Showing results by author "Iris" in All Categories

Life's a struggle for Rosemary Thorn and her teen daughter, Athena. But their regular troubles are turned upside down after Granny Thorn's mysterious death. Despite her cousin's sinister maneuverings, Rosemary returns to Myrtlewood and the sprawling, dilapidated Thorn Manor. There's more to the old house than meets the eye, as Rosemary and Athena soon find out—in a whirlwind of magic, adventure, mystical creatures, and endless cups of tea.

Rosemary and Athena are just settling into their new life in the unapologetically magical village of Myrtlewood. After so many years in financial turmoil, things are looking up. Rosemary even nabs the perfect part-time job while waiting on a certain handsome vampire lawyer to process her inheritance. Life is surprisingly peaceful until strange disappearances throw everything into chaos leading up to the Spring Equinox.

Delia Spark is caught in a maelstrom. Her former life as a London theatre director is on the brink of implosion amid a scandalous divorce, a tarnished reputation, and, for reasons she cannot fathom, things keep spontaneously combusting around her. Her sixties were supposed to be peaceful, but now even her grown daughter won't return her calls. Escape is the only option.

As the festival of Beltane draws near, mysterious fires are springing up around the magical village of Myrtlewood, and Rosemary Thorn can't help but try to solve the case. Rosemary already has too much on her plate with a hoard of foundling children to house and her own teenager to raise. On top of all this, she has run out of excuses. There's nothing standing between Rosemary and her dream of becoming a magical chocolatier. Well, nothing except her own self-sabotage. Meanwhile, Athena Thorn is yearning for the fae realm and harboring a secret that could put the whole town at risk.

It's Christmas Eve, and Delia's family is finally together again. All is quiet and still, yet Delia can't help but feel a sense of foreboding. After all, an ancient dragon has just awakened and stronger magic is pulsing through the veins of the Myrtlewood Crones. Delia braces herself for her most enchanting adventure yet as questions about her grandmother's mysterious death and her heritage haunt her. On top of all this, her daughter Gillian's strange behavior becomes even more unsettling and the spirited grandchildren tumble into the mix.

With the Winter Solstice on the horizon, the celestial opportunity is presented for releasing the next stage of potent crone magic. The ancient grimoire reveals further puzzles relating to Delia's heritage, and the sudden appearance of an unknown relative on Delia's doorstep presents an entirely new challenge. Time is running out, and the stakes are high. Alliances will be tested, mysteries unraveled, and the battle for the very essence of crone magic will leave no one unchanged.

Alyssa was just getting used to life in Kotahi Bay when an old friend arrives, bringing a kitten and more complications. Then a handsome stranger with a dark past moves in next door, and everything she believed about magic—and herself—begins to unravel. When the town's guardians call upon her for help, Alyssa must face a choice that terrifies her more than any ghost ever could. But with new threats emerging and old secrets surfacing, running is no longer an option.

Rosemary Thorn's life takes another surreal turn as she prepares to host the most unlikely event of the season, while her daughter Athena juggles exam stress and organizing the town's Imbolc ritual. Darkness is stirring in the nearby forest, and a hunger-driven force threatens to consume everything in its path. With vampire politics, fae realm adventures, and cantankerous deities in the mix, Rosemary and Athena must confront both external dangers and their own inner demons.

Rosemary's chocolate shop is thriving with the help of Papa Jack, but it isn't long before the town is under attack by mysterious swampy monsters, and the local election reveals a dark side to the normally peaceful village. Meanwhile, despite her mother's reservations, Athena is determined to embark on a journey into the fae realm to uncover her heritage and play a role in forging a treaty between magical beings. Join Rosemary and Athena as they navigate vampire politics, pesky pixies, complicated magical family dynamics, and feisty familiars!

In December 1937, in the capital of China, one of the most brutal massacres in the long annals of wartime barbarity occurred. The Japanese army swept into the ancient city of Nanking and within weeks not only looted and burned the defenseless city but systematically raped, tortured and murdered more than 300,000 Chinese civilians. Amazingly, the story of this atrocity- one of the worst in world history- continues to be denied by the Japanese government.

Rosemary and Athena's lives are thrown as the big Summer Solstice festival brings a series of mysterious events. Rosemary's chocolate shop plans are being waylaid by strange disappearances and uninvited visitors. Meanwhile, Athena is sure the astrological lessons at Myrtlewood Academy hold the key to unlocking the town's latest mystery, even if her mother doesn't want to hear about it. Can Rosemary and Athena manage to work together and cast aside their stubbornness before thousands of festival-goers succumb to a magical catastrophe?

Her sudden disappearance leaves the Crones in turmoil, sparking a fervent quest to find her. Amidst the search, Ingrid's ancestral ties to the Clochar raise further questions. Meanwhile, Marjie is grappling with some family secrets of her own. As the water Crone, her journey demands a plunge into depths unknown, challenging the limits of her courage and revealing the strength of her heart.

Edward Baltram is overwhelmed with guilt. His nasty little prank has gone horribly wrong: He fed his closest friend a sandwich laced with a hallucinogenic drug, and the young man fell out of a window to his death. Edward's guilt and depression are worsened by daily letters from the young man's mother cursing Edward as a murderer. Tortured, Edward searches for redemption through a reunion with his famous father, the reclusive painter Jesse Baltram.

Delia Spark has faced her fair share of drama both on and off the stage. But just as she's getting used to being a powerful fire crone, life throws her a twist that would challenge any mother's heart. Contending with revelations about her family's magical legacy, and her impending divorce from her cult-leader ex, Delia must navigate treacherous magical politics, confront long-buried secrets, and race to find the fire dragon before its ancient power falls into the wrong hands.

Rosemary has her hands full with the launch of her much anticipated magical chocolate shop. She's enjoying the peace and quiet of Myrtlewood, and the last thing she wants to do is get involved in Bermuda witching politics. Athena, on the other hand, is dying for a tropical escape, especially when things take a turn for the strange and unusual where her powers are concerned, leading to terrible embarrassment.

Nestled in a cozy cottage with a lush garden and an abundance of bookshelves, Ursula hopes for a peaceful escape. But strange occurrences quickly unravel, leaving her feeling as though she's being watched. Unusual visions of a mysterious purple-haired woman and out-of-season plants add to her unease. As she becomes acquainted with the enigmatic Rowan and his eccentric house truck, Ursula begins to suspect that he may hold the key to understanding the bizarre happenings in this enchanting world.

Jesamine (Jez) Jacobs is making waves and calling her own shots in the singer-songwriter circuit across the southwest of England. What she doesn't need is a snarky rock band owning the crowds she plays for. She has her own fans, and there's no way theirs will accept her. But when Ash Knightley, head of the country's leading artist management company, selects her to open this headlining band's next tour, she'll have to share a stage and play nice with the band members—the pack who sidelined her career three years earlier.

Full-cast dramatisations and a reading of works by Iris Murdoch, plus a bonus interview with the author herself Booker Prize-winning author Iris Murdoch is renowned for her sublime fiction, exploring themes such as art, passion, morality and human freedom. Included in this collection are...

As the leaves fall and the fog thickens, the town of Myrtlewood prepares for the annual Samhain festival. But this year, something is different. The chill in the air is not just from the frost but from a deeper magic, an ancient magic that has lain dormant for years. Rosemary Thorn and her daughter Athena both sense that something is amiss. They soon find themselves caught up in a thrilling mystery as strange occurrences happen around town. They must navigate through the mystical and mysterious world of magic and uncover the truth behind the spooky happenings before it's too late.