Download or read book Beginnings written by Debbie McGowan and published by Beaten Track Publishing. This book was released on 2013-05-31 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Journey back to childhood, where the buds of friendship blossom; take a peek into the lives of the primary schoolchildren who would become...The Circle. A prequel to the Hiding Behind The Couch books. As the title suggests, this short story focuses on the early school days, long before the birth of the full 'Circle' - a series of sectors, if you will. Contains no real spoilers, so can be read independently of the rest of the series and in any order. "A very sweet short story of blossoming friendships and childhood traumas." "...a wonderful, engaging story that made me feel good inside.... Highly recommended for readers who love richly written characters and clever dialogue." * * * * * WARNING: this story deals with themes of child sexual abuse, sudden infant death, and parents' marriage breakdown due to infidelity. All issues are written about sensitively and in a way that is intended to be accessible for children aged ten and above.

Download or read book Class A written by Debbie McGowan and published by Beaten Track Publishing. This book was released on 2016-12-01 with total page 51 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Simon is young and handsome. To the people around him, he looks like he’s got it all—money, looks, a future with a wife… All mapped out by his parents. But Simon is gay. And Simon is high. And when Simon sees his fake girlfriend Jess alongside a boy called Taz, suddenly all the choices explode. Will Simon follow his orders? Or will he follow his heart? *** A fully stand-alone short story - part of Hiding Behind The Couch. For readers of the series, this coincides with Ruminations. Part of Take a Chance Anthology.

Download or read book Hiding Out written by Debbie McGowan and published by Beaten Track Publishing. This book was released on 2015-03-18 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If any adult was going to get the chicken pox, it would be Sean Tierney. That alone would be bad enough, but his illness means friend and colleague, Josh Sandison-Morley, has to step in and face his fears: guest-speaking at a university in Norwich. As Josh gathers his husband and his foster daughter for the trip, he is unaware that their world is about to collide with that of another makeshift family: Noah and Matty's. Matty is agonising over his impending dance show. Sure, talent scouts will be in the audience, but there's an even bigger problem. Noah - Matty's on-again, off-again boyfriend - has promised to be there, too. And Matty's dance? It has a secret meaning he's not sure he's ready to reveal to Noah. Can Josh and Matty face their fears and perform for their respective crowds? More importantly, will the Sandison-Morleys' influence be enough to get the young men to express their feelings to each other before it's too late? This novella continues the stories of Josh and George from the Hiding Behind the Couch Series and Matty and Noah from the Checking Him Out Series.

Download or read book Meredith s Dagger written by Debbie McGowan and published by Beaten Track Publishing. This book was released on 2019-08-20 with total page 495 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Huddled in a doorway, unseen by the men passing on great horses, Meredith watched from within the hood of her cloak. The pain of the cold, wet morning impaled her, rooting her in place, even as the cat rubbed against her shins with a force that should have felled her. She shooed him away. Go home. But he would not. She wished she had died that night. She wished she had died, for to live like this was not to live at all. * * * When Richie Moorcroft takes a housekeeping position to finance his studies, it means moving back to his childhood home: an ancient, almost-derelict cottage locals claim is haunted. But he never believed those stories; he knows where they came from, and in any case, he has a job to do: keeping nineteen-year-old Julian Denby on the straight and narrow without Julian realising his wealthy parents are paying Richie to do so. Luckily, Julian’s not very astute, although the same can’t be said for their newest housemates: Richie’s bestie, Anneke, and Julian’s older sister, Tamara. Add in George, the cat who appeared from nowhere and is in no hurry to leave, and that makes five…about to uncover the sinister history of their new home.

Download or read book No Time Like The Present written by Debbie McGowan and published by Beaten Track Publishing. This book was released on 2012-11-16 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sometimes a murder mystery is the least of life's challenges... This sequel to Hiding Behind The Couch finds Josh and The Circle fighting to prove the innocence of one James Brown, a well-liked and respected MD of a pizza restaurant chain. But his past is far from helpful in freeing him of suspicion, and Eleanor is all set to call it a day. It's the perfect time to make new friends, make amends...and solve a murder case. * * * * * "...a beautiful tapestry which is a story encompassing so many lives and their interconnections." "I wanted more just so I could find out what the future held for my newfound 'friends'." "All I can hope is for the possibility that Debbie McGowan might like to make this into a trilogy, or even a series that I can keep indulging in for either the rest of my own or the characters' lives!!" NOTE: contains Hiding Behind The Couch plot spoilers - it is therefore recommended that these novels are read in order. * * * * * No Time Like The Present is season two in the Hiding Behind The Couch series. The story follows chronologically from Hiding Behind The Couch (Season One) and continues in The Harder They Fall (Season Three).

