Shelf Unbound June-July 2017

JUNE/JULY 2017

YIYUN LI

WELCOME TO THE LIBRARY

ROMALYN TILGHMAN PAULA GURAN 1

SEPTEMBER 2010

what to read next in independent publishing

of of

A psychological thriller and thought-provoking discussion about the meaning of life. This book is definitely going on my list of favorite books of all time.

— Kathy Schneider, NetGalley

p w e n a r e n ractitio p l a ic h p o s o ght li s ’t n s e o d Eric is a phil t bu easonpractitioner—a r Ericpishaasphilosophical s e iz now is m d n ie r that enew lf ir g old profession that is emphasizes h t u b , h ge ic o r t ’t k c isn but doesn’t slight a b t Hereason e g to nts emotions. a w e h S . s u ver morich, but his old girlfriend e r a d faisn’t s le anHe y t s e and lif ls a o g ir e h t ts wa n She but both rich and famous. e li c himis, now is H . g goin with him, is d in m wants to get back together ’s r e h ves. li ir His fat e h t e v li to owlifestyles but their goals h and are very

different. His father’s mind is going. n befo e e s r e v His clients want atonknow how to live e n he’s m o w a d Anlives. their to kill him.

49 And a woman he’s never seen before 0 7 6 5 3 9 ISBN 978-1 Amazon.c wants to kill him. n See reviews

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ISBN 978-1-935670-94-0 See reviews on Amazon

Dialogue is razor-sharp. Hilarious, incisive observations about all things great and small.

— Robert Bidinotto, author of the bestseller Hunter

staff

Margaret Brown fo u n d e r a n d p u b l i sh e r Anna Nair edito r i n ch i e f Christina Davidson c re a t i ve d i re c tor Ben Minton circ u l a t i on ma n a g e r Patricia McClain c o py e d i to r Marc Schuster c o n t r i b u t i n g e d i tor Barbara Pflaumer so c i a l me d i a d i re c tor

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Sarah Kloth s o c i a l me d i a st ra te g i st Jane Miller ac c o u n t i n g ma n a g e r

For a dve r tising inqu ir ie s: c al l 2 14.704.4182 or e- mail m a rga ret@ s he l fm e di agrou p.c om For editor ial inqu ir ie s: e- mail m a rga ret@ s he l fm e di agrou p.c om or write to Shelf U nbou nd, P O B ox 852321 R ich ard s on, TX 75085

Photograph: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

what to read next in independent publishing

june/july

contents

14

Dear Friend: From My Life I Write to You in Your Life Interview with Yiyun Li

DEPARTMENTS 8

a note from the publisher

22

To the Stars through Difficulties Interview with Romalyn Tilghman

70

middle shelf

32

Ex Libris: Stories of Librarians, Libraries & Lore Interview with Paula Guran

128

photo essay

40

Excerpt: Just Another Day at Your Local Public Library: An Insider’s Tales of Library Life

44

Excerpt: The Card Catalog: Books, Cards, and Literary Treasures

52

Public Libraries’ Most Checked-Out Books

142 on our shelf 144 small press review 145

last words

Above Photography: (top) from To the Stars Through Difficulties by Romaliyn Tilghman. (bottom) from Ex Libris: Stories of Librarians, Libraries & Lore by Paula Guran

SPLIT SECONDS

HAVANA

BY ABE KOGAN

A PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY THROUGH THE EVERDAY LIFE IN HAVANA, CUBA. These captured shots within Split Seconds Havana occur smack in the midst of the pre-normalization of Cuban/US relations followed by the signing of the accord between the 2 nations, President Obama’s visit, and Fidel Castro’s death. This collection of black and white photos situates Havana inside of the dying embers of its 57 year relationship with orthodox communism. But now with its feet firmly planted in the pre-post Castro dance of modernity and change, bets are on that Havana is set to change and in a big way. The author is not sure how much change is in the cards. Nor how quickly it will manifest. Havana will reinvent itself regardless of change, rates of change, confluences or conflicts of influences he says. The shots presented here cut through the politics and the gossip of endless predictions spun by the international and local rumor mills. They portray a timeless face of Havana. A captivating and repeating humanity. “Generational Generalities” as he likes to say. Devoid of its powerful tropical flavors via his cancelation of color, landscapes and seascapes, Havana is stripped bare and reveals its inner city urban pulse. The metronome of its Habaneros.

Introducing a present-day La Bohème—a must-read novel for all opera lovers.

by Yorker Keith The Other La Bohème is literary fiction that depicts a group of four opera singers, named the Dolci Quattro, who are to perform the nearlyforgotten opera La Bohème by Leoncavallo, also known as “the other La Bohème.” Set in the rich artistic backdrop of New York City, the Dolci Quattro’s lives and loves go through ups and downs in joy and despair, while they give one another much-needed moral support. As the opening night nears, the Dolci Quattro make their utmost efforts to perfect their singing for the opera that will determine their future.

“Down Under romance with tinges of Austen.”

—Jill Allen, Clarion Foreword Reviews

I love the setting, the story, and the characters!

—Amazon Review Romance featuring Australian outback and two characters that really have kept me hooked reading it from the very start.

—Amazon Review www.victoriacapper.com

Who is Titus?

A chicken farmer at 12 years of age, US Army Paratrooper in Japan at 17, All-Scholastic Football player, Football Coach, Biology Teacher, Professional Photographer, Bank Incorporator, Presidential Confidant, Chiropractor and a critic’s quote,

“TITUS OUT GUMPS FORREST!!”

The story of a young mill town sports hero. Grit, focus and an ability to weave through all obstacles dominated his life game on the field .......... and off !!!!!

Ensuing years finds the sports hero hanging up the cleats and one day dining with a US president and going on to professional brilliance and international acclaim. Never far from hometown yet lightyears from his humble beginnings. This engaging tale will inspire others in pursuit of their own distant personal goal posts!!!!

Available at

Titus & Senator Marco Rubio, exchanging books, two great examples of the “American Dream”

Lamb to the

Slaughter

by Pete Delohery A novel about love and cour age, sin and redemption “Iron” Mike McGann is facing the twilight of his prizefighting career.

Desperate for his future, he has refused to honor his promise to his wife to quit the ring and start a family.

Rufus “Hurricane” Hilliard is the most menacing presence in prizefighting. But behind his menacing ring presence lives a man nobody knows, a complex man who despises his own image.

Rufus “Hurricane” Hilliard vs. “Iron” Mike McGann, just another fight shown on The Continuous Sports Network, but by the time it is over the lives of these and many others will be forever different.

“This heartfelt tale makes a powerful emotional impact.”

—Blue Ink Starred Review Also in Spanish: El Cordero al matadero Available in print and e-book at Amazon, xlibris, and Barnes & Noble.

w w w. p e t e d e l o h e r y. c o m

a word from the

publisher

W

LIBRARY BOOKS

hen I was growing up my mother would drive my brother and me to the library once a week during the summer. The library allowed us to check out six books at a time—for me this was two Happy Hollister mysteries, a classic and a history book related to where we would be traveling on our summer vacation (these two were required by my mom), and two other books that I would discover at random as I combed the shelves. It seems magical as I recall it—the whole wide world and all its adventure and knowledge right there for the picking.

In this issue we interview three authors whose books include the library as a main character.

Romalyn Tilghman’s novel To the Stars Through Difficulties follows three women who build a new library after their Kansas town is devastated by a tornado. Yiyun Li’s memoir Dear Friend: from My Life I Write to You in Your Life looks at severe depression and the sustaining power of literature. And Paula Guran’s Ex Libris compiles science fiction stories about librarians because, as she says, “Libraries and librarians are, after all, magical!”

We also survey libraries across the country to find their “most checked out” books of 2016; the common denominator was Paula Hawkin’s The Girl on the Train, which repeatedly made the Top 10 lists.

Finally, I want to give a shout-out to my wife’s great-uncle Harold Canner, who helped found the Highland [Indiana] Memorial Library in 1946 and whose name remains on a plaque outside the library door. He is seen here (second from right) at the dedication. Well done, Harold.

Margaret Brown publisher

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JUNE/JULY 2017

Photograph: Debra Pandak

Available for download on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Google Play, and Bandcamp.

Or stream the single “Fuzzy Logic” on SoundCloud and YouTube.

WWW.ZAPATEROMUSIC.COM

JOSEPHINE DEBOIS

Back in New York, Sergeant Samuel is demoted to work in the traffic police. He is teamed up with Huang, an experienced and deeply religious police officer. At Penn Station in New York, Samuel comes across Olis, a brilliant but illegally performing street singer with no memory of his past. As the goodhearted Samuel—against the advice of Huang—decides to help Olis, he gradually becomes embedded in a complex case with its roots in the Vatican.

With the help of Melera, a top gang leader deeply conflicted by being abused as a boy serving the church, Samuel uncovers how the servants of the church, driven by greed and deep, dark instincts, ruthlessly exploit innocent and loving individuals, who are driven to insanity. He also uncovers how the cardinal Marchetto Caccini with all means—including modern sciences—pursues the highest positions in the church. At the end, the good-hearted Samuel is faced with the choice of either following his heart or revealing the horrifying secrets of the cardinal.

WWW.JOSEPHINEDEBOIS.COM

In her authorship, Josephine deBois explores the edge between the real and the unreal, which she approaches in captivating stories developed from her exceptional imagination and deep psychological insight. She constantly explores the deep, fundamental questions of being and not being a human being, bringing the fundamentals of science, art, and religion faceto-face in stunning encounters of life, death, and love. She also writes children’s books and is a columnist covering scientific subjects.

What makes a human human?

Josephine deBois “An intriguing script inspired by the greatest conductor of all times: Carlos Kleiber”

Explore the phantasmagorical world of Josephine deBois’ fourth novel, amadeus!

A brilliant interplay of art and emotion that blurs the bounds between love and destruction.

“An exciting script at the edge of the modern biological sciences and mysticism.”

amadeus!

his latest novel of Josephine deBois, is about outstanding “human beings” and characters intertwined in a stunning series of events: it is about Tiffany Yun, a young, beautiful and stellar female Asian pianist conflicted between culture and love; it is about Ludwig Mann, the greatest conductor ever, his passions, his woes, his love, his deep dark desires, and his endless struggle at the edge of music to always go beyond whatever stellar interpretations he delivered just moments ago, and not least his struggle with what he is; it is about Josephine deBois, an unbelievable beautiful woman driven to the edge of her life by deep, dark, irresistible desires; it is about Duilio Paioni, an outstanding, brilliant, Nobel-Laureate-Ready truth seeking scientist who has revolutionized the technologies to the edge where synthesis of human life is possible; it is about Giovanni Landini, a high ranking, ruthless church official at endless conflict with his faith and deep sexual desires; it is about Marchetto Caccini, a top-ranking church official ruthlessly defending his institution and faith at any price; it is about Sargent Samuel, an honest and truth seeking New York police Sargent “sandwiched” between power, corruption and pursuit of the truth in a mysterious case leading him to the edge of truth at the epicenter of a case so unbelievable that nobody believes even the truth; it is about Sora, a mysterious woman living at the edge to the world beyond and supernaturally manages the natural; and it is about Chujin, shaped in disaster at the edge to the world beyond, who seeks the souls to answer the fundamental question of what makes a human human. At the end of the stunning story, beauty and cruelty stand face-to-face in terrible moments of death and destruction. Love appears extinct but does it survive in disguise?

WWW.JOSEPHINEDEBOIS.COM

In her authorships Josephine deBois explores the edge between the real and the unreal which she approaches in captivating stories developed from her exceptional imagination and deep psychological insight. She constantly explores the deep, fundamental questions of being and not being a human being as she brings the fundamentals of science, art and religion face-toface in stunning encounters of life, death and love. She also writes children books and is columnist covering scientific subjects. Josephine deBois lives in Europe.

Watch the YouTube link HERE.

Listen to Shelf Media Group’s Podcast No. 5 with Josphine deBois HERE.

Josephine deBois

AVAILABLE AT:

Josephine deBois

amadeus!

What makes a human human?

www.chroniclesofthestone.com

N O T E S E H T F O S E L C I N O R H THE C

“Fiona Ingram’s middle-grade series is dead-on: the plot is crisp, the characters are relatable, and they leave the reader wanting more.”

Terry Doherty, CEO, The Reading Tub, Inc. (USA) THE SECRET OF THE SACRED SCARAB BOOK I A 5000-year-old mystery comes to life when a scruffy peddler gives Adam and Justin Sinclair an old Egyptian scarab on their very first day in Egypt. The cousins are plunged into a whirlpool of hazardous and mysterious events when the evil Dr. Khalid kidnaps them. They learn more about the ancient Seven Stones of Power and the mysterious Shemsu-Hor. They must translate the hieroglyphic clues on the underside of the scarab, as well as rescue the missing archaeologist James Kinnaird, and their friend, the Egyptologist Ebrahim Faza, before time runs out!

AVAILABLE AT

THE SEARCH FOR THE STONE OF EXCALIBUR BOOK II Continuing the adventure that began in Egypt a few months prior in The Secret of the Sacred Scarab, cousins Adam and Justin Sinclair are hot on the trail of the second Stone of Power, one of seven ancient stones lost centuries ago. This stone might be embedded in the hilt of a newly discovered sword that archaeologists believe belonged to King Arthur: Excalibur. However, their longstanding enemy, Dr. Khalid, is following them as they travel to Scotland to investigate an old castle.

Little do they know there is another deadly force, the Eaters of Poison, who have their own mission to complete.

Time is running out as the confluence of the planets draws closer. Can Justin and Adam find the second Stone of Power and survive? And why did Aunt Isabel send a girl with them?

THE TEMPLE OF THE CRYSTAL TIMEKEEPER

BOOK III

Continuing the adventure that ended in Britain just a short while ago, cousins Adam and Justin Sinclair, with their friend Kim Maleka, are now hunting for the third Stone of Power, one of seven mysterious stones lost centuries ago. The third stone might be located in an ancient city, hidden in the depths of the Mexican jungle.

When their small plane crashes in the jungle, Adam, Justin, Kim, and James are rescued by an uncontacted tribe. James, who is wounded, must stay behind as the kids, with only a young boy, Tukum, as their guide, make their way through the dense and dangerous jungle to find the city.

River rafting on a crocodile-infested river and evading predators are just part of this hazardous task.

You can take the mickey out of the Martians but don’t mess with the new arrivals from Planet Schmoo. Even serious science fiction fans will excuse this hilarious romp into absurdity.

“It’s the Invasion Of The Body Snatchers meets Mel Brooks” —US Review

GERRY BURKE These creatures are smart, inventive and very athletic and, when their intentions become obvious, even President Daphne Doolittle is at a loss. She doesn’t know what to do.

This fast-moving humorous narrative pits the superior intellect of the aliens against the gritty determination of Homeland Security agent Calvin Swift and his girlfriend, the alluring Alicia Angelico. It’s tense, terrifying and totally enjoyable satire.

“Burke has a well-furnished mind, an ingenious intellect, and a prodigious vocabulary dedicated to making readers laugh.”

Joe Kilgore (US Review)

www.gerryburke.net

feature

interview

From an acclaimed fiction writer, this memoir looks at severe depression, the meaning of time, and the sustaining power of literature

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JUNE/JULY 2017

Dear Friend: From My Life I Write to You in Your Life

by Yiyun Li Penguin Random House penguinrandomhouse.com

Shelf Unbound: We’re talking about libraries in this issue of Shelf Unbound, so let’s start there. You write about being chosen as a librarian’s assistant while in middle school in Beijing, the first time you had even been in a library. “Within a few months, I had finished all the books on the literature shelves (the 800s, as I began to think of them).” Describe how this experience opened a new world to you.

Yiyun Li: I’ve always an obsessive reader. When I was younger, there was not much available to me, so I would read anything—newspaper wrapped around fish or meat, shoeboxes, a medical manual when I had measles in third grade. Going to middle school and having access to a full (though small) library was like a fairytale. We have a saying in Chinese, describing the happiness of decadence: like a mouse that has landed in a large jar of rice. That is how it felt to me then. A book mouse in a full room of books.

Shelf Unbound: Your memoir explores time, the sustaining power of literature, and your struggle with crushing depression. You write in the Afterword, “These essays were started with mixed feelings and contradictory motives. I wanted to argue against suicide as much as for it, which is to say I wanted to keep the option of suicide and I wanted it to be forever taken away from me.” I learned a lot about severe depression in reading this book, as I did years ago when reading William Styron’s Darkness Visible. Did you discover anything about yourself or your own depression in writing the memoir?

Li: I discovered that I was good at arguing against myself ! As somewhere in the book I wrote: One always knows how best to sabotage one’s own life. But these are necessary, in my case. Going through severe depression and suicidal crises, one has to deal with medical procedures and interact with mental health professionals

UNBOUND

15

as well as friends and family who are concerned. But in a sense these are external factors. They alleviate symptoms but they don’t change who one is fundamentally. I don’t think this is a book with an arc, and by the end everything is resolved, just as I don’t believe mental illness can be magically cured. All the arguments in the book, all the self-dissection—these were done with the hope of recording an experience—the rational and irrational thinking, the arguments and counterarguments—which may be helpful in the future as a reference.

Shelf Unbound: You are a much-lauded writer of fiction, receiving among other awards a PEN/Hemingway Award and a MacArthur Foundation fellowship. How did your writing process differ in writing a memoir vs fiction?

Li: Writing fiction is much easier in that the characters and their stories are all that matters, and my own self is transparent, or as transparent as possible. So I am much less selfconscious when I write fiction. I follow my characters’ lead. I try to get into their minds. And there is an unlimitedness in experiencing how they experience. With a memoir, especially a memoir like this one,

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which is not a conventional narrative, I had to get rid of all the emergency exits so that self I was examining could not elude my scrutiny.

