Books with author Mairi MacKinnon Mairi MacKinnon

Talent and ambition are fine things, but when unforeseeable impediments repeatedly stall their progress and threaten to stymie their fulfilment, desperate measures may be taken. In the case of Brian MacKinnon, the drive to gain a medical degree was interrupted by illness and repeatedly forestalled by a powerful and determined antagonist. Three years after being unjustly excluded from medical school, he tried again, by undertaking a science degree to regain his place. Again, his efforts were rewarded with the ruthless application of the most extreme prejudice against him. In an excellent re-telling of these events, MacKinnon also describes his transformation to the fictitious Brandon Lee and his audacious return to his old school where, as a thirty-year-old pretending to be sixteen, he passes his Scottish Higher exams with straight A’s and re-enters medical school. The rest is an unravelling, after his identity is discovered, and an unmasking of the dark forces that can be brought to bear when the individual dares to challenge the received will of certain establishment figures. It is a story that could well have been made a novel, but it is true and is just as absorbing as a novel can be.

Leopard loves to bang his drum, but when he refuses to share it with the Sky God, he finds himself in a lot of trouble! Simply written in lively, flowing text Usborne First Reading books are designed to capture the imagination and build the confidence of beginner readers. Includes links to downloadable worksheets and teacher's notes. This is a highly illustrated ebook that can only be read on the Kindle Fire or other tablet. "Irresistible for children learning to read. " - Child Education Plus

In 1988, Martin Swinton goes skinny-dipping with the WRONG girl and he and a few of his classmates will sorely regret it.He finds out the hard way that his hometown has its very own resident vampires in the abandoned beach house out on Hawkes Lane, a 76-year-old blood-soaked secret and the males of two prominent families in town have bloodstained hands. And now, they are hell-bent on staining their hands with his blood thanks to the disappearance of the girl and the fury of her father.Martin quickly realizes absence makes the heart beat longer so he goes on the run with the sinking feeling that the town and a lot of unanswered questions will catch up to him some day . . . or night.Excerpt:They arrived at James's front gate with ear-splitting, heavy metal hurtling toward them. They spun around just in time to see Tim Rhodes careen his shiny, new, silver Corvette right up onto the sidewalk. Martin's jaw dropped. "Sorry girls," Tim shouted as he went by, barely audible above the thumping sub-woofers."I'm gonna kill that bastard if it's the last thing I do," Martin swore. "And no jury would convict me," he added."Just ignore him," James said in a quivery voice."Ignore him?" Martin squeaked. "He just clipped my toenails with his goddam tires!"

Life In A Heartbeat1912 — the year the Titanic sinks, Dracula’s author, Bram Stoker dies . . . and Reverend Richard Collins swaggers into vampire, Dr. Charles Stark’s office with a plan to change both their fortunes.So what does happen when a greedy, off-kilter reverend imposes upon a self-absorbed, off-kilter vampire? A book deal among other things. But, as is so often the case when a man of the cloth and a creature of the night do business, somebody gets the short end of the stick . . . or does he?Excerpts: "Please . . . hear me out. I have saved the souls of many witches and several werewolves. I specialize in the truly lost-the blackest of souls. And your soul, Doctor, is blackest of all. It calls to me for salvation.""Not many men would be foolish enough to follow a vampire. You must have a very strong motivation to risk my . . . wrath. Why are you here? Pray do not insult me by telling me you wish to save my soul." "Imagine it? A reverend writes a vampire's life story. It would sell like mad. I would be . . . uh . . . I mean we would be rich." "Reverend, as a dedicated physician I feel that I must warn you that betraying a vampire would be extremely detrimental to your health.""Take heed from one who knows; it is the choice we make in a heartbeat that carelessly tumbles our lives like dice." "Once again, the die had tumbled and, once again, I was alone in the world.""Then what did you do?""I have been killing vampires ever since."

