Long ago, I lived alone in my mountain shanty beside my lake in Maine. The lake provided fish. The forest provided small game and berries. I had my books. I had solitude. I avoided contact with the outside world in Bar Harbor except as I needed food, clothing, some few tools, and more books...all of which I borrowed from those in the town. Eventually, each of the books was returned. I didn't dislike people. I just did not need or want their company. At eighteen, I was a hermit and happy to be so. My life was simple and uncomplicated by the needs of others or of the outside world. I spent each day absorbed in the wonders of the wildlife and of nature around me and the world of my books. It was enough for me. I was in control as much as the forest and weather around me would allow. It all changed in a single day. I was caught borrowing food from the market. I had a possibles sack with me that contained two books that I "borrowed" from the library. There was also a pair of boots that I "borrowed" from the general store. The constable and his deputy took me to the dock and placed me on the whaling ship that waited there. There was no discussion. There were no questions from the first mate. They locked me in the hold. I raged. I cried. I begged. No one cared. That was my life until the day the Watcher arrived on the ship. My life changed in ten seconds. I began the journey to become what I am now. This journal records that journey of 116 years. The journey has just begun. I am not now what I have been or what I have yet to become.

Ivy Jacob's ever-disappointed mother and stern father react badly to news of her teen pregnancy, prompting her to run away from her tony Boston home for Western Massachusetts, where she's embraced by a group called The Community. There, she gives birth to her daughter, Mia, and marries the group's charismatic but controlling leader, Joel, when Mia is three months old. The Community's rules are draconian--members are branded with letters corresponding to their alleged crimes--and eventually the abuse weighs on Ivy's conscience. At 16, Mia secretly takes out books from a nearby library (education and reading are forbidden after members turn 15), and she tries to convince her mother to join her in an escape.

The world is a beast. It will devour you, if you let it. Henry Rankin, a family man from the small suburb of Corner Cove, MarylandDiscovered this very truth for himself. The truth that rests just under the skin of the world, out of sight and hidden. It’s the secret uncertainty which your soul sells. Whispering delightful lies into unsettled minds. Between searching for his missing wife and daughter, uncovering clues hinting at a life long friendship betrayed. An escaped serial killer hunting him from the darkness. The devil itself nipping at his heels with a single minded intent. An army of demons dead set on keeping him from finding the ones he loves. Henry Rankin, will find that sometimes in light of the Dark places and spaces between reality and uncertainty sometimes doubt is the best anyone can do to keep the shadows off their back. Empathy indulges us with an otherworldly novel that is sure to please. Empathy is an exciting, suspenseful tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat and reading until the end Lisa Digloria, Book Ink

~BOOK 3 IN THE FROST CHRONICLES~ Every day, life in the Frost grows increasingly perilous for its inhabitants. The Farther occupation continues, and food is becoming scarce. Lia Weaver’s family is facing increasing perils, too—Jonn pushes his health to the brink as he works to uncover the mysteries of Echlos, Ivy risks everything to get food for the family, and for the second time, the Weaver family is harboring a fugitive, but Lia doesn’t trust her. Lia has personally braved many struggles—a Farther occupation, family secrets, a heart torn between two men, and Watcher attacks—as she struggles to keep her family safe. Now, she will face her greatest challenge and uncover the Frost’s deepest secrets as she completes her most dangerous mission yet for the Thorns.

It has been six weeks since touch clairvoyant Gray Graham consulted with the Greater Tribal Council of the Americas military and police about a border incursion. All has remained quiet, though as suggested, she has become more active in the Psycept community of Albuquerque, her home of fifteen years. Now, Gray's brother and sister are coming to visit and she is taking a small break from consulting on Psycept police cases to spend time with them. Gray enjoys her siblings company but there is another side to their visit. Gray keeps tabs on prior cases, especially unsolved murders, in anticipation of their infrequent reunions. For though some murderers may have escaped the long arm of the law, together, the Graham siblings have an extensive reach and justice is calling. Novella; 39,000 words Cover by: Melody Pond

A person is not readily-definable by one descriptor or limited to a false label based upon his preferences. Neither is this collection. Magical realism, supernatural, horror, psychological terror, dark fantasy, high fantasy, religious, social commentary, literary realism, and humour can all be used to describe the works in this compilation, but one such label will always fall short of the essence of existence these stories represent. In dreamscape versions of familiar settings, good and evil vampires, deadly wizards, brooding faeries, ghosts, other horrors, and the boundless recesses of the human mind all demonstrate that, more often than not, things are not what they seem. These illusions often crumble with devastating consequences for those involved. These tales, set in recognizable settings, seem even stranger than they would in an unknown setting.

Ultimately, as Ralph Lutts demonstrates in The Nature Fakers, the dialogue resulted in a new standard of accuracy for the responsible nature writer and reflected a new way of thinking about moral responsibilities to wildlife.

~BOOK 4 IN THE FROST CHRONICLES~ Lia Weaver is a fugitive. Her family's farm has been confiscated by Farther soldiers, her sister has been reassigned to a new family in the village, and her official status is "missing." Now, she and a band of fugitive followers must make their home in the harsh wilderness of the Frost. Food is scarce, and hope is scarcer still as Lia tries to find information about the whereabouts of her missing friends. She is determined to rescue them, but when a surprising ally steps forth with a offer that will both return her friends and expel the Farthers from the Frost in exchange for something very precious, Lia must make a choice.

Thoughts: The countless dancing shadows of the mind. By close examination, the mysterious inner light which cast them is found to possess a poetic, storied voice which, when in conversation with the curious, hints at the existence of its source--the infinite, peaceful, joyous soul. The poetry of Inquiry into the Sun is a collection of such conversations between that inner light and the author, curiously in search of his soul: "Awoke to melt into light, a dainty illumination, faint glow of incandescence. Within, without, a sky dissolved into this radiation; greenery attached itself, the grasslands, and trees, and then quickly departed into the blaze; what had become a sunny day, now saw the sun itself a shadow, and into the fires of love burned up the sun. The indistinguishable quality of such a heat, having no source, cannot be fiddled with by deceptive, malicious, or accidental ways. Intention save alone the pathway of discovery. Handling delicacies for practice, then wielding them as lasers. Cutting thru daybreak, the exterior of mass subsides. Standing tall in miniature ness, left to be found, expected, your You. Lifting a finger to touch the mirrored face, upon contact, more than one resident. Though as if to lookers on--the warmth and approval of a congregate interested in the good of all, gave thumbs-up to a union match as the one became the other; another One became both." --From the poem 'Hughe and Marta'