Shelf Unbound: What interests you in thinking about and reading about and writing about time?

Li: I often think that time is the most democratic factor in life--even birth and death don’t come close to that.

Yet we experience time in a private manner. No two of us experiences a period of time—a day, an hour, ten minutes—the same way even if we are next to each other. I wonder if this difference in our experience leads to our yearning to be close to another person, to understand and to be understood, and to make connection.

Shelf Unbound: You write about the importance of literature in your life and include “A Partial List of Books” at the end of your memoir. If you were stranded on a desert island and could have just one book, which one would you pick and why?

Li: I read War and Peace and MobyDick every year, each book taking six months—I read one for sublime realism, and the other for sublime metaphors. So may I bring both?

“Making You Great Again”

This is your time to re-awaken the dreams you thought were impossible.

“Success is Within You” reveals the power to create our goals and dreams resides in all of us and it is stronger than circumstances that may surround our lives. Therefore, you do not have to feel like a victim. When YOU harness this power within yourself, the universe yields unto you and gives you the BEST of what is possible.

Available at

WWW.LEONLOGOTHETIS.COM

A

ROADMAP

to the LIFE You Were

MEANT

TO LIVE “It took me at least ten years to understand the connection between my travels and the life lessons that got me through tough times. Live, Love, Explore gets you there quicker to celebrate the wonderful, frightening, unexpected journey of life.”

Samantha Brown Travel Channel host

“The life I was meant to live has always revolved around travel and media. To read real tips from Leon Logothetis, one of the travel industry’s most inspiring figures, made me move beyond the mundane and dream of magical moments and big dreams.”

“Live, Love, Explore is a bona fide page-turner—full of inspiring personal stories, charming anecdotes, and thought-provoking questions.

You won’t want to put it down!”

Annie Fitzsimmons Editor-At-Large, National Geographic Traveler

Light Watkins Founder of the Shine Movement

Leon Logothetis is a global adventurer, motivational speaker & philanthropist. Leon has visited more than 90 countries and traveled to every continent. He is the host of the TV series Amazing Adventures Of A Nobody, which is broadcast across the world by National Geographic International, and has documented his travels for numerous media outlets including Good Morning America, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Outside, Good, Psychology Today, and The New York Times.

AVAILABLE AT:

O’Connell has woven art history, art conservation and mystery into a fascinating multi-layered story.

The novel is like touring the Uffizi with a passionately informed docent who explains the paintings as well as the artists behind them. The plot is contemporary with flashbacks through time to Renaissance Italy and gives a sense of the artists as flesh and blood men. Art history has never been so alive.

Those who enjoy historical fiction and a good mystery with a touch of romance, especially if they are artists or lovers of art, will find much to enjoy in O’Connell’s well-crafted book.This is an enchanting mystery, full of intrigue, romance, and time travel.

Foreward Reviews

Suzanne M. Wolfe, author of The Confessions of X

B

ronx born and bred, Mackenzie Ferrara is both nervous and excited to begin her career as a restorer of fine art at the prestigious Cloisters in New York City. The star of the restoration team is a handsome Italian named Anthony Bataglia, world renowned for his ability to bring pre-Renaissance treasures back to life.

Despite a rocky start, the two form a close working relationship, which Mackenzie hopes will blossom into something more. But the more she works with him the more she notices peculiar patterns and unexplainable similarities in all of his restorations. Is Anthony really who he claims to be? Too many strange coincidences lead Mackenzie and her father, a retired detective, to think otherwise.

Something is clearly not what it seems to be with the dashing Mr. Bataglia, and the resourceful Mackenzie is determined to get to the bottom of it.

What she finds is even more incredible — and shocking — than she could ever imagine.

Weaving its way between the dawn of the Renaissance and modern day New York, The Painter of Time deftly weaves together art, history, romance and the agony of keeping a dark secret hidden.

Contemporary/Historical Suspense

set amid the“Matthew art world modern NYC and and O’Connellof has woven art history,day art conservation mystery into a fascinating multi-layered story.

Reading this novel is like being taken the dawn of theon Renaissance in Italy Bronx born a tour of the Uffizi by a passionately informed docent who introduces us, not only to the paintings, but to the nervous artists who painted them. and bred, Mackenzie Ferrara is both and O’Connell weaves a contemporary plot with flashbacks through time to excited to begin her as ofatherestorer Renaissance Italy career and gives a sense artists as fleshof andfine blood men and not just famous names in catalogues. Art history has never been so alive.” art at the prestigious Cloisters in New York City.

—SUZANNE M. WOLFE, author of The Confessions of X The star of the restoration team is a handsome is an award-winning entrepreneur and and reserved MATTHEW Italian,O’CONNELL Anthony Bataglia. On loan consultant, and holds a Ph.D. in psychology. He splits his time between San Diego and Lake Tahoe with his wife Mari, two dogs and three cats. from the Ufizzi, he is renowned for his ability to bring pre-Renaissance treasures back to MatthewOConnellAuthor.com life. Despite a rocky start, the two form a close Cover design: working relationship, which Mackenzie hopes Kathi Dunn, dunn-design.com will blossom into something more. But as she works with him she begins to notice peculiar patterns and unexplainable similarities in all of his restorations. Something is clearly not what it seems to be with the dashing Mr. Bataglia.

Proof #4 for “The Painter of Time” for Station Square Media Mackenzie—with help from her father, a retired Available in paperback and ebook at 6 x 9” with .614” spine, 4-color process, IngramSpark © Dunn+Associates Design, www.dunn-design.com (OCN104) 12/11/15 detective—is determined to uncover the truth, regardless of the consequences.

FICTION

$14.95 U.S.

ISBN 978-0-9966693-3-7

www.matthewoconnellauthor.com

Recent Events that make Without Armor a Compelling Read:

Father Antonio Spadaro, S.J. is a key adviser to Pope Francis.

He is Editor of Civilta Cattolica. In an article dated February 8, 2017 the deputy editor, Father Giancarlo Pani raises questions about the teaching in Ordinatio Sacredotalis by John Paul II that women can never be ordained to the priesthood.

Then, in an interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit on March 9, 2017 Pope Francis declared that the Church should reflect on whether the “Holy Spirit” is demanding married priests. When asked about the shortage of vocations in some dioceses, the Pope mentioned the idea of “viri probati” which allows married or unmarried laymen recognized as potential leaders to be ordained as priests.

Without Armor was written twenty years ago and recently published. It will inform and intrigue some. It will irritate others. It will infuriate more than a few. At the beginning of a retreat the director declared that he felt it was his role to “comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.” Is that not what Jesus did? Is that not what Jesus challenges us to do?

A NOVEL BY E.L.PEREGRINO FOR THE CATHOLIC READER

AND ALL INTERESTED IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ACCOMPANY THE PILGRIM ON A

SEARCH FOR TRUTH A Catholic bishop positions himself to mediate a controversial proposition at a meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Before embarking on his mission a lifelong friend, a priest in his diocese, comes home from his desperately poor parish outside the diocese to challenge his friend to recognize that Church policies and lifestyles of the Catholic hierarchy are not consistent with the life and teachings of Jesus. The dramatic events of the bishop’s journey leave him different person, a different bishop. The Ordinary of his diocese returns to his flock as an “Extraordinary Bishop.”

Available at www.elperegrino.com and

On 1st July 2017, Hong Kong will celebrate the twentieth anniversary of “the Handover” that marked the end of 150 years governance under the rule of the United Kingdom and transferred sovereignty to the People’s Republic of China. As the anniversary nears, Being Stripped Naked provides a window into the city twenty years earlier, when it was preparing for the handover.

In 1995 Dave Mears arrives in Hong Kong, but he isn’t sure what he’s searching for in the bustling, vibrant city. He is greeted by sights and sounds that are a world apart from his hometown in the northeast of England. With the construction boom in full flow Dave is eager to take advantage of the opportunities presented to him as Hong Kong’s economy continues to soar. But he soon learns that while Hong Kong may be full of the wealthy and soon-to-be-wealthy, life is cheap. The accidental death of one of his coworkers at the construction site leaves Dave reeling.

What people are saying about this book:

“Loved this book! Lots of detail, kept me hooked from beginning to end!

Made me cry and laugh out loud!”

“Brilliant book, very hard to put down!”

“Excellent read! Highly recommended.”

“Adam Peirs is dragging us into his life as an expat in Hong Kong, with a very personal narrative style.”

Luckily, he has his beautiful South African girlfriend, Heloise, to comfort him. With Heloise at his side, Dave travels take him from Macau to Australia, Vietnam to Thailand.

He knows that they could have a chance at a real future together, but Heloise isn’t the only one making her presence known in his life. A sinister man, Chan, leads Dave into temptation. Dave resists until Heloise has to leave unexpectedly and he is eventually pulled into a world of lust and vice.

Being Stripped Naked captures Hong Kong at a turning point in history. As the city determines its own destiny, Dave too is at a crossroads. Which path will he eventually end up following? Or is he doomed to lose himself in the depths of the city’s dark underworld?

About the Author: Adam Peirs received his bachelor’s degree in Building Engineering and Management in 1994. After several fruitless months searching for a role in the United Kingdom he jumped on a plane to Hong Kong. That was the start of his adventure that has offered him the honour and privilege to work, live and travel all over the world. His time as an expat has inspired him to write books about his adventures and the cultures he experienced.

feature

interview

The 2017 IPPY Gold Medal Winner in Contemporary Fiction, this debut novel follows three women who join together to build a new library after their Kansas town is devastated by a tornado.

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To the Stars Through Difficulties

by Romalyn Tilghman She Writes Press romalyn.com

Shelf Unbound: What interested you in writing a book about libraries?

Romalyn Tilghman: I love libraries! Always have! My first trips to the library happened before I learned to read, maybe before I learned to walk. The buildings themselves hold a sense of occasion and a sense of intimacy simultaneously. To me, they’re like the greatest cathedrals or the most exquisite theaters or a secluded path in the woods. Libraries are magical places, full of exquisite treasures of every viewpoint and genre, most of which you can take home for FREE, making libraries themselves priceless. On top of which library patrons are as diverse as the communities they serve, meaning they demonstrate the essence of democracy.

Shelf Unbound: Your first job out of graduate school was in Kansas, where this novel takes place. What about Kansas as a place do you find unique and wanted to include in this book?

Tilghman: I grew up in Kansas so knew a good deal of Kansas history, which fascinates me. It was the destination for many dreamers who came to create new lives in pretty desolate surroundings. Bloody Kansas played a key role in the Civil War, where essential beliefs and values clashed. I find the scenery exquisite in its expansiveness, mostly in the sky which is ever-changing. Kansans are stoic, still carrying pioneer genes and demonstrating grit and gumption.

And then Kansas has its own quirky characters, like Dr. Brinkley, who implanted goat gonads into men to increase fertility, or Samuel Dinsmoor of Lucas, who recreated the entire Garden of Eden out of concrete. I haven’t lived in Kansas for over 30 years, but the further away I am, the more I appreciate its uniqueness and the more I want to share it with others.

Shelf Unbound: You write the novel from the alternating perspectives of three characters.

Which character came first and how did you develop one?

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23

Tilghman: Angelina, the PhD candidate in library science, came first because I did want to tell the story of the libraries and how they were built a century ago. She starts out impressed that Carnegie funded 1,689 libraries that served 35 million people by 1919 and comes to see those libraries would never have been built, let alone thrived for a century, without the support of “seemingly ordinary” people. The libraries were the vision of not one man, but of many women and men.

Traci, nicknamed Trash, was added because part of my original concept was to show how these beautiful buildings were finding second lives as arts centers. Although they went from orderly and quiet to chaotic and noisy, they still serve as cultural hearts of their communities.

Gayle came relatively late in my creative process. I wanted to show how quickly we can be called upon to order a community’s priorities. I was well into writing my novel at the time of the Greensburg tornado and was struck by their insistence that a community arts center be the first

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building to open its doors.

From the beginning, I wanted to show that women often find their own power, worth, and self-esteem through their volunteer efforts.

Although all of us from Kansas resist Wizard of Oz comparisons, I came to realize our need to find wisdom, love, and courage is universal and could provide something of a framework for my characters’ journeys, even though I tried to keep the Oz references to a minimum.

Shelf Unbound: This is your first novel. What did you learn about writing from the experience of creating this novel?

Tilghman: The short answer is I learned how long it takes. As a person who’s written newsletters and reports and trade articles for a very long time, I assumed writing a 300-page novel would take approximately 10 times, or maybe 20 times, as long as writing a four-page newsletter. WRONG! There are about 100 times more complexities.

I also learned to believe in serendipity. There were several

HOW I FLED IRAN AND BECAME A NASA SCIENTIST. A powerful story of friendship and faith, the bonds between parents and daughters in a paternalistic society, and the clash of values among relatives from different generations in a family “A strong multicultural title.”

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Learn More & Buy

www.AzadehTabazadeh.com ISBN / 9781491760604 (paperback) ISBN / 9781491760628 (hardcover)

AISN / B00X9HXNR8 (kindle) LCCN / 2015902183

LCCN / 246 Distributor / LightningSource

Azadeh Tabazadeh, a former NASA scientist and Professor of Geophysics at Stanford University, is the author of The Sky Detective, a debut memoir about her childhood and adolescent years in Iran. Her story offers an eyewitness account of what life was like inside an Iranian household and on the streets of Tehran, before and after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and during the war with Iraq. Excerpts from her memoir have won several prestigious writing contests, including the East of Eden Award in 1998 and the San Francisco Writers Conference Grand Prize in 2012. Azadeh’s research has been featured in Time’s Innovator Series and Popular Science has named her as one of the “Brilliant 10s” in a 2002 article.

times during the process when an early reader would question the believability of a decision. Why would Rachel be so understanding of the troubled teens from foster homes?

Suddenly I came across the orphan trains so realized her father could’ve ridden on one. I needed the women to hear the journal at the same time, but would they really sit around and listen to a journal being read? And then I discovered Carnegie’s father had hired readers for the weavers in Scotland, to help pass the time.

Perfect! I had my own questions about the believability of a sudden inheritance, but the day after I arrived in Kansas for my research trip a waitress asked me, “What are you really here for? I know. You’ve inherited land and are here to claim it!” Total serendipity!

Shelf Unbound: What have libraries meant to you throughout your life?

Tilghman: They are a safe haven, a collection of friends. I lived in several places during my childhood and libraries grounded me wherever I was.

As a nine-year-old, in Copenhagen, starved for English, I read my way through the school’s third/fourth grade library and was allowed access to the fifth/sixth grade library too, while at the same time dipping into the offerings of the American Embassy’s library. One summer, as an 11-year-old, suffering the angst of maturing and being away from friends, I lived next door to the library in Bellport, NY, where I was saved with daily pilgrimages. There are times in adulthood when my library habit lapsed, when I bought more books than borrowed, largely because of an intense travel schedule. But as bookstores closed and I began to pinch pennies in order to write a novel, I found myself living in libraries again, helping myself to whatever I wanted, without the guilt of accumulating too much stuff.

Libraries throw off a sense of peace and a sense of power, almost spiritual to many of us. In libraries, I find inspiration and answers, challenges and solutions. I feel my own individuality and my connection to the entire world’s population.

21

Rhyming Stories

by Gregory Pastoll Ages 10 to Adult

Percival Putteman’s petrified pig Was really quite ancient, and ever so big.

As far as Professor Von Schnitzel could gauge, It fell in a bog in a fossil-type age, And there it proceeded to turn into lime: A process which took it one helluva time.

But, after an aeon or two, it was hard, And ready to pop up in Percy’s back yard.

From Percival Putteman’s Petrified Pig

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CULTURES WITHOUT BORDERS Hardcover: $35.99 (personalized author signed copies) Softcover: $26.99 Standard shipping cost included.

Send checks to: May Rihani 4201 Cathedral Ave., NW Apt. 815-East Washington, D.C. 20016 Books will be mailed promptly.

Cultures Without Borders is the story of a Lebanese woman who defies the stereotypes that the West has about Arab women. It is the story of a young girl who grew up during the golden years of Lebanon from the 50s through 1975 when Lebanon was considered the only democracy in the Middle East where the media could criticize the president of the country, and many other presidents and no one went to jail for being critical, and where Christians and Muslims lived in peace.

This is also a story of the discovery of common ground among cultures. The author, who lived in France and the US, and who traveled and worked in more than 40 countries, discovered that the common ground among cultures is by far more important than the apparent differences, and that the more human beings understood, acknowledged, and valued the common ground, the more they became global citizens. The book deals with the US and Arab cultures and describes where they meet and overlap, and

where they diverge. The writer believes, however, that as a result of acknowledging that borders of cultures are porous, the possibilities of wars diminish and the likelihood of peace increases.

The memoir also focuses on the transformative power of girls’ education and why it is now increasingly being recognized as the cornerstone of women’s empowerment. The book draws examples from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Morocco, Mali, Malawi, and the Congo where the author worked, and where positive transformation of societies has a chance due to girls’ education.

This book is extremely timely given what is happening in Nigeria, regarding girls and their education, and given what has been happening in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen in the past few years also regarding girls’ education.

Cultures Without Borders is the story of a unique woman who has found and embraced the Other.

Dr. Ngozi M. Obi is an American author, of Nigerian Ibo descent, whose love for writing has evolved into four published works of fiction to date.

