Results narrated by "Penelope McDonald" in All categories

'It's all my fault, I was supposed to be looking after her!' After suffering domestic abuse from her boyfriend, teen mum Sherrie has her four-month-old daughter Maisy sent to live with Maggie. Torn between being protective of Maisy and heartbroken for Sherrie, Maggie is unsure what to do. In the...

Maggie Hartley is one of the UK's most prolific foster mothers. These heartwarming and inspiring short stories show the power of a foster mother's love, and her determination to help the children who come into her care. Includes 'Too Scared to Cry', 'The Girl No One Wanted' and 'A Family for Christmas'.
 

Maggie Hartley is one of the UK's most prolific foster mothers. This inspiring collection includes three heartbreaking, true short stories about the children who have passed through Maggie's care. A FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS A tragic accident leaves the life of toddler Edward changed forever and his...

Six-year-old Ralph has only been in the care system for three days and has already been rejected by three different foster carers. After hitting a teacher at his school and causing mayhem since he arrived four months ago, staff are unable to get a hold of his mum and her partner. Social Services are called and when Ralph turns up at Maggie's house, she knows immediately it's going to be a challenge. From Britain's most-loved foster carer, a new powerful true story of abuse, family and hope.

In Love and War, we meet more of the protagonists embroiled in the complex plots and counter-plots that form the fabric of the tale. Colonicus, the mad medieval wizard, is released from his five-hundred year confinement and goes on the rampage. Korti Jizel, the super-intelligent alien assassin takes Robert, one of Colonicus's manufactured super-humans, on a madcap journey through time to witness the greatest battle that humanity never heard about; the Dragon War.

When police are called to a local supermarket late one evening, they find an angry shopkeeper and a silent young woman. It's the third time 24-year-old Zoe has been caught stealing in the past few days. Eyes filled with panic, Zoe has been hiding bread, milk, Calpol and nappies under her coat. As police officers break down the door of Zoe's flat they find seven-year-old Coco and two-year-old Lola, home alone, huddled on the floor in a freezing cold bedroom, crying out for their mummy.

The protagonist Hailey is captivated by divisions that balance, particularly in snow. Her brother has a very, interesting to say the least, correspondence to her dilemma. A long-time friend Zíâd also helps her, he does not realize it but his distraction does help Hailey—reminding her that life is not only about knowing; and then her sex life and science unite which ultimately sums up her answer to Who Shovels the Sidewalks?

Three siblings arrive at Maggie's door after being taken into care. Teachers of eight-year-old Bobby spotted bruises while he was getting changed for PE and his dad, Lee, and stepmother, Brianna, have been uncooperative and hostile to Social Services. While they investigate, Bobby, as well as Brianna's daughters, Melodie and Poppy, are all placed in Maggie's care. But as the children settle in, a thought won't let Maggie go. While Melodie and Poppy are clean, well-fed and immaculately dressed, Bobby is pale, severely underweight and crawling with lice.

After a horrific car crash, two parents are left dead, and a young girl is fighting for her life in hospital. When 13-year-old Louisa wakes to find that her loving, happy family has been shattered overnight, she is forced to seek comfort in the arms of a stranger. But can Maggie find a way to bond with this teenager overwhelmed with anger and grief? And will she regret making a decision that will affect her and Louisa for the rest of their lives?

Foster carer Maggie Hartley is finally enjoying a well-earned holiday from fostering, savouring time with her brand-new baby granddaughter. One night, though, the peace and quiet is interrupted by an urgent call from Social Services. A man has been stabbed, and Social Services need to find an emergency placement for his little girl. Maggie is used to children arriving on her doorstep at all times of the day and night, but nothing can prepare her for the sight of 11-year-old Nancy. 

When fellow student John Foremile turns up at his flat on a rain-sodden winter’s night, former Merchant Navy Captain Rex Slingsby thinks he’s in for just another boozy night down the pub. John, however, has come laden with a package of ancient-looking manuscripts, and Rex is soon engrossed in reading an outlandish tale of a powerful, benevolent race of Dragons and of the human wizards hell-bent on destroying them. Incredulous at first, the two friends quickly find themselves embroiled in an epic quest to rescue a fertile dragon’s egg.

A new challenge faces foster carer Maggie Hartley: this time it's not a child that's at risk, it's her mother. Can Maggie help Hailey to escape her abusive husband, and reunite her with her baby daughter? A heartbreaking true story perfect for fans of Cathy Glass, Casey Watson, Angela Hart and...

When Maggie's latest placement arrives on her doorstep, the three young siblings have clearly been through unspeakable traumas in their short lives. Violent, malnourished and showing signs of sexualised behaviour, the two brothers and their big sister have been left to fend for themselves by...

Fourteen-year-old Shazia has been taken into care after a conversation at school leads her teacher to suspect that the teenager's family are planning to send her to Pakistan for an arranged marriage. To her family's fury, Shazia is sent to live with foster carer Maggie Hartley whilst social...

10-E. 19-E. How long would humanity have to wait? A long time. Not until 93-E was the world declared ready. But in the background a journalist lurks, biding his time over the decades, waiting for the perfect moment. And now it's here. Melodie Trudeaux's Sci-Fi audio short, "The 93-E Contradiction", opens on Prime Tech Alfredo's 93rd birthday, the day that his greatest invention will finally come of age.

Ruth was a ghost of a girl when she arrived into foster mother Maggie Hartley's care. Pale, frail and withdrawn, it was clear to Maggie that Ruth had seen and experienced things that no 11-year-old should have to, that she had been conditioned to 'see no evil, speak no evil'. Ruth is in desperate need of help, but can Maggie get through to her and unlock the harrowing secret she carries? Through love, reassurance and patience, Maggie starts to unravel Ruth's painful past.

When 16-year-old Jess arrives on foster carer Maggie Hartley's doorstep with her newborn son, Jimmy, she has nowhere else to go. Arriving straight from the hospital, having just given birth, Jess is like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Scared, alone, and practically a child herself, she is overwhelmed with the responsibility of caring for a newborn without the support of a loving family or her beloved boyfriend. With social services threatening to take baby Jimmy into care, Jess knows that Maggie is her only chance.

Evie and Elliot are scrawny, filthy and scared when they turn up on foster carer Maggie Hartley's doorstep. Aged just two and three years old, this brother and sister have hardly set foot outside their own home. They have been prisoners, locked in a world of abuse, violence and neglect. Maggie soon realises that Evie and Elliot are lacking the basic life skills we all take for granted, and the outside world terrifies them. Gradually unlocking the truth of their heartbreaking upbringing, Maggie tells their shocking true story.

At just 10 years old, Kirsty has suffered a lifetime of heartache. Neglected by her teenage mother and taken into care, Kirsty thought she had found her forever family when she was fostered by Pat and Mike. But when Pat has a heart attack and collapses in front of her, Kirsty's foster family say it's her fault. Kirsty is still reeling from this rejection when she comes to live with foster carer Maggie Hartley. She acts out, smashing up Maggie's home, and even threatens to hurt the baby boy Maggie has fostered since birth.

This short, poignant, and intelligent novelette extrapolates society's current need for global consumerism and seemingly relentless expansion. The author, Sue Knight, has delved deep into the underlying wants and needs of a society determined to have the best of the best at a fraction of the cost, regardless of the long term impact. This tale is set in the midst of that impact, and it is a chilling indictment of the dangers of runaway capitalism.