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Exploration: The Stanfield Chronicles by David Tory


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Kiss the Earth


Neal Sehgal
    KISS THE EARTH is a collection of poetry, prose, and photography that explores the bliss of falling in love, perseverance through adversity, finding peace within one’s self, and reverence for all that this life has for us to experience.

Speaking in Tungs


Karla M. Jay - 2015
    In this entertaining first novel, set in rural Pennsylvania, a young San Francisco woman searches for her birthparents and from the moment she arrives in the backwoods town of Tungston, she falls under the spell of unforgettable characters, the unexpected-but-real threat of a violent fugitive, and the unexpected-but-real charm of a local fireman—all leading her to discover the true meaning of family.

A Tropical Frontier: Tales of Old Florida


Tim RobinsonTim Robinson - 2011
    While great cities were springing up ih in places with names such as St. Louis, Denver, and San Francisco, the lower peninsula of Florida endured. Here, the panther, the alligator, and the bald eagle remained safe from the restless, meddlesome hands of civilization, continuing as they had for eons past. Renegade Indians, pirates, hurricanes, and man-eating animals – not to mention poisonous snakes and bloodthirsty hordes of mosquitoes – reigned supreme. It took a certain kind of person to boldly venture into such an inhospitable environment, a place where a man had only himself and his family upon which to depend. It took men and women with not only vision, but backbone and grit, people like the MacLeods, Dawsons, and Hackensaws, true pioneers who confronted whatever came their way, together, as a family. From shipwrecks, to Indian uprisings, to buried treasure; from blockade runners, to murderous beach tramps, and the sad, lonely life of the solitary beachcomber, Tales of Old Florida takes the reader back to a singular time and place that will never be seen again. Above all, Tales of Old Florida is an epic saga of survival and prosperity, love and love lost, and most importantly, the power of the human spirit to prevail.

Hohenstaufen: Mark of the Beast


Daniel R. Hopkins - 2018
    Instead of going to heaven or hell, he wakes up on the other side of the world—almost eight hundred years back in time. It’s 1277 in the Holy Land. The Crusaders are making their last stand. The unclaimed throne of Jerusalem is their only hope. But things get complicated when a girl only Arjen can see or hear puts him on that throne. Arjen’s mission to discover who he is and why he’s here quickly becomes one of survival as his reign sets him down the path of war with a mad conqueror. Caught in a love triangle between a gold-hearted nun and a demoness from hell, Arjen must choose between his destiny and his soul—even when he’s already lost both.

The Twin Towers


Richard Todd - 2019
    Special Forces Major Kyle Mason is honeymooning at New York’s SoHo Grand Hotel with his bride, Padma Mahajan. The couple’s hotel is only a few hundred yards away from Padma’s place of work on the 105th floor of the World Trade Center’s North Tower.When Padma steps out for coffee and a cigarette, a mysterious visitor enters the honeymoon suite, warning Kyle of an incomprehensible catastrophe that will result in the total destruction of the World Trade Center towers, killing his wife. The stranger enlists Kyle’s help to avert a disaster that will occur the following morning – on 9/11.The first book in the Time Tunnel series, Time Tunnel: The Twin Towers, re-imagines 9/11 as a critical inflection point in time, the outcome of which the government determines must be altered in order to reverse the course of the American empire.

Tabula Rasa


Filip Forsberg - 2018
    An alien discovery in space with global repercussions.In a dystopian future, the earth is under strain due to natural disasters and accelerating pollution of the environment. On the coast of Madagascar, a ruthless corporate leader creates his own vision of the future in the shape of Tabula Rasa, a mega-complex inhabited by over a million people. Jonathan Jarl, a rookie agent for the Amber group, is on his first assignment and is assigned to retrieve the famous Nebra Sky disc that has been stolen. During the mission, he is faced with some of Tabula Rasas darkest secrets. Meanwhile, in orbit around the moon, a discovery is made that has potential implications for the entire human race but Tabula Rasa is doing everything in its powers to keep the discovery secret. In a lab within Tabula Rasa, an idealistic scientist decides to share the discovery with the world. She takes a fateful decision that puts her life on the line. Jonathan is thrown into a breakneck race for time and Tabula Rasa is the first thrilling installment about Jonathan Jarl and the Amber group.

