Geraldine's Books

Planting by the Moon 2009Planting by the Moon 2009 (book)

Print: $16.74

Download: $8.62

Scrumptiously produced and printed with colour throughout, in A4 format, 42 pages. The method is clearly explained, both for beginners and experts. The twelve calendar pages are set out with coloured symbols for the different types of crops. There are moonrise and moonset times, full, new and quarter moons, and space for your notes. Useful charts and information on how much and when to water, companion plants, insect attractant plants, and a special section on bees. I have many repeat customers who tell me they have tried other books on the subject and have failed to grasp what the author is trying to tell them. With my journalistic and free-lance writing experience I have been able to explain it in plain and simple terms that anyone can understand. If you bought in previous years, welcome back, and if you are new to this, why not give it a try, believe me, it works!

Witches' Moon Calendar 2009Witches' Moon Calendar 2009 (book)

Print: $17.16

Download: $8.62

Calling all witches and pagans! Here is the annual guide you've been waiting for. Do you know how much better your magic can be if you tune it to the Moon's phase and sign? Each sign of the zodiac has its own special application to magic and when the Moon is in that sign, your magic is supercharged. The planets have a role to play too, as they move in and out of signs, and in and out of aspect with each other. The calendar is a storehouse of information. I give you the positions of the planets at the start of the month, and tell you when they change sign or direction; New, Full and Quarter Moons and Eclipses, dates and times of solstices, equinoxes and the eight major festivals; monthly Full Moon analysis with recommendations for coven workings; featured "Goddesses of the Month" with their stories and symbolism; moonrise and moonset times for every day of the year; Celtic Tree Calendar. A4 format, forty-four pages in full colour.

Fresh Out of the PanFresh Out of the Pan (book)

Print: $13.78

Download: $8.62

Two husbands under her belt, Sally enters the Cooks' Academy at the age of 34, determined to make a career for herself in catering. Coping with the demands of her two children, plus the punishing schedule set by the charismatic - but deadly - Dr Fisher would be more than enough for most people, but her problems don't stop there! Hounded by Social Security, persecuted by her landlord, tormented by her growing obsession with the sexually rampant Dr Fisher, Sal muddles through with no very clear plan of action - apart from her deep-seated belief that the kitchen is her spiritual home. The adventures of Sally and her fellow students and the very real hard work they do in the kitchen, are told at a fast, racy pace - the way Sally lives her life. Whatever you think of Sally's morals, you can't help admiring her guts, her determination to stay the pace . . . . and her cracking love life!

Sweet ChefSweet Chef (book)

Print: $13.78

Download: $8.62

After a year at the Cook’s Academy, Sally is handed a certificate of competence and slung out onto the job market. At 35, she wonders who will employ someone so overqualified and under-experienced, so jumps at the chance of a job in the Zoo, where she quickly finds that the chefs are more dangerous than the animals! Sweating in the intense heat of one of the hottest summers on record, Sal develops muscles as she rolls pastry for pies that would gladden the heart of Desperate Dan. Inevitably, the kids Cleo and Alex manage to escape their grandmother's clutches and turn up at the zoo, posing Sal a problem, not least in the romance department, Cleo now an extremely beautiful fifteen year old, knocking her mother into the shade, and throwing the monkeys into fits of jealousy when their keeper gets the hots for her. Add the Entertainers - re-enacting a bizarre 17th Century hanging every night, and you have a mix that is hotter than dynamite!

Four Geminis and a JacuzziFour Geminis and a Jacuzzi (book)

Print: $18.88

Download: $12.93

Tired of looking down holes in the road for a 'real' man, Sally can't believe her luck when she finds one on a building site. Rough, bearded and covered in cement dust, he is just what she is looking for. But Jimmy Pinchbeck is the site owner on his day off, and turns up to take her out wearing an Italian suit and white shoes, and driving a Merc. He is nuts on blondes, crazy about Abba, and appointing Sally as chef at his sordid sports club is all his dreams rolled into one. What happens next is a trial of strength between diametric opposites - Jimmy, the archetypal conman, knows every trick in the book, but even he can't find out what makes Sally tick. Read about shenanigans with staff and jollies in the jacuzzi as the club lurches from one financial crisis to another and Jimmy talks his way out of everything, while Sally struggles to hold the catering enterprise together and defend her staff from his depredations.

Val Kirkham: The Collected PoemsVal Kirkham: The Collected Poems (book)

Print: $17.16

Download: $8.62

Val Kirkham is a Yorkshire poet now living in Lancashire. This is a collected edition of her life work so far. It is wide-ranging and varied. She knows a great deal about the pain and pleasure of love, and writes about it with searing honesty. She trained as a chef and has worked in a zoo, a banqueting outfit, a mediaeval castle, and an American college. In 1982 she decided to hang up her apron and devote herself to writing, saying she would go back to work when she got bored. She has not got bored yet. She was a performance poet in the 80s, in the North West. Adrian Henri once gasped at one of her poems, and the editor of Lancashire Life called her "the predatory sexual voice cruising in the fast lane of poetry". She sprang to national fame after reading poetry in a jacuzzi. She has been on radio and tv. You will be thrilled, chilled, brought to laughter and tears by this woman's perception and insight. If you are a prude or object to strong language, better pass this one by.

Poet in OrbitPoet in Orbit (book)

Print: $6.81

Download: $5.16

This volume is a selection from the first six books of the Val Kirkham Poetry Collection.

On the Formation of Vegetable MouldOn the Formation of Vegetable Mould (book)

Print: $10.95

Download: FREE

Charles Darwin studied worms in a field behind his house for thirty years - this book is the product of his research. Once you read it, you will never feel the same about these little creatures that have done so much for our earth, and still continue to do, in spite of all we throw at them. Your respect for them will grow and you will forever love them with all your heart. Give this book to the gardener in your life or read it yourself.