AustLit

'Times are tough in the small town of Yallaroo where Ally Simpson has lived her whole life. The whole area is in drought and people are going broke or moving away. So when Ally hears about a competition to win the trip of a lifetime to visit the Smithsonian Museum in the USA, she knows she’s got to do everything she can to try and win.

'Ally enlists her best friends Harmony and Ping to help her plan the most impressive experiment she can imagine: to send a video camera to the edge of space, and prove once and for all that the earth is round. At first, Ally is pretty sure she’s got the whole competition stitched up. But then, as one disaster after another derails her plans, she begins to learn the importance of staying grounded even while she’s aiming for the sky…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Twelve-year-old Bobby Baxter’s not the bravest kid on Earth. His list of things that scare him is up to number 689, and includes lightning, crowds, spiders, alien abductions, crocodiles, falling from great heights, falling from small heights and eggs.

'So when he learns that he’s the first Earthling ever chosen to attend the Galactic Space Academy, light years away from home, he’s terrified - and that’s before he discovers that someone at the academy wants the boy from Earth gone. '  (Publication summary)

'Teenagers on skateboards jumped off walkways, dropped a dozen floors and activated rockets to safely land walkways below. Blake took a deep breath, inhaling something that smelt like a cross between burnt plastic and toffee apple. Neo City, Blake thought. Home, sweet home.

'NEO City, 2509. After a series of operational bungles, as well as the accidental death of his partner, special agent Blake Carter’s career at the Planetary Bureau of Investigation is in trouble.

'To make matters worse, he’s just been assigned a new partner—and the beautiful and brilliant Nicki Steel happens to be a cyborg.

When universe-famous criminal Bartholomew Badde steals a weapon capable of destroying whole planets at a time, Blake and Nicki must work together to recover it—an investigation that takes them to all corners of the weird and wonderful galaxy.

But things get serious when Badde kidnaps Blake’s teenage daughter, Lisa. Can Blake prove he’s still a first-rate agent—not to mention father—and save Lisa in time?' (Publication summary)

'As the dark clouds of another war loom, Jack, Scarlet and Mr Doyle travel from grimy streets of London to neon-bright metropolis of Tokyo.

'They’re on a mission for the British government: to locate the Kusanagi sword, an ancient relic believed to have magical powers. If they can find the sword, the Emperor of Japan promises to keep the peace between his nation and the allies.

'But in Tokyo, they soon discover that the Nazis are after the sword, too. And they will stop at nothing for world domination—putting the team’s lives in terrible danger.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Book Four of the Jack Mason Adventure series

'After a series of fatal bombings across London, Jack, Scarlet and Mr Doyle are drawn into another baffling case: the reported sighting of a monster loose in the city’s underground sewers.

'Before they can investigate, the team must travel to Spain to hunt down a group of terrorists.

'But just as they close in, Jack and Scarlet are kidnapped. With their lives in perilous danger, will Mr Doyle find his young assistants in time?

'While back in London, will the monster’s true origins be uncovered before it too wreaks deadly destruction across the city?' (Publication summary)

'When The Broken Sun, an ancient artefact said to lead to the lost city of Atlantis, is stolen from the British Museum, Jack, Scarlet and Mr Doyle embark on a hunt across Europe to find it.

'But just as the artefact is within reach, their beloved secretary is mysteriously poisoned.

'In their race against time to find the antidote, the team uncovers a deadly plan, to attack the Houses of Parliament.

'Though no one has banked on another shocking discovery—that Mr Doyle’s long-dead son may still be alive…' (Publication summary)

'‘Mr Doyle,’ Scarlet said. ‘You have not explained what we are doing.’

‘I thought you’d never ask. We are travelling to Colchester Prison.’

‘Colchester Prison?’ Jack caught Scarlet’s eye. The detective might as well have suggested a trip to the moon. ‘Why?’

‘To prevent a terrible crime.’

'Jack, Scarlet and Mr Doyle return for their next action-packed adventure.

'When the world’s deadliest assassin, the Chameleon, escapes from prison, Jack begins his most dangerous investigation yet.

'With only the scantest of clues, the team travels from London to New York, a bustling metropolis filled with airships, steam cars and exciting new ideas.

'Here they uncover a terrible plot that threatens the president’s life and brings the nation to the brink of civil war. Can Jack track down the Chameleon in time? And just what is the mysterious whip of fire that has the power to wreak destruction across the world?' (Publication summary)

A series of steampunk fantasy novels aimed at young adults.

'Jack Mason has grown up as an acrobat in a circus. Now, after the tragic death of his parents, he must live inside the gloomy walls of Sunnyside Orphanage in London, a city of fog and snow, filled with airships, steam cars and metrotowers that stretch into space.

'Luckily for Jack, he’s taken under the wing of the brilliant and eccentric detective Ignatius Doyle. Little does he know how dangerous life is about to become.

'A girl named Scarlet Bell comes seeking the great detective’s help. Her father has been kidnapped, and the future of the world itself may be at stake. Is the evil hand of Professor M pulling all the strings? Mr Doyle and Jack know there is no time to lose.

'With all its twists and turns and helter-skelter action, The Firebird Mystery is an addictive story and a spellbinding homage to the world of Victorian literature that will appeal to readers of all ages.' (Publisher's blurb)