Books published by For Pity Sake Publishing

A delightful story about ice cream and the importance of always telling the truth.Miss Patricia Higgins's painting holiday in Italy isn't going according to plan. She'd hoped to paint many outdoor scenes in the picturesque fishing village but as soon as her easel is set up, the local children gather around asking her to paint their portraits. Hoping to avoid the crowds, Miss Higgins goes out very early one morning. This time she encounters only one child, Arturo 'Sardines' Camuffo, who says, rather surprisingly, that he doesn't want a portrait of himself. He'd rather Miss Higgins painted a picture of his friend, the bronze angel sitting atop the church spire. How does the son of a poor local fisherman become friends with a huge statue of an angel? For the price of three ice cream cones, Miss Higgins is about to find out.First published by Oxford University Press in 1967, Sardines and the Angel is the third in a series of vintage illustrated Bettina Ehrlich children's books, proudly reproduced by For Pity Sake Publishing. This book is preceded by Francesco and Francesca (2018) and The Goat Boy (2019).

Have you ever read a self-improvement book and wondered how on earth the sage advice can be put to practical use? If yes, then Vegetarian Vampires and What We Can Learn From Them is the book for you. Each of the laws in Deepak Chopra's The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success is examined in a series of essays by Jennifer McDonald, an independent author and publisher who's just trying to make her way in the world. Drawing from her own life experience, Jen takes these laws out for a spin then imparts her sometimes off-centre, yet always authentic conclusions.

'Kill the Major' is the true story of the most successful Allied guerrilla war in Borneo in the final stages of WWII.

A timeless classic of gender and federal politics.Ministers came and went and reappeared, seeking to lay their hands on a splendid prize. The machinery of government.It is 1977, two years after Australia's constitutional crisis. The bureaucrats in West Block, home of the prime minister's department, are recovering from the shock of Gough Whitlam's dismissal.George Harland schemes to preserve his departmental standing; Henry Beeker stakes his career on stalling a policy; Catherine Duffy risks her life rescuing victims of an ill-conceived one; Jonathan Roe sets off the tripwires in textbook economics. And Cassie Armstrong, head of the department's women's unit, is driven to despair. Life is tense in West Block. Pigeons nest in the leaking roof. A move is imminent: it's feared the government plans to tear the building down. Old time bureaucrats are adjusting to a new, feminist presence in its corridors. At one time or other housing most of the federal public service, West Block is more than just a rundown office building. Here is the nation in microcosm.

Fresh back from a stint in Asia, Australian Secret Intelligence Service officer, Ben Johnson, is posted to Egypt to establish a spy operation. He quickly acclimatises to the sights, smells and dangers of Cairo, cultivating a local asset who almost immediately provides explosive intelligence with far-reaching ramifications for the entire Middle East.Other foreign intelligence services want part of the action, some friendly and others, not so much. As the jockeying for position reaches fever pitch, Ben and his Embassy colleague Meg, become aware that the greatest threat to their operational cover, and their lives, comes from inside the system.

According to local legend, the historic Royal hotel in the Victorian coastal town of Queenscliff is haunted. Having served as both a mental asylum and a morgue in the early days it could hardly fail to be, but a bizarre murder in the hotel's basement puts a decidedly eerie spin on things.The victim is an academic, obsessed with spiritualism, the tarot and the town's most famous literary resident, Henry Handel Richardson. From the outset, the local knowledge and unorthodox methods of Queenscliff's police officers, Chris Blackie and Anthea Merritt, are ridiculed by the bull-necked Detective Inspector Masterson from Geelong's CIU. And yet, hard-nosed police investigation practices seem ill-equipped to counter the otherworldly influences at play.What DI Masterson believes is an open and shut case turns out to be anything but.Anthea began creating a large cross with the cards. She looked up and smiled. 'I tell you what's ironic. I got into trouble for buying my own tarot pack and now Mrs Marr's using the tarot to bamboozle the inspector. I'm the only one who's done her homework and knows what the cards mean.'Gerard Hardy's Misfortune joins Through a Camel's Eye and The Swan Island Connection as the latest, most intriguing instalment in Dorothy Johnston's sea-change mystery series.

