The Stranded

'Gorgeously written . . . immediately hooks the reader from the early pages (the world-building is fantastic).' Independent 
 
Welcome to the Arcadia. 
 
Once a luxurious cruise ship, now it is home to the stranded. For forty years, they have lived, and died, on the water. 
 
A place of extreme haves and have-nots, gangs and make-shift shelters, its people are tyrannized by a country they can see but can't get to. A country that says it doesn't want them. 
 
Esther is a loyal citizen, working flat-out for a rare chance to live a life on land. Nik is a rebel, intent on liberating the Arcadia once and for all. 
 
Together, they will change the future . . . 
 
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE STRANDED: 
 
'A pacy, gripping read that plunges you into this near-future dystopia from the first page.' 
 
'A real page-turner, with relatable characters and lots of twists and turns . . . if you loved Station Eleven this will be right up your street' 
 
'This is honestly one of the best action centred books I've read in a while! Think Titanic meets The Hunger Games!.'

This debut is gorgeously written and the setting, aboard the cruise ship Arcadia in the not-too-distant future, immediately hooks the reader from the early pages (the world-building is fantastic).

An addictive, original debut that will leave readers clamoring for more.

Daniels crafts an invigorating microcosm of society aboard the Arcadia via a protagonist whose ever-expanding worldview imbues this cinematic-feeling thriller with suspense and intrigue.

The novel is fast paced and plot driven . . . There's something for everyone here

An impressive debut novel which manages to add something new and different to the genre.

Sarah Daniels is an ex-archaeologist who escaped academia and now writes stories from her home in rural Lincolnshire. Her work has been published in various online magazines and has been nominated for Best British and Irish Flash Fiction and Best Small Fictions. This is her first novel and part of a duology.

Welcome to the Arcadia. 
 
Once a luxurious cruise ship, now it is home to the stranded. For forty years, they have lived, and died, on the water. 
 
A place of extreme haves and have-nots, gangs and make-shift shelters, its people are tyrannized by a country they can see but can't get to. A country that says it doesn't want them. 
 
Esther is a loyal citizen, working flat-out for a rare chance to live a life on land. Nik is a rebel, intent on liberating the Arcadia once and for all. 
 
Together, they will change the future . . . 
 
Complete with love triangles, betrayals and fights for freedom - this is the unmissable YA debut of 2022

The complete BBC Radio full-cast drama

D for Dexter

The award-winning story of Skye and Dexter and their ordinary/extraordinary life

The award-winning story of Skye and Dexter and their ordinary/extraordinary life 
 
Skye lives in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, with her little brother Dexter and Spider the cat. Their mum, Jak, isn't around much - she's on and off the booze, so it's up to Skye to look out for Dexter, play with him, and make sure he's clothed and fed. He likes it best when she plays her guitar, an electric guitar she found under a heap of clothes in her mum's bedroom. The bailiffs didn't take it even when they came back for the telly. 
 
When we first meet them, Skye is eleven years old, and Dexter two-and-a-half. Through seven series, we follow their highs, lows and struggles to survive through Skye's eyes, as she battles to keep her dysfunctional family together. 
 
From coping with Jak's alcoholism and Dexter's special needs, to being taken into care by social services, getting excluded from school, trying to home educate Dexter during the Covid crisis, falling in love and coming to terms with her sexuality, she has far more on her plate than any young person should have to deal with. 
 
And as Skye turns 18 and prepares to face the challenges of adulthood, we bid farewell to her in a special one-off finale. 
 
Dark, delightful, funny, heartbreaking and heart-warming, this authentic, truthful drama won Best Drama Series/Serial at the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2016. It was developed through close collaboration with BBC Children in Need and projects they fund (including Home-Start UK, Hull Children's University, Voice of Young People in Care, Can Cook, Footsteps 2000, Young Carers' Transition Project and SAYiT) and was inspired by long-term research and ongoing voluntary work with children and families in Gainsborough. 
 
 
Written by Amanda Whittington (series 1-7) and Sarah Daniels (Finale) 
Guitar: Pip Moore and Tom Constantine 
Music by Black Sabbath, the Smashing Pumpkins, Beyoncé, The Breeders and David Bowie performed by Tom Constantine 
Poem by Octavia Bettis 
Directed by Mary Ward-Lowery 
 
