I entered the New York Police Academy in 1965 and my first assignment was to the 23rd Precinct and then 13th Precinct on patrol and also with their Anti-Crime Unit. In 1970 I attended the Criminal Investigations Course and was assigned to Plainclothes duties with the Organized Crime Control Bureau investigating Gambling, Prostitution and Narcotics violations in Queens County. In 1974 I was transferred to the Special Operations Section. This unit was tasked with the investigation and surveillance of the Five New York Crime Families (Gambino, Columbo, Genovese, Giganti and Luchese). For several months I operated in an undercover capacity posing as a corrupt officer during which time the operation netted over $50,000 in cash and merchandise including an all- expense paid trip to Las Vegas for myself and my partner. We were being tested to see if we really were corrupt. As a result of this investigation over 40 members of Organized Crime were arrested and convicted. In 1979 I was promoted to Detective 3rd Grade and transferred to Queens County District Attorney’s Squad, where I continued my investigations of Organized Crime with the investigation of John Gotti and his crime family. This investigation led to my promotion to Detective 2nd Grade. In 1985 I retired after 20 years of service.

"Not everybody gets a second chance ... Back in Sparrow Lake after fifteen years away, and Sam Larson's already messing with Priscilla Ryan's life. Saying yes when they were kids and he asked her to be his girl was her biggest mistake. The bad boy rode out of town the next day. She isn't about to make a second mistake by falling for him again. Getting his dude ranch off the ground is the former rodeo star's first priority. That, and reconnecting with the quiet girl he took to the prom ... the best night of Sam's life. He has a lot to make up for. And yet he's keeping his secrets. But when sabotage threatens his business--and one of Priscilla's nieces--it's his chance to prove he isn't the boy he once was"--Page 4 of cover

The Long Road to Tahoe By: Richard Paul Davis The Long Road to Tahoe is a gripping adventure story following Vic Tyler on his hunt for gold in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho. Along the way, Vic meets Big John, a hard rock miner, and together they travel through the mountains drinking, getting into trouble, and looking for gold. They fend off bears and wrestle with mountain lions, but will they find any gold?

Based upon a true story, The Long Road Home tells the tale of a young man who yearns to join the military and fight the enemy during World War II. Sixteen-year-old Bill knows that he wanted to join the army, but he discovers that he must be eighteen to enlist. Caught up in the emotions of the world at war, he decides to hitchhike to Canada to join the Royal Canadian Air Force, where the minimum age is just sixteen. He sets out from Gainesville, Florida, to hitchhike to Canada. Along the way, he experiences exciting adventures when he seeks employment to pay for his travels. He finds jobs as an orange picker and a lumberjack. He works on a fishing boat, in a circus, and on a farm as he learns to be a man and to take responsible for himself. But when a terrible accident befalls him, it threatens to end his journey and his dream of joining the RCAF. In order to survive, he must find a new maturity within to continue his journey to manhood.

In human relations, to know where we are, you must know here we have been. Only by knowing both, can you begin to understand where we are going. Trying to understand history is like trying to comprehend the world while in a sand storm because we are so much a part of it, in our own tiny little corner. Before there was television, people gained their view of the outside world by news-reels, which were run ahead of movies. If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much is a moving picture worth with sound? Our tiny little corners have greatly expanded, thus the causes for our hearts to change have changed as well.

ABC News’ Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz shares remarkable tales of heroism, hope, and heartbreak in her account of “Black Sunday”—a battle during one of the deadliest periods of the Iraq War. The First Cavalry Division came under surprise attack in Sadr City on Sunday April 4, 2004. Over 7,000 miles away, their families awaited the news for forty-eight hellish hours—expecting the worst. In this powerful, unflinching account, Martha Raddatz takes readers from the streets of Baghdad to the home front and tells the story of that horrific day through the eyes of the courageous American men and women who lived it. “A masterpiece of literary nonfiction that rivals any war-related classic that has preceded it.”—The Washington Post

Nicholas Fontenot is a precocious yet sensitive teenager who lives in an abusive home with his family. After witnessing a horrifying scene, his world is torn apart and leaves him emotionally broken. As the only witness of a grizzly crime, he is shuffled through the Foster Care system until he escapes his life of misery and abuse. Through his journey, Nicholas meets a kindred spirit in Charley, a drag queen and owner of an off the beaten path gay bar in New Orleans. A host of colorful characters within this bar become Nicholas' extended family. Yet, his troubled past continues to haunt him until he is forced to leave the only happy home he has ever known . His struggles give new meaning and insight to the thought; "The scars you can't see are the hardest to heal." His journey is a long one, but his travels to find peace is even longer. It is through his journey that he discovers "The Long Road from Perdition."

One day while sitting on a park bench, Mark was asked by an old man, "Why do you do what you do? Why do you work where you work or live where you live?" Whether we agree or not, life really is about a series of paths and decisions whereby even one small change can alter our lives forever. We usually want to blame others, including God, for our decisions. Only by examining the paths we have taken can we really see where we're at! It is only when we look deep within ourselves we discover that as writers, singers, musicians, interior decorators, or even truck drivers, we all have gifts! Having them is not to question; rather, it is WHAT WE DO WITH THEM that really matters! Wherever your passions lie, you can erase your doubts and restore your joy. Just imagine yourself on a park bench...

The havoc wrought by the time travel of the Fitzgerald siblings continues in this third book in the Time Benders series. Mary has been dealt a terrible blow. She discovers her fate as a result of Mr. Brewster's and Thomas' trip forward in time. She makes a drastic and emotionally-charged decision to break with Ken. The protection of her secret comes close to breaking the bonds between Ken and his siblings, until he overhears a conversation and learns the truth. All the while, Kim is growing up, and impatiently waiting for her chance to make a mark on the world as her older siblings have done. She convinces Joe and Becky to join her on a humanitarian mission to Philadelphia in 1853. There to assist the abolitionists and the underground railroad, they find themselves trapped for many days in 1853 when Joe gets too close to a fugitive slave trial and winds up in jail! The trip explodes when Mr. Brewster alerts the others to the missing Joe, Becky and Kim. Deb makes a perilous choice to reveal their secrets to Uncle Darrick. All of this time travel is cause for multiple corrective trips in the machine, when Joe's cell mate turns out to be a co-conspirator in the Lincoln assassination and Uncle Darrick uses the machine to mend his relationship with his now dead father. Ken and Ryan travel back to keep Joe from conversations with his cellmate that dramatically change the course of history and Mr. Brewster must travel to stop Uncle Darrick from ruining his relationship with Alicia. When the dust settles, and the group gathers, they make several profound decisions about their fate, their memories, and their time travel and discover they have travelled a long way, and learned much on their long road home. These now familiar characters will warm your hearts and restore your faith!