Toni is a cheerful, obedient ten year-old Austrian boy who's afraid of thunderstorms. There's nothing unusual about that - lots of people are scared of lightning and thunder. But this is a particular problem for Toni because, you see, he is a goat boy. Every day he tends his father's prized herd of goats, all alone, high up on the mountain that towers over their small village.One summer afternoon there's a terrible storm and Toni, mad with fear, abandons his herd and flees the mountain pasture. Three of his beloved goats are lost that day and his father is very angry, saying that Toni is no longer fit to be the family's goat boy.Ashamed and fearful of losing his job, Toni is given one more chance to prove himself. But when the next thunderstorm hits, something miraculous happens.

'It was Clara. My name is Chava now.''Forgive me, Chava,' said Gesia. 'But you know, I would never have taken you for a Zionist. Such a staunch one, in any case, to want to give up your name.'Three Russian-Jewish women are flung from their homes in the Ukraine and Bessarabia - the 'wild west' of the tsarist empire - by pogrom and revolution.In 1922 Clara goes to Palestine where she joins the legendary G'dud Ha'Avodah or Labour Battalion, the roving collective initially formed to build roads connecting the growing Jewish settlements. But she soon becomes uneasy about Jewish settlers taking work from Arabs and usurping their land. As the schism widens between socialist and more conservative Zionists, Chava's abiding sense of justice has potentially lethal consequences.Clara's younger sister Manya migrates to the relative safety of Omaha in the American Midwest, reinventing herself as Marion for better assimilation. Despite escaping mounting antisemitism in Europe Marion feels isolated on the prairie, eventually finding her way to New York, an acting career and a life of ease compared to the hardships of Palestine.Zippora, Chava and Marion's niece, is a committed Zionist who hides from the Soviet secret police in a Ukranian forest and, in frequent letters, begs her dear Doda Clara to help her get to Palestine. Once there, Zipporah is dismayed by Chava's disillusionment with Zionism, her ardent belief in a future Jewish state remaining undiminished.Thus Clara, Manya and Zipporah form three sides of a triangle - the doomed revolutionary, the American immigrant, and the committed Israeli - three very different yet equally influential perspectives on the creation of present-day Israel.Sara Dowse's As the Lonely Fly is an epic story of persecution, migration and dispersal during tumultuous events in the 20th Century, which shines a light on the intertwined fates of Jews and Palestinians - a scenario with deep contemporary resonance. An urgent and moving novel from one of this country's most gifted storytellers.

Luke Elliott and Claudia Marsden have fallen in love at a perilous time. The Second World War is raging in the Pacific, barbed wire and gun emplacements are strung along the northern beaches in preparation for invasion. As the war moves closer, their 'sextet' of loyal school friends is splintering as individual career dreams are pursued. Luke yearns to be a journalist but a start in newspapers is proving challenging. The war's end unexpectedly provides Luke's big break, but the pursuit of his dream will keep him away from Australia and Claudia, with surprising consequences for them both. "Above The Fold is a big-hearted novel that explicitly examines notions of love and loyalty ... Anyone who enjoys reading about post-war Australian history and the attitudes that informed much of it, will be delighted."Gabrielle Lord, author of Dishonour

British Intelligence operative Isabella Di Stefano Butterfield has been dispatched to Tokyo for a very special purpose. Until recently, Japan seemed immune to the Islamic-inspired terror attacks that swept the world after 9/11. But the 2015 beheading of two Japanese aid workers in Syria changed everything.As the 2020 Tokyo Olympics approach, the race is on to establish a viable, outward-looking Japanese intelligence agency. Bella's brief is to ensure this spy service is fashioned in the image of M16.But before discussions even commence, Japan receives disturbing intelligence about a home-grown terror plot from an unlikely source - China. Bella is thrown headlong into a complex, multinational espionage operation, forcing her to walk a trip-wire of hidden agendas that sorely test her professional and personal loyalties.

