By J L Williams

The Secret Staircase

TIME TRAVEL Junior Fiction/Middle Grade TIME TRAVEL Fiction

An old house, a secret staircase, and a hidden time-tunnel. A thrilling time-travel adventure for readers aged 8–12.

When twelve-year-old Jay and his younger sister Poppy visit their eccentric grandmother in Russell, they’d rather be anywhere else. But strange sounds only they can hear—mysterious voices, fireworks, or is it gunfire?—make them question their surroundings.

One night, they spot two men burying treasure in a garden long overgrown by trees. The mystery deepens as the siblings step into the world of Kororāreka in 1845, a town teetering on the edge of conflict.

Venturing down the secret staircase, the children are caught in a momentous historical event. Making new friends and new enemies, Jay and Poppy must navigate a dangerous past, where tensions rise and loyalties are tested.

Can Jay and Poppy trust their new-found friends, find the treasure, and return to the present before it’s too late?

A modern children’s classic from award-winning historical fiction author J L Williams.

By J L Williams

Holding

The Horse 

Historical Junior Fiction/Middle Grade Historical Fiction

A fast paced and heart-warming story of courage, conflict and reconciliation which will long remain in the heart and mind. 

The year is 1946 and fourteen year old Sid Everett is desperate to become a famous jockey, but his dad, for some reason, is totally against the idea.

Sid’s dad is back from WWII, but it’s not the kind of homecoming the family had hoped for. Dad’s return brings fear, not comfort, and for some reason he thwarts Sid’s every attempt to become a jockey.

Time is running out for a boy who is almost old enough to leave school and start work. With an older sister who has already sacrificed her own dream, Sid can’t resist the temptation to go all out.

Deceiving his parents, Sid jeopardises the very dream he longs for, placing himself and a valuable horse (which he doesn’t own) in great danger.

Can Sid prove himself to be a winner? Or will he sink into the mire of post-war rural hardship, doing any old job just to survive?

Sid embarks on a life-changing struggle, which will change more lives than just his own.

By J L Williams

Like The Wind

Historical Junior Fiction/Middle Grade Historical Fiction

A dream of glory. A dangerous choice. In racing, only winning counts.

Life seems to be going well for sixteen-year-old apprentice jockey Sid Everett — until the moment he listens in on a private conversation. Now his worst fears are confirmed, and he is about to face the thing he least wants.

Knowing protests are useless, Sid agrees to move to a new racing stable far away to complete his apprenticeship. His riding prowess and ‘horse whisperer’ skills have served him well so far. But will they count for much in a big stable, and in the highly competitive racing world he’s about to enter?

When Sid stumbles across a disturbing secret, his determination to succeed is thrown off course. As the mystery pulls him in, he realises he must make a choice. And it may cost him everything.

Will doing the right thing mean the death of his racing dreams?

“A wild ride from beginning to end.”
F.R.M. Riley, Author

Set in post-WWII New Zealand, Like The Wind is a story of dreams, determination, and ultimately sacrifice. J L Williams evokes the 1940s with accuracy and sensitivity. A fast paced and heart-warming story of courage, conflict and caring which will long remain in the heart and mind.