BookLife - Resources and tools for book publishers and writers

Beyond the Spiral Gates

by Mutch Katsonga

Wickfields was the name of an institution that housed children deemed too dangerous to live in regular society. Beyond the Spiral Gates is a raw coming-of-age odyssey, a first-hand account of one boy's experiences at the archaic Wickfields School for Criminal Children. From the idyllic sun-drenched fields of Hayvern to the shadowy hallways of Wickfields, the story delves deep into the epicentre of the human psyche. Starting in the present day with the protagonist as an elderly man and chronic in... more

The Perfectly Good Lie: Winning has its price

by Rose Gonsoulin

He has the talent and the drive, but does he have the makings of a pro?

When confirmed heartbreaker Buck Buchanan finally earns his tour card, he races home to mend the fence with his estranged mother. Only she has died, leaving Buck to care for his nerdy half-brother, Art Rimlinger. Buck drafts Art to be his caddie, except Art hates golf. After an epic fail in the Phoenix Open, Buck seeks redemption from an unlikely source, the former LPGA champion, Carla Davila.

Can Carla make B... more

Mrs Rickaby's Lullaby

by Julie Thorndyke

Mrs Eileen Rickaby, a semi-retired botanical illustrator and Orchid Society member with a penchant for Mozart, lives a quiet ordered life with Missy, her cat. Her tranquillity is disturbed when close friend and neighbour Irene brings home a twice-widowed younger man of dubious character, and introduces him as her future husband. Petty theft, vandalism and violence disrupt the peaceful retirement village. How can Mrs Rickaby protect her friend from this con-man lover? Mrs Rickaby’s Lullaby is an ... more

978-1-7325066-0-2

by Patsie McCandless

We are all born with magic. It is the Light within you, awaiting your joy of recognition. In this poignant tale, Jesse comes to know his magic. He is a 6 year-old orphan boy of comic charm, soul-lighting wonder and unflappable determination, who is raised by his shining-light grandmother, Dearie, a once-upon-a-time Irish gypsy, who owns a theater in 1950s NYC. Jesse is on a quest to find his other ‘disappeared’ grandmother and, though beset with puzzles, mysteries and challenges, he is guided to... more

Golda Goes to the Farm: The Adventures of Golda

by R. Kinney

Golda goes to visit her friends on the farm and ends up having quite an adventure as she encounters a host of farm animals. Her shy lizard companion is always hiding in the shadows and adds to the fun children will have as they learn about farm animals.

The Truth is a Theory

by Karyn Bristol

How do you define the truth? Is it what you see? Is it what you are told by a beloved partner, a best friend, a trusted parent? Is it the whispers you hear in the halls of your life?

However you define it, Allie Sexton is terrified of the truth.

Twenty-eight years ago, Allie’s mother disappeared; never to be heard from again. Allie survived by becoming the toast of the party—any party—and never looking back. But as a thirty-two-year-old ... more

Dressing Stone: A Post-Postmodern Picaresque

by Scott Feero

Craig Plummer, a sculptor once known as DeBris in New York art circles, has lost his creative drive after experiencing a series of tragedies, culminating with the death of his first wife, Carol Javal, an up and coming fashion model. \tNow remarried, Craig is consumed by guilt over his role in Carol’s death, and secretly longs for her daily. \tGetting by working as a residential remodeling contractor, Craig is facing growing pressure from his second wife, Cheryl, a high powered M&A lawyer, who... more

The Passion of Eve: Remembering the Beginning

by Edward N Brown

In this book, the reader is immersed in the thoughts and feelings of Eve, considered by many to be the progenitor of us all. What was she really thinking? How did it all really happen? Putting away the effect of hindsight for the moment, the reader will want to ask him/herself, “Would I have acted like Eve did, if I had been in the same situation? Or would I have done otherwise? Just what would I have done?”

An Oscar For Roscoe

by Frederick Regenold

When Herbert Preis was in his early twenties, he accompanied his father to their bank to borrow money for his café that specialized in hamburgers. He witnessed the bank manager rejecting the loan application, then watched his father relentlessly chew out that manager before they left the bank. Years later, their Preis-Burger business becomes extremely successful, with numerous electronically automated outlets throughout the city. Herbert's father dies in a mental institution and Herbert sells... more

The Glimmerine

by Lenore Weiss

The Glimmerine is a children’s book for middle-grade readers, ages 9-12, an urban environmental fantasy set at the edge of a condo development where we meet 10-year-old Leah who has been labeled as the school weirdo. Why? Because she talks to something that’s hidden inside her backpack. Exploring beyond the condo's perimeters with her stuffed gray cat who otherwise might be sent to Goodwill, Leah meets Ethel, a forest sprite. In showing Ethel how to fly, the girl accidentally tears off Ethel's ... more

The Best of Intentions

by Gilbert Van Hoeydonck

Kurt is a disillusioned case worker struggling in an under-resourced child protection system. When he takes on the case of Gecko, a sixteen-year-old with a traumatic past and a shaky future, he is determined to make a difference. But the best of intentions are not enough. Meanwhile Libby, a creative and intelligent girl in her final year at school, grapples with the obstacles that life places in her path. Set in Melbourne and brimming with memorable characters whose paths cross in unexpected ... more

The New Bohemians

by Jeff Pearce

It’s the 1980s, an era of smart suits and saxophones, squatters in abandoned blocks and protests over the final threats of the Cold War. Typewriters are plentiful, David Bowie and Prince are at the heights of their stardom, and people plug into Walkmans instead of iPods. The decade’s hottest place for music, fashion and politics was London, and it’s here that a group of expats from North America try to build their dreams into reality. Calvin Trent wants to found a magazine that can rival Roll... more

Immaculate Perception

by Kik Phillips

Lincoln is a socially inept, unfiltered, mathematically gifted woman who is hardwired for misadventure. She is quirky and complicated and brilliant and sees the world through a different lens. When Lincoln discovers her husband is having an affair with his ex-wife, suddenly, everything she thought she knew is turned up side down - her efficient, orderly life is disrupted and her "misbehaving neurons" implode. Lincoln goes into survival mode and creates a meticulously ordered "Re-Entry Plan"... more

Zee Tees Off

by Trevor Davies

Plucky young Zee is a teen girl with big dreams in post-apartheid South Africa. She will be the best golfer in the world but it’s 2006 and the scourges of HIV & AIDS, GBV and rampant child abuse tear communities apart. Zee has limited agency as a child and the adults around her all seem fixed within their own attitudes, biases, and fixations. They need an epiphany to help Zee achieve success.

American Corporate

by Jeb Stewart Harrison

A playful, big-hearted tragicomedy in the Russo/Irving mold, American Corporate chronicles the misadventures of middle-aged Jack Sullivan and his family as they bounce across the country in search of gainful employment, domestic tranquility, and a few people they can trust. It is a story that working parents past, present and future will see as part of their own: the triumphs, the tragedies, the innocent mistakes and the not-so-innocent mistakes, and above all the forgiveness that keeps families... more

Talk Like Jazz

by Joseph Cooper

Talk Like Jazz is a powerfully honest coming-of-age story about growing up along the complex intersections of impediment, family, friendship, mental illness, and escape in working class Buffalo. Written in distinctively bold poetic fragments, Talk Like Jazz is a haunting and persistent tale exploring the vulnerabilities of adolescence and solitude, and the redemptive powers of relationships and art.

Discover Books

General Fiction (including literary and historical)