About John and Suzanne Stephenson
After busy legal careers in London and the Southeast of England, we eventually moved to rural Northern Lincolnshire and bought a small farm. John had spent many years as a solicitor but now he was able to switch his attention to more rural pursuits and continue with his interests in military history and Steam Railway Heritage Preservation.
As a young man John had been part of a team who rescued a locomotive “Kinlet Hall” from the Barry Scrapyards. He also inherited a love of military history from his late father who served as a First Lieutenant in the British Army in Northern Germany in the nineteen-fifties. John also shares a love for the rural life with Suzanne, and an interest in animals. At the farm as well as having the domestic animals being a dog and several cats, they keep hens and pigs, and provide grazing for a few horses.
Suzanne had a lengthy legal career as a solicitor and a District Judge, who sat on Family and Civil cases in North London and latterly North Lincolnshire. She inherited an interest in rural life from her late father, a Holocaust survivor, who found work with the National Farmer’s Union when she was a small child. Suzanne always wanted to write and also has always enjoyed painting and sketching.
While our books are very different, we both share the wish that you might enjoy our writing.
GROD'S SECRET WAR
“A band of Partisans in Eastern Europe during the Second World War engage in ferocious and bitter fighting against the Nazis in the marshlands and forests of what is now Belarus.
Grod, a hunter in the forest, brings the group together and leads them. Over time, the Partisan band grows and becomes very effective at attacking German military installations.
As the war unfolds, Grod is called upon to spearhead a daring attack. International relations are tested and the band’s fortunes take them through Europe, the UK and USA in this page-turning epic.”
The above does not do it justice…further comment might be “ John has meticulously researched the historic detail so that there are graphic accounts of military engagements in an exciting narrative”.
Amazon
Mr Perkins Takes Charge
Mr Perkins Takes Charge: A tale of a very superior cat
“Mr Perkins makes sure this is a very different sort of story about a cat.
There cannot be too many books about a moggy working in a lawyers’ office.
When he strolls into Spong, Salter and Tethering Solicitors out of nowhere, he is set to change lives. Is he just a stray or a magical cat, who can gift those around him the changes they deserve? Both good and bad.
The antics of Mr Perkins will amuse and possibly mystify you. As they do everyone who brushes up against a feline of such majestic influence.
This is a story for anyone who loves our feline friends. It’s a story for those in the legal profession. It’s a story for those who stare out of an office window and wonder. Come and join Mr Perkins as he pads around, helping himself to tuna and sunshine.”
Mirador Publishing
Meet the real life Mr Perkins...
The inspiration for this book
A Cat's Judgement
When Mr Perkins shows up, things are going to change.
“How this black cat can make such a difference is anyone’s guess, but he does.
The lives of the people in the courthouse and a nearby bed and breakfast, are going to transform. But will it always be for the better?
Whether it is pet rescue, support dogs, or help with British Sign Language, this black cat seems to be in the mix. Following Mr Perkins’ appearance in the lives of judges, litigants and court staff, the local vet and the people in the B&B, all seem to benefit from the strange cat with the bright yellow eyes.
After touching base with Mr Perkins judgements are improved inside and out of the courtroom. Is this cat some stray moggy, or is there a little bit of stardust on his paws?”
Mirador Publishing
The Tale of Philida Thrush
The Tale of Philida Thrush: A children’s poem about nature, home and community
“When a song-thrush has her nest demolished by the builders, what can a bird do but look around town for a new home?
Assisted by a hedgehog friend and two sparrows, Philida goes on a quest to find somewhere to live.”
Suitable for ages 4 – 7
Mirador Publishing
Bearswood End
Meet the inspiration for this book...
This is a photo of a real black bear taken in 2016 during Suzanne and John’s holiday in Canada in the garden of the B and B
An enigmatic novella of the wilderness
“When a scientist walks into a wood in search of brown bears, he discovers more than he could possibly imagine.
His story is told in a diary. Is it truth or fiction? A complex fantasy world created by a charlatan? Or a place where myth and legend meet our world?
Ursula is the woman who finds the diary and needs to uncover the truth of the scientist’s wild claims.
Slowly revealing the truth, Ursula and her family become entwined with Bearswood End and its protection.
The outside world creeps ever closer, because of an international conference and the bears cry out for help from those they’ve learned to trust.
Can Ursula and her family save Bearswood End? Will the dark power of international greed wipe all before it in a storm? Come, visit Bearswood End, and find out its beautiful secrets.
Is this a fairy tale for adults or is the book about the natural world and the attitude of politicians? Only the reader can judge. What if there is a hidden village mainly populated by brown bears?”
Mirador Publishing
The World According to Patrick White
A tale of a very perfective pig
“Is this a pig of a legal drama?
Or more a story of how a pig might see our world?
Emmie is a part-time lawyer and a part-time farmer who finds she is in possession of a talking pig.
Odd? Yes. But this is only a part of the piggy story.
“Patrick White” as he calls himself questions our rules, our religions and our politics. He is curious and clever and he often finds human behaviour incomprehensible.
Patrick White ends up in court as an expert witness about porcine behaviour. After all, the world needs to know his side of the story. When he meets a royal dignitary, the piggy tail takes another twist.
Patrick has his own views about human behaviour.
Can you imagine what they are?
Dare you find out?”
Mirador Publishing
Meet Barry the boar who gave inspiration to the story...
Santa Pig, The Trials of Patrick White
A tale of a very perfective pig
Being a talking pig is not easy, particularly if you belong to a lawyer. Patrick the pig not only finds himself involved with the Parish Council but also finds himself on trial.
Will he be able to save the local Christmas festivities?
This is a comedy of pigs, law and Christmas which, like seasonal punch, should be enjoyed for warm seasonal cheer, or sometimes just enjoyed for a bit of laughter at humans’ expense.
Mirador Publishing
Waste
“This is a satire of life in a Northern Town centred around the Courthouse and the two other main sources of employment: a waste plant and a sausage and bacon factory.
Two young people, a court clerk and a reporter who come from London, whose lives might otherwise have gone to waste come to Waste. This is the story of what happens to them in the first few months there. But also, the reader will get to know a raft of different characters, mainly from Waste but some who are visiting Waste. They include Judges, the two local Members of Parliament, a media baron, some wily lawyers and the leader of the Council.
Maybe the town and some of its characters are caricatures or perhaps this is how they are. The reader will be privy to some court hearings and will meet some local families. There will be frustrations, there will be sausages, there will be an explosion, there will be a failed 18th century abolitionist, there will be a wedding and there will be cake.
Intrigued? Hopefully, the reader will chuckle and by the end of the book want to know “what happens next”. Certainly, our young court clerk and reporter will have travelled a distance not just geographically but also with their lives. Maybe when you are sitting on the bus or train to work or have time to spare at home between telephone meetings or video conferences, you will visit Waste too. The writer hopes that once you have visited Waste you will want to come back for more.”
LR Price Publications
Forever Waste
Is this a light romantic comedy or a satire which lifts the lid off aspects of legal and political life in a Northern English town?
“Follow the progress of one young couple and their friends who went to Waste.
There is intrigue in the Court House, waste in the waste plant, political manoeuvering, big characters, sausages, and a slice or two of cake and town and country life and a bit of romance.”
Mirador Publishing