31 December

10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 31 December:

1. Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Edward Stuart), also known as the ‘Young Pretender’, was born on this date in 1720, in Rome. With his followers he landed in Scotland in 1745, capturing Edinburgh and setting up court at the Palace of Holyrood. His decision to march on London led to his defeat at Culloden.
2. In 1997, Michael Kennedy, 39, son of Bobby, died in a Skiing accident in Aspen. He was skiing down a slope passing a football to a companion and skied into a tree.
3. The chimes of Big Ben were broadcast by the BBC for the first time in 1923.
4. In 1907, a ball dropped at Times Square to signal the new year for the first time.
5. The farthing ceased to be legal tender in Britain at midnight on this date in 1960.
6. In 1973, the 3 day week began in Britain. It led to the downfall of Prime Minister Edward Heath and his government.
7. In 1990, Patrick Harward-Duffy, 36, from Glasgow, was arrested for cutting through the Christmas Tree in London's Trafalgar Square, with a chainsaw. He was protesting against the legal system of Norway, the country which donates the tree each year to the British people to commemorate their liberation by the British from Nazi rule.
8. On this date in 1999, thieves climbed onto the roof of the Ashmolean Museum to steal Cezanne’s landscape painting View of Auvers-sur-Oise. valued at £3 million, during the millennium celebration Fireworks.
9. The official opening of Taipei 101, occurred on this date in 2004. It's the current tallest skyscraper in the world, standing at a height of 509 metres (1,670 feet).
10. In 1985, more than 54,500 people played A Bicycle Built for Two on Kazoos in Rochester, New York. They got listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for 'The Most Kazoo-ers'.

New!!

A Superhero love story.

Sent away to school to get her away from undesirable company, Agnes finds herself homesick and lonely. A brief connection with Jason Warner leads to the teenage crush to end all teenage crushes. Jason is barely aware Agnes exists, but she plans her whole future around him.

It is only when they meet again as adults that the connection becomes mutual; but before it can develop, Jason makes a discovery which rocks his entire world. He needs time alone, away from everyone, including Agnes. When Jason is finally ready to go back to his old life, Agnes has moved on and he cannot find her.

Agnes is now a single parent to the remarkable Seraphina. The Power League want to harness Seraphina's powers for evil before the Freedom League become aware of her. Agnes has no idea her new colleague and friend is a supervillain with his own agenda, and his willingness to babysit is not as innocent as she thinks. As Incendio starts teaching Seraphina to use her powers, the Freedom League intervene. Little do they know that they have found one of their own.

Where to get it:

Paperback

E-book

30 December

10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 30 December:

1. Rudyard Kipling, author and poet was born on this date in 1865, He's best known for The Jungle Book, Kim, many short stories, including The Man Who Would Be King and his poems, including Mandalay, Gunga Din and If. In 1907, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English language writer to receive the prize, and he is still its youngest recipient. He was sounded out for the British Poet Laureateship and on several occasions for a knighthood, all of which he declined.
2. The world’s heaviest quintuplets were born on this date in 1956 in Pondicherry, India, weighing in at a total of 25lb.
3. Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley got married on this date in 1816, two and a half years after eloping to Switzerland, on learning that Shelley's first wife had drowned herself.
4. The first public concert was held in London on this date in 1672. The musicians performed behind a curtain while the audience ate cakes and drank ale.
5. In 1887, a petition was delivered to the Home Secretary for Queen Victoria, with over one million signatures from women appealing for public houses to be closed on Sundays.
6. The first subway in the Orient was dedicated in Tokyo, Japan on this date in 1927. Its last extension was added in 1980, making the Tokyo underground railroad network the sixth longest in the world at 135 miles. It is surpassed only by the subway systems in Washington DC, London, New York, Paris and Moscow.
7. In 1853, a dinner party for 20 was held inside a life-size model of Iguanodon created by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins and Sir Richard Owen in south London.
8. In 2017, Nepal banned solo climbers, double amputees and blind climbers from scaling its mountains, including Mount Everest, in a bid to reduce accidents.
9. In 1962, Pop Singer Brenda Lee was slightly injured when she ran into her burning Nashville home to rescue her poodle, Cee Cee. Sadly, despite her bravery, the dog, which toured the world with Lee, succumbed to smoke inhalation.
10. In 1980, The Selective Service System sent a warning to Mickey Mouse at Disneyland: Register for the draft or else! The Selective Service claimed Mickey was in violation of registration compliance. Mickey, aged 52 at the time, so presumably too old for the draft anyway, sent in his registration card proving that he was a World War II veteran.

