Books with author John Sime

After the violent abduction of his parents by the criminal ‘Golden Hand’, 16 year-old Peter Young and his brilliant friend, Navinda Eman, flee to the Dream Factory - a stone hut on a deserted beach. Peter has a precious secret that he must protect, but someone in the village is determined to find them and destroy the Dream Factory. The Dream Factory is a surreal comic thriller that will be enjoyed by adults and young adults. It is a coming-of-age story that employs vivid characterisation and humour to navigate the reader through the twisting plot. Within the seemingly peaceful village of Dingwell we find a gun-toting spinster engaged in espionage, a French criminal mastermind, murder most foul, and a nervous vicar with a secret past. The love story of Peter and Navinda unfolds in a world that is a maelstrom of deadly secrets, paranormal events and fear. The Dream Factory is a beautifully crafted and thought-provoking novel that will be enjoyed by young adults. This book delves into the issues of identity and how young people connect with the world – everyone has their secret ‘dream factory’. Developed with teachers and young adult readers, The Dream Factory is a thrilling, dark, funny and inspiring read.

'AS A CHILD I LEARNED TO DREAM... IT SCARED ME. IT TERRIFIED ME. STILL DOES.' For sixteen-year-old Peter, a.k.a. Pi, his life explodes when his parents - scientists who created a revolutionary new type of artificial intelligence - are brutally abducted by a sinister establishment, The Organisation, desperate to acquire the technology. He flees to the Dream Factory, an old stone hut rebuilt by his father on the remote Eastcombe Beach - and a place people are able to visit through their dreams... Can the combined resources of Pi, the brilliant Navinda, and the new local vicar - a literal doubting Thomas - take on the might of The Organisation?

This book is a the sequel to "Boys from the Wood" published by Red'n'Ritten Ltd in 2005 and the large print edition by Ulverscroft Foundation in 2006. It tells of Tommy Harris's life at the Polytechnic after passing his 11 plus exam in 1949. Some very amusing stories, including football and boxing, from that post war period before he leaves full time education before his 15th birthday.

When a clandestine agency abducts his parents, a young boy escapes to the family’s remote beach hideaway. But as love blossoms on the beach, chaos overruns his village, and he eventually returns to find that all hope is not lost. An uplifting and illuminating experience that is as visual as it is visceral, John Simes delivers a total reading experience, engaging, vivid and – above all – inspirational. In Dingwell, an English village, things are never normal. Not only because they take place in the vivid dream of the narrator, but because, well, that’s just how Dingwell is. Where else would you find a gun-toting spinster, a deranged French count, murder most foul, a four-hundred-year-old barman, a nervous vicar with a secret past, a talking sparrow-hawk, and three children named Hendrix, Page, and Clapton? For the former Peter Young— now known as Pi thanks to a tirade by his math teacher, Mr. Root—Dingwell becomes a place of danger and intrigue when his brilliant parents stumble upon a life-changing invention. Running to find safety, he escapes to The Dream Factory, his family’s remote stone hut hideaway, where he unexpectedly—and magically—finds love. But as the hunt for Pi intensifies, he decides to return home only to learn that all hope is not lost. A transformative journey that offers a deeply moving portrayal of what it feels like to be an outsider looking in, John Simes’s debut serves up a spicy dish of comic romance and gothic horror. Weaving the lives of its myriad of characters seamlessly and with great tenderness, The Dream Factory: Ghosts explores our inner and outer worlds and what forms our identities as human beings.

‘As a child I learned to dream. I am going to tell you about this dream. It started when I was really young. It started the first time I heard angry voices. Screaming and shouting. It scared me. It terrified me. Still does...’For 16 year old Peter Young the price of finding his place in the world was to lose the world in himself; it was not a price he could afford. After the violent abduction of his parents by the criminal ‘Golden Hand’, Peter and his brilliant friend, Navinda, flee to the Dream Factory - a stone hut on a deserted beach. Peter has a precious secret that he must protect, but someone in the village is determined to find them and destroy the Dream Factory. The Dream Factory is a surreal comic thriller that will be enjoyed by readers aged 12 and over. It is a coming-of-age story that employs vivid characterisation and humour to navigate the reader through the twisting plot. Within the seemingly peaceful village of Dingwell we find a gun-toting spinster engaged in espionage, a French criminal mastermind, murder most foul, a nervous vicar with a secret past, a talking sparrow hawk and three children named Hendrix, Page and Clapton. The love story of Peter and Navinda unfolds in a world that is a maelstrom of deadly secrets, paranormal events and fear. The Dream Factory is a beautifully crafted and thought-provoking novel that will be enjoyed by young adults. This book delves into the issues of identity and how young people connect with the world – everyone has their secret ‘dream factory’. Developed with teachers and young adult readers, The Dream Factory is a thrilling, dark, funny and inspiring read.

For 16 year old Peter Young the price of finding his place in the world was to lose the world in himself; it was not a price he could afford. After the violent abduction of his parents by the criminal ‘Golden Hand’, Peter and his brilliant friend, Navinda, flee to the Dream Factory - a stone hut on a deserted beach. Peter has a precious secret that he must protect, but someone in the village is determined to find them and destroy the Dream Factory. The Dream Factory is a surreal comic thriller that will be enjoyed by readers aged 12 and over. It is a coming-of-age story that employs vivid characterisation and humour to navigate the reader through the twisting plot. Within the seemingly peaceful village of Dingwell we find a gun-toting spinster engaged in espionage, a French criminal mastermind, murder most foul, a nervous vicar with a secret past, a talking sparrow hawk and three children named Hendrix, Page and Clapton. The love story of Peter and Navinda unfolds in a world that is a maelstrom of deadly secrets, paranormal events and fear. The Dream Factory is a beautifully crafted and thought-provoking novel that will be enjoyed by young adults. This book delves into the issues of identity and how young people connect with the world – everyone has their secret ‘dream factory’. Developed with teachers and young adult readers, The Dream Factory is a thrilling, dark, funny and inspiring read.