The malign shadow of the Devourer has darkened the land, extinguishing life and hope. The followers of the benevolent goddess Karm are hunted mercilessly and cut down by an army of bewitched slayers led by Lord Bahl, the Devourer’s flesh-and-blood incarnation. Only two people stand in the way of an apocalyptic bloodbath that will literally bring hell to earth: a man and a woman linked by a love as strong as it is unlikely–Honus, a grim-faced warrior dedicated to Karm, and Yim, a beautiful former slave with the divine power to stop Lord Bahl. But that power will prove a terrible curse as Yim is called upon to make a costly sacrifice–a sacrifice that will not only put her love for Honus to the test but call into question her very faith. As the evil storm descends, can the flame of hope endure?

Her actions during one violent storm change a young woman's life forever... Candles in the Storm is a spell-binding saga from Rita Bradshaw that follows a young woman as she faces prejudice, war and true love. Perfect for fans of Josephine Cox and Dilly Court. 'Rita's sharp, darting prose with deliciously gossipy undercurrents, perfectly portrays the fragility of lives dependent on the sea... Rita takes us into the heart of a hardy community in a novel full of local flavour, atmosphere traditions and habits' - Sunderland Echo The storm that's raging when fisherman's daughter Daisy Appleby is born in a village just north of Sunderland could be taken as a warning of a turbulent life ahead. It's during another storm fifteen years later that her father and brothers are lost and Daisy rescues William, heir of a wealthy Southwick family, with whom she falls in love. Soon, as her reward for saving him, Daisy is working for William's irascible aunt, while local lad Alf continues to court her. Warned off by Daisy's grandmother, William denies his own feelings and so it will be many years later, after much hardship and turmoil, that Daisy finds the happiness she deserves, amidst the drama of the Great War. What readers are saying about Candles in the Storm: 'The historical setting is brilliant. You feel as though you are living during those times. Sometimes your heart is in your mouth as you turn the pages' 'Best book I have read for a long time. Could not put it down' 'Was enthralled from start to finish'

Daisy Appleby is born in a storm, and 15 years later another storm alters her fate. Her father and brothers are lost at sea, and the same night Daisy saves William, a wealthy local heir, and falls in love. Separated by their families, many years of turmoil pass before she finds happiness.

What could have led to that first clandestine sexual tryst between his wife and the least imagined partner, was a mystery that emasculated Craig Lowe, leaving him as sexless as a gutted snowbird. Only able to contend through the numbing of hard liquor leading to an almost continuous thirst during his waking hours. With opportunities for sexual encounters, while the need was present, the physical response was not. Change came through a series of first time circumstances when he met an attractive woman he had know in their childhood. With their fathers employed in a mobile occupation, they changed areas and schools several times, causing a clinging and closeness of a sibling relationship. Shirley was no longer thought of as a gangling, knobby kneed sibling, but an appetizingly attractive woman. Through a relaxed familiarity of having lived and slept together, and skinny dipped in horse troughs as children, although knowing little about each other, they soon regained the closeness of their earlier years, but with the additional wants and need of the adult world. They soon found that each was the missing link in the others life, but when each others past caught up with them, all did not end well.

When each family at the diverse Juniper Court apartment complex needs something to light up the dark of winter, the stumpy, lumpy candle provides a glow brighter than the fanciest taper, revealing the true spirit of each holiday it illuminates.