Charlie Big Potatoes

Charlie Big Potatoes is a bittersweet delight, proving that big boys do cry. And a lot more besides. Charlie Marshall is not a man who should be getting married. But the ceremony is in five days' time and it's too late to back out. His future mother-in-law has paid for 150 portions of salmon and his mates are about to drag him off to New York for a stag weekend he'll never forget - if he manages to live that long... You see, the consequences of his drunken life are about to fall on him like a ton of uneaten wedding cake. The booze and the drugs, the fights and the fires, the greedy boss, the girls and his mother are killing him faster than his knack for colliding with hard surfaces at high speed. So, trapped somewhere between married life and a night in casualty, Charlie attempts to face his demons and learns a few lessons about fidelity, fickle friends and gambling grandmothers along the way. But it remains to be seen whether he can gather his scattered wits, fake a quick recovery and get through rehab before his cheque bounces and his liver dissolves...

"Charlie Marshall is not a man who should be getting married. When Charlie, a twenty-five-year-old magazine writer, returns home to London after his New York bachelor party, his arm is broken - the result of being thrown out of a bar after lighting his boss's hair on fire - and he is nursing the effects of a near fatal overdose. He arrives wasted at his own wedding, where the sight of his fiancee, Sarah, in a big white dress, mixed with the expectations of two large families, prove to be the final toxic cocktail for a man who has been wide awake for five days. He crumbles to the floor at the altar." "In the aftermath of his abject failure, Charlie is buried by the harsh realities of his parents' deteriorating marriage, his feckless, hedonistic friends, and his massive desire to drink. When Sarah goes on what was to be their honeymoon with one of his best friends, Charlie's downward spiral is complete, and there is only one thing he can do. He checks himself into rehab and begins an affair with a suicidal self-mutilator. But instead of love, Charlie finds only memories of Sarah. He becomes desperate to earn back his life with her. No longer numbed by various substances and battling the absurdity of his hospital group sessions, Charlie decides he's got to make some changes on his own, and his biggest hope is that Sarah will take notice."--BOOK JACKET.

Looking for a panto script? This bumper collection contains full length, tried and tested scripts for the top 5 most popular pantomimes of the last ten years. Channel 4 comedy writer Brian Luff's versions of Aladdin, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Jack & the Beanstalk and Dick Whittington have been performed in venues all over the UK. The shows all have big casts, loads of great parts, and are ideal for productions by amateur and pro-am theatre groups. The scripts are packed with slick comedy routines, hilarious sketches, messy slapstick and fast, snappy banter. NODA recently described Brian's Aladdin & the Pirates as "A very clever script with many modern twists. A superb example of the panto art!" Please note that a license must be obtained before performing any of the scripts in this book. For more information visit pantoscripts.biz

'Charming, surprising and moving' Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures 'Perfect for fans of A Man Called Ove and Eleanor Oliphant' AJ Pearce, author of Dear Mrs Bird and Yours Cheerfully 'Funny, sad, gritty and beautifully told.' Hazel Prior, author of Away with the Penguins 'A soulful, lyrical tale... a treat.' Beth Morrey, author of Saving Missy 'The perfect mix of humour and heartache' Good Housekeeping 'Uplifting, full of charm and warmth' Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters 'Tender, humorous and hopeful' Lissa Evans, author of V for Victory _______________________________________________ George is angry at the world. His wife has died and now all he wants to do is sit in his underpants and shout at the cricket. The last thing he needs is his cake-baking neighbour Betty trying to rescue him. And then there's the dog, a dachshund puppy called Poppy. George doesn't want a dog - he wants a fight. Dan is a counsellor with OCD who is great at helping other people - if only he were better at helping himself. His most meaningful relationship so far is with his labrador Fitz. But then comes a therapy session that will change his life. Lizzie is living in a women's refuge with her son Lenny. Her body is covered in scars and she has shut herself off from everyone around her. But when she is forced to walk the refuge's fat terrier, Maud, a new life beckons - if she can keep her secret just a while longer... Dog Days is a novel about those small but life-changing moments that only come when we pause to let the light in. It is about three people learning to make connections and find joy and comfort in living life off the leash. COMING SOON IN APRIL 2024 - Ericka Waller's new novel GOODBYE BIRDIE GREENWING __________________________________________________ What readers say about Dog Days: ***** '[An] exhilarating & deeply moving novel about accepting the ebb & flow of life & about grabbing those magical moments when you can...Dog Days is a book with a big heart' ***** 'Life isn't perfect, it's messy & complicated but with small acts of kindness, there is always hope - a sentiment that is captured perfectly in this compelling debut' ***** 'Dog Days had me feeling all the emotions, it broke my heart and gently pieced it back together. ' ***** 'Wonderful journey of three complicated characters and the dogs that saw them through their individual journeys' ***** 'A joy to read from start to finish.'

