Barbara Erskine

Dreams in Prussian Blue
by Paritosh Uttam

Listen, Michael. This is serious. This is your best chance to help me -us. If you waste this, "it's all over.?
"What's all over??
"Everything. Between us.?
"Naina"
"Five minutes, that's all you have. I kid you not."

First-year student Naina is utterly smitten by her senior, Michael, acknowledged genius and resident rebel of the Fine Arts College, Mumbai. So when he proposes that they drop out of college and live-in, she readily agrees. But life with Michael soon turns into an emotional rollercoaster. Temperamental, opinionated and incredibly selfish, he expects Naina to run the household so that he is free to paint. Naina tries her hand at several odd jobs, but when an accident leaves Michael blind, their life together begins to come undone as she can only helplessly watch. And in trying to pull it together, Naina is driven to being what she has never been-a liar and a cheat. Will Michael forgive her when he learns the truth? Will she forgive him for what he has done to her?

And Thereby Hangs A Tale
by Jeffrey Archer

Millions of readers around the world have relished Jeffrey Archer's short stories. Taking inspiration from his favorite short story writers - F. Scott Fitzgerald, Maupassant, H. H. Munro, W. Somerset Maugham and O. Henry - Jeffrey Archer has written five bestselling collections over the years and Macmillan are proud to announce the publication of a sixth volume of stories in May 2010.

Jeffrey has a natural aptitude for short stories which are stylish, witty and entertaining. His mastery of characterization and suspense, combined with a gift for the unexpected, jaw-dropping plot twist, show him at the height of his powers and demonstrate why he is one of Britain's best-selling authors.

All of Jeffrey's collections of short stories have been top ten bestsellers and he is undoubtedly the bestselling English-language short story writer of our times.

Calling the Shots (Mel Beeby, Agent Angel)
by Annie Dalton

Mel gets the Call -- a strange out-of-body experience which tells Angel Academy students that they are ready for their first guardian angel module. At first, it seems like a suitably fluffy assignment -- the America of the 1920s, full of flappers and limos, jazz and silent movies. But Mel's got her hands full when she has to look after Honesty Bloomfield, a sullen, withdrawn girl who is travelling across America with her family...