Four Crude Dudes and The Land of Hope


Book Description

'Four Crude Dudes and the Land of Hope' tell the story of how the lives of a thief, a bully, a cheat and a liar negatively impact upon each other during the days of the 'Californian Gold Rush'; leaving the hero of the story, Farmer Hope, with all the wealth, despite him having never sought it. The story essentially shows that when greed becomes one's god, then all goodness goes out the window. The victory of the God-fearing Farmer Hope who seeks only to look after his family and his neighbours while all around are abandoning their contented lives to seek gold and increased prosperity in the land of plenty. It is a vindication and endurance of the 'good' in mankind over that of the 'bad.'




Tales from Portlaw Volume Four: 'The Oldest Woman in the World'


Book Description

'The Oldest Woman in the World' is a story about the life of a Portlaw-born man, Sean Thornton who spent many years working as a reporter for an Irish newspaper before becoming a reporting investigator for the very first edition of 'The Guinness Book of Records' in 1955. Sean's task for an edition of the annual records book was to seek out and confirm the identity of the oldest person in the world. He eventually does that, but not in time to include the factual data in the record book. In later years, he is greatly surprised that the oldest person in the world and himself share a mutual connection and that she finished up living much closer to Portlaw than Sean would ever have imagined!




Tales from Portlaw Volume Three: 'Bigger and Better'


Book Description

I grew up on my mother's stories. Although an Irish woman of small stature and imaginative mind, stories didn't come any 'taller' than those tales told by my mother. They would stretch the bounds of one's credulity beyond the realms of possibility, and yet, she always made me 'want to believe them'. Having been persuaded to return to writing, I decided to recount some of the stories told to me by my mother long ago. Being a person with my own imagination, I have taken the germ of her tale and elaborated it with the aid of 70 years of wisdom and a splash of literary licence to come up with the final result. This third volume of 'Tales from Portlaw', 'Bigger and Better' is about a Portlaw boy with stunted growth goes to live with his Uncle and Aunt in America to avoid bullying, but finds that all things 'bigger' are not necessarily' better'.







The Kilkenny Cat - Book Two


Book Description

The Kilkenny Cat has been written as a trilogy. Book One deals with the theme of 'truth', Book Two with 'justice', and Book Three on the theme of 'freedom'. All three books seek to show that truth, justice or freedom cannot exist in isolation, and that the only way one can experience any one of them is when one is able to experience all three. Book Two's setting begins in Falmouth, Jamaica and provides the reader with a way of life that most non-Jamaicans may find strange, but which all natives to Jamaica would instantly recognize. Book Two continues to examine the issues of discrimination that is practiced in that country and particularly homophobia and sexism. Mixed partnership between black and white couples is also looked at in the context of the story. The second half of Book Two is set back in Ireland.




Tales from Portlaw Volume Eleven - Two Sisters


Book Description

Nellie and Nora Fanning are the 'Two Sisters'. In fact, they are the two most important sisters ever to come out of Portlaw. Their entrance into the world was as momentous as their influence upon it and as mysterious as their departure from it. They were two sisters with one mind, who in their later years dedicated their existence to preserve the life of Portlaw. The story of 'The Two Sisters' is William Forde's 66th published book and the 11th book in his 'Tales from Portlaw' series of romantic stories. It is a tale of love, struggle, adventure and deep mystery. It draws upon Irish superstition along with the sinister practices that existed in West Yorkshire hundreds of years ago. The story background begins in Portlaw, County Waterford, Ireland and ends there. In between, the story moves to Liverpool and then Haworth, West Yorkshire, England.




Nancy's Song


Book Description

Musically talented 10-year old Nancy loves to explore the nearby woodland and feels at home with all aspects of nature. The story tells how Nancy and her mother cope with the news of her father's terminal illness. The author addresses the subject of bereavement in a sympathetic and realistic way while successfully encouraging the young reader to accept death as an inevitable stage of life itself.




Bes - The Omnibus


Book Description

Bes is a story suitable for the New Millennium reader aged between 9-13 years. It tells a story that loosely links with the three character types I introduced in 'The Bear with a Sore Head', 'Solo and Solomon' and 'Elephants Cry Too.' It is the first day of a New Millennium and the 'maker of all time' who is disappointed with the humans of the earth, sends a three dimensional spirit to the earth in the form of a strange looking animal. that is part bear, part sheep and part elephant. The three-dimensional spirit is 'Bes', whose form is in the shape of part bear, part elephant and part sheep. Bes is given 40 years in which to spread a message of peace and love to all of the earth's creatures. If Bes can persuade the animals to live in 'peace and love' its purpose will have been served and as a reward to the animal kingdom, the 'maker of all life' will give all animals supremacy and rule over all humans.




Maw


Book Description

The story of 'Maw' is suitable for any reader over 8 years. It is written in the style of the 1950s when the sport of boxing and football tended to dominate the world of growing boys and some girls. Because its story theme focuses on the sport of boxing and football, some girls may not feel it to be suitable for them. Maw is born exceptionally small and enters secondary school life to face the school bully. He confronts the bully and challenges him to a boxing match. On the very start of his fourteenth year of life, Maw makes a wish upon a shooting star and from that moment, his life changes. He awakes with super human powers, but quickly learns that with all power comes a responsibility to discharge such power humanely. Later, the school loses its striker from the football team at the semi- final stage of the School League Football Cup and Maw is asked to stand in as the striker. A super story told in the adventure style of writing that was more common in the 40s and 50s.




Fighter


Book Description

William Forde has brought together in 'Fighter', two stories which will enchant and enthral the young reader of primary school age. 'Maw' tells the story of a 13-year old boy of midget size, who refuses to give in to the extortion and demands of the school bully. 'Midnight Fighter' tells the story about the relationship which 8-year old Cassey Blake, a girl who has cerebral palsy, establishes with a crippled foal. Both stories illustrate the indomitable spirit of children to survive as equals in the environment they inhabit.