It's 1972. Fifteen years earlier, teenage Laurie Henshaw came to live at Webber's Farm with his elderly uncle and settled in to the farming life. Now thirty-two, Laurie has a stroke in the middle of working on the farm. As he recovers, he has to come to terms with the fact that some of his new limitations are permanent and he's never going to be as active as he used to be. Will he be able to accept the helping hands his friends extend to him?With twenty successful years in the city behind him, Phil McManus is hiding in the country after his boyfriend set him up to take the fall for an insider trading deal at his London stockbroking firm. There's not enough evidence to prosecute anyone, but not enough to clear him, either. He can't bear the idea of continuing his old stagnating life in the city or going back to his job now everyone knows he's gay.Thrown together in a small country village, can Phil and Laurie forge a new life that suits the two of them and the makeshift...

Sheldon Mason wants nothing more than to move people with his fiction. But so many things stand in his way. He will need to tame the darkness that has clogged his mind since his mother was run down by a drunk driver. He will need to break out of a reclusion that has lasted two years. And he will need to find some way of belonging in the world. A local grocery store hires him, and at first a new co-worker seems like a source of hope. Gilbert is well-liked, influential, and willing to take Sheldon under his wing. Through him Sheldon gets invited to parties, and meets the girl he awkwardly loses his virginity to. He starts writing again. But soon, Sheldon learns there is a darkness in Gilbert, too. As he’s drawn deeper into Gilbert’s drug-fueled machinations, he begins to feel used. His depression returns, worse than before, threatening to undo all the progress he’s made. Taking Stock is a breathtaking tour of a troubled young mind, an illuminating story of loss, determination, and survival. WINNER OF BOTH THE PERCY JANES FIRST NOVEL AWARD AND THE LAWRENCE JACKSON WRITERS’ AWARD "Taking Stock is a compelling portrait of mental illness and a well-written read." – IndieReaderReview"Taking Stock is a compelling portrait of mental illness and a well-written read." - IndieReader (Taking Stock is IndieReader-approved)"Bartlett's writing has an effortless originality...Taking Stock is a great read." - The Telegram"Such a pleasure...Bartlett has been meticulous." - Downhome Magazine"What sets [Taking Stock] apart is how it grips the reader, tightening its hold throughout, until the end when the reader finally feels able to breathe." - Samuel Thomas Martin, author and Percy Janes First Novel Award adjudicatorAbout the AuthorScott Bartlett has been writing fiction since he was 15. His medieval comedy novel Royal Flush received the H. R. (Bill) Percy Prize, and his contemporary novel Taking Stock received both the Percy Janes First Novel Award and the Lawrence Jackson Writers' Award. He also recently placed 2nd in Grain Magazine's Canada-wide Short Grain short story competition.

TAKING STOCK C.J. develops his characters brilliantly and makes them easily identifiable with and believable, unlike so many characters who seem to need a cape and cowl to do what they do in suspense novels. --Frank Cinnella A chillingly accurate Thriller. Taking Stock is all too real, and downright uncomfortably exciting. --Carolynn Evans for Curled Up With a Good Book THE END OF MARKING TIME ... West has brilliantly portrayed a world gone crazy where the rule is there are no rules, or are they. Crime fiction meets science fiction in this awesome thriller." --Book Bitch Powerful, thought provoking and massively entertaining... I loved this book and the way it made me root for someone who I knew I shouldn't like. --CrimeSquad.com SIN AND VENGEANCE ...the book was spellbinding. The plotting is brilliant, and Randy is an exquisite character, an evil genius for the modern age. --Debra Hamel C.J. West delivers, from the highly erotic opening scene to the chilling conclusion. Sin & Vengeance is a provocative page-turner brimming with intrigue and heart-pounding suspense. --Alynn ADDICTED TO LOVE This book had me so hooked. I loved the plot ... unique and creative [with] just the right about of romance, sexuality, thrills, mystery, and just plain crazy ... --Tiffany Harkleroad, Tiffany's Bookshelf CJ's latest offering is a blend of the thrillers we come to expect from him and a new touch of romance, actually a little steamier than just any old romance, so I like to call it a "steamy thriller." --Roxanne Tiny magnetic dots locked deep in Boston's financial district hold the keys to $44 billion. The massive fortune is spread among seventy-five thousand customers and only the computers know exactly how the shares are divided at any given time. Millions are spent to keep the systems safe in their temperature controlled room and keep Internet-based hackers at bay. No one knows this better than the people assigned to safeguard this fortune. Erica Fletcher is one such guardian, buried by an insurmountable workload, precisely how she likes it. Beautiful, smart, tough, nothing can knock her off course and nothing penetrates her defenses. She's locked her emotions away and poured her life into her career. She's a superstar among her peers and a nightmare to any man who tries to control her. Erica's boss wants her out and their confrontation wakes Erica to a stark reality. She's traded her life for success and security, forever running from her mother's mistakes. Her roommate convinces her to slow down and just as her first real romance blooms, her life is thrown into chaos. Two hundred million has disappeared from the firm and the evidence all points to Erica. She fights for her life as she struggles to hold on to the new woman she's become.