Shelf Unbound Holiday Gift Guide 2016

2016

GIFT GUIDE What to Read Next this Season

Can you be a good parent and “not know” what goes into your children’s educational material? Or, can you be a better parent if you did know what goes into it?...

Some say that love, nurturing, and the ability to nurture, religion, and education all start at home.

Parenting, education, and nurturing are some of the most important aspects of family life that a family with school-aged children can experience. We as parents spend millions of dollars and thousands of hours teaching our children; yet, many still do not know what goes into our children’s educational make-up. ...MIND GAMES is far ahead of even our presidential candidates; as they are just now bringing-up the subject for a campaign issue, when we are trying to inform parents of how to improve their children’s educational abilities. How much wiser can you be as a parent if you had this information to aid your child with in their educational quest?

“COMMON CORE”

WWW.ALTAIRBEY.TATEAUTHOR.COM

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 Hayley Whitehead e d i to r i a l i n te r n

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Morgan Siem c on su l ta n t , soc i a l me d i a Kasia Piasecka so c i a l me d i a ma n a g e r 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

what to read next in independent publishing

THE GREAT PANDEMIC A NOVEL

DAVID CORNISH MD

“1918” is a rigorously researched historical novel about the influenza pandemic that killed 100 million people…humanity’s worst natural disaster. The actual medical literature and terminology of the time are used to put the reader in the mind of an early 20th century physician.

Winner of the Independent Publishers of New England Book Award, and the Readers’ Favorite International Book Award.

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GIFT GUIDE 2016

Print ISBN: 9780692334805 eBook ISBN: 9780692334812

WWW.DAVIDCORNISHBOOKS.COM

a word from the

publisher

W

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

hen my brother and I were small, my parents began a tradition of giving us each a book on Christmas Eve. Brilliant parenting on their part—our new books kept us happily entertained while my parents enjoyed a cocktail around the fire. I cherish the books from those early years—my beloved (and slightly worn) pop-up Night Before Christmas and my tiny Christmas is a Time of Giving by Joan Walsh Anglund. Decades later, this tradition continues—I just emailed Santa (aka my mother) a request for the new Thug Kitchen cookbook.

Whether wrapped under the tree or tucked into a stocking, books make a perfect holiday present for everyone on your list. In Shelf Unbound magazine’s first Holiday Gift Guide, you’ll find just the right book, from mystery to history to children’s books and more.

When we launched Shelf Unbound book magazine six years ago, our mission was to spotlight the best of independently published books that you might not see on the home pages of Amazon or in your local Barnes and Noble. Our Holiday Gift Guide likewise gives you an opportunity to discover new books and authors.

Happy Holidays and Happy Reading from all of us at Shelf Unbound.

Margaret Brown publisher Shelf Unbound magazine Sign up for a free subscription at www.shelfmediagroup.com.

Photograph: Debra Pandak

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Navigating Indieworld:

A Beginner’s Guide to Self-Publishing and Marketing Your Book

by Julie A. Gerber and Carole P. Roman facebook.com/Navigating-Indieworld

Chapter 1 Genesis ~ Carole

It’s a highly personal experience. You are taking your deepest thoughts, your et’s start with Genesis, the fears, perceptions and laying beginning, the tiny seed of them out like a smorgasbord an idea that roots itself in your for the world to read, peruse, brain crying out to be nurtured. and finally, judge you based It ignites with a spark, the on their personal point of light that illuminates the recesses view. Sometimes they are of your mind, making the wheels brutal, flaying the words from start to whirl feverously. your book like a marauder.

The thoughts refuse to be Other times, you will strike extinguished. They needle, a communal cord, touching interrupting your daily chores, their heart and soul in the most making you stare off into intimate way. Either way, it space and think. You shelve is one of the most rewarding it; you have too much to do, experiences in the world. but it percolates, the “what ifs” Your subject or story means bubbling up until they erupt in a everything to you. You can cataclysmic explosion that finally plot and plan, but somehow forces you to take your computer they take on a life of their in hand and gaze at the white own. Don’t obsess about what screen that turns your face red you are writing. You may with the heat of embarrassment. find that like the childhood Can you do this? game of telephone, your book Writing a book is subjective. has morphed somehow and

L

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GIFT GUIDE 2016

is a completely different story from where you began. In the end, it won’t matter; keep the momentum going, and let it develop organically. Once your characters take the lead, it becomes their story and not yours. Push to the finish line.

As soon as you complete it, you’ll find out that is when the hard work really starts. Jump into the world of indie writers.

You will find plenty of experts to help you take your project from idea to a finished work of art. Amazon and the internet are filled with books to help you through the nuts and bolts of writing a book.

I got started writing when most people are thinking about jettisoning work and lightening their load. My sons dared me to take on the challenge. After all, I had talked about it my entire life. It was a long time dream, put on the back burner, the demands of family and business eclipsing my passion.

I didn’t know where to begin.

My son urged me to sit and start writing. You don’t need special tools or carved out time.

It could be while you’re waiting for the kids at practice, when you are on the train, or in my case, at my desk, in the office, before everyone arrived to

begin the workday.

Experts say, write about what you know. I don’t agree with that. Write about what you want to know. Write about what you love or hate. What about what you want. If we all wrote about what we know, do you think there would be so many choices on Amazon in science fiction or fantasy?

All that matters is you enjoy it and finish it. You could be the one to make a fortune and become the next literary breakout. Maybe you won’t.

Either way, you are leaving a permanent marker that you were here. You are sending out a piece of yourself to our vast universe to mingle with other notions. Perhaps you are going to change the world. Uh oh, did I make you feel self-conscious?

Don’t be intimidated by the thoughts rushing through your head! Once you start, your imagination will take on a life of its own.

You can’t do it, you tell yourself. You feel stupid. It’s silly, a childish daydream, you are thinking, but still your fingers type. You are so lost in research; nobody can have a coherent conversation with you.

You’re discovering things you’ve never known before.

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Navigating Indieworld Your spouse is annoyed; the kids are hungry; the boss is mad; you missed a deadline for work. It doesn’t matter.

All that counts are the words flowing from your speeding fingers, your shoulders shaking with mirth at your humor. It will start to take shape; the paragraphs will add up, and a story will emerge. Enjoy the sting behind your eyes at the sad turn of events for Brad, Thad, Emily, or Justin. The thrill of a chase or the crazy quilt of twists you are creating.

Check the word count.

Fifteen hundred words. Is that dawn peeking under the shades? Sixty-five hundred by the following weekend. You hit twenty thousand yesterday. Did you share your creation with anyone? Did you tell your bus driver you are writing a book?

You do sleep; you still eat; you continue to perform your day job. Mindless activities like laundry are a welcome relief as you plot and plan, playing out scenarios in your mind. You function in a Twilight Zone of want. You want to complete the next chapter; you want to tie the threads together; you want to—finish? The computer waits on the table, mocking you, daring you to continue.

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GIFT GUIDE 2016

Reread or not to reread— you can. Don’t let it stop you.

Don’t overthink it, yet they’ll be others who will do that for you.

Today you’re like a dynamo.

Just finish the darn thing!

The story is taking shape; your characters have a personality—you love them; no, maybe you hate them. They are as real to you as the faces you are cleaning up after dinner and the soft cheeks you kiss goodnight. You return to your computer with ice-cream or popcorn, whatever your comfort food of choice and continue.

So it begins, your opus, your work of art. The shaping and molding of words to echo your thoughts, your deepest, love/fear, hate/joy—it doesn’t matter. It’s yours, and it’s here. You read it multiple times, but you need to have another opinion. It could be your spouse, lover, or friend, but the time has come to share your creation with someone who promises to be honest. It’s time to launch this baby into orbit.

To Do List: 1 - Write your book.

From Navigating Indieworld

by Julie A. Gerber and Carole P. Roman. Reprinted with permission.

All rights reserved.

"A m ad ple vic an d e pu con will tho ug plu blis sid h ng hin erin elp htf t e - B w g to g s hos ul i e Fo arr thou tak lf- e t re y e wo Silv dro the rd er wn R ste ing ev " iew in, s

"KNOWLEDGE IS

POWER" - JULIE A. GERBER

""N sh avig 'm ould atin

u g co st r be c Ind ie en ns e o ga ide ad' nsid wor rin fo - M ge ld e d idw in g o r a red " es se r a nyo a t B lflr ne oo pub eady k lish Re ing vie ." w "IT IGNITES

WITH A - CAROLE P. ROMAN

AVAILABLE ON UNBOUND

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excerpts

SHELF UNBOUND’S

RECOMMENDED

READING Take a bite from your next favorite book.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION 9

GIFT GUIDE 2016

The Christmas Club

by Barbara Hinske www.barbarahinske.com

V

erna Lind expects Christmas of 1952 to be the best holiday she’s had since the war ended. But as she’s leaving the bank, a frigid wind off Lake Erie catches her hard-earned Christmas club savings, whisking the bills into the busy streets of downtown Cleveland and devastating her plans.

Strangers come to her aid, though no one anticipates the power of their chance encounter or the seeds of happiness Verna’s lost money will sow.

From Barbara Hinske, best-selling author of the Rosemont series, comes this heartwarming Christmas tale celebrating the generosity of the human spirit and the irresistible pull of love—an instant holiday classic for admirers of It’s a Wonderful Life and The Gift of the Magi.

“This will become a must read each year as the story and each character reminded me of the real spirit of the season.”

—Amazon reviewer “Immerse yourself in a heartwarming, uplifting story of human kindness.”

—Amazon reviewer “The perfect Christmas gift: warm, hopeful, and kind. This is the kind of book you want for yourself and to share.”

—Amazon reviewer

Barbara Hinske is a practicing attorney by day; novelist by night. When she’s not writing, she’s working on home décor projects or cuddling with her dogs. She and her husband have four grown children and an old house that they spend every spare dollar and moment on.

“Barbara Hinske never fails to provide incredible stories.”

—Amazon reviewer See also her Rosemont series: Coming to Rosemont Weaving the Strands Uncovering Secrets Drawing Close Available on Amazon and for Kindle.

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WWW.MOMENTSWITHHEROES.COM

You’ll see society/history repeat itself. Today is a reflection of the past: with shootings, riots, an overseas war (that one in Viet Nam,) effecting our lives then, as now. There was a fight for gender equality. Richard Nixon signed Title IX for equal rights in athletics. There was “Black Power,” and the “Battle of the Sexes.”

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GIFT GUIDE 2016

Share private moments with your heroes from the past: Ali, Musial, Mays, Jesse Owens, Dan Marino, IndyCar... NasCar...F1...drivers, Billie Jean King, Cindy Potter, Wilt, Rod Laver, George C. Scott, Bob Hope, Jerry Rice, the Kennedy family, golf and hockey stars, most of the major names of the last half of the 20th Century.....

WALT BROWN is a retired radio and television broadcaster who did playby-play of more than 20 different sports. This began while he was a broadcast student at Stanford University and continued while he was a Naval Officer at the Armed Forces Radio Television Service in Hollywood.

Professionally, he covered sports and news in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Nebraska during his 30 year career.

Athletes, Celebrities, Personal Moments The 60s and 70s

by Walt Brown

www.momentswithheroes.com

A Personal Moment with Muhammad Ali

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he station host introduced himself to the Muslim guard, and to Ali. I saw him gesture toward me and the leader of the guard shake his head “no.” Ali smiled and, in turn, shook his head at the guardians; nodding at me to come on over. I signaled my videographer to join us.

As we approached, my videographer seemed scared by the guards, and held back. Ali noticed the girl, and walked to the bench. With a friendly smile, he asked the girl why she was there. I said

to Ali, “she’s a champ, too, Champ; national age group track champion.” Ali said to the girl, “You are? Let’s see how you run.” The girl got up and started jogging around the room. Ali joined her.

I whispered to my videographer, “get them jogging!” He didn’t turn on his camera. And we missed out on what would have been one of the great Ali videos of all time; jogging in a reception room alongside a Junior Olympic Champion pre-teen white girl. It was joyful and warm.

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Crossing at Sweet Grass Historical Romance Fiction

by Laurie G. Robertson www.laurierobertson.com

The American frontier. A strong woman.

A tale of survival and hope. Come join the adventure.

Discover the enchantment of the American west, Native American mysticism and unforgettable characters in a journey of self discovery as heart wrenching events intertwine in this west adventure.

Winner of Editors Choice, 2016 iUniverse

“A delightful book! The thing that resonates throughout the book is the tremendous amount of research done; as the view of Native American life is so beautifully constructed! “I enjoyed it from the first page to the last!