Love’s Destiny, her debut novel, is an intriguing tale of love lost and found. Her second novel, When Dreams and Visions Collide, is an uplifting tale of fulfilling dreams despite arduous challenges. Her third novel, Love’s Legacy, continues the quest of true love in a riveting sequel to her first novel. Her latest body of work, Land of the Rising Sun, chronicles the Biafran war through the eyes of a young nurse in a historical fiction tribute.

Most of Dr. Obi’s books are creatively imagined from life’s organic flow and aim to inspire adults of all ages.

She currently resides in the State of Virginia where she practices as a Pharmacist. In her spare time, when she’s not busy writing books, she enjoys travelling, frequent spa escapes, shopping and reading.

Visit www.ladyofdestiny.com for more information about Dr. Obi and her books.

feature

interview

A compilation of science fiction and fantasy stories about librarians because, as Guran says, “Libraries and librarians are, after all, magical!�

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Ex Libris: Stories of Librarians, Libraries & Lore edited by Paula Guran Prime Books prime-books.com

Shelf Unbound: Why do you think librarians and libraries make for interesting subject matter in fiction?

Paula Guran: They are both fascinating and multifaceted. For a writer of speculative fiction, there’s also a dichotomy to consider. On one hand libraries can be magical places/people that provide access to knowledge, safety, rescue. On the other, we can’t help but realize there is already far more contained in books than any single person can comprehend; the future will bring even more and that’s a rather melancholy realization. There’s also a mysterious aspect: lost stories and knowledge that might be found within them. Librarians can assume many roles, including nefarious evildoers and powerful forces for good.

Shelf Unbound: How did you come up with the idea for this anthology and why did you choose to focus on science fiction and fantasy?

Guran: Science fiction/fantasy is

what I do and what the publisher does. Since I’ve edited a lot of anthologies, I am always looking for ideas. I knew of several great stories, ran across a few more, and realized this was a great theme and doable.

Libraries and librarians are, after all, magical!

Shelf Unbound: How did you select the stories included?

Guran: Once past the stories I was already aware of, I researched and came up with a list of possibilities. I did throw the list out on Facebook, and I got a few more good suggestions. And I researched some more. Finally, it is a matter of picking what one thinks will be the best stories and the best mix.

Shelf Unbound: Talk about how librarians have historically been depicted in fiction.

Guran: I think theses have been written on that! The negative cultural stereotypes are the prudish punitive woman and the timorous effeminate man. More recently, the

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33

“sexy” librarian has emerged. All are “keepers of knowledge” and masters of arcane systems to which we mere mortals are not allowed full access. I think there’s a trend now to portray librarians as heroic, intelligent “guardians.”

Shelf Unbound: In the “About the Editor” section at the end, it says of you: “Without the Belle Isle and Bethany branch libraries of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Library system, she never would have made it through childhood.” What did these libraries mean to you as a child and what are your memories of them?

Guran: I was, not surprisingly, a voracious reader. Libraries were exciting places that would let you take books home—for free!—for two weeks. I can still visualize exactly what they looked like. When I was 10 or 11, some wonderful librarian allowed me access to the adult section.

I remember going through the aisles letting the books “speak to me.” I had a half-serious idea that I was being “guided” to what books to borrow

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as I wandered through the stacks. I would find something of interest and then read most everything about it, or try a type of fiction or a particular author, and then look for more. So libraries provided entertainment and intellectual stimulation and probably filled what might have otherwise been some sort of terrible emotional abyss.

And they opened the world up for me—books could take you anywhere, show you so much more than your own world.

Jerlo's world building is detailed and unique. The descriptions of places are evocative and it doesn't take much effort to imagine yourself in the heart of the cities or woods of Etharia, following the protagonists on their ominous quest. The solid characterization gives readers a strong sense of characters' emotions, personalities and complexities, making both main and secondary characters alive and believable.

Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite

Suna Di’Viao, the last of the Divenean race, blames herself for the death of her king and queen. As retribution for failing to protect them, she has hidden from the world for over thirty years, until a summons she can’t refuse rouses her from her seclusion.

The youngest General ever appointed to Dunkerk’s Guardians, Feran Lambert retires his post in disgust. He’s tired of representing a kingdom that means little to him. Fate, however, has other plans. His path leads him straight to Suna.

More than duty will bind this pair together.

Belthazar, a demon lord imprisoned for over a thousand years by the Diveneans of old, covets one thing: his freedom. Using his minion, Isafel, and an evil imp spawn called Ilio, they must find the one object that will set their master free.

With underlords scheming to take the throne and demons roaming freely throughout Etharia, it’s a race against time.

Who will be the first to find The Kruthos Key?

WWW.DTHOMASJERLO.COM

The Way I See IT

Joseph Chan was born with two rather restrictive birth defects. One of them is a genetic eye disease known as retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which is progressive with age. The other is paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia (PKD), an involuntary muscular spasm brought on by other sudden movements such as standing up from a sitting position; a condition that actually lessened after age forty.

In The Way I See It, Mr. Chan talks candidly about the challenges of growing up with these two birth defects. Despite facing the fear and frustration of falling behind in school as a little child, and stigma for being different, this is a story of love, faith, and personal triumph over fate. The Way I See It is Joseph Chan’s spiritual journey to discover his life’s purpose and to share the hope and inspiration that he has found with those who might also bene t from it.

JOSEPH K. CHAN

s e . n y

THE WAY I SEE IT

f h a n t y e , l o s

“In a book filled with wisdom, one of the most remarkable lessons is the way in which the author views his physical limitations.”

By Foreword Reviews

WWW.JOSEPHKCHAN.COM

— Kirkus Reviews

— BlueInk Reviews U.S. $XX.XX

“Genuously hilarious...”

E. Rawlins

“A heartfelt and engaging read”

Learning to Live with Fritz

“A thoroughly readable account of a woman, a dog and a spiritual journey.”

Available at Amazon, Barnes+Noble and IUniverse

— Clarion Reviews

w w w.LearningtoLivewithFritz.com

GAYLE A. LUNNING www.lunning.co

This Must Be True Bloody Bill Anderson History is filled with bad people, such as the detestable Roman Emperor, Caligula, who certainly qualifies as a deranged man. While perhaps not in the same league as Caligula, “Bloody Bill Anderson” is a maniac that earned his nickname.

Although William Clarke Quantrill led the raiders on the Lawrence, Kansas Massacre of 1863, it was Bloody Bill Anderson who personally accounted for nearly ten percent of the killings that day. He reveled in killing in brutal fashions.

The senseless killing of 25 Union soldiers in Centralia, Missouri and the butchery of nearly 150 soldiers attempting to end the merciless killing spree of the maniac, defies description.

History may have made William Clarke Quantrill more well known, but it was “Bloody Bill Anderson” who was feared.

Most communities have local legends.

Living in different states and communities, I listened as residents related what many may consider unbelievable tales of the past, each teller swearing that it happened; therefore, “This Must Be True.”

The story of a promiscuous female who dallied with the wrong husbands and the five women’s retaliation against her is legendary. Other legends in “This Must Be True” include the classmates and teacher threatened by a nine year old boy with a toy pistol; the man whose wife shot him five times; the terror in an army camp overrun by the Japanese; and the anticipation of a six year old boy waiting for Santa Claus.

WORKS AVAILABLE THROUGH: Infinity Publishing | Amazon | Barnes & Noble Baker & Taylor | Ingram & other mass-market retailers of “Books in Print”

All royalties donated to The Wounded Warrior's Project and the Hilton Head Humane Association.

The Seventh Treasure

by Len Camarda

T

his thriller follows the exploits of Secret Service agent Gene Cerone, who travels to Spain to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding his sister's death. Teaming up with Lieutenant Mercedes Garcia of the National Police Force, their investigation unwittingly uncovers an unfathomable conspiracy that dates back to the time the Moors surrendered their kingdom in Granada in 1492.

www.lencamarda.com

Available as e-book, soft and hard cover at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and AuthorHouse.

Just Another Day at Your Local Public Library: An Insider’s Tales of Library Life

by Roz Warren

I

love my library job, but sometimes our patrons make it tougher than it needs to be.

I recently asked my fellow librarians to help me create a “wish list” of things, big and small, serious and frivolous, that you can do to make your favorite librarian happy.

So what can you do, as a member of the library-going public, to help us better serve our patrons and enjoy our jobs?

HumorOutcasts Press humoroutcasts.com

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1) Greet me before launching into your request. You don’t have to ask how I am. Just say “Hello.”

2) Your library card? Don’t leave home without it.

3) Return everything on time, or pay your fines with a smile.

4) Please keep the phone calls, food and drama outside.

5) Push in your chair after you use the computer.

6) Don’t come to the library if you have a contagious illness.

We love our patrons, but not their colds.

7) Put away your phone when you’re talking to me.

8) Don’t toss your trash in the book drop.

9) Say “please” and “thank-you.”

10) Keep in mind that librarians are only human.

When we make mistakes, don’t scream at us. Instead, try to be forgiving.

11) Moms and nannies? Stop gabbing with each other during Story Time. Enjoy the songs, stories and rhymes with your children.

12) Learn to use the catalog computer.

13) Wait your turn instead of interrupting when I’m helping somebody else.

14) Please don’t look at porn on our computers.

THE LAST TRAIN

“An unrelenting portrayal of a strong female character driven to dark deeds in a foreign land— and the heart-pounding search to find her.”

Publishers Daily Reviews

Tokyo—a great place to live, a frightening place to die Detective Hiroshi Shimizu investigates white collar crime in Tokyo. When an American businessman turns up dead, he’s called out to the site of a grisly murder—or is it just suicide? A slip or jump off the train platform? A security camera video suggests the killer was a woman, but in Japan, that seems unlikely. Hiroshi and ex-sumo wrestler-turned-detective Sakaguchi scour Tokyo’s sacred temples, skyscraper offices and industrial wastelands to find out what was in the past of one Tokyo woman that drove her to murder.

“An absorbing investigation and memorable backdrop put this series launch on the right track.”

Kirkus Reviews “For anyone who loves crime and cop novels, or Japanophiles in general, this is a terrific thriller. Fans of Barry Eisler’s early novels will find the same satisfactions here.”

BlueInk Starred Review

WWW.MICHAELPRONKO.COM

15) Don’t snap your fingers to get my attention. I’m not a dog.

16) Let us know how the babies and toddlers we sang to at Story Time are doing now that they’ve grown. We love to hear about them.

17) Never apologize for bothering me with a reference question. It’s not a bother. It’s my job.

18) Don’t go ballistic when we won’t let you check material out without your library card or identification.

19) Supervise your kids.

Don’t let them run wild. This is a library, not a playground.

20) This isn’t Match.com.

Stop hitting on library staff.

21) Don’t slip the book Fido chewed up in to the book drop and hope we don’t notice the damage. Fess up.

Say “My Labradoodle ruined this book and I’d like to pay for it.”

22) Please refrain from discussing your religious or political beliefs with me.

23) Ask with a fully formed question. Don’t just walk up to the reference desk and blurt out “London” or “Aztecs.”

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24) Don’t ever call me “girl.”

25) Bathe. And for the love of Pete, please brush your teeth before leaning in to ask me a reference question.

26) Don’t ask me to show you how to use the photocopier when what you really want is for me to do your photocopying for you.

27) Please please please don’t attempt to re-shelve the books! That’s our job and we’re happy to do it.

28) Don’t wear so much perfume. I can’t assist you if I can’t breathe.

29) Don’t use risqué photos, strips of bacon, cigarette butts or unused condoms as bookmarks.

30) Communicate with me using words, not grunts or blank stares.

31) Don’t cough all over your library card and then hand it to me.

32) Don’t come into the library unless you’re at least kind of sober.

33) Before you glare at me for talking too loudly to a patron, consider that the patron I’m talking to might be hard of hearing.

34) Clean up after yourself when

you leave. Don’t make us pick up your dirty tissues, candy wrappers and coffee cups.

35) Don’t expect me to bend the rules for you (or curse at me when I won’t).

36) Don’t try to apply for a new library card two minutes before we close.

37) Don’t steal our DVDs. 38) Leave promptly at closing time. Don’t make us wait around while you finish your last-minute photocopying.

39) Be kind to both library staff and library materials.

40) Write the library a check during our fund drive, advocate for library funding, tell everyone how much you love the library and come back often. We wouldn’t be here without you.

And if you take the trouble to bake us a batch of cookies, send us a holiday card or write us a thank you note, it will make our day.

From Just Another Day at Your Local Public Library: An Insider’s Tales of Library Life

by Roz Warren, HumorOutcasts Press. Reprinted with permission.

All rights reserved.

In his collection First Poem of Words, Jef Harris dives into various modes of poetic license and expression. The poems are sectioned off into what he terms “TriWords,” which are used, as Harris writes in the author’s note, for their “linguistic allure” as opposed to their “conventional denotations.”

“From the crooked mouth of a singer in Seoul, South Korea, to the desire to dance himself naked after seeing Michelangelo’s David, the worldview presented in Harris’ poems surprises and often delights.”

—Clarion Reviews

—BlueInk Reviews

Discover a personal reflection of experiences, places, peoples, trials, and successes

First poem of words

by JEF HARRIS

The words in this glittering collection of poems and lyrics form one of the most naked self-exposures undertaken by a former Soldier. Harris reveals himself with vibrant literary invention and hopes to inspire by sharing poignant thoughts, encourage by spreading ardent hope, and enlighten by being honest and forthright.

Speaking face-to-face to his readers, the author paints a colorful tapestry of language in First Poem of Words that invites you to read or listen, appreciate and understand as you relate to the emotive messages in his voice.

www.jefharrispoems.com

Limited time only, 50% discount on all products.

The Card Catalog:

Books, Cards, and Literary Treasures From The Library of Congress

M

Chronicle Books chroniclebooks.com

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elville Louis Kossuth Dewey was two years old when Charles Jewett chaired the 1853 conference that kicked off a movement culminating with the codification of a cataloging system at the end of the century.

Keenly interested in organizing and simplifying things at a younger age, he shortened his first name to Melvil, dropped his middle name altogether, and, briefly, even spelled his last name as “Dui.” While still an undergraduate at Amherst, Dewey was obsessed with bringing order to the school’s library, and he recounted that while daydreaming during a long lecture one day, “without hearing a word, my mind absorbed in the vital problem, the solution flasht over me so that I jumpt in my seat and came very near shouting ‘Eureka!’”

Dewey’s revolutionary approach to cataloging was a library classification system based on a controlled vocabulary of subject headings, represented by numerical values that could be subdivided further by decimals. Thus was born the Dewey Decimal Classification, a system that borrowed generously from Bacon, Jewett, and Cutter

and attempted to encapsulate all knowledge in ten distinct classes.

It immediately caught on and expanded Dewey’s influence within the library community. In hindsight there is no denying the impact his system had on libraries, but throughout his career Dewey remained a complicated figure, heralded as both a reformer and a genius in the library world, while at the same time being regarded as brash, stubborn, and difficult to work with.

The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first major World’s Fair held in the United States, opened on May 10 in Philadelphia. The sprawling exhibition halls showcased rising American industrial power in more than 30,000 exhibits. Some one hundred librarians met there as well and, encouraged by Dewey and Cutter, among others, signed on as charter members of a new national organization, the American Library Association.

From The Card Catalog, The Library of Congress, Chronicle Books.

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

FROM AUTHOR RADU “RUDY” GHERGHEL

‘The “Brick Wall’ offers magic and everlasting love with compelling events keeping readers in constant suspense.

This book is about a young Princess Kayla who was loved by all. She lived in a beautiful and magical land called Carpathia, where the men and women lived in harmony with nature. One day, while out exploring the verdant forests of her homeland with her favorite wolf, Shadow, she met a bricklayer’s son named Manole. The two quickly became the best of friends, and as they grew older, their friendship grew into a love that bound them together for all time. When it was time for Kayla to become queen of her land, Manole joined her as king, and everyone rejoiced at the bright future to come. But then tragedy struck the peaceful kingdom. Kayla and Manole turned to each other for strength and hope. As her kingdom faded, another rose from a completely new world in a different dimension.

In his new memoir “Dead Run: A Memoir of Escape from Communist Romania to Freedom”author Radu “Rudy” Gherghel recounts for readers the story of his escape from communist Europe to the U.S. “Dead Run” is the true story of a young man who yearned to be free to go where he wanted, to be what he wanted. At the age of 12, he started to dream, and his dreams and hopes took hold of his imagination.

His adventures are real, his experiences unforgettable and his story true as his quest for freedom begins.

A LEGAL THRILLER

BY CHRISTOPHER LEIBIG

THREE BRUTAL MURDERS ONE MYSTERIOUS JOURNAL Can Sam solve the “Rosslyn Ripper” case before the killer strikes again?

Emerging criminal defense attorney Sam Young has always known he had a gift. Or a curse. He thinks of them as just minor psychic abilities. When Sam is hired by an attractive young nun named Camille Paradisi, he must discover the identity of a serial killer. Otherwise Camille’s Pastor will be exposed for not having turned in the man after a confession—thereby allowing another murder to occur. While Sam’s psychic abilities increase as he investigates the case, he quickly learns that the enigmatic Camille is not revealing the complete truth.

Camille shares an old journal anonymously mailed to the Church, which she believes may have been authored by the killer/confessor.

The journal purports to tell the life story of a man with mind control and other special powers who claims to be a descendant of the fallen angels cast of out Heaven by God. As he learns more about the murders, the mystery author, and Camille, Sam begins to realize the so called “Rosslyn Ripper” case may have implications beyond his imagination—including his own past.

“The Verdict is in—

Attorney Christopher Leibig offers a legal thriller for the ages. Realistic yet unpredictable, with a clever metaphysical twist, Almost Mortal is a thrilling roller coaster ride.”