New!!

A Superhero love story.

Sent away to school to get her away from undesirable company, Agnes finds herself homesick and lonely. A brief connection with Jason Warner leads to the teenage crush to end all teenage crushes. Jason is barely aware Agnes exists, but she plans her whole future around him.

It is only when they meet again as adults that the connection becomes mutual; but before it can develop, Jason makes a discovery which rocks his entire world. He needs time alone, away from everyone, including Agnes. When Jason is finally ready to go back to his old life, Agnes has moved on and he cannot find her.

Agnes is now a single parent to the remarkable Seraphina. The Power League want to harness Seraphina's powers for evil before the Freedom League become aware of her. Agnes has no idea her new colleague and friend is a supervillain with his own agenda, and his willingness to babysit is not as innocent as she thinks. As Incendio starts teaching Seraphina to use her powers, the Freedom League intervene. Little do they know that they have found one of their own.

Where to get it:

Paperback

E-book

29 December

10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 29 December:

The Mississippi River

1. Donald Coggan, 101st archbishop of Canterbury was born on this date in 1910. He is commonly credited with remarking that "The art of hospitality is to make guests feel at home when you wish they were."
2. Born this date in 1928 was Bernard Cribbins, actor, comedian and singer. His hits include Hole In The Ground, Right Said Fred (which inspired the name of the band "Right Said Fred”) and Gossip Calypso. He has also appeared in a number of TV series, including The Avengers, The Wombles (providing the voices), Fawlty Towers, Worzel Gummidge, Last of the Summer Wine, Coronation Street and Doctor Who.
3. In 2001, Tyron Watson, a 48 year old worker at JR Wheel, a wheel manufacturer in Ohio, was killed when he walked into a cage housing a robot in order to work on it. The robot had not been properly de-energised; it reactivated and smashed him into a conveyor belt.
4. The last known speaker of Akkala Sami died on this date in 2003, rendering the Language extinct.
5. In 1675, Parliament ordered the closing of all Coffee houses, believing they were centres from which malicious rumours about the government originated.
6. In 1999, three Ferrets named Beckham, Posh Spice and Baby Spice were used to lay power cables for a rock concert being held in Greenwich, London, because digging up the turf at the Royal Park wasn't allowed. The ferrets were eased into tiny nylon harnesses with the wires. Ferrets instinctively make for any hole in the ground and were enticed to the end of the ducts by a slab of smelly meat.
7. Gas lights were first installed at the White House on this date in 1848.
8. In 1851, the first American Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was founded in Boston.
9. In 2006, Burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese filed for divorce from Marilyn Manson after just a year of marriage.
10. In 1930 Fred Newton became the first (and to-date only) person to swim the Mississippi River – the long way, from Ford Dam, Minn, to New Orleans. the swim was 1,826 miles and took him six months.

New!!

A Superhero love story.

Sent away to school to get her away from undesirable company, Agnes finds herself homesick and lonely. A brief connection with Jason Warner leads to the teenage crush to end all teenage crushes. Jason is barely aware Agnes exists, but she plans her whole future around him.

It is only when they meet again as adults that the connection becomes mutual; but before it can develop, Jason makes a discovery which rocks his entire world. He needs time alone, away from everyone, including Agnes. When Jason is finally ready to go back to his old life, Agnes has moved on and he cannot find her.

Agnes is now a single parent to the remarkable Seraphina. The Power League want to harness Seraphina's powers for evil before the Freedom League become aware of her. Agnes has no idea her new colleague and friend is a supervillain with his own agenda, and his willingness to babysit is not as innocent as she thinks. As Incendio starts teaching Seraphina to use her powers, the Freedom League intervene. Little do they know that they have found one of their own.

