Indie Spotlight: December 2023

Dmitri Jackson

ISBN 978-0-9992596-5-8

Author statement: “Blackwax Boulevard is a slice-of-life comic that follows Marsalis, Hardy, and Veronika as they strive to keep their titular record store open for business. In this graphic novel collection, our heroes also tackle the most hot-button issues of the day: racism, homophobia, #MeToo, and cancel culture. I think there is this growing pressure for political correctness in society, for saying all the right things and not making people upset. But I think that’s part of the problem. Nobody wants an honest conversation about anything, and that’s how the state of the world gets worse.”

Stephanie Khattak and James Khattak

ISBN 979-8-218-20996-4

Author statement: “This photography book is a chronicle of our experiences on road trips across the Texas Panhandle and Plains regions. Frontiers highlights off-the-path and eclectic destinations in west Texas and is designed to inspire others to experience this beautiful and historic region for themselves.”

Charles McCormack

ASIN B0BSJPPM1C

Author statement: “Despite years of psychotherapy, including psychoanalysis, I recognized that I still wasn’t as happy with my life as I should have been. After all, my kids were doing well, and I was a multi-award-winning psychotherapist; why was I not as content as I should have been? As I was writing the stories of my life, with this question in the back of my mind, I began reliving my life, and from my aged and professional perspective, I learned important lessons. As a psychotherapist, it was important to me to share these lessons with readers.”

Arlene DeMar

ASIN B0CH47JQ1M

Author statement: “I am a certified spiritual director and have also been trained to accompany another praying with the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. I hold a master’s in Christian spirituality from a Catholic Jesuit university. My love of God and desire to share what I have learned of the Christian faith have moved me to write my second novel, In the Image of the Gardener. I hope to inspire others to build healthy relationships with God, self, and others.”

G.B. Smith

ISBN 978-1-943876-47-1

Author statement: “Pathways is a journey through my pho­tography. I have acute colorblindness so I have always had a restricted visual vocabulary. However, this enables me to strip away the distractions of color and to focus on the structures and patterns as I see them. Black and white imagery best represents how I see the world.”

Mark David Gerson

978-1-950189-29-8

Author statement: “Reluctantly and fearfully is how I watched April 2019 melt into May as I prayed for the financial miracle that would keep me afloat. ‘I’m working on it,’ I would text my Portland landlord whenever he asked about my overdue rent. At last, I had my ‘lightbulb moment.’ If I wasn’t to be evicted, I would have to leave voluntarily. And as I lacked the resources to rent anywhere, I would (for the 7th time in 22 years) divest myself of most everything I owned. I would stuff what was left in my car and, along with my dog, I would take off for parts unknown. It’s that three-month journey that makes up the bulk of Pilgrimage.” 

Peg Roberts

ISBN 978-1-73333-722-9

Author statement: “More than 30 years ago, during a journaling class, we were asked to do a special visualization and to write down whatever came into our heads. As I wrote down my thoughts, I heard these words: ‘I am the spirit of your soul, listen to yourself to hear me.’ A rush of other words followed. That experience changed my life. I began going into that space and writing down what I heard. Now, I am better at gleaning the messages. There are still times when what I write initially makes no sense to me. I guess that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Spirit of Your Soul is a compilation of the writings from one of my journals.”

Eng Chew Tan

ISBN 978-981-14-9587-8

Author statement: “Water Drop Journeys tells a tale of love and kindness through a tiny water drop. The story contains themes of interconnectedness with nature interspersed with short passages of guided mindfulness meditation. In 2020, the Singapore government’s effort to contain the Covid-19 pandemic brought many business activities, including my yoga classes, to a standstill. Nature took a respite and the air and water became less polluted. This period made me realize that maybe we don’t need that much in life, and I wrote this story with the aim of inculcating the values of love and kindness over materialism.”