Books published by Fingerpress

'He pulled a cassette out of the glove box and put it in the stereo, pressed rewind and then play. Was it still 1980 in Memphis? Some fast-paced blues crackled out of the speakers.' 'The guide book said it was 'well worth making the trip to this colourful outdoor market'. It was a market of just fruit and nothing else. It was time we stopped listening to the crap guide book recommendations... time to find our own way.' Dog Days is a lively account of a three-month road trip that Andrew and his girlfriend Lucy took around the United States. They drove 15,000 miles around 45 states, by car and Greyhound bus, known as the 'Dog' by the fearsome locals who ride it. Follow Andrew and his girlfriend Lucy through landmarks including Monument Valley and Yellowstone, to a New York Yankees baseball game, a dude ranch in Montana and a rodeo in Wyoming. More than just a travel memoir, Dog Days provides vivid descriptions of the physical landscape, and unravels the characters they encountered along the way -- with some very candid observations of America and its people. They began their trip believing they knew a lot about the country, but quickly discovered just how different from the rest of the world it really is. 'Ace book. Carefully observed and very funny ... and dark at the same time. Dog Days drew me in 100 percent' - Graham Johnson, author of Hack, Powder Wars, and Druglord

THE POWER TO BE IN TWO PLACES AT ONCE Shunned by the scientific community for being ahead of his time... brilliant maverick Rodge Dukas works in a damp basement surrounded by outlandish equipment. His discovery could propel humanity to a new Golden Age. But his student friend Mike Barrett thinks bigger - use the discovery to carry out the Perfect Crime and grow unfeasibly rich. The ensuing crime spree has the Police baffled. So why do we find Mike attending a memorial service for Rodge? And where is Suzy, Mike's girlfriend, who showed rather too much affection towards their 'mad scientist' housemate? THE MAN IN TWO BODIES is intriguing, lively SF that will have you questioning the integrity of society, science... and solid objects.

"The location is beautiful, the hotel well worth a visit, and the lives of the guests are intriguing... A great read." - Historical Novels Review (May 2011) "This is a thoroughly enjoyable read and a 'must' for any fan of military aviation." - M Howard Morgan, author of 'First Fleet' "Beyond the technical details lies a wonderful story with beautifully written characters full of personality and charm." - Raven Dane "Adventure, excitement, tragedy, romance and engaging characters, this novel has it all." - Susanne O'Leary, author of Fresh Powder *** The War is over, but for Marine pilot Jack McGuire, it's only just begun. Unable to adjust to post-war life, he buys a surplus Navy seaplane and heads for the South Pacific, where he sets up a colonial-style hotel on the island he used to fight over. But his past soon catches up with him. A parade of war veterans float through the hotel, sending Jack hurtling back into dogfights over the Solomon Islands, as the story of his wartime life unfolds. Then, out of the Pacific blue, he sees the widow of his former wingman Don Wheeler, who was shot down in action. No-one even knew that womanizing fighter pilot Don had a wife, and her arrival in Jack's life changes everything. Tulagi Hotel is a gripping tale that weaves the protagonist's war-torn past with his equally turbulent present.

"Highly Commended" in the Yeovil Literary Prize 2011 A Roman slave with a serpent tattoo uncovers his true barbarian identity... A battle for power among Frankish warlords leads to a mass exodus across the Rhine... All the while, Marcus Aurelius' Roman army pushes further north, changing everything. These seemingly unrelated events meet in a cataclysm that alters the course of history. In the background, the ageing witch Chlotsuintha predicts it all. Or is she the one pulling the strings to shape her people's future? When Sextus escapes Rome with a pocketful of gold and a knife, how could he even have dreamt of what the fates might have in store for him? Pursued by Roman soldiers for the murder of his master, Sextus enlists the help of a retired gladiator, and falls in love with the gladiator's niece. An invading German army drives them further north, where Sextus discovers his true birthright, and his real name - Galdir. He becomes caught up in a bitter feud as one of the heirs of a dead Frankish warlord; but the blood feud must be put aside when the Romans invade and besiege the Frankish capital. 'Galdir' is enthralling Roman fiction - a tale of love, brutal battles and conflict, in which a mystical prophecy winds its way through an epic saga of struggle against Rome, and the consequences of resistance by the Frankish people, its Warlord and its witches. Categories: Roman fiction; historical fiction; action & adventure.

