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Tholly

by Kuldeep Sharma

Tholly, a 100-page coming-of-age novella set in the 80s of India, shows the decisive influence of unfortunate circumstances on Tholly, when the fourteen-year-old boy takes his father to the city’s government hospital for treatment. He gets through the hardships of life and witnesses greed, corruption, pain, poverty, negligence, social disparity, and communal differences. Money is the only thing that can save me from all of these, the son of a humble farmer realizes. I was born poor, but I won't... more

Visions of Johanna

by Peter Sarno

Johanna, an artist, and Matt, a music critic, couldn't be more different, but by a simple twist of fate, she plucks him from a crowd at a Dylan concert. What follows is a heady and intense relationship buffeted by the usual suspects that gently rocked the '80s. Matt's lessons in art—as well as life—at the hands of Johanna, drive the novel into pockets of feminism and quiet revolution. All of this is tempered by deeply held traumatic secrets.

A meditation on art a... more

Hold Up the Head of Holofernes

by Carol Bonomo Albright

Hold Up the Head of Holofernes, the debut novel by Carol Bonomo Albright, is a riveting story of three women who experienced similar horrific assaults on their bodies, and one who wants to help victims like them through legislative means. Taking place in three different eras, each of the women taps into her power to heal herself through her own ingenuity and creativity. Historical figure Renaissance artist Artemisia Gentileschi, lived in the 1600s in Rome. Her paintings of women displayed the... more

Jaded Choyce

by SHAYNUH SLOANE

Chloe Choyce is a 30-year-old urban professional who has a plan to start a better life for her and her family, starting with her career. As she transitions from one agency to another, her journey to reach her professional goals begins. With ambition and hopes to make a change at a new organization, she carries hope and passion for her new government career. Things come to a head when Chloe realizes that her work environment is not what it seems to be. As she learns along the way, challenges a... more

Screenwriter

by Rafael Lima

Living large in Los Angeles a screenwriter chews his way up the Hollywood food chain. Punching out his latest film he begins an involuntary downward spiral into depression and delusion. As he tries to out-run his demons with Xanax and a lap-top, his relentless quest for purity leads him through the soul-less world of the major studios, finally bringing him to a reckoning point where he is forced to acknowledge loss and possibly recover his better instincts.

Homo Novus

by Gerard Cabrera

It’s Holy Week 1987, and Fr. Linus Fitzgerald has just learned he has AIDS. Orlando Rosario, the Puerto Rican boy he seduced at fourteen, is now a man sitting by his bed, and studying for the priesthood. In alternating chapters, Linus and Orlando reflect on their desires and dreams, secrets and sins, hopes and faith, and the paths that brought them together. As the narrative progresses, each character reflects on their lives and how their histories have become inextricably bound together by thei... more

C5/C6 Incomplete: The Life of William Delaroux

by Karen Schuitema

This graphic novel is a fictional memoir inspired by a true story. It chronicles the life of William Delaroux and his continuous struggle to make the best of difficult circumstances. The book starts with Bill's memories of being a latchkey kid of a dysfunctional single mother. It then follows him as he joins the U.S. Army at the end of the Vietnam era, finding structure and support for the first time, only for that journey to be interrupted by the onset of schizophrenic hallucinations. He is... more

The Lapone Sisters

by Barry Wilker

In the summer of 1976, three exceptionally different sisters begin walking their individual paths. Schmellda, the eldest daughter, launches into her personal tale of family and self-discovery. Setting out on her own for the first time in her life, she remains a frumpy self-appointed mother hen to her younger sisters.

Sorina is her stunning and stuttering middle sibling venturing out slowly in search of her dreams. The youngest, Esmeralda, is an outspoken, non-filtered, sharp-to... more

Ain't No Sunshine

by Carra Roe

“A trim yet potent tale…” – Kirkus Reviews

Advance praise for Carra Roe’s debut Ain’t No Sunshine:

“Roe’s moving, character-driven book is compelling, well written, and decorated throughout with authentic Southern Creole vernacular, which creates a distinctively unique tone and atmosphere…spirited, captivating characters to behold…charming anecdotes and humorous country-folk... more

Overturned

by Annette Raynor

The year is 2021 and abortion is illegal in the United States when a young unidentified female is found dead from an alleged “termination” in an abandoned tenement. The girl is identified as the daughter of a conservative right wing Senator which sets the opening premise in Overturned. Overturned takes an extremely controversial issue and wraps it in fiction allowing characters to voice their opinions within the safety and confines of the writers imagination. The novel attempts to answer the que... more

Don't Poke the Bear

by Robin D'Amato

It’s 1995, and three boho friends find themselves caught up in the rough currents of the ever-changing New York City. Navigating demanding careers, difficult boyfriends, and a famously abusive housing market, they live their lives with an enviable nonconformist flair that sets them apart. Life might be easier elsewhere, but for these determined friends, elsewhere is never an option. Don’t Poke the Bear is a Sex and the City for real people. With no fantasy shoe collections, no money for fabul... more

Unaka

by william kauffman

compilation of short fiction

HUNTING THE INNOCENTS / 9781778128615

by Gord Haines

Secrets are like buried seeds, eventually they germinate and rise-up seeking air and light. As with all living things, some are useful…others are dangerous. For Victor Lochart, a secret buried long ago is determinedly pushing into the light, threatening his marriage, family and career. In short, everything he cares about and has worked hard to protect. And, as he soon learns, secrets beget secrets. A swirling cauldron of lies, betrayal and murder thrusting him into a perilous confrontation with ... more

The Expiration of Joey and Megan: A Tony Piza Novel

by J. F. Pandolfi

A burned-out divorce lawyer, a loathed ex-friend, and a nun walk into a bar. Okay, not exactly . . . but close! Poor Tony Piza. At 34 years old, a lawyer who’s already burned-out from the emotional toll of handling divorces. As for his personal life, he’s incapable of sustaining a relationship. Why, you ask? Because he can’t get over a young nun he fell in love with when he taught for a year after college. Clearly this guy’s got enough angst in his life. So when a traitorous former frie... more

Best Years of your Life

by Jen Craven

Married college professors Christine and Joss thought they had it all: jobs they love, a beloved daughter, and most of all, each other—that is, until Joss’s research pulls her further and further away. Lonely and seeking the emotional connection she once shared with her wife, Christine forms a friendship with a student that quickly walks the line of right and wrong. Eighteen-year-old Abbie is an outcast desperate to fit in. When the most popular girl on campus suddenly befriends her, Abbie ca... more

Utopia

by Peter Cowlam

Utopia follows the fortunes of Zora Murillo, who escapes the clutches of a military junta, and landing in a small English market town buys and renovates the Pleiades, a rundown hotel. The Pleiades is soon transformed into a living cabaret act and hotbed of political activism. Soon the locals want to know the source of Zora’s unfathomable wealth, yet only one of them knows her back story, which is of espionage, the sinister deployment of AI and robotics, and a life-and-death political struggle fo... more

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