10 February: Alex Comfort, author of the Joy of Sex

Alex Comfort, the author of the sex manual The Joy of Sex was born 100 years ago today, on 10 February 1920. Ten things you probably didn't know about him:

1. Sex wasn't the only topic he was an expert in. He was also an expert in ageing (gerontology) and in fact, wasn't entirely happy that he became so famous for a book about sex and his work on ageing was relatively unknown.
2. He'd also been fascinated by molluscs since he was a young man and wrote articles for the Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
3. He wrote his first book, The Silver River, when he was still at school. This book told the story of a voyage to Argentina and Senegal. He also wrote fiction - several novels including No Such Liberty, The Power House and On This Side Nothing.
4. When he was at school he tried to invent a new and better type of gunpowder but it didn't end well. His concoction exploded in his hand, leaving only his thumb.
5. He studied medicine at Trinity College, Cambridge and went on to become a surgeon.
6. He was a staunch pacifist and a conscientious objector during the second world war. He also wrote letters and pamphlets on the subject of pacifism.
7. In 1961 he spent a month in prison for organising a protest against nuclear war.
8. He was still writing letters in 1989 - at that time he wrote to The Guardian denouncing the poll tax.
9. He was married to his first wife for 30 years but ironically they divorced soon after The Joy of Sex was published. He'd been having an affair with his wife's best friend for more than ten years, and subsequently married her.
10. The Joy of Sex was originally going to be called Cordon Bleu Sex with chapters entitled Starters, Main Courses, Sauces, etc - but the owners of the Cordon Bleu name objected.

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Settling the Score

Another collection of short stories, even more murder and mayhem with carol singers, an orchestra out for revenge, a sinister magic stone and a haunted mansion.

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A Tale of Two Sisters

During a battle with supervillains, a horrific accident leaves the Warner family with no option but to believe their youngest daughter, Jessica, is dead. It doesn't occur to them that the bad guys could, or would, save her.

Jessica wakes up with no memory of who she is or how she came to be on a space station with two bionic legs, a bionic arm and a bionic eye. She is told her family abandoned her and is sent back to Earth with a mission - to kill them. While Jessica wants to kill her family, along with the twin boys who once rejected her, she knows what the Alliance of Supervillains are asking her to do is a suicide mission. She decides to get her revenge in her own way.

As Jessica puts the first part of her revenge plan in motion, she finds herself with an agonising decision to make. Before she can decide, the Alliance come for her, determined to make her do their bidding. This time, it's the Alliance who leave her, crippled and at the mercy of the Warner family, who have no idea who the Alliance's Black Rose really is.

Jessica finds herself having to re-think her decisions in light of what she now learns about her family, the Alliance, the twins, and herself. It would appear the Alliance have left her with an unwanted and permanent reminder of her time with them. Or have they?

Jessica's older sister, Jill, knows her destiny is to be a doctor and specialise in bionics and genetic variant medicine. She is also hopelessly in love with Christopher, Crown Prince of Galorvia. Can their romance survive the lies Christopher told her when they were both at school, an unplanned pregnancy and Sophie, the wannabe princess who comes between them?

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