Award Issue - Winter 2023 - Shelf Unbound by Shelf Media Group

WINTER 2023

SHELF UNBOUND WRITING COMPETITION

2023 INDIE BEST

AWARD WINNERS

WHAT TO READ NEXT IN INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING

OUR STORY

S H E LF

U N B O U N D

M A G A Z I N E All we wanted was a really good magazine. About books. That was full of the really great stuff. So we made it. And we really like it. And we hope you do, too. Because we’re just getting started.

WINTER 2024

Shelf Unbound Staff. PRESIDENT, EDITOR IN CHIEF Sarah Kloth PARTNER, PUBLISHER Debra Pandak

WHAT TO R EAD NEXT ?

DIGITAL DESIGNER Corinna Kloth CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Christian Brown Wyatt Bandt Christina Consolino Michele Mathews Anthony Carinhas FINANCE MANAGER Jane Miller

For Advertising Inquiries: e-mail sarah@shelfmediagroup.com For editorial inquiries: e-mail media@shelfmediagroup.com

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WINTER 2023 CONTENTS

I N TH IS

ISSUE

AWARD WINNERS 12 Overall Winner Bitter Thaw by Jessica McCann

22 Finalists Midnight in Syria by Jacek Waliszewski Homespun by Sophia Alexander Gothic Revival by Michael Mullin Held And Free by Meagan M O'Nan An Enemy Like Me by Teri M Brown

44 Long-Listed

Syrup Sandwiches, Choose Not to Give Up! by Anthony Owens The Journal of Hidden Truths by Mary Avery Kabrich Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Alice McVeigh A Haunting at Linley by Michelle Cox Laugh Cry Rewind - A Memoir by Judy Haveson 48 STATES by Evette Davis Of White Ashes by Constance Hays Matsumoto and Kent Matsumoto The Unstoppable Eliza Haycraft by Diana Dempsey Pulse: Book Two by Bryan Bellec An Inch from Oblivion by Sam Polakoff

66 Recommended Reading 80 Top 100 Notables 4

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2003: THE TIME-LOOP DEVICE

Nolan Emerson, PhD, is a brilliant young theoretical and experimental physicist who is a professor at the University of Geneva, and the lead scientist at the CERN particle accelerator. He is a leader in the areas of general relativity and quantum mechanics. Dr. Emerson devises an experiment so radical and revolutionary that it seeks to unlock the astounding, complex, and mysterious secrets of Einstein’s space-time. Ultimately, his work challenges the fundamental notions of consciousness and of the concept of reality itself.

1918: THE GREAT PANDEMIC Major Edward Nobel’s mission, as a physician, is to help protect American troops from infectious ailments during the First World War. However, his unique vantage point in Boston allows him to detect an emerging influenza strain that is an unprecedented global threat. Eventually, the 1918 influenza pandemic killed up to 100 million people, and became the worst natural disaster in human history.

1877: A NORTHERN PHYSICIAN IN SOUTHERN UNGOVERNED SPACES Colonel Charles Noble is a US Civil War veteran, and an Army surgeon reservist. Extreme violence in the former Confederacy, in anticipation of a national election, has caused President Grant to send additional federal troops to the Southern states. Terrorists are determined to counter Noble’s good intentions, as they threaten the civil rights, and the very lives, of all who oppose them.

1980: THE EMERGENCE OF HIV Dr. Arthur Noble is a brilliant first-year medical resident in San Francisco. Noble encounters a strange new ailment that seemingly appears out of nowhere, and delivers its victims a most horrible merciless death. Dr. Noble struggles to find answers to the medical mystery, even as many researchers and society refuse to believe that it is a serious public health hazard, or that it even exists.

Gerry Burke is a perennial finalist in multiple literary competitions; 13 awards for 10 of his books. His short story collections are the definitive choice for holiday reading. LEARN MORE AT WWW.GERRYBURKE.NET

WWW.DAVIDCORNISHBOOKS.COM

A WORD FROM THE PUBLISHER

Indie Book Awards. BY SARAH KLOTH, PUBLISHER

Every year, we receive entry after entry in our annual Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Competition. We received hundreds of entries this year in all manners of genres. You can find the overall winners, our five finalists, ten long-listed, and our 100 top “Notable” books in this issue. To everyone who entered, we want to let you all know how much we enjoyed reading your books. This year, judging our entries was incredibly hard as we were graced with many great works. 6

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Our overall winner is BITTER THAW by Jessica McCann. "I like to shine a spotlight on

ordinary people living through extraordinary experiences, and on critical the connection between humanity and nature. " - Jessica McCann

Right after Mark’s next-door neighbor is murdered, he gets a new neighbor—the beautiful but mysterious Sylvia, who has just arrived from London. Mark is drawn into a mutually obsessive relationship with Sylvia. She is secretive regarding her past and Mark’s friends caution him that she can’t be trusted. But Mark won’t listen to his friends or to the priest who later claims that Sylvia is a deadly threat. Mark is enchanted by Sylvia’s beauty and charm, even though dating her has its challenges. Whether it’s performing gymnastics on the ledge of the Golden Gate Bridge, creating an embarrassing scene at the wedding of Mark’s best friend, or shocking Mark with her unusual sexual proclivities, Sylvia never misses an opportunity to make a bad first impression. When Mark first meets Sylvia, he tells her, “You’re the girl of my dreams!” Sylvia smiles and responds with a warning—“Be careful what you wish for.”

“The Vampire Girl Next Door

is a choice pick for one looking for a romance with a supernatural twist, highly recommended.” John Burroughs Midwest Book Review

In The Vampire Girl Next Door, Mark fell in love with Sylvia, the beautiful, but quirky girl next door, not realizing that she was a vampire who killed his last neighbor. Now, in The Vampire Girl in London, they fly from Mark’s San Francisco to Sylvia’s London. They tangle with terrorists, are shadowed by a CIA agent, and are pursued by a vampire-hunting cult. Even more challenging, they must cope with living in a mansion full of Sylvia’s vampire friends—some of whom she can’t really trust. And Mark still has to deal with Sylvia’s sexual hijinks. Will Mark and Sylvia’s love be enough to survive it all?

“The Vampire Girl in London

would satisfy supernatural fans and I’m once again entertained by Arbib’s fascinating couple, Sylvia and Mark.” Lit Amri, Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews www.thevampiregirlnextdoor.com Available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle. Paperback and all e-book formats available 7 on author’s website.

SAGE AND THE CRYSTAL BOT TRILOGY A realistic eco-science fiction thriller

Amidst devastating global climate change, Sage sends a crystal-driven eco-bot across the Southwest. The adventure catapults Sage and fellow bot-teamers to navigate moral dilemmas, social upheaval, and unstoppable biologic crafting that yields life transformed.

Desert Surge

Eco-bots are launched across the desertscape to rejuvenate ecosystems. A social firestorm ensues and unusual telepathy spreads exponentially. Local rangers, telepaths, and Turamali Innovative Arts bot-teamers face the challenge of a lifetime while society judges the merits of the eco-bot.

Telepathy Tide

Social maelstrom continues with thought transference,hallucination, and alarming interspecies communication. A weather hologram predicts astounding global eco-bot repercussions. Friendships and soul connections forged in Book 1 deepen becoming integral for survival.

Turamali Life

Turamali Life culminates with the world transformed by biotechnology — all at a cost. Linking mineral structure with fighting disease, Crystal BioBots are engineered, but nefarious culprits jeopardize worldwide distribution. In an eerie twist, lifeforms appear to be choosing intelligent biologic crafting.

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FULL SERIES AVAILABLE NOW ON AMAZON

Bridge of Tomorrow: Cold Peace By Helena P. Schrader

The Russian Bear is Restless Berlin 1948. The economy is broken, the currency worthless, and the Russian bear is hungry. In the ruins of Hitler’s capital, former RAF officers and a woman pilot start an air ambulance company which offers a glimmer of hope. Yet when a Soviet fighter brings down a British airliner, Berlin becomes a flashpoint. The world teeters on the brink of World War Three. Award-winning novelist Helena P. Schrader tells the backstory of the Berlin Airlift in Cold Peace, the first book of the Bridge to Tomorrow series.

“Sharp research meets vivid storytelling in an absorbing novel of the postwar period.” - Kirkus Reviews

www.authorfrederickreynolds.com

BEAUTEOUS MAXIMUS

2023 Award Winner in the Category of Social Justice Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic that began late in 2019, the author worked as a solo hairstylist in the front parlor of an old Victorian house in the Pacific Northwest. This trilogy is a collection of intimate fictionalized stories that were inspired by hundreds of conversations the author had with his customers about what it was like to live through the unprecedented disaster that conquered every nation on Earth. Written in vignettes that are woven through the backdrop of politics and popular culture of the time, this compilation is an honest depiction of the impacts of pandemic life as told through the experiences of a gay man.

PRAISE FOR BEAUTEOUS MAXIMUS “The characters in these powerful books are so sensitively and precisely described that I feel like I know them. Their touching stories come alive with the most accurate sequence of COVID madness and the tumultuous ocean of confusion that it caused.” — L. Bek “The in-depth research used in this work of fiction boldly portrays the unsettling time of COVID. It is quite possibly the most meticulous summation that I have encountered in any reading. The stories dive headlong into the heated debates and frustrating beliefs in a way that leaves the reader pondering what happened in our world and why.” — D. Menenberg, Author

D. Michael Bertish | dmbertish.com

Volume One, The Climate of Truth | Volume Two, The Economy of Truth | Volume Three, The Spirit of Truth 10

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SUFFERING

is inevitable.

But it doesn’t have to be the end of our story. I will show you how.

www.learntosuffer.com

OUR 2023 WINNER

SHELF UNBOUND

BEST

INDIE BOOK

COMPETITION AWARD WINNER

BITTER THAW BY JESSICA MCCANN

WINTER 2024

WINNER

2023 SHELF UNBOUND COMPETITION

Our Winner. of the 2023 Shelf Unbound Competition for Best Independently Published Book

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Bitter Thaw. In 1956, deep within the mosaic of rugged forests and interconnected waterways that were once home to the native Ojibwe people, an unidentifiable body is discovered wrapped in a hand-stitched quilt. More than 30 years later, fresh news of the Northern Minnesota cold case reopens old wounds and forces an Arizona family to come to terms with a painful past – when the perils of gender stereotypes, cultural bigotry, and small-town gossip led to tragedy. Now, three generations — a mother, son, and granddaughter — embark on a cross-country journey in a search for truth and a hope of redemption. As long-buried secrets are unearthed, they encounter a shocking reality – everyone’s truth is unique. The revelation forces all to reconsider their life choices, contemplate the ambiguity of right and wrong, and rethink the very notions of good and evil.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JESSICA MCCANN I'm an award-winning historical novelist and creative nonfiction author, and have worked for 30 years as a professional freelance writer for magazines, universities, corporations and other organizations. One of my earliest assignments as a freelancer was covering a new surgical radiation technique for destroying brain tumors, during which I was permitted to don scrubs and observe inside the operating room. Reading and writing historical fiction is my passion, though I'm also drawn to memoirs, contemporary fiction, nonfiction, literary classics -- anything with a compelling story. I love connecting and talking books with other readers and writers on social media and at my official website. Check out this link for ways we can connect!

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https://tinyurl.com/AmazonAuthorJessicaMcCann

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Interview with Jessica McCann. TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.

JM: My life has evolved from hundreds, perhaps thousands, of reading- and writing-related experiences. The regular library trips with my mom, and the handmade books I crafted as a little girl. The epiphany of parallelism learned from my high school English teacher and the discovery of journalism as a career from newspaper class. As a magazine editor and freelance writer, I’ve interviewed hundreds of people who enlightened and intrigued me – neurosurgeons, custodians, CEOs, teachers, politicians, garbage truck drivers, Blackjack dealers, and more. As a novelist, I’ve researched historical events and probed the human psyche. All these experiences have enriched my life. Bitter Thaw is my third historical novel. My first, All Different Kinds of Free, was awarded the Freedom in Fiction Prize; my second, Peculiar

Savage Beauty, was named Arizona Book of the Year and shortlisted for the international Rubery Book Award. Each book is set in a different time – primarily the 1950s, 1830s, and 1930s, respectively – yet, they have similar themes. I like to shine a spotlight on ordinary people living through extraordinary experiences, and on critical the connection between humanity and nature. TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT BITTER THAW.

JM: Bitter Thaw explores the power and puzzle of the mind – how our memories take shape and evolve; and how they can define who we are and control what we become. It’s part historical novel, part mystery, part family drama. The history of U.S. laws, policies, and biases related to Native-Americans, African-Americans, women’s rights, homosexuality, and inter-racial marriage all play a key role in the story. A blend of narrative and epistolary elements throughout the book stitches together multiple themes and points of view, creating a multilayered, swift-moving story. 15

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WHERE DID THE INSPIRATION FOR BITTER THAW COME FROM?

JM: There’s a thick manila file folder in my office with bits and pieces of things that catch my eye from one day to the next – pages torn from magazines, quotes jotted down while watching TV or reading a book, articles printed from the Internet. I keep those snippets for years, even decades, and flip through them from time to time in search of inspiration. Long ago, I clipped a news article about members of a prison work crew who dove into a cold, fast-moving river to rescue three young brothers whose canoe had capsized. When asked by the reporter why they’d risked their lives to save the boys, inmate Jon Fowler said, “You see three helpless kids in a river, you help. Just because we’re incarcerated, doesn’t mean we’re bad people.” That brief news piece – and Fowler’s quote in particular – grabbed me. I wanted to know more. What crimes had those men committed? Why was it the inmates who jumped in to rescue the boys, and not the correctional officers on the scene? 16

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About a year later, a piece about authorities in California trying to solve a 25-year-old murder caught my eye. They shared a photo of the quilt found with the body of a woman who had been strangled. The hope was that someone might be able to identify the owner or maker of the quilt and provide a break in the cold case. I had also clipped a National Geographic article about the five coldest rivers on earth. Among them was the Rainy River, which runs through the rugged wilderness along the Canadian and U.S. border in Minnesota. I live in Phoenix, one of the hottest places on earth (our average daily temperature this summer was 100 degrees). So, I was intrigued by a place where the “warm season” of mid-May to mid-September has an average daily temperature of 65 degrees. One afternoon, while flipping through the snippets in my idea folder, my mind clicked… on the ability and motivations of people who keep secrets for decades, the love represented by a handmade quilt, the primal instinct of

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a criminal to risk his life for a child, the way lives often intersect in unexpected ways, and the untold stories behind them all. In a matter of minutes, the characters, setting, hook, and even the title of the novel snapped together. ARE THERE ANY PARTS OF YOUR BACKGROUND OR PERSONAL LIFE EXPERIENCES THAT APPEARED IN YOUR BOOK?

JM: Each of my novels contains a piece of me. Not specific experiences, but life in general – love and loss, fear and hope, regret and redemption. Part of the reason I write is to process and reflect on the things I’ve lived through, to make sense of the things I don’t understand about the world and about myself. I share that writing because I believe every one of us endeavors to make sense of it all. Through reading and writing, we learn from one another. WHAT IS THE MAIN POINT YOU WOULD LIKE PEOPLE TO TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR BOOK?

JM: That’s tough to nail down. The story contains many themes and ideas that weave together and overlap. It’s

about sacrifice, perseverance, mistakes, forgiveness, perspective, acceptance, regeneration. It’s a lot. Maybe that’s the main point, then. The book is about life, and life is a lot. It’s complex and multi-layered, never black-and-white or one-sided. Once you learn to embrace that, life becomes a little easier. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LINE FROM YOUR BOOK?

JM: Oh my, it’s so hard to pick one line out of thousands. But an early reader of Bitter Thaw recently shared with me a line that struck a chord with her: “Just because a person carries his burden well doesn’t mean it isn’t heavy.” WHAT'S NEXT?

JM: While researching and brainstorming ideas for my fourth historical novel, I’ll also be in production for the audio edition of Bitter Thaw. I think it’s important to make stories available in a variety of formats, so that anyone who may be interested will have access. The audio book will be out in Summer 2024.  17

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Bitter Thaw. BY JESSICA MCCANN

1953 Bitter Rapids, Minnesota Maak lay on his back, his hands folded behind his head, his eyes trained on the small rectangle of graphite sky visible in his prison cell window. Thanks to the freshly-baked chocolate chips cookies Evelyn had brought during her last visit, Maak had been able to trade with his cellmate for the top bunk and their only view of the outside world – a sheet of dirty glass the size of a breadbox near the ceiling, above the piss-covered commode and rust-stained sink. He watched the sleet fall diagonally past the window and tried to remember the feel of ice-cold air in his lungs, the smell of white pine smoldering in his campfire. The hardest part of his confinement was not the lack of freedom or the brutality of the men around him. It was the separation from Kitche Manitou’s creation – sun, stars, moon, earth. The old men and old women of his Ojibwe people had told him the stories when he was a boy, the stories of the Great Spirit. Kitche Manitou beheld a vision and knew in His great wisdom it was a vision to be fulfilled, they said. Out of nothing, He created rock, water, fire, and wind. And into each one He breathed life, a different power and essence, its own soul-spirit. From these He created the physical world of sun, stars, moon, earth. Maak had heard the stories told many times, in many voices. The stories that had been told for generations. In his life, there had been no one to whom he could pass on the stories. No young siblings. No children. Still, he had been connected

to the Creation. And then, a fight, a flash of rage, a choice. And then, an arrest, a dispersal of judgment, a cell. The men had twenty-minute calisthenics in the prison yard twice a week during the bitter cold. They were sent out to work in the warmer months. Old forest roads. Nearby farms. Quarries. It wasn’t enough to sustain the connection. Maak was seventeen years into a twenty-five-year sentence. He was a bear forced into extended hibernation, while ripe blueberries fell to the ground just out of his reach. Until that day at the river, the boys in the canoe, the woman in the smoothlinen dress and blueberry-colored hat. 

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The Ripple Effect. By John Crawley

“911– What’s Your emergency?” “We’ve got a shooter in the mall. Send help.” It’s November 13th in Lincoln, Texas. Scores of people are flooding into the food court at the local mall for a bite of lunch while shopping or out with friends or on a school trip with teachers. Suddenly, a lone shooter emerges from the shadows of the hallways and opens fire with his assault rifle. Mass chaos erupts. Lives are lost. Dreams are crushed and statistics grow in the nation’s epidemic of gun violence. In his latest novel from Archway Publishing, The Ripple Effect, awardwinning author, John Crawley explores the devastating repercussions caused by a mass shooting. It is about the lives and deaths of the victims and the casualties to their families, also victims of the horrendous act. In this twist on a plot, we know who did it, we just don’t know who will stop it. Maybe you?

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Archway Publishing and at a bookseller near you.

www.johncrawleybooks.com

Suppressed by Schizophrenia, Trapped by Tramua, and Saved by Humor

“

His tales are entertaining, sprinkled with humor, drama and sadness. Readers will discover an intriguing life, one of turmoil and finally, thanks to a stranger on a beach, inner peace.” - Blue Ink Review

A story of a boy surviving being reared by a schizophrenic mom and a greedy aunt yet having to deal with bullying, sexual assaults, self confidence, coming of age, an absent father, racism, and dating through his own vision of what life was supposed to be. For more than fifty years, Harold Phifer’s childhood living conditions remained a secret, even from those who thought they knew him best. It wasn’t until an explosion in Afghanistan that his memory blasted back into focus. This book is the result of a long, cathartic chat with a stranger at a beach bar. 20

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“

Phifer’s anecdotes are disturbing, often painful, and compelling...the peaceseeking memoir revels in the cathartic power of storytelling after a lifetime of challenging circumstances.” - Foreword Clarion Reviews

www.riseandread.com

FINALISTS

xxxxxra.

BY XXXXXX

WINTER 2024

FINALISTS

2023 SHELF UNBOUND COMPETITION

INTRODUCING....

MIDNIGHT IN SYRIA

HOMESPUN

BY JACEK WALISZEWSKI

BY SOPHIA ALEXANDER

GOTHIC REVIVAL

HELD AND FREE

AN ENEMY LIKE ME

BY MICHAEL MULLIN

BY MEAGAN M. O'NAN

BY TERI M. BROWN

2023 FINALISTS

Introducing our finalists of the 2023 Shelf Unbound Competition for Best Independently Published Book

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Midnight in Syria. Midnight in Syria is a Pentagon-approved, real-world story that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. The next Book in the Special Forces Connection series takes you to the far deserts of the Middle East. Dakota is an intrepid journalist set on making a name for herself, and while she hoped to sneak into Syria to write a story of a lifetime, she never expected to get trapped there. With no one to turn to, and the Civil War unfolding in front of her very eyes, the only chance of escape is with a mysterious Special Operator who is full of intrigue and guile - but it might already be too little too late. Dive into this real-world riveting tale of courage, sacrifice, and resilience, that takes you on the ultimate journey, while following the delicate love story of two people pushed to their limits. Contrasted by the painful realities of war, politics, and lives in between, this book is guaranteed to strike at the heart and mind of every reader, and will immerse them into the complexities of the decade long Syrian civil war that has already claimed more than half a million lives.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR JACEK WALISZEWSKI Jacek committed his first crime when he was three months old smuggling Solidarity propaganda paperwork to Polish resistance leaders in prison. His father was the cofounder to the 1980s antiCommunist Solidarity movement, and his family had a choice, get traded to the Soviet's or become political refugees. Two pieces of luggage later, they made it to America. His Dad, Leszek Waliszewski, was the first Solidarity Member to brief Congress, and his parents worked multiple jobs to make ends meet.

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Jacek is now a Dad, a writer, and a Special Forces Green Beret. He's traveled the world, run with the Bulls in Pamplona, and while deployed, earned his bachelor’s degree in International Relations from AMU. He then went on to earn a Graduate Diploma in Strategy and Innovation from the University of Oxford.

