Till Death Do Us Part


J.J. Slate - 2015
    Spousal murder is never acceptable, but newlywed murder seems to be on a completely different level. It is unconscionable to think someone could stand in front of his family and friends, pledging to honor and cherish another person for the rest of his life, and then kill his spouse in cold blood just months, weeks, or even days later. It happens more than you'd think--and, contrary to popular belief, it's not always the husband who acts as the aggressor. In her third true crime book, bestselling author JJ Slate examines more than twenty true stories of newlywed murders, delving into the past of the victims and aggressors, searching for answers to the question everyone is asking: How does this sort of thing happen? These shocking cases of betrayal and murder might just make you think differently about those five sacred words, "till death do us part."

Pandemics: Our Fears and the Facts (Kindle Single)


Sunetra Gupta - 2013
    As recently as 1918, a pandemic of influenza claimed over 50 million lives worldwide. The advent of drugs and vaccines led to an era of hope when we thought our battles with infectious disease were won, but our optimism has been eroded by the recognition that many pathogens have the capacity to transform themselves and escape our efforts to eradicate them. Are we now facing an inevitable repeat of a calamity such as the 1918 influenza pandemic or the Black Death? Can we anticipate and thwart such an event, or are we wilfully creating the conditions that would promote the emergence of new and highly virulent human infectious disease?Sunetra Gupta is Professor of Theoretical Epidemiology at the University of Oxford specialising in infectious diseases. She holds a bachelor's degree from Princeton University and a Ph.D. from the University of London. She has been awarded the Scientific Medal by the Zoological Society of London and the Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award for her scientific research. She is also a novelist whose books have been awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award, the Southern Arts Literature Prize, shortlisted for the Crossword Award, and longlisted for the DSC and Orange Prizes.

The Imposter (Alex Destephano)


Judith Townsend Rocchiccioli - 2014
    At Crescent City Medical Center's Psychiatric Pavilion, nurses are doling out Thorazine Slurpees and Geodon shots to some of the most criminally insane and viciously psychotic patients in the South. Alexandra Destephano, a registered nurse and legal counsel for CCMC, is troubled by safety issues in The Pavilion and enlists former husband, dashing surgeon Robert Bonnet to assist her in minimizing the dangers, but they are only aware of the ones they see. The situation escalates as the days become hotter and the nights become longer. Brutal beatings and murder are the order of the day and life in the Big Easy is clearly Uneasy.

Fiddleback


Jeff Vrolyks - 2012
    Breuer has ideas to help Mae, ideas that aren’t very nice. Breuer isn't as imaginary as Mae thinks. Tag Baylor is a bartender who writes fiction as a hobby, posting his works on an amateur website. The heroine in his stories is a young woman named Mae Clark. A man claiming to be Mae Clark’s husband emails Tag, threatening tremendous bodily harm if he continues writing about Mae. Tag is stunned: Mae Clark is a figment of his imagination. Or is she?Warning: Book depicts explicit acts of violence. Discretion advised.

Tell No One


Sarah Cooper - 2012
    If you passed me in the street, you wouldn’t notice either. You might see the small scar on my neck that was inflicted by a knife being pressed to my throat. You might notice a lump on my left wrist where the bones didn’t heal properly after it was fractured. You might notice small scars on my arms where I was used as a live ashtray. But you won’t see the scars that are deep inside me – the ones which take a lifetime to heal. They’re ingrained in me, trapped under the surface like fish under a frozen lake, waiting for the moment when the surface cracks and they can come to life again. These mental scars are the demons that haunted me when I was at my lowest point. They came out to torment me, rearing their ugly head in the darkness. Then they would retreat again for a time, making me think I’d got over what happened to me, only to show up when I least expected it. But with every year that passed, I learnt how to handle the demons more. Every sick and twisted thing that happened in my childhood has made me into the woman I am today. I’m a survivor. My name is Sarah and this is my story…