The opening scene captured my attention quickly; and it took a number of chapters to get the back story—which I really liked. The main characters are well developed and add a richness to the story line. I particularly liked the opening poem and the Chapter titles.

There weren’t any long lulls in the book; it was a fast pace narrative which held my interest.

The events at the end of the book kept me in suspense, right down to the last page.”

—Leslie Saari

west seeking voices from the past to influence her writing.

She lives with her family in Fairbanks, Alaska and teaches high school science.

Laurie enjoys downhill skiing, snowshoeing and the study of herbal medicines.

Crossing at Sweet Grass is her debut historical novel.

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iUniverse, or order at your local bookstore.

Laurie Robertson is an Alaskan author who has ventured into the American

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION 13

GIFT GUIDE 2016

Three simple questions are all that you need to help guide your decisions and grow closer to God/love on a daily basis. These questions will help you put your daily life into perspective and help you realize what is important and what isn’t. By living your life according to these three simple questions, you will be happier and more fulfilled because you will know, not hope, that you are acting in a beneficial way at all times, doing things that will deepen your relationship with God/love.

In Three Simple Questions, Charlie Horton provides all of the tools you will need to achieve this deeper relationship. The book is divided into chapters, each addressing a different aspect of life that can be confounding without help and guidance. Each chapter presents a series of daily meditations to help you examine and overcome these challenges and answer the three simple questions.

WWW.CHARLIEHORTON.NET

Hard Copy from

eBook fromU N B O U N D

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Sorrows & Songs

by Janice Wood Wetzel www.sorrowsandsongs.com

Happy Birthday Baby recovered from the measles in time for my eighth birthday. In preparation, Mother suggested a birthday party breakfast for the ten little girls in the neighborhood.

She and I planned the menu together. Cocoa with marshmallows, fresh squeezed orange juice, French toast, little sausage links, and of course birthday cake with pink icing—special treats in a year still scarred by the Depression. When I came downstairs on the morning of the party, I couldn’t have been more pleased. The dining room chandelier was scalloped with crepe paper, and a Happy Birthday! swag festooned the mirror over the buffet. Our best lace tablecloth for special occasions already covered the table. At each place there was a pastel nut cup filled with pastel mints

I

and a pink snapper that promised a party hat and streamers when it popped.

Near the top of the plates were small favors wrapped in paper printed with adorable kittens tumbling in ribbons. It was all I could do to wait until the guests would arrive at eleven.

They never came. ...

Two hours later, Barbara, a little girl who lived across the street, rang the front doorbell. “I can’t stay. Here.

This is for Janice.” She handed my mother a present for me. Mother urged her to come in while she called her mother. I sat immobilized, the pain of humiliation and rejection seeping into my pores. “Please let Barbara stay for some birthday cake,” she pleaded on the telephone. “My daughter’s so disappointed.” The answer was no. I had no idea then that my parents’ drinking

at the umbrella table in the back yard and Mother passing out in the yard were probably the reasons for the neighborhood boycott.

Somehow, even today it doesn’t make me feel better to realize it, nor am I fully convinced that I wasn’t personally rejected by the little girls on my street. It’s a scar that is still tender to the touch.

Soft cover and links to e-books versions can be found on the website.

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GIFT GUIDE 2016

The History Major

by Michael Phillip Cash www.michaelphillipcash.com

A

fter a vicious fight with her boyfriend followed by a night of heavy partying, college freshman Amanda Greene wakes up in her dorm room to find things are not the same as they were yesterday.

She can’t quite put her finger on it. She’s sharing her room with a peculiar stranger. Amanda discovers she’s registered for classes she would never choose, with people that are oddly familiar. An ominous shadow is stalking her.

Uncomfortable memories are bubbling dangerously close to her fracturing world, propelling her to an inevitable collision between fantasy and reality. Is this the mother of all hangovers or is something bigger happening?

The History Major took shape as a hazy idea when I discussed an incident with my son that occurred in his school. He was being bullied and it brought back memories of elementary and Junior high, of those kids that pick on others to feel better about themselves.

My son has a strong sense of his own self-worth, so instead of concentrating on what they were saying, we talked about where the bully’s need to push or belittle other people. Where does that come from? Why are some people like that, and others kinder? The conversation drifted into the time-worn saying, you don’t understand people or where they come from until you walk in their shoes. The History Major

is a story about what shapes us and our motivations?

The seemingly innocent incidents mixed with more traumatic ones, that shape our personalities and the way we react to our lives.

Does our own person history haunt us?

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A COLLECTION OF 55 FLASH FICTION AND SHORT STORIES

by Dan Groat

“Every entry is polished and displays the fine talent of Dan Groat.

Highly recommended—to all writers as well as to readers who love fine stories.

He is an author of major significance, a writer unafraid to take on the tough topics of the times.”

—Grady Harp, Amazon Hall of Fame and Top 100 Reviewer

www.dgroat.com

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k boo 1st !

REE is F

Detroit Homicide Detective Russ Baker has been sent to work the Cold Case Division due to a screw-up he committed on a case.

He was all alone in the basement office until he was visited by an unlikely partner. A dead former detective who was now an annoying ghost. Would the ghost help him solve the cold cases allowing the murdered victims to go on to the hereafter?

Murder, mayhem, humor, ghosts galore, sexy women and lots of fun are in store in these paranormal ghost crime stories by Bob Moats.

These books are novellas. “I will not lie! I peed my pants! OMG! Book 1 was hilarious. I mean there are some good stuff that happens and a love interest but the funny parts, for the love of Pete, YEAH . ..� Melissa Martin Blog and Goodreads Review.

All Ghost Squad books available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Apple iBookstore

TotIs explores the nature of human perception and consciousness, and delves into the process that provides us, as biology, an experience of reality, investigating whether this process creates for us, instead, a perfect illusion, beyond which, reality itself remains hidden.

For novices and experts alike, Author J. Joseph Kazden, with considerable finesse, presents his keen insights in a clear and comprehensible way.

As entertaining as it is profound, Totls illuminates a hidden truth about the unity of the universe that will have significant ramifications in areas ranging from philosophy to cosmology to spirituality— and beyond.

IS WHAT WE EXPERIENCE THE LAST WORD ON REALITY, OR COULD IT BE THE PERFECT ILLUSION? “A learned, bold journey to the limits of human perception and beyond.”

—Kirkus Reviews—

WWW.JJKAZDEN.COM jjkazden@gmail.com

TotIs

by Joseph Kazden www.jjkazden.com

FROM CHAPTER 9 question has persisted since well before the time of the discovery of relativity, and it is this,” I said. “Does the universe exist if we’re not looking? I believe that the universe as we experience it does not exist when we’re not looking, because we’re actually creating it via our biology. A universe exists, but not this one of created human experience.”

“So how can we possibly expect to discover this universe you believe exists outside of our experience?” asked Neatono.

“Because nature has shown her hand, but we’ve been unable to interpret it properly, dependent as we are on explaining all via our experience of it,” I said.

“And what is this evidence nature has shown us?” Neatono asked.

“As we’ve experienced via QM, matter exhibits both wavelike and particle-like

“A

properties, and when we’re caught observing them, they will exhibit one or the other, but we have no idea when or how they change state. The theory is that they exist in a superposition of both states, and, upon observation, their probability wave function collapses, and they become one or the other. Now Doctors S. Haroche and D. Wineland won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2012 for actually creating particles in superposition. Doctor Wineland specifically created one electron that existed in two of its possible orbital positions simultaneously. How he did it is not the important point.

That a particle is first in one place in space-time and then in two at the same time is a state change that occurs outside of time.

This is not a particle moving to another place; it is a state change for a single particle. How long does it take for the particle to be

in superposition? There is no now through which this transformation occurs.

Without a now, there is no flow of time at all.”

“But aren’t these results explained by QM’s theory and its mathematics?” asked Neatono.

“The same theory and mathematics created through the lens of our unshakable belief in the reality of time’s arrow,” I replied.

“I suggest that this shows us another possibility.”

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Jesus: The Jew No One Knows by D.C. Smith International Books Award: Best In Non-fiction History!

T

his short book describes Jesus of Nazareth as he lived day to day, walking the hill country of Herod’s domain nearly two-thousand years ago, sharing communal meals along the way, teaching neighbors and fellow travelers not only what to believe, but how to behave.

Unfortunately, it did not take long for the king to hear about what was happening.

Informants reported that ordinary people were responding to the new rabbi in ever-increasing numbers and that Zealots may even have joined his messianic movement. Worse still, it appeared certain that the youthful teacher had recently formed an alliance with John the Baptist, the most popular preacher of the age. Together they would join forces to bring an end to Roman rule so they could build a new nation dedicated to God. We all know what came next. Both men were executed, leaving their disciples in disarray, especially the followers

of Jesus who expected a miraculous return and who hoped to keep the memory of his earlier pilgrimage alive. Yet their master’s mission and his revolutionary message began to slowly fade away, distorted over time by selfappointed apostles claiming to speak on his behalf, by gospel writers who never knew him, and by church fathers competing for control of their fledgling faith.

To satisfy Jews they doctored the genealogical record and moved his place of birth from Galilee to Judea. To attract Gentiles they made his mother “a perpetual virgin,” his father “an adopted caretaker,” and his brothers “reluctant bystanders” instead of comrades and co-conspirators. Even his name and his birthday were changed because “Joshua” offended non-Jews and December 25th glorified a god-man named Mithras.

Local aristocrats, foreigners and narcissistic

emperors could not abide who he seemed to be, another Galilean rebel inciting insurrection! So they manufactured a very different story where Romans were exonerated, Judeans vilified and his descendants cruelly exterminated.

Anyone wanting to discover the truth about this ultimate icon of the ages, whether for religious reasons or merely because he’s such a fascinating historical figure, has found the right book to read.

D. C. Smith, Big Bear Lake, California

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GIFT GUIDE 2016

International Books Award – Best In Non-fiction History!

Is what we know about Jesus true?

D.C. Smith reintroduces

history’s most misunderstood Messiah. He presents the Torahobservant teacher, accompanied by classical artwork and concise explanations, to show what actually happened to him both before and after Christianity took root in Roman-occupied Judea. Using a carefully drawn out series of historical segments, Smith peels back 2,000 years of revisionist distortions to uncover the many myths and made-up stories about a local rabbi we now think of as “Jesus,” but whose real name was Joshua.

From start to finish, this remarkable book separates fact from fantasy in reconstructing the historical Jesus and the turbulent times in which he lived. It is a must read for inquisitive people of all faiths as well as secular humanists.

JESUS

The Jew No One Knows

by D.C. Smith

Available in paperback and e-book at Amazon or www.blossomingrose.org UNBOUND

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AWARD WINNER

What Doesn’t Kill You

by Donna Huston Murray www.donnahustonmurray.com

“Brave and determined, humorous despite it all…an admirable, down-to-earth heroine.” —Kirkus Review Chapter 1 (Excerpt) ’ve sidled up to my honorary uncles Norman and Tom, two of my dad’s dearest friends.

“Nice homily,” Norman remarks.

I open my mouth, but Nina is storming toward me, fists clenched, face aflame.

“You,” she shouts, “you’ve got a nerve.” The room goes silent. Faces gape and stare.

“I can’t believe you’re here, you you you MURDERER!” Hands covering her face, she crumbles into the arms of her despised ex-husband.

The uncles and I have backed up so far we’re literally against the cementblock wall. The whole room is holding its breath.

“Nina, really.” I pat the air. “You’re upset. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“The hell I don’t.” The whites of her eyes are so exposed she looks rabid.

“You’re going to jail for a long, long time, Lauren Beck…”

I

Many of the onlookers are friends of my family.

Others know the Beck name from my dad’s real estate dealings, or maybe I arrested somebody’s husband or son for something or other back when I was on the job.

Nobody here will forget me now. Never mind that I’m innocent; I’ve just become the OJ Simpson of Landis, Pennsylvania.

Pointing toward the door, Nina’s “GET OUT!” lands on me like spit.

Norman steps forward, but I halt him with my arm.

“She’s just upset,” I tell the old bulldog. “I’ll be okay.”

But I won’t. My dad’s friend knows it, and I know it; but he backs off anyhow. What other choice does he have?

The annex door clunks shut behind me.

An unmarked car sits at the curb. Wearing softened designer jeans, a tweed sport coat, and no particular

expression, Scarp Poletta opens the passenger door more like a gentleman than a homicide cop.