Apotheosis Now: Rabbit Hole to the Beyond


Yanhao Huang - 2021
    Because externally, we are always trying to control what is “not me,” and internally, we always get perplexed trying to figure out whether our actions came from our “higher” or “lower” self. As Albert Einstein said: “We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.”This book will help you to understand:Why we have internal conflictsHow does our ego trap us in undesirable circumstancesHow do our beliefs limit usWhy thought-based teachings (Law of Attraction), or self-improvement advice don’t workHow do we really get what we wantWhy is happiness so rare for usWho we are reallyWhat is the nature of existenceWhat is the meaning of lifeHow do we know if there is a GodWhat is the process of spiritual enlightenmentMany of us are starting to become tired of this game of life. We have been comparing and striving all our life. But no matter how much success we have achieved—we are still hollow and still have found nothing fulfilling. We don’t even know if happiness exists because it is no longer a living thing in our experience—it has become dead, as we only know it as a concept or memory.We have sought self-help advice, philosophies, and religious teachings to transform ourselves but have not gotten anywhere. We have made some superficial improvements—like adopting a new mindset—but our core remains the same. We are still competitive, still fearful, and we get disturbed all the time.The problem with all attempts at self-improvement is that we do not address the fundamental problem, which is: who is the “you” who needs to be improved? We do not see that the one who is making the improvement is the same one who needs to be improved. The more we try to improve, the more conflict we introduce, within and without. The more knowledge we stuff in our heads, the more we become trapped in a conceptual prison of reality. Inevitably, the more confused we get in life.The book guides the reader out of their distorted beliefs to experience reality beyond the mind. When the deeper intelligence is allowed to flourish without our mind's interference, then the game of life becomes effortless.

A Reason to Be


Norman McCombs - 2020
    Douglas McCombs is an accomplished engineer and recent widower driven to discover the truth of who he is by studying the people and places he comes from. After losing his wife to a battle with Alzheimer’s, Douglas is left devastated until a chance encounter with a sharp, compassionate librarian named Suzy Hamilton on the steps of the New York Public Library shakes him from the throes of grief. ​With Suzy’s help, Douglas takes up genealogy and begins an investigation into his Scottish lineage that takes the reader on a sprawling journey through time and the remarkable lives of Douglas’s ancestors—from legendary highland clan chiefs and American war generals to humble farmers and family men. As he traces his ancestry through the generations, Douglas manages to discover not only the roots he was searching for, but also a brand-new reason to be.

Choosing Light: When an Earthquake Buried Me and My Family for 5 Days, I Learned to Fully Live


Viral Dalal - 2017
    Home in India on holiday, Viral Dalal is vacationing with his family when a 7.7 magnitude earthquake—one of the most ferocious in history—collapses the high-rise building where, just the night before, he had celebrated being together with his family. Now, buried under tons of rubble, in total darkness, without food, water, light, or the ability to even move—and with the ceiling hanging precariously just inches above his head—all Viral wants is to find his family. The cement box he is trapped in, however, will not yield – and hours crawl by. Then a full day, and another, and another… Is anyone even looking for him? Or is he buried alive? Forgotten? What would you do, trapped in such a predicament? What is going to help him now? This bold, challenging, breathtaking tale of courage reveals the source of willpower that drove a man who would not give up. What he learned, we can all learn - about ourselves, and about life. In every life, there is a source of strength. Do you know yours? What Viral learned by going to his sources of inner strength can change your perspective on living. It can empower you to face anything… once you, too, know how to choose light. A shining, inspirational story you will not be able to put down… or ever forget.

The Rise of the Maccabees


Amit Arad - 2020
    For 800 years the Zadokite priesthood has led the Jewish People. But the ancient world is changing. Without, Rome is rising, becoming the super power of the world. Within, a power struggle inside the House of Zadok is a golden opportunity for interlopers, who seek to unseat them from the throne. The delicate balance which has allowed the Jewish Nation to survive in this age of Empires is threatened.On the background of these tumultuous times, Judah, scion of a minor priestly lineage, comes of age in Judea. While experiencing love, friendship, and conflict he slowly transforms into the warrior and leader his people are waiting for.Fascinating Historical Novel about Judah the Maccabee, who led the ancient Israelis to a brave rebellion against the Seleucid Empire. A gripping glimpse into the heart of the dramatic events that took place in the Land of Israel before and during the Maccabee Rebellion.