Penthouse and Pavement is not a book for glory-hunters. It is a book about pain. It's about the anguish of watching your team lose 9-2 in the very first game you ever saw, about the horrible inevitability of defeat that so many feel so often. It's about despair, dismay and black, frightening, deathly gloom. But it's also about hope. About dreams. And about dreams which sometimes, just sometimes, come true. Like the once-in-a-lifetime ecstasy of winning the Cup or a league. And as anyone who's had that moment-of-a-lifetime knows, the joy is even greater because you've known the pain. For Bill Leckie, who has followed St Mirren since 1964, it all became worthwhile when they won the Scottish Cup in 1987. This book is about these clubs and the people who love them. It's about the kind of fan who doesn't go to games expecting to win . . . or, worse, demanding it. This book is about being willing to accept a lifetime of frustration in return for one day of utter wonderment.

Charlie is an irresistibly funny little brother who manages to get into all kinds of scrapes. Whether he's trying to hinder or help his brother Max and best friend Henry, trouble is guaranteed! Tooth Fairy Charlie has four wobbly teeth and cannot wait for the tooth fairy to arrive. There must be some way to make them fall out quickly . . . Big Birthday Bash Why doesn't Max want a party to celebrate his birthday? It doesn't matter, Charlie is going to throw him one anyway!

THE FIRST NEW SERIES FROM #1 BESTSELLER MARK BILLINGHAM IN 20 YEARS. Pre-order the next brilliantly twisty, darkly humorous D.S. Miller thriller, THE WRONG HANDS, now! __________ 'Readers rejoice! A captivating new series from Mark Billingham, the very best in the business' --- RICHARD OSMAN Meet Detective Miller: unique, unconventional, and criminally underestimated... He's a detective, a dancer, he has no respect for authority - and he's the best hope Blackpool has for keeping criminals off the streets. Meet Detective Declan Miller. A double murder in a seaside hotel sees a grieving Miller return to work to solve what appears to be a case of mistaken identity. Just why were two completely unconnected men taken out? Despite a somewhat dubious relationship with both reality and his new partner, can the eccentric, offbeat Miller find answers where his colleagues have found only an impossible puzzle? __________ 'Funny, moving, and full of surprises . . . an absolute treat' --- MICK HERRON 'Billingham blends caustic humour, raw emotion and rollercoaster thrills. His new series is bursting with wit, charm and intriguing, complex characters' --- JANICE HALLETT

‘Four million quid. There it was, inches away from me on a hotel table. Not in conventional currency, but in the world’s deadliest commodity. Heroin.’ As part of Scotland Yard’s undercover team, it was Peter Bleksley’s job to infiltrate some of the capital’s most dangerous gangs and bring them down. For ten years, he went deeper into the criminal underworld than any cop had before him. Meeting with dealers, gangland leaders and members of the IRA and the Mafia, he lived the life of the Great Pretender, constantly changing his identity to ensure his cover was never blown. Whilst undeniably thrilling work at times, it came at a heavy price. The more successful he was at bringing criminals to justice, the longer the list of those who wanted revenge became. Even now, Peter looks over his shoulder in case someone should wish to act on an old threat. In The Gangbuster, Bleksley draws us into the world of drugs, violence and covert operations he inhabited for so long in the pursuit of justice. Now a renowned policing and crime expert seen on the BBC and as the Chief on Channel 4’s Hunted, Peter Bleksley reputation still precedes him the world over.