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Interview with Jacek Waliszewski. Tell us a little about your book. JW: Midnight in Syria is a Real-world Tale of Adventure, Romance, and Resilience. Travel to the far deserts of the Middle East to meet Dakota, who is an intrepid journalist set on making a name for herself, and while she hoped to sneak into Syria to write a story of a lifetime, she never expected to get trapped there. With no one to turn to and the Civil War unfolding in front of her very eyes, the only chance of escape is with Owen, a mysterious Special Operator who is full of intrigue and guile. They must learn to trust each other despite their tensions, because when they run for their lives, they will have no one else to trust but each other. Contrasted by the painful realities of war, politics, and lives in between, this book is guaranteed to strike at the heart and mind of every reader by immersing them into the complexities of the decade long Syrian civil war that has already claimed more than half a million lives. What was your inspiration for the idea? JW: The world is full of frustrations and nameless victims, and I really wanted to highlight the forgotten or unknown struggles of people who are trying to make a difference—especially those caught in the middle east and a place as torn apart as Syria. When we look at what’s happening now, for example the generational tensions between Israel and Gaza, it’s hard, if not impossible, for the average person to truly understand how painful the region’s history is or how many people have had their hopes dashed and lives lost. Midnight in Syria therefore is an attempt to humanize the people who were not allowed to tell their truth—people like Fatima, Mahdi, and their kids— who are only four of the victims in a region of the world under constant stress. What was the experience of writing this book like for you? JW: There’s a factual element in every one of my books, and degrees of reality are strung throughout Midnight in Syria—this may range from the specific conversations or revelations Owen and Dakota have, to the unique quirks or dispositions of an individual

person I’ve known. So, writing this book was in some ways wonderful because I could laugh and recollect, but it was also painful because I felt the same frustrations and injustice the characters experienced. I tried to convey this in a way that allowed the reader to understand the situation, but without beleaguering the point. What was one of the most surprising things you learned while writing this? JW: This is a great question. When I finished the book, I hadn’t summarized the ending to quantify that “if each word in this book were a person, it would take eight books to account for everyone who has died in the 10-year Syrian Revolution, so far.” This was a stunning and humbling moment that really put the scale of the conflict into perspective. What is the one thing you hope readers take away reading this book? JW: I want to challenge every reader to take a moment to imagine that you were them. By ‘them’ I mean those people you hear about in the news but scroll past and forget about by the next commercial or TikTok video. I say this because on the other side of that TV or news article is not just one person, but their families as well, and many other unknown people suffering from an equally terrible fate. I remember coming back home from Afghanistan right when the country had imploded in 2021 – I was on the last Special Forces Team in Helmand Afghanistan. I was perhaps only a few days back, and still had Helmandi sand in my rucksack. I was in Colorado and thoroughly jetlagged when I stopped at a local coffee shop. I checked my phone and had nearly a thousand text and voice messages from my Afghan friends and partners begging me to help them get out, and they were sending me pictures and videos of the chaos occurring not only at the airport, but the rest of the country. In some threads, I was learning that the Taliban had started executing the people I had just shared chai with the other week… and then it was my turn to order. I stepped up to the counter and the Barista asked “how my day was going”—apparently, I still looked rough— 25

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and while my phone dinged another ten times in my pocket, I told the Barista that I had just come back from Afghanistan and needed a quadruple espresso. The Barista then looked at me quizzically and asked a very telling question, “We’re still in Afghanistan?” My phone dinged another few times in my pocket, and I nodded, knowing that each message was someone seven thousand miles away experiencing something terrible that I could do nothing about. “Yeah, well… we were,” is all I could say. I then paid, drank my espresso, and planned an evacuation mission while sitting on the coffee shop couches. I got a few Afghan friends out… but only a few. My point in sharing this is when there’s a disaster and civilians are rushing out, it’s amazing to me when I meet the people who are trying to get into the country to discover the truth to report it back to anyone who is willing to listen. This is the embodiment of Dakota, a real life reporter who I knew. It is also the embodiment of Owen, who is a reflection of real life Special Operators I’ve personally known and admired. Perhaps then, all I want is for one more person out there, perhaps it’s you, to take one more minute to learn about what’s going on in the rest of the world instead of scrolling to the next cat meme. What are you working on next? JW: My next book is unfathomable—I’ve secured the rights to a one-of-a-kind OSS WW2 Memoir originally written in 1946 in the style of ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ with the modern day political and historic potential to be the WW2 version of ‘The Ugly American.’ I spent years fact checking it, and it is a true autobiographic memoir written by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Agent who was on the ground, behind enemy lines, documenting every conversation, experience, and intimate observation he had with the Resistance, Command, and even the British SOE. He wrote his notes down in his journal and took real-time photos, all while fighting Germans and Bulgarians, then having to run for his life when the Soviets moved through and pushed the Nazis out of his area, and he was getting targeted for being 26

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“Pro West.” The manuscript then ends by intimately capturing the start of the Cold War in Europe, a full year before WW2 ended. For context to those who aren’t familiar with the Covert world of the OSS, the OSS turned into the CIA in 1947, and the CIA classified all OSS missions and photos—but because the memoir had been written a year before the CIA came into existence, it fell between the cracks (maybe the author intentionally hid it?) and the Memoir was neither classified nor destroyed. But it's been 80-years, everyone in the Memoir has died, and the Eastern countries have been renamed, dissolved, or balkanized, so I’m going through the steps of publishing it right. It took me years to get to this point, but I secured the rights from the families to bring the manuscript into the modern era and the book is in its final stages of completion. I’ve just got a few National Archives files to go through to enrich the last bits of the story. I’m waiting for a response from a 1000-year old Eastern European Monastery to check behind their altar and let me know if the secret room that housed downed Allied Airmen is still there, and if they could check the cemetery for a Partisan General who died after getting strafed by a Bulgarian plane. Other than those bits, I’m shopping around for a publisher who can take the book and put it where it belongs—as a historic oneof-a-kind OSS WW2 Memoir, originally written in the style of For Whom the Bell Tolls with the political and historic potential to be the WW2 version of The Ugly American. I’ve adapted it into a modern-day novel for today’s generation to read, (and I hope,) learn about the brave men and women who fought in the shadows and sacrificed so much to defeat Nazi Germany, only to be eliminated by a sinister Soviet Cold War agenda. It’s equal parts fascinating, heroic, and tragic. And it’s all true—which blows my mind. As such, I’ve taken immense steps to preserve the manuscript, the Author’s original intent, and am managing its transition into the 21st century with significant thoughtfulness and foresight. After I pick a name for the title, it’ll be 99% complete. 

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Midnight in Syria. BY JACEK WALISZEWSKI

…Dakota rushes over to him and starts patting him all over, inspecting him for wounds. She then tries to understand how he just did what he did, having watched him from the closet door. “Holy crap. You just—”

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“And you just didn’t listen to what I told you to do.” Dakota touches his face. “What if you needed help? Are you okay?” He has been trained to dismantle people quickly, control his heart rate, and manage the inevitable adrenaline rush, not get groped all over afterwards. He’s viscerally annoyed and has to control himself not to shove her away as if she was just being an annoying medic. “Dakota, stop,” he says, turning his face away. “I’m fine.” “But—” she says, running her hands on his neck and arms, wanting to reassure him and be told that everything will be okay. “Don’t touch me,” he says, finally shoving her hands away and having to remind himself not to break her fingers. He had just killed two men in a matter of seconds, and his body is instinctively ready to do it again. Owen is about to take a deep breath and calm his nerves when something catches his eye—there is movement behind her. Like a snake, it is the barrel of an AK, and it rises between the curtains and points right at him. Everything slows down. Owen grabs the nape of Dakota’s neck and pulls

her down to the side. He takes a wide step to his right and raises his rifle. Once Dakota is clear, he continues moving and slaps the safety off. Dakota stumbles and glimpses the curtains behind her. A soldier with a thick, bushy mustache is in the bedroom. Her blood freezes as the Mustached soldier that glared at her the day before takes a step through the curtains. She sees his teeth are barred in a smile, his moon-reflected skin is sheened in sweat, and his eyes are vehemently locked on Owen. 

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Homespun. Trouble lurks in the Lowcountry of South Carolina in the guise of a family feud, forbidden love, and a journalist hell-bent on uncovering corruption. Meet Zingle Caddell, who doesn't regret the destruction left in his wake so much as he is annoyed by it. Figuring no man can continue to have such bad luck, Zingle is waiting for his fortunes to improve. He knows what he likes--alcohol, women, and family, in about that order--and he'll continue on with them as before. That is, until he's surprised by a violent encounter with his match, Jessie Bell, when her stepdaughter doesn't come home as expected. Bad blood is rampant between the Bells and the Caddells by the time Jessie's daughter and Zingle's nephew unwittingly fall in love. Forbidden to see one another, the couple must decide how much they're willing to risk. Is it worth being ostracized from their families? Destitution? Their very lives?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR SOPHIA ALEXANDER

Sophia Alexander writes character-driven historical fiction that grips readers' emotions and surprises them with unexpected twists. A Lowcountry native, she is the award-winning author of the Silk Trilogy. Her writing is inspired by historical fact, genealogical investigations, intuitive guesswork, and fanciful romanticizations. Sophia is a graduate of the College of Charleston and Bastyr University. She lives with her husband in Savannah, GA. Visit authorsophiaalexander.blogspot.com to sign up for her newsletter. 28

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Interview with Sophia Alexander. Tell us a little about your book. SA: ‘Homespun’ is the finale to my multiaward-winning Southern Gothic family saga. The Silk Trilogy has the distinction of each of its novels being independently honored—in 2021, 2022, & now 2023—by Shelf Unbound as a finalist in their Best Indie Book Awards! This saga tells of the lives and loves of three consecutive generations of resilient women, each profoundly affected by a single antagonist in the form of intense, inflexible Jessie Bell. Jessie presents her burgeoning obsession with Clayton from the very first chapter of ‘Silk: Caroline’s Story’ while traversing the Lowcountry en route to Charleston in 1899, and she’s just as singleminded and dangerous three decades later, at the trilogy's conclusion in ‘Homespun’. This third volume heralds a new antagonist, however, in Zingle Caddell, whose deadly carelessness stands in stark contrast to Jessie’s severity, as if to prove that there are even worse things than being murderously obsessive. Meanwhile, Ginny Bell falls in love with Jack Caddell, not knowing about the feud between his uncle and her ‘mama’. Drama ensues, heightened by Ginny’s own mulish pragmatism. Indeed, Ginny is no dreaming princess and proves herself to be the most flawed protagonist in the entire trilogy. Her troubled childhood comes out in unexpected ways throughout the course of this last novel.

What was your inspiration for the idea? SA: Though this is quite a fictional account, the truth is that my granny inspired me! We were like cooing doves for my entire childhood until I became fascinated by genealogy. Then she grew flustered, mum, and distant. This pained me—but was undoubtedly far more intriguing than if she’d instantly just spilled all that she knew. I spun myself into a delirium trying to figure out what mysteries she was hiding—and these musings planted the seeds of this Southern Gothic trilogy, my own tangled, confusing genealogy providing the essential structure and many of the names used in this series. ‘Homespun’, in particular, includes variations on a number of family anecdotes—but, again, it’s a skeleton adorned often beyond recognition with love stories, drama, crimes, and social commentary of my own creation. What was the experience of writing this book like for you? SA: This was the most difficult of all my books to write—including my many manuscripts. It was drafted in an on-againoff-again manner that made it feel impossible to pull together all the threads for a completed series, but I eventually managed it. It’s the most ‘campy’ of anything that I’ve ever written, devolving from the Jane-Austenesque wit of ‘Silk: Caroline’s Story’ but loaded with situational humor. When you know firsthand just how earnest but oft-times ridiculous everyone is, what else to do? I didn’t think I liked it as much as my first two novels in the series, but I’ve begun adapting the books into a screenplay and am often surprised to find myself enjoying ‘Homespun’ moments even 29

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more than the other two books, which I’d thought were more dear to me. Shows that you just never know… What was one of the most surprising things you learned while writing this? SA: My husband bought me an 1825 Williamsburg County map for Christmas, and to my amazement, I spotted Indian mounds marked on it. We actually found the site, and my daughter spotted the mounds, which are in no way marked nowadays. These have made their way into my story, of course, providing a much more interesting backdrop than the scene originally had! What is the one thing you hope readers take away reading this book? SA: Ooh, an invitation for me to jump on my native-heritage soapbox! I hope that my depiction of Native Americans integrating into Southern families feels as natural to readers as drinking a cup of cocoa, nibbling on a corn cob, or enjoying savory fried potatoes (as these are all Americaderived foods). For a substantial number of us Southerners, the original, local ‘Injuns’ are actually part of our own genetic reality. Indeed, I ran an add-on Native American DNA panel only on my grandfather (who was said to have native blood from Mæ) well over a decade ago, which showed that he was part Siouan. In fact, the languages of many South Carolinian tribes, including those around the Santee River, were Souian derivatives. I now wish I’d run that genetic panel for all our family members when I had the chance, 30

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as the company has since gone defunct—and if you’ll read the fine print of most current popular DNA testing companies, they’ll admit that they simply don’t include most Native American populations in their databases. This can be misleading and profoundly upsetting to those who cherish family anecdotes of their half-Cheraw great-grandmother, for instance. Aside from that, I hope that readers take away a more general interest in learning more about their ancestors. And as always, I hope that they gain a bit more tolerance for the quirks and foibles of those not entirely of their own culture and time and persuasions. What are you working on next? SA: I am at the moment knee-deep in more genealogical research, all based in the Carolinas. I dare not wait much longer, as it involves older relatives who won’t always be around. Thus, I’ve gotten momentarily distracted from my most active writing project: a screenplay for The Silk Trilogy. Meanwhile, editorial feedback is patiently standing by, twiddling its thumbs, for a YA medieval fantasy with oodles of girl power. Further off, I’m planning a European grand tour to scout out some of the areas included in my biographical novel about Sophia Dorothea of Celle, wife of King George I— ancestors of a different vein altogether. While I did spend six years of my childhood in Germany, a multitude of specific sites clamor to be visited in person before I publish my descriptions of them. So, as you can see, I have enough to keep me busy for some time—but basically, I just gotta polish up these manuscripts a bit more before sending them out to y’all! 

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Homespun. BY SOPHIA ALEXANDER

Jack gazed out over the water. “My grandmother—we call her Mæ—brought us out here once to show us where there used to be Indian mounds at the edge of the lake. This land would be flat like everywhere else in these parts but for the mounds make it sorta hilly. See it? The WeeTee used to live around the mounds, right near the water’s edge. It was all very sacred.”

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“To the heathen Injuns,” Annie finished for him. “Well, that has to do with why I brought y’all here. Truth be told… I s’pose the real reason your daddy don’t want you to date me is cuz I’m part Injun.” “I been datin’ a colored?” Ginny asked in a faint voice, leaning against a cypress tree. “Not really,” he protested. “I’m Scotch-Irish, nearly all white. Mæ’s only part Injun herself. We don’t talk about it, don’t even think about it much… but I gotta be honest. Mæ even knows some o’ the old chants and… and such.” Ginny winced, burying her face in her arms. “Oh, come on, Ginny,” Annie protested. “You might be part-Injun, too, fer all we know. Here you are actin' so upset at him, but I bet you ain’t even told Jack that you might be adopted.” Shocked, Ginny turned to stare at Annie. “I ain’t adopted.” “Mmm. But you got that frizzy hair, Ginny. So

maybe you ain’t part Injun. Maybe you’re really part Negro.” “How dare you!” Red-faced, Ginny launched herself at Annie, tackling her to the ground. With some difficulty, Jack pulled her off, prying apart fists full of Annie’s hair. Wrapping his arms around Ginny, he held her to him tightly. She was shaking like an aspen leaf. “Ginny, it wouldn’t matter. It wouldn’t matter to me one bit.”  31

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Gothic Revival. The Psychological Thriller Inspired by the Creation of Frankenstein Chris, Anne, Fiona, and Lauren were inseparable friends while earning MFAs in Creative Writing. Years later they've grown apart and are surprised to receive an invitation to a reunion from the fifth member of their group, Eric, a successful screenwriter. Eric flies them to a remote lake villa where he reveals his new obsession: their group is a modern version of the famous one from Villa Diodati in 1816, the iconic literary event during which Frankenstein was created. Chris and Anne are their Percy and Mary Shelley. The free-spirited artist Fiona is like Claire Clairmont. Instead of Dr. Polidori, they have Lauren, PhD in Victorian History. That leaves Eric, the Hollywood player, as Lord Byron. Like Byron, Eric proposes they write ghost stories, an homage to their famous predecessors. Laughter, creativity, and reminiscence are soon replaced with deceit, suspicion, and fear. What is the self-proclaimed clairvoyant Fiona seeing and hearing? Why does Eric lie? What does the creepy old housekeeper know about their host? Tensions grow as relationships are tested until a shocking discovery reveals the true intention for the reunion. ABOUT THE AUTHOR MICHAEL MULLIN My author career began with a twisted fairytale retelling about the unknown 8th dwarf which turned into a trilogy of such tales. Over the years I've received book awards and industry recognition for which I'm very grateful. I'm currently working on a business plan for an educational company that uses the fairytale trilogy, TaleSpins, as curriculum to teach things like empathy and anti-bullying.

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I've written marketing materials for the merch divisions of Disney, DreamWorks, 20th Century Fox, and Universal, but I gave all that up because I was tired of selling people junk that was just going to end up in a landfill. Before I was a writer, I was a preschool teacher and college professor, two positions I found disconcertingly similar.

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Interview with Michael Mullin. Tell us a little about your book. MM: Gothic Revival is a story of connection and deception. After almost twenty years, five friends from a grad school writing program reunite at a remote villa. The weekend getaway is organized by Eric, the one in the group who became a successful Hollywood screenwriter. His current obsession is that their group is a modern version of the one from the Villa Diodati in 1816 that included Mary Shelley and Lord Byron. During that iconic event, Byron proposed a ghost-story writing contest, and Mary came up with the idea that became Frankenstein. Anne and Chris are the couple; Fiona is the artistic free spirit; Lauren’s PhD makes her the doctor, leaving the famous, philandering Eric as their Byron. As an homage, Eric inspires them to return to their

writing roots and each produce a ghost story. Soon, however, the four guests start to realize all is not as it seems, and that the true reason for the reunion contains a dark, elusive secret. What was your inspiration for the idea? MM: I’ve always been a fan of the classic, gothic stories like Frankenstein, Dracula, Jekyll & Hyde, House of Usher and such. Sometime last year I came across a reference to Mary Shelley and the Villa Diodati and started poking around, refreshing my memory of that fascinating story. I rewatched the mid-80s movie Gothic with Natasha Richardson and Gabriel Byrne. I remember liking it in college, but it was quite bad. I can’t say it was unwatchable, because I watched it. Twice! I also reread Frankenstein, which held up much better. My previous novel is a modernday retelling of Hamlet, so I found myself starting there. What would

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a retelling of the Diodati event be like? Of course, Gothic Revival is not a retelling. The host character, Eric, inspires his old friends to write ghost stories, which has proven to be a good set-up for my readers. I knew I could write about adults who got MFAs in Creative Writing long ago, because I’m one of them. What was the experience of writing this book like for you? MM: Gothic Revival was a return to fiction writing for me. I hadn’t published (or written) a book in 7 years. I took my time with it, carefully shaping and placing each brick. I’m a brutal self-editor so nothing was sacred. Minor characters and entire plotlines were cut in revisions. The challenge of making it all work is one of the things I like best about writing, so the experience of this, my most challenging novel by far, was fun and rewarding.

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What was one of the most surprising things you learned while writing this? MM: Besides the fact that I could still do it? What is the one thing you hope readers take away reading this book? MM: The trifecta of success for me is readers who are engaged, entertained, and surprised. If they think about the characters and events after they’ve finished reading, that’s a bonus. What are you working on next? MM: My next novel is another thriller in which a poor, impulsive decision made by a group of friends turns lives upside down and attracts the attention of a serial killer with whom the media is obsessed. 

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Gothic Revival.

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BY MICHAEL MULLIN

The conversation lagged into silence, then Lauren said to Eric: “So, are you going to tell us why we’re really here? ... Or should I?” She dipped her chin at him and raised one eyebrow, a skill they’d all always admired. Eric’s mouth opened slowly in surprise then stretched into a smile. “You got my clue,” he said to her. “I did,” said Lauren. “Of course you did,” said Eric letting the smile linger. Chris, Anne, and Fiona looked at each other. What was going on? What clue? “The floor is yours,” Eric told Lauren with as much of a theatrical bow as he could manage while sitting down. Lauren turned to the others. “Our dear old friend has brought us here so that we may each write an original ghost story.” “Cool,” said Chris, who immediately felt embarrassed that he was the only one with a reaction, let alone a vocal one. But was this true? This weekend was going to be about writing? Lauren continued: “It seems Gregor recognizes some parallels between our little group and the famous literary one from 1816 that included Mary Shelley in a different villa.” Then she teased Eric: “You didn’t want to fly us to Switzerland?” “I considered it,” Eric said as if in his own defense. “But too difficult, logistically.” “You mean the story where she came up with Frankenstein?” asked Anne. As Lauren nodded, Eric stood up and took over. “Exactly,” he said. He moved like a stage magician, although Chris feared Anne might be thinking carnival barker. “It’s an iconic tale in the literature world,” Eric declared, “and now it’s our turn. As Brontë pointed out, our group is just like theirs. It’s uncanny!” He motioned to Chris and Anne. “The couple. Percy and Mary Shelley.” He moved to the couch and sat between Fiona and Lauren, taking a hand from each of them. He raised Fiona’s and kissed it. “Our free-spirited Claire Clairmont.” When he raised Lauren’s hand, he encountered what looked like resistance, so he only pretended to kiss it, his lips inches away from her skin. “And

our doctor. Not of medicine – what use would we have for that? No, we have in our midst, in our inseparable family, a PhD in ... wait for it ... Victorian History! What could be more perfect?” “So that makes you Lord Byron?” Lauren asked as he released her hand. “By default, yes,” Eric said with a shrug. “Although similarities could be argued there, too. I have – how shall we say? – entangled myself in a number of relationships, some more lengthy and serious than others. I have what some would call fame while others might see it as notoriety.” “Exiled?” asked Lauren. “Not yet,” Eric replied with a wink.  35

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Held and Free. In one moment, author Meagan O’Nan’s life changed. She suddenly found herself an outsider, both to the life she had known and to the life she did not yet know. A gay woman in Mississippi, she had been outed — and she wasn’t ready for it. Feeling unworthy of the life she had always wanted, Meagan left her home and all that was familiar to her in order to find herself. At rock bottom, she screamed to the Universe, “I want to be loved the way that I love!” It was in this desperate moment that her answer came. It wasn’t what she had expected; it required her to break down all the walls she had built around her heart from her coming out experience. It required her to heal. The only way for her to be Held And Free was to return to Mississippi and come out of her story.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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MEAGAN M. O'NAN Meagan O’Nan is an award-winning author, keynote speaker, and vulnerable storytelling expert. She is the author of the award-winning book, “Creating Your Heaven on Earth,” “Courage: Agreeing to Disagree Is Not Enough,” and "Held And Free." Meagan is also a member of the Forbes Coaches Council where she produces regular content for Forbes.com. Meagan has spoken to thousands of people at live events since 2008, including alongside internationally recognized spiritual leaders such as don Miguel Ruiz, author of the bestselling book, “The Four Agreements,” and she has appeared multiple times in local and national media. Meagan even received a personal note from Desmond Tutu after hearing a talk of hers on forgiveness. Meagan is passionate about creating deeper connections through speaking, workshops, and through her executive speaker coaching. Her approach is unique in that she uses storytelling as a way to overcome differences and generate healing.