Where to get it:

Paperback

E-book

28 December

10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 28 December:

1. Born this date in 1922 was Stan Lee, writer for Marvel Comics. He co-created Spiderman, the Fantastic Four, The X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, and many other fictional characters. He said, "With great power comes great responsibility."
2. In 1932 the actress Nichelle Nichols was born. Her most famous role is that of communications officer Lieutenant Uhura aboard the USS Enterprise in Star Trek. The name Uhura means freedom.
3. A contemporary account of the death of one John Hypper on this date in 1563: "John Hypper was 'playinge Christenmas games' on Boxing Day 1563 at about 6pm with divers other parishioners of Houghton, Hampshire in the house of Thomas Purdew of Houghton, husbandman. While playing he involuntarily crushed himself and injured his testicles so that by reason of his old bodily infirmity he became ill and languished until about 3am on 28 December when he died."
4. In 1937, The Irish Free State became the Republic of Ireland when a new constitution established the country as a sovereign state under the name of Eire.
5. In 1879, three days before the New York premiere of the Gilbert and Sullivan opera Pirates of Penzance, Sullivan realised he'd left the music in England! Since they didn't have email or even faxes in "them days", Sullivan had to re-compose the entire opera from memory in time for the performance.
6. In 1917, HL Mencken published a hoax article in the New York Evening Mail to celebrate the anniversary of the Bathtub: a history of bathtubs in America. The essay claimed that Millard Fillmore was the first president to have a bathtub installed in the White House.
7. In 1991, Jack Ruby's pistol, used to kill Lee Harvey Oswald, was sold at auction at Christie's for $220,000.
8. This night in 1170 was the eve of the murder of St Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. People experienced visions of his impending doom as far away as Normandy.
9. In 1879, M Jolly-Bellin accidentally upset a lamp containing turpentine and oil on his clothing, and spotted the cleaning effect. Dry cleaning was born.
10. In 1987, a 76 year old lady called Kively Papajohn got stuck in a lift. It was six days before she was rescued, setting the record for the world's longest time trapped in an elevator. Luckily, she was on her way home from grocery shopping at the time so she didn't go hungry.

New!!

A Superhero love story.

Sent away to school to get her away from undesirable company, Agnes finds herself homesick and lonely. A brief connection with Jason Warner leads to the teenage crush to end all teenage crushes. Jason is barely aware Agnes exists, but she plans her whole future around him.

It is only when they meet again as adults that the connection becomes mutual; but before it can develop, Jason makes a discovery which rocks his entire world. He needs time alone, away from everyone, including Agnes. When Jason is finally ready to go back to his old life, Agnes has moved on and he cannot find her.

Agnes is now a single parent to the remarkable Seraphina. The Power League want to harness Seraphina's powers for evil before the Freedom League become aware of her. Agnes has no idea her new colleague and friend is a supervillain with his own agenda, and his willingness to babysit is not as innocent as she thinks. As Incendio starts teaching Seraphina to use her powers, the Freedom League intervene. Little do they know that they have found one of their own.

Where to get it:

Paperback

E-book

27 December

10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 27 December:

1. Johannes Kepler, German astronomer who discovered and confirmed Copernicus’s theory that the earth and planets circle the sun in elliptical orbits, was born on this date in 1571.
2. Another scientist was born on this date in 1822: Louis Pasteur, French chemist and bacteriologist who discovered that microorganisms cause fermentation and infection and developed a vaccine for rabies.
3. In 1934, the Shah of Persia declared that henceforth, Persia would be known as Iran.
4. In 1900, the New York Tribune published a review of Puccini's new opera, La Boheme. which read: "Silly and inconsequential incidents and dialogues."
5. The Admiralty survey ship HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin on board, set out from Plymouth on this date in 1831, on a scientific voyage around the world, which led to Darwin writing his Origin Of Species.
6. Queen's A Day At The Races album was released on this date in 1976.
7. In 1683, William Penn acquitted two witches saying there was no law against riding on broomsticks and they had every right to do so.
8. On this date in 1986 Corazon Aquino, President of the Philippines, became the third woman to be named TIME magazine’s Man of the Year. The only other women to receive that honour previously were Queen Elizabeth II in 1952 and the Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Warfield Simpson, in 1936.
9. In 1871, the World's first Cat Show was held at Crystal Palace in London.
10. The worst ever English avalanche killed 8 people in Lewes, Sussex on this date in 1836. A pub was later built on the site. It is called The Snow Drop Inn.

New!!

A Superhero love story.

Sent away to school to get her away from undesirable company, Agnes finds herself homesick and lonely. A brief connection with Jason Warner leads to the teenage crush to end all teenage crushes. Jason is barely aware Agnes exists, but she plans her whole future around him.

It is only when they meet again as adults that the connection becomes mutual; but before it can develop, Jason makes a discovery which rocks his entire world. He needs time alone, away from everyone, including Agnes. When Jason is finally ready to go back to his old life, Agnes has moved on and he cannot find her.