Carlo Minelli is about to discover that war and art are certainly not mutually exclusive.His politically ambitious father is carefully curating Carlo's future at the family's Lombardy vineyard. But Carlo and his artistic mother have other ideas. On the day he is meant to take up a highly coveted art scholarship atthe French-run Villa Medici in Rome, Il Duce declares war. Carlo is turned away from the heavily guarded entrance to the Villa, leaving him neither a student nor gainfully employed in support of the war effort.Press-ganged into the Italian Army and captured in North Africa, Carlo the POW sketches and paints his way across three continents and several oceans, bringing the hardships of World War II into sharp relief against unexpected mateship, beauty and love.

REAL ESTATE ESCAPES is a collection of timeless property parables where not all agents, solicitors and conveyancers are created equal, and where not all escapes are successful.Drawing from over four decades experience Tim O'Dwyer combines his deep knowledge of the subject with an uncanny ability to explain in a simple and entertaining way these true tales of getting out of contracts, leases, legal liability and prosecutions. "Real Estate Escapes" is more than an informative consumer guide. It's also a good read - riveting stories of the traps, rorts and misunderstandings that abound in the real estate industry. I highlyrecommend "Real Estate Escapes", Read it BEFORE you venture into the minefield." - Helen Wellings - Channel Seven Consumer Affairs Reporter "There is no-one in Australia more able than Tim O'Dwyer to write a book on Real Estate Escapes.Forged in his legal practice and honed over many years by his practicality and sense of fair play, this book contains lessons for all Australian buyers, sellers, real estate agents, legal practitioners and law students. Tim's journalistic style and subtle humour plus the escapes themselves makes it a good read." - Geoffrey Adam, lawyer, property commentator and CEO of Australian Institute of Conveyancers (SA) (2002-2015). "If you have even a passing interest in property or law, this bookis for you." - Kieran Clair - Editor, Australian Property Investor Magazine

"I'm sorry to say you have breast cancer - an infiltrating Lobular Carcinoma to be exact," said her doctor delivering the tough news right before Christmas 2013. "And there's three ways we deal with breast cancer - cut, poison and burn."Such was the start of Jennifer McDonald's 'Big Breast Adventure', the name she gave to a series of blogs penned while going through two years of treatment. My Big Breast Adventure or How I Found the Dalai Lama in My Letterbox is a compilation of these posts, hailed as a must read for anyone facing a life or health crisis and those who care for them."A funny, serious and beautiful book." - Dorothy Johnston, author of Through a Camel's Eye"Her grace and humility shine throughout in the face of what many of us would find a terrifying experience." - Diana Thompson, author of Unbridled Passion"I can't think of another book that makes cancer more understandable for the lay reader and at the same time less fearful." - Sara Dowse, author of As the Lonely Fly"This is a gorgeous book. Jen reaches out with courage, absolute honesty and laugh-out-loud humour." - David Burton, author of How to be Happy

Francesco is a poor Italian boy who has no shoes. One day, while gazing in the window of a shoe shop, he sees a beautiful young girl smiling back at him. This is Francesca and he cannot forget her.Winter comes and with it the Grand Carnival in Milan. Francesco dresses as a brigand with hand-me-down shoes that are too big for him. But in a bid to impress Francesca, he swaps costumes with a red velvet prince with matching leather shoes.Mayhem follows and it seems Francesco will miss the Carnival fun altogether. Will he also lose his beloved Francesca?

Charlotte and Daniel had talked about him in such glowing terms but he sounded like an insufferable chauvinist. She wondered how she'd manage to sit through dinner with him tomorrow night let alone spend a whole week in his company...Outwardly Dr Nick Delaney has it all - the most successful veterinary practice in the district, a host of loyal clients and friends, and muscular good looks cementing his position as Bowral's most eligible bachelor. According to the local rumour mill Nick's sad past is the reason his 'bachelor' tag is probably here to stay - that is until the beautiful, cultured and feisty Jordana Talbot comes to town, fleeing a past of her own.The second in Diana Thompson's Bowral series, Unbridled Passion sheds more light on the strong undercurrent of romance and drama in the deceptively placid Southern Highlands of New South Wales."Do you think he' ll be alright?" she said, looking at the injured stallion... He felt comforted that she'd chosen to sit out here with him in the cold stables... When he was younger he thought he'd known what it was to feel passion. But what he was experiencing now, sitting close to her on a hay bale, there was simply no comparison.

