Sean of the South: Volume 2


Sean Dietrich - 2015
    His humor and short fiction appear in various publications throughout the Southeast.

Waiting for a Miracle: Historical Novel


Helen (Wininger) Livnat - 2018
     It begins somewhere in Russia in the mid-19th century, and takes the reader into the events during the two world wars, and their ways of existence during the holocaust. The simple and touching stories are presented from the perspective of a sensitive young boy, fascinated by his surroundings. In a moment of anxiety and fear, the boy is torn from his family, and the journey of his life begins. The story describes four generations that represent the history of Eastern European Jews. The author creates a unique attraction between the book and the reader, by her fluent and vivid language. Historical truths are intertwined with fascinating stories about the power of a violin, and the miracles that occurred during the attempt to survive under impossible conditions in a period where sanity was lost. “People will forget what I said, people will forget what I did, people will never forget what I made them feel.”

Coming to Las Vegas: A True Tale of Sex, Drugs & Sin City in the '70s


Carolyn V. Hamilton - 2014
    Fresh out of commercial art school, Hamilton moves from Los Angeles to Las Vegas with her boyfriend to join the newly-formed Las Vegas International Circus. When that job doesn’t “fly” she experiences a series of short-term jobs in order to save enough money to move back to LA. But the MGM Grand Hotel, the world’s largest hotel/casino is scheduled to open, and Hamilton, who was also a former Playboy Bunny, is hired as a cocktail waitress. She subsequently marries her boyfriend, a former undercover ATF officer now District Court bailiff, who is later revealed to be a bigamist. Hamilton quickly learns the ways of the casino world. Along with several of her fellow workers, she battles sexual pressure from bartenders and the machinations of unscrupulous casino bosses who resent the tips players give to cocktail waitresses. A city-wide Las Vegas Culinary Union strike in 1974 proves to be an eye-opening political event that none of the cocktail waitresses view seriously. This is a highly personal and quite entertaining account of 3 years in a young woman’s life. Several of the author’s personal photos are included. The seventies were an era of change and Hamilton faced them all: drugs, alcohol, sex and women’s liberation. Carolyn V. Hamilton names real names, real places, and real events. These true stories show keen insight into casino life in the Las Vegas of the 1970s. Here’s what advance reviews say about COMING TO LAS VEGAS: “Honestly told and forthcoming.” “Hamilton reveals the seamy and steamy side of America’s Sin City. It’s a wild ride of time, place, and opportunity and she tells the story in a most compelling and engaging fashion.” "A brilliant look at behind the glitter of Las Vegas.” “Funny, poignant and disarmingly honest, her stories kept me turning pages well into the night.” “Really enjoyed the MGM Grand cast of characters, the colorful clothing styles and all the ‘juicy’ details.” “Hamilton takes readers on a fun, fast-paced, and sexy romp through 1970’s Las Vegas. Hang on to your chips! This is quite a ride.” “An astonishingly good read.” “Lots of humor and laughs, too.”

Texas Tragedy: The Story of Priscilla Davis: A True Story of Money, Murder and Survival


Greg Brown - 2016
    Worth, Texas. Cullen Davis was one of the richest men in Texas and his second wife, Priscilla Davis, was shot in their mansion. Also shot and murdered were her twelve-year-old daughter and her thirty-year-old boyfriend, Stan Farr. Priscilla and two other people said it was Cullen. The culprit was wearing a wig so his identity was somewhat hidden but not completely. Cullen was arrested in the early morning hours of August 3, 1976, at his girlfriend's house. He later went on trial for the murder of Priscilla's daughter. He was found not guilty but the next year he was put on trial for a murder-for-hire plot to kill the judge overseeing his divorce from Priscilla. He got off from that charge, too. And somehow he finally skirted any murder charge for Stan Farr. Finally in 1979 he and Priscilla were divorced. Priscilla received 3.3 million dollars and Cullen was able to move back into his 19,000 square-foot mansion. Two books have been written and a movie was made describing these events and characters. But nothing has been written about what really happened in the decades after the trials of the 1970's. This book explains the facts of that fateful August night and what happened in the courtrooms of Texas. But the majority chronicles the path Priscilla took after the trials of the 1970's. Priscilla was not done with Cullen yet and she would try tirelessly to obtain some kind of justice. She also decided to have a little fun along the way. The press loved Priscilla but the general public were split. She had been painted as a low-rent gold-digger in the Texas courtrooms but everyone also knew that Cullen was probably guilty of murder. In the end, only the two of them really knew the truth. This is the story of how Priscilla learned to live with the fact that justice was denied her and Cullen would probably never pay. In 1995, a 26-year-old man named Greg Brown moved in with Priscilla, who was now 53. They became lovers and Greg tells how Priscilla learned to make the most of tragic situations which were both of her making and not of her making. It's a story of struggle, love and compromise even in the most dire of circumstances.