When we’re eye to eye, I finally ask. “Is this our first date, or are you here to arrest me?”

“This book could easily sit on the shelf with traditionally published novels and beat them hands down.”

—Judge, Writer’s Digest SelfPublished Book Awards Available at Amazon, BN, iBooks, and Kobo.

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GIFT GUIDE 2016

Holes In My Shoes

by Alice Breon

CHANGES eptember, 1939. The summer is ending. The days are still warm, but the early September evenings are cool. Leaves on the trees give us warnings that they will soon change color.

There are big changes in everyone’s lives. Dottie has moved to Chicago to start her new life. There is an empty feeling in my heart when I walk past her house.

Life will never be the same.

I turned my thoughts to the “big day”. In a few weeks I would leave my childhood behind and become a freshman in high school. My mother took me shopping for new school clothes and this time we shopped in the teen department. I sensed a change. Mom didn’t have that “worried look” as we shopped. Unlike previous times, she let me choose clothes I really loved, and she didn’t examine the price tags so carefully. She seemed to enjoy watching me make selections. She even bought

S

me new shoes, and my old ones didn’t have holes in them yet.

It seems like a heavy load has been lifted from the shoulders of my parents, aunts, uncles and neighbors.

People are making plans for the future and buying new furniture and appliances.

Our neighbor, Mr. Olson, was notified that he could start back to his old job.

The Olson family and the Nelson family celebrated this occasion by going for a long walk around the neighborhood after supper, talking, laughing and even singing. The Depression was ending.

Newsreels at the movies are reporting on a war in Europe. I prayed that the princesses in England will be safe. During one of our Sunday dinners, Aunt Sadie and Aunt Tonie told my parents about some people who had escaped from Germany and are living next door to them in Chicago.

Mom excused me from the

table after dessert was served and, from the back porch, I could hear them talking in lowered voices about “how awful things were over there”. I also learned a new word—”atrocities”.

For me, a change was coming that I never dreamed of. I was going to have a weekly allowance! I would be given one dollar every week. Fifty-five cents had to be used for a weekly bus ticket to go to high school but the rest, forty-five cents, was mine to spend.

I was rich!

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The Stolen Twin

by Michele Pariza Wacek www.MicheleParizaWacek.com

My life has been dominated by two dreams.…

M

y second dream is completely opposite – much like the difference between Cat and me. It begins with me and my parents in the car. We’re going to Milwaukee to visit my grandparents, but suddenly my parents take a detour. We drive down an old country road filled with potholes and thirsty cracks.

My chest begins to take on a familiar heaviness.

We’re at a church, a white country church with a tall steeple and an elaborate stained glass etching of Mary and Jesus in the manger. A bell rings, deep and melodious. I’m having trouble breathing.

We walk to the graveyard behind the church, my parents in front of me,

talking quietly, ignoring me (as usual). The bell continues to ring, the sound growing louder, echoing in the stillness. I stumble, trying desperately to breathe, to draw air through lungs now shrunken into a tight ball of twine. I need my inhaler, but don’t know where it is.

My parents continue to ignore me. I gasp and start to fall, but now I’m floating, floating, toward the graveyard. All I can hear is the tolling of the bell. I can’t breathe at all. My lungs burn, a bright fireball in my chest. This is it, I realize.

This is the end. This is where I die.

I wake then, gasping and reaching for my inhaler.

As uncomfortable as it is, I prefer it to the hot tears and heavy sick feeling that follows the fairy dream. Cat is the chosen one. I’m the disappointment.

These were the dreams that dominated my life. If I had other ones, I never remembered them. Only these two. I never told a soul about my dreams— they were my penance, my burden, my personal hell.

Until the day Cat came back, turning my life into something worse than any nightmare I ever could have imagined.

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GIFT GUIDE 2016

From Bestselling Author

MICHELE PARIZA WACEK

As a child, Kit’s twin sister Cat disappeared, never to be heard from again.

Until one dark, twisted Halloween night.

But is it really Cat? Or is it someone else playing a sinister and deadly game?

“Well-written and gripping from beginning to end, The Stolen Twin is a must read mystery.”

—US Review of Books

It’s taken six months, but Linda has finally gotten her life back together after her sister, Elizabeth, killed herself. Or has she?

There’s a killer on the loose—a killer who resembles Elizabeth. But, it can’t be her. Could it?

“Best psychological thriller since Gone Girl.”

—Confessions of the Perfect Mom

www.MicheleParizaWacek.com UNBOUND

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Lawyer Games

After Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

by Dep Kirkland

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

PROLOGUE n the end, this book is not about a single, though fascinating, criminal case. This book is about the underbelly of the criminal legal system. It’s not a pretty sight.

We will cover witnesses, evidence, and tactics from all four trials, but with a focus on the larger war.

Why was a question asked in a particular way? How was a witness’s answer crafted to convey an impression rather than a fact? When is a lawyer “testifying” through a question rather than asking one? We will go beyond the game on the playing field, to the game within the game. I expect that you will never look at a criminal trial quite the same way again. In my opinion, that’s a good thing.

Seldom is a murder case tried four times. Only occasionally does a murder case involve a defendant

I

with virtually unlimited financial resources. These forces came together in this case, presenting a rare opportunity to observe the criminal system operating at its best and at its worst.

The great advantage of seeing multiple trials on the same facts is the ability to see changes in strategy, approach, and, unfortunately, even testimony when there are plentiful Benjamins to fund the battle and very little in the way of ethics to restrain the combatants.

Thus, there are two stories within the following pages. One is the story of the case: the facts, the evidence, the trials, and the result. The other is a deeper story that is, in many respects, more disturbing: the story of an eight-year campaign of a defendant and his lawyers to beat a murder rap—no matter what it took—and what that campaign says

about the criminal justice system and those who ply their trade therein.

There are some aspects of the criminal law that I do not miss. It can be a dirty business, when the lust for the win overwhelms all else. Prepare yourself to know as much about one unique murder case as anyone currently living, and more about the dark side of criminal law than you might want to know.

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GIFT GUIDE 2016

“No one who reads this book will ever again look the same way at a criminal trial.”

LAWYER GAMES is the TRUE story of

the murder case that gave rise to the international best-seller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

It is told by the original Chief Assistant DA, who was at the scene while the body was still on the floor, who made the decision to arrest the defendant, and who tried the first of four murder trials, side by side with the District Attorney.

“Kirkland provides a fascinating insight into a criminal justice system that is more interested in winning than in justice.

A must read for anyone who wants to know the truth about legal mind games.”

—Aphrodite Jones, Investigation Discovery host and NYT bestselling author

WWW.LAWYERGAMESTHEBOOK.COM Check out the promo video for the book HERE

“A meticulous, intuitive, and riveting nonfiction work.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“This nonfiction book often resembles a torrid TV drama....”

—Kirkus Reviews Available for purchase at UNBOUND

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The Silver Ships

by Scott Jucha www.scottjucha.com

Chapter 1 nomaly detected,” Tara’s dulcet voice announced.

Alex sat upright in his pilot’s seat. “Show me.” On the navigation screen, a thin red line encircled a tiny dot.

“Any telemetry available?”

“The object is headed in system at 13 degrees below the ecliptic. Distance: 388 million kilometers.”

“Velocity?”

“It’s constant at 0.02c.”

Alex’s heart skipped a beat. “That’s too fast for an asteroid. So what are you?”

New Terrans had ventured no farther than the ice fields, a dense ring of asteroids circling beyond Seda, a gas giant and the system’s ninth and last planet. Since the colony’s founding 732 years ago, there hadn’t been any outside contact—human or otherwise.

“How soon before it reaches the ice fields, Tara?”

“At its present velocity, it will enter the rings in five

“A

days.”

“When will it intersect our system horizon?”

“Two days later, it will cross the ecliptic near Seda.”

At present, Alex was headed for Sharius, one of Seda’s moons, for refueling.

The Outward Bound, under its 1g acceleration, had achieved a velocity of 0.01c. In seven days, his path would intersect with the anomaly’s.

Thirteen days earlier, Alex had piloted his explorer-tug next to a dark, craggy, 580m long asteroid, whose thick layer of ice covered a small, solid core. Using tethering beams, he’d pinned it to his ship then fired a 2-meter long metal shaft into the ice. An electronic beacon housed in the shaft switched on and began broadcasting.

Encoded with Tara’s telemetry, it did double duty as information for bidders and as a tracking signal, broadcasting the asteroid’s tag and his ship’s ID. Tara recorded the claim

with the Ministry, initiating the bidding. All the mining outposts on Ganymede’s frozen, rocky moons and the government habitats on Niomedes were bidders, as none possessed a natural source of water. Days later, the Niomedes Gordon Habitat was confirmed as the highest bidder and the new owner of Alex’s latest haul.

With the asteroid firmly tethered in place, the Outward Bound, with engines blasting, slowly redirected the mass from its ancient orbit into a new trajectory.

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GIFT GUIDE 2016

THE SILVER SHIPS IS A SERIES OF FULL-LENGTH, SCIENCE FICTION NOVELS THAT EXPLORE FIRST CONTACT BETWEEN THE DESCENDANTS OF TWO EARTH COLONY SHIPS, WHO LANDED ON THEIR SEPARATE PLANETS, OVER 700 YEARS AGO.

Check out the latest book in the series, Espero.

Released Oct. 2, 2016

“They are magnificent writings on the human spirit and what it means to be human. Yes, these are science fiction books. But, they are much more.”

— J. Chapman, Midwest Book Review

Available in eBook, paperback, and audiobook.

WWW.SCOTTJUCHA.COM

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Return of the Convict

by William Alan Thomas www.williamalanthomas.com

Dec. 16, 2143 here were forty-five of us transports crammed into the space bus, and even though everyone was sedated, the two and a half day trip was arduous.

After we docked there was a slight shaking. Our capsule shot backward, and stopped. With a hissing of air, the door slid open.

“Welcome to Mir,” a man’s voice said. “Everybody out.”

The artificial gravity here was less than the moon’s; I got up without much difficulty. Two uniformed guards checked us off as we came out. “You’re Dominic Tessier,” one said crisply, when she touched my ID tag with a scanner.

My legs uncertain, I stepped onto a moving sidewalk that took us through a tunnel. In a few minutes the passageway curved, and the main terminus area of the

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space station came into view.

I held tight to the railing and stared. The people here arrived and departed from all over the solar system: personnel from the space ships, businessmen, and new-world workers. Some, while roughly dressed, had a special swagger. I thought they might be prospectors.

Then a group of T-men walked through in unisex suits and skull caps. Although silent, their expressions and gestures showed communication. Thanks to their brain implants, they were telepathic.

Only a few months earlier, I’d been a student at the Space Training Academy. My brain was being transformed through implants, and I looked forward myself, to a career in space as a T-man administrator. An awful injustice had been done to

me, and my dreams were trashed. Yet I felt no regret, resentment, or any emotion at all. A silver bracelet around my wrist created a chemically-induced docility, more powerful than chains.

Our guards took us along a walkway above a large, brightly lit loading

dock. Through the sidemesh I could see the Stellar Blossom. The ship’s blue hull seemed to stretch on forever; it dwarfed the men gathered to service her.

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GIFT GUIDE 2016

Shot Down

by Steve Snyder www.SteveSnyderAuthor.com

CHAPTER 1 February 8, 1944 he bursting of the Focke-Wulf ’s 20 mm cannons around our ship was the first indication that we had been singled out.

Then the celestial dome blew up in front of me.

After that I could hear 20 mm striking and exploding as they hit the ship. Pieces of equipment and parts of the ship were flying about, striking my feet and legs.

When the oxygen cylinders exploded, I didn’t realize what had happened. The noise of the explosion was muffled by my helmet and headset, but the concussion stunned me for a few moments. Someone lighting a match in a gas-filled room would cause much the same effect as the explosion. Only, instead of flames decreasing immediately after the explosion, they seemed to

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continue all around us with the same intensity.

In a half-dazed state, I became slowly conscious that the entire cockpit was filled with smoke and flames. I must have been knocked unconscious for a period of time. It was difficult to see through the smoke and flames, but I could see the terrified face of Eike, his eyes almost out of his head, looking crazily around him as he tore frantically at his flaksuit and safety belt. I think Holbert had already jumped as I couldn’t see him at all.

As I looked back at Eike, after trying to see Holbert, he seemed absolutely mad and out of his head. Then, as my mind seemed to clear a little more, I too became absolutely terrified. I had been frightened before but never completely lost my wits from terror. It was horrible.