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Interview with Meagan M. O'Nan. Tell us a little about your book. MO: I think it'll be nice to hear how Kirkus Reviews wrote about my book. It's a better synopsis than I could ever give: A gay woman returns to the conservative Mississippi town where she grew up in O’Nan’s heartfelt coming-out memoir. The author begins her narrative in 2004 when, as a student at Mississippi State University in her hometown of Starkville, she was outed as gay by an ex-boyfriend; the revelation shocked her Catholic family and elicited warnings of damnation from friends and her campus Fellowship of Christian Athletes. In turmoil and doubting her faith, O’Nan moved to Florida and then Colorado, weathered a volatile year-long relationship, met her soulmate, Clare, and stayed close to her parents while they struggled to accept her sexual orientation. Yearning for family and authenticity, she moved back to Starkville with Clare and found that its Bible Belt culture had grown more gay-friendly in the intervening years. The author debated gay marriage with a Baptist minister on local television, delivered an address for National Coming Out Day, and, in 2018, gave a speech that moved the Starkville City Council to grant the town’s first Pride Parade permit, all with the support and acclaim of neighbors. Along the way, she fully reconciled with her parents, married

Clare, and gave birth to a daughter. O’Nan’s story is an illuminating portrait of the evolution of attitudes about homosexuality during the 21st century. It’s also a record of her own journey, away from church-instilled feelings of fear, shame, and worthlessness and towards self-acceptance. O’Nan’s prose works in many registers, from passionate intensity (“From the depths of my soul, I screamed out to the Universe: ‘I want to be loved the way that I love!’ ”) to delicate evocations of romance (“The soft crunch of the fresh snow lingered while we remained silent, unsure of what to say next….My right cheek sat next to hers for many moments before they glided past one another and we connected for our first kiss”). O’Nan’s search for a true home will resonate with readers of all orientations. An engrossing story of love, growth, and changing times. - Kirkus Reviews What was your inspiration for the idea? MO: Anyone who ever feels like an outsider and wants to create more acceptance and unity in the world understands this dilemma: You are fueled by a fire within to make a difference, but changing others is impossible work. So you get burned out. You feel hopeless. You feel powerless. At some point, you realize the outward work has to become inward if you are going to retain any joy at all. The question then becomes, “How do you make an impact and stand up for a cause 37

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without feeling like you need to change who other people are?” My answer was to share my story. This book. I’ve told my coming out story and shared my personal struggles over and over throughout the years on my blog, on the news, on Mississippi Public Radio, on stages and in classrooms at Mississippi State, in one-on-one conversations behind closed doors, in the grocery store, and even on Facebook Messenger. It has never been my intention to change people’s minds with regard to their beliefs about whether being gay is right or wrong. I know what it feels like for people to try to change who you are. I wanted to find a way to love myself, and sharing my story fulfilled my need to unburden my heart and gave me an opportunity to connect with others in powerful ways. I wanted to understand, and I wanted to be understood. In order to get both, I had to be vulnerable and willing to receive love. We need authentic connection in order to thrive. But someone has to take the first step. And I don't mind taking that step even though it is often scary as hell. What was the experience of writing this book like for you? MO: Tumultuous. It was a 2-year, extremely intense process. Even though I had told many of these stories in years past, there were many I had not. Writing this book was an unveiling for me. It pushed 38

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me to dive into memories that I didn't even know still existed. In some cases, it took me months to get through a chapter. Once I made it through the bulk writing of the book, the editing process was also tough to move through. However, in the end, it was a process that I needed to help me heal another layer or two. I'd do it again. What was one of the most surprising things you learned while writing this? MO: I learned just how hard I could push myself to finish a project. I learned how to extend myself grace in those harder writing moments. I learned that there is so much freedom in putting it all out there so that I could let go of so much and move on with my life. What is the one thing you hope readers take away reading this book? MO: I hope they will see themselves in my story. I hope they feel something real. I hope they feel like they truly know me when they are done reading it. Ultimately, I hope that my readers will believe that peace is possible inside of themselves. What are you working on next? MO: I I have a series of books that I am developing. They include my photography and prose writing - much like what I am offering on my Instagram page now: https://www.instagram.com/megonan/ 

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Held and Free. BY MEAGAN M. O'NAN

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The doors opened behind me, and there they were: Darius, his wife, and their newborn baby. I really loved them, but I wasn’t sure if the feelings were still mutual. Where they used to see a friend, they now saw a project. As they inched closer, I sunk into the pew like a child who had greatly disappointed their parents. I felt myself shrinking into invisibility. They sat down and immediately started quoting Bible verses to me. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). I knew the rhythm of conversation and lingo of converting people and keeping them within the reigns of righteousness. I’d been on the giving end before. So this quote didn’t make me question being gay. It just made me sad. I was no longer a soul or even a face— just a label. I sat quietly, and as tears started to swell in my eyes, I looked down quickly to avoid showing them my vulnerability. When I first arrived at the chapel, I had every intention of proving to them there was nothing wrong with me and that I loved my girlfriend. How could there be anything wrong with love between two people?

you continue to participate in a homosexual lifestyle, you will burn in hell.” They were trying to scare me, but hell was already all around me. It had chased me all day in every conversation like this one. These bringers of “truth” seemed urgently concerned for the life I would live after I died rather than my wellbeing in the moment. I just needed a hug. 

They lectured on, “The Bible says that if 39

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An Enemy Like Me. What Would You Do for Love? An Enemy Like Me, written by award-winning author Teri M Brown, is a powerful novel of love, war, and the complexities of family and identity. How does a man show his love - for country, for heritage, for family - during a war that sets the three at odds? What sets in motion the necessity to choose one over the other? How will this choice change everything and everyone he loves? Jacob Miller, a first-generation American, grew up in New Berlin, a small German immigrant town in Ohio where he endured the Great Depression, met his wife, and started a family. Though his early years were not easy, Jacob believes he is headed toward his 'happily ever after' until a friend is sent to an internment camp for enemy combatants, and the war lands resolutely on his doorstep. In An Enemy Like Me, Teri M Brown uses the backdrop of World War II to show the angst experienced by Jacob, his wife, and his fouryear-old son as he left for and fought in a war he did not create. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

TERI M. BROWN Born in Athens, Greece as an Air Force brat, Teri M Brown came into this world with an imagination full of stories to tell. She now calls the North Carolina coast home, and the peaceful nature of the sea has been a great source of inspiration for her creativity. Not letting 2020 get the best of her, Teri chose to go on an adventure that changed her outlook on life. She and her husband, Bruce, rode a tandem bicycle across the United States from Astoria, Oregon to Washington DC, successfully raising money for Toys for Tots. She learned she is stronger than she realized and capable of anything she sets her mind to.

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Teri is a wife, mother, grandmother, and author who loves word games, reading, bumming on the beach, taking photos, singing in the shower, hunting for bargains, ballroom dancing, playing bridge, and mentoring others.

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Interview with Teri M. Brown.

when I was a teenager, he said, “I always wondered if the person on the other side of my gun was a cousin.” This has always stuck with me.

Tell us a little about your book. TB: An Enemy Like Me is a novel set during WWII. But unlike many WWII historical fiction novels, it does not focus on the war as much as it does on how a family survives the war.

What was the experience of writing this book like for you? TB: I wrote the first draft of this book while at a two-week writer’s retreat – Weymouth Writer’s in Residence – in Southern Pines, North Carolina. This is the former estate of James Boyd, a significant writer who often hosted literary guests like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe. Writers blessed to spend time there find amazing inspiration within those walls and throughout the grounds.

The soldier is a first-generation German American. When he decides to fight, he believes the enemy will be the Japanese. This is an enemy he believes in. They bombed Pearl Harbor. Not only that, they are very different from him. They look different. Eat different foods. Speak a very different language. However, he ends up fighting in Germany and recognizes that he is more like the enemy than he is different from them. An Enemy Like Me looks at war from the perspective of this soldier, his wife, and his four-year-old son who was left behind, both as a child and as an adult looking back. It looks at such concepts as xenophobia, intrafamily dynamics, and the recognition that war is not won and lost by nations, but by ordinary men and women and the families who support them. What was your inspiration for the idea? TB: My family is German-American, though we came to the United States in the late 1700s. My grandfather fought in WWII and spent his time in Germany. He rarely spoke about the war. However, one time,

When I started, I only had the statement from my grandfather to get me going, but I used several family stories to move me from place to place. My great-grandmother disliked her son’s choice of a wife. My father was a child when his father left for the war. My grandfather fell in love at first sight. Of course, I took great license with these stories and changed the main character to be a first-generation American to make the story even more poignant. As I wrote, I realized that my father’s story was one that needed telling. He was four when he father left for war, and my grandparents insisted that he had no memories of this day or the following two years. In their mind, he was too young to have been affected by the war. However, my father had very distinct memories that I believe haunted him until he passed away. It felt really good to find a way to honor those memories. 41

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What was one of the most surprising things you learned while writing this? TB: My grandfather did not sign up for the war when Pearl Harbor was bombed, but over three years later. We always wondered what prompted him to go at that point, but he and grandma never discussed it. I began doing research trying to discover what might have been going on in the Spring of 1944 that would be the impetus for him to sign up. I assumed I would discover a substantial battle or a push from the government for volunteers, but instead, I found out about internment camps for German-American citizens, much like those for JapaneseAmericans. I did not know they existed. I doubt their existence was the reason for my grandfather’s enlistment, but it was the perfect reason for Jacob to volunteer, and something I felt should be brought up in a historical fiction that featured a GermanAmerican community. What is the one thing you hope readers take away reading this book? TB: I hope readers stop and think about what makes an enemy. Jacob, when he ended up in Germany, realized he was more like the enemy than he was different from the enemy. That is a true sentiment regardless of who your enemy is. When we strive to find similarities, we will find that we are all more alike than we are different. I also want readers to recognize that the effects of a war do not stop at the official declaration of the end of fighting. Soldiers 42

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come home to their families having seen and done things that have changed them forever. Wives, children, parents, and even friends have suffered from the loss of their loved one during the duration of the war. These changes will affect things like how a soldier parents or how they work in a relationship. These changes send ripples across generations. What are you working on next? TB: My third novel, Daughters of Green Mountain Gap, releases in January. This is a historical fiction about Maggie, a healer, known as a Granny Woman, in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. Her daughter, Carrie Ann, who goes to school to become a nurse, wants to see modern medicine come to the community. Her granddaughter, Josie Mae, wants to follow in her family’s tradition but doesn’t know which way is the right way – or is there a right way? I’m also writing my fourth novel, which is a big change from my three previous published works. To date, I’ve set the story in the past, written in third person past tense, and explored multiple points of view. This story is a modern, single POV, first person present tense, humorous look at a woman going through menopause with a dash of romance set at Sunset Beach, NC. Besides writing novels, I also write flash fiction, short stories (The Youngest Lighthouse Keeper has been chosen to be part of an anthology Feisty Deeds: Historical Fictions of Daring Women), and host (Online for Authors) and co-host (The Writer’s Lounge) writing podcasts. 

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An Enemy Like Me.

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BY TERI M. BROWN

With a bit of jostling and maneuvering, they piled into the car and headed to the train station. William had never been in a car with so many people, nor had he ever ridden in his daddy’s car with Uncle Otto driving. Grandma and Grandpa sat in the front with Uncle Otto, and Mommy, Daddy, and Oma crowded into the back with William. He sat on his daddy’s knee, pressed against his mommy, while the buildings flew by the small side window. He had been to the train station many times before. The squat green building next to the track was always full of people with suitcases scurrying from one place to another. However, his favorite parts of the station were the shiny black steam engines and the long cars trailing behind. He would point to trains carrying loads of lumber from the lumberyard where Daddy worked and others carrying stone from the quarry. He would count the cars as they passed, but once he reached 12, William would let his daddy take over because all the numbers after 12 confused him. He longed for the day when he would be able to count as high as his father. Today, as Otto parked the car and everyone piled out of the open doors, an unidentifiable emotion planted itself firmly in William’s gut. All around them, people hugged and cried and said goodbye. Smiles mingled with tears and ‘I love yous.’ Patriotism mingled with heartache. Loyalty mingled with selfishness. Soldiers, fathers, brothers, sons stood amid the fluttering American flags strung between the platform’s timbers.

William was too young to understand the emotion that permeated the train station. How does a four-yearold describe grief, uncertainty, fear, longing, and a smidgen of ‘patriotic soldier’ all rolled into one little boy’s heart? From that day forward, trains would forever be linked with the sorrow of goodbye and the American flag would remind him of his father. 

LONG-LISTED

xxxxxra.

BY XXXXXX

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LONG-LISTED

2023 SHELF UNBOUND COMPETITION

INTRODUCING....

2023 LONG-LIST

SYRU P SAND WICH ES

THE JOURNAL OF HIDDEN TRUTHS

LAUGH CRY REWIND

48 STATES

PULSE

AN INCH FROM OBLIVION

Introducing our longlisted titles for the 2023 Shelf Unbound Competition for Best Independently Published Book

DARCY

A HAUNTING AT LINLEY

THE UNSTOPPABLE

OF WHITE ASHES

ELIZA HAYCRAFT

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Syrup Sandwiches. Syrup Sandwiches is a powerful story about a young black boy who defeats the odds. Anthony Owens shares how he became a successful man as he had to rise above the expected outcome for a child raised in poverty. Even though he was subjected to neglectful, abusive men, Anthony understood the importance of breaking this cycle to become the caring and responsible father he never had. Anthony Owens is one of the underrepresented voices in America – a black man raised by a single mother struggling to make ends meet; he speaks for voices that so often go unheard. Faced with the odds of poverty, an absentee father, trauma, violence, and bullying, Anthony gives us a raw look at how he was determined not to be defined by his circumstances and makes a way out of no way. Syrup Sandwiches is an inspiring story that gives hope to all children, especially poor children of color, providing a message of hope and success. In a time when society is looking at stories that speak to the black American experience, this is a story that is unapologetically authentic.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ANTHONY OWENS

I am a native of Dawson, Georgia, but grew up in Brooklyn, New York since the age of two. I consider myself a Brooklynite, growing up there from 1965 to 1981. I proudly served 20 years of active-duty service in the United States Navy fighting in two wars and providing humanitarian aid to foreign countries. With an MBA from Saint Leo University, I’m now a federal information technology specialist in Virginia. I’ve become a provider and protector for my mother and siblings, for my wife of thirty-eight years, and ultimately as a father for my own son and as a grandfather to his daughter. 46

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Syrup Sandwiches. BY ANTHONY OWENS

As a child, you could say I was a victim. The trauma that I experienced resulted from the actions of others. From bullying and racism to an absentee father and witnessing violence, many things in my life could have resulted in insurmountable obstacles. Yet, even as a child, somehow, I knew that the way to get out of the life that I did not want and I did not create, would be up to me. I could spend my time blaming my father and the others who made my life difficult and embracing a victim’s mentality, or I could refuse to be defeated. It wasn’t fair and it wasn’t my fault. Yet, I was the only one who could change my life. It wouldn’t be easy, and it wouldn’t be fast, but I was determined I would succeed. I decided I would be the person who reversed the negative cycle.

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I’ve come to the realization that during my fragile emotional state, the things that helped me overcome the horrors were prayer, laughter, and the belief that I couldn’t allow myself to succumb to the things that I could not control. I realized that all that I could do was rock and roll with each punch that life threw at me. And when it knocked me down, I knew that it was not time to throw in the towel, but rather, the time to get back up and prepare myself for the next battle.

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The Journal of Hidden Truths. Sometimes an unimaginable tragedy can bring a new outlook on life and love. Twelve years ago, in the wake of a tragedy, Mariah rejected the church community that failed her. Mariah moved a thousand miles away to Boulder, Colorado, with her infant daughter, Star. But the past continues to haunt her, and Mariah has yet to reveal to Star what had happened. At thirteen, Star is brilliant and sensitive, with an uncanny ability to intuit truth. Through dreams, observations, and journaling, Star inches ever closer to uncovering her mother’s secrets. Mary Avery Kabrich’s second novel, told from the perspective of both mother and daughter, presents a stirring tale of loss and the healing power of love.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Mary Avery Kabrich Mary Avery Kabrich grew up in rural Minnesota and moved to Seattle when she was twenty-three, fulfilling her childhood desire of becoming an urban dweller. She spent all of elementary school confused about how everyone else had figured out the mysterious process of reading. Once Upon a Time a Sparrow is fiction informed by her life experiences as a child with severe dyslexia in the late ‘60s, early 70’s, at a time and place when an inability to read was not understood. Mary has worked as a special education teacher, private tutor, and university instructor. She currently fulfills her passions serving students in Seattle School District as a school psychologist and writing stories of transformation. 48

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The Journal of Hidden Truths. BY MARY AVERY KABRICH

My Journal of Hidden Truths September 12, 2012

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Hello, new Journal. Welcome to my crazy world. Guess what? You are special, so I’ve given you a name—My Journal of Hidden Truths. Where should I start? You’ve entered my life during the onslaught of seventh grade. I wasn’t the only one nervous about going to junior high. Each time Mom mentioned or even thought of Aspen Creek, I suffered her fear oozing out in shades of blue and gray. When you arrived for my thirteenth birthday wrapped in my favorite color, purple, I knew Mom planned for you to be special. And you are. An ecological pinnacle—a sign Mom’s finally starting to get me. Your cover is made from recycled cork; your pages, also recycled. When I opened you, Mom couldn’t hide her grin, and I threw my arms around her. Now that I’m a teenager, it’s time I get serious about life. After all, I’m one year closer to being considered a grown-up. If there was a pill I could swallow making growing up happen faster, I’d take it now. I know what I want to do with my life. Of course I plan to be a scientist, like David Bohm, and specialize in the nature of reality and consciousness. Who wouldn’t choose to spend their life uncovering the secrets of the universe? I’m sitting on the floor leaning against my bed, using my knees as my desk. Forgive me for my sloppy writing.

You’re special for reasons more serious than your cool looks and green source. You may be my last journal. I know this sounds creepy. But I have this aching sense that I may not survive this year. Which means you will be around longer than me. So, Journal, I’m writing to more than you. I’m writing to whoever You are who may someday read this.  49

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Darcy. Take a deep dive into Darcy. McVeigh puts the spotlight on Darcy in this imaginative re-telling of Austen’s classic tale. In a timeless story of love amid the clash of social classes, Darcy is faced with a terrible choice: to stay in London to force Wickham’s hand – or to go to Rome, to salvage his family’s reputation. With a new Darcyesque slant, omitted scenes from the original, and an extra helping of humour – including excerpts from The Wisdom and Wit of Miss Mary Bennet – this is a fresh new Pride and Prejudice with (wedding) bells on!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ALICE MCVEIGH Alice McVeigh has been published by Orion/Hachette in contemporary fiction, by UK's Unbound in speculative fiction (writing as Spaulding Taylor) and by Warleigh Hall Press in historical fiction. Her books have placed in the BookLife Prize, and won gold medals/first place in the Pencraft, Global, eLit, Incipere and Historical Fiction Company Book Awards. Two of her novels have been Publishers Weekly "Editors Pick - outstanding" - one has a Kirkus Star. 50

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Darcy.

BY ALICE MCVEIGH

As our visitors left, I chose to accompany the Gardiners and their niece to their carriage, taking the chance to thank Elizabeth. ‘It was very good of you to come.’

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‘Not at all. Your sister is charming,’ said she. ‘How I long to hear her play!’ ‘Thank you, but I hope to hear you play again, as well.’ ‘I fear that would be only an embarrassment, as I have not touched an instrument this long age.’ ‘But the voice can surely not have altered? Colonel Fitzwilliam said, only the other day, how it had brightened Rosings last Easter.’ She turned to look at me, as if contemplating some swift rejoinder, misjudged the depth of the marble step beneath, and slipped, with a little cry. Taking three steps in one, I caught her round the waist, secured her against the balustrade and released her. So strange a moment – locked close, a third of the way down the marble staircase – time itself suspended! Her aunt, following, heard the cry and rushed to the head of the stairs. ‘Lizzy! What has happened?’ ‘Why nothing at all! I fell, I cannot think how, but Mr Darcy caught me – for which I am most grateful,’ she said to me, with a private smile. ‘I am sorry to have alarmed you, Aunt, for I am rarely clumsy, as a rule.’

How I wished I could have prolonged that instant on the stair! I was then obliged to return to the saloon, where Miss Bingley was saying very spitefully, ‘How very ill Eliza Bennet looked this morning! I never in my life saw anyone so altered. She is grown so brown and coarse!’ I could not sleep that night, for recollecting that moment on the stair.  51

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A Haunting at Linley. “Mixing Romance and Mystery in a Fizzy 1930s Cocktail!” In this seventh book of the series, Clive and Henrietta return to England to find Castle Linley in financial ruin. When Clive’s cousin, Wallace, invites an estate agent in to assess the home’s value, the agent is later found poisoned, throwing all of the Castle’s guests into suspicion. Clive and Henrietta are soon drawn into an investigation, which is slowed by an incompetent local inspector and several unexplained phenomena—the cause of which many, especially the frail Lady Linley, believe to be the workings of the ghost of a hanged maid. Meanwhile, Gunther and Elsie have begun life on a farm in Omaha. Circumstances are difficult, but they are content—until Oldrich Exely appears, proposing an option Elsie finds difficult to ignore.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

MICHELLE COX

Thanks to all of my readers and fans for your amazing support! Visit me on my website: http:// michellecoxauthor.com/ to connect with me on social. Sign up for my newsletter to keep current with events, new releases, and giant giveaways! And don't forget - the whole series is now on Audio!!! The wonderful, award-winning Hollywood actress, Jayne Entwistle, narrates. Get started now! 52

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A Haunting at Linley. BY MICHELLE COX

It’s a shame we couldn’t have gotten here sooner,” Henrietta murmured, a glass of cognac grasped tightly in her hands.

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“Yes, it must have been a terrible few days for you.” Clive leaned forward and looked directly at his cousin, Wallace. “Days?” Wallace answered sharply. “It’s been a terrible few weeks. No, make that months. A year. Oh, bloody hell. The whole thing has been miserable.” He gestured absently around the darkened drawing room where he and his wife, Amelie, were seated on an old-fashioned horsehair sofa near the fireplace, the only source of light in the room save several small lamps emitting a soft glow at the other end of the room. Clive and Henrietta sat across from them on leather wingback chairs, their faces partly in shadow. Sadly, despite an urgent telegram from Wallace informing them of a sudden, dangerous decline in his father’s health, Clive and Henrietta had not arrived in time to say good-bye to Lord Linley, who had passed away in his sleep some two weeks ago, nor had they even made it to the funeral.

“Let’s just hope they will release Edna.”

It had taken time for Edna, Henrietta’s maid, to be well enough to be released from Lariboisière Hospital in Paris and in a fit enough condition to travel. And then there had been the whole awful business in Strasbourg to wrap up between the funerals for Claudette and Valentin and the settling of the baron, who took the news of his adult children’s deaths very hard indeed.

“Well, if they don’t, we’re simply taking her.”

“Darling, there’s nothing more we can do,” Clive had responded to Henrietta’s musings on the train back from Strasbourg to Paris. “And we must get on to Castle Linley. Already, I fear we’re too late.”

READ THE FULL FIRST CHAPTER HERE

Henrietta said nothing to this, knowing that the whole situation was a sore point with Clive. 

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Laugh Cry Rewind. Growing up in 1970s and 80s suburban Houston, Judy Haveson is funny, sarcastic, and fiercely loyal, especially to her family, friends, and big sister, Celia. When she suffers a series of unimaginable traumatic events, her seemingly idyllic childhood comes to a halt, changing her life forever. In Laugh Cry Rewind, Judy takes readers on her journey of self-discovery, sharing funny, touching, and heartbreaking stories from her childhood all the way to the birth of her son. Her experiences serve as a reminder that while life is not always fair, ultimately, the choice to surrender or keep on living is ours. Her message to others who have experienced loss or tragedy is this: stop waiting for the other shoe to drop. Let life go on, and good things will be waiting for you on the other side of the pain.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JUDY HAVESON

I'm Judy Haveson, a proud Texan living in New York. My fascination with compelling storytelling plays well with my lifelong communications career of promoting products, services, companies, and individuals spanning various areas and industries, including nonprofits, travel & hospitality, entertainment, fashion & retail, authors, and even rock stars and rap artists. You'll have to read the book for details on that last piece of information. 54

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Laugh Cry Rewind. BY JUDY HAVESON

One Saturday night in January 1991, I sat in a hotel room in Sacramento, California, having just left a Guys Next Door concert. They were one of the bands on SBK Records, our answer to the New Kids on the Block. In 1991, New Kids on the Block dominated the boy band craze, and every record label wanted a piece of the popularity. But while the Guys Next Door were cute, NKOTB came first and had talent. For some reason, that didn’t seem to matter to teenage girls with raging hormones. They just needed cute boys and a reason to scream at them.

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After the concert, while I was in my hotel room watching Saturday Night Live, Ken called me. “Are you alone?” he asked seductively. “I’m in Sacramento. Who would I be with?” I replied. “With one of the Guys, of course.” “I’m older than fifteen. Why are you calling anyway? I need sleep,” I whined. “Well, you better sleep tonight because we need you in Louisville, Kentucky on Tuesday. You’re going on the road for three months.” I couldn’t understand what he was trying to tell me. “One of our artists on tour needs promotional help coordinating backstage parties, radio station visits, and record store signings,” he explained. “And since the opening band is also ours, we think it’s best to have someone from the promotions department be with both acts at all times, and we decided that person would be you.”

“How much underwear will I need for three months?” I asked. Ken cleared his throat. I quickly recovered when I realized I had asked that question out loud. “Well, I’ll agree if you agree that I won’t have to travel on the stinky, crowded tour bus.” I mean, I had to draw the line somewhere. I may not have been a total princess, but I did have my limits, and smelly tour buses were a hard limit. 

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48 States. In 2042 the United States is recovering from a series of terrorist attacks that upended the government, rewrote our civil liberties, and erased two states from the map. River, a widow, single mother, and veteran of the Caliphate Wars, works as a waste hauling trucker in Energy Territory No. 1, formerly known as North Dakota. Living in a dingy motel room with nothing but her books and a semiautomatic pistol for company, she is weeks away from the end of her contract and returning to her young daughter. Finn Cunningham, a hydrologist with the United States Geology Survey (USGS) in Montana, is suspicious of environmental changes he’s seeing in nearby western waterways and decides to investigate. His decision sets him on a collision course with River, sending them both on the run. One a fugitive, the other a reluctant participant, they develop an affinity for each other, sharing stories of past loves, loss, and hardship. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

EVETTE DAVIS A lover of all things science fiction and fantasy, Davis is a juggler by trade: writing novels and helping run the SF-based PR firm she founded in 1999.