Churchy: The Real Life Adventures of a Wife, Mom, and Priest


Sarah Condon - 2016
    Unflinchingly honest yet unfailingly hopeful, Rev. Sarah is a genre unto herself. You've never had this much fun going to church

The Sum of My Parts


James Sanford - 2011
    At first I tried to deny my condition (trying to treat a tumor with hot baths and ice packs). Eventually, I decided I would learn as much about my illness as possible while trying to keep my emotions on hold.What followed was an experience that finally forced me to deal with issues about my body that I had tried to ignore for decades. Along the way I dealt with a physician who gave me ridiculous advice and acquaintances who asked unbelievable questions. But I was also fortunate to be surrounded by people who supported me and doctors who helped me through the process.

See You Tonight and Promise to Be a Good Boy!: War memories


Salo Muller - 2017
     Former Ajax physiotherapist writes his WW2 memories. 'See you tonight, and promise to be a good boy!' were the last words his mother said to Salo Muller in 1942 when she took him to school in Amsterdam, right before she was deported to Auschwitz. She and her husband were arrested a few hours later and taken to Westerbork, from where they would later board the train that took them to Auschwitz.The book is, in his own words, “the story of a little boy who experienced the most horrible things, but got through it somehow and ended up in a great place.” Salo, at only 5 years old, spent his time during the Second World War in hiding, in as much as eight different locations in the Netherlands. The book tells the story of his experiences during ww2, but also explains how he tried to make sense of his life after the war, being a young orphan. ˃˃˃ His memories are interwoven with historical facts and explanations, making it both an autobiography and a historical narrative. Salo Muller became famous in the 1970s as the physiotherapist for Ajax, the Amsterdam soccer team. He treated renowned players such as Johan Cruijff, Sjaak Swart and Piet Keizer. The why of the tragedy is something he can’t let go: ˃˃˃ 'Hardly a day goes by when I don’t shed a tear but, unfortunately, it doesn’t change a thing.’ 'See You Tonight and Promise to be a Good Boy!’ was the result of Salo’s participation in of the Shoah Project, initiated by Steven Spielberg and the USC Shoah Foundation, where his testimony was recorded. This encouraged him to write down his story. Scroll up and grab a copy today.

Everything Will Be All Right


Douglas Wallace - 2009
    

Practice Makes Perfect (Edward Vernon's Practice series Book 1)


Edward Vernon - 2014
    It is his first job in general practice; his first brave excursion into the dangerous world where patients walk round in their clothes. Dr Vernon soon finds himself bemused, fascinated and exhausted as he copes with the procession of ailing humanity that streams into his surgery and awaits his visits. A confused old lady, timid vet, puzzled diabetic, lonely housewife, hypochondriac, tipster with an ulcer, nun with dandruff and a persistent young lady with abundant charms and nothing wrong with her. Just published as an e book, exclusive to Amazon, this book was a huge hit in England and America when first published in the 1970s. Edward Vernon is a pen name of a well known British doctor/author.Here's what the critics said about the series:Thoroughly delightful - Fresno BeeHilarious - TitbitsA delightfully funny book that keeps the reader laughing and appeals to one's sense of the ridiculous - Sunday Advocate, Baton RougeFor entertainment, a chapter or two before bedtime is just what the doctor ordered - Sacramento BeeDoes for British GPs what Herriot has done for vets - BooklistHilarious, written with skill and zest - Grimsby Evening TelegraphVery funny - Citizen, GloucesterThoroughly enjoyable, genuinely funny - South Wales EchoWise, funny, sad and heartwarming - Chattanooga TimesGood fun - Homes and GardensMost of his adventures are funny, some hilarious; but he has the good sense to leven the comedy lump with some that are sad, some touching. All are written lightly, easily, entertainingly - Oxford TimesThe funniest of the funny doctor books - Richard GordonJolly good reading - Publishers WeeklyViews the human species he treats with much the same affection, compassion and humour as Herriot brings to the animal world - Cleveland Plain DealerSometimes serious, sometimes hilarious - Lancashire Evening PostTruthful, well observed and consistently readable - Daily TelegraphPerceptive and witty - Surrey AdvertiserWill amuse, amaze and entertain - Yorkshire Postetc etc

