of the evil Miss Alpine, the head Cluid who was the leader of the country of Cluidinine, and save the life force of their fellow trapped students.Their journey took them to strange dark places in another world. Danger lurked everywhere.Evil assassins had been sent to delete both the Vlad College and Senora College exchange students. But why? At both campuses, fights erupted as students struggled to maintain their human forms. Did they succeed?What was that strange tattoo that would release them all to a safe return to their normal world and more importantly, how was it activated?

"During this battle, Mick rescued four Tasmanian soldiers whose horses had been shot out from under them. He lifted them onto Bill's back with him while Bill trudged back through the soft desert sand."A story of military service and courage - a brave man and his big, fearless horse.

Ayoung New Zealand nursing student is lunching in her college café in 1975 when an unknown 'Black man with a halo of corkscrew curls' sits uninvited next to her.Within a year, she marries the stranger in a traditional Solomon Islands' ceremony near the beach on which he was born, midway through his mother's four-hour walk to the clinic.Naked children and bare-breasted women greet the couple's arrival by canoe. She is the sole European at her wedding. Her only present is a shell.She discovers their home is a fibreboard house perched on stilts in a sea of mud on a muddy road. They bathe in a stream and fetch water from the river. The sea is the toilet.For most of the next forty years, this is her world - and the setting of the incredible story she reveals in Frigate Birds.Standards of health, nutrition, welfare and education are woefully low. But limited experience and basic knowledge are no deterrent as the young newlywed resolutely sets about improving the health and welfare of the islanders.She battles politicians, lawyers and health authorities. At home, she copes with bankruptcy, divorce and the birth of two sons.

Felicity Hathaway is found dead one morning in the stables of her thoroughbred horse stud. She is wealthy, successful and influential. She is also opinionated, forthright and accustomed to getting her own way. Who could she have infuriated to such an extent that she would be murdered?The investigating police are severely restricted in their enquiries into her death because her family members, staff and neighbours all have secrets they are intent on protecting. Matters are made more difficult because some of the suspects simply decide to leave. Can the two detectives locate all their suspects? Can Felicity's adult children come to terms with the death of such a powerful matriarch? Can the police prise out the guilty secrets? Can the revelation of their secrets help each suspect achieve some personal growth?

What happened to young mum-to-be Krystal Fraser on 20 June 2009 after she checked herself out of hospital to go to a party rather than await the birth of her first child?More than thirteen years later the question remains unanswered.No-one has reported seeing the young woman since.Local police did not consider Krystal to be a victim of foul play, wrongly believing she was the architect of her own disappearance. The trail went cold before the homicide squad was called in and a missing person case became a murder enquiry.Their only clues were two untraced calls from a local phone box on the day Krystal vanished.Her body has never been found and the mystery remains: a maze of accusations, denials, rumours and police shortcomings that continues to divide the small Australian rural community that was her home.In its wake came distressed families, broken relationships and suicides.Suspects were named and interviewed but none were charged.Was Krystal killed by an unwilling father of her unborn child? Were disputes between drug runners the cause? Was it the result of a fall-out with one of several sexual partners?In Last Train Home former police investigator Dennis O'Bryan delves deep into the events and people involved to reveal his discovery of new and compelling evidence.

'I won't allow women in my stock camp,' he stated flatly.Val travelled over 10,000 km in pursuit of a job she had dreamed about from the age of twelve - being part of a stock camp on a big cattle property and riding horses all day. The cold welcome from the Nicholson head stockman raised her hackles and evoked a sharp retort that would hardly contribute to friendly relations. Properly Long Way - Our Story tells of two very different lives with their ups and downs and stands as a witness to the resilience that is built in the bush. Val's life from birth in Buenos Aires through young adulthood in Rhodesia and on to dusty remote outback Australia is laid out in Part 1 Buenos Aires to Bulldust.In Part 2, Trail Rides and Picnic Lunches, Val's husband Graeme, relates his Kimberley experience and calls his time there, 'the best days of his life'. Both sharing a great love of cattle, horses and the land, they find a way to overcome the barrier of their initial chilly introduction to finally marry, culminating in the swan song of their Kimberley experience - Love-a-bull Catchers.