Robert Dugoni, New York Times and Amazon number one bestselling author of “My Sister’s Grave.”

Christopher Leibig is a novelist and criminal defense lawyer who lives and works in Alexandria, Virginia.

www.chrisleibig.com

“ Reminiscent of Hitchcock Thrillers!”

- Five Star Rating by Pacific Book Review “Brimming with action, this intricate novel should attract followers of contemporary international affairs” – Kirkus Reviews “This is a highly entertaining story that works well in part because of several interesting and layered characters.”

– Four Star Rating by Clarion Review “…an undeniable page turner...well-written and highly entertaining read.”

– Blue Ink Review “…sharply written, fast moving thriller”. RECOMMENDED

by US Review of Books” – Featured Book of the Month for April, 2016!

Vanquish of the Dragon Shroud

By Gregory E. Seller Available at: Amazon.com barnesandnoble.com - ibooks More details may be found at: www.gregorysellerauthor.com

“Science fiction fans, particularly those who question violence in its many forms, will appreciate Aftermath.”

A hypokinetic alien attack tale sets a non-standard pace for the sci-fi genre.

Kirkus Reviews

Foreword Clarion Review

NOMADS, PIRATES, AND FROGFACES It has been two years since the earth was invaded by the aliens that humans refer to as frogfaces. The majority of the human race has either been killed or abducted, and those who remain wander with little direction or hope, forming nomadic groups who stay on the run to keep themselves out of the hands of the invaders.

Albert is a former biology teacher who does his best to keep his friends fed, sheltered, and safe not only from the aliens but also from lawless gangs of nomads who call themselves pirates and who raid other human survivors. When his small band is saved from pirates by another collection of survivors, however, it soon becomes clear that change is in the air. The new group is large, and their leader, Julia, is working to make life better for humanity. But what are they really after—and what is it that the frogfaces ultimately want from earth? Only time will tell whether there is any hope left for humankind.

“...this story features some of the stylistic flair common to Romance language authors, lending a nice touch to magic realism...”

BlueInk Review

S.L. FERREIRA

‘…A beautifully bound, impressive collection with language as evocative as its illustrations.’

—Kirkus Reviews ‘I adore these weird little poems. They are surreal and wild. The charcoal drawings are terrifyingly brilliant... I deem this a holy book—written in ecstasy and the madness of genius… It is the flaming center of the volcano that makes us create.’

—The Washington Independent Review of Books

The Antigone Poems, featuring poetry by Marie Slaight and drawings by Terrence Tasker, was created in the 1970’s, while the artists were living between Montreal and Toronto. A powerful invocation of the ancient Greek tale of defiance and justice, the illustrations and poetry capture the anguish and despair of the original tale in an unembellished modernized rendition.

Passionate, brutal, and infused with extraordinary lyricism, The Antigone Poems provides a special expedition into the depths of the ancient Sophocles tragedy.

www.theantigonepoems.com

‘Haunting. …a disturbingly poignant and startlingly vivid portrait of one woman’s suffering in the face of pain and heartbreak. It will surely not be forgotten after the turn of the last page.’

—The San Francisco Book Review

2016 eLit Book Awards GOLD WINNER

Jackals lurk in our probate courts, growing fat at the expense of our most vulnerable citizens and fully supported by widespread legal corruption. This is the world of professional guardianship fraud, where the rights of the elderly hinge on the decisions of callous profiteers.

Guardianship warns of this epidemic of abuse, providing a guide for the many concerned relatives who find themselves punished for the crime of trying to protect a loved one’s estate, health, and even life. www.GuardianAbuseCases.com

by M Larsen Michael Larsen is a businessman who witnessed the corruption of professional guardianship fraud firsthand. He hopes Guardianship will raise awareness of this callous predation on our most vulnerable citizens.

Available through AMAZON, CREATESPACE, KINDLE, and BAKER & TAYLOR.

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ABOUT ANA WEBER PhD, CPC, MP Ana Weber is a master at coaching entrepreneurs faced with challenging business issues to full-circle productivity and life fulfillment. Her simple yet powerful approach to life and business is documented in her bestselling and inspiring books, The Money Flow, and 360 Degrees of Success.

www.AnaWeberDOXA.com

feature

PUBLIC LIBRARIES’

MOST CHECKED-OUT

BOOKS Blue states and red states united last year in their unanimous support of The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, which topped the “most checked-out book” list of every public library we surveyed.

52

JUNE/JULY 2017

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN Dear Reader, We’re all voyeurs. Commuters are the same the world over: we sit on our trains every morning and every evening, reading the paper or listening to music, we gaze idly out of the window at the same streets, the same houses, and every now and again we catch a glimpse into the life of a stranger. And we crane our necks to try to get a better look.

I grew up in suburban Harare, in southern Africa, a place where commuting is done by car. People like me—

white and affluent—lived in houses set back behind walls and gates and gardens; our lives hidden from passersby. So when I moved to London, at age seventeen, this sort of big-city commute, this cheek-by-jowl living, was utterly new to me, and I found it fascinating.

There’s something irresistible about those snatched glances into the lives of others, frustratingly fleeting and yet so revealing. You’ve never met the people who live in the top-floor apartment of the building next to your secondto-last stop, you’ve never met them, have no idea what they look like, but you know that their son idolizes Ronaldo, that their teenage daughter would rather listen to the Arctic Monkeys than One Direction, that they have a weakness for modern Scandinavian furniture and expressionist art.

You know these people. You like these people.

You’re pretty sure they’d like you, too. You could be friends.

Loneliness and isolation can be as much a part of city life as the daily commute, certainly this is the case for Rachel, the protagonist of The Girl on the Train. Her fall from grace has been sudden, she has slipped bewilderingly quickly from happiness to despair. In her desperation to fill the space left by the life she once had, she feels herself to be forming a connection with a couple she sees from her train every day. These strangers have become so familiar to her that she feels as though she knows them, understands them; she constructs a whole narrative around them, she befriends them in her head. In fact, she has no clue about their real lives, so she has no idea what she is stumbling into when, having seen something out of the ordinary, something shocking, she makes the fateful decision to cross a line, from voyeur to active participant in their story.

But once that line is crossed, she finds there’s no going back.

—Paula Hawkins, reprinted from penguinrandomhouse.com

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY nypl.org

The Girl on the Train

by Paula Hawkins “The Girl on the Train marries movie noir with novelistic trickery...hang on tight. You’ll be surprised by what horrors lurk around the bend.”

—USA Today Between the World and Me

by Ta-nehisi Coates When Breath Becomes Air

by Paul Kalanithi Go Set a Watchman

by Harper Lee Why Not Me?

by Mindy Kaling “Kaling’s irreverent take on life is both uproariously funny and dead-on…Advice on a variety of topics—including why extensions make everyone more beautiful and how the world needs to start assuming that all young women are confident—make this an empowering and entertaining read.”

—Publishers Weekly Modern Romance

by Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg

“A hilarious, often unsettling account of what young singles go through as they search for love in the digital age.”

—Rolling Stone To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee “Miss Lee wonderfully builds the tranquil atmosphere of her Southern town, and as adroitly causes it to erupt a shocking lava of emotions.”

—San Francisco Examiner The Goldfinch

by Donna Tartt “The Goldfinch is a book about art in all its forms, and right from the start we remember why we enjoy Donna Tartt so much: the humming plot and elegant prose; the living, breathing characters; the perfectly captured settings.... Joy and sorrow exist in the same breath, and by the end The Goldfinch hangs in our stolen heart.”

— Vanity Fair All the Light We Cannot See

by Anthony Doerr The Nightingale

by Kristin Hannah UNBOUND

53

OCONEE COUNTY [SOUTH CAROLINA] PUBLIC LIBRARY oconeelibrary.org

The Girl on the Train

by Paula Hawkins One Foot in Eden

by Ron Rash “Equal parts vintage crime novel and Southern Gothic, full of aching ambivalence and hard compromises, and rounded off by bad faith and bad choices, One Foot in Eden is a veritable garden of earthly disquiet.”

—Los Angeles Times The Last Mile

by David Baldacci The Nightingale

by Kristin Hannah

54

JUNE/JULY 2017

Gray Mountain

by John Grisham “Grisham has written one of his best legal dramas.”

—Associated Press Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two

by J.K. Rowling and Jack Thorne “Series fans can breathe easy knowing this play has been respectfully and lovingly wrought. Tensions thrum, spells fly… but at center stage, as always in the Potterverse, is the overriding importance of love and friendship, especially in the face of danger.”

—Booklist, starred review

Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II in Japan

by Bill O’Reilly “The new book in the multimillion-selling Killing series by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard.”

Keowee: the Story of the Keowee River Valley in Upstate South Carolina

by Michael Hembree “The story of the Keowee river, the lakes and the people who explored, settles, and impacted the beautiful mountain along South Carolina’s northwestern corner.”

The Waterfalls of South Carolina

by Benjamin Brooks “A great reference for falls in the region!”

— Southern Living Magazine Dinner ASAP by the Editors of Cooking Light “A collection of delicious, no-fuss recipes that can be whipped up in minutes using shortcut ingredients.”

“As good as anything I’ve read in courtroom fiction.”

—The Reporter

Capital Kill

Horns of the Devil

“Federal prosecutor Jeff Trask returns to work on a case involving Salvadoran gang members. Soon, several are marked for death by hit men, including Trask himself. A well-paced mystery featuring an entertainingly complicated protagonist, supported by a robust cast.”

—Kirkus Reviews.

“Lawyer Jeff Trask is a new Assistant U.S. Attorney when he becomes embroiled in a high-stakes international case. … Trask, an engaging main character, works to find out who is behind the heinous murders plaguing D.C. Despite being extremely intelligent, he comes across as an everyman. … The book’s intense action, realistic tone and memorable characters will keep readers engrossed in this thriller with a superb payoff.”

—Kirkus Reviews

From former federal prosecutor Marc Rainer, Capital Kill and Horns of the Devil are available at Amazon.

w w w. m a r c r a i n e r. c o m

TOPEKA AND SHAWNEE PUBLIC LIBRARY tscpl.org

Rogue Lawyer

by John Grisham See Me

by Nicholas Sparks Another suspenseful love story from the author of The Notebook.

The Obsession

by Nora Roberts “Roberts retains her impeccably high standards in this excellently executed tale, once again dazzling readers with a sophisticated blend of edge-of-yourseat suspense and sexy romance.”

—Booklist (starred review)

The Last Mile

by David Baldacci “A compelling mystery with emotional resonance. Just when the story line heads to what seems an obvious conclusion, Baldacci veers off course with a surprising twist. The end result is another exciting read from a thriller master.”

— Library Journal (Starred Review) Tricky Twenty-Two

by Janet Evanovich

The Guilty

by David Baldacci “Robie and Reel are complex characters, and anything they do is a pleasure to follow.”

—Associated Press The Girl on the Train

by Paula Hawkins The Crossing

by Michael Connelly Cross Justice

by James Patterson The latest in the popular Alex Cross series.

All Dressed in White

by Mary Higgins Clark & Alafair Burke “An explosive mix of family drama, secrets, rivalry, money and deception….A dandy whodunit with numerous plausible suspects, skillful misdirection, an exotic setting and smooth prose, it combines Clark’s skill at plotting romantic suspense with Burke’s edgier take on the genre. For those who enjoy escaping into a fine mystery, it’s the perfect hot read for chilly nights.”

— Richmond Times Dispatch

Award-Winning Historical YA

Five young ladies thrust into Napoleon’s treacherous world of spies, diplomacy, love and war.

“I enjoyed this story immensely and I closed my kindle with a satisfied sigh.”

—YA Insider.com “Baldwin has a winning series here: her characters are intriguing and fully rendered.”

—Booklist

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY bpl.org

All the Light We Cannot See

by Anthony Doerr The Girl on the Train

by Paula Hawkins Fates and Furies

by Lauren Groff “Lauren Groff is a writer of rare gifts, and Fates and Furies is an unabashedly ambitious novel that delivers—with comedy, tragedy, well-deployed erudition and unmistakable glimmers of brilliance throughout.”

—The New York Times Book Review

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever

by Jeff Kinney “Diary of a Wimpy Kid is bent on world domination.

—Time magazine Between the World and Me

by Ta-Nehisi Coates “Powerful and passionate... profoundly moving...a searing meditation on what it means to be black in America today.”

—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

Go Set a Watchman

by Harper Lee Wonder

by R.J. Palacio “What makes R.J. Palacio’s debut novel so remarkable, and so lovely, is the uncommon generosity with which she tells Auggie’s story…The result is a beautiful, funny and sometimes sob-making story of quiet transformation.”

—The Wall Street Journal

The Boston Girl My Brilliant Friend, Book One by Anita Diamant

by Elena Ferrante “A graphic, page-turning “One of the more nuanced portrait of immigrant life in portraits of feminine the early twentieth century... friendship in recent memory.” an inspirational read.”

—Megan O’Grady, Vogue — Booklist

Luckiest Girl Alive

by Jessica Knoll “Luckiest Girl Alive is Gone Girl meets Cosmo meets Sex and the City. . . . Knoll hits it out of the park.”

—Fort Worth Star-Telegram

a tale of

intrigue, murder, and life on the frontier...

DESPERATE STRAITS

by JANET SQUIRES

Arizona Territory 1887…

An immigrant Irish girl and a veteran lawman battle for their lives when they stand between one man’s obsession and the Lost Adams gold.

RECENT PRAISE FOR DESPERATE STRAITS:

“If you like westerns filled with terrific character development and gripping action scenes, believable dialogue and touches of humour, then, like me, I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading this book.”

“... A well-developed romance wrapped in an engaging and fast-paced Western, complete with strong protagonists, colorful settings, and superb historical details.”

—Steve M, Western Fiction Review, UK

—Kirkus Reviews, March, 2016.

WWW.JANETSQUIRESBOOKS.COM

Available in print and ebook formats.

FAIRFAX COUNTY [VIRGINIA] PUBLIC LIBRARY fairfaxcountypubliclibrary.blogspot.com

The Girl on the Train

by Paula Hawkins

The Guilty

by David Baldacci

All the Light We Cannot See

by Anthony Doerr “Gorgeous ... moves with the pace of a thriller ...

Doerr imagines the unseen grace, the unseen light that, occasionally, surprisingly, breaks to the surface even in the worst of times.”

— San Francisco Chronicle

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

by Marie Kondo “Ms. Kondo delivers her tidy manifesto like a kind of Zen nanny, both hortatory and animistic.”

—The New York Times

Rogue Lawyer

by John Grisham The Crossing

by Michael Connelly

When Breath Becomes Air

by Paul Kalanithi “An emotional investment well worth making: a moving and thoughtful memoir of family, medicine and literature. It is, despite its grim undertone, accidentally inspiring.”

—The Washington Post

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

by Daniel James Brown “A compelling read … capturing the stories of heroism and loss with imagination and attentiongrabbing skill.”

—The Minneapolis Star-Tribune Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania

by Erik Larson “Larson has a gift for transforming historical re-creations into popular recreations, and Dead Wake is no exception.”

—The Boston Globe

The Wright Brothers

by David McCullough “[McCullough] takes the Wrights’ story aloft…

Concise, exciting, and factpacked…Mr. McCullough presents all this with dignified panache, and with detail so granular you may wonder how it was all collected.”

—Janet Maslin, The New York Times

Whether you’re thinking about becoming a nurse, questioning why you entered the field or simply seeking more information about the profession, you will be inspired by the personal accounts in this tribute to the profession.

Nurses work long hours, deal with difficult patients, and their job can get messy.

So why do so many men and women enter the profession?

The question is answered in the book Nursing is Caring, which is a collection of essays from 81 nursing students about inspiring patients who made the students realize they were in the right profession.

Their essays show that while people enter the profession for numerous reasons, they all want to care for people—not just patients. Nurses play a critical role in the healing process. Whether it is holding a patient’s hand, talking to a patient or being a shoulder to cry on, nurses do more than take blood, give medications, or carry out a doctor’s instructions.

Whether a person is thinking about becoming a nurse, questioning why he/she entered the field, or simply seeking more information about the profession, the reader will be inspired by the personal accounts in this tribute to the profession.

www.nursingiscaring.com

100% of all royalties from this book will go directly to the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, School of Nursing Scholarship Fund.

NEWTON [KANSAS] PUBLIC LIBRARY newtonplks.org

Rogue Lawyer

by John Grisham The Girl on the Train

by Paula Hawkins The Crossing

by Michael Connelly “Connelly continues to write quality crime fiction, and The Crossing is another great character study mixed with a truly baffling puzzle.”

—Jeff Ayers, Associated Press See Me

by Nicholas Sparks

Blue

by Danielle Steele Another novel from the author who has sold more than 650 million books.

Brotherhood in Death

by J.D. Robb “It’s Law & Order: SVU—in the future.”

—Entertainment Weekly

Tricky Twenty-Two

by Janet Evanovich Another installment in the popular Stephanie Plum bounty hunter series.

The Last Mile

by David Baldacci

NYPD Red 4

by James Patterson and Marshall Karp Patterson holds the Guinness World Record for the most #1 New York Times bestsellers; here’s another one.

After You

by Jojo Moyes “We all lose what we love at some point, but in her poignant, funny way, Moyes reminds us that even if it’s not always happy, there is an ever after.”

—Miami Herald

Her love for Montana and her desire to share the story of her unique and wonderful family prompted Mary Ellen Connelly to write a witty and candid memoir.

Window To The Big Sky

vividly depicts a variety of events that shaped Mary’s life and the lives of her children. Set against the sweet and beautiful backdrop of the Big Sky Country, this journey depicts what life is like growing up and living in a place close to one’s heart. Delightful,.....

