The Elephant Tree


R.D. Ronald - 2010
    Scott is a dejected 24 year old struggling to make ends meet working for his brother and supplementing his income with a small-scale drug dealing operation. Angela is an attractive 23 year old, raised by her father, a career criminal and small time drug dealer who supplies Scott with cannabis. This is a chilling tale spanning a few months in the lives of Scott and Angela, where realizations about the present combine with shocking revelations from the past leading to an apocalyptic climax where they no longer know whom they can trust.

Betrayal at the Border


Mark M. Bello - 2021
    They find jobs at a local filler plant, have children, and lead an all-American life, that is until ICE raids their plant . . .Canan and Karim Izady are naturalized citizens of the United States. They have immigrated legally from Kurdistan and have an American born daughter, Hana. Unable to persuade her mother to follow the young family to America, Canan and Hana travel to an ISIS hotbed so the child may meet her grandmother for the first time. With the war over, what could possibly go wrong?Two unique immigrant families, two uniquely dangerous consequences of America’s dysfunctional immigration system. Enter Zachary Blake, superstar lawyer. But, for the first time in a long time, Blake is out of his element—immigration law calls for the expertise of his specialist/partner, Marshall Mann. Together, two extraordinary lawyers take on a terrorist network and a broken immigration system. And master investigator Micah Love returns, racing against the clock to prevent tragic circumstances. In our politically charged, anti-immigrant international climate, will a Hail Mary be their only move?Award-winning legal thriller author, Mark M. Bello, pits our nation's broken immigration system against important human and social justice rights issues, spinning a tale that shines a bright light on the everyday fears of immigrants all over these United States. Can Blake, Mann, and Love prevent a Betrayal at the Border?

Samantha's Revenge


Andrew R. Williams - 2020
    It floated alongside the air-car. This time, time instead of sending him mental message, the face spoke out aloud and the whole air-car vibrated with its intensity. "If you are foolish enough to renege on your contract, you will be severely punished. For your sake, I hope you wouldn't do such a thing." When Tarmy made no attempt to respond, the face turned and pressed itself against the millipede-free window. A moment later, Tarmy felt the fat slug entering his mind, the sign that the face was attempting to use its powers to obtain his response by other means. But as the slug dug deeper, Samantha's cover stories began springing out of the corners of his mind. Instead of obtaining Tarmy's agreement, all that the face saw was a burning army transporter surrounded by bodies. Undeterred, the face continued its assault. Samantha had anticipated that Tarmy might come up against an adept, so the mental images of death and destruction flowed unchecked. After failing to break Tarmy's defences, the face removed the slug and tried reason. "You can't win, Mr Tarleton, so why don't you do yourself a favour and cooperate? It will be better for you in the long run. Now, where is the miniature pulse drive engine?" Tarmy realised why the millipedes hadn't been allowed to attack. It was obvious that the Great Ones were hoping to retrieve the engine. When Tarmy didn't respond, the face said, "I am prepared to overlook your desertion if you agree to tell us where the engine is and also honour your contract by showing us how to convert the engine into a bomb."

The Awakening: Fate in Motion


Suzanne Boisvert - 2018
    Manipulating the dark side of humanity and controlling many government leaders. he has now found the way back in. But, what does he really want? When Lanie Montrose ascended to the top of the music charts she felt an even deeper void within. Just when she began to feel free from the shackles of fame, she finds herself locked in a strange hospital with no idea of how she got there. Hidden memories emerge of an age-old foe from a distant world overwhelming her with more questions about her past and fate. Dr. Suki Carter has never been able to settle the desire to protect her lost and lonely patient, Lanie. Then, one touch of her grandfather’s clock opened a new consciousness. Lanie is not who she says she is and there is something otherworldly about that eerie clock. On the East Coast, a secret journal is found with bizarre entries reminding CIA agent James Sinclair of the unbelievable conspiracy stories from his estranged mother. Alien Beginnings…The shadow government... Now, his sceptic mind needs answers. Critical clues have been scattered, woven into the fabric of our history and genetic code. Powerful gifts are strategically hidden inside of us all. Our protectors have prepared for this moment. The Awakening has begun… Sar is close… Our fate is in motion.

The Fall of the Phoenix


Daniel Kelly - 2018
    Seldom, however, will they have been narrated with such close attention to the minute particulars of battle, to its reek and terror and pain, as in this startling account by Daniel Kelly. Kelly looks minutely at every detail of archaic combat, as well as at the lives and feelings shaped by it. His Troy is not only a scene of shining glory, but also a grimy struggle for survival and mastery. And he introduces surprising questions: what if not everything in the Trojan war came to pass just as Homer tells us? What if the future of the Roman empire were hidden in the burning ashes of Troy's - and not in the way we might expect?