Long Blue Line: Based on a True Story


E. McNew - 2014
    It candidly reveals the provocative and secret world of a planned teen pregnancy and the brutal consequences that follow. The girl next door - popular and driven. Once upon a time a beautiful teenager looked forward to school letting out and the warm, carefree days to come. But in the summer of her fifteenth year, things would drastically change. After reading a romance book sensationalizing a young woman's perfect life following the hookup with a wealthy prince charming, Elizabeth set out to create her own fairy tale ending. This would become the beginning of the darkest hours in her life: pregnancy, bridesmaids, drugs and jail. Long Blue Line is Elizabeth's true story about her descent into addiction. Her obsession with pregnancy, social issues, independence, and, ultimately drugs is chronicled in brutally honest Prose that will leave you spellbound. Her journey isn't over - far from it. She still has nightmares, but today she is wiser and lives in reality. If you are this girl, you will take a deep breath and nod your head knowingly. If you knew this girl, you will rethink your assumptions. If this girl is your daughter, you will finally get an insider's look at what she can't put into words. Above all, you will be moved - moved to tears, to unity, to action. Elizabeth is one of the lucky ones. She survived. Sadly, many young women and their children are unable to escape the madness and become another one of too many true crime stories. Not everyone gets a second chance, and she hopes to inspire others with her straightforward honesty.

Blind But Now I See: The Biography of Music Legend Doc Watson


Kent Gustavson - 2009
    It does get into some darker areas of Doc's life, such as Merle's death, but it also is a celebration of the man through the eyes and ears of those who know him." - Steve Carr, docsguitar.com"Hard to believe it's been 50 years since Ralph Rinzler first introduced guitarist Doc Watson to the larger world. It's a fitting anniversary for the first book-length biography on Doc to appear. It was long overdue. This is a valuable, anecdotal work anyone interested in Doc's music and life will enjoy reading." - Bluegrass Unlimited"This is a highly informative, fascinating biography of the great Doc Watson. What a life. It's a page-turner that will keep you up past your bedtime. Don't miss it." - The Inland Northwest Bluegrass Association"A very well researched biography... The story of Doc Watson's life is one of tragedy and success. The author provides a vivid image of Doc's early childhood [and his] years with Merle, and gravely describes the impact of Merle's untimely death. The book is hard to put down..." - Tom Duplissey, Bay Area Bluegrass Association"Musicologists will appreciate the chapters on Doc's singing style and guitar work... Music fans will delight in the book as a whole, a splendid recounting of Doc Watson as man whose '...approach to folk music on a guitar was like Horowitz's approach to the piano...'" - Gary Presley, The Internet Review of BooksAbout the AuthorKent Gustavson, PhD is a professor of writing, language and leadership at Stony Brook University, where he is currently the faculty director of the undergraduate Leadership & Development and Community Service Living Learning Centers. As the host of Sound Authors, he has interviewed hundreds of award-winning musicians and authors, and his music has been featured on National Public Radios All Songs Considered. He lives and works in Sound Beach, New York.

Betrayal


Sharon Brownlie - 2014
    Now, as an adult, Helen is spiraling out of control. Old wounds are surfacing; can she face her demons without the drugs? Will revenge help release her from her past? Beating her addiction is her only chance at a new life. But, an encounter with a former school teacher opens up old wounds that had been festering deep within her. While quitting drugs, another craving takes its place. A desire for revenge: payback for those who'd betrayed her. Plagued with bitterness, Helen heads to Edinburgh to begin her killing spree.Police are mystified when her first victim is found. A second death convinces them it’s the same killer. Can they connect Helen to the crimes? How many more will die before she is stopped?

Okatibbee Creek


Lori Crane - 2012
    Okatibbee Creek is based on the true story of Mary Ann Rodgers, who not only survived the war, but with the help of an unexpected champion, emerged a heroic woman with an amazing story.

