William Peskett

Go-go bars as a cultural asset, dentists, chicken’s feet, soapy massage, trousers, being struck by lightning, tattoos, luck, breast enhancements, beards and being a foreigner—these are just some of the aspects of living in Pattaya, Thailand’s most exciting city, that come within range of this lively and revealing book. Originally published in the leading fortnightly Pattaya Today, each chapter takes a light-hearted but incisive look at the quirky side of living in a city that is unusual even by Thai standards. Local characters come and go, but none receives closer attention than the author’s long-suffering wife whose innocence provides the perfect balance for her husband’s merciless wit. For those who want to know what it’s really like living in paradise, or for those fellow residents who want to compare notes with another foreigner filled with wonderment, joy and occasional confusion, If you can’t stand the fun, stay out of the go-go is the perfect Pattaya primer.

This was my first collection of poems, written when I was at school and university and published in my last year at Cambridge. I read zoology for my degree, so was immersed in the principles of scientific method. The theme of the book is that, however much we may learn through scientific endeavour, there is always something, some mystery, that remains unknowable. I don't mean 'the mystery of life' or anything like that because I think we will (probably quite soon) be able to explain that. It's more the beauty of things that I was getting at. William Peskett, 27 August 2011

"Survivors is a jolt to the system. The town of Lanarkton is dying and seems ready to take the MacLean family with it. But these are tough people for whom dying is not easier than living. Valerie Nieman pulls no punches. What she calls 'unleashed reality' roars through every sentence. Unforgettable." Fred Chappell

In Sixties Belfast, civil unrest is in the air. Patrick Glennie is guided through the terrors of growing up by his friend, the confident Robert Delgano. All Patrick can offer in return is his knowledge of nature, which suggests an alternative way to live. When they meet again, Robert is in trouble. Patrick fears being pulled into the sordid drug-world inhabited by his friend, only to find that he is already involved and that their youthful friendship was not at all as it seemed. His debt to Robert takes Patrick back to Ireland and then to Spain, where he risks losing everything - even his wife and unborn child. Which life are we truly fitted to lead, the one governed by civilised conventions or a former, more natural one where the game is played by more ruthless rules?

Darry Ash is in antiques, but in a small way. He lives in the suburbs with his wife and daughter. He dreams of escaping from his humdrum life by becoming a successful, published poet, but the rejection slips mount up. Then Darry begins a passionate and dangerous affair with his assistant, Janie, and his life nose-dives into chaos. His business is in debt, Janie—vivacious, depressive and determined to wrest Darry away from his family—is a lot more trouble than he thought, and he gets no sympathy from his old friend George, who has troubles of his own. Diving for sunken treasure in Thailand with his old business partner Tom seems the obvious solution. Somehow he will find in the sea a place to hide from everything that’s gone wrong with his life. But on the dive Darry finds his problems have only just begun. Following a mysterious murder, he is forced to reassess his relationships and endure unimaginable horrors in unravelling the truth behind the crime.