I brace myself to cross the bridgeoutreaching from the rocky ridgeon which I pause, as though in plight,perhaps impaired by fear or flight.Should I proceed with strong resolve,not knowing what that may involve;but blessings to all left behindand may this way to all be kind?But is this structure safe and soundto take me on to firmer ground,or will it sag beneath my weight,or sway to send me to my fate?Robert Scott has previously won many prizes in poem competitions and also written a successful book of poems published in England. This book records his reflections as they occurred.

In his twilight years, John Summers reflects on his significant collection of assets, mostly centred on his extensive grazing enterprises in New South Wales. But his wealth is the product of a vile theft as a young man, which he has not divulged to his family. Jess MacIntyre's chaotic life runs parallel to John's, but in another part of Australia. When she reluctantly heads south from the Kimberley region of Western Australia towards an uncertain future, she encounters Thomas, John's grandson, on his way from Queensland to forge a new life managing one of his grandfather's pastoral properties in NSW. Jessie's cattle management skills and chequered past intertwine with the lives of the much more sedate Summers family, with benefits for everyone. Her notorious past is eventually exposed, with an unexpected, life-changing outcome for Jess. However, although John shares with Jess a cryptic message from his past, he is less willing to reveal his guilty secret to his family.

Rosie Franklin is an enthusiastic teacher and sports coach who, through her desire for adventure, cements a teenage school friendship into a loving relationship with Chas Anderson. Chas, a local, daredevil stunt pilot, is also a well-known crop-duster. Together they weave their dreams for the future, unaware of the betrayal by friends and associates to undermine their aspirations. From the days of settlement during the early 1900s in the mid-western New South Wales farming region, to the 1980s, there is generational discord, inheritance arguments, and jealousy, all of which ultimately create dissension between the characters, while adventurous pursuits continue in the isolated, NSW, country town of Gunnedah.

After his parents die, John Summers grows up on his relatives' sheep grazing property situated in central western New South Wales. Although treated as an outcast by his adoptive family, John has a close relationship with his grandmother, who holds a mysterious secret relating to John's past. Tired of his treatment by the family, John, aged 18, pilfers a considerable sum of money from his grandmother and disappears. He spends time exploring properties to purchase in New South Wales, finally buying a rundown cattle property near Cooma. His guilt consumes him as he accumulates properties and builds his own dynasty, marrying a compliant woman and having children, who also follow in John's footsteps. All the time, John fears facing the consequences of his shocking theft and guilt weighs heavily on him. He sets in train many events, all which have the potential for far-reaching ramifications into the future-for him as well as for others.

True to her word, Angelina Lorenzo sets out to exact her revenge on those next on her list. But police are closing in, and she is running out of places to hide.Killing has been easy up until the failed attempt on her sister's life. This time, there will be no mistakes. She hires an assassin, who unwittingly finds himself caught in Angelina's treacherous web.Can he bring himself to do the unthinkable just to keep Angelina in his life?

Damengin is a country town in Queensland weighed down by the worst drought in living memory and its inhabitants are all desperately waiting for government drought relief. The bad news is that the funds have been sent and spent by Council's Shire Clerk Shifty Grey and his corrupt cohorts. This is a rollicking fast-moving story about political skulduggery, greed, love and lust. It features outrageous characters, blossoming romances, pathos and importantly, has an incredibly happy ending.

Henry's Empire, an historical novel, is the story of the life and times of Ernest Henry, an English adventurer who, at the height of England's empire days, sought his fortune in Australia.By the time he was 30, he'd made a fortune. Then lost the lot. Undeterred, he set out into the remote and dangerous north-west frontier of Queensland in search of new wealth.Henry's story is told by himself and by others he associated with in his search for that wealth.Much of that story is based on the extensive records, journals and letters that Henry wrote during that period. It also relies on consultation of records of events of the time.