Flight Path: A Search for Roots beneath the World's Busiest Airport


Hannah Palmer - 2017
    Having uprooted herself from a promising career in publishing in her adopted Brooklyn, Palmer embarks on a quest to determine the fate of her lost homes—and of a community that has been erased by unchecked Southern progress. Palmer's journey takes her from the ruins of kudzu-covered, airport-owned ghost towns to carefully preserved cemeteries wedged between the runways; into awkward confrontations with airport planners, developers, and even her own parents. Along the way, Palmer becomes an amateur detective, an urban historian, and a mother. Lyrically chronicling the overlooked devastation and beauty along the airport’s fringe communities in the tradition of John Jeremiah Sullivan and Leslie Jamison, Palmer unearths the startling narratives about race, power, and place that continue to shape American cities. Part memoir, part urban history, Flight Path: A Search for My Roots beneath the World's Busiest Airport is a riveting account of one young mother's attempt at making a home where there’s little home left.

Dirty Laundry - A True Story: From The Streets to an Executive One Man's Forty Year Journey


Ivan Von Baublitz - 2016
    On the very day Richard Millhous Nixon became the 37th President, Ivan was born into a dysfunctional family. From a mentally challenged mother to an incapable father and a fragile brother, Ivan was faced with challenges no child is ready for. And yet despite all the anger and frustration that came with them, he somehow managed to persevere, to become more what society deemed him to be: an executive. This creative uncensored biography recounts in vivid detail the anger and depression of growing up in poverty, the gripping homicidal effects of drugs, racism, police brutality and a broken government system. Ivan’s voice is expressed through a masterful use of syntax that reveals a soul that, while battered, is far from broken. His tale maintains steadfast a hope for a better future that would give Richard Nixon himself reason to pause. From Illinois to Indiana comes a story over forty-years that highlights the indomitable power of a determined soul. Relive some of the most unimaginable situations, leading up to a meeting with a certain angel that will change his life for the better. Find out how a word as simple as “FAVOR” can make all the difference in the world. This unrestricted story will leave you never looking at your own “Dirty Laundry” the same.

Begging (Invisible Child)


Mary Hayward - 2011
    The book gives a rare insight into the home life I shared with my brother Les (James Phelge). Why he called himself Phelge I don’t know, but James is my father’s name: We shared a common mother. The story starts in Edmonton, London. It is the story of heartbreak and neglect in the relentless struggle for food amidst the filth of poverty. What is it like for a small girl to starve? When she needs help, she is abandoned and left to struggle alone.

OFF THE MAP: 25 True Stories to Inspire Your Next Adventure


Chelsea Fagan - 2014
    But it’s never too late to write your next story, and to go on your next adventure. In partnership with Cayman Jack, Thought Catalog presents a collection of 25 travel stories to inspire you to leave behind the predictable and take to the open road in search of the unforgettable. Your next great memory is waiting for you, whether you realize it or not. And these exceptional stories will help you find it.

Elizabeth I: Legendary Queen Of England


Michael W. Simmons - 2016
    Born the heir to the throne, she was declared a bastard when she was three years old, after her mother was executed for treason, witchcraft, and incest. During the reign of her sister, Mary I, she was a prisoner in the Tower of London, where she was expected to die. But when she became Queen, at the age of 25, she swiftly stunned the royal court by stepping into the seat of power with grace, intelligence, and an air of majesty that maddened and enchanted the men around her. For 44 years, Elizabeth I guided England through religious upheavals and plots to overthrow the government. Courted by all the most powerful princes in Europe, she baffled her advisors by refusing to marry any of them. And when England stood under threat of invasion by the most powerful nation in Europe, Elizabeth’s navy destroyed the Spanish Armada so decisively that it was seen as an act of God. In this book, you will discover why no English monarch has ever been more famous, more successful—or more deeply loved by her people.

Danger Stalks the Land: Alaskan Tales of Death and Survival


Larry Kaniut - 1999
    This one-of-a-kind anthology captures the spine tingling adventures of daring men and women who venture into Alaska's vast wilderness and look death in the eye. Danger Stalks the Land relates gripping episodes of animal attacks, avalanches, aircraft disasters, fishing, hunting, and skiing accidents, and chronicles risky climbs and reckless mountaineering amid Alaska's fantastic peaks. Through exhaustive research and interviews, author Larry Kaniut has captured in one volume, the terror and beauty of man's attempt to explore a vast and unforgiving land.