The Message for the Last Days


K.J. Soze - 2020
    It guides readers through the journey in a step by step progression, from ancient prophecies to their final fulfillment. The Message for the Last Days maps out God's intersection of our temporary condition to the eternal.The future is revealed by understanding the past, where history and mystery are intertwined.How can we know what the future holds if we don't understand the past? This question is at the heart of this book as much of modern Christian culture has lost its roots. The crux of the book is derived from consistent biblical interpretation methods to find hard truths about our fate mentioned in the Bible.Topics include answers to these questions:Why is the Christian Church so divided with many different denominations and independent Churches? Isn’t there just one true Church?How did the modern Church get so far removed from early Church beliefs as clearly stated in the New Testament and by the early Church fathers?What are the original prophecies in the Old Testament about the end times and how are they repeated in the New Testament?Does the nation of Israel have anything to do with end times? What is the true meaning of the gospel and salvation?These questions are answered by a thorough examination of various interpretation methods. This book explains six different biblical interpretation options then reveals a unified approach to understanding the Bible.Books and articles by KJ Soze cut across various denomination lines to help find unity and clarity for those who may hold differing interpretations.The Message for the Last Days provides detailed historical research of complex topics, such as end times and the afterlife, then condenses the results into a compact format to save time for those interested in biblical studies. The process is an integration of scriptural references, concordances, topical studies and commentaries into a unique package to help clarify the Bible's message about the future.

Live for Me


Emma Thomas - 2021
    Although she's had her ups and downs, life is good now: she lives with her twin brother, Onyx, and another friend in an artsy community in Cincinnati and is pursuing a master's degree in psychology. An avid reader, Ophelia likes everything to be orderly, including her job at a nearby bookstore. But when a good-looking stranger ends up in her apartment-invited to crash on their couch by her brother-her life begins to change forever.Brax Smith arrives to Cincinnati with nothing other than his van, having left Florida to start a new life, escaping the memories of losing his mother to cancer and dealing with his drunk father. A recovering alcoholic himself, Brax meets two guys at a group session in an eclectic area of Cincinnati when he gets to town. He feels grateful to have a place to stay but also comes face-to-face with the sister of one of his new friends, who is less than excited to have an additional roommate. Can he win her over, despite the fact that she has no interest in being his friend?In this novel, the lives of two struggling people collide and take them on a roller-coaster journey of good times and bad, ultimately leading to true love, devotion, and tragedy.

Dyed Souls


Gary Santorella - 2018
    “That’s all right, Charlie. Never you mind. You just got soft living with your grandparents, is all. You forgot that most people don’t have it so easy—that you have to be tough to make it in this world.”’Set in the 1980’s, Dyed Souls follows the life of 13-year-old Charlie; an intelligent, troubled teen, taken from his grandparents by his drug addicted mother, only to end up at Hawthorne Residential Treatment Village. There he ponders Darwin, Socrates, and Plato, and unexpectedly falls in love with a girl named Margo. When she breaks his heart, Charlie runs away, beginning a new journey that will leave him shattered before he finally makes it to Virginia. Back with his grandparents, the return of his mother forces him to learn a bitter truth that changes his life forever.Dyed Souls is a thought-provoking, gritty novel, that will appeal to fans of literary fiction and philosophical literature. A coming-of-age novel, it is suitable for both young adult and adult readers.

All of Me


Kevine Walcott - 2019
    From relationships and mother earth to intimacy, what it means to belong to a country and everything else in between, Walcott weaves together a beautiful tapestry of humanity.As a property professional by trade, Kevine Walcott frequently comes in contact with the sheer breadth of humanity's cross-section. It's a series of collective experiences that have inspired her to turn to poetry, and capture her life, those she meets and the things that please and disgruntle her.In 'All of Me', Walcott's latest book, no subject's stone is left unturned in an attempt to capture the universe, its people and their emotions through a fascinating collection of verses.From the author of Institutionalised, a selection of nostalgic poems about nature, love, sex and patriotism."This is definitely a volume with something for everyone," explains the author. "No matter where you live, what your background is or what you're striving for in life, you'll find yourself within the pages. My goalwas to retain the unique hallmarks of poetry I've become known for, while allowing every reader to individualise the poems and extract true, vivid meaning."Continuing, "It's also a great volume for those who haven't yet spent much time exploring poetry, as the verses are so wide-ranging and can be adapted and defined according to anyone's unique personal situation. Pick up a copy - you'll be amazed at what you might find!"

Saoirse Berger's Bookish Lens In La La Land


Nicole Schubert - 2021
    She has an internship with her famous film director uncle, a hit BookTube channel with her actress cousin Sadie and is fully determined to get her world on track as a true adult person, complete with happiness and sparkly love in spades. But nothing is going to plan. She applied to all the wrong colleges, is the only one of her friends still single and is majorly crushing on 23-year-old cinema genius wunderkind Leo Landis, even though he may or may not be breaking up with his girlfriend and may or may not even notice her. But Saoirse's not giving up.She steels herself with hyper-romantic hope and sets out to be her best positive self, which works fabulously until it doesn't and things get complicated. Luckily, life turns in Saoirse's favor as her Hollywood family spins out of control and a sweet and equally quirky street artist, Hector Rojas, spots her magical sparkle and inspires her to see things from a kaleidoscope of angles, even her own beautiful self.Uniquely charming in a Bridget Jones's Diary way with a Cyrano de Bergerac twist, Saoirse Berger takes us on an 18-year-old's hilariously painful journey through love, self-doubt, rejection and the search for belonging as a new adult, ultimately discovering she's already right where she's supposed to be.