Agnes is now a single parent to the remarkable Seraphina. The Power League want to harness Seraphina's powers for evil before the Freedom League become aware of her. Agnes has no idea her new colleague and friend is a supervillain with his own agenda, and his willingness to babysit is not as innocent as she thinks. As Incendio starts teaching Seraphina to use her powers, the Freedom League intervene. Little do they know that they have found one of their own.

Where to get it:

Paperback

E-book

26 December

10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 26 December:

Elizabeth Bathory

1. In 1906, the world’s first feature film, The Story of the Kelly Gang, made in Australia, was screened in Melbourne.
2. In 1606, William Shakespeare's play King Lear was performed for the first time before the English court. The play is the story of the ageing King Lear who divided his kingdom among two of his hypocritical daughters, Goneril and Regan, while disinheriting his third daughter, Cordelia, who truly loves him.
3. In 1924, Judy Garland, billed as Baby Frances, made her debut as part of the family's vaudeville act on the New Grand Theater stage, managed by her father. She was two and a half.
4. In 1898, Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium while experimenting with pitchblende.
5. In 1973, two Skylab 3 astronauts walked in space for a record 7 hours.
6. The ghastly crimes of Erzsébet Báthory (Elizabeth Bathory) were uncovered on this date in 1620. Báthory was a Hungarian countess. It was alleged that she was a serial killer responsible for the torture and murder of over 600 peasants. It is believed that her primary motive for murder was to bathe in the blood of young girls to improve her complexion. When her crimes were discovered, she was tried and imprisoned in solitary confinement, where she died. Her collaborators were executed.
7. In 1982, The Man of the Year in TIME magazine wasn't human for the first time. A computer received the honours as 1982’s "greatest influence for good or evil."
8. The first charity walk took place, along Icknield Way, in aid of the World Refugee Fund on this date in 1959.
9. Born on this date in 1893 was Mao Tse-tung, Chinese Communist leader. He led his nation after the war of liberation, from 1947 to his death. Chairman Mao’s famous Little Red Book of his thoughts was issued to all the population.
10. Also born on this date, in 1792, was Charles Babbage, mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer who first imagined the concept of a programmable computer. He developed the first speedometer and adding machine.

New!!

A Superhero love story.

Sent away to school to get her away from undesirable company, Agnes finds herself homesick and lonely. A brief connection with Jason Warner leads to the teenage crush to end all teenage crushes. Jason is barely aware Agnes exists, but she plans her whole future around him.

It is only when they meet again as adults that the connection becomes mutual; but before it can develop, Jason makes a discovery which rocks his entire world. He needs time alone, away from everyone, including Agnes. When Jason is finally ready to go back to his old life, Agnes has moved on and he cannot find her.

Agnes is now a single parent to the remarkable Seraphina. The Power League want to harness Seraphina's powers for evil before the Freedom League become aware of her. Agnes has no idea her new colleague and friend is a supervillain with his own agenda, and his willingness to babysit is not as innocent as she thinks. As Incendio starts teaching Seraphina to use her powers, the Freedom League intervene. Little do they know that they have found one of their own.

Where to get it:

Paperback

E-book

25 December

10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 25 December:

1. According to Christian belief, Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem on this date in the year 0. However, it's impossible to prove the date or the year. The earliest known year that Jesus' nativity was celebrated on December 25th was 336. In 440, the leaders of the Christian Church fixed this day as the date to observe the birth of Christ.
2. The scientist Sir Isaac Newton was born on this date in 1643. His Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, published in 1687, is considered to be the most influential book in the history of science. In it, Newton described universal gravitation and the three laws of motion.
3. Also born on Christmas Day, in 1899, was Humphrey Bogart, American actor whose films include Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The African Queen, Casablanca, The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon. He is credited with five of the US Film Institute’s top 100 film quotations – more than any other actor. These include: "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine," and "Here's looking at you, kid."
4. In 1066 William the Conqueror was crowned King William I of England. In 1085 he ordered a complete survey of England, known as the Domesday Book, named after the Christian concept of a Book of Judgement at Doomsday in which all names are recorded.
5. Hirohito succeeded his father Yoshihito as emperor of Japan on this date in 1926.
6. In 1870, Richard Wagner hired an orchestra to play music for his wife Cosima's 33rd birthday. The music was the Siegfried Idyll. She was woken that morning by the orchestra performing on the lower stairs. Her reaction to this is not recorded.
7. In 1959, one Richard Starkey, aged 18, received a Drum set for Christmas. He went on to become one of the most famous rock and roll drummers in the world: Ringo Starr of The Beatles.
8. King George V made the first Royal Christmas broadcast to the Empire in 1932. Queen Elizabeth II made her first Christmas broadcast in 1952, and her first Christmas message on television was broadcast in 1957. In 2022, we presumably get the first Christmas speech by King Charles III.
9. The first man-made comet was visible in the sky on Christmas Day 1984. The sphere of chemicals from a West German satellite appeared to be yellowish-green, and in the constellation Virgo. Many said it was Santa taking a short cut back to the North Pole.
10. In 2010, Atlanta, Georgia had its first white Christmas in 128 years. 500 flights were affected. Meanwhile, South Carolina had Snow on Christmas Day for the first time ever.

