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The Cardinal and the Crook

by Sal Tocco

On a damp, dreary evening a young unwed mother abandons her two infant sons. The twin brothers, James and John, are adopted by a loving and nurturing father. As they grow older, their distinct personalities become more evident and each chooses a divergent path. Despite impassioned pleading from his brother, James makes a fateful choice which results in deadly consequences. John enters the priesthood and years later, upon learning of his elevation to cardinal, reflects—through a series o... more

To Unshakable Bliss: A Techie's Adventure

by Serene Rishi

We embark on life’s journeys, bursting with dreams and ambitions destined for greatness. With each hard-won peak, the expected bliss proves fleeting. New milestones pass, achievements accumulate, and yet, lasting happiness dangles just out of reach before the next desire hijacks its hope. How does anyone find enduring fulfillment impervious to life's unpredictable turbulences in our fast-paced modern times? This philosophical novel chronicles a Silicon Valley technologist, Qayum, whose tumult... more

Porgy & Bess in New York - The Sequel

by Denisha Hardeman, Harold Goldberg, Frada Goldberg

Our story tells how Porgy, a crippled Black beggar in Charleston's Catfish Row, learns that the love of his life, Bess, has been drugged and taken to New York by Sportin’ Life. Porgy is determined to rescue her, and must overcome immense obstacles to get to New York to find her. In her cocaine haze, Bess yearns for Porgy but feels helplessly dependent on Sportin' Life. From his illegal businesses Sportin’ Life has become a wealthy patron of the artists and writers of the Harlem Renaissance. W... more

Searching for Van Gogh

by Donald Lystra

It's fall of 1963 in a city in America's industrial heartland. The country is about to experience a national trauma that will begin a period of enormous social change. Audrey Brubaker, damaged by life but determined to fight back, becomes the unlikely mentor to Nate Walker, an idealistic teen-age boy who has lost his way after the death of a revered older brother. In a relationship that borders on love but never quite seems to get there, Audrey gives meaning to Nate's artistic asp... more

Museum of Creativity and Inspiration for Writers (Prolific Writing for Everyone)

by Warren Brown

In this collection of stories, poems, articles, writing prompts, and tips on the art and craft of writing, you will discover some unique ways to release your imagination and creativity. Enter the “Museum of Creativity and Inspiration for Writers,” which will take you on a thrilling excursion into finding ideas that work for you and also discovering inspiration in the way the author has used simple ideas to create more complex stories, articles, and poems. The writer has used the most basic idea... more

Walk the Earth as Brothers

by Henry Rozycki

Two Jewish brothers plan futures full of achievement and maybe fame. But Warsaw in the summer of 1939 is no place for dreamers. Ian is thrown west to Paris. There, he unexpectedly falls in love with a mysterious Frenchwoman named Alicia, but then must leave her and race across France to safety in Casablanca. Daniel is consigned to the Siberian Gulag, where he faces endless blizzards, starvation, and the often-lethal cruelties of guards and fellow prisoners. He too finds someone, an exiled po... more

An Unlikely Arrangement: Brides of Biltmore

by Cindy Patterson

In 1902, Abigail Dupree is but a breath away from her grand societal failure. To save her family from humiliation and financial ruin, Abigail becomes a bargaining trade in her mother’s eyes. A bargain that will extinguish Abigail’s last hope of a happily-ever-after. If only she could return to the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, she might have a chance to reunite with the only man who has the power to save her reputation. Garrett Barringer, arrives in Charlotte, North Carolina to esca... more

The Carlötta Beautox Chronicles: The 67% True Story of a 100% Fake Actress

by A.C. Sloan

CARLÖTTA BEAUTOX IS ON A MISSION: TO BECOME HOLLYWOOD’SNEXT BIG THING. She ditched Jersey for La La Land, created a sexy new name, and gave herself a year to become famous. The only problem? Carlötta has all the ambition but none of the talent needed to make it. No worries! What she lacks in skill, she makes up for with humor and heart. Together with her goofy, clueless talent manager/landlord Dave, Carlötta’s determined to nab the seemingly impossible--a shiny gold star on the Walk of Fame... more

Journey of Souls

by Rebecca Warner

When the brutal husband she believed dead returns from the Crusades, the Lady of Mirefoix turns to murder and magic to protect her people. But the spells do not work as intended; instead, they bring souls from distant lands and different centuries, souls with special gifts and diverse points of view. When war comes, the summoned souls flee to pursue their own destinies. They leave the Lady alone to face the invaders—and to question whether she can be redeemed from her sins. This multicultural fa... more

SOULSCAPES

by Lee Woodman

Soulscapes, the fifth volume in Lee Woodman’s “scapes” series, is an exploration of the way we reach to understand spirituality and soul in our lives and relations. The poems in this collection express Woodman’s dedication to considering both the scientific fact-based world and the magical, mysterious unknown as elements of an ever-growing faith in the oneness of the universe.

A Girl, Stuck

by Kelly Elizabeth Huston

She wants in. He needs out.

Moments from her small but pivotal role in A Very Crowded House, Harriet "Harry" Smith begins her own story where an Ivy League education, her wit, and talented two hands make no promises, least of all the promise of a happily-ever-after.

A typically tough private investigator and criminology professor, Harry Smith distracts herself from heartbreak by diving headlong into her latest surveillan... more

A Very Crowded House

by Kelly Elizabeth Huston

A story about love in all its forms and the wonderful, devastating, life-altering things done in its name.

A catastrophe forces Jocelyn Durand, the author of a decades-old and quite accidental publishing one-hit-wonder, to meet her idol, best-selling suspense writer Asher Cray. Each harbors a literary crush on the other, but if gossip rags are to be believed, Asher is a philandering charmer and more than the naïve Jocelyn could ever hope to handle. Still, while soc... more

California Dreaming

by Noa Silver

Having grown up on stories of her mother's wild youth in California, Elena Berg relocates from New England to the Bay Area in 2011 for a placement as an English teacher with Teach for America. Once there, she is eager to inspire a love of poetry and literature in her diverse but underprivileged students. Her own grandfather—a Holocaust survivor—was a storyteller and teacher who touched the lives of his students for years to come. Elena’s mother followed in his footsteps, leaving behind the hippi... more

Elly Robin in Harlem

by PD Quaver

Stranded in Manhattan (and still a notorious fugitive, wanted for a crime she didn't commit), 16-year-old piano prodigy Elly Robin concocts the mad ruse of dying her skin to pass as a "Negro"--the enlightened term for an African American in 1916. Her audacious disguise enables her to perform again, and her colossal talent quickly takes her to the pinnacle of such musical success as her adopted race allows. But she also experiences the city's pervasive racism first-hand, and risks exposure by fl... more

Rhapsody in a Minor Mode

by Elaine Kozak

After learning a shocking secret about his origins, Niels Larsen, a young musician, abandons his studies, soul-mate, and family to embark on a solitary journey of reflection and healing. His journey takes him to Spain where he discovers flamenco and sets off on a new musical path. As he reconciles himself to his past, Niels learns about love, loss, and the true meaning of family, and discovers that sometimes life does give you a second chance.

Falstaff Inn

by Kevin Amsler

"Falstaff Inn" is the story of August Rick who while working for the prominent Lemp Brewery oversees the launch of the Falstaff Inn, the brewer's restaurant at the upcoming 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. While gang violence continues to climb in a city packed with breweries and saloons, August's boyhood friend Edward Lally, now a police detective, investigates the people behind the violence.

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