Cast 
Skye - Sydney Wade 
Dexter - Elsa Rodgers/Alfie Johnson-McCann 
Jak - Una McNulty 
Evan - Samuel Holland 
Alice - Jane Thornton 
Mags - Sarah Parks 
Lin - Martha Godber 
Joe - Bill Rodgers 
Uncle Dean - Peter Caulfield 
Amber - Liz Godber 
Ant - John Elkington 
Boy - Harry Steel 
Dog Man - John Elkington 
Shelagh - Sarah Parks 
Kim/Clare - Jane Godber 
Shanice - Zoe Johnson 
Leanne - Etta Fusi 
Mia - Julie Riley 
Mr Doshi - Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong 
Nasty Girl - Octavia Bettis 
Pearce - Beau Anten 
Alex - Don Gilet 
Alisha - Megan Huntley 
Alice - Lauren Bowler 
Scarlett - Scarlett Courtney 
Ryan - Adam Courting 
Aiden Hardy - Will Kirk 
Ed - Mark Addy 
 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The award-winning story of Skye and Dexter and their ordinary/extraordinary life 
 
Skye lives in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, with her little brother Dexter and Spider the cat. Their mum, Jak, isn't around much - she's on and off the booze, so it's up to Skye to look out for Dexter, play with him, and make sure he's clothed and fed. He likes it best when she plays her guitar, an electric guitar she found under a heap of clothes in her mum's bedroom. The bailiffs didn't take it even when they came back for the telly. 
 
When we first meet them, Skye is eleven years old, and Dexter two-and-a-half. Through seven series, we follow their highs, lows and struggles to survive through Skye's eyes, as she battles to keep her dysfunctional family together. 
 
From coping with Jak's alcoholism and Dexter's special needs, to being taken into care by social services, getting excluded from school, trying to home educate Dexter during the Covid crisis, falling in love and coming to terms with her sexuality, she has far more on her plate than any young person should have to deal with. 
 
And as Skye turns 18 and prepares to face the challenges of adulthood, we bid farewell to her in a special one-off finale. 
 
Dark, delightful, funny, heartbreaking and heart-warming, this authentic, truthful drama won Best Drama Series/Serial at the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2016. It was developed through close collaboration with BBC Children in Need and projects they fund (including Home-Start UK, Hull Children's University, Voice of Young People in Care, Can Cook, Footsteps 2000, Young Carers' Transition Project and SAYiT) and was inspired by long-term research and ongoing voluntary work with children and families in Gainsborough. 
 
 
Written by Amanda Whittington (series 1-7) and Sarah Daniels (Finale) 
Guitar: Pip Moore and Tom Constantine 
Music by Black Sabbath, the Smashing Pumpkins, Beyoncé, The Breeders and David Bowie performed by Tom Constantine 
Poem by Octavia Bettis 
Directed by Mary Ward-Lowery 
 
Cast 
Skye - Sydney Wade 
Dexter - Elsa Rodgers/Alfie Johnson-McCann 
Jak - Una McNulty 
Evan - Samuel Holland 
Alice - Jane Thornton 
Mags - Sarah Parks 
Lin - Martha Godber 
Joe - Bill Rodgers 
Uncle Dean - Peter Caulfield 
Amber - Liz Godber 
Ant - John Elkington 
Boy - Harry Steel 
Dog Man - John Elkington 
Shelagh - Sarah Parks 
Kim/Clare - Jane Godber 
Shanice - Zoe Johnson 
Leanne - Etta Fusi 
Mia - Julie Riley 
Mr Doshi - Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong 
Nasty Girl - Octavia Bettis 
Pearce - Beau Anten 
Alex - Don Gilet 
Alisha - Megan Huntley 
Alice - Lauren Bowler 
Scarlett - Scarlett Courtney 
Ryan - Adam Courting 
Aiden Hardy - Will Kirk 
Ed - Mark Addy 
 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Sarah Daniels

Trust no one. 
 
It is six months since the Arcadia set sail for the first time in forty years. But this wasn't the freedom the inhabitants were hoping for. Esther Crossland did what she had to do, but it has left a trail of destruction in her wake. Now the wrecked ship is abandoned. Its inhabitants are in exile, trapped in sprawling make-shift shelters made up of warehouse, tents, shipping containers. 
 
Esther and Nik, architects of the rebellion, are on the run. Esther is in hiding, desperate to do something to help her people, and Nik seems to have abandoned all hope, on a journey taking him further and further from home. And neither of them want to face up to their true feelings about one another . . . 
 
Not only that, there is a new villain in town. With the fall of Commander Hadley, it's left to the ruthless Admiral Janek to deal with the traitors, and her own past is beginning to catch-up with her. 
 
Then the shaky ceasefire negotiated by General Lall, Nik's mum, falls apart. Nik and Esther find themselves in a world of betrayals and double crossings - a game of power, with no one to trust but themselves. 
 
It's time for the final showdown.

Sarah Daniels

Books by Sarah Daniels

Series by Sarah Daniels

The Stranded

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