New!!

A Superhero love story.

Sent away to school to get her away from undesirable company, Agnes finds herself homesick and lonely. A brief connection with Jason Warner leads to the teenage crush to end all teenage crushes. Jason is barely aware Agnes exists, but she plans her whole future around him.

It is only when they meet again as adults that the connection becomes mutual; but before it can develop, Jason makes a discovery which rocks his entire world. He needs time alone, away from everyone, including Agnes. When Jason is finally ready to go back to his old life, Agnes has moved on and he cannot find her.

Agnes is now a single parent to the remarkable Seraphina. The Power League want to harness Seraphina's powers for evil before the Freedom League become aware of her. Agnes has no idea her new colleague and friend is a supervillain with his own agenda, and his willingness to babysit is not as innocent as she thinks. As Incendio starts teaching Seraphina to use her powers, the Freedom League intervene. Little do they know that they have found one of their own.

Where to get it:

Paperback

E-book

24 December

10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 24 December:

1. Howard Hughes was born on this date in 1905. He inherited the Hughes Tool Company when his father died and invested some of the money in Hollywood films including Hell’s Angels and The Outlaw. He worked under an assumed name for American Airways, then left after less than a year with enough knowledge not just to start his own aircraft company, but also to design an aircraft to take the airspeed record. Hughes is remembered today, however, for his eccentric behaviour and reclusive lifestyle.
2. Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series was born on this date in 1973.
3. Robin Hood is said to have died on this date in 1247. Famous for stealing from the rich to give to the poor, it's said he bled to death in a convent in Kirklees. He summoned Little John to his bedside, and said, "Give me my bent bow in my hand, And an arrow I'll let free, And where that arrow is taken up, There let my grave digged be." The alleged grave may still be seen near Huddersfield.
4. In 1818, a mouse put the organ out of order at St Nicholas Church in Oberdorf, Germany, which would have meant no music for midnight mass. Franz Xavier Gruber saved the day by writing a carol for guitar and choir, with lyrics by Josef Mohr. It was called Stille Nacht (Silent Night). This traditional song was sung for the first time on this night.
5. Albert Einstein and eminent physicist Leo Szilard filed a patent in England for a refrigerator on this date in 1928. It proved too noisy for domestic use, but the magnetic pump in many nuclear reactors is based on their noisy Fridge.
6. In 1968, astronauts aboard Apollo VIII, orbiting the Moon, read passages from the Old Testament Book of Genesis as part of a Christmas Eve television broadcast to Earth, and took a photo of earth rising behind the moon.
7. In 1978, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog of the group ABBA separated after seven years of marriage.
8. In 1965, a Meteorite weighing about 100 lbs landed on Leicestershire, possibly the largest to fall on Britain in modern times.
9. In 1977 Thomas Helms made an unexpected appearance on TV. He was attempting to commit suicide by jumping from the 86^th floor of the Empire State Building, but strong cross winds blew him through a window on the 82^nd floor, where NBC news was being broadcast.
10. In 1998, 21 workers at a Psychic Hotline in Peru were locked out of their jobs for refusing a 50% pay cut. Their boss, Walter Mercado, hired replacement psychics. The locked out psychics weren't happy. They claimed they were trained in psychology and human behaviour while the new psychics were hired with no training whatsoever. Their only requirement was "a nice voice."

New!!

A Superhero love story.