In 2014 Davis founded Flesh & Bone, an independent publishing imprint. Her writing has also been published in the San Francisco Chronicle, Book Country and Searching for Superwoman. She splits her time between San Francisco and Sun Valley, Idaho with her husband, daughter and dog. WINTER 2024

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48 States. BY EVETTE DAVIS

Before River could answer her own question, a man appeared in the road several feet in front of her. She blinked a few times to clear her sight, worried the two rum and Cokes had caught up with her. But then the specter raised his arms over his head in surrender. She watched the reaction of the man as she climbed out of her truck. He was definitely surprised to see a woman. As the seconds whirled past, River scrutinized the figure in front of her, trying to get a sense of what she was dealing with. The stranger stood stock still, except for his chest, which rose and fell rapidly like a dog panting. River had seconds to decide. At the moment, they were alone. It was possible a car or another tanker truck would appear on the highway, or maybe a patrol drone would pass overhead. If they were discovered, she would have no choice but to turn him in. What she was contemplating was against the rules. She’d just told him she didn’t want trouble, but, really, a tiny part of her did. How did this man with ginger hair manage to trespass into the Territory? She’d driven this stretch of road countless times and encountered nothing and gone home to more of the same. Maybe she could steal away a little time to learn his story, take a break from the monotony of her existence.

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One night, and then the mystery man would be gone. And if he tried anything, she reasoned, she would kill him without a second thought. “OK,” she said. “One night, and then you are dust in the wind. Got it?” “Got it. I promise I won’t be any trouble,” the man said, lowering his arms just seconds before he passed out.  57

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Of White Ashes. The bombing of Pearl Harbor propels America into WWII and two Japanese Americans into chaos. Separated by the Pacific, each embarks on a tumultuous path to survive childhood and live the American dream. Ruby Ishimaru loses her liberty and uproots from her Hawaii home to incarceration camps on the mainland. Koji Matsuo strains under the menacing clouds of the Japanese war machine and atomic bombing while concealing a dangerous secret-one that threatens his family's safety. When destiny brings Ruby and Koji together in California, their chemistry is magnetic, but wounds of trauma run deep and threaten their love as another casualty of war. Inspired by the true stories of the authors' family, Of White Ashes crosses oceans and cultures, illuminating the remarkable lives of ordinary people who endure seemingly unbearable hardship with dignity and patience. Their experiences compel us to reflect on the resilience of humanity and the risk of history repeating. ABOUT THE AUTHOR CONSTANCE HAYS MATSUMOTO & KENT MATSUMOTO A native Marylander, Connie empty-nests in Greenville, Delaware with her husband, Kent, and their adorable Westie. She is a former corporate and interior design devotee who later embraced the art and rigor of creative writing. Inspired by Shakespeare’s “What’s past is prologue,” Connie writes stories and poetry intended to influence positive change in our world. Kent Matsumoto, a third-generation Japanese American, was born in Virginia and spent his formative years living in Japan where he attended the American School. He earned his degrees from the University of Virginia and University of Michigan Law School, and has worked in law firms and private and public companies.

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Of White Ashes.

BY CONSTANCE HAYS MATSUMOTO & KENT MATSUMOTO

Nothing had prepared her for what she saw when Mari raised the shade. The dark sky gave way to a gray dawn behind a tall chain-link fence topped with rolled barbed wire. An armed sentry stood at the wood railing of a watch tower surveying their train and the bleak sea of tar paper buildings. His watchful eyes bore through her. She clung to Mari. “The guard up there is looking at us. He’s got a gun! Does he keep people in or out?” “I don’t know. Probably both. At least we’re together. Hopefully, Father will join us soon. No matter what, obey the rules and do what you’re told.” The train doors opened, and a blast of frigid air poured into the car. The soldier shouted, “Y’all get in line. Single-file-like. Good luck.” Carrying their belongings, Ruby and Mari followed their stepmother off the train onto frozen mud. The biting wind whipped Ruby’s hair around. Her cheeks burned with cold. They trekked behind the others over ruts rigid with ice and past a large sign painted in plain block letters—Jerome Relocation Center—and through the gate, where soldiers hoisted a U.S. flag and rendered military salutes. Winter gales sent the flag flapping. Ruby rubbed her arms, jumped around to get warm, and recalled her lessons on what the distinct colors of the flag represented—white for purity and innocence, red for valor, blue for perseverance, vigilance, and justice. She jumped at the startling clang of the gate slamming behind them, and her sudden realization the guards

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were there to keep them in, locked behind barbed wire fencing under freedom’s flag. Standing in a line that stretched beyond her field of vision, she asked for bravery from any higher power who might hear her, and struggled to breathe the air that accentuated the flag’s merciless taunts of freedom. 

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The Unstoppable Eliza Haycraft. “Beautifully written, compulsively readable… ” So says Indie Reader of The Unstoppable Eliza Haycraft – the riveting novel about a legendary woman in antebellum Missouri who allowed neither men nor society’s conventions to keep her from cutting her own remarkable path. The year is 1844. On a May midnight, Eliza Haycraft flings herself into a canoe to escape a husband who beats her and a life that does the same. She is penniless and illiterate. Yet a decade later, sex and secrets will make her the wealthiest woman in St. Louis, a frontier boom town at the western edge of a restless nation. With only herself to rely on, Eliza becomes a prostitute and madam, then a property owner and puller of strings. She tangles with a vindictive rival and a governor who will become a Civil War turncoat. Scarred by experience, she finds true love but dares not admit it even to herself. And when civil war looms, Eliza faces a devastating choice: whether to risk her own life for the survival of everything—and everyone—she holds dear.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DIANA DEMPSEY Diana Dempsey traded in an Emmy Award-winning career in TV news to write fiction. The first of her ten contemporary novels, FALLING STAR, was a finalist for a Romance Writers of America RITA award for Best First Book. THE UNSTOPPABLE ELIZA HAYCRAFT is her first historical novel. A graduate of Harvard University, Diana was born in Buffalo, New York, enjoyed stints in Belgium, the U.K., and Japan, and now resides in California with her husband and a West Highland White Terrier, not necessarily in that order. 60

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The Unstoppable Eliza Haycraft. BY DIANA DEMPSEY

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I am pacing the upstairs landing when a carriage rolls up the lane to the coach house. I stop to listen. Whoever it is enters the house through the side door. I am severely disappointed when I hear voices: this is not Chouteau come at last; Marie-Christine speaks to this man too easily. I realize as he and MarieChristine babble in their quick French that this is the carriage driver who brought me here. Marie-Christine appears in the foyer below. She runs up the stairs toward me—“Vite!”—tugs me into my bedchamber and jerks open the wardrobe to pull out my jade dress. After a quick inspection she says, “Monsieur Chouteau. Planters House.” Finally I am hearing his name. “Planters House? What is that?” Already Marie-Christine is trying to get me out of my blue dress. “A very beautiful hotel. You go there.” My breath comes faster. What are Chouteau and I to do at this hotel? I need not imagine long to understand. Soon I am in the carriage and the driver and I are leaving the quiet behind. We come to a wide street still a ways uphill from the river—Fourth Street, the driver tells me—and roll to a stop before a very large building. It is made of stone and brick, at least four stories tall, with ornament around the many windows and even a tower of three tiers rising from the center. So St. Louis can boast of something truly grand. “This is wide as the whole block,” I tell the driver. He nods and grins. “Most beautiful place.” So it is. Shops line the lowest floor and a flag flutters from a pole mounted on the highest tower. As at the gambling hall in New Orleans, music and laughter and conversation spill into the night air and light

pours from near every window. It is as if heavenly rejoicing goes on in every room. The driver hands me down from the carriage. Then he steps back and gestures to the hotel. He is telling me I am to enter this place alone. I turn to face it. I like to tell myself that I am not stopped by fear, but that is easy to say when I am not afraid. 

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Pulse. The fate of humanity rests in the hands of a few. Pulse: Book Two is the conclusion of B.A. Bellec’s dystopian sci-fi horror duology. This time around we are tapping into iconic stories like The Stand, Station Eleven, Cloud Atlas, Contact, and The Road to add elite and ambitious scale. Our chaotic journey picks up moments after the first book ends with action from the second you start turning the pages, but if you thought you knew where the story was going, leave your expectations at the door and ask yourself this one question: How would a P-7500 defeat these creatures?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR B.A. BELLEC

Bryan “B.A.” Bellec’s debut novel, Someone’s Story, won the Reader Views Young Adult Book of the Year as well as various other honors. Someone’s Story is a young adult coming-of-age book and has seen good support over Instagram, YouTube, and Goodreads. One of the aspects that makes Bellec’s projects unique is he includes musicians in his novels and then he actually produces the songs as his book goes through the editing stages. 62

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Pulse.

BY B.A. BELLEC

The cold, rusted steel frame of the dumpster feels soothing on Amber’s skin. The smell—hot garbage baking in summer heat for too many days—is not so different from the creatures themselves. Amber holds her breath and listens, hiding from the horde of creatures clattering by, chittering and hooting. The crack of light coming in flickers from the shadows of them passing.

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Eventually, the noise dies down and the trickle of light stays solid. Is it safe? She slowly opens the lid and sneaks out. Her feet pound the ground with a ferocity that matches the frustration of the last few days. She dares not slow down and glance over her shoulder. She knows they are there. There are maybe a thousand of them, as they seem to have been forming packs these last few hours. The city is a twisted jungle of concrete and metal. Keeping to the middle of the road is the safest way to avoid one of them surprising her. Even the road has dangers; it is stuffed with abandoned vehicles. Off in the distance is a Walmart. It might not be perfect, but I can’t run forever. Once near the door, she relents; her running has caught up with her and leaves her winded. Behind her, she catches a glimpse of another horde. The wave is coming, creatures jumping off each other, climbing vehicles and telephone poles, so many she can’t see through them. At least she has managed half a block of safety. She puts her hand on the department store door, but it doesn’t budge. She tries again. Nothing. Around the corner, she sees a broken display window.

She hurries and uses a rock to smash the last of the glass shards away. Inside, it’s as desolate as the Sahara Desert. The shelves are picked clean, and the store has fallen into disarray with racks tipped over and fallen Styrofoam panels from the ceiling. Is this place any safer than outside? Who knows, but I can’t outrun these things, and I can’t escape if they swarm. Eventually, I just have to hide, and dumpsters aren’t a long-term solution.  63

L O N G - L I S T E D CONTINUED

An Inch From Oblivion. After being suspended from his job as a police detective, Dave Ostrinsky, needing a respite from his stress-filled life, rides his bike along a mountain trail and accidentally goes over a dangerous cliff. During emergency surgery, Dr. Ivy McDermott discovers a strange microdot in Ostrinsky's brain. In researching the mysterious growth, Dave and Ivy are shocked to discover a conspiracy guided by criminals' intent to control a programmable public. An Inch from Oblivion is the harrowing journey of one man's accidental encounter with a secret so disturbing you will be compelled to reexamine your every move.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SAM POLAKOFF Sam Polakoff is the award-winning author of medical and political thrillers with a hint of science fiction.

Sam Polakoff was raised in Baltimore and Columbia, Maryland. He is the third-generation owner of Nexterus Inc., a family business that began in 1946. Nexterus, based in New Freedom, Pennsylvania is America’s oldest privately held third party logistics firm. In 2022, Sam founded BrillDog, a supply chain technology platform focusing on the needs of small and mid-sized companies. WINTER 2024

L O N G - L I S T E D CONTINUED

An Inch From Oblivion. BY SAM POLAKOFF

Adrenaline propelled Ivy through the craniotomy. The flatscreen computerized tomography, commonly referred to as a CT, guided her through removing the subdural hematoma. The small pool of blood rolled effortlessly into the collection tray. She clamped the bleeding artery and tied it off before taking a final survey of Ostrinsky’s brain. The images from the CT enabled easy distinction between healthy and abnormal tissue. Ivy was satisfied. Everything looked good. She prepared to replace the bone flap removed at the start of the procedure. Suddenly, a monitor cried out for attention. A red light flashed on the top of the box.

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“Dr. McDermott, what’s happening? I don’t see anything on the CT that would trip the alarm.” “Neither do I,” she replied to the resident she was mentoring. “Switch the alarm off, and let’s take another look before we close.” Ivy turned to get a better look at the flatscreen. “I don’t see anything out of the ordinary.” Ready to write it off as an equipment malfunction, Ivy instructed the resident to change to the 3D view of Ostrinsky’s brain. Then she saw something odd. It was nothing more than a speck of white, but it did not belong. “Do you see that?” Ivy asked the resident. “Looks like one of those small, round hearing aid batteries I used to replace for my grandmother. We have to go back in.” Speaking to no one in particular, Ivy narrated her actions. “The object is slightly below the open

section of the brain. I am making an incision in the dura just below the current site.” Ivy carefully cut the brain’s outer membrane to reveal the skull. “Drilling to excise another bone flap.” A few seconds later. “Removing the bone flap.” Ivy placed the second section of Ostrinsky’s skull to the side and looked carefully at the brain until she saw it. 

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The Hive

BY MELISSA SCHOLES YOUNG

The Fehler sisters wanted to be more than bug girls but growing up in a fourth- generation family pest control business in rural Missouri, their path was fixed. The family talked about Fehler Family Exterminating at every meal, even when their mom said to separate the business from the family, an impossible task. They tried to escape work with trips to their trailer camp on the Mississippi River, but the sisters did more fighting than fishing. If only there was a son to lead rural Missouri insect control and guide the way through a crumbling patriarchy. Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Hot Air.

Ninety-Nine Fire Hoops BY ALLISON HONG MERRILL

Allison Hong isn’t a typical fifteen-year-old Taiwanese girl. Unwilling to bend to the conditioning of her Chinese culture, which demands that women submit to men’s will, she disobeys her father’s demand to stay in their faith tradition, Buddhism, and instead joins the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Six years later, she drops out of college to serve a mission—a decision for which her father disowns her. Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

KARL’S DIARY: IT’S A DOG’S LIFE

BY CHARLIE SUISMAN

BY SHARON WINTERS

A sequel to the awardwinning novel Arnold Falls, Hot Air features the characters of the small, upstate New York town during the summer following the events of book one. The "incredibly funny" (Kirkus) antics continue as Arnold Falls has several identity crises all at once. Our narrator, Jeebie, has a life-changing moment with a cow, there's trouble brewing at the hospital, and Arnold Falls may change its name to Emollimax, for a payout. This is a character comedy about life in a small, extremely quirky town, for fans of Armistead Maupin and P. G. Wodehouse.

In December 2014, chocolatecolored dogs with golden eyes is found wandering in Arizona‘s Yuma Desert. A kind hearted man brings the lost dog to a rescue facility. Sadly, no one chooses to adopt the stray, who’s desperate wish is for a family to love and cherish him. Soon however, while he is at a second animal rescue, his picture is published in a local newspaper paper and a compassionate couple adopt him, name him Karl, and bring him to his forever home, one filled with unconditional love. Parents and children alike will be captivated by this tender, humorous look at Karl’s now happy life told from his point of view and with pictures of the real Karl, a handsome Boykin spaniel.

WINTER 2024

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The Revolution: Captain, Pirate, Heroine

BY CHERYL BARTLAM DU BOIS AND DEBRA ANN PAWLAK

Fanny Campbell lived during the revolution as British Colonies revolted against the Crown, witnessing such rebellious acts as the Boston Tea Party. When her fiancé was imprisoned in Cuba’s La Cabana, she sailed the seas disguised as a man, commandeered a British brig, and orchestrated a daring rescue. Fighting Pirates, and English enemies, she won two more British vessels, sent a notorious Pirate ship into eternity and helped the newly-formed Colonial Navy with her spoils. The Cardiff Giant BY LARRY LOCKRIDGE

Jack Thrasher, investigative reporter, arrives on the scene to look into the weird disappearance from the Farmers' Museum of a huge human figure. Jack confronts locals and outsiders who all have a theory, including that the giant has been reanimated and is lurching throughout the community. They are enmeshed in self-punishing belief systems such as alien abduction, astrology, kabbalistic numerology, New Age rebirthing, and religious dogmas reduced to literal absurdities. These characters group and regroup, with romance always on their minds, and finally come to recognitions at once surprising and moving.

The Weight We Carry BY CHRISTINA CONSOLINO

Marissa feels responsible for her parents' health. When her father falls and refuses to stay at rehab, she moves into her parents' house, taking precious time from her family and jeopardizing her job. Soon, Marissa recognizes that life is about to change: her dad’s falls are worrisome, but her mother’s memory loss might be a more urgent dilemma. A heartbreaking and emotional story of the toll that health crises can have on an entire family.

20 Ways to Increase Your Psychic Abilities BY JOHN RUSSELL

My third book, 20 Ways to Increase Your Psychic Abilities, is a series of practical how-to lessons in psychic development that will take you by the hand and walk you step-bystep through the learning process as you discover how to: successfully learn and practice psychometry; accurately interpret your dreams; safely conduct your own seance; practice effective candle magic; make your own amulets and talismans; practice healing; record spirit voices; attract the perfect mate; and much more. 69

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Guidance to Death

A FEW WORDS ABOUT WORDS

It was cold and rainy, with low visibility. A perfect morning for sabotage. The company jet carrying a Senior VP mysteriously crashes shortly after taking off from Washington National Airport. The NTSB says it was an accident. The victim’s wife says it was murder.

“William Safire meets David Sedaris.” – friend of the author

BY DANIEL V. MEIER JR.

Frank Adams, an independent aviation accident investigator, is hired to find out. Mounting evidence indicates foul play, and as unrelated events become increasingly linked, Frank reveals a crime of international dimensions.

BY JOE DIORIO

This book is for anyone who has ever wondered whether “also” should follow or precede the verb; if there’s a difference between “preventive” or “preventative”; or if the Oxford comma is as important as some think it is. It provides relief for many common grammar anxieties, and is based on the popular blog by Joe Diorio.

Leo Trevelion and the Lion Ring

Against Her Will

BY IAN FLINT

BY CYNTHIA KUMANCHIK

Deep below the earth’s surface is a hi-tech alien world where the highly evolved Leonisians live, having escaped annihilation on their home planet. There they thrived undetected for over eighty-years until a rare planetary event threatens their very existence. Now their survival depends on awakening and transforming the last survivor of a guardian race - Leo Trevelion. As his awareness and powers grow, Leo is drawn into a battle for the survival of their world. But is it in vain?

All she wants is her life back. Best-selling author Mona Mason discovers her estranged niece has plotted against her. Mona fights to escape an oppressive resort where she's been held captive for weeks, only to be kidnapped by her obsessed fan.

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All she wants is her life back. And the nightmare continues for the best-selling scifi author of the Universe trilogy, having just fled the retirement home Peaceful Shelters.

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Squeeze Plays

Adventures On The Bloody Trail

A financial thriller and satire, Squeeze Plays is a contemporary morality tale set principally in New York and London. It centers on a bank CEO, a tabloid publisher, and a cunning Russian oligarch who steps in when the bank’s loan to the publisher goes sour. An intrepid financial reporter catches wind of the gambit and develops a front-page expose.

Adventures On The Bloody Trail is a travel guide that sends you to the best Bloody Marys in Wisconsin and so much more! If you're looking for those out-of-the-way places where good food and great views can be found, Fiebig's guide will take you there with Bloody Mary stops along the way. Filled with the history of the cocktail and instructions on how to score Bloodys using Fiebig's 50-point criteria, this is a fun-filled adventure guide to Wisconsin with a twist. As always, please take a designated driver with you on your adventures. Cheers!

BY JEFFREY MARSHALL

Professional reviewers have called the novel “captivating” and “thoroughly entertaining.”

Grenadine and Other Love Affairs BY CAROLYN GRACE

In this sensuous debut poetry collection, Carolyn Grace explores meaning through body, image, form, music, myth, history, and language. To read these poems is to touch, taste, and hold love deeply in body and soul, to celebrate love, unflinching and painful and joyful. Come, enter this magical, essential world. Let its music sound your depths, its precision sharpen your mind. Then prepare to leave changed, your self challenged and enlarged.

BY SUSAN FIEBIG

Thirteen Thousand Lonely Nights BY KENDALL KENNETH FOLKHARDT

The biggest fear of a millennial, born in one of the most xenophobic countries in the world, was that he would be alone for the first 35 years of his life. Was his fear realised? Did he escape that country? This is an extraordinary story filled with life lessons. It is not just a memoir. This is a dissection of a soul, a confession, a performance, a manifesto, a love letter.

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Wullie The Mahaar Gome

BY DAVID KENNEDY MCCULLOCH

Tender Sieve BY JOLENE NOLTE

Finnley McDougall’s boring schoolboy life in Seattle gets turned upside down when Great Uncle Hugh gives him a most unusual gift – a scruffy, rude, bad-tempered Scottish rock creature called Wullie who brings danger and disaster with him wherever he goes.From French snobs in fancy hotels, rusting barges on the Seattle waterfront, abandoned coalmines and flooded quarries in the Scottish hillsides filled with bullies, gangsters, slobbering dogs and weird food Finn is drawn into an evil plot that threatens to destroy everything he loves… including Edinburgh Castle.

These poems explore the relationship between inner and outer worlds. They are both the record of the search and the means of searching, whether it's a walk, a relative's death, unrequited love, or simply the rituals of waking up and washing dishes. Laced with longing as well as delight, Tender Sieve explores both the grief and joy of finding a way forward when life doesn't look like you expected.

Feast of Fates

There She Lies

BY CHRISTIAN A. BROWN

Morigan lives a quiet life as the handmaiden to a fatherly old sorcerer named Thackery. But when she crosses paths with Caenith, a not wholly mortal man, her world changes forever. Their meeting sparks long buried magical powers deep within Morigan. As she attempts to understand her newfound abilities, unbidden visions begin to plague her—visions that show a devastating madness descending on one of the Immortal Kings who rules the land. www.christianadrianbrown.com Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 72

WINTER 2024

BY MICHELLE YOUNG

We all have secrets—little white lies we tell ourselves. Everyone has them, but no matter how hard we try to keep them hidden, even our deepest secrets can come up to the surface. When the Millers move across the province to pursue William’s lifelong dream of becoming a helicopter pilot, Quinn, a new mother, feels isolated from everything she’s ever known, only, Quinn has been there before. Struggling with severe postpartum depression, Quinn turns to her elderly neighbour for help, but how much does she really know about Mrs. Westover? Only what she chooses to reveal. Mrs. Westover never lies, in fact, she despises liars. What will she do when she finds out Quinn’s been dishonest with her?

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The Home For Friendless Children

The Talking Drum

Abandoned on a remote mountain in eastern Pennsylvania by his father at age five, and discarded at an orphanage by his mother a few years later, this is the remarkable true story of one boy's impenetrable resilience and courageous hope; holding onto his dreams in the face of heartbreaking loss, loneliness and betrayal.

The fictional city of Bellport, Massachusetts, is in decline with an urban redevelopment project on the horizon expected to transform this dying factory town into a thriving economic center. This planned transformation has a profound effect on the residents who live in Bellport as their own personal transformations take place.

BY C.L. OLSEN

Little Robbie Olsen, his two brothers, sister, and mother would be saved from starving to death by the kindness of the Mennonite family who farmed the hills far below. Forced to leave their mountaintop home, they would walk fifteen miles into town, carrying what little they had in paper bags, finding lodging in a two-room apartment above Arlene and Ray's Bar. Haelend's Ballad BY IAN V. CONREY

A young man signs his own death warrant when he joins an already failing militia. A teenage girl is haunted by her childhood abuse and begins to crave the very things she hates. A childless mother finds herself on the run as a convicted murderer. Yet they are all unaware that their own fates are tied to a young orphan who has drowned and come back to life in a foreign land where he will be the death of everyone he meets. Haelend's Ballad is a grimdark fantasy/ steampunk tale about what happens when men and women from two colliding cultures realize they may not be on the right side. Heroes are villains. The persecuted are oppressors. And when rumors begin to spread that the world is dying, the darkness of their own hearts betrays them.