I tried to yell or scream, but the sound died in my throat and my open mouth emitted no sound. I tried to jump out of my seat, but my safety belt held me there.

My only thought was to get out of that terrible fire.

I couldn’t think as I clawed wildly for my safety belt.

The fact that I had buckled my safety belt under my flak suit on this raid, instead of over it in my usual way, was the only reason I was able to regain a semblance of sanity.

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32

The Tail Wags the Dog

by Dr. Amy Beth Taublieb www.dramybeth.com

W

orking with people as they plowed through their psychological struggles of varying severity taught me an enormous amount about the human life condition.

By guiding people through their tears, anger, grief, pain, laughter, fears, hallucinations, delusions, obsessions, anxieties, insecurities I learned that therapy is not “just listening to people’s problems” and applying the latest empirically proven treatment methods.

Rather it is experiencing the vast array of emotions along with the people with whom one is working so that the therapist can provide them with the skills to help them successfully maneuver their way through the forest of their emotional pain.

In so doing, I soon realized that I was getting as much (if not more) wisdom from my patients as they were from me. Although this may superficially appear to be contradictory, after several years of doing therapy, I began to recognize

certain patterns in human interactions. There were certain principles which seemed to surface time and time again—significant patterns, which, when recognized and heeded, helped my patients understand why we behave, feel and interact with others the manner in which we do.

The eventual acknowledgement and subsequent respect of these so-called life lessons served as the genesis of this book.

Whether relevant to parenting children, struggling with psychological/psychiatric symptoms, interacting with a spouse or family member, functioning in the workplace, or, simply conversing with those with whom we interact in our daily life, this books is designed to share those basic truisms which I have been fortunate enough to learn from my patients over the years.

Having the privilege of sharing the inner most thoughts and feelings of

so many people as they foraged their way through their psychological struggles, allowed me to be exposed to more wisdom than any person could learn in a lifetime of formalized education. It is this wisdom (presented in terms of basic statements which can serve as actual guides to living life) which this book offers its readers. It is presented with genuine pride and the sincere hope that these lessons learned from my patients prove to be as valuable to the reader as they have been to so many others with whom I have some into contact.

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GIFT GUIDE 2016

Lutfullah, a young Afghan fearing for his life, seeks refuge in Australia, leaving his home and his family behind in hopes of finding a new life, free of violence and war.

by Jerome Rabelista Caluyo

Love from Afghanistan When humanitarian worker Jerome Caluyo first arrived in Kabul as the Country Director for his organization in Afghanistan, Lutfullah was the first employee he wanted to remove from office.

Lutfullah, the administrative and finance manager, seemed much too young to command compliance from an unwieldy Afghan staff of 300, but he proved everyone wrong.

The events narrated in Dear Dad: Love from Afghanistan are true. Spanning a period of only ten days and set against the backdrop of human suffering, this powerful book follows Lutfullah the refugee as he chases hope beyond hopelessness. His journey triggers memories for Jerome and his own struggles to overcome childhood abuse, searching for a life beyond violence...and eventually arriving at forgiveness and healing. jerome.caluyo@gmail.com UNBOUND

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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.

Always North

by Herb Romero

Available at Amazon and Infinity Publishing.

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n Always North you will learn, that because of plain ignorance by early 19th century governmental leaders, a factual part of America’s history continues to be denied from being taught in schools.

And as we move on with our lives in this 21st century, our children are still deprived of an important part of American history. Reviewed as a five star 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 my ancestors, who as part of a group of Spaniards in 1598 established the very first permanent European settlement in present day United States.

Three centuries later, we would know this region as the American southwest.

Because of foreign infringement rumors into remote parts of his Kingdom, Spain’s King Phillip II directs resettlement of families from New Spain to a northern

region; an area, Coronado had originally recorded as favorable in 1540.

Life proves harsh for the colonists. For the first two hundred years, they follow laws of New Spain until that Dominion is overthrown by a peasantry coalition revolt later known as Mexicans.

And unknown to settlers because of an antiquated communication system, several months go by before Kingdom settlements find they are now under Mexican rule that lasts twenty five years.

As a fledgling government with internal growing problems, Mexicans ignore non-threatening settlers in their far isolated region, except for annual visits to take a census and collect taxes. Then after winning the American-Mexican war in1848, the United States inherits the vast number of original Spanish territories.

Now confronted with a large number of Spaniards who seem to speak a language

similar to those they just defeated, congress in Washington question “the loyalty of this new class of colored people.”

For the next thirty years, American congressmen continue to vacillate.

Spaniards are referred to as Mexicans by new eastern immigrants, and Spanish parents continue begging for their archaic Spanish speaking children to be educated in the new English language. My father was ten years old before seeing his first American book.

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36

Conversations With an Angel Named Bill

by Michael Hanian

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. …You can easily imagine my surprise then, when I perceived another figure striding beside me, in perfect cadence with my own steps. Since at the moment I became cognizant of the stranger’s presence we were already far removed from the sole functioning light, I was unable to discern his features, glimpsing only a dark cloak and a wide-brimmed hat.

“I have an aversion to intrigue,” noted the stranger without slowing his step, “I dislike preludes and comments about the weather.

Allow me to introduce myself—I am an angel.”

“Pardon?”

“An angel. From there.

From above.”

“Excuse me sir, but are you…”

“Let us eschew formalities.”

“Alright…” I mumbled, after which my companion fell silent, evidently giving me time to collect myself.

This was in fact a necessary respite. During this time, I struggled to recall the hotline

for the Night Brothers, who are said to help those who have gone off their rocker.

Try as I might I could not remember the number, but I repeated last year’s mantra in my head instead, and completed a breathing exercise “For General Stress Relief.” This ‘auto-training’ had a soothing effect on my sensitive temperament.

Regaining my self-possession, I decided to yield to circumstance and see what would come of it. Perhaps sensing some favourable turn of thought within me, the stranger continued: “Let us become acquainted—Bill” “Max” “That’s better, Max. We will have enough problems as it is.”

“As what is?”

“Without overcomplicating our communication with needless formalities.”

“Communication?”

“I hope this is not our final conversation.”

“But why me?”

“Why not?”

“But Mr.…Bill, you have not answered my question.”

“You will understand later.

There is a time for all things.”

“Forgive me Bill, but I am…an educated man, and… how do I say this politely…”

“You don’t believe in angels.”

“Something like that.”

“Then don’t. I am not forcing you to. In fact, if it makes it any easier for you, forget what I said earlier. Let’s just talk. Didn’t you complain that you had no one to talk to?”

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GIFT GUIDE 2016

Digger Cartwright WWW.DIGGERCARTWRIGHT.COM @MysteryDigger

www.mysterydigger.com

THE HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS Mystery, intrigue, deceit, extortion and a romance that may not be what it seems...

THE VERSAILLES CONSPIRACY International intrigue, political high drama and death intertwined in a conspiracy where no one is above suspicion...

THE MAYNWARINGS A GAME OF CHANCE Politics, Scandal, Gold, and the biggest cattle ranch in the Old West...

MURDER AT THE OCEAN FOREST Murder, secrets, and deception shake up the opulent seaside resort where all guests have skeletons in their closets...

CONVERSATIONS ON THE BENCH Life lessons, wisdom, wine, women, and simple conversations...

All books available at

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“This meticulously researched volume follows the evolution of the United States from 13 disparate, self-interested colonies to one nation united by the Constitution…

The author shows a knack for choosing the best material to reinforce his points.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Many excellent books survey the genesis, writing, and ratification of the American Constitution...

Donald J. Fraser’s outstanding new book deserves to share the same shelf as these classics; indeed, in some ways, it supersedes them.”

—Blueink Starred Review

About the Author: DONALD J. FRASER has spent a lifetime working in a variety of capacities in government. Fraser holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in public policy and administration. He currently teaches through the extension program at the University of California at Davis.

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GIFT GUIDE 2016

Divisiveness is the hallmark of American politics today. Sometimes it seems we are no longer one nation, but in fact we are. Division and argument have always been a part of the American scene, no more so than at our founding, as The Emergence of One American Nation explores. In the aftermath of the 2016 election, it is more important than ever to remember the ideas that ignited the American Revolution and that continue to bind us together as one nation.

FROM AUTHOR

GENE BOFFA

Comes Another Thrilling

Mac Daniels Novel

North Korea’s weapons-grade uranium is missing, and the Korean spies back in the U.S. have determined that the United States is responsible.

Even though the U.S. denies responsibility, the truth is...

Mac Daniels has stolen it! To prevent a war, Mac will have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

He must return to North Korea to face the Supreme Leader and confess his role in the stolen uranium.

With layers of clever plotting, non-stop action, ever-present danger, and a heart-pounding pace, Deception seizes the reader’s attention and clamps down hard until the very last word. It is a roller coaster of twists and turns, and what turns out to be is not as it appears.

DECEPTION.

Available at Amazon, Kindle Bookstore, Nook Bookstore, iTunes Bookstore, Google Books, and Kobo Bookstore.

WWW.GENEBOFFA.COM

Check out Gene Boffa’s 1st Novel of the Series, THE DEED. Available on Amazon.

Cadillac, Oklahoma

by Louise Farmer Smith www.louisefarmersmith.com

Excerpt VOICE OF EXPERIENCE 1948

Methodist church secretary, and I let myself imagine that this job—keeping attendance records, paying utility bills, and writing Sally arrived in our town notes to shut-ins—was a the summer I turned cover, a kind of recompense seventeen, and that threefor the former, racy life month stretch of heat her husky voice suggested. burned up what was left of Sometimes I’d feel ashamed my childhood. She had that of this fantasy when I’d kind of wrecked voice that see her in town, modestly made her sound like a pack- dressed and minding her a-day smoker, a woman own business. But she was with a story to tell in what one of the few good-looking my granddad Sloane single women in Cadillac, Benjamin Willard, who’d and I finally convinced been to France in WWI, myself that seeing as how called a whiskey voice. She I was from a good Baptist looked to me like she might family, it would be a step be as old as twenty-five, the in the right direction for perfect older woman to train her to get to know me. I me for what I hoped would devised a plan. . . . be a lifetime of pleasing That night I overheard women. . . . my aunt tell my mother I was surprised when that Sally had been Mother told me Sally married very briefly to had taken a job as the what she described as a

“clean-cut young man from a good family.” The two women went on to speculate about what went wrong, and I pretended to shine my shoes. . . .

My whole body heated up at the idea of Sally having been married, and my mind pressed her against the wall of the church office. “I’ll just finish these on the back porch,” I told the women as I clutched my shoes in front of my zipper.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION 41

GIFT GUIDE 2016

“A first rate domestic drama. Insightful, gripping, in the end thrilling.”

—Wayne Johnson, bestselling author & Pulitzer nominee for Deluge, Don’t Think Twice and The Devil You Know

“Feely’s novel reminds us of the heartbreaking fragility and mystery of the teenage mind…a finely crafted plot…compulsively readable.”

—Washington Independent Review of Books

Named a 2016 best debut by Amazon UK, Saving Phoebe Murrow

is a story of mothers and daughters with a razor-sharp 21st century twist: the devastating impact social media can have on teen girls. Acclaimed writer, Herta Feely, has received writing awards and fellowships, including the James Jones First Novel Fellowship and an Artist in Literature from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

www.hertafeely.com

From award-winning author and Pushcart nominee, Louise Farmer Smith, comes Cadillac, Oklahoma,

a town where you’ll wade through currents of hilarity and romance, where the sheriff is in love with the wife of a prominent lawyer, and the banker’s widow and a Las Vegas sex worker team up to beautify Cadillac.

“The voices and visions of [Cadillac’s] citizens are... sweet, cruel, ignorant, and full of yearning, and always they are the real thing.”

—Bonnie Jo Campbell, bestselling author of Mothers, Tell Your Daughters and the National Book Award Finalist, American Salvage

www.louisefarmersmith.com

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42

Saving Phoebe Murrow

by Herta Feely www.hertafeely.com

Excerpt Chapter One

when Isabel brought her home, Ron found their daughter’s wobbly walk Monday, November 10, 2008 vaguely amusing. In front of Phoebe, they’d kept a At the end of the day, as united front. But later, in Isabel stepped through the bedroom, Ron told the large glass doors of Isabel she was being too her law office, a strange harsh on their daughter. thing happened. Outside in “She’s only thirteen, Ron.” the cold, she suddenly felt “Almost fourteen,” he’d said. trapped in a bright cone She really couldn’t of light. As if some alien understand Ron’s blasé spaceship were training its attitude toward the eye on her. drinking that Sandy had Uneasily, she gazed into allowed, encouraged even, the dark November sky. nor could she understand There was the culprit. A Phoebe’s recent obsession smiling gibbous moon. Or with some boy named was it smirking, maybe Shane. They’d met on even mocking her? Yes, Facebook, of all places, she thought, that would be and he’d promised to more appropriate. Work show up at the party, then had become insanely busy, hadn’t. Ron had attributed though in its own strange Phoebe’s drinking to her way that kept her mind disappointment over this no from dwelling on her recent show, as if that made it okay. topsy-turvy personal life.

