Month: December 2025

Independently published, and the first in a hotly anticipated three-book series, Barnett’s debut historical fantasy has won best audiobook prize in the Purple Dragonfly Book Award AND first prize for the fiction book cover design in the Best Indie Book Awards (BIBA) 2025. 

AUSTRALIAN-MADE: The audiobook is a local Melbourne creation – recorded and produced by Andre Octavio and read by Janine Howe. The award-winning cover was designed by Betty Martinez.

A fast-paced, high-stakes tale, notoriously difficult to put down, The Chalice of Fortune features ancient riddles, an historic castle (with secret passages), an unlikely (but awesome) heroine, her cousin and their mates, all battling the German war-machine and the ticking of the clock.

Can they solve the riddles in time to save the life of someone she loves? Only time will tell.  But did we mention the ghost… ?

Set in the 1940’s English countryside during World War II, fantasy adventure The Chalice of Fortune was inspired by Barnett’s real family heritage in Warwickshire. Meticulously researched, the Melbourne author merges an action-packed story with wartime history, riddles and a famous castle ghost.

Along the way, she champions the tenacity of teenagers as they discover what true friendship really means against all the odds. While the story appeals to readers aged 9 years and over, this classic tale is one for all ages.   

With enough twists and turns to match the drive, The Chalice of Fortune is the perfect soundtrack for long family road trips this summer.

AMAZON

AUDIBLE

SARAH BARNETT

Q Magazine: supporting the arts in our community since 2004

I’m very proud to announce that ‘Chalice of Fortune’ is available to buy through Q MAGAZINE MEDIA SHOP – on WordPress – and right here at the new home of literature, Q MAGAZINE SHOP.

• Not Rodi himself – the Byzantine Empire’s youngest spy in the West was in another bed when it happened.
• Was it Aripert, the vicious and expendable brother of the Lombard King?
• Was it Gisulf, the Duke’s pretty but manipulative and no less expendable nephew?
• Was it the Duchess – half-drunken, half-shifty regent of Benevento in her husband’s unexplained absence?
• Or Clementian, her cadaverous steward and trusted “adviser”?

So long as he can avoid being hanged at the demand of everyone who matters, none of this, strictly speaking, is Rodi’s concern.

But murder after murder follows inside the palace. Beyond the crumbling city walls, an army of unknown provenance is burning and slaughtering its way through central Italy – headed for Benevento. Assassins are on the prowl for Rodi. A signet ring has vanished from the Exarch of Ravenna’s hand.

Since all these facts may be connected, Rodi has no choice but to stay put and investigate.

The Eunuch’s Ring is a taut historical thriller set in an Italy still hovering between imperial grandeur and medieval fragmentation – a world where Latins, Greeks, and Lombards share an uneasy peace, and one young spy must survive them all.

A perfect Christmas present for lovers of historical fiction.

Richard Blake is a pseudonym for Sean Gabb, who is an historian, writer and university lecturer. He lives in Kent with his wife and daughter.

Available to buy now at Q Magazine SHOP.

OH, FOR GOD’S SAKE! for some may be blasphemous, but for others a phrase of endearment for the almighty. Surely it must be in the inflection and context – and, of course, the person delivering. I am a strong believer in religious freedoms, and although I am not religious, I will defend the freedoms for those who are (and also choose not to).

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the author

Dinis Santos is a Portuguese writer known for his sharp humour and thoughtful reflections on human behaviour, belief and identity. His writing combines wit, emotional honesty and a keen observational voice that invites readers to reflect on the everyday with curiosity and insight.

the book

OH, FOR GOD’S SAKE! brings together 55 witty and razor-sharp chronicles about faith, doubt, and the divine, exploring with humour and reflection the meeting point between the sacred and the profane — and humanity’s eternal obsession with trying to understand the unknowable.

I could not be possibly more excited nor grateful at being given this opportunity. Opening THE SHOP on my site could not be a better fit – I hope you all support the virtual venture and come around sometime, chat, relax, browse and buy.

Published by Nutcase Tales (the name should give you an indication of level of humour involved here) OH, FOR GOD’S SAKE! will be available in both the GENERAL STORE and EBOOK STORE on Q MAGAZINE MEDIA SHOP on new year’s day 2016.