BY LISA BRAXTON

The Talking Drum explores intra-racial, class, and cross-cultural tensions, along with the meaning of community and belonging. Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Sunflowers Beneath The Snow BY TERI M. BROWN

A Ukrainian rebel. Three generations of women bearing the consequences. A journey that changes everything. When Ivanna opens the door to uniformed officers, her tranquil life is torn to pieces - leaving behind a broken woman who must learn to endure cold, starvation, and the memories of a man who died in the quintessential act of betrayal. Using her thrift, ingenuity, and a bit of luck, she finds a way to survive in Soviet Ukraine, along with her daughter, Yevtsye. But the question remains, will she be strong enough to withstand her daughter's deceit and the eventual downfall of the nation she has devoted her life to? 73

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FICTION MYSTERY

The Seafarer's Secret. William Templeton, widower and police chief of Eden, North Carolina is working the scene of a local woman’s drowning when an old gold coin in her pocket—identical to a coin that was discovered on his wife Catherine's body over a year ago. Historian and Blackbeard expert, Eva Knightly, is brought in to help identify the coins and can’t understand why her good friend Catherine never mentioned anything. With the entire town whispering about Blackbeard, cursed coins, and lost treasure, it becomes hard to separate what is true and what is a myth. The Seafarer’s Secret is a thrilling cinematic mystery featuring the exigent slow-burning romance between William and Eva as they work together to uncover the past and keep from being a modern-day killer’s next victim.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

KAYLIN MCFARREN CAROL ANN COLLINS Kaylin McFarren has received more than 60 national literary Writing allows Carol Ann Collins to combine two of her favorite awards, in addition to a prestigious Golden Heart things, history and romance. Her workRWA is a combination Award nomination forfiction, FLAHERTY'S CROSSING - a book of historical fact, pure and a vivid imagination. An she and her oldest daughter, New York Times/USA Today avid reader since childhood, she is also a New York Times best-selling authorunder Kristina McMorris, in 2008. Her bestselling author a different penco-wrote name. Though she award-winning time-travel adventure, HIGH FLYING, asks is an introvert who had no problem staying inside during challenging questions that will with lingerher long after the quarantine, she enjoys traveling husband andfinal two adult children. In her Jumping spare time, an avid book collector twists are revealed. to she the is supernatural-horror and bargain shopper. who loves to combine two. Tointo date, genre, Kaylin's clever GEHENNA series leadsthe readers her favorite find is an 1869 edition of Innocents Abroad by the pit of Hell, through the mechanisms of secret societies, Markacross Twain the thatEarth’s she purchased forraising $10. and crust, ever the stakes for

her leading duo—a wicked demon and guardian angel presented with shocking revelations.

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CHILDREN'S BOOK

The Furry Princess. Princess Sasha – the youngest in a royal family of tigers – is going to be presented to the kingdom. As she prepares to publicly receive her tiara, her insecurities come out. She’s shy, awkward, and clumsy (she has really big feet!). Her best friend, Cami, convinces her to take ballet classes where she finds self-confidence, makes new friends, and learns to believe in herself. Follow her journey as she becomes The Furry Princess. ABOUT THE AUTHOR VICKI CRAIN (author) Is the former marketing manager for The Joffrey Ballet. She is also a former dancer and teacher working as a freelance arts and culture writer in Chicago. Her work has been published in many outlets including Chicago Magazine, CS Magazine, Front Desk Chicago, and Dance Magazine. She holds a B.A. in English and is the owner/publisher of Rogue Ballerina.

WINTER 2024

CHRISTOPHER SCOTT BELL (illustrator) is a freelance illustrator based in Ocean Park, WA. He received his B.A. in Illustration from the American Academy of Art, Chicago. He has been an artist his entire life and working on The Furry Princess was the catalyst for him to pursue his passion as a career.

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FICTION

Winter of the Wolf. A tragic mystery blending sleuthing and spirituality n exploration in grief, suicide, spiritualism, A and Inuit culture, Winter of the Wolf follows Bean, an empathic and spiritually evolved fifteen-year-old, who is determined to unravel the mystery of her brother Sam's death. Though all evidence points to a suicide, her heart and intuition compel her to dig deeper. With help from her friend Julie, they retrace Sam's steps, delve into his Inuit beliefs, and reconnect with their spiritual beliefs to uncover clues beyond material understanding. Both tragic and heartwarming, this twisting novel draws you into Bean's world as she struggles with grief, navigates high school dramas, and learns to open her heart in order to see the true nature of the people around her. Winter of the Wolf is about seeking the truth--no matter how painful--in order to see the full picture.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR MARTHA HUNT HANDLER Martha Hunt Handler grew up dreaming of wolves and has always understood that her role in this lifetime is to tell stories and be a voice for nature. She has been an environmental consultant, a magazine columnist, an actress, and a polar explorer, among other occupations. When she and her four children relocated from Los Angeles to New York more than twenty years ago she began to literally hear the howls of wolves. This marked the beginning of her work advocating on behalf of wolves at the Wolf Conservation Center (nywolf.org). Winter of the Wolf is Martha's debut novel. 77

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FICTION

The Girl in the Triangle. When your dreams finally seem to be coming true, it's hard to trust them. It's been four years since seventeen-year-old Ruth set eyes on her fiance. After surviving near-starvation, revolution and a long trip across the stormy ocean, she can't help but wonder: Will Abraham still love her? Or has America changed him? Nowhere's as full of change as 1909 New York. From moving pictures to daring clothes to the ultra-modern Triangle Shirtwaist Factory where she gets a job, everything exhilarates Ruth. When the New World even seems to rejuvenate her bond with Abraham, she is filled with hope for their prospects and the future of their war-torn families. But when she makes friends and joins the labor movement-fighting for rights of the mostly female workers against the powerful factory owners-something happens she never expected. She realizes she might be the one America is changing. And she just might be leaving Abraham behind. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JOYANA PETERS JOYANA PETERS grew up in New York and loves exploring—this led to her discovery of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire and the stories it holds. She got her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of New Orleans. She currently lives in the DC area and continues to write narratives that shine a light on empowering women and moments in history.

WINTER 2024

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FICTION

Tell Me You Love Me. In 1965 April Toulane's life is turned upside down on her fifth birthday when her mother marries a man she's known for only two weeks. The life she'd known is forever changed with the addition of a stepfather and a five-year-old stepbrother who terrorizes her on a daily basis. After a family tragedy the young siblings are thrust into the Hollywood spotlight, surrounded by people whose very foundation is based on secrets and lies. Struggling to grow up and find their way in a world where child stars are forever manipulated and exploited, the siblings form an unbreakable bond vowing to always protect each other when the adults entrusted to take care of them fail at every turn. "Tell Me You Love Me" is the story of April and Auggie Fairbanks, the most sought after faces in show business throughout the sixties and seventies, maneuvering their way through the lies and corruption to learn the truth about their parents and searching for the love and acceptance they so desperately crave.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

KATHLEEN STONE Kathleen has been a freelance writer since 1999 and now writes full time. Her work has appeared in Doll World Magazine, Apolloslyre.com, The Lake County Journals, Trails. com; USA Today (travel), Livestrong.com (lifestyle), Essortment, eHow, Answerbag, Examiner.com, Suite101 and YahooVoices. She is the author of the award-winning novels Tell Me You Love Me and Whispers On A String, and the Head Case Rock Novel Series (Head Case, Whiplash and Haven). She also has short stories published in the Secrets: Fact or Fiction I & II anthologies. 79

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OF PROVIDENCE: A LIFETIME CHASING HOPE by Kay Carroll "INCREDIBILY INSPIRING..." —E. Wairimu If you, like me, watch and love classic movies, particularly Gone With The Wind, you may wonder what really caused producers to bar accurate depictions of certain races from the silver screen; OF PROVIDENCE answers that question. Learn what role senate and congressional leaders played in promoting exclusion. Sit in on secret congressional hearings we now have access to, but was banned a century ago. Marvel at debate sessions and arguments against laws that would incorporate all citizens into American society. My ancestry search examined the connection between American laws and the relationship between two of the most studied groups in American history— African Americans and Native Americans. For a time, they united to survive and become stronger, then one turned against the other for the same reason. This story explores one individual, Alexander Powell-born into both groups--and his mission to fight for others like him. His life becomes a theme park attraction with twists, turns, highs and lows at every junction while leaders anxiously conspire to derail it. 82

WINTER 2024

N O TA B L E

STUCK IN HER HEAD by Kylie Wang & Liana Tang 15-year-old Emma Chan is an aspiring musician with her eyes aimed at the stars. Sure, she might not have won any notable competitions, but she isn't "bad" by any means—unless you've met her easygoing and charming best friend, Naomi Lin, who seems to have the unique ability to accelerate Emma's heartbeat. On the surface, Naomi has her life together. Outside of being dubbed a child musical prodigy, she's just another 15-year-old who likes coding, spending time with her friends, and reading celebrity gossip. But deep down, she longs to escape her life of expectations and build one that she truly desires, even if she doesn't know what that means yet. When the two friends team up to compete in a coding contest hosted by their childhood idol, their seven years' worth of friendship fall into danger of being blown wide apart by deepening feelings, desperately hidden secrets, and the pressure of growing up. Emma and Naomi will have to adapt to the changing shape of their relationship, even if it means realizing that life can be so much more complicated than they imagined. Set in contemporary Hong Kong, Stuck in Her Head is an honest story about cherishing loved ones, healing from mental illness, and, most of all, facing the ultimate challenge of the teenage experience— trying to be enough in a world that constantly demands more.

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N O TA B L E

THE SINS OF KINGS by Daniel Thomas Valente

THE CORPORATE LIES by Donald Reichardt

Gardens of the Moon meets The Blade Itself in this new epic fantasy by debut novelist, Daniel Thomas Valente!

Corporate financial misdeeds. Rampant rumors of Mafia presence in the executive suite. A marriage on the rocks and a boss who demands blind loyalty. Max Brusca didn't expect any of those surprises when he landed a cushy officer position with Paltroy Industries in New York City. But what appeared to be an exciting and prestigious opportunity in the Big Apple financial district turns his life upside down.

In a kingdom fraught with power struggles, an outside force threatens to undermine the centuries-long reign of the Graymere family. At the center of the emerging conflict are young Darrin and Princess Edlen. Darrin desires to overcome the stain of his family history and rise in the ranks of the Eyes of the Forest, a group of men sworn to protect the vast forests of Onyris. Meanwhile Princess Edlen, though deeply loyal to her friends, attempts to thwart the control her royal family holds over her life by sneaking about disguised as a peasant. When a neighboring kingdom conspires against the realm, Darrin and Edlen must fight to not only survive, but pave a way forward - despite the wishes of the mercurial tempered gods and a mysterious organization known as the Voress Ní. Can they survive the ensuing chaos, or will they too be felled by forces greater than themselves?

With help from an inside company source and an emerging romantic interest with Wall Street Chronicle reporter Greta Hughes, Max attempts to untangle fact from rumor. But every move he makes turns up the heat. By coming too close to the truth, he finds himself a hunted man.

Written on a panoramic scale, The Sins of Kings is epic fantasy at its best-a beguiling epic by a promising new voice that isn't afraid to explore themes of prejudice, power, and magic all in one sweeping adventure. 83

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UNFINISHED BUSINESS by Amy C. Yip

THE RIPPLE EFFECT by John Crawley

If you've ever yearned for your parents' approval, felt the weight of their high expectations, or experienced the burden of unspoken obligations to care for them as they age, you're not alone.

The Ripple Effect: It is the 13th of November and Lincoln, Texas will never be the same. Shortly before noon, some fifty people, workers and diners, are in a food court at Lincoln Mall in a small town in East Texas. Others are drifting in for a quick lunch, while they shop for a last-minute gift for a sister's birthday or a new belt, or a new pair of shoes. A young gunman appears out of the dark shadows of the mall and begins shooting; his assault rifle firing shell after shell until mass carnage flows. A class of preschoolers. Three old ladies meeting for their weekly hour of gossip about children and grandchildren. Burger cooks. Ice cream dippers. A salad store employee. A Texas Ranger. A man trying to find an anniversary gift for a wife that he is slowly losing, because he works too much. The reader is introduced to the people who will be in that food court in a matter of minutes. Some will live. Others...will not.

Too often, we hesitate to ask our parents about their lives, held back by mistaken beliefs or past conflicts. With warmth, wit, and vulnerability Amy Yip explores the profound influence her parents had on her life and offers you a roadmap to navigate conversations with your own parents. In Unfinished Business, Amy takes us on a heartfelt journey from detachment to deep connection with her own parents as she delves into the stories she holds about them; from "My success will never be good enough for my parents" to "I must be mentally tough and never ask for help"and everything in between. She illuminates the power of conversation as she invites us to see the world through her and your parents' eyes. By engaging in meaningful dialogues and taking the time to truly understand their experiences and struggles, we discover that our parents are not just figures from our past, but complex individuals with their own hopes, dreams, and fears. 84

WINTER 2024

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THE MYSTERIOUS BAT-BEE by C.S. Ferdinand

A DELICATE MARRIAGE by Margarita Berresi

A family full of magical secrets. An enemy who practices the dark arts. Can Thomas and Julia defeat a fearsome foe and find an enchanted cure?

From glittering ballrooms to verdant mountains to poverty-stricken slums, A Delicate Marriage takes the reader on a vivid tour of Puerto Rico forty years after becoming a U.S. colony, a time of great change and political turmoil on the island.

One terrible day, a strange insect with the body of a bee and the wings of a bat stings Grandpa John, who falls desperately ill. Grandma Rini enlists the help of her witch sister Magda. With Magda’s help, Thomas and Julia find out that the insect is a magical creature. To cure Grandpa John, special ingredients for a magic potion are needed. When they go to the mystical forest to gather them, they run into a fearsome enemy determined to stop them. Their grandfather's life is hanging by a thread, and time is running out. Can Thomas and Julia save his life? The Mysterious Bat-Bee is the first book in the Thomas and Julia’s Magical Adventures series. If you like intriguing plots and fast-paced action, then you’ll love C. S. Ferdinand’s tale of perseverance and courage.

Isabela, a wealthy woman, sacrifices her artistic aspirations to marry Marco, a penniless man dedicated to improving conditions on the island. As the island's insular government enacts proU.S. policies, Marco builds a real estate empire while struggling to maintain his populist principles. Meanwhile, Isabella feels unfulfilled in her traditional role as a wife and mother and becomes disillusioned with Marco's shifting moral compass. She begins to identify with anti-U.S. factions, leading a dangerous double life that puts her family in peril. As political violence threatens their paradise, Isabela and Marco question whether their marriage, like the island's relationship with the U.S., should continue. Margarita Barresi's debut novel celebrates Puerto Rican culture while delving into themes of class, oppression, and the effects of colonialism through the lens of a marriage. 85

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JOURNEY TO DUNCANS MILLS by John Michael McCarty

LAW FIRMS AND LIBRARIANS: THE FILE OF DREAD by T. Oliver Courtney

Journey to Duncans Mills is a work of historical fiction, following the adventures of Alexander Duncan from his birthplace in Strabane, Ireland to the rural environs of west Sonoma County, California. During the second half of the 19th century, he built a lumber industry with his brother while experiencing many pitfalls along the way.

Law Firms and Librarians,The File of Dread is now a Bookfest finalist for fantasy fiction! Read the first of a series of hilarious novels for lovers of the Dungeons and Dragons game and join a band of D&D creatures as they embark on their first adventure in our world.

It was a time when Indigenous people were enslaved, when the area sided with Confederates, when the Anti-Chinese League ran wild. Alex Duncan rose up against the racist writings of Thomas Thompson, editor of Santa Rosa's Democrat, in an epic battle of good versus evil with guest appearances by mysterious men in white masks.

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What results is an adventure like no other! Help Utah (level 1 surfer), Kaitlyn (level 1 legal assistant), and Spencer McAdams (level 1 beer-loving hipster) solve a mystery of epic proportions. Battle "carron" crawlers, hear 1d6 rumors from conspiracy theorists, and debate sisters of a sror-tee. Can this party of fantastical origins get to the file before it's opened? If you enjoy roleplaying games such as Dungeons & Dragons, you're in the right place! For tonight's adventure, the ogre has decided to become the Library Master. He will describe all of the setting and the action of the story to the other players. The faun has decided to play a surfer named Utah. The pixie has chosen the name of Kaitlyn, a first level legal-assistant. A third player is very excited about a new class he has read about, beer-loving hipster. They've all been warned that danger is imminent. A terrible thing known as a "file" is about to open, spewing forth a horde of evil consequences for all in this great city of San Deego, here in the realm of Merrah Kah. They must use all of their cunning, wits, and creativity to stop it.

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BISTRO NIGHTS by David Benjamin

DEAD SHOT by David Benjamin

Steve and Mie are a pair of globetrotting journalists, based in Paris, who make up fanciful stories about strangers they see at nearby tables in bistros, bars and brasseries. When they start spinning yarns about a waitress, Mireille, and a down-and-out American novelist named Cavendish, they find themselves peeking into a pair of tempestuous love triangles.

The high-school gym in Hercules, Wisconsin is haunted, by a basketball player, John Roszak, whose death on the court in 1968 haunts the gym and harasses living players like Stewart McCullough. Stewy doesn’t believe in ghosts but his new girlfriend, Meryl, convinces Stewy to reach out to his personal ghost. While Stewy deals with his otherworldly specter, another—mortal—danger begins stalking him. Clay Lutz has come back to town. He has made it his mission to carry off the girl—Meryl— whom he regards as his personal property. Dead Shot, fourth in the Jim Otis crime series, follows a tense cat-and-mouse struggle with Clay Lutz that frustrates police chief Otis chief and steadily escalates into deadly violence. As the basketball season progresses, Stewy and Meryl fall in love and develop an eerie rapport with the enigma of John Roszak. But they find themselves living—and dancing—under a cloud cast both by the living and the dead.

One love storm—among Mireille, her possessive lover Serge, and Cavendish—takes place in present-day Paris. The other ill-starred romance forms the plot of Apache Dance, Cavendish’s work-in-progress. His novel harks back to the Paris underworld a century ago, when gangsters— known evocatively as apaches—commanded the streets. Bistro Nights intertwines the troubled trio of Mireille, Serge and Cavendish with the fictional triangle of Fifine and Nick, chief of an apache gang, and Fifine’s heartsick secret admirer, Maxim. The contemporary drama of Cavendish and Mireille, hounded by a jealous Serge and observed—off and on—by two nosy journalists, leads the reader through an intimate tour of real-life Parisian restaurants and cafés, from Le Petit St.-Benoit to the Rosebud Bar. Meanwhile, flashing back in time, Bistro Nights unveils vividly the spectacle and squalor of a bygone Parisian demimonde.

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THE MAN WHO SCREAMS AT NIGHTFALL...AND OTHER STORIES by Rush Leaming

Thailand. The Congo. Greece. Spain. America… Four continents and forty-plus years in the making. The Man Who Screams at Nightfall is a landmark collection of short stories depicting a young man on a classic voyage of self-discovery, wandering the earth in search of some purpose in life. From childhood to parenthood and everything in between—these tales are raw and unflinching; at other times, poignant and moving. Get ready for a literary journey unlike any you’ve experienced before.

WINTER 2024

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NAKED CAME THE DETECTIVE by Glendall C. Jackson III

In many murder mysteries, the call girl gets killed. This novella turns that tired troupe on its head. A skilled and versatile sex worker learns that one of her clients, a prominent businessman, was brutally murdered just hours after their last date. With her unique access to the upper echelon of Washington D.C. society, she embarks on an investigation that leads to a shocking discovery. Naked Came the Detective has won numerous awards including the 2023 Best Indie Book Award (best novella), 2023 Paris Book Festival (wild card category), 2023 Firebird Book Awards (best novella) and the 2023 BookFest Awards (best noir mystery). It was also runner-up in the sleuth-mystery category of the 2023 Pencraft Book Awards and a finalist in the novella category of the 2023 Best Book Awards.

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AFTERWORD by Nina Schuyler

CRYSTAL OF TEARS by A. James

A pioneer of artificial intelligence rebuilds the love of her life, but when she discovers he’s been feeding incriminating civilian information to the Chinese government, she’ll have to decide whether to keep or kill him.

A CIVIL WAR OVER DWINDLING RESOURCES and conflicting ideology rages across North America. The despotic regime ruling the East threatens the states in the West, which are desperately struggling to beat back its armies. Ash, a curious young man living peacefully in a forgotten desert wasteland, is drawn into the fray as tragedy strikes even his isolated corner of the world. Meanwhile, as Ela Argenta, lieutenant governor of New Mexico, fights to protect her people from the armies of the East, she is betrayed, tortured, and abandoned; but as death closes in, an ancient power— the power of Singing—awakens within her. Will it be enough to save humanity from itself? Ash and Ela are swept up on a journey of identity, courage, transcendence, and truth. Along the way they discover there is a greater threat to humanity than warfare, and they will have to harness more than the sheer power of song to defeat it. They will need to harness the elusive power of unity.

When approached by a Chinese tech company, Virginia Samson is moved to give them her beloved’s algorithm so they can create an AI companion for the aging population. Soon her digital lost love starts spying on Chinese citizens, funneling the information to the Chinese government. When Virginia frantically tries to rebuild him, she uncovers his terrible secret, forcing her to relive their beautiful and tragic love affair. Afterword explores what it means to be human and is a moving testament to the deeply human desire for belonging, companionship, and love.

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TYPE A PLANS B by Andria Flores

Type A Plans B tell the story of a perfect life— interrupted. On the heels of an unexpected divorce, the author finds that perfectionism has left her completely ill-equipped to handle failure.A lifelong perfectionist facing new responsibilities and challengers, she describes a pivotal shift in her thinking. "It's when I finally turned down the role of supporting actress in my own story. It's where I broke free from approval addiction and leaned into love and vulnerability. It's how I discovered that God is not afraid of the F-Bomb. And it's when I quit raising perfect children and began whole-heartedly loving the ones that I have."Anyone who has tried to live life between the lines will identify with a messy, unpredictable life. Type A Plans B is Andria's compelling, heartwarming, and often humorous journey of screwing it all up, facing down big fears, and finding authentic faith.

WINTER 2024

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BOOMSTERS: AN UNEXPECTED ADVENTURE by David Marks In the heart of Chicago, where shadows conceal secrets and organized crime reigns, one retiree embarks on an extraordinary journey. David Blazen spent 50 years comfortable in his work routine but now is retired and desperately searching for purpose in his life. He ultimately finds it in the most unlikely of ways: by becoming a self-proclaimed detective. Travel through a labyrinth of adventure in this award-winning novel, where suspense lurks around every corner and laugh-out-loud moments break through the tension. Follow along as David’s search for truth and justice gets him caught in a web of contentious cases, all within his first week on the job. The most puzzling? A murder he witnessed that police are calling a suicide. Will his investigation help identify the killer? It’s up to this amateur sleuth to solve that mystery, prevent a budding turf war between Chicago's two dirtiest crime lords, keep a corrupt candidate out of the mayor's office, and bring peace to a city rattled by crime and violence.

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THE STRESS BOOK by D. Terrence Foster, MD THE STRESS BOOK IS A WINNER OF MORE THAN FORTY (40+) INTERNATIONAL LITERARY AWARDS. It takes a comprehensive approach to stress management & prevention and how modifying your lifestyle and taking practical steps can help significantly reduce the level of stress you are experiencing in life (personal, business, etc..) at any level of society. Please visit the author’s website for more information at The Stress Book | Dr. D. T. Foster If you or someone you know and honestly care about experiencing so much stress in life that it is so overwhelming, or if you or that person trying desperately to avoid that condition? Well, look no further!