Not okay, definitely not.

Which included that Nor did she like the fact awful teen party at Sandy that Phoebe had never Littleton’s, an event that actually met this Shane, that had ruined the weekend. all of her communication Phoebe drunk, and with him had been online.

Who was he anyway?

Again, Ron thought it was no big deal! “That’s the way kids communicate these days,” he’d said.

In the end, Phoebe had received little more than a slap on the wrist. Mostly because Isabel feared the possibility of the 9th grade kids teasing and taunting her as so many classmates had the previous year. Now, she was eager to get home to find out how Phoebe’s school day had gone. She hoped there had been no fallout from the Saturday night fiasco.

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GIFT GUIDE 2016

www.adventurequestbooks.com

U R E T N E V D A AN

I T P Y G E AN

When 15-year-old Rosa agrees to help the ghost of King Tut find his lost queen Hesena, she doesn’t count on falling for him. Once back in Ancient Egypt, Rosa discovers that finding Hesena is not all she must do and is not as easy as she thought it would be, even though she carries part of that lost queen in her soul. She must also keep out of the reach of the living Horemheb--who crosses mortal boundaries using Seth’s evil magic—if she is to stay alive to make it back home.

www.beyondtodayeducator.com

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. Only when the evil Dr. Faisal Khalid shows a particular interest in the cousins and their scarab, do the boys realise they are in terrible danger.

Justin and Adam embark upon the adventure of a lifetime, taking them down the Nile and across the harsh desert in their search for the legendary tomb of the Scarab King, an ancient Egyptian ruler.

With just their wits, courage, and each other, the boys manage to survive … only to find that the end of one journey is the beginning of another!

www.FionaIngram.com

The fourth adventure in the Shadows from the Past series: Max, a cat unlike any other you might encounter, is terrified of Egyptian mummies. He is, therefore, extremely nervous to find himself transported back in time to ancient Egypt alongside his owners, Joe and Jemima Lancelot, and their friend, Charlie. The twins are still hoping to find their missing parents who are trapped somewhere in the past. Arriving at the court of Tutankhamun the children uncover a deadly plot to assassinate the young pharaoh.

Can they save his life and will they make it back safely to their own time before the plotters discover their true identities?

44 www.wendy-leighton-porter.com UNBOUND

The Commandments of God

by Cornie Banman

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www.corniebanman.com

raditional mainstream Christians are brought up and trained to obey the doctrines of the church which they faithfully attend, having been assured that their doctrines come from the Holy Scriptures.

But, how can one be sure whether or not that is really true? In his book, The Commandments of God, author Cornie Banman shares the results of his studies regarding the discernment of God’s Laws vs. man’s laws. Having himself been a dedicated member of a traditional church system for the first 48 years of his life in a close knit religious community of a few thousand very dedicated Anabaptist Mennonites, he finds it to be of utmost importance for each individual to test the church doctrines with the Scriptures.

In The Commandments of God, traditional church doctrines are being put under pressure to see whether they come from

the eternal God Who created heaven and earth, or from the gods of this world, or, more accurately Satan the devil’s ministry. After studying the foundational Scriptures of this book, readers will be able see how they can test the doctrines of any and all churches. They’ll see how following the traditional doctrines of men systematically tramples down the eternal Laws and Commandments of the Creator God of heaven and earth.

The Holy Scriptures show us how the eternal God of creation, millennia ago, set His Laws in motion for all eternity, and that they can neither be annulled nor changed by any man or beast, for which readers will see hard and solid evidence in both the Old and the New Testament Scriptures.

Contrary as it may seem to common teachings - it will be clearly shown that mankind’s burdens come

from none other than from one’s following of man’s commandments, and that true liberty comes from following God’s Commandments. Thus, we will see how the Scriptures plainly reveal to us that God created ALL of His Laws and Commandments solely for the benefit of His people, and NOT as a burden.

This book is available at iUniverse, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and www.corniebanman.com

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION 45

GIFT GUIDE 2016

Traditional Anti-Torah Church Doctrines

by Cornie Banman

A

www.corniebanman.com

uthor Cornie Banman gives readers an informative and comprehensive guide on the methods to validate the church doctrines they abide by. He believes that humans have a strong desire to agree with anything that comes out from the pulpit. He desires to give everyone the ability to discern between what should be faithfully followed and what shouldn’t, so that they would be in alignment with the true will of the true God. He digs deep into Scripture and history to solidify his methods of discernment.

He hopes that, through this book, everyone will be on the right path in their spiritual journey.

Have you ever stopped to think whether the doctrines you hear in your church are actually coming from the Word of the Creator?

In Traditional Anti-Torah Church Doctrines, Banman offers an analysis of doctrines to help Christians ascertain whether a doctrine comes directly from God or

originates from man.

Banman explains how and why traditional Christendom has rejected the Ten Commandments and how that belief has inevitably created an antiGod messiah. In Traditional Anti-Torah Church Doctrines, he shows how: * A subtle and powerful philosophy of anti-Jew doctrines has indoctrinated traditional Christians into believing the Messiah’s first coming was to abolish the Ten Commandments * The philosophy of a few church fathers has undermined the Ten Commandments by elevating manmade traditions to Commandment status * An anti-Jew philosophy plays a key role in abolishing the Commandments and exposes its foundation * The God of Abraham has given mankind a simple formula to test and measure all doctrines against His Word * Anyone can use that test against all doctrines to see

whether they are inspired by the God of the Scriptures or by the gods of this world. * A person who’s snared by deceived indoctrination can get back into alignment with God’s true Word Illustrating his beliefs with Biblical evidence, Banman provides guidance for testing and measuring the instructions coming from your church with God’s truth in a simple way.

This book is available at iUniverse, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and www.corniebanman.com

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46

Spiritual Transformation Simplified™— The Six Fundamentals for Life Mastery

by Candace Stuart-Findlay Are you ready for lasting positive change? Looking for a transformational “road map” to help you create your best life? This is it...Spiritual Transformation Simplified™— The Six Fundamentals for Life Mastery! A step-bystep guidebook created to streamline and demystify enlightenment, based upon the culmination of Candace Stuart-Findlay’s years of quantum science research, personal spiritual reawakening experience, and transformation facilitation for a worldwide client base. empoweredwholebeing.com 47

GIFT GUIDE 2016

Escaping Religion— Getting Back My Heart!

by Mary March Newell

Prairie Magic— Adventure Seekers Saga, Book One

by Joan Pillen

Rebel— Adventure Seekers Saga, Book Two

by Joan Pillen

This is the life story of Mary March Newell, who was born and raised in the LDS (Mormon) belief system.

Leaving proved difficult.

She went into hiding from church members who threatened her family. Along the way Mary had many new Spiritual experiences, and finally found a way to reconcile a life-threatening phenomenon that occurred after her mission and before her marriage decades earlier.

A powerful read!

Tokada Good Elk, worldfamous author and horseman, stood still in the middle of a desolate South Dakota highway. Desperate for guidance, he stretched one hand up to Great Spirit while his other arm cradled the lone survivor of the atrocious crash—a frightened puppy he had rescued from the stranger’s car.

Book One of the awardwinning Adventure Seekers Saga, Prairie Magic is exciting, entertaining, and enlightening...the perfect mix of warm humor and ancient wisdom!

Rebel, award-winning Book Two of the Adventure Seekers Saga, is an upbeat story about redemption and growth. Favorite characters lead extraordinary lives in the gorgeous countryside of Wyoming. You will be entertained and enlightened in the pages of this book as you learn about Tarot cards and Rune stones.

marymarchnewell.com

the-adventure-seekers.com

the-adventure-seekers.com

Auntie Duck’s Story Rhymes—Ducklings, Volume One

by Francesca Thoman

Silverspun Stories— Four Enchanting Tales

by Francesca Thoman

The Quantum Children— A Parent’s Guide for the 21th Century, Book 1

by Michael Orwig

Illustrated by the author, this early-reader book can be shared and enjoyed by both parents and children.

From a charming elf that gives impossible answers to important questions, to an otter that finds a home by the sea, these stories are both unusual and delightful.

In this book, magic opens wonderful things, and selfdiscovery, patience, wisdom and compassion lead to success as the characters learn good lessons for life.

For ages 5 - 9

In this first collection of Silverspun Stories, enjoy humorous and insightful fables of Witches and Wizards, Tsars and Tsarinas, dogs, cats, horses, and many other animals. Weaving magic and wisdom, mysteries and wonder, these Enchanted Tales encourage compassion, hope, self-discovery and courage! For ages 7 -12

Whether it is aspects of parenting, or difficulties in medical care or the education system all of the structures of society are woefully behind where they need to be in order to support our children.

As a consequence, you as a parent or a grandparent are going to have to make choices that will lead you outside of the old models of society.

We have entered into the unknown world of parenting children whose consciousness and DNA is higher than we have ever seen before. This book series is designed to be a guide into that process.

francescathoman.com

francescathoman.com

The Growing Soul— My Transformational Journey From Adversity to the Divine Within

by Maria Angela Russo, LCSW The Growing Soul is the in-depth inward journey of one individual recognizing challenge as a sacred pathway inward to the goodness and beauty of your soul.

Filled with insight and wisdom, the award-winning The Growing Soul offers support and clarity for those who experienced childhood abuse. mariaangelarusso.com

thequantumchildrenbook.com UNBOUND

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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.

49

GIFT GUIDE 2016

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

Lamb to the Slaughter

by Pete Delohery www.petedelohery.com

Round One The Blue Horizon

artery was visible in stark detail. Luke threw his magazine to the floor, n a hotel room in a rose, and stalked into a London suburb three smaller adjoining room. Bo black men went about observed Luke’s departure that most arduous and and then got up and agonizing of all tasks: approached the man on the killing time. Each was lost bed. He murmured softly: in the limbo that always “Johnny?” He murmured precedes long-plannedthis several times more, for events. Bo, fat, gray like a mother tenderly haired, and middle-aged, awakening a sleeping child. sat at a writing table and Finally, the muscular young played solitaire. Luke, a man turned his face and lanky man in his middle stared at him vaguely. “I’m thirties, nervously tapped gonna be gone for a few his foot as he tried to read a minutes, hear?” the fat magazine. The third man, man crooned. The younger in his mid-twenties, sat man nodded. “You stay put cross-legged on one of twin ’til I get back, OK?” The beds and stared vacantly young man nodded again, at a painting of a hunting and then returned his gaze scene on the opposite to the painting, to the sky wall. He stared beyond beyond the horses and horses and hounds into the hounds. He resumed his painting’s deep blue sky. He murmurings. Bo entered muttered unintelligibly. He the adjoining room and wore blue jeans and was found Luke pacing the bare-chested. He resembled floor; every two or three an ebony anatomy chart; steps he drove a fist into his every muscle, every a palm. Luke glanced at

I

Bo and spoke in a voice ragged with frustration: “Most fighters gotta loose weight t’make the weight,” he snarled. “Our man gotta gain!” Bo turned and shut the door quickly but quietly. “Thought I was gonna have to shove a rock up his ass ’fore we took him to the weigh-in!” Luke whimpered. “Lighten up, man!” Bo commanded in a low, firm voice. “And keep it down. We don’t want Johnny hearin’ somethin’ like that, not now.

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50

Portals, Passages & Pathways In the Land of Magnanthia

by Bruce Maul

From Chapter 15: The Power in a Name

www.brmaul.com

spider intended to attack.