Sunshine After the Storm: A Survival Guide for the Grieving Mother


Alexa Bigwarfe - 2013
    The complexities of pregnancy and infant loss are explored by survivors themselves rendering this must-read book a first hand personal narrative that invites people to feel less alone in the aftermath of such devastating experiences. Grief knows no timeline and this thoughtful book does an exceptional job of explicating ways that society could more sensitively embody this concept by normalizing the spectrum of mourning. Profound losses create seismic changes in self-image, relationships, and overall identity. Many women blame themselves for their reproductive hardships and harbor monumental shame as a result. Contributors delve into crevices of their minds and hearts and courageously express the complexities of their processes- journeys that should be shared and not silenced, providing enlivening inspiration and raw accounts of how life perspectives are invariably altered in the wake of loss. This accessible guide provides valuable tips and resources for grieving families which serve as a grounding way to acknowledge the pain, ease the grief, and explore pockets of hope....

An Impossible Dilemma


Netta Newbound - 2014
    Until they discover Emily, aged five, has a rare and fatal illness. Medical trials show that a temporary fix would be to transplant a hormone from a living donor. However in the trials the donors die within twenty four hours. Victoria and Jonathan are forced to accept that their daughter is going to die. In an unfortunate twist of fate Jonathan is suddenly killed in a farming accident and Victoria turns to her sick father-in-law, Frank, for help.  Then a series of events present Victoria and Frank with a situation that, although illegal, could save Emily. Will they take their one chance and should they? A Sinister and Darkly Compelling Psychological Thriller Novel, this book is intended for mature audiences and contains graphic and disturbing imagery.    Netta Newbound is the best-selling author of The Watcher.

Mom's Crazy: Her Bipolar Memoir


Jo Carroll Lewald - 2012
    She finds religion when she converts to Judaism. From Atchison,Kansas to New Orleans to Gulfport, Mississippi she drags her children through the ups and downs of her daily life with determination and gusto, never forgetting how to laugh. It's every woman's story, with a few shock treatments and drugs thrown in for good measure.

Betty Broderick: Telling on myself


Betty Broderick - 2015
     Worse still, he is a notoriously hard-ball lawyer with every intention of crushing you in any way he can, of erasing you from his life, of reducing you to nothing, so that he can move on as if you never existed. Daniel T. Broderick III’s relentless harassment of his discarded wife, Betty, made her increasingly crazy as he and his girlfriend – then second wife – Linda Kolkena Broderick piled on the pressure, until one day, on November 5, 1989, at her wits’ end and believing herself to be acting in self-defense, she confronted them in the early hours of the morning and in a panic shot them both dead. A multitude of onlookers has absolved Betty for what she did. Many even admire her, especially if they have suffered similar fates to hers. One juror at her trial openly questioned why she had taken so long to kill Dan under such extreme provocation. Now, twenty-five years into a thirty-two year to life prison sentence for her second-degree murder of Dan and Linda Broderick, Betty has reluctantly decided to give her personal account of what led up to that fatal and fateful day, when all three of their futures came violently and abruptly to an end.

Name and Number


John Hoskison - 2012
    The ones often referred to as 'holiday camps'. Instead, his worst nightmare comes true.Locked up in HMP Blackthorpe, a prison known for its medieval-like squalor, Nick lives at the mercy of the drug barons and in fear of the lifers. Constantly stalked by danger he has to find a way to survive.To earn protection money he turns to the one thing he's good at—art. But can selling pictures to visitors be enough to keep the mob at bay? Or will he be made an example of by the hard men and suffer the worst type of prison punishment?Based on the experiences of the author.

Joe: the Horse Nobody Loved


Vicky Kaseorg - 2015
    And no one trusts him. Until Vicky. This is the story of a troubled horse, and the little girl who loved him. Based on the true adventures of her childhood fifty years ago, the author's horse, Joe, teaches the lesson that sometimes beauty is not skin-deep, but heart deep, and that the unloved have much to show us about the true nature of love.