Inspired by a true story, Francesca Pascal is a compelling World War II adventure from the bestselling author of Farewell Bergerac, The Cyclist and Galdir: A Slave's Tale. France, 1942: A Nazi Officer steals a Matisse painting which becomes a symbol of freedom against the oppressors. Francesca, an artist and conservator, grieving over the death of her daughter at the hands of German soldiers, flees Paris. She has only a handful of paintings and a desire for revenge she is ill-equipped to pursue. In the long hard winter that follows, she joins a group of Partisans in their battle to free France and salvage her culture. She becomes embroiled in a plot to recover Le Mur Rose, the stolen painting. The painting becomes her reason for fighting and an opportunity for revenge upon the occupying force - a force for evil. Francesca Pascal is an unforgettable wartime tale of vengeance, art theft, and intrigue.

A TALE OF DEADLY CONSPIRACIES, BRUTAL BATTLES AND DIVIDED LOYALTY His life in tatters, the nation over which he presided now annexed by Rome, Galdir returns to the city from which he once escaped as a slave. But this time he's no innocent boy, and he quickly rises to become bodyguard to Emperor Commodus. For in this den of thieves and scoundrels lies Galdir's only hope of persuading the Senate to rescind the Roman fetters that hold his people. But the veteran swordsman becomes caught up in a fight to protect the mad Emperor, and must face his own people in a cataclysmic battle to end all opposition to Rome. 'Protector of Rome' brings the epic tale of Galdir full circle-right back to the city that once enslaved him.

Not just your garden-variety zombie apocalypse... "It was a week ago when it happened. Exactly a week when I heard the stomping on the front porch. I remember it sounded like someone was drunk. I opened the door and it was my neighbor. She lunged at me." Oz, a former professor driven to the brink of madness by a tragedy he cannot face, begins to notice that the people around him are acting strangely. They're eating each other. And they're scraping at his door. Fleeing south, Oz and a motley crew of survivors begin to notice that this isn't the zombie apocalypse they'd seen in countless movies and books. These creatures seem somehow 'closer' to the Earth, yet, perversely, somehow deader, less human, than even zombies are meant to be. The creatures are transfixed by the Sun, and they transform, their faces peeling back in short tentacles until they uncannily resemble flowers. And these zombies can't be stopped. Hack off a limb or a head and it re-joins or just grows back, like the toughest plants. The Dead have a global leader, a purpose - beyond that of just eating any remaining humans. And the seven survivors, led reluctantly by Oz, discover that they have a central role to play in the macabre new order of 'life' on Earth. Dead Petals is a different species of zombie tale. Apocalypse, Rapture and the transformation of reality, all sprouting from the same seed.

In 'Wedlocked', Alexander Valley has created a mosaic of life's little ironies, interspersed with all the mystery, intrigue, romance and adventure expected from any self-analysis guide examining the eternal battle between the sexes. Your perfect partner is out there, somewhere. As Western society degrades, you may find it difficult to believe, especially if you currently feel trapped in a dysfunctional relationship. Women are increasingly encouraged to be superficial, materialistic and self-absorbed; men are increasingly told that these are the qualities they must not only accept, but actively seek, in a woman. The author takes us on a horrific tour of madness and mayhem through his past relationships (with names and locations changed to protect the guilty and the innocent!), from the traveling Nymphomaniac to the wife who told him to drive himself and his inconvenient heart attack to the hospital, as her parents happened to be visiting. When you do find the right woman, it's a wonderful thing. But if your current partner is far from being right - if her idea of the perfect Christmas present for her man is a pair of second-hand underpants, or if she ticks most of the boxes in the 26-point Narcissist test, then this book will provide the guidance you need. It'll also provide you with some much needed laughs, and you may just recognise your own predicament in some of the situations it describes. While providing a list of telltale traits to avoid, the author concludes with a surprising secret about how to find your true soulmate - a woman with whom you can share your life, and who will make you truly happy. If you're searching for that secret, you will be amazed how simple it turns out to be.

To win back his ex-wife and daughter, Gibb Chapman moves in across the street from them. Assorted trials quickly multiply for Gibb--his mother keeps stealing cars to get his attention; an angry religious group is picketing his house; and a misplaced boot gives his crumbling roof an unplanned skylight.

1940, Paris falls to the occupying Germans. Raoul, Head Chef of Le Metro, the top hotel of Paris, is nonchalant. After all, he need only wait for Pétain to make peace, and everything will return to normal. Then he can get on with life, and admire his demi-sous chef, Natalie, with unrequited love. But matters soon change. When the Germans begin to cut out the Jewish staff, he hides the refugees everywhere he can in the sprawling hotel. In the end, even the wine cellar is occupied. On the night of a big German military banquet, an SD officer discovers Natalie still working in the kitchens. Raoul, in a moment of panic, kills the officer with a cast-iron frying pan. But where to dispose of the body? Forced into action, Raoul discovers that he has more strengths than his béchamel sauce.