Alison Bellringer has been writing short stories to share with friends and family for many years and always enjoys exploring her creativity when putting pen to paper. She is excited to have the opportunity to share her love of writing with others.
Alison loves spending time with her pet dog, a Labrador x Huntaway called Smoky, teaching her tricks and taking her for walks. She lives in a small town in New Zealand near many beautiful parks and beaches.
She has been playing trombone since about 2010, and euphonium from mid-2019, and always likes getting together with a few friends to ‘make a joyful noise’. She also enjoys a bit of photography when she gets the chance, especially if it involves taking pictures of sunsets.
Luke and his rescue dog always love hanging out at the beach when the time allows: plenty of open space to run around, waves crashing gently over soft golden sand, and all practically on his doorstep. What’s not to like?
But one trip is unlike any other – Buddy unexpectedly sniffs out a tiny wee kitten in the sand dunes who is obviously very lost. Tending to the poor creature back at home, Luke starts to feel attached, despite needing to return the kitten to its rightful owners.
Upon leaving the kitten in a household with two very unruly children, he is uneasy about whether or not he’s done the right thing, until he hears the family are trying to find him a new home.
Will Luke be able to keep the kitten? Or will someone else get to him first…?
Ever since Moss had entered his life, Jayden’s whole world changed. He formed a special bond with the stray dog, as a keen sense of trust was established between them. Jayden and Moss now run the farm together; spending nearly every minute of their time out working on the hills, sharing a hard-wearing, yet content life.
But when a new neighbour suddenly shows up and starts accusing Moss of attacking several of his sheep (even threatening to have him put down), everything they know is thrown in peril. Jayden is absolutely sure Moss has nothing to do with the attacks, but Joseph is far too angry and impatient to listen to him until it’s almost too late.
Can Jayden convince Joseph of Moss’ innocence in time? When Jayden accidentally stumbles across the real attacker at work, he gets a nasty shock.
But it’s not just Moss’ life at stake. It’s Jayden’s too…
Meet the Children:
Kennedy, 17 – The Fashionist!
(Always telling others what’s wrong with their outfit)
Chloe, 15 – The Bookworm!
(Never Stops Reading)
Edwin, 12 – The Explorer!
(Often starts sentences with ‘did you know…’)
Bridget, 11 – The Pretentious Snob!
(Usually speaks in a false poncy accent)
Al, 9 – The Chatterbox!
(Quite frequently refers to something outside the current context of conversation)
These, along with their mother and father, make up the Bronson family, and together they get into all sorts of trouble – from causing havoc in town, to being locked outside their own house! Join the ride as these five unlikely siblings embark upon some truly epic adventures of a lifetime; including: searching for their mother’s lost ring, helping the mayor, and even giving the garden fence a fresh coat of paint. Read along and see how Kennedy, Chloe, Edwin, Bridget, and Al manage to muddle along through everything that tumbles their way.
Lewis just loves living with his mother in a small cottage that backs directly onto a vast forest.
The shy four-year-old’s favourite spot to relax is in a clearing by a watering hole, where all the woodland creatures come to get their daily measure of drink and forage nearby for food. He always enjoys chatting to the smaller animals (especially the squirrels and rabbits), making new friends nearly every day.
And that’s exactly where the boy was when it happened – the hair on the back of Lewis’ neck suddenly stood on end, and the young boy shivered slightly.
He was being watched…
Britney is a young, extremely malnourished child, who comes from a poor family with an abusive father. Her mother does everything she can to protect her daughter from her husband, receiving the brunt of the aggressive beatings herself. The girl barely speaks, afraid of being overheard by the wrong person, and the only words she knows are the few repeated words her mother uses to calm her after a fight. A total of three words in all, namely – Whisper, Britney, and Ma.
There is a very private, sheltered spot in the nearby forest which Britney uses as a place to hide away if ever her mother has to spend the day walking into the nearest town to purchase supplies or to trade goods. They have discreet, non-verbal signals which they use to keep the area hidden and make sure that Britney is secure (far away from Pa’s prying eyes).
On one such day, Britney hears unusual sounds and is terrified that her father has found out about their system, but the surprise turns out to be just a lonesome little puppy. The girl quickly becomes friends with the stray, instantly joining forces in their solitude, only ever meeting in the secret place where they share such a deeply silent, unspoken bond.
