Jane Davis

Andrew Candy

Under the guise of child protection, teacher/pupil relationships, including supportive friendships, have become taboo. So what sort of boy would convince two promising young teachers to risk their careers by breaching their professional code of conduct? Brought up in Wiltshire, Ayisha Emmanuelle has always believed that the best way to avoid trouble is by walking away from it. However, this isn't an option when she is the first teacher on the scene after her colleague Jim Stevens is stabbed, intervening in a playground fight. In the aftermath, 14-year old Shamayal Thomas discloses to Ayisha that he and Jim are friends. Her first duty is to report suspicion of an inappropriate relationship, but imagining the headlines when someone who has been labeled a hero is found to be morally unfit, she hesitates, thereby implicating herself. All that she can do is wait to see if her decision is justified. And waiting is something Ayisha has never been very good at.

A Funeral for an Owl

Mother and daughter: the most precious bond in the world. At six years old, Belinda Brabbage has amassed a wealth of wisdom and secret worries. She knows all the best hiding places in her Worlds End flat, how to zap monsters with her pig-shaped torch and that strangers will tempt you into their cars with offers of Fizzy Fish. Even so, it's impossible to know how to behave when you don't really understand who you are. Mummy doesn't like to be plagued with questions about her family but, when she isn't concentrating, she lets small nuggets slip, and Belinda collects them all, knowing they are pieces of a complicated jigsaw. Exhausted single mother Alison hasn't been able to picture the future for some time. Struggling from day to day, the ultimatums she sets herself for turning her life around slip by. But there is one clock she cannot simply re-set. Deny it though she may, Belinda is growing up. Having stumbled across Alison's portfolio that mapped her life as a prima ballerina, her daughter already has a clearer idea of who she once was. Soon Belinda will be able to work out for herself who she is - and what she does for a living. With options running out, Alison travels to London's suburbs to consult a blind clairvoyant, who transports her to a past she feels exiled from. However unlikely they sound, his visions of pelicans and bookshelves appear to herald change. A chance meeting with an affluent couple affords a glimpse of the life Alison desperately wants for her daughter. But can their offer of friendship be trusted? More "What Maisie Knew' than "Belle de Jour, ' Davis's unflinching new novel of a mother who turns to prostitution is populated with a deeply flawed and inimitably human cast, whose tumultuous lives are shored up by carefully-guarded secrets. Praise for An Unchoreographed Life 'I felt it had something of a feel of Joanna Trollope about it and would appeal to a range of readers interested in traditional and non-traditional families and life paths.' Liz Broomfield 'Beautifully written and so thought provoking, Alison and Belinda will stay with you long after you reach the final page.' Louise Voss Praise for the Author "Davis is a phenomenal writer, whose ability to create well rounded characters that are easy to relate to feels effortless.' Compulsion Reads 'That Jane Davis is an important new writer is a given.' Grady Harp 'Jane is not afraid to get stuck into some meaty themes and present her characters with thought-provoking emotional dilemmas.' Sharon Avidreader 'Jane is an excellent storyteller and writes very unusual tales that are hard to put down.' Sue Darnell 'This author never fails to make you think about wider issues.' MIF 'Clever stories, brilliantly told.' Sarah Diss

Andrew Candy

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