From the bestselling author of Above the Fold and Dragons in the ForestWilliam Patterson is a wealthy ambitious politician with a scandalous past. Elizabeth is his beloved daughter, beautiful and headstrong. Stefan Muller is a poor German migrant seeking a better life in Australia.As a young nation comes of age, these three lives collide igniting an epic tale of political manoeuvring, prejudice wrought by war, love and loss - a sweeping saga that traverses the bright lights of Sydney, the battlefields of Europe, and the picturesque Barossa Valley.Peter Yeldham's first historical novel, A Bitter Harvest expertly weaves fictional characters into the tapestry of actual events in Australia and the world in the early part of the 20th century.'The master of the Australian historical blockbuster' - DAILY TELEGRAPH'An epic read and totally absorbing' - SUN-HERALD

From the bestselling author of A Bitter Harvest and Dragons in the Forest.Like many young and idealistic Australian men, Stephen Conway rushed to enlist in the 'war to end all wars' in 1914. After a hasty marriage, Stephen leaves his new wife with a baby on the way and is shipped to Gallipoli. Very soon, though, the promise of adventure and glory of battle vanish completely as the reality of war sets in.After four nightmarish years, Stephen is the lone survivor of his platoon fighting in the trenches of France's bloody battlefields. Traumatised and exhausted he inexplicably disappears and the official record of his life comes to an abrupt end - that is until his grandson, Patrick, discovers his diary more than 80 years later.This personal account of the horrors of World War I propels Patrick on a journey to uncover the truth of his grandfather's fate - which is more disturbing than he could have ever imagined.Set against true historical events, Barbed Wire and Roses deftly brings together past and present, ancestor and descendant, in a gripping tale of war and its aftermath.'The master of the Australian historical blockbuster.' - DAILY TELEGRAPH

'This book brings my youth alive, and what an incredible time it was!' - Alex FaureDecember 7th, 1941.Today the war began! I've just heard the news on the radio. I was trying to finish my homework in English, and at the same time listen to a talk to improve my Japanese. I often use the radio for this purpose. The Marianist Brothes at St Joseph's teach us in English and French, but speaking Japanese at school is forbidden. Which is a pretty stupid rule, since this is where I was born and where my family lives, and on leaving school I want to get a job here...Born in Japan of a French father and White Russian mother, Alex Faure greeted news of war in the Pacific with schoolboy enthusiasm. That is until the hardships of being a 'gaijin' and neutral foreigner in Japan during World War II became a stark reality for the Faure family.December 22nd, 1944.Since Sunday night there has been a raid most days and every single night. The bombing has been relentless. It accounts for the sombre mood; no Christmas spirit in evidence anywhere in this city. Certainly none at the French bank...Peter Yeldham masterfully tells us Alex Faure's own true story against the backdrop of real events in wartime Japan. Laced with excerpts from Alex's diary, Dragons in the Forest is a riveting tale of life as a foreigner in a strange land at a very dangerous time.

"Charlotte stood mesmerised. The piece was beautiful, not only sexual but conveying the deep love the man felt for this woman and the growing child in her belly. A tear slid silently down her cheek as she stared at the sculpture. She felt starkly alone for a moment, and then tensed as she felt Daniel move behind her." When Charlotte Ranleigh first laid eyes on Daniel Winterflood she was unprepared for the instantaneous jolt of lust that ran through her. Only a year had passed since the sudden death of her husband. Since that terrible day, the beautiful and talented young widow had been in self-imposed exile at her marital estate in the Southern Highlands, trying to make sense of her loss and blaming herself for the part she'd played in it. There were many things Charlotte believed were beyond her now - a happy marriage, children, and her dream of starting an art school at Ranleigh Park. Certainly, she'd never thought she'd desire anyone again, especially not the playboy art-dealer she'd only just met... "Her hand was tiny but her grip was firm and he held it for as long as it took to deliver the best knockout million dollar smile he could muster. God, how was he going to keep his promise after her overwhelming onslaught of all his senses?"