He slowly brought the torch down from above his head e stopped and held to straight out between him the torch high above and the freak of nature, his head. The scuttling which emitted a series of stopped. clicks and clacks with its It crept slowly into the pinchers. The eerie sound torchlight as if there were echoed down the hollow a chance it wouldn’t be corridor behind him. seen. Jak held his breath at Another series of the sight of the abnormally abhorrent clicks responded large, hairy spider slowly from behind Jak; there moving toward him. Its were more than one. But black, mirrored eyeballs glancing behind him, he were void of thought and didn’t see anything. Then emotion. It stopped and he heard it again and it was sank low to the ground even closer. Glancing on when Jak took a step back. either side of him, he didn’t Its body was bulbous, see it on the floor, but he resembling a large, black, could hear it…. The reason hairy watermelon with a snapped in his mind just in tiny head protruding from time. one end. The spider’s hairy Spiders can climb walls! legs were jagged and as Keeping the torch large as those of a king crab. between himself and Jak froze. Holding tight the crouching spider, every muscle in his body Jak glanced up over his he prepared to dodge if the shoulder in time to see spider jumped at him. He another spider making couldn’t read the spider’s its way near him on the empty eyes so he couldn’t ceiling. anticipate at what angle the As soon as Jak spotted

H

it, the spider sprang from the ceiling. Jak reacted.

He swung and ducked at the same time connecting his forearm and torch to three of the spider’s bristly legs. The large arachnid squealed like a lame rat and landed near the other spider.

The wounded spider scuttled toward Jak with vengeance; the other one followed suit. They each took to a side of the corridor as a third spider, nearly twice their size, came up the middle.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION 51

GIFT GUIDE 2016

WHAT PATHWAY ARE YOU ON?

www.brmaul.com

Teenagers have a hard enough time finding their path in life, but for Simon and Jak it’s a whole other world.

When the two boys are taken through a portal to a faraway land, they find themselves on opposing sides in a cruel war of evil versus good. Simon is set on a path to save the land, while Jak is on a path to tear it apart.

In the Land of Magnanthia is the first book in the series Portals, Passages & Pathways, a teen & young adult fantasy adventure that journeys to the magical land of Magnanthia. Follow Simon and Jak as they go up against the hardships with coming of age, struggle to find redemption, and fight to discover a way off the roadway of eternal death and onto the path to everlasting life!

A MAGICAL READ

ABSOLUTELY ENCHANTING

“This book is an exciting mash up of all my best loved fantasy novels. It has MYSTERY, MAGIC and MAYHEM; plenty of adventure and enough action to keep me glued to my Kindle.”

“’In the Land of Magnanthia’ really blew me away. It was SMART, FUN and MAGICAL. B.R. Maul wrote about a magnificent world and characters that you will fall in love with.”

—Roxy Kade

—Courtney with readbetweenthebooks91. blogspot.com

Until Philosophers Become Kings

by Chris Thomas

I

t was near six and his head snapped up; he had been dozing, for how long he wasn’t sure. He was sitting at his writing table, loose papers and scribbled notes everywhere; nothing but deep thoughts, terrible thoughts, penned in a fit of self pity around three.

The subcompact Glock 29 that Raul had given him as a graduation gift from law school years before was still there, lying on the corner of the desk. Raul had intended the gift as personal protection, the last line of defense in an unsafe world. Instead, ironically, it had dangerously become the opposite as he imagined that it had spoken to him at four, I am your only friend, and I can stop the pain and end this nightmare.

He spent the better part of the dark and terrible night staring at the Glock,

his thoughts as cold and black as the steel it was made from. Memories of his mother finally silenced the black thoughts as he held the handgun pressed against his temple, and the safety was reset, the terrible cold object set aside, to be returned to the closet where it had sat undisturbed for years. The remaining night and coming dawn were spent in an examination of other hard truths. In the end, one such realized truth was he did not want to die, but neither did he know how to live.

In his struggle to see his way forward, just as the sun started to make its appearance through the delicate decorative filigree of the antique cotton drapes of his bedroom windows, it was a thought from Burke, not Plato, remembered from his studies years ago,

that came to him; “All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good people to do nothing.�

He had to choose. It was one or the other, good or evil, no matter how hard that once simple choice had surprisingly become for him, for good now had more than one meaning to him, black and white now less clear, obscured by shades of gray he had never contemplated.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION 53

GIFT GUIDE 2016

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

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54

by Helene Andreu This book highlights both verbally and visually the development of today’s dances—ballet, modern, jazz, modern— as well as the influence of peoples’ beliefs, cultures, and lifestyles, and the functions of dance in various societies.

Richly illustrated with 300 images related to dance— paintings,

sculptures, sheet music covers, and photographs.

55

GIFT GUIDE 2016

God and Other Poems

by Paul Carroll

www.bigtablebooks.com

P

aul Carroll was dying, but he couldn’t stop writing. Poet Dan Campion says that Paul “staked his life on poetry, he went all in. A poet had to be daring. Poetry and life needed to merge, not merely share.

Inhibition killed both life and poems: a poet had to put it all out there.

Paul creates a procession of images and associations that capture the ambiance of a place and then, with a kaleidoscopic flourish of optics, startles us with a new angle, a revelation or hidden pattern, or a fine detail selected from or suddenly discovered in a large picture, that crystallizes the scene and the feelings attached to it. Sometimes the startling revelation or juxtaposition comes first and the elaboration after. Aficionados of jazz talk about saxophonists’ “tone.”

There is nothing else in our literature quite like the fluidity and richness of tone in Paul’s conceptual riffs.”

Chapter 1. Song To be able to walk along and see the fierce green sun the meadow grass the tall gently bobbing weeds then to take a walk inside yourself and see trees tall as Tom Thumb It’s always raining here It never rains I’m strolling among the shadows of everyone I’ve ever loved But this morning I was flying with the birds Not knowing like the map there was a destination But it was fun Like making love on Tuesday instead of our customary Sunday afternoon I’ve learned to suffocate death and continue doing so all day “in many of Paul’s poems, there’s the recurrent battle (sometime violent – sometimes comical) between the deterministic & absolute church of his childhood & the

delight he took in the world of philosophical & physical experimentation, whether it be sensual, sexual, literary, social or personal. For him, poetry was the plain on which these great ‘battles’ would be waged.”

—Roger Aplon One of Paul Carroll’s famous battles occurred, 1958-60, when he championed the work of Ginsberg, Kerouac, and Burroughs and won a court trial brought on by the US Post Office’s attempted censorship of his magazine Big Table.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION UNBOUND

56

From complete innocence to revenge and debauchery. Sexually explosive. Seriously humorous. Humorlessly serious. From shy naivety to kick-ass female empowerment.

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.

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

Available at fine bookstores everywhere.

@JLeeWebsterAuthor @JLeeWebster @ j.leewebster

“Gullible’s Travels: Raw & Uncut” is becoming a blockbuster,

already getting great reviews; revealing an exciting sport that gets no attention in the USA, and a team that brought the USA to victory and was worshipped everywhere they went. It’s a sport that is celebrated everywhere else in the world, except by mainstream USA media. Warning, it’s not for the young reader; it’s racy, adults-only reading. Is it fiction, or non-fiction? You decide.

There’s also a “bonus book” in the back 80 pages where the author speaks of today’s taboo topics that everyone else wishes they could. Beware, it’s raw, but honest. It is very easy reading as the author talks to you like one of us and says what you probably want to! This back book interview with the author shares a candid voice for the silenced Middle Class American, that the author also feels the mainstream media ignores. The author wrote this extra feature of the book almost a year ago, and readers are finding it amazing as the predictions made and topics breached are actually already coming true today! A celeb rocker loves the book, and raves about it on the book’s Facebook page.

www.gulliblestravelsraw.com 57

GIFT GUIDE 2016

eBook: $9.99 ISBN: 978-1-4575-4572-6 Paperback: $22.95 ISBN: 978-1-4575-4436-1

From Author Jason Marchi

In this compelling story of a young Quinnipiac brave named Blackbird, we experience the exciting Quinnipiac tribal legend of how the Sleeping Giant land form in Hamden, Connecticut came to look like a giant man sleeping on his back.

“The Legend of Hobbomock is a wonderful book providing an authentic representation of Quinnipiac tribal folklore. [ Jason Marchi’s] rich storytelling is a great way to introduce elementary-age children to Native American worldview and legend, and to inspire them to observe nature and to explore the world around them. Highly recommended.”

—Dr. Kevin McBride, Director of Research Mashantucket Pequot Museum A Barnes & Noble recognized regional best-seller.

A REVERE Awards finalist in 2015.

When Granny Quigley knitted a purple sweater with a white lace collar for her granddaughter, Ashley, she never imagined the adventures that would ensue. Ashley loved her sweater, but when it came time to wash it, the sweater grew. It was far too large for Ashley, so she gave the sweater to her older sister, hoping to one day grow into it again. But with each subsequent washing, the sweater became larger and larger, making it ever more challenging to find a use for this magical growing sweater.

The Growing Sweater, by Jason J. Marchi is an imaginative story that will enthrall and delight young readers. The illustrations, by Ben Quesnel, are a wonderful addition to this book which is sure to become a favorite with young readers. Recommended for home and school libraries, this book has earned the Literary Classics Seal of Approval and was awarded GOLD in the Early Reader Picture Book category.

—Literary Classics Review Recipient of ten awards! Three gold medals.

www.jasonmarchi.com

59

GIFT GUIDE 2016

Available through FOLLET School Solutions, Baker & Taylor • Barnes & Noble, and Amazon Also available at discount to schools and libraries on-line through Fahrenheitbooks.com Or Call 203.453.5700 for library & school discount orders via credit card or purchase order

“Buck’s situation is just silly enough for young readers, who worry about teeth and just about everything else, to laugh at, raising this above the many other books about self-acceptance that populate the shelves.”

Lots of sight words, fullcolor cartoon illustrations, easy-to-read speech bubbles, humor, and lots of likable characters add up to a surefire hit.

e w th iler e i a V k Tr E! o o B HER

—Kirkus Reviews

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NEW MEXICO AUTHOR

MARK CONKLING

www.markconkling.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.markconkling.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

Energy Healing for Animals

A hands on guide for Enhancing the Health, Longevity and Happiness of your Pets

Communication With All Life

Natural healing for pets has emerged into the mainstream—veterinarians across the nation are now providing acupuncture, chiropractic, and other alternative methods. With Energy Healing for Animals, acclaimed animal communicator Joan Ranquet offers an essential guide for anyone seeking to enhance their pet’s health, longevity, and quality of life—and deepen their bond with a beloved companion.

Revelations of an Animal Communicator

Although Communication with All Life is about animal communication, it isn’t just a how-to book, but a guide that will help you discern how much you’re already exchanging feelings, words, and pictures with your pet. Woven throughout the book are many stories to illustrate and support the theory that animal communication isn’t something that you do or need to learn . . . it just is.

Joan Ranquet is an animal communicator, author and founder of Communication with all Life University. She teaches workshops, teleseminars and takes people on animal communication wildlife retreats.

www.joanranquet.com

Fr

e sh

Book Two in the Nine Inch Bride Series

Paperback O “A ff ticking time th eBook bomb of a book. e In another age, Pr its author would be ess Do You dragged out of anonymity Oc Review? to be lionized or shot…The author belongs in the company of to Orwell and Vonnegut…yet a uniquely ber American book,” writes one reviewer—and 20 look no further than the cover to see why!

16 !

“Amid a global duel of espionage and power politics, All Reader Formats

Ken’s double-agent exploits rival the drama and fun of his James Bond and Jason Bourne peers. Yet this is scorchedearth storytelling—timely, powerful, artfully woven—written with an intensity that rewards the slow, careful reader.”

Suited For War “...hooks with heft and uppercuts with ambition—a one-eyed pirate of a book, clutching a knife in its teeth and preparing to board your mind with ravishing intent...”

Book One in the Nine Inch Bride Series

Ni n e Inc h Bri de . c om

Wrap Your Head Around a Radically New Perspective...

An Epiphany On Wall Street “At long, long last...the antidote to Atlas Shrugged!!”

“The writing is confident, persuasive, highly literate...action effectively conveyed...the Nine Inch Bride series could well take its place among the great works of philosophical fiction.”

“Revolutionary meets Wall Street...visionary, metaphysical, and lots of fun!”

Book One ~ 99 Cents ~ Limited Time

eBook All Reader Formats

“Truth is shared here in the most powerful and memorable way: Fiction!”

Paperback

“By all that’s Jeffersonian, it should strike fear into capitalist U N B O U N D hearts!”

58

What if survival required you to unlearn who you are?

How far would you fall to save yourself? Sometimes happiness is a long way down. “ ...highly addictive, spectacular, and mind blowing...Thomas is a wizard of fiction.”

—US Review of Books “A sweeping literary saga in the tradition of ‘Dr. Zhivago’, ‘Gone with the Wind’, and ‘The Thorn Birds’, this book has it all...original and stirring...”