Sent away to school to get her away from undesirable company, Agnes finds herself homesick and lonely. A brief connection with Jason Warner leads to the teenage crush to end all teenage crushes. Jason is barely aware Agnes exists, but she plans her whole future around him.

It is only when they meet again as adults that the connection becomes mutual; but before it can develop, Jason makes a discovery which rocks his entire world. He needs time alone, away from everyone, including Agnes. When Jason is finally ready to go back to his old life, Agnes has moved on and he cannot find her.

Agnes is now a single parent to the remarkable Seraphina. The Power League want to harness Seraphina's powers for evil before the Freedom League become aware of her. Agnes has no idea her new colleague and friend is a supervillain with his own agenda, and his willingness to babysit is not as innocent as she thinks. As Incendio starts teaching Seraphina to use her powers, the Freedom League intervene. Little do they know that they have found one of their own.

Where to get it:

Paperback

E-book

23 December

10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 23 December:

1. Diana Berg was born on this date in 1987. Her twin sister Monica was not born until 30 January 1988. This is the longest recorded interval between the births of Twins.
2. In 1991 two pilots in Florida decided to let the instruments fly the plane while they had sex in the cockpit. Design limits were exceeded and the wing fell off. The plane crashed and killed them both.
3. In 1823, the poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement C. Moore ("'Twas Night Before Christmas...") was published anonymously in the Troy (New York) Sentinel.
4. 1912 Keystone released its first "Keystone Cops" film. It was called Hoffmeyer's Legacy. The films were made until 1920.
5. In 1888 Vincent Van Gogh cut off part of his left ear. He was suffering severe depression at the time, exacerbated by his companion Gauguin's decision to leave their lodgings at Arles after a row about the prostitutes in Arles who seemed to prefer Gauguin. Van Gogh delivered his ear to one of them, Rachel, who liked him more than Gauguin. She fainted.
6. In 1848 The London Illustrated News published the first Christmas supplement with advice on ‘making the Christmas Pudding’.
7. In 1672, astronomer Giovanni Cassini discovered Saturn's moon Rhea. Rhea is 950 miles (1500 km) in diameter and has the most craters per unit area of any of Saturn's moons. The largest crater is 190 miles (300 km) in diameter.
8. In 2010, a survey indicated that almost one third of Britons believe they have a guardian angel.
9. In 1977, singer Cat Stevens converted to Islam, and changed his name to Yusef Islam.
10. In 1972, the world record for consecutive push-ups was set by Richard Knecht. He did 25,222 on a hard surface. It took him 11 hours and 14 minutes.

New!!

A Superhero love story.

Sent away to school to get her away from undesirable company, Agnes finds herself homesick and lonely. A brief connection with Jason Warner leads to the teenage crush to end all teenage crushes. Jason is barely aware Agnes exists, but she plans her whole future around him.

It is only when they meet again as adults that the connection becomes mutual; but before it can develop, Jason makes a discovery which rocks his entire world. He needs time alone, away from everyone, including Agnes. When Jason is finally ready to go back to his old life, Agnes has moved on and he cannot find her.

Agnes is now a single parent to the remarkable Seraphina. The Power League want to harness Seraphina's powers for evil before the Freedom League become aware of her. Agnes has no idea her new colleague and friend is a supervillain with his own agenda, and his willingness to babysit is not as innocent as she thinks. As Incendio starts teaching Seraphina to use her powers, the Freedom League intervene. Little do they know that they have found one of their own.

Where to get it:

Paperback

E-book

22 December

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 22 December:

1. On this date in 1716, Lincoln's Inn Theatre, London, put on England's first Pantomime, which included Harlequin, Columbine and Pantaloon.
2. In 1895, German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen made the first X Ray, of his wife's hand.
3. In 1938, A coelacanth, a fish thought to be extinct, was caught off South Africa.
4. In 1977, a young man named Thomas Helms decided to commit suicide. He climbed to the edge of the observation deck on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building in New York, and jumped off. However, he only fell 20 feet before landing on a narrow ledge. He suffered no major injuries but was knocked unconscious for half-an-hour – adequate time for an emergency crew to bring him safely inside.
5. In 2000, a magistrate’s musical tie played Santa Claus is coming to Town as a man convicted of common assault was led down to cells. The tie was a present from wife, and he didn't know how to switch it off.
6. In 1987, Chinese thieves caused chaos in the streets of Xianyang in north China when they stole 2,249 manhole covers to sell back to government departments.
7. In 877, King Alfred the Great passed a law that no servant had to work during the 12 days of celebration following Midwinter – basically the 12 Days of Christmas, a Christian period of celebration created to replace the pagan Saturnalia.
8. In 1984 Koko, a Gorilla who spoke sign language, cried at the news that her kitten had died.
9. In 2010, the Abbey Road Zebra Crossing in north London, famous for appearing on a Beatles Album cover, was given Grade II listed status. The crossing, the first of its kind to be listed, was being recognised for its "cultural and historical importance" following advice from English Heritage.
10. On this date in 1980, Stiff Records released an album titled The Wit and Wisdom of Ronald Reagan. The record contained no sound whatsoever.