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MURDER ON FEDERAL STREET by Sean Nam Six months after losing a world title fight that remains infamous as one of the last mob fixes in boxing, Tyrone “The Butterfly” Everett—a flashy, handsome lightweight southpaw on the verge of stardom—was dead. Only twenty-four years old, he was shot in the head by his girlfriend, Carolyn McKendrick, who claimed that Everett had abused her throughout their relationship. But for years, street corner talk raised doubts about what actually took place in Philadelphia at 2710 Federal Street on May 26, 1977. What really happened on that tragic afternoon? Did Carolyn McKendrick shoot Everett in self-defense, as she claimed? Or did she pull the trigger when she caught Everett and a cross-dressing drug dealer in bed together? Or did Everett die at the hands of a jealous husband who just happened to be a member of the ruthless organized crime outfit known as the Black Mafia? Set against a backdrop of urban decline, racial tension, gangland violence, and the treacherous subculture of prizefighting, Murder on Federal Street is the riveting story of a young man whose limitless future could not outrace the dangerous present. Written with verve and an eye for the telling detail, Murder on Federal Street covers the Everett story from prelim bouts in Scranton, to a world championship fight at the Spectrum, to the horrific shooting in South Philadelphia, to the sensational trial of Carolyn McKendrick, to the mournful and mysterious aftermath of nearly fifty years. 91

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THE GIRL FROM THE RED ROSE MOTEL by Susan Beckham Zurenda Impoverished high school junior Hazel Smalls and affluent senior Sterling Lovell would never ordinarily meet. But when both are punished with in-school suspension, Sterling finds himself drawn to the gorgeous, studious girl seated nearby, and an unlikely relationship begins. Set in 2012 South Carolina, the novel interlaces the stories of Hazel, living with her homeless family in the rundown Red Rose Motel; Sterling, yearning to break free from the expectations of his wealthy parents; and recently widowed Angela Wilmore, their stern but compassionate English teacher. Hazel hides her homelessness from Sterling until he discovers her cleaning the motel’s office one morning when he goes with his slumlord father to unfreeze the motel’s pipes. With her secret revealed, their relationship deepens. Angela, who has her own struggles in a budding romance with the divorced principal, offers Hazel the support her family can’t provide. Navigating between privilege and poverty, vulnerability and strength, all three must confront what they need from themselves and each other as Hazel gains the courage to oppose boundaries and make a bold, life-changing decision at novel’s end. 92

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JUNK LOVE by Abilene Potts What if the healthy choice for your loved one isn't you? A hearty novel about relationships, faith, and sacrificial love. Holly Samuelsson is a dietitian all about healthy choices, but she won’t be any man’s broccoli: she wants to be desired. After another relationship fail, Holly swears off dating and decides to make her own family through in-vitro fertilization or adoption. But when a mind-blowing man asks Holly out, she must choose whether to repeat her mistakes, maintain her course toward single motherhood, or try something new: an outdated approach to dating. Cora Martin is recovering from a death-defying detour as her mentally ill sister’s sidekick when a shocking encounter derails her plan for college. A false accusation drags Cora into court where she must decide who deserves her trust. Three people have to answer the question: Is my love enough, or do I do more harm than good? Help yourself to a story with substance. Surprises, too, but nothing weird like Jell-O salad with hot dogs or cookies with raisins. After all, if God wanted raisins in cookies, we wouldn't have chocolate.

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FRANK DARK by Stephen Massimilla

UNBROKEN by Trisha Bailey

In FRANK DARK—the winner, in the poetry category, of the American Book Fest Best Book Award, among others—philosophical and psychological investigation plumb many forms of tangible and visceral experience.

From Dr. Trisha Bailey, the Jamaican-born self-made billionaire, philanthropist, and founder of Bailey's Medical, comes an empowering and inspiring book that delves into her life journey of overcoming trauma and obstacles to achieve remarkable success. Her unique perspective on a woman's path from hardship, grief, setbacks, and flaws to personal growth, selfconfidence, and triumph is truly remarkable. Through her heartfelt experiences, she will undoubtedly inspire readers, making this book a perfect choice for fans of memoirs, autobiographies, and women's fiction.

This intensely vivid, richly lyrical collection engages the environmental crisis, the pandemic, and historical and current turmoil. A story of struggle and love, it probes the dark and sparkling corners of seasons, dreams, and journeys through various landscapes among creatures of the earth, sea, and air. Massimilla frankly confronts the scourges of alienation, blindness, blight, injury, addiction, sickness, suicide, death, grief, and underworld ghosts. Out of this deeply unsettled night come vision, compassion, love, and conscious reflections on the nature of perception, identity, reality, and writing itself.

At the age of thirteen, Trisha Bailey migrated to the United States from Jamaica, leaving behind her family, filled with hope and prayers for her future success. While some may perceive her past as dark and traumatic, Trisha Bailey has transformed those experiences into stepping stones towards her own empowerment, fearlessly confronting the obstacles that came her way. In her book, UNBROKEN, she vividly depicts her life in a manner that deeply resonates with readers, immersing them in her captivating story. "By titling her book UNBROKEN, Trisha Bailey has captured the essence of her remarkable story in a single word. Her journey speaks to the experiences of those who have faced trauma alone, while also resonating with a diverse range of readers." Nate Burleson (CBS TV Show Host)

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PAST IMPERFECT by Joshua Cohen

THE ZEN OF DANCING IN THE RAIN by Aurita Maldonado

When his rabbi calls him after Yom Kippur, private eye Benjamin Gold thinks it’s just to yell at him for skipping services—but it’s even worse than that.

Society has become a place where combat veterans would rather commit suicide than live. Many who “have it all” are discovering that they still feel miserable but can’t figure out why. They feel powerless under the boredom of what society deems important.

It turns out that Benny missed more than some prayers and a sermon: While everyone else was atoning for their sins, a fight broke out in synagogue when a visitor accused one of the leading members of the congregation of being a Nazi collaborator. Is Mendel Kahn the upstanding benefactor of Cleveland’s Jewish community he seems to be? Is his real-estate fortune the product of ten years of hard work and good luck, or does his success have a more sinister origin? Is he even Mendel Kahn— or is he really Yitzhak Fried, who exploited and tortured his fellow Jews during the War? As Gold digs into Kahn’s dark story, he learns that the man’s present is bad enough: he’s a slumlord, a gangster, and a sadist. He also doesn’t appreciate being investigated…and he has some large and dangerous friends. Can Benjamin Gold survive long enough to uncover the real story of Mendel Kahn’s past? 94

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Aurita Maldonado is a Puerto Rican woman warrior and Afro Latin dance instructor who chose a different path before and after her two combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. She received a Purple Heart for wounds received in Afghanistan before leaving the Army to align her thoughts, words, and actions. She adopted a new mission: cultivate peace, happiness, and learn to become her own best friend. All while learning to live as one with Mother Earth. Aurita rejected lucrative government jobs, sold her possessions, and moved to Haines, Alaska in 2010 to begin her journey with PTSD and self-acceptance. An extreme athlete, she used movement to help her navigate the storms with a grin until she was suddenly paralyzed from the waste down in a fight against a deadly rat lungworm infection. The perspective shifts she adopted to continue to enjoy life while learning to use her body again will make you reassess your choices to settle for the status quo.

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HELENA by Matt Ingwalson

ASSASSINS ARE USS by Kimberly Van Sickle

Napoleon Bonaparte died in 1816, broken and in exile on an impossibly remote, tiny and forbidding Atlantic island named Helena. Some 40 years later, Napoleon III struck a deal with the English East India Company. France would assume control of the island and tend to it as a memorial, museum and trading post.

Meet Hedy Hinterschott, a 17-year-old assassinin-training, who has been groomed for the family business since birth. Despite growing up in a loving and supportive nuclear family, Hedy has always felt like a misfit, struggling to fit into the family's dynamics and their covert and highly unorthodox profession. As the next generation of accomplished and stealthy assassins, Hedy and her twin brother Gerhardt are expected to carry on the family legacy.

Sixteen French scouts left the port of Havre du Grace in 1854, passengers aboard the English ship Golden Arm. They were a curious assortment, chosen according to a secret plan devised by Napoleon III. Women and men, young and old, citizens and soldiers, aristocrats and laborers - all strangers to one another. None were ever heard from again. Most modern historians believe they were murdered by their English shipmates. But at trial in 1857, the 80 officers, marines and able bodied seamen of the HMS Golden Arm swore a Holy Oath all 16 French had reached Helena alive. Helena is a historical thriller with a Agatha Christie twist. It will keep you turning pages until the final chapter.

However, Hedy's secretive family history, tumultuous teenage years, and predetermined future not only in the family business but also in the family itself, have left her questioning her place in the world. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Hedy is the first female Hinterschott to be born in the family's long line of assassins, prompting her to question why all other women in her family tree have only been added through marriage. As the story unfolds, a mysterious prospective boyfriend, a plot to uncover Hitler's billions, and the unraveling of family secrets lead Hedy on a journey of self-discovery, where she finds that assassinations may be easier than navigating the complexities of romance and family. 95

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FOUR MORE WORDS by Aurora Stenulson

MACKENZIE'S LAST RUN by Gayle Rosengren

Christine, a career driven anthropologist on her way to Papua New Guinea slips on the ice at her campus in Washington. The last person she expected to come to her rescue is Declan Price, her twin brothers' best friend from high school.

"A highly recommended, emotionally compelling survival tale." - Midwest Book Review

Despite her best efforts to keep her sights set on her fieldwork, Declan keeps invading her mind. When an unfortunate tragedy hits the center of Christine and Declan's lives, they turn to each other for comfort and support. But the closer she gets to Declan, the more his hidden past bleeds into their relationship. And the more she's faced with decisions that force her to choose Declan over her own happiness. Is love enough for Christine and Declan's relationship? Or will Christine lose herself in the process of falling in love? Four More Words is a delicate display of what it means to love even when it hurts. 96

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A story about the damaging effects of unresolved grief and the wide-ranging impact of gun violence, MacKenzie’s Last Run shows how vital communication is to emotional health in a survival story that is as much about the survival of a family as it is about the survival of a young teen. It focuses on thirteen-year-old MacKenzie (Mac) Lawrence, who has slowly withdrawn from everyone since his father’s death in a mass shooting more than a year before. He’s too ashamed to tell Mom and twin sister Tessa that it’s his fault Dad is dead--if it hadn’t been for him Dad wouldn’t have been anywhere near the mall that terrible day. Mom and Tessa are submerged in their own mourning at first, but when they finally begin to function again, they don’t understand Mac’s sullen, snarky behavior, which continues to escalate, destroying even his once-close tie with his twin. Then Mom announces her plans to remarry. Mac erupts in a fury and runs away to force her to break off the engagement. Unfortunately, nothing goes as planned. He ends up seriously injured, miles from home, and unable to call for help. Tessa sets out on a desperate search to find him. But she’d better hurry, because Mac is running out of time.

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CHOICES MEANT FOR GODS by Sandy Lender Not even the gods noticed when Chariss was born with the mark of The Protector. Now she and her wizard guardian seek shelter from a mad sorcerer in a household not just full of secrets and false hope, but watched by the god who will unwittingly reveal her role in an impending war. When an orphan sets aside a lifetime of running and fear to accept the responsibilities of guarding an arrogant deity, can she face the trials in the prophecies she uncovers? Will Nigel Taiman of her latest refuge dare to use his dragon heritage to bind her to his estate or to help her in her duty? "Choices Meant for Gods is without a doubt the freshest most engaging high fantasy novel to come out in years and breathes new life into a tired genre. The characters leap off the page and the plot is lightning quick and deftly written with many layers that tease the mind and imagination. Choices Meant for Gods is not a mere novel; it is a gorgeous piece of written art. I can hardly wait for the second book!" – Jamieson Wolf, Linear Reflections Author of Hope Falls, Electric Pink, Electric Blue, and Garden City

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MODEL SUSPECT, BOOK ONE OF THE BACKYARD MODEL MYSTERIES by T.K. Sheffield Penny-pinching fashionista Melanie Tower is done with the drama of New York City and returns to her Wisconsin hometown to open a craft mall--but is the drama done with her? At the start of the holiday season--her jewelers', bakers', and crafters' busiest time--a social media influencer is found dead in Mel's mall, pinned under a vintage door. Mel immediately becomes a suspect in the holiday mystery. The victim had been committing a crafty crime. She'd been recruiting Mel's customers to open a competing store! Her life becomes twisted as macramé. To find the killer "poser" and prove her innocence, she must attend a week of holiday parties in her quaint village, a town that resembles the Cotswolds. Mel embraces her inner Midwesterner while polka-ing at the Cheese Ball, judging entries in the Devils vs. Angels bakeoff, and staring in a wacky reader's theater event at Midwinter's Night at the Library. Model Suspect is The Devil Wears Prada meets a Wisconsin supper club. It's a Midwest whodunnit, a holiday cozy, a humorous small-town mystery served with a brandy old-fashioned sweet and a side of cheese curds. 97

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EXTREME VETTING: A THRILLER by Roxana Arama

EMOTIONALLY BROKEN by Isabel Wells

Seattle, Washington, 2019. Immigration attorney and single mom Laura Holban is an immigrant herself. Her newest undocumented client is Emilio Ramirez, who was arrested in front of his sons at their high school and scheduled for deportation. What Laura doesn't know is that Emilio's birth family was murdered in his home country many years ago.

The protagonist of Emotionally Broken is Katelyn —a young blue-collar steel mill worker in Detroit. She lives with her mother and has two beautiful daughters. Katelyn keeps to herself socially, not making any time for going out on the town or dating. During the company’s continuous improvement efforts, they send Jonathan to the facility from corporate office, a successful senior manager from Chicago. Jonathan is handsome, charming, and turns Katelyn’s world upside down. She daydreams romantically about him all day, every day. Katelyn catches Jonathan distantly admiring her but she doubts his interest; someone of his stature is unquestionably out of her league. Yet, Jonathan shows interest, and they start dating.

When Laura files for Emilio's asylum, false criminal charges prevent his release. Someone is following his family, and an ICE prosecutor threatens to revoke Laura's US citizenship. None of it makes any sense—until Laura uncovers an international conspiracy involving stolen data and human trafficking. Which puts her teenage daughter and Emilio's sons in serious danger. Now the killers from the past come looking for the man who got away and the lawyer who's helping him. Can Laura and Emilio find a way to survive—and keep their children safe? 2023 NYC Big Book Award Winner: New Fiction (First-time Published) & Legal Thriller. Seal of Excellence: Awesome Indies Book Awards. Buy this page-turner today! 98

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Being a timid and quiet woman, Katelyn lets her lack of confidence cause her to accept and overlook all of the red flags. Because of Jonathan's attention, lavish presents, devotion, and assurance of a fantastic future together, Katelyn is carried away with the delusion that she has met her prince charming. She is blinded by love meanwhile there is a toxic relationship that is lingering in the shadows with a person who is mentally affected by narcissistic personality disorder. Their six months of courtship approaches like a speeding bullet and they become engaged. The relationship is dysfunctional, emotional roller-coaster and feelings of walking on eggshells around him becomes her norm. Katelyn finds her fairy-tale marriage ends with shattered vows of control, criticism, and emotional abuse but she will not confine herself to her circumstances, and leaves her marriage with her girls and her dignity in order to begin over.

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DYLAN DOVER: INTO THE VORTEX by Lynne Howard

THE EYES THAT BIND by William Graney

Dylan Dover was an ordinary boy... until a fall into another realm transformed his fate - and the fate of this immortal realm - forever.

The Eyes That Bind is a gripping novel that follows the lives of Jason and Tina, a young couple on the verge of starting their adult lives. A life-changing twist occurs when they take an evening stroll on the Manhattan Beach (CA) pier. Jason’s dreams are shattered when Tina rejects his marriage proposal by turning her back on him and walking away. Alternating chapters provide fascinating insights into Jason’s and Tina’s lives over the next forty years, from 1982 through 2022. As their paths nearly cross on several occasions, the two young people mature as adults in the face of numerous obstacles.

Dylan believes he is a typical twelve-year-old until he stumbles into a vortex that miraculously transports him to the immortal dimension, a parallel universe. Dylan not only learns that he is a warlock, but he also discovers a twin brother, extraordinary powers, and a secret prophecy that seems to have Dylan and his family at its crux. Dylan, along with his brother and their new-found wizard friend Thea, begin to unravel the mystery that surrounds their birth and the danger that threatens immortals and humans alike. In a stunning debut, Lynne Howard's Dylan Dover: Into the Vortex casts a potent reader's charm over all youngsters clamouring for a new supernatural hero.

As Tina and Jason search for their unique destinies, they face a swirling maze of difficult choices while trying to achieve their elusive goals.

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THE ROCKING CHAIR PROPHET by Matthew Kelly

WINDS ACROSS BERINGIA by Benjamin H. Barnette

THERE IS A VOICE WITHIN YOU.

“Fans of Ice Age prehistoric fiction settings ala Jean Auel’s ‘Earth’s Children’ series will relish the setting and events in Winds Across Beringia, which is set in the last Ice Age on a narrow channel connecting Alaska with Siberia.” --Midwest Book Review

Listening to that voice is the difference bet ween happiness and misery, wonderful memories and heartrending regrets. The Rocking Chair Prophet is a transformational story about reclaiming that voice and the unmitigated joy that comes from following it. After an unspeakable tragedy devastates his life, Daniel, a thirty-three-year-old suburban man, disappears into the mountains. Years later, he reemerges filled with uncommon wisdom and other extraordinary gifts. From that day on, people travel from far and wide to meet with Daniel, who sits on his rocking chair, meeting with visitors, and helping them explore their deeply personal questions. These questions lead to a series of epic conversations that traverse life’s quintessential topics: love, suffering, health and wellbeing, education, work, money and things, spirituality, regrets, depression, ambit ion, nature, parenting, midlife crisis, choices, our hopes and dreams, the meaning of life, and enduring friendship. The Rocking Chair Prophet is a rich exploration of life and the human condition. It’s an invitation to rediscover yourself and reorient your life. Matthew Kelly has masterfully woven into the story a piercing wisdom that is thought-provoking on a life-changing scale. 100 W I N T E R 2 0 2 4

Nearly 15,000 years ago, a daring young mammoth hunter named Harjo sets out on a life-changing journey across the now inundated ancient land bridge that once connected Alaska and Siberia called Beringia. He is bound for the land of the sea mammal hunting people on the coast of the Bering Sea. There, he encounters a beautiful, mysterious servant girl named Onna; the likes that no one had ever seen before or imagined existed. She was taken captive from an unknown land far to the west, across the great massive glaciers that all believed were impassable. Together, they began an incredible adventure to return to Harjo’s people and his river valley homeland within interior Beringia. Their saga tells the story of their lifelong relationship thorough many wondrous escapades, harsh, desperate struggles, and an intimate romance within the backdrop of the lost land of Beringia—a wondrous world that was once bursting with breathtaking sights and sounds and teeming with exotic astonishing animals while providing an unforgiving perilous environment to those who ventured forth. Harjo’s people, the mammoth hunters, and other prehistoric inhabitants of Beringia, are destined to be the ancient ancestors of all Native people of North and South America.

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WHEN THE DUST SETTLED BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE by Joe Potosi

"During one’s lifetime, degrees of challenges and hardships can be expected; however, some individuals find themselves in hardships so dire, so desperate and inconceivable to the average person. As the title “When the Dust Settled” evokes an image of the calm after a storm, the stories in the pages of this book chronicle my perspective of these extreme hardships (social economic, environment, relational and other). It will take you on the real-life journey through the struggle to understand our places in the world, coping with and, ultimately, triumphing over these hardships. This is really a story of tenacity, resilience, introspection, redemption and forgiveness. As you delve into this real-life American odyssey, I hope you are inspired."

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YESTERYEAR by Stephen G. Eoannou "This is one of the most entertaining novels I've read in years...it will capture your imagination and not let it go!" —Fred LeBron, Author of Welcome To Christiania Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, when from out of the past come the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse Silver! The Lone Ranger rides again! But who was that masked man....? It's 1930s Buffalo, and the Great Depression rages. Playwright Fran Striker needs to write the pilot for a new radio show but, first, he must overcome writer's block, defeat a curse, foil a plot to assassinate FDR, and recover stolen diamond rings belonging to alcoholic boxing champion. Based on the controversial true-life story of Lone Ranger creator Fran Striker, Yesteryear takes us on a magical journey leading to an icon's debut, a show that provided hope to Americans during the country's darkest days. Populated by characters of the era— radio actor John Barrett, Mafioso Stefano Magaddino, former lightweight champion Jimmy Slattery, and president-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt. Eoannou's latest novel breathes new life into the immortal Lone Ranger and the man who struggled to create him and will appeal to fans of W.P. Kinsella, Bernard Malamud, and Daniel Wallace's. 101

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RIVER OF ASHES by Alexandrea Weis and Lucas Astor

BOY WANDER by Jobert E. Abueva

SOME TRUTHS ARE BETTER KEPT SECRET. SOME SECRETS ARE BETTER OFF DEAD.

Winner First Place in both the LGBTQ Non-fiction and First-time Non-fiction categories of the 2023 International Firebird Book Awards!

ALONG THE BANKS OF THE BOGUE FALAYA RIVER, sits the abandoned St. Francis Seminary. Beneath a canopy of oaks, blocked from prying eyes, the teens of St. Benedict High gather here on Fridays. The rest of the week belongs to school and family— but weekends belong to the river. And the river belongs to Beau Devereaux. The only child of a powerful family, Beau can do no wrong. Star quarterback. Handsome. Charming. The “prince” of St. Benedict is the ultimate catch. He is also a psychopath. A dirty family secret buried for years, Beau’s evil grows unchecked. In the shadows of the haunted abbey, he commits unspeakable acts on his victims and ensures their silence with threats and intimidation. Senior year, Beau sets his sights on his girlfriend’s headstrong twin sister, Leslie, who hates him. Everything he wants but cannot have, she will be his ultimate prize. As the victim toll mounts, it becomes clear that someone must stop Beau Devereaux. And that someone will pay with their life. 102 W I N T E R 2 0 2 4

A child TV personality from a prominent Filipino family and the son of an accomplished academic, Jobert Abueva was a high achiever at his all-boys Catholic international school in Tokyo, Japan. Whatever Jobert did, he had to be the best, racking up achievements. He was a favorite among his fellow students, who elected him three times to the Student Council as class president, vice president, and president. Jobert was a triple all-star winner on the brain bowl interschool academic competition, debate, and speech teams, as well as a varsity track hero. He wrote for the school newspaper and yearbook and performed in school plays. A golden boy who could do no wrong. But Jobert had a secret nobody could know. After school, he led a clandestine existence turning tricks with foreign male guests at Tokyo’s world-renowned Imperial Hotel. So it’s not surprising that he had to be the best and was handsomely paid for it. More exciting and better pay than waiting tables. A BMOC (Big Man on Campus), he juggled dual identities of boy wonder and boy toy, sure that if exposed, he would be shunned by his friends and devastate all who groomed him for greatness.

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MOTHERS VOL. 1 by Ben Burgess Jr.

HUMAN by Antionette van der Gryp

In 1995, tragedy struck when Maurice Wilson returned home from the grocery store and was killed by a stray bullet, leaving his wife, Juanita, a widowed single mother of two. Having no life insurance and barely any savings, Juanita is forced to sell what few valuable items she has to give her husband a decent burial. With her husband no longer around as the primary breadwinner and without his salary, Juanita struggled to financially keep her and her children's heads above water, but she managed to survive.