JUM & MUZ I Forget - A Caregivers View of Alzheimers There are many things we cannot understand; fathomless questions that confront and confuse us, but the most baffling is the human mind. With that thought, I have tried to show my observation of the twenty years dealing with my husbands battle with Alzheimers.

I hope this book will remind us what a kind, sweet, considerate and compassionate person Jim was. Thank you to my family for being the thoughtful, caring people you are. And to Jim’s friends, a special thank you. I could not have survived without.....

WWW.MARYELLENCONNELLYBOOKS.COM

BERKELEY HEIGHTS [NEW JERSEY] PUBLIC LIBRARY bhplnjbookgroup.blogspot.com

The A.B.C. Murders: a Hercule Poirot novel

by Agatha Christie “Mrs. Christie has invented an entirely new plot for a detective story—a difficult thing in these days; she is to be congratulated on the perfection of her invention.”

—The Times (London) The Girl on the Train

by Paula Hawkins Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School

by Jeff Kinney “The Wimpy Kid series marches on ...These diaries continue to be solid steppingstones into the literary world for any reluctant reader.”

—Kirkus

A Mango-Shaped Space

by Wendy Mass “Mia’s voice is believable and her description of the vivid world she experiences, filled with streaks of color, is fascinating.”

—School Library Journal The Nightingale

by Kristin Hannah “A hauntingly rich WWII novel about courage, brutality, love, survival― and the essence of what makes us human.”

—Family Circle All the Light We Cannot See

by Anthony Doerr

15th Affair

by James Patterson Another installment in the popular “Women’s Murder Club” series.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley’s Journal

by Jeff Kinney “Kinney does a masterful job of making the mundane life of boys on the brink of adolescence hilarious.”

—School Library Journal Fool Me Once

by Harlan Coben “Coben proves his thriller mastery once more.”

—Entertainment Weekly

Rogue Lawyer

by John Grisham “Sebastian Rudd is … a kind of twenty-first-century Philip Marlowe … with a blunt, rude, gravelly poetic wiseguy voice.”

—Benjamin Percy, The New York Times Book Review

In Always North you will learn how because of plain ignorance by early 19th century governmental leaders, a factual part of history continues to be denied from being taught in our schools. And as we move on with our lives in the 21st century, our children continue to be deprived of an important part of American history.

An eye opener, this book contains information from documented sources and from stories handed down from family to family through the generations. It is a story of the Romero family, my ancestors who were part of the settlers who established the very first permanent European settlement in 1598 in present day United States.

Available in both print and ebook.

UNTIL PHILOSOPHERS

BECOME KINGS BOOK ONE

by Chris Thomas

When does good end and evil begin?

A tale of conflict and moral dilemmas arising from the best of intentions, Until Philosophers Become Kings explores the gray and blurred lines of morality.

Available at

“An intense crime thriller from debut author Thomas that follows an undercover agent embedded deep within a Mexican drug cartel...the dynamic tale takes the reader along for one harrowing journey.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Grodt handles this admittedly manipulative setup with smooth precision...(a) tense novel...unfailingly gripping... well-orchestrated climactic chapters. A well-executed revenge drama in which every bad deed carries consequences.”

—Kirkus Reviews Widower Brad Wallace is a regular guy. He owns a successful small business, loves cars, beer, football—and his only son. One morning after a few too many, Brad awakens...still a regular guy, but one with a horrifying secret. Time passes and he thinks he has eluded the moral consequences of his nightmare, until the nightmare shows up in his living room: wearing pumps and rolling in the arms of his son, Jared. Now, Brad must battle the demons of lust, insecurity, and guilt. Can he stanch the blood flow of collateral damage caused by one moment of weakness, or will he succumb to his own craven, egomaniacal desire?

WWW.JWGRODTBOOKS.COM

What happens when a Jewish Apache Indian investigates the murder of three Washington DC journalists and uncovers Brazilian mafia conspiracy?

TRUTH SEEKER

by J. Patrick O'Connor

An action based thriller sheds light on a Native American Intelligence Operative in author J. Patrick O’Connor’s novel, Truth Seeker. O’Connor delivers a brilliant book, based on true events that took place during his 20 years as a Intel Operative.

It depicts a Native American in a modern day action hero role, something completely unique in today’s day of storytelling.

In the book, the main character, Patrick Tyson, tribal name: Truth Seeker, the son of a Native American Indian and a New York Jew who met on a kibbutz in Israel, is pronounced brilliant and after completing his education accepts a position at a top Washington DC law firm. Little does he know what a dangerous future is in store for him when he leaves the law firm to join the highly secretive Intel division of the U.S. State Department.

Tyson meets, falls in love and marries the daughter of the chief of his division. A year later they have a son. Tyson’s missions take him all over South America, but with all the travel and secrecy, the marriage unravels amicably. Remaining friends, a few years later, Patrick’s ex-wife comes to him seeking help for their son and his new wife caught up in an adoption racket while trying to adopt a baby in Brazil.

What happens next is murder, mafia, government involvement and an attempt on Patrick’s life.

TRUTH SEEKER

J. Patrick O'Connor

NEW MEXICO AUTHOR

MARK CONKLING

www.markconklingAuthor.com

“Mark Conkling has written a doggone good tale about animals and the people who love (and abuse) them. This is a nicely written novel that keeps you jumping and engages the reader in the lives of the main characters as well as the animals. It’s written with a spirituality that doesn’t beat you over the head. If you are looking for a feel good tale invest in Dog Shelter Blues.”

John Crudele, Columnist for the New York Post and dog lover

“Mark Conkling offers the reader a wonderful way to explore the northern seas and those most mysterious creatures of the deep, cold waters, the whales. You will enjoy every moment of this book and come away with a newfound respect for both the researchers who spend their lives pursuing whales, and the writer whose imagination weaves a tale that is part mystery, part call to action, and part love story. “ Brent Spencer, author of Rattlesnake Daddy (2011)

A portion of the proceeds from sales goes to charities we support. Go to www.markconklingAuthor.com to find out how you can help.

Available in paperback and Kindle at

“Prairie Dog Blues ignited feelings and emotions that are always simmering on the back burner of my mind. The Corley family is like so many if not most families. Striving for perfection that will never be achieved, and going through the motions of what the perfect family should be. What appealed to me was the spiritual discussions between Mom and Pastor June, the very real and painful issues of addiction, and having to cope with the illness and loss of someone who you love deeply.

Like with any good book, Prairie Dog Blues left me wondering: What’s going to happen next?”

Vicky Chavez, Bibliophie

feature

interview

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library is a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for the 21st century—at once a flashlight-underthe-covers adventure and a literary delight.

70

JUNE/JULY 2017

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library

by Chris Grabenstein Random House Books for Young Readers www.randomhousekids.com

Shelf Unbound: You started out as an improv comedian. Have any rules of improv influenced your fiction writing?

Chris Grabenstein: Yes, indeed! I use the basic improv principle of saying “Yes, and...” every day when I write.

When you’re improvising a scene with a partner, the only real rule is to not deny what your partner creates and then build on it. For instance, if you say, “Hands up, I have a gun!” and I say, “No, that’s your finger” our scene dies.

But, if I say, “Hey, isn’t that the gun the Martians left last time they landed in our trailer park?” we’re off and running.

In my author visits to schools, I try to teach kids how to use this technique so they never have writer’s block. It’s a great way to let your subconscious come out and play. Of course, once you improvise that scene on paper, you go back and tighten it up and make it better. (The second lesson of my school visits is that the secret to writing is rewriting.)

But, utilizing the “Yes, and...” technique opens you up to all sorts of opportunities your rational brain may never find.

Shelf Unbound: You’ve written books for kids as well as a number of mysteries and thrillers for adults. What does writing for middle readers allow you to do or explore that writing for adults does not?

Grabenstein: I find that I get to use more of my imagination when I’m writing for Middle Grades readers. That said, I borrow the pacing, cliffhangers, and twists of my adult mysteries and thrillers to keep kids burning through the pages.

I suspect this is why my books have done so well with reluctant readers. The nicest e-mails I receive are from parents who tell me that their son or daughter wasn’t a reader until they picked up one of my books and couldn’t put it down. Also, at book signings, kids sometimes hug your book while they wait on line for you to sign it. Very few adults are book huggers.

Shelf Unbound: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library is a celebration of literature and libraries and even the

Dewey Decimal System.

Did you frequent the library as a kid, and what were some of your favorite books that you discovered there?

Grabenstein: Unfortunately, in my own life, the opposite is true. After being born in Buffalo, NY my family moved to a part of Tennessee where, at the time, libraries and books and even education weren’t celebrated very much. I don’t think our small town even had a public library. At school, our library wasn’t considered an important part of the learning experience. Visiting schools and public libraries for the past five years, I have been extremely impressed by the libraries and librarians that are out there helping young minds find books to devour.

Often, the favorite part of my school visit day is early in the morning, drinking coffee with the librarians, listening to them interacting with the eager kids who come through the door at 8 a.m. hungry for a new book to read. “Oh, if you liked X, you’ll love Z,” they say. And I ask myself, where were these libraries and librarians when I was a kid?

UNBOUND

71

A NOVEL BY

BRIAN COURTNEY

“Echoes of Cormac McCarthy, whispers of Bukowski in a nascent Orwellian 1984-world, Off the Grid introduces Pan, a John Galt for the Everyman anarchist, in a near-future that’s frighteningly plausible.”

—S.E. Whelan, Meson Media “To echo other reviewers, while others write in hopes of becoming a ‘writer’, this author is a writer already, awakening before our eyes in his debut novel. “ —St. Patty33

A man without a name who called himself Pan wanted something more, something better. Living the life and pursuing the happiness, Pan lived the “American Dream”. Like so many cheerleaders, Pan worked hard to climb the ladder and he bought almost everything that “they” sold. Avoiding the questions and numbing the pain, Pan turned to drink and did drugs, he listened to loud music and had meaningless sex.

His dream was shattered and the cracks revealed. Now he waits and watches and fears for the future that he knows is so near.

WWW.OFFTHEGRIDBOOK.COM

Courtney is one of the brightest literary voices I have come across, particularly on the indie scene, and I am expecting big things from his future works.

—Ebook Planet

LINDA COLLISON Fifteen-year-old James McCafferty is an unwilling sailor aboard a traditional Chinese junk operated as adventure-therapy for troubled teens.

Once at sea, James believes the ship is being taken over by the spirits of courtiers who fled the Imperial palace during the Ming Dynasty, more than 600 years ago, and sailing to its doom.

WWW.LINDACOLLISON.COM

“A witty YA voyage with plenty of narrative power” —Kirkus Reviews

“An ancient Chinese junk packed with delinquent teens and ghosts alike sets off on a dangerous voyage in this fantastic book” —Susan Waggoner, Foreword Reviews

From Author Carolee Russell

A bit of tongue-in-cheek humor adds a bit of lightness to this murder mystery story. The second half of the book provides the information and instructions needed to perform this story in an ad lib play format in the privacy of your home with your friends. There are many characters for a greater number of participants to experience stepping into a different persona if only for an intriguing evening of murder… just for fun.

WWW.RUSSELLRIGINALS.COM

“A Wish for Algie” is about a fish named Algie who seemingly has a perfect life but believes he would be much happier as a bird. His wish is fulfilled, but the consequences of trying to adapting to such a different life makes Algie realize he has made a mistake in leaving the good life he had as a fish and now he regrets having wished at all. With the guidance of a wise owl who befriended him, Algie regains his life as a fish with greater appreciation of that life.

This book was written for my niece, Gail, from a fragmented two page story she had written and wanted so much to see it in print. The yolk of the story is hers but I have created the rest of the egg, so to speak. It is about a Christian family who, with other families of similar values, broke from a wagon train headed west and settled in a secluded canyon to set up their farms and raise their families dedicated to the Lord. A severe two-year drought tests their faith and devotion.

One young, physically challenged little girl (much like Gail is physically challenged) takes on God personally, resulting in God’s blessings for all. With faith and love, anything is possible.

The story is about Digit, the Robot dog, who helps to stop bullying at the Zipper Elementary School. Digit is a special dog because he teaches children not to bully each other in school. Digit carries a red toolbox kit that teaches children about positive behavior, positive role models, positive rules, being kind to one another, being helpful to each other, and teaches children how to deal with problems about bullying in school. Digit teaches the children how to be friendly, to share, to say please and thank you but most of all he teaches them to have positive behavior.

Digit says, “Bullying Hurts! It hurts us all. Stop Bullying now!

Hollywood made him a blacksmith; Arab chronicles said he was like a king. He served a leper but defied Richard the Lionheart. He was a warrior and a diplomat both: Balian d’Ibelin Balian has walked away a free man after the surrender of Jerusalem, but he is baron of nothing in a kingdom that no longer exists. Haunted by the tens of thousands of Christians enslaved by the Saracens, he is determined to regain what has been lost. The arrival of a crusading army under the legendary Richard the Lionheart offers hope—but also conflict as crusaders and natives clash and French and English quarrel.

“...a literary oeuvre constructed in keeping with the highest academic principles for research and verifiable accuracy.”

REAL CRUSADES HISTORY

“Schrader, a career diplomat with a PhD in history, delivers a meticulous historical drama full of telling details... [T]he story presents both Christian and Muslim points of view, so there is no facile stereotyping of villains....[R]eaders are sure to find the author’s enthusiasm...infectious.”

BLUE INK

“...this is one of the best historical series ever written!”

FEATHERED QUILL

Check out Schrader’s first two award winning books in the series.

Emerged THE RISE OF A

TRUE WARRIOR

It was the chance of a lifetime—to witness China’s greatest engineering exploit since the Great Wall in person. He would perform research for his dissertation and help his friend’s family move to higher ground.

But Joe’s plans are suddenly altered by a debilitating accident. The unexpected detour brings the civil engineering graduate more than he had planned. While recuperating from his injury in modern-day Arcadia, he is commissioned to carry out a four-hundredyear-old tradition soon to be submerged by the construction of the mega dam. Now equipped with unsurpassable martial mastery, Joe pursues a lost heirloom and a crafty killer.

BY M.H. KERRIGAN

BOOK SHELF The Vampire Girl Next Door

by Richard Arbib

M

The Vampire Girl in London

by Richard Arbib

I

ark falls in love with Sylvia, the beautiful, but quirky girl next door, not realizing that she’s a vampire who killed his last neighbor.

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.”

n this sequel to The Vampire Girl Next Door, Mark and Sylvia must deal with terrorists, a CIA agent, a vampire-hunting cult, and a mansion full of Sylvia’s vampire friends— some of whom she can’t really trust. Will Mark and Sylvia’s love be enough to survive it all?

“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

“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

www.thevampiregirlnextdoor.com

Available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

Available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

Paperback and all e-book formats available on author’s website.

Paperback and all e-book formats available on author’s website.

The Other Side of Dark

by Alex Gordon

D

avid hadn’t felt like his normal self for days. He could not work out why. When David spots a mystery loner by the name of Kelvin David, life being to unravel, where a guide and a black dog appear and lead David into the tragedy of Kelvin’s life and that of his family.

www.alexgordon-emerald.com Available at Barnes & Noble.

Beyond Reason

by Kat Martin “Martin whips together unforgettable characters and a high-octane plot with more twists and turns than a street in San Francisco….As the suspense unfurls at a breathtaking pace, readers will be captivated by this tale of drug dealers, foreign terrorists, bloody violence, and hot, steamy sex, all leading to a shocking ending. Martin’s fans and newcomers alike will enjoy every moment of this thrill ride.”

–Publishers Weekly/STARRED-REVIEW www.katmartin.com Available at Amazon.com in Paperback, Kindle and Hardcover (large print).

BOOK SHELF The Backstage Man A novel by Ed Shankman and Robert S. Gordon

Apron Strings

by Mary Morony

S

outhern Novelist, Mary Morony, delivers a tour de force of honest characters, lively humor, and painful tragedy. She writes her novels in a candid voice, refusing to sugarcoat the overt racism and making it clear that a small family in Virginia won’t change the bullheaded beliefs of others. Mary brings Southern charm, irreverence, and wit to bear on subjects as vast as racism and as personal as alcoholism.

W

hoever the Backstage Man may be—teacher, myth, memory or premonition—his story holds meaning for anyone who has been called by the whisper of an inner voice. This mind-blowing literary achievement is a portal to the creative spirit.

Come on in. www.thebackstageman.com @thebackstageman

www.marymorony.com Available at Amazon.

Available at Amazon.

Breathe...

Just Steps to Breathtaking Speeches

by Brenda C. Smith 7 Steps to Putting Your Best Voice Forward: Discover the Techniques of Voiceover Speakers, Actors, and Professional Presenters

S

peech and Drama coach, Brenda C. Smith, shows you how to enhance the sound and quality of your speech, and your delivery style to WOW and Connect with your listeners. Discover how diaphragmatic breathing will release calm, energy, clarity, projection, and dynamic vocal sound. Learn how to keep voice fit to be heard without strain or lost of voice. www.brendacsmith.com Available at http://bit.ly/2h5K9fL

Be Still: Prayer Journal

by Carmen Duran Challenge yourself to be still and make the decision to make an appointment with God and wait on him to act through the power of a whisper!