New!!

A Superhero love story.

Sent away to school to get her away from undesirable company, Agnes finds herself homesick and lonely. A brief connection with Jason Warner leads to the teenage crush to end all teenage crushes. Jason is barely aware Agnes exists, but she plans her whole future around him.

It is only when they meet again as adults that the connection becomes mutual; but before it can develop, Jason makes a discovery which rocks his entire world. He needs time alone, away from everyone, including Agnes. When Jason is finally ready to go back to his old life, Agnes has moved on and he cannot find her.

Agnes is now a single parent to the remarkable Seraphina. The Power League want to harness Seraphina's powers for evil before the Freedom League become aware of her. Agnes has no idea her new colleague and friend is a supervillain with his own agenda, and his willingness to babysit is not as innocent as she thinks. As Incendio starts teaching Seraphina to use her powers, the Freedom League intervene. Little do they know that they have found one of their own.

Where to get it:

Paperback

E-book

21 December

10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 21 December:

1. This date in 1804 saw the birth of Benjamin Disraeli, first Earl of Beaconsfield, British Conservative statesman who served in government for three decades, twice as Prime Minister—the first and thus far only person of Jewish parentage to do so. He was also a novelist. He wrote romances, of which Sybil and Vivian Grey are the best-known. He said, "What we anticipate seldom occurs; what we least expected generally happens."
2. An act passed by the House of Keys on the Isle of Man on this date in 1840 granted women the vote, provided they were widows or spinsters with a property rated annually at £4 or over.
3. The first feature-length cartoon with colour and sound, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, an animated masterpiece produced by Walt Disney, had its world première in Hollywood on this date in 1937.
4. In 1981, the world's longest aeroplane made its maiden flight. It was an An-225, built by the Russian company Antonov, was made to carry the Buran orbiter, Russia's version of the Space Shuttle. The plane was 84 meters or 276 feet long.
5. In 1968, Apollo 8, the first manned moon voyage was launched with Borman, Lovell and Anders aboard. They became the first men to orbit the Moon.
6. In 1799, William Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, took possession of Dove Cottage at Grasmere, Westmorland.
7. In 2010, Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of the Queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips and Rugby Union player Mike Tindall.
8. In 1988, a Pan Am jumbo jet exploded in flight and crashed onto the Scottish town of Lockerbie killing all 259 passengers aboard and 11 people on the ground. The aircraft, bound for New York, had taken off from London after completing its first leg from Germany. The bomb was hidden in a transistor radio.
9. The current cycle of the Mayan "long count" calendar, based on great cycles of 5125 years, ended on this date in 2012, having sparked fears that it meant the end of the world. Needless to say, the fears were unfounded.
10. In 2001 a Tartan was commissioned for Madonna: blue for True Blue and yellow for Blonde Ambition tour.

New!!

A Superhero love story.

Sent away to school to get her away from undesirable company, Agnes finds herself homesick and lonely. A brief connection with Jason Warner leads to the teenage crush to end all teenage crushes. Jason is barely aware Agnes exists, but she plans her whole future around him.

It is only when they meet again as adults that the connection becomes mutual; but before it can develop, Jason makes a discovery which rocks his entire world. He needs time alone, away from everyone, including Agnes. When Jason is finally ready to go back to his old life, Agnes has moved on and he cannot find her.

Agnes is now a single parent to the remarkable Seraphina. The Power League want to harness Seraphina's powers for evil before the Freedom League become aware of her. Agnes has no idea her new colleague and friend is a supervillain with his own agenda, and his willingness to babysit is not as innocent as she thinks. As Incendio starts teaching Seraphina to use her powers, the Freedom League intervene. Little do they know that they have found one of their own.

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