Bøker utgitt av Armley Press

Laura has a calling from God. But, like many other twentysomethings, she also loves booze, sex and funny cat videos. Will this make her a bad priest? The crusty white male custodians of the ministry think so. But Laura has different ideas.At theological college, despite hard partying and frequent hangovers, Laura is a good enough student to point out where the scripture is a misogynistic 'crock of shite'.Threatened with expulsion, Laura is silenced. For now. But she finds empowerment in pole fitness classes, and as a fully-fledged priest, older and wiser, she installs a pole in the vicarage, leaving visiting bishops agog.Laura, an outsider herself, knows that outsiders are who the church is there for - from the old man barred from his lover's funeral to the young woman in need of a secret abortion. But even Laura's powers of inclusivity are challenged when she has to eulogise at a paedophile's funeral and is hit on by a randy undertaker.Confessions of a Pole Dancing Priest, one woman's true-life odyssey of outrage through the patriarchal world of the Church, is full of whip-smart comebacks, stinging one-liners and scalpel-sharp observations. Laura's story moves from episodes which are frank, crude, funny and rebellious to a traumatic conclusion of almost biblical proportions that speaks to the wisdom and humanity in all of us.

Soldiers by Frederick TurnerTwo sides. One struggle.Abdul and Darren grow up in the same industrial backwater, each with his own set of problems. For one of them it's racism and the misery of displacement; for the other, it's life on welfare with a mother prone to manic depression. Their paths converge in one charged moment during boyhood and seem unlikely to cross again. But time can pull all kinds of tricks. Battered by their respective upbringings, Darren is persuaded by a suave recruiting officer into the British Army while Abdul meets a charismatic but extremist imam and elects to follow the path of jihad. Perhaps, on the sun-baked streets of a Syrian conflict zone, their paths will cross again.Soldiers is an account of what drives these two young men to take up arms and do what they do - right down to the story's shocking conclusion.About the authorFred Turner is an author born and living in Stockport. He lovingly describes the town as a collection of people and buildings. He graduated with a degree in History in 2012, commenting that the experience of learning about past injustices gave him a unique and historical perspective into his own uselessness. Since then he has worked in a variety of charities in Greater Manchester, supporting people with their mental health, people who are homeless and migrants in the area.It is the injustice sanctioned by the state that gives Fred his desire to write. He explains that his fiction is an outlet to draw attention to the misery created by authorities and power holders. His stories are inspired by the voiceless experience of people oppressed, ignored and powerless.

Dying is the Last Thing You Ever Want to Do Seventeen-year-old Josie is a miner's daughter, a good Catholic girl and brilliant at school. She might even get to University because her Aunt May has come into some insurance money. But then a man called Hitler invades Poland and her whole world is ravaged by the v

Ray Brown's new novel Whoosh! puts a gallery of characters in desperate situations to capture a fictional snapshot of a real time and place. Leeds, 1979, the year of Thatcher's election and the death of Sid Vicious.Police racism, mid-life crises, vandalism, cottaging, social displacement, sexual promiscuity and self-discovery all add to the pathos, black humour and tragicomedy as events race to a catastrophic finale.It's an ordinary Saturday in May 1979. As the clock moves from noon to ten thirty a handful of Leeds people coalesce, entwine, laugh, cry, go their separate ways. But for some it's a day they'll never forget. This is WHOOSH!, a novel pulsing with life, smouldering with humour, tempered by joy and sadness.'I laughed out loud... then laughed out loud again!' Doug SandleRay Brown's writing career has encompassed academic research, radio plays, short stories, journalism, biography and theatre. His plays have toured both established theatres and village halls. His work for BBC Radio 4 includes features, talks, and plays. Writers who have praised his work include Trevor Griffiths, David Nobbs, Arnold Wesker and Colin Wilson. Armley Press published his previous novel, In All Beginnings, in 2015.

Sex & Death and Other Stories, plays with the unsayable. This collection of short stories venture into territories many people would rather not find themselves. It explores the human condition in a way that slips under the radar of pretence and affectation. The characters in the stories are recognisably human: flawed, damaged, greedy.

THURSO … the further north, the better…Rob is running from a drab life and a loveless marriage, on a reckless bender from pub to distillery. David, in a feverish flight across the Highlands, is running from his disturbed and disturbing recent past. And young Alistair wants desperately to run before his abusive father locks him up in his room for good. Their paths are destined to cross… but whose life will be changed forever?With echoes of John Buchan, Patrick McGrath and Iain Banks, P. James Callaghan's lean, pacy novel journeys through moments of laughter, despair, terror, violence and desire as three lives converge on Britain's most northerly town. Thurso is an atmospheric, riveting and heart-rending thriller of salvation and damnation - as spare, chiselled and mythic as the Scottish landscape itself."Unflinching and raw… a 'make you think', dark debut" Bloomin' Brilliant Books"The terse, visual style draws you in and pulls you along" John Lake (author, Hot Knife)P James Callaghan was born in Yorkshire in 1974. His work has been published in Firefly Magazine and Strix. Thurso is his first novel.