This continues until Ma helps her only child run away for good, tearfully leaving Britney to fend for herself in the best way she knows how. The adoring puppy (promptly being referred to as Whisper) unexpectedly follows the girl, and together they set off on a journey that will forever change their lives…
Lucas follows on from the story of Whisper, focusing more fully on the orphan’s life before he came to be a middle-aged man rescuing Britney from her world of abuse. In this book, we discover just how Lucas found himself growing up and then taking in the stray waif.
When the boy’s parents die unexpectedly from sickness, the family’s neighbours end up taking him in. Lucas likes the Copperley children, but is afraid of not being welcome in the household when he accidentally overhears their parents talking about him. Quickly, Lucas decides that village isn’t for him anymore and chooses to spend a life on the road, constantly drifting from town to town, searching eagerly for his place and somewhere he could belong.
During this course of aimless wandering, the boy finally stumbles across Seth and Ruby Rodgers and begins working for the friendly, easy-going couple, eventually being adopted by them. Lucas enjoys running the carpentry business when he’s older, but wonders if there is anything else for him, and the sudden arrival of the mistreated, terrified little girl brings even more responsibility upon Lucas’ shoulders than he ever thought possible.
Lucas loves the child deeply, but his strength of character is severely tested – will Britney ever learn to trust him? Or has the memory of her drunken father been ingrained so intensely within her heart that she will never welcome another man’s presence ever again?
In ‘Escape,’ the more intricate details of Kaylee and Carlos’ estrangement are explored, as we learn of their ill-advised marriage while still young. Following on from ‘Whisper’ and ‘Lucas’, new information comes to light when Kaylee runs away from home and finds taking off with her childhood sweetheart without her parents’ knowledge was not at all like what she had been promised.
After taking on new work in a nearby town, her husband turns abusive and unnecessarily violent towards Kaylee. The woman is afraid of his current lifestyle, but even when giving birth to a daughter and starting a family, she is scared of what Carlos might decide to do to her.
For reasons beyond her own comprehension, Kaylee makes the horrible decision to ascertain Britney’s safety, placing the girl’s welfare far before her own life! The inexperienced mother soon takes the child away and is then left to deal with Carlos’ anger alone. Despite her misgivings, Kaylee knows that she has done the right thing in sending her precious daughter away, instinctively believing that Britney has escaped from a world of only pain and constant terror.
When Carlos’ treatment of her only goes from bad to worse, Kaylee leaves the small cottage and goes in search of her treasured daughter. Will she be able to find her, unknowing which direction Britney had gone? And would Kaylee ever be reunited with her own beloved parents anywhere upon her travels? Filled with so many questions and doubts, she sets off to get the answers.
But not far behind her comes Carlos… her husband is looking for forgiveness and second chances. But has the man truly changed?
“What’s that sound?” Katrina gasped, snatching at her friend’s sleeve.
“Oh, nothing really,” Mack answered casually. “Just a bird.”
But the animal that jumped out in front of them on the path was definitely not a bird – it was a mountain lion! Mack and Katrina stared at it in bewilderment, vaguely wondering what was going to happen next. The children had already been startled out of their wits, so when the creature stepped closer, snarling and growling ferociously, they just turned and hastily scurried away.
As he stumbled blindly along, Mack felt a warm spurt of blood suddenly trickling down his arm, but he ignored it in the great hope of reaching home safely before the mountain lion could make another swipe at one of them. Mack expected the vicious animal to attack him from behind at any given moment. Then he became aware that the noise had faded slightly…
Could the mountain lion be stalking them silently? Risking a momentary glance over his shoulder, what the frantic boy saw only made him run even faster than ever – the wild animal was still giving chase!
My title “Escape” by Alison Bellringer was recently featured on Reader Views Kids! Here’s an excerpt from the review by Holly Smith for Reader Views (01/2025):“Escape: Book Three” rounds out a middle ........
As an author, there are few greater joys than hearing a reviewer not only understands your story—but feels it the way you intended. That’s why I was especially grateful for Emily-Jane Hills Orford’s r ........
As a children’s author, you always hope your story reaches both the little ones it’s written for and the grown-ups who read alongside them. Becky Rademaker—mum and thoughtful reader—shared a review of ........
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