Download or read book The Advent of Reason written by Debbie McGowan and published by Beaten Track Publishing. This book was released on 2018-12-20 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A weekend in an ancient castle and a murder-mystery game that becomes all too real. It's safe to say Josh's plans for a romantic anniversary with George are not turning out the way he'd hoped. In spite of his cynicism, and his promise not to embark on any more life-threatening pursuits for answers, when one of the guests turns up dead, Josh can't help but put his talents to use to solve the murder. The Advent of Reason is a (more or less) stand-alone novella-length character special in the Hiding Behind The Couch series.

Download or read book Chain of Secrets written by Debbie McGowan and published by Beaten Track Publishing. This book was released on 2023-02-07 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of George and Josh - two little boys who became best friends...two adolescents who stayed best friends...two young adults with secrets that might change their friendship forever. Josh and George have always shared the special bond of friendship. From days in primary school, to holidays spent riding their bikes along the canal, theirs is a promise to remain best friends forever. But can that promise withstand the trials of adolescence, and the changes in their feelings towards each other? NOTE: this is a fully stand-alone story, but it contains significant spoilers for anyone reading the Hiding Behind The Couch series, and should be read after The Harder They Fall (season three).

Download or read book A Snowy Ball written by Debbie McGowan and published by Beaten Track Publishing. This book was released on 2017-12-19 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: London: December, 1981. A White Christmas is on the cards, but as the temperature drops, the pressure on Arty mounts. He’s got far too much planned in the coming days to have it all buried under a mountain of snow. Between his retirement surprise for Jim and the Christmas party at the dance school, Arty might need to curtail his daydreaming a little to ensure everything comes together. Still, if all else fails, at least he and Jim have each other to keep them warm through the impending blizzard. Note: this story follows on from When Skies Have Fallen and as such contains spoilers for anyone who has not read the novel.

Download or read book To Be Sure written by Debbie McGowan and published by Beaten Track Publishing. This book was released on 2017-12-07 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Saorla Tierney’s sons are conspiring against her, and at their age, they should know better. After all, she’s nearly seventy-one herself, and, quite frankly, whether she still ‘has needs’ is none of their business. OK, so, maybe she was a bit harsh with Sean when all he did was ask if she and Aileen wanted a double hotel room. And of course she feels bad for biting Finn’s head off when he was only having a wee joke. Between her grandson’s unconventional baptism and the decades-long feud between her sons, even with Aileen at her side it’s not as easy a decision as they seem to think. Or maybe it is. Saorla doesn’t know anymore, and until she’s sure… * * * * * To Be Sure is a stand-alone, novella-length character special in the Hiding Behind The Couch series. Chronologically, it comes a couple of months after the end of Reunions (Season Seven) and coincides with the ending of Reverberations.

Download or read book Reverberations written by Debbie McGowan and published by Beaten Track Publishing. This book was released on 2022-12-21 with total page 577 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mysterious happenings are mounting up for Josh, Sean and their estranged alumni. Josh Sandison-Morley was born a sceptic. Why else would he insist there’s no such thing as ghosts when he’s eliminated every plausible explanation for the noises in his former therapy rooms? Sean Tierney’s having some ‘performance issues’. His GP says there’s no physical reason: his blood pressure is under control, and he’s stayed off the booze, ergo it’s all in his head. In the circumstances, being a palliative clinical psychologist isn’t proving (self-)helpful. Despite two decades of friendship and their grand plans to open a private psychotherapy centre, neither man confides in the other. That is, until news reaches them both, via different avenues, that their experiences are but part of a bizarre cluster of unexplained phenomena, for which there is only one common denominator. Whether real or the product of overwrought imaginations, Josh, Sean and their alumni must lay to rest the spectre of a once-beloved friend…or admit defeat and crawl back under the safe, weighty stones of the jobs and relationships they’ve left behind.

Download or read book Of The Bauble written by Debbie McGowan and published by Beaten Track Publishing. This book was released on 2016-12-15 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When nineteen-year-old Kieran O’Sullivan takes a trip to the attic for the Christmas decorations, it proves to be an illuminating experience. Box includes: - a hapless but not altogether helpless student - a pedantic supernatural being (or two, or…well, quite a few) - a funky older sister - the coolest mum in the world - a naughty rescue bunny and her easily led feline sidekick - an insightful ex-girlfriend - twinkle lights - tinsel - baubles * Warning – may contain traces of magic and a smidgeon of social commentary (hey, it's a book by Debbie McGowan – did you expect anything else?) * Of the Bauble is a young adult, biromantic/non-binary fantasy romance.

Download or read book Perfect Tenor written by Debbie McGowan and published by Beaten Track Publishing. This book was released on 2021-12-31 with total page 107 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When his music fills your heart, note by note, beat by beat, and your harmonies entwine, effortless, complete. That’s how you’ll know you’ve found the perfect tenor. A cosy festive romance set in the world of Hiding Behind The Couch.