—The Eric Hoffer Book Award

An Amazon Best Seller

“ ...Every now and then, seemingly out of nowhere, a new voice comes along and knocks your socks off. Owen Thomas owns that voice... .”

—The Anchorage Press “ ...This is a powerful, gripping and realistic story... . The Lion Trees does what so very few great novels can: it will take a lot out of you, but leave you with much more than you had when you began.”

—Pacific Book Review

The Johns family is unraveling. Hollis, a retired Ohio banker, isolates himself in esoteric hobbies and a dangerous flirtation with a colleague’s daughter. Susan, his wife of forty years, risks everything for a second chance at who she might have become. David, their eldest, thrashes to stay afloat as his teaching career capsizes in a storm of accusations involving a missing student and the legacy of Christopher Columbus. And young Tilly, the black sheep, having traded literary promise for an improbable career as a Hollywood starlet, struggles to define herself amid salacious scandal, the demands of a powerful director, and the judgments of an uncompromising writer.

By turns comical and poignant, the Johns family is tumbling toward the discovery that sometimes you have to let go of your identity to find out who you are.

lives and writes in Anchorage, Alaska. His novel “The Lion Trees” is available in paper and electrons at Amazon.com.

Reviews, excerpts, interviews, discussion guides, as well as other information about the author and his work, are available at

OwenThomasFiction.com

AWARDS: WINNER of the KINDLE BOOK AWARD, the GLOBAL EBOOK AWARD, BOOKS AND AUTHOR.com BOOK of the YEAR, and 12 other International Book Awards, including The Eric Hoffer Book Award, The London Book Festival, The New York Book Festival, The Amsterdam Book Festival, and The Beverly Hills International Book Awards.

bevel

down by todd langley Bevel Down is not your usual novel. Set in the mid-1990s and told in the first person, it combines the format of a novel with a memoir in revealing the short life of a junkie whose life becomes lost. It’s a gripping narrative that shows how such a decline takes place. The conclusion offers a satisfying blend of hope and despair: something also not common in your typical singular novel, and highly recommended for readers seeking accounts of social challenges and community evolution.

Diane Donovan The Midwest Book Review

The Absurd, Tragic Memoir of an Okie Meth Head

Bevel Down has been required reading for literature students in high schools and colleges in the U.S.

Prepare to take off on an incredible quest through the heavens.

W

hen Billy wins a Bible verse memorization contest at his Sunday shool he’s awarded a free trip to the county fair and $30 to spend.

On the way to the fair, he and the other winners plan to stop by a children’s hospital. Before reaching the hospital Billy meets a balloon salesman. The salesman tells Billy a story about God letting the most beautiful balloons into heaven, for children, who had died too young to find and play with. The balloons that make it to Heaven’s gate but are not pretty enough to gain entrance are popped become thunder during storms.

When Billy himself meets an unfortunate death, he sets out on a Heavenly quest to find his balloon.

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.

Pokergeist

by Michael Phillip Cash

Return of the Convict

by William Alan Thomas

A

A space cadet’s coming of age in 2143 in Vancouver, B.C.

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.

“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.

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

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

“The story…is one of the most amazing and impressive accounts of individual strength and determination that I have ever read. It is so inspiring to read of such individual valor and constant effort against tremendous odds.”

—William B. Fuller, Sr., Lt., US Navy, 1964-1967 (Wilmington, NC)

Toru: Wayfarer Returns

by Stephanie R. Sorensen

A Japan that might have been…

“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

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.

FINALIST, Fantasy, 2016 Next Generation Indie Book Awards

www.harriethillbooks.com Available at bookstores and Amazon.

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

Walking Away From Texas

by Sharon Bradley

K

atie Mitchell and Alan Thomas have been best friends since kindergarten and are about to prepare for college and their future.

Katie is struggling with conflicting feelings and is unsure about leaving her friends and family behind. She discovers that her feelings for Alan run deeper than platonic. Can Katie and Alan’s friendship survive the challenges that lie ahead?

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

BRONZE MEDAL, Multicultural Fiction, 2016 eLit Book Awards www.stephaniersorensen.com

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 Holes in my Shoes

by Alice Breon HOLES IN MY SHOES is a heart-warming story of one family’s experiences during the Great Depression.

Journey back eighty-five years to a time of drugstore soda fountains,penny candy, homemade root beer,and ten-cent movies.

“I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning what life was like during this time period, but more so for every school age child to learn about what it means to live your life not dependent upon or for things, but for the relationships with family, your neighbors, and your closest friends.”

—Amazon Reader’s Review aandwbreon@comcast.net Available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Xlibris.

Pure Moxie

by Leda Sanford

I

mpetuous Leda Sanford abandoned secure suburbia in the 1960s in exchange for a life on the edge, as a top magazine editor and publisher, in the competitive and maledominated Manhattan magazine publishing world.

Her new memoir, Pure Moxie, is set in the ‘Mad Men’ period of magazine publishing and advertising—complete with the day drinking, romance, scandal and drama.

Pure Moxie recreates a world of jet-setting opulence many women can only fantasize about— private planes, five-star hotels, and a state dinner at the White House—plus a headline-making affair. www.ledasanford.com Available at Amazon.

Conversations With an Angel Named Bill

by Michael Hanian

O

ne day Max, a young idler who drifts along his tedious and uneventful life, meets Bill, an angel on an undisclosed assignment. They start a series of conversations covering a variety of issues. Gradually, these sessions develop into a friendship. Being an angel, Bill is capable of analyzing intricate situations and offering infallible solutions, but his talents are greatly limited when it comes to love…

“A rare example of inspirational fiction that will appeal to believers and nonbelievers alike.”

—Kirkus Reviews Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

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Promote your book in Shelf Unbound in our Special Advertising Section for Authors. Each issue of Shelf Unbound is distributed to more than 125,000 people in the U.S. and 62 countries around the globe. Our introductory ad rate for this section is $375/quarter page as seen here.

Contact publisher Margaret Brown to reserve your space.

Margaret@shelfmediagroup.com 214.704.4182.

BOOK SHELF The Blood Key

by Vaun Murphrey

Z

ENA SKALA is freed from an asylum at age eighteen after serving time for a crime she didn’t commit—the presumed murder of her missing brother.

Unwanted attention from the police and media ensues. Zena’s only hope resides in the deserted Skala Estate and memories from her odd past.

Secrets await in her family home. Some more dangerous than others... www.vaunmurphrey.com Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Ask Me Again

by Gina L. Maxwell

B

rokenhearted, Trish swears off love and heads back to her small hometown to lick her wounds.

When the girl who friend-zoned him as kids returns home, Tony shows her he’s not the scrawny, timid boy she remembers; he’s a man who knows what he wants, and he wants her. *Based on true events of a real-life love story.

www.ginalmaxwell.com Available on Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited.

Chemistry

by C.L. Lynch

S

assy, plus-sized seventeen-year-old Stella Blunt faces selfesteem issues, bullies, first love, and a zombie outbreak in this hilarious girl-power response to Twilight. Teens will laugh out loud as Stella solves her problems with confidence, feminism, and a chainsaw.

“Delightfully funny, wickedly sharp.”

—Carol P. Roman, author of the Captain No Beard series www.cllynch.com Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble in ebook and print editions.

*

Promote your book in Shelf Unbound in our Special Advertising Section for Authors. Each issue of Shelf Unbound is distributed to more than 125,000 people in the U.S. and 62 countries around the globe. Our introductory ad rate for this section is $375/quarter page as seen here.

Contact publisher Margaret Brown to reserve your space.

Margaret@shelfmediagroup.com 214.704.4182.

BOOK SHELF 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.

Let’s Go On A Letter Hunt

by Sue Tenerowicz and Lynn Champagne

A

n alphabet adventure that takes your young reader on a marvelous journey of rhyming and hunting for letters from A-Z. The fun loving guide, Alphie, leads the reader or listener up trees, on beaches, into parks, and many other fun places where the alphabet is hiding, in plain view.

This fun and interactive book engages the reader from beginning to end.

www.alphietheletterhunter.com/buy-the-book www.spellitoutphotos.com/our-book Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Abstract Painting, A Practical Approach

by Hennie Reimer

W

hile many art how-to books offer explicit stepby-step instructions, Abstract Painting: A Practical Approach uses a less stringent strategy to teach you how to paint, which not only leaves ample room for your own creativity but also frees you to have plenty of fun with the process.

Are you ready to sidestep formulas and search the depths of your own creativity? www.henniereimerwebsite.com Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Alibris.

*

Promote your book in Shelf Unbound in our Special Advertising Section for Authors. Each issue of Shelf Unbound is distributed to more than 125,000 people in the U.S. and 62 countries around the globe. Our introductory ad rate for this section is $375/quarter page as seen here.

Contact publisher Margaret Brown to reserve your space.

Margaret@shelfmediagroup.com 214.704.4182.

BOOK SHELF THE UNIQUE CHILDHOOD OF A

HUMMER Growing up as a fatherless boy near Center City Philadelphia in America’s most extraordinary orphanage

The Unique Childhood of a Hummer

by Lewis N. Rinko

A Second in Eternity

by Gary L. Wimmer

By Lewis N. Rinko

This memoir/novel recounts the author’s childhood as an orphan growing up in an extraordinary school for fatherless boys. Leaving home at age eight after his father dies in a mining accident, he experiences cruel conditions, harsh punishment, but also humorous escapades and adventures as he learns that to survive he must depend on only one person—himself.

Available at musingspress.com and Amazon Books.

A Journey of a New Person

Jouney of A New Person, Harden Not Your Heart

by Robert Spruce and Sherri Petrek

Robert W. Spruce and Sherri C. Petrek

O

f profound importance are “relationships” and influences on those relationships: one’s relationship with God, one’s relationships with fellow new persons, with others that are encountered, and with self. The book focuses both on the practical and the spiritual application of the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes. www.journeyofanewperson.tateauthor.com Also available in Spanish and eBook.

Available at Amazon, eBay, and Tate Publishing.

A

Second in Eternity is the true story about the author’s intense and enlightening “neardeath” experience in 1977, an experience that changed his life forever and still inspires and empowers him to this day. A witty and insightful page-turner, this book challenges the reader to think outside the box about every facet of existence. www.lithomancy.com http://garywimmer.com/writer/eternity.htm Available at Amazon.

*

Promote your book in Shelf Unbound in our Special Advertising Section for Authors. Each issue of Shelf Unbound is distributed to more than 125,000 people in the U.S. and 62 countries around the globe. Our introductory ad rate for this section is $375/quarter page as seen here.

Contact publisher Margaret Brown to reserve your space.

Margaret@shelfmediagroup.com 214.704.4182.

BOOK SHELF Life Over Death

by Grant W. Fletcher

T

om Roddin mysteriously receives the ‘gift of Hope’ allowing him to create 10 miracles in exchange for 10 deaths. Dealing with the power of the gift and the consequences of his choices takes him on a soul-baring journey testing his moral foundation and redefining the boundaries of situational ethics while ensuring the choices validate Hope for those involved.

http://grantwfletcher.com/index.html Available at Amazon.

The Friday Edition

by Betta Ferrendelli

A

beautiful, young DA falls from her balcony to her death on Christmas Eve. Police suspect suicide, but the DA’s sister, Samantha Church isn’t buying it. Can she write the biggest story of her career before it’s too late and she’s targeted herself? A compelling and suspenseful read for those who love James Patterson, David Baldacci and Sue Grafton.

“The Friday Edition is a page-turner from start to finish.”

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

What Doesn’t Kill You

by Donna Huston Murray AWARD WINNER: Lauren Beck’s friends, phone, home, credit and credibility are gone, severed with surgical precision by an enemy intent on framing her for murder.

“Brave and determined, humorous despite it all… an admirable, down-to-earth heroine.”

–Kirkus Review “…a gripping page-turner.” –Publisher’s Weekly “This book should be picked up and savored.!”

–Judge, Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards www.donnahustonmurray.com Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iTunes.

Magnolia Moonlight

by Mary Ellis

W

hen a preacher takes his own life, the congregation is quick to believe rumors, but his widow knows this was no suicide. When Price Investigations scratch beneath the surface, they discover Reverend Dean was a victim, not a thief. They uncover an elaborate pyramid to bilk millions from nonprofits, thousands of miles from where no one is whom they appear to be. www.maryellis.net Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Christian Book.