High Rollers


Logan C. Kane - 2018
    University of Miami freshman Cameron McKinney is in dire need of cash. In a few years, he will graduate with over 100,000 dollars in student loan debt. To make matters worse, he is utterly ignored by the opposite sex. College isn't quite what he pictured back home in freezing-cold Chicago. Fortunately, Cameron has a brilliant mind for numbers. He decides to start a sports betting website with the help of fellow classmate Dylan Posner, a notorious campus party animal. Within weeks, hundreds of students sign up, and the business is a runaway success. Cameron begins making thousands of dollars of per week, tax-free. He uses the money to pay off his loans and fund his new South Beach lifestyle. As his operation grows, so does his ego. Cameron raises the stakes, taking on a group of jet-setting international students as customers. He begins dating Grace Cooper, the hard-drinking, purity ring-wearing daughter of a prominent Republican Party lobbyist. As the business grows, Cameron's problems multiply further. His dysfunctional romance and his business partner's reckless lifestyle threaten to take them all down.Do you love easy-to-read books filled with wealth, intrigue, and palm trees? If so, don't miss reading High Rollers!

Shakespeare Burning


Charisse Moritz - 2019
     One mistake and seventeen-year-old Shake LeCasse lost everything. Now there’s no going back and no way to move forward. The once-popular Varsity hockey captain is living in the basement of a grandmother he barely knows, ditching school, avoiding friends and working hard on self-destruction. She’s the girl nobody sees. Cleo Lee survives however she can. Lie, cheat, steal, whatever it takes, and saving Mr. Popular isn’t part of the plan. Telling him the truth about the night that destroyed his life is downright dangerous. She needs to keep quiet, be smart and let the guy she’s been half in love with since middle school throw away a future she’d do anything to have. Too bad she sucks at playing it safe.

Braiding Roses


Elise Stoltenbreck - 2021
    Things nosedive from bad to terrible when she finds herself in a shouting match with Gareth, resident doctor and her boss, on her first day.Between the love of her life urging her to return to Perth and a prickly, dismissive, and rude boss practically tossing her to the curb on day one, Mandy faces the coming year with thorns bared, determined to come out with her head held high. While she hones her doctoring skills in order to prove herself to the highly capable Gareth after their less-than-ideal first encounter, she might learn a little something about herself, too.

The Company of Demons


Michael Jordan - 2018
    -- Cleveland Sun News"Jordan is a cross between John Grisham and Stephen King."-- Cleveland SceneThe brutal murder of a friend leaves lawyer John Coleman stunned and sends shockwaves through the city of Cleveland. The technique of the killing recalls memories of the Torso Murderer, who dismembered at least twelve people decades ago and then vanished—eluding even legendary crime fighter Eliot Ness. Jennifer, the victim’s beautiful daughter, hires John to handle her father’s estate, and romantic feelings for her soon complicate his already troubled marriage. When John finds himself entangled with a cold-blooded biker gang, an ex-cop with a fuzzy past, and the drug-addicted son of the dead man, he struggles to make sense of it all.But there is no escaping a growing sense of dread."A well-written and complexly plotted crime thriller." --Caroline McCullagh, Mensa Bulletin''The terror of the Torso Murderer returns in this gritty, Cleveland-centric tale. Jordan delights with crackling dialogue, true-to-life characters, an intensely paced plot, and an explosive finale. A must-read for fans of Lecter, Dexter, and the Ripper.'' --John Keyse-Walker, Author of Sun, Sand, Murder and Beach, Breeze, Bloodshed; winner of Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award''Michael Jordan brings characters and scenes to life in this emotionally gripping and compelling breakout novel. Brilliantly crafted.''--Rick Porrello, author of To Kill the Irishman (adapted into a major motion picture), Superthief!, and The Rise and Fall of the Cleveland Mafia Corn, Sugar, and BloodThe Company of Demons by Michael Jordan is a wonderful blend of crime and mystery, a riveting story with sophisticated characters. [...] Michael Jordan is a great storyteller and he has the ability to keep the narrative emotionally intense and psychologically disturbing. The Company of Demons is a real page-turner.-- Reader's Favorite

The Almond Tree


Michelle Cohen Corasanti - 2012
    Living under occupation, the inhabitants of the village harbour a constant fear of losing their homes, jobs, belongings – and each other. On Ahmed’s twelfth birthday, that fear becomes a reality. With his father now imprisoned, his family’s home and possessions confiscated and his siblings quickly succumbing to hatred in the face of conflict, Ahmed embarks on a journey to liberate his loved ones from their hardship, using his prodigious intellect. In so doing, he begins to reclaim a love for others that had been lost over the course of a childhood rife with violence, and discovers new hope for the future.