Holding back the Gader horde has been the priority of every able-bodied person on Earth for the past 80 years …

Tragically, two years following the death of her husband, her youngest child is diagnosed with cancer, leaving Juanita deeply in debt due to copayments for treatments, surgeries, prescriptions, and transportation to and from her job and doctors' visits. Overworked and underpaid, Juanita works a job she hates at the prestigious law firm of Wayne, Rothstein, and Lincoln to provide for her children. When her oldest child, Jalen, begins to feel neglected because his mother cannot afford to buy him the things he wants, constantly works overtime, and is always taking care of his younger brother, he is lured by the streets and a local drug dealer named Drastic. Will Jerami, Juanita's youngest son, survive cancer? Can Juanita endure being drowned in debt and working a stressful job? Will her eldest son, Jalen, continue to be drawn to and consumed by the streets? Mothers, Vol. 1, is the riveting prologue to the award-winning novel, Defining Moments: Black and White, about a mother's bravery and fortitude to do whatever is necessary for her children.

But after a decade Vin Montgomery returns home and she has vengeance on her mind … Her body has been advanced … Her rebels are in place … The only thing standing in her way is her estranged husband, General Matthew Washington … But if she is careful, she is sure she could bring him over to her side.

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EMPTYING THE NEST: GETTING BETTER AT GOODBYES by Morgan Baker

Emptying the Nest: Getting Better at Goodbyes, is about is about reinventing yourself, learning how to handle loss, and emerging from depression. During her older daughter’s last year of high school, the family takes on an adventure of breeding their kind and gentle Portuguese Water Dog, Spray, and raising her ten puppies. They find loving homes for nine of the pups, and keep one, Ezzie. At the end of the year, Maggie, Morgan’s oldest, heads off for her own adventure at college. All these goodbyes don’t sit well with Morgan and she falls into a depression. What she learns from climbing out of the depression, is life continually changes. Her dogs and children teach her lessons on living in the moment and embracing change, instead of running from it. Morgan’s identity shifts during the years after her kids leave the house. She discovers she’s more than a mother. 104 W I N T E R 2 0 2 4

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BLOOD AND SILVER by Vali Benson What is a twelve year old girl to do when she finds herself in the silver boom town of Tombstone, Arizona, in 1880, and her only home is a brothel and her only parent is a drug-addicted mother? If she is Carissa Beaumont, she outsmarts the evil madam and figures a way out. After tricking the madam, Miss Lucille, into summoning a doctor for her mother, Lisette, she discovers that Miss Lucille has been drugging her. She and the kind doctor make a plan to try to save Lisette by dosing her down on the drug. Doctor Henderson tells Carissa that the only source for the drug is a Chinese immigrant named China Mary, who lives in Hoptown, at the other end of Tombstone. Carissa has no choice but to go to the powerful woman for help. Many say that China Mary is the one who really controls Tombstone. China Mary admires Carissa's brave spirit, and uses her influence to get her a job at the new Grand Hotel, which will free Carissa from her many duties at Miss Lucille's. She will work along with Mary's twelve year old niece, Mai-Lin. The two girls become fast friends. Then, disaster strikes, and the two girls must work together to stay alive.

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CONSTRUCT & VIST by Anka B. Troitsky

MY THOUSAND TREASURES by Licia Chenoweth

The solar system is no more, but humanity continues. Can we still be called human? We look different, but is that all? Or have we also learned something from our mistakes?

Eleven-year-old Raini Fraser wants her grandfather back.

Will we learn more about Vist? This book contains scenes of violence, assault, gore and grief.

Now that he's in a nursing home suffering from Alzheimer's, Raini is forced to live with her irritable, Scottish great-aunt who's intent on connecting her with her estranged father. Raini refuses, and her new life of strict rules and terrible food makes escaping out of her bedroom window a necessity. During one such escape, Raini spies on two boys digging at a park when a security truck disrupts their progress and causes them to flee. Seizing the opportunity, she pockets their forgotten gold coin. No longer able to rely on her grandfather's wisdom, Raini begins to unravel the coin's unknown past with the help of a professor at her grandfather's nursing home. However, the coin's value puts her in grave danger from those who will stop at nothing to get it back. In a race against time, Raini decides her only option is to return the coin to its rightful owner. In the process, she uncovers deep-held family secrets about the coin, that have been hidden for generations. Could the coin be cursed? More importantly, will Raini's estranged father, who knows something is wrong, finally earn her trust in time before it's too late? 105

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SOLE BRETHREN: IF THE SHOE FITS by B.A. Summer

GOD'S EX-GIRLFRIEND by Gloria Beth Amodeo

Cordelia Tanner never intended to cause such a ballyhoo when she invented Footloose, an ingenious holographic technology that gives the illusion of a person being shod in fantastical shoe designs when underneath they have on their comfy slippers. Millions find Footloose irresistible and stop buying and wearing footwear, leading to a worldwide split into those who venerate the virtual and those who revere the real - the latter led by the bombastic footwear mogul Richard Nailer.

Beth Amodeo was a freshman in college when she met someone who would change the trajectory of her life. Cate was smart, beautiful, and an evangelical Christian. Soon, Gloria had left behind her troubled family—which included her mother's mental illness and addiction to pills—and joined Cate as a member of Campus Crusade for Christ (now known as Cru).

Fortunately for Cordelia she can periodically escape all the shenanigans because of an extra-sensory ability she calls psychomatricks which allows her magically to enter historic realms for adventures galore. Meanwhile, back in the real world, will the dastardly Nailer succeed in his scheming or will Footloose triumph? “Step into a glittering universe that you’ll never want to leave. Buckle up your Louboutin’s and hang on for an unforgettable ride with a cast of characters as preternaturally gifted as they are charming. Mixing magic, footwear and all things fabulous, Summer has whipped up an irresistible treat” —Gail Willumsen, three-time Emmy winning writer and film maker 106 W I N T E R 2 0 2 4

Embracing her newfound belief system, Gloria became a cultural warrior for Jesus, militantly focused on converting everyone she met to her conservative brand of Christianity. Over the next seven years, she spent spring breaks preaching to MTV partygoers in bikinis; hung out in bars as she tried to convert her fellow creative writing students in New York City; and kept a strenuous hold on her virginity, as she considered herself to be in a relationship with God. Slowly, she came to realize that a God who believed that people were going to hell, sex before marriage was a sin, and that men had the final say in all marital and relationship matters, among other things, was not a God she wanted to “date” any longer.

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ELUSIVE LINKS by Dan A. Rosenberg Stephens is a young, successful golf pro, Episcopalian, from Augusta, Georgia. While on tour, he meets Sandy Cole, Jewish, originally from Maine, and an anthropologist working at Columbia University with an interest in genealogy. They try to build a relationship in the public eye. O.T. Sills, Stephens’s trusted caddie and confidant, has a unique set of physical characteristics. Curious about his own genetics, he recruits Cole to investigate his ancestry. Her friend, Tamara Wright, an African American, is swept up into the search. Tommy Torres, a forty-five-year-old golfer, and widower with two children,, sells timeshares in California to make ends meet. The Augusta National Golf Club, taking steps to increase inclusivity, invites Torres, who is Hispanic, to compete at The Masters in April 2003. In the final round, Torres, the underdog, is paired with Stephens. They contend head-to-head for the coveted green jacket. In 1495, three years after arriving in Amsterdam, Ben Solomon is shipwrecked in Scotland. He settles there and helps launch the sport of golf, with the support and protection of King James IV. However, the antisemitism and violence of Solomon’s youth return, nearly taking his life at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.

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NO MORE TO LOSE: AFTERMATH by Dr. Gregory Steinberg

Retired New York City police detective Miranda Giles, first introduced in the final section of the previous novella in the “No More To Lose” series, is living quietly and happily ‘off the grid’ in a remote part of Alaska, away from the relentless and vengeful tentacles of the National Security Agency. Events take a dark turn after she and her soulmate are mugged at knifepoint. Once again, the world has to confront what Miranda Giles is capable of when she has ‘no more to lose’.

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THE DECISION TO KILL: A TRUE CRIME STORY OF A TEENAGE KILLER AND THE MOTHER WHO LOVED HIM by Leslie Ghiglieri A 1986 family tragedy propels this gripping true crime debut as a mother searches for answers in the shocking murder of her husband—and conviction of her son. For years, Cherie struggles to overcome the consuming grief she suffers from the loss of her husband and the difficulty she faces as she attempts to forgive her son, Dwayne. The courtroom accounts of gruesome details and the shocking testimonies from experts add to Cherie’s desire to make sense of the crime. Tormented by wanting to know WHY this tragedy happened, she wonders if she could have prevented it. “The Decision to Kill” is an unusually personal true crime story because it is told by the mother herself and contains excerpts from letters written to her by her killer son while he is in prison. The crime reader will appreciate the rare insight this book provides into what the murderer himself describes as his “twisted mind.” The killer hints at the formation of “the decision” he made and how that one decision forever altered the course of many lives. Dwayne’s words reveal his struggles with substance abuse, gender identity, sexual orientation, and search for faith. His ever-changing views will challenge readers to decide if there is hope for true, positive change in violent sociopaths.

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BLACK WOMEN UNINTERPRETED by Amanda Lafaye Wilson This book is my written testament. It pays homage to the black women and men who came before me. It is an offering of self, to honor the women of color who cultivated my existence, and built the world around me with the strength and will of their undying spirits. This is the heartbeat of a thousand slaves laboring for my freedom. This is an acknowledgment to my old neighborhood, Schooler Humphrey Villas projects, where struggle plagued our community, where survival was a tool we were equipped with at birth, for the baby bottles, pacifiers to soothe our awareness of the the battlefield we are born into. Fighting for our seat at the table freely given to our counterparts. This is dedicated to the black men and boys from my hood that made it out to see another sunrise, and salutations to the black men and boys that never made it out. This is my tribute to their lives, their legacies, their roots, silenced voices echoing, their cryptic being exalted in a poem, their face humbled in a memory. You, my brothers, are amongst the constellations where your ancestors have taken you to flight. This book is a tribute to my lineage, my feminine divinity, highlighting my ancestry, harbinger to my generational mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers, empowering the struggle, participating in peaceful fight to equality, and me giving a voice to the ones that gave me my voice. I thank the ones that humbly turn the pages of my vulnerability bled to page, and know that we are all one. Shilom.

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THE MIRACLE AT ASSISI HILL by Pat Camalliere Personal struggle…Mystery and mysterious places…Friendship…Miracles… And, above all, a love story. Emotionally scarred after battling cancer, amateur historian Cora Tozzi is troubled by religious doubts. She immerses herself in the life of a convent in her home town, Lemont, Illinois, agreeing to coauthor a book about the history of the religious order. Soon she discovers her problems are only beginning. She befriends a harmonica-playing young nun who is guarding a secret, and when Cora’s husband, Cisco, becomes seriously ill, she prays for help to a mysterious visitor from heaven. Soon Cora and her friends plunge into a desperate quest to solve a mystery from the life of a woman destined for sainthood, racing against time in the belief that solving the mystery will restore Cisco’s health. The quest takes them to 1886 San Antonio, Texas.

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THE EXECUTION, LIFE AND TIMES OF PATRICK O'DONNELL by author History tells us that Patrick O’Donnell was hanged in Newgate Prison in December 1883 for the murder of James Carey, the infamous Phoenix Park Killer and notorious Irish informer. History however tells us almost nothing of his remarkable life. Letters of clemency sent to his trial by Victor Hugo and US President Chester A. Arthur hint at an extraordinary life for an Irish peasant. Explore his life and times through this unique work of creative fiction, entwined with historical fact; from the Great Hunger to the typhoid sheds of Quebec; from his service in the Confederate army and capture at Chattanooga in 1863 to the O’Donnell massacre at Wiggan’s Patch, Pennsylvania; and ultimately to that fateful day off the coast of Port Elizabeth when he put three bullets into Carey. The last days of this condemned man were spent recording his life in a series of letters which remained undiscovered for 133 years - recently uncovered and published for the first time herein. British agent, hero of Ireland, or something else altogether?

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WHY by Paul Eberz

CATECHISMS by James W. Bennetts

Why is based on the actual events in the tumultuous life of Malcolm Wallace, his wife Andre, Lyndon Baines Johnson, and Johnson’s sister Josefa Johnson. Their lives are dominated by ambition and power, lies and deceit, and lifealtering desire. Their diverse but intertwined paths led them to one of the most transformative moments in the history of the United States. November 22, 1963 — a day that changed the future of our country.

Detective Paige McGraw is waiting for something to go her way for once. After letting a suspect slip through her fingers, her career is now in shambles. Stuck working in the shadow of the brash new homicide inspector on the force, Clarissa Wright, she hopes to redeem herself by catching a good case or bringing her slippery fugitive to heel.

Why provides a possible explanation for a critical piece of evidence that went unnoticed for thirtyfive years. On March 12, 1998, A. Nathan Darby, a certified latent print examiner with several decades of experience,held a press conference to announce thatthe only unidentified fingerprint on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository belonged to Malcolm Everett Wallace.

When a defrocked priest is found horribly murdered and mutilated, it may be just the right investigation Paige needs to prove she's still a capable cop. When she and the inspector go off on a quest to find the killer, they uncover a multitude of other crimes including child sexual abuse. While in pursuit of the devilish predator, the inspector falls victim to one of these horrendous misdeeds. With her partner sidelined, can Paige still find the killer and prove she is capable or will more suffer at the hands of the mysterious murderer?

Why tells the story of: Why Wallace walked away, a free man, after being convicted of first-degree murder, Why Wallace was in the School Book Depository, Why John F. Kennedy was murdered, and Why LBJ suddenly decided not to run for President in 1968.

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REBIRTH by Andrew Pereira

BE THE MAGIC by Diane Pienta

The Empire of Asperia is a land divided in two. The simple man, a hard worker, a worthy warrior, a proud leader. They define the tenets and traditions of the Empire. The Arcanist, few and far between, those with the ability to harness the Earth's elements to create fantastical feats of magic, looked down upon by their brothers in power. Seeking to unite the two stands the Church of Radiance, who preaches peace and unity as a sign to their Goddess who turned her back on the world eons ago.

This world is constantly nudging us--pulling, pushing, cajoling us--toward our heart’s longing and our true expression of joy. Yet our stubborn and conditioned mindsets can resist these signals, too often dismissing synchronicity and serendipity (magic’s very language) as little more than accident or annoyance. Playful yet potent, BE THE MAGIC nudges us too, showing how to open ourselves to this ever-present guidance to live a more peaceful, passion-filled, and enthusiastic life. Diane Pienta serves up personal stories and lessons learned, in a smorgasbord of actionable daily practices designed to train us--our minds, our bodies, and our hearts--to become joyfully tunedin to the guidance presented to us at every turn. If you’ve been struggling to find your purpose, to bring more love, peace and play into your life, BE THE MAGIC may well become your most welcomed daily companion. Start reading and put a smile on your face! A renewed zest for life is right around the corner.

Kael Cley hails from a sleepy little town nestled away in the wilderness of Asperia. He begins his first year at the Iris Academy, the Empire's most prestigious training facility known for churning out legendary warriors and mythic heroes. The Iris Academy is also known for its acceptance of Arcanists, the only academy in the Empire to do so. Kael finds himself at the centre of a conflict that threatens to tear his country in two. He, and his newfound friends, must navigate life at the Iris Academy while uncovering the truth behind a shadowy organization that threatens to plunge Asperia into civil war.

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PARKER'S CHOICE by Mike Nemeth

THE ELECTI by R.E. Boucher

After serving time for a crime he didn’t commit, Parker and his wife, Paula, hide from an old enemy in an Atlanta suburb. Their new beginning is disrupted when his new boss solicits his help with a fraud that will ship thousands of American jobs overseas and Parker suspects his secret birth father is involved. Then a body is pulled from the Chattahoochee River and Parker believes Paula has murdered his enemy, but police think Parker did it. He and his brilliant colleague, Sabrina, who can trace her roots to Virginia slaves, steal the “smoking gun” that will expose the fraud and go on the run, pursued by cops and crooks.

Earth as we know it has changed. Since the Nuclear War, it has become an unrecognisable place. Fresh air is a thing of the past, real food has been replaced with 'simulated meal drinks', and nobody can safely venture outside without a respirator. In Anglia, one of only two countries still standing, society has been divided into two social classes: Electi and Treb. The Electi rule over the Trebs, treating them with discrimination and hate. To be a Treb means experiencing the worst schools, homes, and jobs - and, of course, living in fear of what the Electi will do next.

After a violent showdown in a frightening New Orleans cemetery, they connect the dots between murder, fraud, and a man from his mother’s past. Loyalties are torn. What will be Parker’s Choice?

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As children of arguably the most prestigious and richest family in Anglia, Archie and Eva live a life of extreme privilege. However, everything is perhaps not as perfect as it seems - when one has access to anything they could desire, it brings attention to the things in life that can't be bought, like friendship and family. As the siblings learn more and more about their father, President Ignatius Impero-Regnum, they begin to question if their life of luxury was worth the costs that came with it... Meanwhile, twins AJ and Eloy, miraculously born during the height of the infertility crisis, are living in a poor Treb community. Unfortunately, their Treb status means life is not easy for them, but luckily, through thick and thin, they have their family and friends to rely on. However, when their best friend, Mizuki, discovers some extremely confidential files, everything seems to unravel, and their lives transpire into a whirlwind of chaos.

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COUP DE GRÂCE by Paul L. Centeno

The world has changed. Gone are the old gods. Nature withers and dies beneath the growing bane of machines and industry. Desperate to prevent their world from dying, citizens turn to science and sprawling cities of steam ruled by the Imperium. Kaimo de Morté has never known another life. He is an optometrist by trade but too poor to open an optical boutique. Forced to work in the mines, Kaimo has no idea how his life is about to change. A chance encounter with insurgents thrusts him into a battle for the very future of mankind. One he is ill prepared to fight. Kaimo uncovers hidden truths, forms alliances stretching to the highest halls of power, and becomes the catalyst for either saving the world or watching it end.

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DRINK WINE AND BE BEAUTIFUL by Kimberly Sullivan Italian Tales of love, betrayal, longing, desire and hope Italy serves as the backdrop for stories of Italian women and expatriate women living in Italy. A freak snowstorm in Rome changes the travel plans of two women, touching their lives in ways they could never have imagined. An ambitious Italian professional working in Brussels rails inwardly at her privileged boss, until fate presents her with a rare opportunity. A long desired trip to Bali, Indonesia serves as a needed chance for introspection. A cautious housewife in Rome thinks back to a fateful missed connection in Florence. A first-time mother feels debilitating guilt for not bonding with her newborn, until an elderly neighbor provides her with a new perspective. The twenty-one stories in this collection follow women's lives as they confront betrayal and love, alienation and community, despair andultimately-hope.

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MORAL FIBRE by Helena P. Schrader

HARVEST YOUR HAPPY by Camilla Gray-Nelson

Riding the icy, moonlit sky-They took the war to Hitler. Their chances of survival were less than fifty percent. Their average age was 21. This is the story of just one Lancaster skipper, his crew, and the woman he loved. It is intended as a tribute to them all.

In Harvest Your Happy, Camilla Gray-Nelson shares the life-changing principles that turned a farm girl into a successful entrepreneur, mentor and leadership trainer. The book shares her practical field-tested methods for growing happy relationships and nurturing attitude, gratitude and purpose in order to harvest ultimate happiness.

Flying Officer Kit Moran has earned his pilot's wings, but the greatest challenges still lie ahead: crewing up and returning to operations. Things aren't made easier by the fact that while still a flight engineer, he was posted LMF (Lacking in Moral Fibre) for refusing to fly after a raid on Berlin that killed his best friend and skipper. Nor does it help that he is in love with his dead friend's fiance, who is not yet ready to become romantically involved again.

Living on a working farm, Gray-Nelson found profound lessons in the simple cycles of the natural world, and in observing the hidden rules for social interaction animals instinctually knew, that allowed them to get what they wanted without fighting. Gray-Nelson reveals that by understanding these universal instincts and social rules we, too, can influence by instinct, form more productive relationships and begin living our best life. In this groundbreaking step-by-step guide to your own Ultimate Happy you will learn: • How you can succeed, even without rank or power • How to turn conflict to cooperation • The hidden reasons we argue or fight • How to heal division and build real unity • The everyday conscious choices which lead to a happy and fulfilled life CHANGE YOUR LIFE TODAY USING NATURE’S SIMPLE SECRETS!

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A TRIP FROM GOD by David E. Grubb

Edwin Nedellaf, a perfect nonentity, wakes up one morning and decides to reinvent himself because his life has become too stagnant, or he has finally been awoken to his calling. After creating new gods, he quickly becomes the next big cult leader. His actions also birth a new religion with multiple sub-sects, and like all great (maniacal) cult leaders he envisions a new world order and insane end goal for humanity. He encounters, or helps create, many peculiar characters who are stuck in their roles and unable to stop their actions or alter course let alone his master plan. In the end, his trip from (away) God might be a trip from (provided by) the Almighty, or perhaps there's a far more sinister higher power helping him steer the world to its inevitable next phase.

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FEATHERS OF THE PHOENIX: THE ATLANTEAN HORSE, BOOK 1 by Cheryl Carpinello

Ancient Mystery...Mystical Prophecy...Biblical Horsemen One Epic Task The Task: Retrieve the Five Feathers of the Phoenix to raise Atlantis so its people can return home. The Chosen: Cousins Rosa & Jerome embark upon a perilous and personal quest to retrieve the first Feather. Rosa’s special gift, kept far in the Past, will be revealed, and Jerome will discover his. The Opponents: The Four Deadly Horsemen of the Apocalypse will stop at nothing, not even murder, to possess the Feathers. Join Rosa & Jerome as they risk all in their search for the First Feather! 115

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THE HOUSE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET by Jennifer Sklias-Gahan

A PORTION OF MALICE: AGES OF MALICE, BOOK I by Lloyd Jeffries

There once was a house and it sat in the middle of a simple and quaint treelined street. A beautiful woman named Rebecca lived in this house with her faithfully devoted husband and their new born daughter. They were happy and they were proud. The house had originally belonged to a Great Great Aunt of Rebecca's named Minerva. She lived in the house all the days of her life and she died there, on the very last night of the year. In her final earthly wishes, Minerva bequeath the house to her next of kin and all of its belongings, including a golden sealed letter reading "Instruction for the Keeper of the House," to be given to whomever took legal ownership of the house.

An Ancient Evil Rises…A brazen thriller of God, humanity, and the cost of every choice.

None of her next of kin came forward to claim the house. Some neighbors speculated that the relatives passed on such a beautiful home because of the rumored hauntings attached to it; the wild sobs of a young woman heard through the winter winds as the year closed, coupled by a sturdy knocking at the front door that emanated onto the street. Minerva's estate located Rebecca as being the next in the family line to inherit the house and all its belongings, if she so wanted. Rebecca and her husband were thrilled and received the house gratefully. With the arrival of Autumn, Rebecca and her husband moved into the house welcoming this new chapter in their lives, on this street and in this house. It was the house of their dreams. As the last leaves of Autumn blew out, in came the arrival of their first child, their daughter was born. On the very last day of the year, she heard a sturdy knocking at their front door. She peeped out the window and saw two children standing there, a boy and a girl. 116

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Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Emery Merrick presses a pistol to his temple. Then there's a knock at the door. Billionaire Thaddeus Drake hires Emery to write his biography. But Drake has a dark secret, and Emery soon discovers he heads an ancient, secret society which aims to fulfill prophecy and sacrifice the Earth to a bloodthirsty God. Deep and emotionally stirring, Emery finds himself plunged into an immortal world of darkness, deceit, and barbarity. This thought-provoking thrill ride chronicles one man’s explosive journey into the apocalypse and one man’s epic quest to confront God as an equal. A captivating odyssey through history and time, A Portion of Malice changes the conversation about spirituality, redemption, and the world in which we live. CAN A SUICIDAL REPORTER SAVE HUMANITY…AND HIMSELF?

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THE MIDAS EFFECT by Manuel Dorado

What if you could make all your wishes come true? In this international technothriller, a young European university professor’s ability to turn his imagination into reality – known as the Midas Effect – attracts the attention of the CIA and NASA, drawing him into clandestine scientific operations to attempt to control him. But how do you harness the power of a god?