C

armen Duran invites us on a spiritual journey of deepening our faith and understanding God in a more personal and intimate level. This new book is a wellspring of hope for those going through a rough patch. Most of all, it is a way of strengthening one’s prayer life. Are you ready to Be Still? www.bestilljournal.com Available at WestBow Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ThriftBooks, ChristianBook, Google, and loot.co.za

BOOK SHELF The Heart Series

by L.H. Cosway

Hook, Line & Sinker

by Ev Bishop

G

A

The Hearts Boxset Bundle includes: Six of Hearts (book #1) ● Hearts of Fire (book #2) King of Hearts (book #3) ● Hearts of Blue (book #4) Cross My Heart (bonus novella #5.75)

“Ev Bishop’s never-varying, wonderfully descriptive writing style is captivating…a highly entertaining, intense story with very realistic and complex characters.”

—Xtreme Delusions Book Blog

www.lhcoswayauthor.com Available at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Nook, iTunes, and Kobo.

www.evbishop.com Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBookstore, and Kobo.

et the first four books in L.H. Cosway’s Hearts series, plus BRAND NEW bonus novella, Cross My Heart. From quirky heroines to heartthrob heroes and exhilarating plot lines, The Hearts Series is a collection of interconnected standalone novels that will have you glued to the pages.

Ad Majorem: A Gay Man’s Spiritual Testament

by Tom Beattie

A

reputedly sinful, but otherwise nice, GWM struggles to find his place in this world (and the next).

Includes reflections on his awkward long-term spiritual relationship with St. Ignatius of Loyola.

new adventure in the romantic River’s Sigh B&B series. If Brian and Katelyn can’t solve the increasingly dangerous threat posed by Katelyn’s ex, they’ll never find out if true love is real.

Angel Blade

by Carrie Merrill

N

ikka is dying of cancer when a stranger approaches her with a cure, but it comes at a steep cost: she must become a seraph, an angelic being with the power to exorcise and destroy demons.

“Well written, often humorous, and elegantly philosophical.” 5 STARS. —Jack Magnus, Readers’ Favorite

Available at Amazon. $7.49 Paperback, $1.99 E-Book

http://carriemerrill729.wix.com/author Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and http://christophermatthewspub.com/angel-blade/

BOOK SHELF In the Matter of Edwin Potter: Mental Illness and Criminal Justice Reform

by David E. Geiger, MEE, PE

A

n autobiographical work, with names changed, is based upon the author’s tumultuous life experiences.

Written from the point of view of one who is mentally ill and has been through the criminal justice system since 1979, this book navigates the unnerving reality of schizophrenia and the exigency for a conversation about mental illness.

www.davidegeiger.com Available at Amazon and Createspace.

Blood Lake

By R.L. Herron

A

ward-winning author R.L. Herron has created a spine-tingling modern horror thriller based on the curse of a Cherokee prophet executed for defying the forced migration of the Cherokee people in 1838 known as “The Trail of Tears.”

As John Burnett is about to discover, Tsali’s bitter curse has followed the only sons of the Burnett family for eight generations.

Readers’ Favorite Bronze Medal Winner ● ● Foreword INDIE Book-of-the-Year Finalist ● ● Shelf Unbound Notable 100 for 2016 ● ●

www.ronaldherron.com Available at Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

Saving Phoebe Murrow

by Herta Feely

W

inner of the 2016 New Apple Book Award in adult fiction, Saving Phoebe Murrow is a fast-paced story of mothers and daughters with a razorsharp 21st century twist: the devastating impact of social media on teen girls. Great summer read!

“A little frightening in today’s world. A must read for mothers!”

—Joyce Chaplin (Colleton Co. Memorial Library) “Feely’s novel reminds us of the heartbreaking fragility and mystery of the teenage mind…finely crafted plot…and compulsively readable.”

—Washington Independent Review of Books www.hertafeely.com Available at Amazon US and Amazon UK.

Saving Spade: WWI has ended but the battle to save a horse has just begun

by Dennis Ogden

“T

he horses stay!” came the order as men of the Australian Light Horse are being sent home.

Aboriginal Trooper Lewis Dunbar will never abandon his loyal horse Spade. So begins a perilous journey into the Sinai Desert and his struggles against a mute Bedouin girl and the tribes and spirits of the desert to keep his horse safe and alive. www.ogdenimprint.com Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo & iTunes

BOOK SHELF Mushy Plays Hide & Seek

by Jane Miller

Bobbi Finds a Forever Home

by Diana L. Likely

W

hen Mushy finds that special hiding place, the Strawberry Children are unable to find him.

Mushy falls asleep while hiding and the Strawberry Children grow tired of looking for him. As day turns to night, the Strawberry Children get sleepy and return to their home under the vines. Mushy finds his way home with the help of the moon.

T

he true story of a brave Maine Coon cat’s journey toward finding a forever home.

Recovering from injuries of unkown origin and struggling to raise to kittens alone, Bobbi’s sweet, loving spirit gently but firmly captures Diana’s heart even though the career woman tried to avoid the responsibilty and commitment of returning Bobbi’s love. (Ages 5+) “…Her story is written in hopes to make people aware of the loving animals out there struggling to survive and how much they can enrich a life when given a chance.”

—Darleen Wohlfeil, Story Monsters Ink www.catbobbi.com

Mushy’s Counting Book our child will develop learning skills with this repetitive counting book. Go with Mushy through the forest as he counts. Find new characters as your child searches the land of Moonvile.

Y

Available at Amazon.

If You Were Me and Lived in...

Colonial America

by Carole P. Roman

or ng y

o

things

ems,

Rhinos Don’t Like it

AnD neitheR Do i!

Written and Illustrated by

Riccardo J. simpson

Rhinos Don’t Like It and Neither Do I!

by Riccardo J. Simpson 9X7 landscape Perfect Bound SC

H

ave you ever wished you could be someone else to get out of things you don’t want to do? The boy in this story pretends to be a rhino until he realizes the things he’s trying to avoid aren’t so bad—they may even be good for him.

Readers Favorite calls it “a great book to share with a child.” www.riccardojsimpson.com Available at Lulu.

J

oin Carole P. Roman and travel through time to visit the most interesting civilizations throughout history. Learn what Colonial American children did for fun. If You Were Me and Lived in... Colonial America does for history what her other award-winning series did for culture. So come and discover the world through the eyes of a young person just like you. www.caroleproman.com FACEBOOK LINK | TWITTER LINK Available at Amazon.

BOOK SHELF The Miracle Effect, Four Steps to Living Heaven on Earth Every Day

by Sylvia Vowless, QSM

Making a Living Making a Life

by Daniel Rose

I

A

f you’d like to make the life of your dreams a reality and miracles a regular occurrence through activating your latent spiritual potential, this book offers a treasure-chest of time-tested, practical ‘how-to-do-it’ information guaranteed to really work for everyone. Going beyond just theory it provides proven strategies, unique tools and techniques with factual sciencebacked reasons why they’re effective and successful.

“This book is a true gift to humanity—it’s a ‘must read!’

I highly recommend this ground-breaking book. It is well written and uplifting, bringing in tried-tested-and-proven techniques and practical tools for transformation in your everyday life. I love your ‘down to earth’ approach—it makes things so easy to understand.”

www.sylviavowless.com Available at Amazon.

Shopping for the Real You

by Andrea Pflaumer “The chapter on the LBD (little black dress) alone is worth the price!”

“I found this to be the best book for advice on color and style, easy to read and understand.”

“It is loaded with information, all clearly explained. Definitely the best book I have read on the subject.”

www.shoppingfortherealyou.com Available at Amazon and the author’s website.

real estate developer and philanthropist presents a masterful debut collection of exceptionally cogent and timely speeches and essays.

“Ever the stylist, his succinct, well-cadenced prose shows an engaged mind, sharply tuned wit, and compassion and intellect that provide a model for civic engagement.”

“A wise, well-honed collection of speeches that address vital issues with fresh, penetrating insight.”

—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Best Books of 2015” Kirkus Reviews Available at Amazon.

Minoan Signs

by GJK Campbell-Dunn MA (NZ), MA (Camb), PhD (Cant)

T

he Minoan Linear Signs have now been explained, in terms of their meanings and phonetics, as Niger-Congo. And some twenty five full words have been related to Fula, a nomadic African language extending from Senegal across west Africa to Adamawa near Lake Chad. A new African language, 4,000 years old, with prefixes and suffixes as in Gola, has come to light. So Minoan is deciphered. www.minoansigns.wordpress.com Available at Amazon and BookWhirl.

BOOK SHELF The Friday Edition Games of Mind DENNIS QUILES

by Betta Ferrendelli by W Dennis Quiles GAMES of M I ND beautiful, young DA former intelligence falls from her balcony agent; responding Dennis Quiles to her death on Christmas to a family member Eve. Police suspect plea for help upon of suicide, but the DA’s landing in Nome, Alaska sister, Samantha Church immediately discovers isn’t buying it. Can she DENNIS QUILES a vast conspiracy. write the biggest story of A Medical Research MIND CONTROL DIDN'T STOP IN THE 70S her career before it’s too late and she’s targeted Corporation, has been herself? A compelling and suspenseful read for using locals, as guinea pigs to perfect, mindthose who love James Patterson, David Baldacci control techniques, so they, could strategically and Sue Grafton. lay the ground, to assassinate the Vice President of the United States.

“The Friday Edition is a page-turner THRILLER

U.S. $XX.XX

hen former naval intelligence officer Jack Steele opens a letter from

his aunt, he makes an immediate

decision to head to Nome, Alaska. Alyears, he’s concerned when she tells him From the moment Jack picks up that en-

situation better left alone. But loyalty to family is stronger than a gut feeling.

black pickup. Now that I was a lot more relaxed, I wondered if the pickup

was an accident, a youngster joyriding, or a deliberate act to murder me.

These circumstances aff irmed my thoughts that I was on the right track—

that someone with power, resources, and initiative didn’t want me snooping around his business in town. But who?

administration. A US military veteran and

All I wanted was to f ind the answers to the many questions lurking in

the director of global security services for

Jimmy. Is that too much to ask? I wondered. And if so, was there something

corporations. Quiles and his wife have

half of the town?

a veteran of the protection business, he is

my mind and, in the process, try to f ind out what was wrong with Uncle

one of the world’s largest multinational

going on in this town that was not only affecting Uncle Jimmy but also

three children and currently live in Illinois.

velope, he knows he’s about to enter a

delayed the daily psychological therapies, and almost gotten squashed by a

earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal

justice and a master’s degree in business

A

her husband, Uncle Jimmy, is in trouble.

After all, I’d had a hell of a f irst day. Since I’d arrived, I’d insulted a doctor,

If I was not careful, I feared that I could be next. I had come here for answers, and I would get them, even if I had to steal, maim, or cheat.

Jack, a private investigator with Harrison

GAMES of MIND

A

though he hasn’t seen Marie in twenty

GAMES MIND

Private Investigation Agency, lands

in Nome and discovers that Lindberg Research Corporation has been using the

people of that city as guinea pigs to perfect

mind control research. He has stumbled onto a massive conspiracy that has held

hostage the noble people of Nome. The plot threatens America’s way of life, the life of the vice president of the United States, and Jack’s own survival.

Alone and without his usual resources and

special equipment, Jack is overmatched and is nearly killed before he can even scratch

the surface of what’s really taking place in

Nome. Jack must elude an ex-special forces

U.S. $XX.XX

EDITOR’S

CHOICE

green beret—a man who has sworn over his dead son to kill Jack—and work around

local law enforcement and other mysterious forces in order to save the people of Nome

and the vice president of the United States.

www.iuniverse.com

from start to finish.”

—Readers’ Favorite, 2014 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal Winner www.bettaferrendellibooks.com Available at Amazon.

Return of the Convict

by William Alan Thomas A space cadet’s coming of age in 2143 in Vancouver, B.C. “A crackling, well-told story…”

—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“...should more than satisfy anyone who enjoys cerebral sci-fi...”

—Blueink review (starred review) “...has the makings of a powerful sci-fi franchise.”

—Foreword Reviews (Clarion review, 5 stars) www.williamalanthomas.com Available at Amazon.

www.gamesofmind.net Available at Amazon, iUniverse, and Kobo.

A Bitter Wind

by Anita Merrick

W

hen Alexander ‘Ramses’ Smith is assigned to decipher hieroglyphs at Temple of Khnum—all heka breaks loose. A strange darkness cloaks everything: the temple, spirits and supernatural beings, all seemingly conspiring to reawaken his clairvoyance over logic/scholarship.

Lex goes on an emotional rollercoaster ride where a time entanglement shatters all sense of reality, putting him dangerously susceptible to ancient secrets infused in stone; re-defining the lines between imagination and reality—or losing a battle for sanity.—Read: Kirkus Recommendation (Website) www.anitamerrickauthor.com Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Friesen Press, Google Play, iTunes, Kindle, and Kobo.

BOOK SHELF What We Don’t Know A Novel

by Sharon K. Souza

E

leven-year-old Brontë McCabe hasn’t spoken a word since witnessing her parents’ deadly plunge into the Truckee River seven years ago. Brontë’s guardian, Isabella Nichols, will do anything to protect her niece. When Brontë’s uncle threatens a custody battle, sparks fly. What does Brontë really remember about that night? And does Isabella Nichols really want to know?

www.sharonksouza.com Available at Amazon.

I Livia, the Counterfeit Criminal

by Mary Mudd I Livia, the Counterfeit Criminal proves false the popular notion that Caesar Augustus’ beloved third wife was a conniving dynastic murderess.

A much-needed corrective to a long tradition of Livia-bashing, this highly readable text belongs in the hands of history students and general readers interested in the foundations of our society alike.

—The U.S. Review of Books www.trafford.com/bookstore Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and orders@trafford.com.

Coming Out of the Ashes

by Russell Witcher

A

utobiography, memoir about hardships that were encountered working with children in school setting. Being falsely accused of something can be very devastating to a person especially when he is faced with legal problems.

Having to deal with legal matters is traumatizing and a person has to overcome those obstacles in addition to emotional wounds brought on by such an ordeal. The author shares story and talk about the healing that comes through learning to forgive. He also wants the reader to know that one can recover from any loss. Just because one suffers a loss, it is not the end of the world.

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The Mayor’s Mustache

by Jeffrey Schmitt “An accomplished first novel that effectively blends folklore with the evening news.”

—Kirkus Review “Of all the books sent to me to read for the contest, The Mayor’s Mustache is my favorite…it’s a well written book that does a great job of handling the serious issues of grieving and aging. I enjoyed it immensely.”

—20th Annual Writer’s Digest Annual Self-Published Book Awards Contest Readers Comments Available at Amazon.

BOOK SHELF Two Tickets to Dubrovnik

by Angus Kennedy

A

ustralian wine writer, Andrew Johnston, goes to Dubrovnik to prepare an article for his editor on the wines and wineries of southern Rhône. He meets up with an old Bordelaise wine making acquaintance, Lucien Delasalles, and his step-sister, Niki Menčetić. He becomes embroiled in the murky affairs of Niki and her family and the local police, which leads to his sad departure from the ancient city. www.anguskennedybooks.com Available at Amazon, Amazon UK, and Barnes & Noble.

To The East

by Angus Kennedy

A

ustralian wine writer, Andrew Johnston, has had to leave Niki Menčetić in Dubrovnik while he returns to Australia to provide support for his brother, Adrian, during the illness of his wife.

Determined to maintain his renewed relationship with Niki Menčetić, he returns to Europe after a new project in the wine producing regions of California, but with calamitous results. www.anguskennedybooks.com Available at Amazon, Amazon UK, and Barnes & Noble.

A View from the Languedoc

by Angus Kennedy

A

ustralian wine writer, Andrew Johnston, is again staying in Europe, this time with his brother, Adrian, for both work and a holiday.

During an extensive new wine project from his publisher, he meets up again with a number of his old acquaintances from both France and Dubrovnik, including Niki Menčetić. Whether he can resolve his difficulties with Niki’s life is uncertain. www.anguskennedybooks.com Available at Amazon, Amazon UK, and Barnes & Noble.

The Final Programme

by Angus Kennedy

I

n this final novel of the Out of Solitude tetralogy, Australian wine writer, Andrew Johnston, is comatose in hospital in Sydney, Australia after the events of Međjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His Croatian lover, Niki Menčetić, believes him gone, the victim of a cruel deception by Andrew’s brother, Adrian, and has returned to Dubrovnik.

Andrew now has to try to re-establish the rest of his life. www.anguskennedybooks.com Available at Amazon, Amazon UK, and Barnes & Noble.

BOOK SHELF Snifter of Death

by Chris Karlsen

T

he summer of 1889 was proving to be a strange one for Detective Rudyard Bloodstone and his partner. They had a series of murder victims killed by arsenic poison with little workable evidence. Plus, the rivalry between he and his detective nemesis at London’s other police department was intensifying. His nemesis also has a scandalous photograph of the woman Rudyard adores. www.chriskarlsen.com Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, and Smashwords.

You Shall Know Our Names

by Ezekiel Nieto Benzion

FINALIST National Jewish Book Award, 2014

A

s my grandfather gave me the 200-year-old journals, he pleaded, “I can’t read these. There are codes and puzzles I don’t understand. Who were these men? What did they do? Who recorded their deeds? I must know the truth before I die.”

That is how my journey began. This is the story of how I found the place where I learned the secrets inscribed in my name. www.tellingourtales.net Available at Amazon.

Pokergeist

by Michael Phillip Cash

A

n awful gambler trying to scrape by as a professional poker player, Telly becomes the protégé of world famous poker champion Clutch Henderson. The only catch…Clutch is a ghost. Telly and Clutch navigate the Las Vegas gambling life learning to trust each other in order to win the elusive International Series of Poker, repair their shattered relationships and find redemption. www.michaelphillipcash.com FACEBOOK LINK | TWITTER LINK Available at Amazon.