The Last SunriseIn 2012 it has been one hundred years since Reverend Richard Collins sauntered into vampire Dr. Charles Stark’s office but the decisions made in that office that day reverberate still.Now, 17-year old Sarah Barker is grieving the loss of her father and struggling to deal with an insane, cruel aunt; bullies who play spin the bottle on the grave of a teenager who suffered a massive stake through the heart; the torment of imaginary vampires; convoluted murder schemes and . . . a mystery man claiming to be a 42-year-old teenager.If she can keep herself alive and sane she might find that people and things are not always as bad as they seem . . . they’re usually worse. Excerpts:They looked at her like she had just asked them to volunteer to give foot massages at an old folk's home. Then, they looked at each other just as vacantly."Surprised? I'm not surprised you're surprised. Yeah, that's right. I know all about it. I figured it all out and I got all the stupid little clues, too. The fangs were pretty cheesy. I already told that fat slob I can play vampires, too. And now I'm telling you the same thing. I'm not going down without a fight and taking a few-""What were you expecting me to do with them?" he asked.She shook her head and mumbled, "I didn't think anything." "Are you sure you aren't surprised by what I did?" he asked. She shook her head.Sarah stood up, walked to where he lay and looked down at him. Satisfied that he was not going to grab her, she cautiously knelt down beside him and placed the crowbar over his heart. She raised the hammer high above it.

A Taste For The Nightlife In 1912, Emily Hawkes is 19 years old and thirsting for freedom and excitement. She goes to great lengths and elaborately schemes to escape her wealthy, domineering, insane father and the marriage he has arranged for her. Her father’s taste in men and her taste in men differ—a lot. She manages to escape but she knows her father will never stop hunting her until he is dead.One night she finds herself alone and lost on a deserted, foggy street in London. Thoughts of lurking murderers torment her as she struggles to find her way through a thick, night fog that wraps around her like gauze. The thought of vampires does not enter her mind but she will soon cross paths with one . . . and her father’s hunt for her will end forever.Excerpts:She held her breath. Footsteps. Heart-stopping footsteps. No. Please, God, no. Please don't let it be him.She whimpered. Her feet seemed nailed to the street. These footsteps did not clip the cobblestone like hers did. They were heavy, deliberate steps that didn't seem to care if she heard them.Run, she silently screamed but her legs did not move.Run! Her legs felt like strands of overcooked spaghetti. They're getting closer. She swallowed a hard dry swallow that stung her throat. Run, her brain shrieked.Suddenly her legs bolted. The footsteps behind her did not lag, though. They sped up and overtook hers.Someone clutched her back and hauled her to a halt. Brutally strong arms wrapped around her. She grunted and flailed about but she could not escape the vice-like grip.Just then a rat scurried nearby. An irresistible urge to catch it and eat it-raw-overtook her. So that's what she did. When she was finished with it she examined the mangled, emaciated carcass and marveled at what she had done. I just sucked the blood out of a dirty, filthy rat.

A Spot Of BloodIt’s 2016 and Sarah Barker is finished university and on the hunt for the ‘last vampire on Earth’ who killed her vampire hunter, Max, and now plans to “youth-an-ize” vain humans (i.e. everybody) into vampires as retaliation for her destruction of the vampire population.But, in her quest to kill Dr. Charles Stark, she meets a man who rocks her world and develops an annoying habit of getting between Sarah and her prey. She soon finds herself face to face with her worst nightmare and an unimaginable future. Excerpts:As she drove to the university she tried to formulate in her mind the questions she would ask anyone who would listen.Do you by any chance know Dr. Charles Stark? You do? Well, let’s say someone . . . not Dr. Charles Stark . . . someone else . . . was a 300-year-old-mad-scientist-vampire and wanted to make people into vampires using a hypodermic needle? Oh, you don’t believe vampires are real . . . ? Ahem . . . have I got a story to tell you.A hand touched her shoulder. “Are you all right?” a man’s voice asked.She brushed his hand away without looking at him. “I’m fine,” she said dully, still staring at the poster.“Can I get you some water?”“No! You can leave me alone,” she snapped, spinning around. Her worry-filled eyes moved up to the man’s face and widened with shock. Her jaw dropped open.“Stark is a vampire. He’s the last one on Earth and I intend to kill him before he and you start selling that ‘fountain of youth’ crap to turn everyone into vampires. I will kill you if you try to interfere.”The colour drained from his face and he shot a sideways glance to the front door. He gulped and looked at his watch. “Uh . . . look at the time. I have to go—”Sarah held up a hand. “Which of you killed Max?”

"From the famous English legend. Robin Hood and his outlaws rob the Sheriff once too often, and the Sheriff sets a trap: an archery contest with a splendid prize. On the day of the contest, there's no sign of Robin Hood, and the winner is a mysterious dark stranger from the wars overseas. Who could he be? The Usborne English Readers series is a new range of graded readers in simplified English for younger learners. They include activities, glossaries and a full audio recording of the text in both British English and American English."