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THE PERFECT DISTANCE by Dianne May

Before Finley Thompson's husband died, he told her to run and keep running. So she relocates with her kids to a small town in North Carolina. Her false sense of safety ends when a runaway horse barrels into her yard and she meets her surly but disarming neighbor, CJ Sinclair. As a permanently disabled Navy SEAL, all CJ wants is peace, and to build his animal rescue. His peace is interrupted when his sassy and beautiful neighbor stirs up his past, which threatens to uncover his connection with her dead husband. But both Finley and CJ are hiding truths of their own, and digging into the past may unleash secrets from which neither CJ nor Finley will survive.

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AKASHIC DIARIES: DETROIT DEGREE ZERO by Biba Sheikh

In this landmark book, Biba Sheikh writes of Americans galvanized by the specter of COVID-19 to fear for and grieve for the planet and express their feelings about the sudden and new era that has emerged. She likewise celebrates the upheavals with the feeling that we have been suddenly released from the captivity of a system...broken by the pandemic. Akashic Diaries: Detroit Degree Zero and Other Crisis Writings is a description of sudden overtake of viruses. It cites beginning signs of desertification—and in certain areas, the irrevocable flooding and fire that environmental activists and scientists say will cause one-third of the population in America to be displaced in the coming decades.

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ONE ELEPHANT TOO MANY by John Crawley

One Elephant Too Many is the story of a young black woman, right out of NYU Law School and recently hired by the Global Justice Project. She has been sent to The World Court in The Hague to represent the elephant species in the legal fight against African poachers. Watching over her is not an angel, not even a legal mentor; but rather, a witch and two bumbling warlocks, just earning their degrees in the dark arts.

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OF POETS AND OLD MEN by John Crawley

Poetry is much like a photograph. It captures for an eternity a fleeting moment. Verse captures those moments in the lines of verbal expression. Focused just as softly or as sharply as any photographer would do. Of Poets and Old Men seizes the loss of life and the fading of dreams in much the same way, hopefully without melancholy or sadness, but instead with an understanding that change is inevitable.

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THOSE WHO WOULD BE KING: THE PEOPLE'S PRINCE by Brent J. Ludwig This powerful novel—full of tantalizing twists and turns, powerful heroes and heinous villains—is set in the fictional, impoverished African country of Maleziland and explores the corruption of power, the legacy of colonialism, and the putative integration of democracy in sub-Saharan Africa. King Mabanda controls his country with a violent, omnipotent fist. The king’s son, Mandebala, is a tyrant-in-training who has grown up with the opulence and privilege of an uber-wealthy prince. But when the king meets Shigeku, the only captive survivor of a border war with a neighboring nation, the prisoner tells of switching his own brother at birth with the king’s actual son. The king immediately extricates his true heir, Mateyo, from the slums to the palace to take his rightful place as the prince of Maleziland, while the loathsome Mandebala is thrown out and forced to live in the nearby shantytown. The benevolent new prince experiences the trappings and privileges of wealth and power, and ultimately embarks upon a plan that will improve the lives of his people and country. Meanwhile, the true brothers, Shigeku and Mandebala, plot, with the keen support of the Catholic Church, to overthrow the regime so corruption and self-serving depravity can once again reign supreme. 119

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THIS FALL by Paul Kameen

THE YOCHNI'S EYE by Abigail Morrison

This Fall is a testimony of personal recovery told through a record of my daily walks in the woods over about a month’s time during the first stunning autumn after my wife Carol’s sudden passing. Our walks in the lovely natural spaces of Boyce Park just outside Pittsburgh had become over many years—what we talked about and witnessed together there—the foundation for our loving partnership. When she was no longer with me, I had to learn how to walk again, by myself of course, but with her still, in the way all the best people in our lives accompany us even when we’re not lucky enough to have them beside us. These vignettes, written spontaneously immediately after each walk, before I went to work, opened a path for me to come to terms with my loss and with the new life that began to emerge day by day through the lustrous ongoing leaf fall.

Every six hundred years, the yochni blinks, changing one thing about the world based on the wish of the last creature it sees. In ages past, these wishes have created expansive empires, magical abilities, and even new and powerful species. They’ve also spawned evil overlords, terrifying monsters, and centuries of collective suffering.

This is not a book that tells you how to cope with grief. I read lots of those. They didn’t help. Mine documents a very personal journey that gives credence to all the inner turmoil—the dark and the light, the horrors and the glories—that our culture tends to dismiss, even shame us for, when we have to walk alone for a while in the shadow of a grave loss.

That is, until she meets Atlan Qierce, high prince and heir to the bogey empire. Forced into a magical contract to travel with Atlan by Kraven Monteyeaux, a magical arbiter and reluctant medic, as new dangers and champions reveal themselves, Mira will have to confront everything she believes about the bogeys—most importantly, whether any of them can be good and, if so, whether she can really kill them all.

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The past three ages have gone to the bogeys— giant dog-like creatures with few physical vulnerabilities and incredible strength. They’ve monopolized the yochni’s wishes to secure their ongoing rule. Sixteen-year-old dwarven champion Mira Goldfist, suffering with the rest of her people under the bogey’s slave-keeping reign, wants nothing more than to wish them out of existence.

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CULTIVATING SUNSHINE by J.S.R. Smith

WITCH'S GAMBLE by Mark Rosendorf

Living in an impoverished, post-war city, Mona has finally gotten her wish of leaving the orphanage, although she hasn’t been adopted. Instead, she is going to join other children who have been given up by their families to live a better life at the Company.

It's been nearly two hundred years since Isis, Zack, and The Witches of Vegas saved New Salem from the Wiccan vampire, Valeria. Now, Isis is a vampire and the most powerful witch in the world. Zack is also a vampire, and the president of New Salem. They thought the threat was long behind them. But Valeria escaped into the past where she set history on a horrific path.

The Company is one of the most successful businesses in the city. They have developed a procedure to extract memories from one person and implant them in another. After having just been through a war, the demand is high to buy a happy memory to replace a sad or frightening one. But where do the happy memories come from? Mona and the children were all chosen by the Company because of their exceptional memory. Trading a life on the streets or at an orphanage for warm food, clean beds and an education seemed like a good deal to Mona and the other students. Like her classmates, she is training to have a near perfect memory. At the Company, Mona meets many new classmates, but makes only one true friend, an eccentric fellow student named Owen. But when Owen’s personality starts to change after he undergoes the procedure to extract a memory, Mona starts to suspect that the process isn’t as safe as the Company claims.

Now, everything has changed around Isis. New Salem is destroyed, Valeria is queen of Earth, and no one has heard of Zack. To save reality, Isis must travel through time, reliving events from a history she barely recognizes, and find a way to set reality back on course. Not that she has any idea how to do that, or how to avoid the allpowerful Valeria in the process. Isis will face challenges she can't possibly overcome, yet she must, or every single life from the past, present, and future is doomed.

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WITCH WAY TO VEGAS (THE WITCHES OF VEGAS 4) by Mark Rosendorf

THE BOOK OF A SMALL FISHERMAN by J.R. Solonche

The war with Wiccan vampire, Valeria, is over. Despite a battle that spanned multiple timelines and realties, fifteen-year-old witch, Isis Rivera, and teenage magician, Zack Galloway have survived. Along with Isis’ adopted family, they now reside in peaceful New Salem, a hidden community of witches. They should be living happily ever after, but the battle, along with memories from the original timeline fill Isis and Zack with emotional trauma that negatively affects Isis’ Wiccan power.

Poet J. R. Solonche adds The Book of a Small Fisherman to his impressive list of over thirty published poetry collections. His poems, says Chase Twichell, "are an extraordinary amalgam of wit, close observation, humor, and clear-seeing.

A decision is made by the family. Before settling into New Salem, they will return to what is most familiar to them, the Vegas stage. But another show has already taken their place. The Wiccan Circus, a performance run by a powerful witch named Erisa Cross, is now number one on the Vegas Strip. But is there more to her than meets the eye? The Wiccan Circus’ teenage performers are headlined by Erisa’s daughter, Amelia Cross, a rebellious witch who is used to getting what she wants. And what she wants is Zack. Isis will find her relationship with Zack tested like never before. With her family’s lives hanging in the balance, can they discover the true agenda behind The Wiccan Circus before it’s too late? 122

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Each one singles out and illuminates an ordinary moment-ordinary, that is, until the poet explodes into a miniature epiphany. Easy of access and frequently profound, J. R. Solonche's poems induce in me a state of delighted surprise.

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MANNING A RAPTOR by AA Freda

TINY TIN HOUSE by L. Maristatter

Samantha and James Coppi are living the good life. A massive horse ranch in Colorado Springs almost as big as the Island of Manhattan.

In the Christian States of America, where religion rules, one woman discovers the only rules are about survival.

A sixteenth-century chateau in Lyon, France. A business global empire that has a worth larger than most countries. An empire so powerful that it can overthrow governments. Now the Coppis are embarking on a new venture: the expansion of a railroad. And not just any railroad, but a behemoth that encompasses the entire Southwest, from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean. Not bad, for a confused couple that met by chance in a country honky tonk. The Coppis future back in 1968 looked bleak-she was pregnant with someone's child, not James's. He was assigned to an infantry brigade headed to a war in Southeast Asia. It appeared that all the odds were stacked against the young duo back in 1968. But now it is 1981. Sam is pregnant and is expecting their fourth child. What the Coppis desire most is an unexciting and routine lifestyle, an existence that will allow the couple to enjoy the fruits of their labor. But you really cannot turn back the wheels of time, can you? With so much wealth, can the couple ever hope to find a peaceful, ordinary life?

Although she’s legally an adult, eighteen-yearold Meryn Flint must live at home until her stepfather, Ray, finds her a husband. That’s the law. But when Ray kills her mother and Meryn must flee for her own safety, she quickly discovers there’s no safe place in the CSA for a woman on the run. Unless she’s willing to marry her former boyfriend—a man who’s already demonstrated his capacity for violence—she’ll be forced to live on the street. And that’s a dangerous option for a woman alone. As time runs out, Meryn is offered a third path: build herself a tiny house, a safe place to call home. Even though it’s a violation of her Family Duty as well as every moral law on the books, Meryn seizes the chance.

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CULVER CITY by Brant Vickers

COLLIDER by Chris Hejmanowski

On a hot July night in 1969, Cassady and Kyle sneak into one of MGM's magical surreal Backlots. Exploring the astonishing decrepit sets, they encounter actors long dead and at Tara, on the old forgotten decaying Gone With the Wind set, they meet Scarlett (Vivian Leigh) and Ashley (Leslie Howard). This leads to phenomena of paranormal experiences beyond anything they could have imagined.

Through his indomitable will, thirty-six year old professor of particle physics Fin Canty, is on the cutting edge of physics and driven to do everything he can to protect his daughter from harm. He seeks, uncovers and achieves answers to some of science's biggest mysteries in order to save her while transcending life and reality.

The ghostly territories within the Backlot are initially as earth shaking as they are mysterious. One boy struggles with the horrors and legacy of slavery while confronting the evil in the wonderland netherworld that they both initially embraced. Along with a gritty realistic account of growing up in West Los Angeles, this story invokes a lost period in time that could have only happened in one place in the entire world: Culver City, California. With Culver City Brant Vickers has written a wonderful uncompromising Young Adult story. Immediately captivating, surrealistic, and authentically written, while portraying the craziness of the late sixties and early seventies, The novel interweaves wild teenage adventures, magical realism, and important life situations that test the boys’ remarkably close friendship and eventually means the difference between life and death. 124

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His journey from this life to the next forges the creation of a white hole with CERN's collider, channeling matter from beyond and offering proof of an afterlife in ways that cannot be totally be imagined or predicted. As a result, incredible energy forces are set in motion revealing the ultimate divine power of the human will and restores faith to the world. As we look to the future, there is a new reason to hope.

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REQUIEM FOR A QUEEN by Kaylin McFarren

Forced into captivity by Lucifer and crowned as his queen, Samara Daemonium struggles daily with her identity and daunting duties in Hell. She belongs to a race of Nephalem— hybrid beings who are half angel and half demon—and although she wields the powers of both supernatural species, she has yet to discover her formidable prowess and potential. In the Outer Rim of Hell, Lucinda continues to plot her father's demise and her ascension to the throne. Believing Lucifer plans to bypass her as Hell’s next ruler, she kidnaps his new heir and has every intention of killing him. Meanwhile, Samara is faced with the threat of death for her part in an invasion. Her survival depends on revealing a dark secret, giving her no choice but to depend on Lucifer and his Tracker Demons. Ultimately, Samara’s journey to self-discovery instills in her the importance of family and friends, and reminds her that belief in the impossible is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen.

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SAGE AND THE CRYSTAL BOT: TELEPATHY TIDE by S. Sky

Eco-sci-fi thriller, Sage and the Crystal Bot, Telepathy Tide, continues the adventure with Sage Amaris and her companions. The rejuvenation virus has transformed the desertscape into a robust botanical heaven, and created a worldwide thirst for the biotechnology to cultivate food for hungry masses. As seeds blow across oceans and continents, telepathy morphs, impacting populations in mysterious ways. Turamali Innovative Arts is compelled to act, to address public health challenges, as well as to ameliorate the rejuvenation effects with more creatively designed viral mechanisms. No one seems to grasp the enormity of the human, animal, and ecological impact, until incredible events begin to unfold. Sage and a host of new characters plunge forward into the tide, forging new forever bonds. 125

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MY UNEXPECTED LIFE: FINDING BALANCE BEYOND MY DIAGNOSIS by Jennifer Grasner

Jennifer Gasner is seventeen when her dreams are shattered overnight. Receiving a diagnosis of Friedreich’s ataxia, a rare genetic neuromuscular disease, means she must prepare herself for a life of loss. When she starts college, she can still walk on her own, but as her disease progresses, she spirals further into sadness, denial, and alienation. She turns to alcohol and a toxic relationship to distract her from what she refuses to accept—that her body, her selfesteem, and her hope for her future are failing. When Jennifer develops a friendship with rock star Dave Matthews, her outlook changes. She begins to understand that using a wheelchair doesn’t mean her life is over. In fact, when she discovers disability culture, she realizes it’s not her body that needs to be fixed but her assumptions about being disabled. 126

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THE WITCHFINDER'S SERPENT by Rande Goodwin Something wicked this way comes . . . When fifteen-year-old Nate Watson moves to Windsor to live with his mysterious Aunt Celia, the last things on his mind are witches and magick and ancient vendettas. While Nate focuses on building a new life for himself and his younger brother, making new friends and adjusting to a new high school, he can’t escape the feeling that something isn’t as it seems. Nate’s search for answers leads him to a forbidden, locked door in Aunt Celia’s mansion. Inside, he finds a witch’s workshop full of mystical artifacts, some dating back to the time of the earliest Puritan settlers. It’s no coincidence that Nate is now living in the very same town where, forty-five years before the Salem witch trials, Alse Young was hanged as America’s first witch. Could magick be real? Nate remains skeptical until he picks up the witchfinder’s serpent—a powerful, demonic bracelet that wraps itself around his arm and permanently imbeds itself into his flesh. Now Nate must confront the truth about Aunt Celia’s unlikely ancestry—as well as his own....

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THE GREATEST THING (THE LAST FAVORITE'S PAGE: BOOK ONE) by Patti Flinn

His mother told him he was God’s greatest thing. Then he was stolen, sold, shipped to France, and re-named Louis-Benoit Zamor. Stripped of his esteem as efficiently as a fox’s coat in a royal hunt, Zamor is reared by Du Barry—with a love as false as her smile—and a king with unsavory proclivities. He soon realizes his mother lied. Because, in this place, King Louis XV is the world’s greatest thing, second only to God. But Zamor was loved, once. This fact, alone, makes the bitter pill of a lifetime of small nothingness impossible to swallow. Even if false, a mother’s words don’t die easily. First, he must survive childhood. Then, if the world thinks the debauched, degenerate king is its greatest thing, the answer is simple: Zamor will have to change the world. Vive le roi. Long live the King … and all that.

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VAGABONDER by R.T Coleman Humans have always feared Caen’s kind. Survivors of a mysterious virus, Ruĝa Morto, that killed 80% of Earth’s population two centuries ago, they have endured enslavement as Neurologically Compromised Individuals, or NiCIes, owned by OnyxCorp. Now, in 2261, Caen begins a perilous journey to seek the Vagabonders, the original moon colonists, whom many believe hold the key to freeing his people. He knows he is hunted. He expects death at every turn. But he doesn’t anticipate meeting Dr. Ligeia Obumbwe, a human biogeneticist desperate to protect her brother Finn, yet another victim of the endemic virus. When OnyxCorp promises to keep Finn safe in exchange for her work in their lunar lab, she accepts despite her increasing unease regarding the Corporation’s motives. Ligeia and Caen become unlikely partners in a dangerous quest to reach the Vine, the space elevator that is the first step in their journey to the moon. What they find along the way could help them bring OnyxCorp to its knees…or destroy everything they love. 127

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SARRA COPIA: A LOCKED-IN LIFE by Nancy Ludmerer

ROAD TO ELYSIUM by Kay A. Oliver

The first ghetto was established in Venice in 1516. Jews were locked in the ghetto from sunset to sunrise behind iron-reinforced doors, with guards to apprehend violators. Sarra Copia: A Locked-In Life is historical fiction based on the life of the title character, who lived in the ghetto from her birth in 1592 until her death 49 years later. With her father’s support, Sarra studied classical Greek, Latin, philosophy, science, and music. She wrote poetry, corresponded with a Genoese monk, and convened a literary salon in the ghetto regularly attended by Christian clerics and intellectuals – until one came to accuse her of heresy.

Kay Oliver's urban fiction novel “Road to Elysium” chronicles an emotional journey of friendship, redemption, and second chances.

Sarra Copia: A Locked-in Life imagines Sarra’s relationships with her parents, her sister, her daughter, and her husband, and portrays her strong but often troubled connections with the world outside the ghetto. Other than two scholarly works, little has been written about this extraordinary woman. This novella brings her to life for contemporary audiences. 128 W I N T E R 2 0 2 4

After a devastating personal tragedy that leaves Ken broken and adrift in grief, a fateful encounter with a group of neighborhood kids attempting to rob his home introduces him to Mykel, a troubled young man. As their unlikely friendship blossoms, Ken finds purpose in mentoring Mykel, slowly emerging from his shell of self-pity and discovering the power of self-forgiveness and personal growth. But the road to healing is never simple. Mykel still struggles with the limits society puts on him, threatening the progress they have made. As their bond deepens, both must make peace with their tragic histories and learn to forgive themselves before they can build a brighter future. Oliver's contemporary young adult fiction is a wholehearted story exploring loss, growth, and redemption with love and friendship. Readers call this fictional biography "deeply moving" and "impossible to put down." Set in a vibrant neighborhood, Road to Elysium is a family drama and inspirational fiction chronicling themes like grief, forgiveness, personal growth, and the enduring strength of family bonds.

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THE RELUCTANT VISIONARY by Datta Groover

YOU PROMISED TO DO NO HARM by Jonnie Ramsey Brown

In this dual-timeline story, two women come to terms with seeing the future.

For forty-five years, Jonnie and Thomas Brown built a life together. They supported each other through college, marched together to receive their degrees, formed a family, traveled, and shared the love of a lifetime.

Living in one of the whitest counties in Texas, twenty-nine-year-old Jess Atwood is plagued by visions she doesn’t want and can’t control. At the same time, she struggles to keep her family’s organic farm out of foreclosure. In 1960s Tennessee, Jess’s grandma Anna Mae has her own visions, which she thinks are divinely inspired. Each woman deals with her own visions differently, but both find themselves in trouble due to following—and sometimes not following—them. Jess must overcome her resistance to the visions and embrace her gift of second sight— or she may wind up as the next victim of a human trafficking and kidnapping syndicate. Anna Mae needs to stop obsessing about the visions that rule her life and drag her into danger.

When Thomas fell ill on a trip to Florida, everything changed. He was admitted to a local hospital where, within days, he died— the victim of neglect and treatment below the medical standard of care. In You Promised to Do No Harm, Thomas’s widow, Jonnie, tells their shocking personal story, shedding light on implicit bias and detailing the struggle that people of color face when equal treatment doesn’t apply. It’s a call for families to advocate for their loved ones, for the medical community to consciously understand how bias affects their decision-making, and for each of us to address healthcare disparity to keep our loved ones alive. 129

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UNEMPLOYABLE: HOW I HIRED MYSELF by Alysia Silberg "A must-read for anyone seeking to innovate, create & thrive in the age of AI." An entrepreneur so determined to change the world, not even a bullet could stop her. In Unemployable, Alysia Silberg, a startup Investor, AI expert, entrepreneur, and executive coach, shares her powerful story of survival and success, aided by the great equalizer – technology. Growing up in poverty in South Africa, Alysia experienced violence, abuse, and even a gunshot wound. Through determination and an unwavering commitment to learning, she made her way to America and Silicon Valley, becoming a lover and funder of startups, with a passion for AI. This "unputdownable" memoir and manifesto serves as a source of inspiration for anyone who has been told, or has told themselves, that they cannot. By embracing our own superpowers, Alysia believes we can unlock our unique brilliance and contribute to the responsible advancement of technology. 130 W I N T E R 2 0 2 4

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WHAT THE LIGHT LEAVES HIDDEN by Terry L. Kennedy

“What the Light Leaves Hidden is a powerful poetic litany that demonstrates what it means to be fragile and wounded inside of the immediacy to be vital and loved. Terry Kennedy’s elegy evokes invocation and benediction where tenderness permeates every page, reminding us that we are all made vulnerable by simply being alive.” —JAKI SHELTON GREEN, North Carolina Poet Laureate and author of Conjure Blues “Sheer pleasure to clap and roar into the world Terry Kennedy’s What the Light Leaves Hidden. The line and syntax is a deft swerve shifting from one emotional stasis to another, tumbling and twisting through an aviary of punctuation and linguistic verve and jolt. The thrill of pressure and release, the joy! It would be pure indulgent splendor, if it weren’t for the gravitational centering of the heart here, the meeting of craft and the lived. All the tools here honed and purposed for the heart’s courage and peril. Have you heard enough, Reader? Seriously, I can’t get enough of What the Light Leaves Hidden, of Kennedy’s touch and vision, the care he takes.” —JAMES HOCH, author of Miscreants

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THE GATE BEAUTIFUL by Ron Butler

KILLER STATE OF MIND by Leanna Floyd

A short fiction set in biblical times, centered around the crippled man who was healed in the presence of the apostles Peter and John as recorded in Acts 3:1-10 of the Bible. The struggles as a lifelong cripple and the struggles found in wealth and fame are but two sides of the same coin. The longing for peace and purpose is not satisfied by surroundings or possessions. The true identity in the core of an individual is the key to the kingdom.

When Dr. Brooke Douger accepts a job as a criminal psychologist at Wildwood State Prison, she must confront the ugly truth that Jacob Connor, a friend from childhood, is the notorious Surfside Killer. Jacob maintains his innocence and begs Brooke to help exonerate him by catching the real killer, whom he claims is still on the loose. But can she trust him given his dark past? Brooke’s world is turned upside down when she barely escapes with her life after being chased off the road late one night, causing her to question everything and everyone she thought she knew—bringing her to the edge of sanity. Brooke’s world continues to spiral in uncharted territories as new evidence and more victims raise the possibility of a copycat killer. Or could the real Surfside Killer still be out there? Brooke tries to follow the trail, but she misses important clues revealing an intricate web of jealousy, revenge, and deceit that turns into a game of kill or be killed. 131

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132

WINTER 2024

If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” —

TONI MORRISON, THE AUTHOR OF

BELOVED, SONG OF SOLOMON, AND JAZZ

133

DECEMBER / JANUARY 2023

SHELF UNBOUND WHAT TO READ NEXT IN INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING

Award Issue - Winter 2023 - Shelf Unbound

Articles inside

FINALIST: An Enemy Like Me.

FINALIST: Held and Free.

FINALIST: Gothic Revival.

FINALIST: Homespun.

Finalist: Midnight in Syria.

Bitter Thaw.