Diana Duncan – författare

To the passengers aboard the cruise ship Alexandra's Dream, Ariana Bennett appears to be an unassuming librarian. But her real mission is to probe the underworld of antiquities smuggling and find the criminals who framed her father and caused his death. At one of their ports of call, Ariana hopes to discover proof of her father's innocence. Instead she finds herself held captive. And Dante, an intense and mysterious stranger imprisoned with her, is her only ally.She realizes they must join forces to survive, but when their alliance turns to attraction, she wonders if he may be concealing his true intentions. If only she could trust him. If only she could trust herself. . .

Matilda loves dressing up her long-suffering dog, Basil. Day and night she parades him in a series of outfits, from tutus to superhero costumes none of them suited to a big clumsy Labrador who would rather just wear his collar. But one day Matildas mum decides to come to his rescue. She takes Matilda and her siblings to the zoo. As they look at the animals, she paints a picture for the children with her words, helping them to see how silly the animals would look if they were dressed up in a variety of outrageous costumes. Will Matilda take the lesson to heart and stop having dog dress-up days for poor Basil?

Although Sam, Cleos dog, is enormous, he is a real wimp. Cleos mum urges him to be brave because he is frightened of everything; even Punky the poodle from down the road and Fat Felix, the cat who hangs around the park. But one day when some bullies decide to pick on Cleo as she skips off to school, Sam suddenly finds the courage to defend her and also lands himself a splendid daytime job!

After Charlie learns to swim, his father takes him to choose a new puppy as a reward. But to his Dads surprise Charlie chooses a small quiet puppy he calls Abe, because somehow he knows this is just the dog for him! Dad complains that Abe wont play or fetch and is afraid of everything even dogs half his size but Charlie understands what its like to be shy and tells Abe that they will try to be tough and brave together.One night, Abe decides to put a cunning doggy plan into action when he overhears Charlie telling Dad that he is being bullied at school by a boy called Garth.Not only does Abe teach Garth a (rather amusing) lesson he will never forget, but he also shows Dad and his classmates that bravery comes in all shapes and sizes and that lots of our problems can be solved if we just have a loyal friend.