BOOK SHELF

Historical Romance Fiction Awarded Editor’s Choice iUniverse

Crossing at Sweet Grass Historical Romance Fiction

by Laurie G. Robertson

Palette of Secrets

by Joan Fallon

K

hen Ana is asked to help the famous artist, Nancy Miller, to write her memoirs, she doesn’t realise that the woman is hiding a terrible secret.

As she gradually unravels the mystery of Nancy’s past, she is faced with the dilemma of what to do with this information which, if revealed, could ruin Nancy’s reputation and devastate her family.

allie is a young woman traveling the Oregon Trail. After an unsuccessful river passage, she is taken captive by an Indian warrior and must rely on her innerstrength, stubbornness, and healing knowledge to survive. Immersed in a world where dangers lurk in the shadows, Kallie surrenders to conflicting emotions and discovers love in a future she never could have imagined.

www.laurierobertson.com Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iUniverse.

Mistletoe, Mischief, and the Marquis

by Amelia Grey

M

W

www.joanfallon.co.uk/palette-of-secrets.html www.facebook.com/PaletteofSecrets1 Available at Amazon.

First Comes Love: Portraits of Enduring LGBTQ Relationships

by B. Proud

arquis of Wythebury plans an ordinary Christmastide until the cheeky Miss Prim challenges him concerning his young nephews. Few people have ever been brave enough to do that.

Lillian Prim doesn’t understand why two boys can’t play outside until she meets their dashing guardian. Lord Wythebury is too serious-minded.

Lillian decides to create Christmastide mischief and teach the boys and the Marquis how to play.

he LGBTQ “must have” story of our times. First Comes Love seeks to change attitudes and open hearts simply by introducing and sharing black & white portraits and love stories of 65 real long-term couples, including Edie Windsor, Bishop Gene Robinson, the Proposition 8 plaintiffs, Barbara Gittings and more. Foreword by Edie Windsor. Gold Medal winner- Independent Publishers Book Awards.

www.ameliagrey.com Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo, and iTunes.

www.firstcomeslove.org Available at author’s website and Amazon.

T

BOOK SHELF The Commandments of God: Are They Burdensome? Are They Abolished?

by Cornie Banman

T

he Holy Scriptures show us that the Eternal God set His Laws in motion for our benefit and welfare, and for our health; for all eternity. In this book you will see that liberty can be obtained by following God’s Laws and Commandments, and that man’s burdens come from following man’s commandments/traditions.

www.corniebanman.com Available at Amazon and iUniverse.

God Never Says “Oops!”

Even When We Do

by Blondina Howes Jeffrey

G

od Never Says “Oops!” published by Say So Books, is another inspirational work of Blondina Howes Jeffrey. It offers encouragement to Christians bogged down by thoughts of past errors, sins, and mistakes assuring them that no matter how heinous our past, nothing is beyond repair, because of grace. www.blondinahowesjeffrey.wordpress.com Available at Amazon, iTunes, and the author. $15.99. Like us on Facebook.

Traditional Anti-Torah Church Doctrines

by Cornie Banman

C

ornie Banman gives readers an informative and comprehensive guide on the methods to validate the doctrines they abide by. He believes that humans have a strong desire to agree with anything that comes out from the pulpit.

He desires to give everyone the ability to discern between what should be faithfully followed and what shouldn’t, so that they would be in alignment with the will of God. He digs deep into Scripture and history to solidify his methods of discernment. www.corniebanman.com Available at Amazon and iUniverse.

When the Brook Dries Up

by Blondina Howes Jeffrey

A

t one time or another in our lives the bottom drops out. Who do we turn to and what do we do? In When the Brook Dries Up, Blondina Howes Jeffrey points us to God, the only One who is more than enough in every circumstance of our lives. He always remains faithful and works all things for His glory and our good. www.blondinahowesjeffrey.wordpress.com Available at Amazon, iTunes, and the author. $10.99. Like us on Facebook.

BOOK SHELF Yiayia Visits Amalia

by Maria G. Mackavey

T

hrough the story, children get to experience the anticipation and joy of a reunion between a little girl and her grandmother. Yiayia, who is Amalia’s grandmother, uses several modes of transportation to get to the apartment where Amalia lives with her parents. On her journey, Yiayia experiences some unanticipated hurdles that threaten to derail her visit.

“A wonderful, well-illustrated look at the relationship between a grandparent and granddaughter who live miles apart.”

–Kirkus Review www.facebook.com/yiayiavisitsamalia www.beejohnson.com/childrens-illustration Available at Amazon.

The Caterpillar That Learned to Fly

A Children’s Nature Picture Book, a Fun Caterpillar and Butterfly Story For Kids, Insect Series (volume 3), 2nd edition

by Sharon Clark

T

his beautifully illustrated, awardwinning picture book will delight children ages 5 to 9. It utilizes an engaging story, told from Cutter the caterpillar’s perspective, to deliver interesting facts. Kids will discover how his appearance changes, most spectacularly with his wondrous transformation into Flutter, a beautiful Monarch butterfly. And Flutter’s amazing migration to Mexico will inspire children to explore new frontiers. www.educational-kids-books.com Available at Amazon.

Stemmie

wants your family to know all that his wellness team can do to keep you strong, smart and healthy! (for children 3-10 yrs) When Rick Was Sick

by Auntielynny With 16 years of writing publications about stem cell research, holistic health and longevity.

Available at Amazon.

If You Were Me and Lived in...

Colonial America

by Carole P. Roman

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 Wisdom of a Life Well-Lived

by Ethel Pearson Levine

E

thel Pearson Levine, school teacher and guidance counselor, lived to age 101. She wrote short advice columns about marriage and divorce to relationships, aging, and death. She took on subjects that affect us all. Within each article, there’s a message, an affirmation, for living a meaningful life. This book is a collection of her selected articles and life tribute. www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPKA6zWdK7Y Available at Bookbaby.

The Loneliness Cure

by Kory Floyd, PhD

L

oneliness hurts.

Although today’s technology lets you communicate with people across the globe, it can leave you feeling disconnected and unhappy in the real world. The Loneliness Cure describes the epidemic of loneliness and offers six compelling strategies for attracting greater intimacy. It’s a valuable guide for anyone who longs for more emotional connection in his or her life. www.koryfloyd.com Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The Should Syndrome

by Karen B. See Operating on autopilot?

Overcommitted and plagued by guilt?

Struggling with a major life change?

Make 2017 the year you take charge of your life!

The Should Syndrome is an easy-to-read, thought-provoking story that teaches a process for discovering who you are, what you want and how to realize your goals and dreams. www.theshouldsyndrome.com Paperback available from the author’s website.

Paperback and e-book formats available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Love’s Destiny, When Dreams and Visions Collide, and Love’s Legacy

by Dr. Ngozi M. Obi

D

r. Ngozi M. Obi is an American author whose love for writing has evolved into 3 published novels to date.

Love’s Destiny, her 1st novel, is an intriguing tale of love lost & found. Her 2nd novel, When Dreams & Visions Collide, is an uplifting tale of fulfilling dreams despite arduous challenges. Her 3rd novel, Love’s Legacy, continues the quest of true love in a riveting sequel to her first novel.

Visit www.ladyofdestiny.com to learn more.

BOOK SHELF Hawkins Lane

by Judith Kirscht

N

ed Hawkins’ and Erica Romano’s love and their love of the mountains overcomes their dissonant backgrounds—until the release of Ned’s father from prison disrupts the harmony.

“An engrossing story of the influence of family in our lives, and of the struggle by two people to triumph over tragedy. You’ll be captivated from the first page!”.

—Chanticleer Reviews www.judithkirscht.com Available at your independent bookstores and at Amazon.

The River of Grief

by CJ Hines

P

eople die. It’s inevitable.

But when someone close to you dies, you may feel like you have died too.

The trouble is that the rest of the world doesn’t share in your grief. They are still alive, and their lives have gone on normally.

Grieving is like being stuck in a murky, tangled, rock-ridden river with no way out and no one to throw you a lifeline.

Learn from author CJ Hines, who shows you, through sharing stories of her own grief, how to navigate the swirling waters of The River of Grief, with God’s hand guiding you all the way. www.cjhines.tateauthor.com Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Tate Publishing.

The Christmas Club

by Barbara Hinske

V

erna Lind expects Christmas of 1952 to be the best holiday she’s had since the war ended. But as she’s leaving the bank, a frigid wind off Lake Erie catches her hardearned Christmas club savings, whisking the bills into the busy streets of downtown Cleveland and devastating her plans. Strangers come to her aid, though no one anticipates the power of their chance encounter or the seeds of happiness Verna’s lost money will sow. www.barbarahinske.com Print and Kindle available on Amazon.

The Tail Wags the Dog

by Dr. Amy Beth Taublieb

H

aving worked with folks as they plowed through their psychological struggles of varying severity taught Dr. Amy Beth Taublieb an enormous amount about the human condition.

Her book, “The Tail Wags the Dog”, serves as a virtual guide to living life at an optimal level while navigating life’s inevitable struggles.

www.dramybeth.com Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Author House.

BOOK SHELF Scapegoat—A Flight Crew’s Journey from Heroes to Villains to Redemption

by Emilio Corsetti lll

T

he true story of a flight crew wrongly blamed for causing a near-fatal accident and the captain’s decades-long battle to clear his name.

“Fasten your seatbelt for an incredible story of injustice.”

—Karlene Petitt, international airline pilot, safety consultant, and best-selling author www.emiliocorsetti.com www.facebook.com/Scapegoatbook Available everywhere in eBook, print, and audio download You Shall Know Our Names

by Ezekiel Nieto Benzion

Grind City

by Gary Hardwick

A

black woman is murdered in a police precinct. Charges of brutality are leveled on law enforcement and Detroit is in society’s crosshairs.

Danny Cavanaugh, a white cop raised in an allblack neighborhood, has a compelling reason to work the case: the murdered woman was his beautiful and provocative sister-in-law.

Danny takes up an unauthorized investigation, always one step behind the ruthless killer. But as he closes in, the case takes a turn that plunges Danny into the abyss of the criminal mind, where he finds a motive more evil than murder.

Available at Amazon, Nook, Smashwords, and iTunes.

Shot Down

by Steve Snyder

W

That is how my journey began. And by its end, I learned all the secrets inscribed in my name.

inner of 20 national book awards, Shot Down is about the dramatic experiences of each member of a ten man B-17 crew after their plane (piloted by the author’s father) was knocked out of the sky by German fighters over the French/ Belgian border on February 8, 1944 and about the courageous Belgian citizens who risked their lives trying to help them. The hardcover book has more than 200 time period photographs of the people who were involved and the places where their stories took place.

www.tellingourtales.net Available at Amazon.

www.stevesnyderauthor.com Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

FINALIST National Jewish Book Award, 2014

A

s my grandfather gave me the old dusty 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.”

BOOK SHELF Sorrows & Songs

by Janice Wood Wetzel

W

riting about herself with humility and grace, Wetzel demonstrates the resilience of the human spirit. Her life story is one of courage and triumph over adversity, culminating in an extraordinary professional and personal life. Her achievements as an international social work educator and women’s rights advocate are remarkable. “Sorrows & Songs” is an inspiration for women of all ages. www.sorrowsandsongs.com Soft cover and links to e-books versions can be found on the website God & Other Poems

by Paul Carroll

N

obody really wants to die, but the fact that he was facing death in 10 weeks did not deter Paul Carroll from writing what may be the best poems of his life. He reckons with his feelings, death, and ultimate questions through wonder, satire, and generous humor.

Join in his love and laughter: “Is there a Mrs. God?” www.bigtablebooks.com Available at Amazon.

http://parispolter.com/the-dance-of-the-moon Available at Amazon.com, Baker and Taylor, and IngramSpark.

See review by Dr. Thomas E. Phipps, Jr. in PHYSICS ESSAYS, Volume 28 Number 2 June 2015 page 290.

Minoan Signs

by GJK Campbell-Dunn MA (NZ), MA (Camb), PhD (Cant) The Minoan Linear Signs are NigerCongo (Atlantic) : Sign meaning = sign phonetic = Atlantic meaning = Atlantic phonetic. Minoan QE = Gola gbe ‘sun’; Minoan SU = Fula sudu ‘house’; Minoan PO ‘axe, foal’ = Gola po ‘zerbrechen’, bowo ‘jung’; Minoan WO ‘man’ = Fula wor ‘male’. Twenty-five words, including MARU ‘fleece’ = Fula mbalu ‘sheep’ are related to Fula. Minoan is “Fula”. www.minoansigns.wordpress.com Available at Amazon and BookWhirl.