Jockey Hollow, Where a Forgotten Army Persevered to Win America’s Freedom

by Rosalie Lauerman Jockey Hollow has all the makings of fiction—treason, mutiny, enemy attacks, extreme weather, supply shortages—but the riveting story is entirely and monumentally true. This book spotlights a little-known Continental Army encampment in a wilderness called Jockey Hollow, near Morristown, New Jersey. Jockey Hollow earned 2016 IPPY and Moonbeam awards for nonfiction.

www.rosalielauerman.com Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Indie bookstores.

BOOK SHELF

.

n

s

A Doctor’s Daughter

ry

ma

er

rs

h,

te a

s,

A Doctor’s

Daughter

ut,

ge

rn

ce Mary ElizabEth bradlEy

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n,

PRINTED IN THE USA

nd

A Doctor’s Daughter: Growing Up At A State Tuberculosis Sanatorium

by Mary Elizabeth Bradley

A

Doctor’s Daughter: Growing Up At A State Tuberculosis Sanatorium tells of a girl growing up at a sanatorium in southeastern Oklahoma following WW II. Starting with the history of her family, tales of the war, and getting to know a founder of the Boy Scouts, it focuses on the simplicity of her youth and her life after the sanatorium.

Growing up at a State Tuberculosis Sanatorium

Mary ElizabEth bradlEy

Available at Amazon, BooksAMillion, Alibris, and Christianbook.

k, and orting ce me e and being widow these e, and

h PRINTED IN THE USA

99

Elaine Hodge Marze

two, o the ok of ancer k and and a A.

Widowhood

years, hadn’t ysical g, but hopes,

Widowhood I Didn't Ask for This!

Widowhood: I Didn’t Ask for This

by Elaine Hodge Marze I am officially a widow...

A

fter being married to the same man for nearly 40 years, I found myself at a place I hadn’t wanted to be, hadn’t Elaine Hodge Marze asked to be, and hadn’t planned to be. The physical loss of my love, my hero, my best friend, was devastating, but the fear of a future without him is terrifying. All our hopes, dreams, and plans are gone! This is my journey.

Widowhood: I Didn’t Ask for This is being used in numerous grief share groups.

Order from Elaine Marze: elmarz7@yahoo.com, PO Box 234, Huntsville, AR 72740. $12 includes mailing costs.

The Crown Princess’ Voyage: Book ll of The Gift-Knight Trilogy

by Dylan Madeley

“A

riveting, actionpacked story […]

The Crown Princess’ Voyage continues to hold tightly to and rests firmly upon its unique blend of attention to detail, complex character interactions, and a dialogue that keeps everything on track, making it a highly recommended pick for those seeking more than light fantasy reading.”

—Diane Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review www.dylanmadeley.com Available at Amazon and CreateSpace.

Skinny the Cat and the Magic of Kindness: The Cure for the Common Curmudgeon

by Donna Rawlins

C

at lover, people lover, dog lover. It is about the kindness one can give in life. The story of a scrawny rescue cat who shares a secret that can change the world: how to love with unwavering persistence. A funny, captivating tale complete with heart-warming photographs. Learn how to practice a new verb—“to skinny.” http://skinnythecat.com/ FACEBOOK LINK Available at Amazon, BarnesandNoble, the iTunes Store, and eBookstore.Sony.

BOOK SHELF The Three Souls

by Bill Thomas “A book that started out like a Johnny Cash song.”

—Kirkus Review “This is a fascinating story with real-life characters and scenarios. It’s difficult to imagine reincarnation inside a high security prison, but the author makes it seem quite possible.”

—Reader’s Favorite 4 Stars NABE 2014 Best Book in the Category of Fantasy www.BillJamesMusic.com Available at Amazon, BookBaby, Barnes and Noble and iTunes.

Escaping Viet Nam– H’Yoanh’s Story: A Memoir of Determination, Defiance and Deliverance

by Harriet T. Hill and H’Yoanh K. Buonya

“A must read for everyone! The will to live through such atrocities gives new meaning to freedom.”

—K. Gerry, Artist, Editor “Absolutely gripping story of survival! The narrative is compelling...was difficult to put this book down. Highly recommended!”

—The Rev. J. A. Hill, Lima Peru After Saigon falls in 1975, a 16-year-old girl follows other Montagnards into the jungles of the Central Highlands to flee persecution by the North Viet Nam Communist Regime. For the next 11 years, danger, starvation, death and faith are her constant companions.

www.harriethillbooks.com Available at Amazon.

Firecrackered

by Patricia Rockwell

“W

hen a July Fourth firework lands on the keister of Happy Haven Retirement Home resident, Lester Mills, his fellow resident and amateur sleuth, Essie Cobb, suspects foul play and is determined to investigate why he’s been FIRECRACKERED. Check out the latest in Patricia Rockwell’s senior sleuth mystery series–– as well as over 150 other cozy mystery titles from over 40 authors at Cozy Cat Press.” www.cozycatpress.com Available at Amazon in both print and e-book.

Love, Life and Beyond

by Pamela Hamilton

R

acism, addiction, and the importance of family play integral roles in this novel. A Novel that May Change Your Life!

Anne, a racist from the South dies from a brain aneurism. After some time to reflect in the spiritual realm, Anne’s soul is ready for another trial on Earth—this time in the body of Nova: a black girl.

www.wherethewindblows.ca Available at Amazon.

BOOK SHELF Gullible’s Travels Raw & Uncut

by J. Lee Webster

Toru: Wayfarer Returns

by Stephanie R. Sorensen

A Japan that might have been…

Based on the story of a true 1st Placed USA team that the US media ignored.

“Gullible’s Travels: Raw & Uncut” follows the naughty and humorous antics of two friends on a USA ladies sports team and their 1st Place stretch both domestically and internationally. Go USA! Find out what countries were destroyed in their path, on and off the field.

“The paths of sword and steam cross brilliantly.”

—Awesome Indies 5 Stars “Cool alternative-history of yester-century Nippon.”

—Kirkus Reviews “A terrifically vivid historical novel set in an 1852 Japan re-imagined along Steampunk lines.”

—Historical Novel Society FINALIST, Fantasy, 2016 Next Generation Indie Book Awards

BRONZE MEDAL, Multicultural Fiction, 2016 eLit Book Awards

Honorable Mention, Commercial Fiction, 2017 Eric Hoffer Book Awards

“...This author proves racy reading can be done funny, without the S&M, whips and chains.”

(Full page ad in Dec/Jan Shelf Unbound issue)

@JLeeWebsterAuthor

www.stephaniersorensen.com Available through bookstores and at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iTunes.

A m e m o i r b y lo r e l e i

what tangles of religious doctrine lie behind closed temple doors?

m

“Lorelei takes remembrances to a new level, forging a distinct introspective memoir of a woman subjugated by a religion that harnesses women to a male-dominated society. It is a book that inspires and educates not only women but men. I highly recommend it.”

-- Randy Lee Eickhoff Award-winning author of the best-sellers And Not to Yield and The Renegade

“I love this book. It is a deep look at what it’s like to be a woman in the Mormon Church. Lorelei shares her story with humor, affection, irony, and grace. This is definitely an enlightening look into Mormonism and its unique peculiarities.”

-- Stephanie Seifert-Stringham Managing Editor at Dog Ear Publishing

FromMormonToMermaid@gmail.com www.FromMormonToMermaid.com

MURMURING ROCKS PUBLISHING

www.echoingtime.com www.woo.woohoxchronicles.com www.youtube.comwatch?v=HKJErkCb7xo Available at Xlibris, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

MURMURING ROCKS PUBLISHING

“While I loved the humor throughout, From Mormon to Mermaid was painful, enraging, and grief-producing to read, yet in the end, redemptive.”

-- Maggie Rayner Author, In Polygamy’s Shadow, From a Mormon Childhood to a Life of Choice

FROM MORMON T0 M ERMAID

choing Time takes readers on a highflying, thrilling adventure involving interdimensional travel to parallel universes by charting the journey of an arrogant, entitled, alien, boy who’s seeking revenge, yet finds redemption. But not until he kidnaps an Arapaho girl, forcing her to relive the horrors of Earth’s history. There is something happening on every page; archeology, science, the DOD, FBI, NSA, and a pot smoking hippie commune invigorate the journey.

Lorelei

E

A

Mormon woman discovers stunning untruths in the doctrine of the “one true church” she’s built her life around.

Born into a devout Mormon family—and named after a mermaid—Lorelei strives for eternal salvation.

When her bishop calls her to teach the adult scripture class, she delves deeper than ever into the Book of Mormon and Church history. What could go wrong?

As she upturns more and more doctrinal rocks, she realizes the depth of deception upon which she’s based her life.

From Mormon to Mermaid is a compelling memoir of a woman’s five-decade search for value and truth. The award-winning tale shines a burning light into the rarely disclosed corners of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a religion that keeps women bound to the will of the men who wield all the power.

@ j.leewebster

www.gulliblestravelsraw.com Available at fine bookstores everywhere.

CreativeSpaceCover_Layout 1 9/1/16 11:01 PM Page 1

Echoing Time

by Michelle Stojic

@JLeeWebster

From Mormon to Mermaid

by Lorelei Kay

F

rom Mormon to Mermaid is a compelling memoir FROM MORMON TO of a woman’s five-decade search for value and truth.

The award-winning tale shines a burning light into the rarely disclosed corners of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a religion that keeps women bound to the will of the men who wield all the power.

Mermaid

one woman’s voyage from oppression to freedom Born into a devout Mormon family—and named after a mermaid— a woman searches through tangles of Mormon doctrine to discover the deepest truths lie within.

“While I loved the humor throughout, From Mormon to Mermaid was painful, enraging, and griefproducing to read, yet in the end, redemptive.”

—Maggie Rayner, Author, In Polygamy’s Shadow Presented an”Award of Literary Excellence”

by Dog Ear Publishing www.FromMomronToMermaid.com Available at Amazon and other fine bookstores.

BOOK SHELF First Responder

by James Summers

C

entrally located between Malibu Creek and Topanga state parks is a lonely stretch of road the locals refer to as the ‘Mulholland Dieway’.

Here first responders frequently rally to save those unfortunate enough to find themselves stranded and in need of assistance. For years Karen thought that section of road was unusually treacherous tonight would be no different. www.peggylanders.com www.firstrespondernovel.com FACEBOOK LINK | TWITTER LINK Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Xlibris.

The Tangled Wed

by Phyllis Falls Rogers

W

ith intriguing characters, the plot of this mystery has some tantalizing twists: any of the characters could have murdered Jasper, and when the true murderer is revealed, it’s a satisfying conclusion. Jasper’s death leaves a web of unanswered questions, and the answers to those questions weave a web through Bibly, as murder binds people together in unimaginable ways. What will happen to those left behind as a result?

Available at Amazon and AuthorHouse.

Faithless Elector

by James McCrone

A

n idealistic young researcher uncovers a series of deaths among Electors and must race against time and a secret, deadly efficient conspiracy. James McCrone’s “fast-moving, topical thriller” explores what lurks behind politics-as-usual and the latent weaknesses of our political system. With “smooth, evocative prose” McCrone weaves a “taut, well-paced thriller.” www.faithlesselector.com Available at Amazon, Head House Books, and Penn Book Center in Philadelphia.

The Methuselah Paradox

by EJ Jackson

W

hen geneticist Emma Morgan disappears, Detective Inspector Ian Hammond discovers a link between Emma’s disappearance and that of his mother in 1979. Set in modern-day Manchester, where the quietly intense world of the scientific researcher meets the pedestrian and sometimes violent reality of the twenty-first century detective, ‘The Methuselah Paradox’ is a blend of speculative fiction and gritty crime mystery. www.ejjackson.org Available at Amazon US and Amazon UK in paperback and electronic.

DISCOVERIES

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1918

by David Cornish MD www.davidcornishbooks.com

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Minoan Signs

An African Decipherment by by GJK Campbell-Dunn

MA (NZ), MA (Camb), PhD (Cant)

www.minoansigns.wordpress.com

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Envoy of Jerusalem

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Refuge for Masterminds

by Kathleen Baldwin www.kathleenbaldwin.com

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Return of the Convict

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Children’s - FiCtion

have you ever wished you could be someone or something else so you could get out of doing things you don’t want to do? that’s exactly what the boy in this story does.

The boy thinks of all the things rhinos don’t like, such as haircuts, eating dinner, and going to school. He also imagines that rhinos don’t like their teachers and would rather go outside and play than sit in class.

If you like these five books, you’re sure to like...

The boy starts pretending to be a rhino, which makes his mother upset. Eventually, he realizes that all the things he’s trying to avoid aren’t so bad—and that they may even be good for him.

Every child will find it easy to relate to the boy and rhino in this story. Most of them have the same problems, but deep down inside, they know that even things they don’t like are often worth doing.

Rhinos Don’t Like It And Neither Do I!

by Riccardo J. Simpson www.riccardojsimpsonbooks.com

Rhinos Don’t Like it

AnD neitheR Do i!

Written and Illustrated by

Riccardo J. simpson

9X7 landscape Perfect Bound SC

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Window To The Big Sky

by Mary Ellen Connelly www.maryellenconnellybooks.com

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Ruined

by Jw Grodt www.jwgrodtbooks.com https://youtu.be/27A3tj0BFrA

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Desperate Straits

by Janet Squires www.janetsquiresbooks.com

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Love, Life and Beyond

by Pamela Hamilton www.wherethewindblows.ca

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Until Philosophers Become Kings, Book One

by Chris Thomas

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Guardianship Fraud

by M. Larsen www.guardianabusecases.com

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The Three Souls

by Bill Thomas www.BillJamesMusic.com

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105

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You Shall Know Our Names

by Ezekiel Nieto Benzion www.tellingourtales.net

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Always North

by Herb Romero

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The Friday Edition

by Betta Ferrendelli www.bettaferrendellibooks.com

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Capital Kill

by Marc Rainer www.marcrainer.com

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Jockey Hollow

by Rosalie Lauerman www.rosalielauerman.com

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The Crown Princess’ Voyage, Book ll of the Gift-Knight Trilogy

by Dylan Madeley www.dylanmadeley.com

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Apron Strings

by Mary Morony www.marymorony.com

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Hello, Darling

by Elaine Hodge Marze

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Water Ghosts

by Linda Collison www.lindacollison.com

114 J U N E / J U L Y

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Off the Grid

by Brian Courtney www.offthegridbook.com

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I, Livia, the Counterfeit Criminal

by Mary Mudd www.trafford.com/bookstore Amazon or Barnes & Noble

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Truth Seeker

by J. Patrick O’Connor

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Vanquish of the Dragon Shroud

by Gregory E. Seller www.gregorysellerauthor.com

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2017

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Toru: Wayfarer Returns

by Stephanie R. Sorensen

A Japan that might have been… www.stephaniersorensen.com

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Passion Spirit Purpose

by Ana Weber www.anaweberdoxa.com

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Almost Mortal

by Christopher Leibig www.chrisleibig.com

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The Tangled Web

by Phyllis Falls Rogers

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Angel Blade

by Carrie Merrill http://carriemerrill729.wix.com/author

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The Antigone Poems

by Marie Slaight www.theantigonepoems.com

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ss le d a h rs e sh li b u -p lf se , e Once upon a tim d e w ie v re s k o o b ir e th g in of a chance gett ked ic w r e h g n si a le p d a h a ll than Cindere . d e g n a h c s a h y r o st t a Th stepmother.

BlueInk Review: because every book

might not be a princess, but they all deserve a shot at the ball.

serious reviews of self-published books www.blueinkreview.com

JUNE/JULY 2012

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SURF, SUN AND

SUMMER

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IRAQ THE RETURN OF STEPHEN STARK

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WHAT TO

“Scapegoat is a taut, suspenseful history. The opening chapters prompt heart-pounding excitement as Corsetti describes the dive from the perspective of both the crew and the passengers. The book is enthralling throughout, even as it shifts from the near crash to the more mundane hearings and investigations that followed.”

READ NEXT

—Katerie Porter, Foreward Reviews “Scapegoat is an incredible book that you won’t be able to put down.”

—Capt. Jerry Lawler (TWA, Ret.) Air Line Pilot Magazine Scapegoat—A Flight Crew’s Journey from Heroes to Villains to Redemption

by Emilio Corsetti lll

O

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

n April 4, 1979, a Boeing 727 with 82 passengers and a crew of 7 rolled over and plummeted from an altitude of 39,000 feet to within seconds of crashing were it not for the crew’s actions to save the plane. The cause of the unexplained dive was the subject of one of the longest NTSB investigations at that time.

While the crew’s efforts to save TWA 841 were initially hailed as heroic, that all changed when safety inspectors found twenty-one minutes of the thirtyminute cockpit voice recorder tape blank. The captain of the flight, Harvey “Hoot” Gibson, subsequently came under suspicion for deliberately erasing the tape in an effort to hide

incriminating evidence. The voice recorder was never evaluated for any deficiencies.

From that moment on, the investigation was focused on the crew to the exclusion of all other evidence. It was an investigation based on rumors, innuendos, and speculation. Eventually the NTSB, despite sworn testimony to the contrary, blamed the crew for the incident by having improperly manipulated the controls, leading to the dive.

This is the story of an NTSB investigation gone awry and one pilot’s decades-long battle to clear his name.

Availability Scapegoat is available as an eBook, hardcover, and audio download. The book is available at all major retailers and wholesalers.

UNBOUND

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photo essay

Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers | blackdogandleventhal.com Images and text reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

128 J U N E / J U L Y

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Cen Campbell Founder, Littleelit.com

“Children’s librarians are responding to the need for “media mentors” for families with young children. We are mobilizing to support families in the digital age.”

