To be the nephew of the great artist, anatomist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci might have been very exciting, particularly when young Leo, at the age of just thirteen, was sent to study as his uncle’s apprentice in Florence, Italy. Leo, however, was not altogether happy at having to leave his home and his friends in Venice.But Leo was heading for more excitement than he could have possibly imagined. His uncle’s latest invention, not yet working properly, was due to be presented to the King of France as part of negotiations to ensure peace. Unfortunately for Leo and his uncle, not everyone wanted peace, and there were those who will go to any lengths to stop them. Leo and his uncle were in danger, and failure could have disastrous consequences for both of them, and for Italy.

Uncle Toby had said that there would be castles to explore, with ghosts and things. This helps to cheer up the glum twelve-year old Lovell twins, Tom and Mary, leaving their schools and loving parents to be evacuated to wild Northumbria during World War II. Then the adventure begins. They live with their Aunt Victoria and Uncle Leslie, meet the loveable ‘Mrs M’, a strange dog called ‘Scamp’ and, worst, the terrible private tutor, Miss Urquart, from whom they run away to find a mysterious castle seen through an old telescope. Now they are drawn into bizarre supernatural events of a time-warp between the war itself and ancient warfare. They encounter dark forces, as the story twists and turns, and are even rescued by the Royal Navy. Yet, this is only the beginning of more unexpected tragedies before the twins begin to escape from it all.

Sixteen-year-old Damien Locke has a plan: major in messing with people at the local supervillain university and become a professional evil genius, just like his supervillain mom. But when he discovers the shameful secret she's been hiding all these years, that the one-night stand that spawned him was actually with a superhero, everything gets messed up. His father's too moral for his own good, so when he finds out Damien exists, he actually wants him to come live with him and his goody-goody superhero family. Damien gets shipped off to stay with them in their suburban hellhole, and he has only six weeks to prove he's not a hero in any way, or else he's stuck living with them for the rest of his life, or until he turns eighteen, whichever comes first. To get out of this mess, Damien has to survive his dad's "flying lessons" that involve throwing him off the tallest building in the city--despite his nearly debilitating fear of heights--thwarting the eccentric teen scientist who insists she's his sidekick, and keeping his supervillain girlfriend from finding out the truth. But when Damien uncovers a dastardly plot to turn all the superheroes into mindless zombie slaves, a plan hatched by his own mom, he discovers he cares about his new family more than he thought. Now he has to choose: go back to his life of villainy and let his family become zombies, or stand up to his mom and become a real hero.

In this captivating story, Tyler, now 13 years old, has lost his unique friend. Suddenly, he's captured on Earth by an ancient race of galaxy hunters called the Genzi, and must find his own way to escape without the help of Dirk, his wizard buddy. Detained along with fifteen other Earthlings, he must outwit the Genzi as they place dangerous games of skill and agility in his path. Does Dirk manage to find Tyler and save the day--or will Tyler have to fend for himself and his band of fellow humans? This is the third book of My Wizard Buddy Series, a magic and exciting trilogy that blends eye-popping fantasy along with valuable coming-of-age lessons. Some reviews: "Tyler and fifteen other Earthlings are taken by a group called Genzi. They are forced to endure challenges and games. Book Three takes on a more serious tone than the first two books. Tyler is growing up and so are his challenges. He must use his wit and not lose hope. His hope centers around his wizard friend, Dirk, who he hopes will come to his rescue. That's what friends are for." --Susanne Leist. GoodReads. "This third installment is a perfect conclusion to the trilogy and looking back it is amazing to think how much is covered in these three short works. I hope Tyler and Dirk return again soon as young adults." --James A. McCormick. GoodReads