Chasing the Red Queen


Karen Glista - 2018
    Forced not only to move to a strange city, but to share a room with her glamorous, new stepsister, Makayla Hampton, her life spirals out of control. Makayla lures her from goth to glam, straight into an exclusive club, not only for wealthy elites but Immortal Descendants. Donja crosses paths with Torin Mancini and he’s too damn handsome to be real. Torin, who has concealed his identity as a powerful ancient sprit for eight hundred years, sets his eyes on Donja; there’s something about her blood, something he can’t walk away from. He’s not alone. A deadly predator has picked up her scent. Stalked, she reaches out to Torin, but the lure of her blood has him on edge. As Torin battles his heart desires and feelings he thought buried and gone, one thing is clear: they have as much, if not more to fear of each other than the predator who would have her life. Is love enough? Can she accept him for what he is and better yet, can he control his hungry, hungry eyes? A beautiful love story with relentless action, elite battles and steamy moments… unforgettable!

The Red Hand


Michael Stephen Daigle - 2019
    Could a serial killer be stalking his hometown of Ironton, N.J.?One by one the bodies pile up. Nine victims are killed over several months, all from different walks of life and different parts of Ironton. Each killed in a different way, forming no clear pattern, as might be expected from a single killer.The Red Hand is the prequel to The Swamps of Jersey, the book that launched the Frank Nagler Mysteries. This investigation takes place before economic hard times, political corruption and a government money scandal hit the former industrial center of Ironton, N.J.This story is atmospheric, moody, dark and thrilling.

The Candidate and other stories


Samuel R. George - 2019
    He never expected an afterlife, and the fabled abode is nothing like the fable, which never mentioned a salmon with human arms and legs, or a flying saucer captained by lizard man.In “Harold,” you’ll meet a homunculus who is certain he is a one of a kind, a freak of nature. Imagine his surprise when he discovers an island populated by thousands of his kind. There he finds adventure, love, and danger. He must face thugs his size, sinister large people, a dangerous house cat, and a plethora of perplexing situations.Irresolute poets find their plush postmortem refuge is anything but when it soon becomes a type of Hell in “Between Life and Oblivion.”Discover the true story of Helen, the famous face that launched a thousand ships, in the tale “A More Likely Odyssey.”Within these pages you’ll be taken on journeys beyond imagining. You’ll meet characters and explore familiar worlds through different eyes. Look beyond the hedge…

ROCKLEDGE: INTRODUCING CADE CHASE


John M. Vermillion - 2021
    This is the opener of a planned Cade Chase series. It is a crime thriller set in the fictional Rockledge, an impoverished town in the center of Appalachia, more precisely in extreme southwest Virginia.The main character, Cade Chase, recently retired from the military. He has given insufficient thought to life afterward. He accedes to the urgings of a longtime friend and former JAG officer, to come to the town of Rockledge. He leaves Florida and heads to Rockledge uncertain that this move is wise.On his first morning in Rockledge he runs across a hillbilly octogenarian named Dale Carter, who tells him finding a place to live will be tough. So Carter invites him to have a look at a home, one of three, he owns on a mountainside "out in the valley." The home he shows Cade is one of the grandest Cade has ever seen. Carter tells Cade the house is his if he wants it. Seems joining the military was the defining event of Dale's life. Without the military's 'gifts' he wouldn't have amassed the wealth he possesses. But he stipulates one condition: help protect him and his wife against what appears to be a dangerous crew of squatters camping in the woods on or near his property.Cade is instantly fond of Dale, and agrees to help him. This agreement sets the story in motion. There's plenty of action from that point onward. Yes, it's a thrilling story involving crime, but more important, it's a story of the evils of autocratic behavior by political elites. Cade is determined to bring the evildoers down. He quickly learns that extreme southwest Virginia has been a whipping boy for sixty years or more. Cade and a cadre of like-minded people strive to end the trampling of this region of the state. You may find it on Amazon and Kindle books. If searching under my name, you need to search under John M. Vermillion, including the middle initial.Thank you.jmv

Extreme


Joan Gelfand - 2020
    When Hope joins FearToShred, a Silicon Valley extreme gaming startup, Hope's mission is to groom the scrappy company for prime time. Enter Doug Wiser, her very married ex. While the two work in tandem, nefarious forces are at work behind the scenes. Adding to the excitement of this thriller are the stars and heroes of surfing and skateboarding. With a keen eye on women in tech, business ethics and dangerous stunts, "Extreme" will leave you breathless.Winner of the Cervena Barva and Chaffin Fiction Awards, Joan's work has appeared in The Huffington Post, Vanity Fair, Rattle, Pank! The Meridien Anthology of Contemporary Poetry, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Chicken Soup for the Soul and over 200 literary journals, blogs and magazines.A member of the National Book Critics Circle, Joan has worked for California Poets in the Schools, Poetry Out Loud, Chiat/Day Advertising and other Bay Area companies. She currently coaches writers and teaches in the San Francisco Bay Area.