UNBOUND

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Trevor Calvert Librarian, Marin Academy High School Library

“Libraries are a vital cultural resource, as democratic societies require an informed population. Libraries provide not only information but countless other tools which serve to strengthen, inspire, organize, educate, and entertain communities.�

130 J U N E / J U L Y

2017

Megan Hodge Teaching and Learning Librarian, Virginia Commonwealth University

“The library is the only place anyone—poor or wealthy—can go with a question and find a real person, capable of reading between the lines, who can help find an answer.

Google doesn’t work if you aren’t even sure yourself what you are looking for.”

UNBOUND

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Young Lee Reference and Electronic Resources Librarian, University of La Verne College of Law Library

“Growing up, libraries were a gateway to useful resources, to the local community, and to a world of possibilities for this first-generation American.

To me, libraries are as American as baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie.�

132 J U N E / J U L Y

2017

Molly Higgins Library Fellow, UMass Medical School

“Not all libraries work with books. I work with medical journals. My colleagues work with data. We teach and help medical students, doctors, and researchers how to do research better.

Sure, we still have books, but that’s not what our job centers on. At the center of our profession is giving direction to curiosity.”

UNBOUND

133

excerpts

SHELF UNBOUND’S

RECOMMENDED

READING Take a bite from your next favorite book.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION 134 J U N E / J U L Y

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1918: The Great Pandemic, A Novel

by David Cornish, MD

www.davidcornishbooks.com

“A

ll the men were as they were when you left them, until about 11:00 PM last night. Suddenly, within less than thirty minutes of each other, five of the men displayed a marked rise in their respiratory rates.

They began to struggle with breathing, which increased with each passing minute. We applied O2 by masks, but it had no effect.

Soon, bloody froth gushed from their nostrils and mouths in huge quantities.

Then, Edward, something happened that I have never seen before. It was horrible.

The men’s faces first turned cherry-red. But, later their faces gradually turned a cyanotic indigo-blue color that I will never ever forget.

It was so deep, so profound… it looked unearthly. The men fought for every breath, struggling to clear themselves of the seemingly endless amount of red fluid that flowed from their respiratory

passages. Suddenly, they became very quiet, and showed no further struggle.

They breathed as if their bodies knew it was the end.

Quietly, one by one, they died. Edward, they all died a horrible hideous death.

The staff is very shaken on the quarantine ward. They were all just young men.”

Noble was motionless, and speechless. He had heard a similar clinical description of a few patients six months earlier. That account came from Dr. Loring Minor.

Since then, no similar signs and symptoms had been described in the United States. Until now. But, this time it was much worse.

After a long pause, Rosenau continued. “Edward, the situation appears to be critical. Four more men are now beginning to show similar signs as the five who died. What is even worse is the fact that ambulances brought us fifty two more

patients with influenza from Commonwealth Pier. The Chelsea Naval Hospital is already beyond full capacity.” Noble thought for several moments before he responded to his friend.

Finally, he said slowly, “Milton, I will contact army brass to see if some of the sailors can be taken to Devens. We’re preparing an influenza quarantine pavilion at Boston City, and perhaps we can take some of the ill there.

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135

Bobbi Finds a Forever Home

by Diana L. Likely www.catbobbi.com

B

obbi is a Maine Coon cat with a mysterious past. Only she knows the story of where she came from and how she got to the woods… Bobbi had no home. She was alone, hurt and hungry, and she knew a secret. She was going to have babies…

Soon she gave birth to two little kittens…

The forest was a scary place where rain often fell. Thunder boomed and lightning cracked and rain poured from the sky. Bobbi watched for foxes and hawks that might try to eat her kittens. She kept her kittens hidden, but she was ready to fight anything that might attack them.

Bobbi moved her kittens every day looking for a safe and dry place to stay.

Moving the kittens was hard

work. Bobbi had to move one kitten at a time. She picked up each kitten by its neck and carried it in her mouth to a new hiding place.

The kittens learned to go limp and hang quietly when she carried them.

Sometimes Bobbi and her kittens had to sleep outside.

Other times they found a barn where they could be warm and dry. Bobbi moved the kittens so often that her teeth wore off parts of their fur and left sores on their necks.

One day Bobbi’s sharp nose smelled something tasty.

It was meat, but not just any meat—Chicken! Her favorite!

She left the kittens sleeping in an old shed and followed the scent. Soon she came to a pretty little blue house that belonged to an old farmer. A

lady on the deck was grilling chicken!

Bobbi crept closer to the deck, but kept a safe distance. Living on her own had made her careful of strangers. Yet she smiled her best smile as if to say, “I LOVE chicken!”

The lady’s name was Diana. She said, “You are so pretty. You look like a Maine Coon with your long fur, your big furry paws, and your long fluffy tail. Are you hungry?”

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION 136 J U N E / J U L Y

2017

Titus The Life Story of Dr. Titus Plomaritis

by Titus Plomaritis http://amzn.to/2qljkNn

RIDE TO THE HOSPITAL (A short story on page 40)

T

his would be the appropriate time to relate my one bad experience related to splitting wood.

It was a hot summer day and I was home alone when I decided to surprise my brothers and split a pile of wood. I was 12 years of age at that time. As I was splitting the wood at a fairly good clip, the axe apparently was getting dull and needed sharpening, but I just ignored the warning and kept chopping away.

This one time the axe got stuck and I was having a difficult time separating it from the block of wood.

I pulled real hard on the long handle—and it released

suddenly. Losing my balance, I fell to the ground and landed on a broken bottle.

Then I noticed blood squirting out of my left upper thigh.

I ran into the house and jumped into the bathtub with a bottle of peroxide and a towel. I kept pouring the peroxide on the wound until the bottle was empty, keeping the towel pressed on the wound. I then took one of my father’s neckties and tied it around my leg, ran down the stairs jumped on my bicycle and rode it to Lowell General Hospital, which was located one and a half miles from our house. I ran into someone’s office, and that someone in turn took me to the emergency room.

After explaining the details

of the accident to the doctor, he cleaned up the messy necktie bandage ensemble, added a few stitches and sent me off.

I don’t remember if the hospital ever sent my father a bill, if so I’m sure it was deducted from my shoe shine account, as was the necktie.

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The Way I See It A Candid Review of Lessons From Life So Far

by Joseph K. Chan

www.josephkchan.com

I

people to look beyond my obvious handicaps. One person who noticed my real potential was a woman I met at a workplace. We got married and had thirteen wonderful years together.

She gave me understanding, encouragement, and patience.

But our relationship did not last as long as I wanted; her life was cut short by breast cancer. On the surface, this is a sad story, but one big lesson I have learned from this opera is that I am the one who decides whether it is a sad story or not. If I were to let the events in my life make me a sad person, then I would lose the chance to harvest all other fruits that JOSEPH K. CHAN can be realized. My story is one of perseverance, love, and personal triumph over fate. It is from pain and suffering I learned the most valuable lessons. This process not only has led to insights about the physical aspects

of life but also has enticed me to develop my personal views of the spiritual purpose of human life, the question of God, and faith. I have learned that where I stand in these existential questions is the guiding light and sets the course for the remainder of my time on Earth.

BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR

Joseph Chan was born with two rather restrictive birth defects. One of them is a genetic eye disease known as retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which is progressive with age. The other is paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia (PKD), an involuntary muscular spasm brought on by other sudden movements such as standing up from a sitting position; a condition that actually lessened after age forty. In The Way I See It, Mr. Chan talks candidly about the challenges of growing up with these two birth defects. Despite facing the fear and frustration of falling behind in school as a little child, and stigma for being different, this is a story of love, faith, and personal triumph over fate. The Way I See It is Joseph Chan’s spiritual journey to discover his life’s purpose and to share the hope and inspiration that he has found with those who might also benefit from it.

THE WAY I SEE IT

In his memoir, first-time author Chan recounts a life of “perseverance, love and personal triumph over fate.”

By Kirkus Reviews

, being legally blind, is now a volunteer who provides management services to non-profit organizations. He retired from the Association of Bay Area Governments after twenty-six years as CFO. Mr. Chan is a CPA and holds an MBA from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Now widowed, he has a daughter, a son, and three lovely grandchildren.

U.S. $18.95

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“In a book filled with wisdom, one of the most remarkable lessons is the way in which the author views his physical limitations.”

By Foreword Reviews

The Way I See IT

“The Way I See It will be appreciated by anyone with either retinitis pigmentosa or paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia and may offer inspiration to readers with other challenges as well.”

By BlueInk Reviews

JOSEPH K. CHAN

was born with two rather restrictive birth defects.

As soon as I was old enough to notice that I could not do some of the things other people could, I started asking why I had been given these obstacles. To have one of these defects was unfortunate; to carry the burden of two seemed very unfair. As a little child, I didn’t have an answer for myself. The family and the school system that I grew up in did not provide adequate support and guidance for children with special needs.

I was only encouraged to “measure up” with my peers.

That put a lot of stress on me. I worked hard to keep up, but no matter what I did, I was always below average in school, and the feeling of inferiority made me socially shy. After I graduated from college and stepped into the workplace, my low self-esteem was a stumbling block. It was difficult to convince

The Other La Bohème

by Yorker Keith

Overture Begin your song, oh Muses.

Let me join the zesty tune.

My heart needs no more sorrow, Neither discord nor despair.

Induce me to embrace love, Peace, and hope in harmony.

Lift, lift me up, oh Muses.

Let us sing a song of joy.

Act I Scene 1

M

uses were singing in glory in the fine October sky—the image Henry saw in the clouds as he strolled along Broadway near 72nd Street, several blocks from the Metropolitan Opera House. He even recognized the Muses’ sweet song. His chest swelled in anticipation as he continued a few blocks to the Café Momus, where his friend Stephanie was working as a waitress. The restaurant attracted a loyal clientele among connoisseurs of opera and classical music, who appreciated the authentic French cuisine at reasonable prices, especially before or

after a performance at one of the many nearby theaters.

Henry paused outside the window and peered in. Since it was not yet five o’clock, patrons occupied fewer than half of the thirty-odd tables.

Stephanie stood before the bar in her black uniform, casually watching the customers. Henry fished a digital pitch-maker from his pocket and found C-sharp.

He cleared his throat and inhaled, assuming the role of Marcello. Then he burst through the door and began singing, extending his hand toward Stephanie.

“O Musette, o gioconda sorridente!” (“Oh Musette, oh radiant smile!”)

Stephanie broke into just such a smile as Henry continued his serenade in his burning tenor voice, praising her charms. His rich tones reverberated in the intimate restaurant. Stephanie immediately replied to his aria in her coloratura mezzosoprano, wagging her right index finger.

“Badate! I miei difetti non

nascondo.” (“Mind you! I don’t hide my defects.”)

She cautioned Marcello that she was a capricious vagrant, living day to day. When she completed her aria, both joined in a duet: Marcello, adoring her, and Musette, warning him. The music entwined to a dramatic climax with a soaring high A, then descended slowly, ending with their simultaneous murmur: “Musette!”…“Badate!”

“Bravo!” Waiters and waitresses shouted their kudos while the patrons applauded.

Henry bowed and Stephanie curtsied. As they rose, they met each other’s eyes and laughed. …

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The Governess

by Victoria Capper www.victoriacapper.com

O

ne night, Bruce walked in to the doorway of the room where Thea was curled up in a chair, quietly reading a book. She looked up.

He didn’t say a word, just grinned at her and crooked his finger.

Thea was puzzled, “What is it?”

He just stood there for a moment just watching her, smiling all the while, then said. “Follow me.”

Thea followed him into his office and there, along the window ledge outside the office was a python. It was a beautiful creature, blue and black and grey diamond pattern about as thick as your wrist and four or five feet long.

Thea didn’t notice or appreciate its beauty. She just stared at it, horrified, frozen on the spot. Then she gasped and turned to Bruce and threw her arms around him and

buried her head into his chest. Bruce instinctively responded by folding his arms around her, cradling her protectively.

How long they stood there wrapped in their embrace neither ever knew—a few moments— all the time in the world. She felt safe and comforted and strangely warm. Bruce, for his part wanted to deepen their engagement but he felt protective and knew he couldn’t take advantage of this wonderful woman who had turned to him for protection and care.

Slowly Thea realized what she had just done and hesitantly turned to move out of his arms and looked at the window again.

Bruce jolted out of his trance thought, Ooooops what had just happened here?

Thea couldn’t believe she was now calmly looking at

the biggest snake she had ever seen. She’d come a long way in learning to live in the bush.

Just the same she didn’t really want it to be around the house where she was living. Bruce couldn’t always be there to take her in his arms. She hoped big pythons had to be moved away for their own safety.

“Yes” Bruce said, “I’ll take her straight down to the wool shed. She’ll be safe from the cats and can eat the mice down there.”

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WHAT TO

in the investigation of his sister’s murder. Working with Lieutenant Mercedes Garcia Rico, the two uncover an unfathomable conspiracy dating back to the time the Moors surrendered their kingdom in Granada to the catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabela in 1492.

READ NEXT

The Seventh Treasure An International Thriller

by Len Camarda

A

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young American woman dies in a tragic roadway accident in the mountains outside of the city of Granada, Spain. Her brother, who heads up a training unit of the US Secret Service, travels to Spain to bring her body back to America. There, and in the company of a female lieutenant of Spain’s National Police Force, it is discovered there was foul play associated with his sister’s Gina’s death.

Soon, the consequences of this incident generate a cascade of mysterious murders that confound local authorities and shut down all leads as to why Gina Cerone was killed.

After a thirty year career in the Secret Service, Gene Cerone retires so that he can participate

Reviews: “Set in modern-day Spain and painted with layers of history and forgotten lore, this novel combines Tom Clancy’s knack for political suspense with Dan Brown’s love of secret societies.”

—The Clarion Review “…some might see echoes of Dan Brown in its fictionalization of history based on a few truths.

But this novel is awash with the rich culture and vibrancy of the Iberian Peninsula. Camarda has obviously done his research and his travels in the region lend credence to the book’s fertile setting and story. Readers who appreciate a complex plot and engaging historical fantasy will find much room to roam in The Seventh Treasure.”

—BlueInk Review “If you like historical thrillers or are just looking for a good read, I suggest Len Camarda’s The Seventh Treasure—and of course, a trip to Spain.”

—ByLanderSea Book Review Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and local book stores.

on our shelf

The Hunting Ground In this second installment of The Deuce Mora Series, the six-foot-tall reporter accidentally discovers a bone while walking a dog in a park, and the discovery leads her to investigating a mass murderer. Deuce (a secondborn twin given the moniker by her father in the delivery room) is a fun character to follow in this fast-paced mystery laced with humor and romance. We can’t wait for book three.

—Anna Nair The Hunting Ground by Jean Heller, Amazon Digital Services, jeanhellerbooks.com.

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Lady Cop Makes Trouble Amy Stewart is back with the second in her Kopp Sisters series, Lady Cop Makes Trouble (following Girl Waits with Gun). Stewart owns a bookstore in California and clearly knows what readers are looking for: charming, original characters; a rollicking read; and a richly drawn setting and time period. I loved Girl Waits with Gun, and Lady Cop Makes Trouble is every bit as good.

Highly recommended.

—Margaret Brown Lady Cop Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart, Mariner Books, houghtonmifflinbooks.com.

Sirens We interviewed Joshua Mohr in Shelf Unbound in 2011 about his brilliant, thoughtprovoking, beautiful novel Damascus, which among other things looked at different viewpoints on the Iraq War. Here he’s back with a bravely candid memoir about his years of struggle with addiction, from sobriety to relapse and back, as well as a heart condition that nearly took his life. An affecting, deeply moving read.

—Ben Minton Sirens by Joshua Mohr, Two Dollar Radio, twodollarradio.com.

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small press reviews And Party Every Day: The Inside Story of Casablanca Records

by Larry Harris, Curt Gooch, and Jeff Suhs

A

nyone familiar with the KISS anthem “Rock and Roll All Nite” will immediately guess how Larry Harris came up with the title for And Party Every Day, a memoir that focuses on the years he spent working for his cousin Neil Bogart at Casablanca Records in the 1970s. What they may not realize, however, is that KISS was only one act in the veritable circus of stars that called Casablanca home during the entertainment company’s golden age—Donna Summer, the Village People, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic chief among them. Throughout the book, Harris details the wild risks that Bogart took in order to put his company on the map, and though his high esteem of the record exec’s business acumen in the early days of the company is clear, the author also offers a realistic critique of the choices that eventually led to Casablanca’s downfall. Taking a chance on KISS, for example, showed great foresight, as did signing a wide range of disco acts before the genre really took off. By way of contrast, putting out four simultaneous solo albums by the members of KISS and continuing to sign disco acts after the genre had peaked were a sign that things were starting to go south for the company.

Anyone with an interest in the music and culture of the 1970s will find something to enjoy in this memoir—so much so that if the creators of last year’s HBO series Vinyl had based the show more concretely on Harris’s book, it might have been a hit. Indeed the yawning chasm between that series and And Party Every Day suggests that when it comes to the record industry, truth will always be stranger, not to mention more entertaining, than fiction.

—Marc Schuster, www.smallpressreviews.wordpress.com Shelf Unbound Contributing Editor Marc Schuster is the author of The Grievers, The Singular Exploits of Wonder Mom and Party Girl, Don DeLillo, Jean Baudrillard, and the Consumer Conundrum, and, with Tom Powers, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy: The Discerning Fan’s Guide to Doctor Who. He is the editor of Small Press Reviews, and his work has appeared in numerous magazines and journals.

Marc teaches writing and literature courses at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.

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CARDS FOR HUMANIT Y

When I got [my] library card, that was when my life began. ―novelist Rita Mae Brown

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