Download or read book Tabula Rasa written by Debbie McGowan and published by Beaten Track Publishing. This book was released on 2018-06-21 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After years of working for the police—both as a beat bobby and undercover—Rob Simpson-Stone is moving on with no regrets. It may be too late to rescue his marriage, but his relationship with his seven-year-old son, Lucas, is back on track. Rob’s grown-up nieces might be a taller order, but he’s prepared to do whatever it takes to prove they no longer need to worry that one day he won’t come home. Fate, however, has different ideas. When Rob fails to arrive at his leaving do, his former boss/new PI business partner Gray Fisher can’t understand why nobody else is worried Rob is MIA, never mind that Gray is pointlessly missing out on a night in with Will. As the reasons behind the night’s events unfold, Gray’s past recklessness threatens to catch up with him, putting those he holds close in danger and forcing both Rob and Gray to forge reluctant alliances.

Download or read book In The Stars Part II Cancer Sagittarius written by Debbie McGowan and published by Beaten Track Publishing. This book was released on 2014-06-01 with total page 690 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “You must learn to look beyond the evidence. It shows only what you wish to believe is real, not what you really wish to believe.” Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love… (Hamlet, Shakespeare) The Circle is in flux. It’s been a hectic six months, and as the friends head into the heat of summer, more trials await that will truly test the bonds of friendship. For whilst a circle may contract and may even at times constrict, it can also expand, accommodate, embrace. And it is always whole. Eternal. Set over a period of six months (July–December), In The Stars Part II continues to explore the day-to-day lives of The Circle—nine friends from high school, now in their late thirties—following them through a year of celebration, loss, illness and life-changing decisions. In The Stars Part II is Season Five in the Hiding Behind The Couch Series. This book is also available as six separate episodes. The story follows chronologically from In The Stars Part I (Season Four) and Breaking Waves (Novella). It continues in A Midnight Clear (Novella), Red Hot Christmas (Novella) and Two By Two (Season Six). For those readers unfamiliar with the series, In The Stars Part I re-introduces the main characters, so you could pick it up from there and perhaps catch up with the previous books later. * * * * * WARNING: this story contains intimate (moderately explicit) scenes between consenting opposite sex (F/M) adults. * * * * * What readers say about the Hiding Behind The Couch Series: “The remarkable characterisation in these novels is what makes them for me.” “This story reminds me of my favorite movies about friendship and relationships.” “Few authors have explored the depths of longtime friends within a group, or ‘circle’ the way Debbie McGowan has!” “The way the author deals with the complexities and issues in these books is delicate and compassionate, but with a matter-of fact-grit that smacks of reality.”

Download or read book First Christmas written by Debbie McGowan and published by Beaten Track Publishing. This book was released on 2013-12-01 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Remember the way you used to feel when you were little? So eager for Santa’s visit, sleeplessly counting the minutes till morning, trembling with excitement and anticipation… Will I get what I wished for? Have I been good enough? Josh and George spent half a lifetime apart, so it matters not that they’re all grown up now. For this is their first Christmas together, in their new home. They finally have all that they wished for… …But perhaps Santa still has a few surprises in store. This Christmas, join Josh and George for a Christmas story full of festive magic and romance. Best read in December, in front of a roaring log fire, by the twinkling light of a Christmas tree. * * * * * First Christmas a novella-length character special. Part of Hiding Behind The Couch series. The story follows chronologically from The Harder They Fall (Season Three) and continues in In The Stars Part I (Season Four).

Download or read book Not My Christmas written by Debbie McGowan and published by Beaten Track Publishing. This book was released on 2019-12-25 with total page 87 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christmas at the Davenports has never been a relaxing affair, so when the opportunity for a little alone time with a beautiful, available woman comes Charlie Davenport’s way, she takes it, breaking several family traditions and risking the wrath of her siblings. But it’ll be worth it, right? And she can always make it up to them later…or next Christmas. * * * * * For readers of the Hiding Behind The Couch series, Not My Christmas comes several months after Reunions (Season Seven) and immediately after The Advent of Reason.

Download or read book When Skies Have Fallen written by Debbie McGowan and published by Beaten Track Publishing. This book was released on 2015-07-08 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the 28th Lambda Literary Award (Gay Romance). For many in war-torn 1944, love blossoms in the dance hall, and airman Arty Clarke is no exception. He's a thinker and a dreamer; however, it's not the beautiful, talented dancer in his arms - his best friend Jean - who inspires his dreams. For when his gaze meets that of Technical Sergeant Jim Johnson, Arty dares to imagine a different dance. Their love is forbidden, by both the armed forces and the law, but with Jean's cunning and support, Arty and Jim try to bridge the distance between them and find true love despite the danger and a life-threatening disaster that could destroy Arty's dreams for good. Can the pair stand strong together, no matter how many skies have fallen? ---- Part of Love is an Open Road (Don't Read in the Closet 2015) MM Romance Group