Books in Signature Lives series

Elske was born into the cruel and barbaric Volkaric people. Raised by her wise and fearless grandmother, Elske seems destined to a fate of death maiden to the sadistic Volkking. When the time comes however, Elske is saved when her noble grandmother sacrifices her own life instead, telling Elske to run far away, and never return. So Elske's journey begins. Arriving in the city of Trastad in the North , Elske is given work as lady's maid to the aristocracy. Here she meets the headstrong Princess Beriel, who sees a kindred spirit in the wilful, passionate Elske. As Beriel seeks to reclaim the throne that is rightfully hers, she wants none other than Elske by her side in battle. In a final and compelling battle scene, Elske at last does assume the mantel of death maiden - but this time, the victory will be hers . . .

Shawn has cerebral palsy: highly intelligent, he has no control whatsoever over his body or its functions. His eyes wander or settle without control. His mouth, tongue, swallowing muscles all have a life of their own. No act of will by Shawn can affect anything he does or anything that happens to him. Yet Shawn's mental life is full of dreams and hopes and love and appreciation of all that is around him - music he happens to hear, things and people that happen to cross his line of vision. Then Shawn begins to fear that his father - from despair at Shawn's condition and believing that Shawn has no life, and never can have, is no more than a vegetable, and never will be - is planning the unthinkable - to put him out of his misery - to kill him...

Hart is the son of a wealthy pearling master, Mitsy the daughter of a Japanese diver. Together they unconciously cross the boundaries of class and race, as they swim, joke and watch films in the local cinema. Then their world changes. Hart's mother abandons them for England, a terrible cyclone kills Mitsy's father and cripples Hart and most terrible of all - the war starts. As Japanese bombs fall on northern Australia, loyalties are divided, and love and friendship are put to the test. This is a beautifully crafted story evoking a war-devastated Australia and its agonising consequences on young adults forced to leave their childhood behind.

Madame Chiang Kai-shek was a powerful figure in Chinese politics. As wife of the Nationalist leader, she helped modernize China through the New Life Movement of the 1930s. She was educated in the United States and developed a unique understanding of American culture. She used this background to win U.S. support for the Nationalists in their struggles against Japan and the communists. Her diplomatic skills won her many admirers, but others criticized her obvious wealth at a time when most Chinese suffered from great poverty.

Fergal is helping his mother nurse a bedridden woman on a Yorkshire farm. In his free time he roams the hills and dales, and there meets a girl, Alex, sensing at once the peculiar obsession with the nearby reservoir that grips her and everyone else in the valley. As rainless heat settles over the parched land, everyone is watching the reservoir, seeing the water level fall day by day and waiting - as if something undefinable will rise from its depths. The undercurrents threaten Fergal too, with memories of his failure to help a drowning friend, and his belief that soon he will have to help Alex. This time he must not fail.