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  Foreign Seed

  Allison Alsup

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  Equal parts mystery and epic novel inspired by historical events, Foreign Seed plunges listeners into the search for a man who seems to vanish out of thin air. 
   
   
   
  China, June 1918. When the explorer Frank Meyer suddenly disappears from a ferry on the Yangtze River, American Vice-Consul Samuel Sokobin is tasked with finding the missing man. By the time Sokobin receives the case, four days have passed since Meyer was last seen on the vast river. With no clues to guide his search and fearing failure in his new post as a man of rank, Sokobin heads upriver with Mr. Lin, a Chinese interpreter he's never met. The investigation soon turns deeply personal for Sokobin, who can't help but conflate Meyer's fate with that of his own daring younger brother—a fighter pilot gone MIA in the world war. As Sokobin continues to search for answers, this mental connection threatens to break him, and he's forced to contend with the biggest question of all: what do we do when the answers we most desperately seek are the very ones that elude us? 
   
   
   
  A sweeping tale of loss and grief, Foreign Seed is a moving testament to friendship, faith, and the resilience of the human spirit. Allison Alsup's exquisitely-researched debut novel will stay in listeners' hearts and minds long after they've finished the last page.

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  A Witch's Den - A look into the...

  Helena Blavatsky

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  Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, often known as Madame Blavatsky, was born on 12th August 1831 into an aristocratic family in present day Dnipro in Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire.  She was the younger sister of the writer Vera Zhelikhovsky. 
   
  Much of Blavatsky’s life story relies on her own memories which changed much during her lifetime and therefore parts of it are unreliable.  What appears to be certain is that much of her life was lived first on family travels and postings and then on her journeys in an effort to further her own self-education and quest for knowledge. 
   
  As a teenager she developed an interest in Western esotericism and from there she claimed many travels including a trip to India where she encountered a group of spiritual adepts, the ‘Masters of the Ancient Wisdom’, who sent her to Shigatse, Tibet, where they trained her to develop a deeper understanding of the synthesis of religion, philosophy, and science.  
   
  By the early 1870s, Blavatsky was involved in the Spiritualist movement, which was then popular both in Britain and abroad, even though she argued against its main tenet that those ‘contacted’ were the spirits of the dead.  
   
  She moved to the United States in 1873 and became close to the journalist Henry Steel Olcott who helped her gain public attention as a spirit medium and then also became an adherent to her principles.   
   
  In 1875 in New York City she co-founded the Theosophical Society and two years later published ‘Isis Unveiled’, a book outlining her Theosophical world-view from its ancient roots to the modern day.  Her work was even more popular in Asia than elsewhere and is said to have influenced both Ghandi and Nehru amongst many others.  
   
  In 1880, she and Olcott moved to India, where the Society was allied to a Hindu reform movement.  That same year she converted to Buddhism.  However, she was often plagued with accusations of fraudulent paranormal phenomena.  
   
  With her health failing she returned to London and published ‘The Secret Doctrine’, her commentary on claimed ancient Tibetan manuscripts, and other books.  
   
  Helena Blavatsky died in London of influenza during the global pandemic on 8th May 1891.  She was 59.

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  The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard

  Arthur Conan Doyle

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  Originally published in the Strand Magazine between December 1894 and September 1903. The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard by Arthur Conan Doyle, the celebrated author of Sherlock Holmes and the Lost, follows the adventures of Brigadier Etienne Gerard, a courageous soldier in the service of Napoleon.From a sleepy cafe in Paris, he whiles away the hours recounting his glories in the service of France. From his victory over the Count of the Castle of Gloom, the mysterious affair of the Ajaccio Brothers and his daring escape from Dartmoor Prison to his brush with the dastardly Marshal Millefleurs and his successful conveying of the Emperors own despatches through the enemy held towns of Soison and Senlis. Gerard never wavers in his dedication to the Emperor, or his convictions that he is the finest soldier in all of france, and therefore, the world.Adapted into several films and radio dramas across the years, George McDonald Fraser once cited Brigadier Gerard as a major inspiration for his own fictional comedic adventurer Harry Flashman.Narrated by Michael Ward.

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  Washington Square

  Henry James

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  Washington Square, written by Henry James and published in 1880, is a poignant exploration of love, family dynamics, and societal expectations set in mid-19th-century New York City. The novel centers on Catherine Sloper, the plain and introverted daughter of Dr. Austin Sloper, a wealthy and respected physician. 
  Catherine's life is heavily influenced by her father's disapproval. Dr. Sloper, who lost his wife during childbirth, views Catherine as a disappointment; she lacks the beauty and brilliance he admired in her mother. This disappointment manifests in his dismissive treatment of her, stunting her emotional growth and leaving her socially awkward.The narrative takes a turn when Catherine meets Morris Townsend, a charming but financially unstable suitor at her cousin's engagement party. 
  Despite her father's skepticism about Morris's intentions—believing him to be primarily interested in Catherine's inheritance—the two quickly fall in love and become engaged.Dr. Sloper vehemently opposes the match, fearing that Morris is a fortune hunter. In an attempt to separate them, he takes Catherine on an extended trip to Europe, hoping she will forget Morris.

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  The Dancing Stone

  Evelyn Hood

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  Not Yet Available

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  The Colony of Lost Souls

  Kelsey James

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  Born a year apart, May and June Anderson were once as close as twins. Time and a loveless marriage changed the once vibrant May into June's timid counterpart. Now, two years after June abruptly disappeared, May receives a letter from her sister, inviting her to visit a mysterious colony in southern California. Eager to match June's boldness for once, May doesn't hesitate. 
   
   
   
  The Colony is located in a magnificent Spanish Revival-style mansion perched on a bluff overlooking the Pacific, and is presided over by the group's charismatic leader, Rex. Colony members believe in an afterlife where departed souls mingle, and that the truly enlightened can even summon back the spirits of lost loved ones. May is told that June has recently left on a mission, and she's intrigued enough to accept Rex's invitation to stay until her sister's return. 
   
   
   
  Drawn deeper into the group, and under Rex's seductive spell, May undergoes their initiation ceremony. Yet her questions grow more urgent with June's continued absence—and the warnings of a presumptuous but charming undercover investigator. May has longed for the daring, adventurous life her sister pursued, but her arrival has sparked a dangerous unraveling within the Colony, where nothing and no one is quite as it seems.

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