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Unruly Human Hearts

by Barbara Southard

Elizabeth Tilton, a devout housewife, shares liberal ideals with her journalist husband, Theodore, and her pastor, Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, both influential reformers of the Reconstruction Era. She is torn between admiration for her husband’s stand on women’s rights and resentment of his dominating ways. When Theodore justifies his extramarital affairs in terms of the “free love” doctrine that marriage should not restrict other genuine loves, she finds the courage to express her feelings for... more

Between the Clouds and the River

by Dave Mason

1943: Twenty-four year old Bernhardt Lang is swept along by the currents of war, until an unexpected ally helps him live a life of his own making, in a place he could never have imagined himself existing. 1965: Twelve year old Joseph Holliman is drowning in a life no one should have to endure. When he crosses paths with Frank Gardner, everything he thinks he knows about the meaning of family is changed. Between the Clouds and the River is a journey from the sands of North Africa to the sno... more

Star Late Rising

by R. Luce

The narrator is writing a combination novel and play in which he introduces readers to three actors who perform in the play he is writing. One of them owns a bar in Pierpoint, Ohio. He forms a bond with one of the customers. Together, they deal with a drunken banker and a bully ... the day after the January 6th insurrection. The third actor (a middle-aged man) is trying to make a comeback after years of alcoholism, but succumbs to temptation and loses his opportunity. The characters and story li... more

Perilous Privilege

by Skip Carter

In the autumn of 253, Gallienus, a thirty-five-year-old Patrician and son of an important Roman senator, is unexpectedly appointed co-emperor by the Senate, along with his father, Valerian. The following spring Valerian takes much of the army east to contain an aggressive Persian king, placing Gallienus in command of the western half of the empire. With a significant portion of the army transferred to Syria, and a virulent plague sweeping through the entire empire, Gallienus is left with insuf... more

A Life Full of Quarks

by C. W. Johnson

John Chant was a bright and lonely boy whose darkly comic adventures--with dinosaurs, a robot, an alien astronaut, a particle accelerator, giant monsters, quantum superposition, and a malevolent experimental chimpanzee—leads to a life of science and, eventually, a faculty position at a spectacularly dysfunctional university. Along the way he encounters cosmic rays and an underground lair, a Marxist sister and a venomous pet, poets and atomic secrets, alcoholics and cancer victims, crackpots and... more

There's Always a Price

by Jen Sinclair

When Cassie starts working for her husband’s powerful investor, she’s unaware of the secret deal between the men that has nothing to do with business…and everything to do with her. Artist Cassie Reynolds concludes the neurological damage that destroyed her ability to paint is punishment for too many years of bad choices. At only 36, Cassie believes that every good thing in her life will be followed by something terrible. On top of that, her husband Jason has been hiding how much his busine... more

The Adventures of Black Santa

by Bodie Plecas

10-year old Joy writes to Santa asking that he bring her Marine father, overseas fighting in the "wars", home for Christmas. Santa can't grant this wish, and to make matters worse is caught leaving gifts in the home of an elderly couple, who when they see the large black man in red assume the worst and shoot. 10-year old Lulu attempts to save Santa when he is assaulted by a gang, aided by her no-nonesense, cane swinging, grandmother, Mama. Joy rushes to help her. Now these two families, white an... more

Rise of the Black Cross

by Steven F. Freeman

During the height of the Renaissance, a fleet of mysterious ships invades the Italian coast, threatening the Republic of Florence. Commissioned by ruler Lorenzo de’ Medici to discover the source of the invasion and mount a defense, enigmatic sea captain Niccolo Corsini must navigate political waters as treacherous as any typhoon, where discerning friend from foe proves nearly impossible. While attempting to identify the sponsor of this hostile force, Niccolo enlists the help of young Leonardo... more

Sunday Jenks

by Nellie Hill

In the 1970’s, an aspiring young poet, Sara, leaves her artist husband and moves to San Francisco, where she finds a job in a wig-dye company. The office vibe is stuck in the sixties and the boss, Al, seems to be a rogue with an odd-ball view of life. Sara initially dismisses him, but soon is thinking way too much about his quick wit and their shared love of music. Before long, Sara wonders if she and Al are a couple. They begin traveling for business, and even visit Sara’s family. Sara is en... more

Better is the End

by CURT CANFIELD

"Better is the End" is a literary novel that addresses such universal concepts as: Why am I here?; What does it mean to be happy?; Am I good?; and, How can I be redeemed? It is the sequel to "The Errors of Mankind." The main character, Will, feels he has found peace after spending time with Johann, who recently died. He starts writing what he learned from Johann but finds that his new-found peace is elusive as he still harbors a dark anger. Feeling like a recovering alcoholic who is one step ... more

Sun of Sunnyville

by Ricko Donovan

A comic, tragic epic that will push you to laughter while it pulls at your heartstrings. It’s late summer 2004 and one of the busiest hurricane seasons―things are heating up, and the residents of Sunnyville are wound up over Hurricane Charley as it bears down on the Gulf Coast at Category five strength. At Sunny Glen Palms, an age-discretionary no-nonsense retirement community, a whole new coterie of oddballs are embroiled in their own storms. Barbara Thunderclap turns up to make her pe... more

Rook Rook

by A.J. Liu

A half-Chinese, half-white comedian who despises everything Chinese—including half of himself—travels to China, only to get into a car accident and wakes up with foreign accent syndrome, speaking English with a thick Chinese accent. Stranded in the country he resents, he must adapt to his new reality and confront his fractured identity.

22 Rue Montparnasse

by Richard Helms

Beau Shipley and Keeby Styles barely survive the WWI battle of the Meuse-Argonne. Beau returns to Charleston in a fatalistic attempt to stop his former girlfriend's wedding to a rival, while Keeby remains in Paris to become a writer. Beau discovers that time, the war, the Spanish Flu, and a dark family secret have left the Charleston he remembered unrecognizable, so he returns to Paris to live as a painter. On separate but intertwining paths, Beau and Keeby are swept up in what Gertrude Stei... more

Beneath the wild fig tree

by Fiona Preston

A family drama unfolds across a Bass Strait island, Hobart, Sydney and Adelaide. Should betrayal be forgiven, and if so, who should forgive and who should be forgiven? Wheeler is a traveller who relishes freedom. Freya is engrossed with the past, and Ninka believe that parents should never be trusted, particularly after they move to a far-flung island raucous with birdlife. Migrating birds return and an eclectic assortment of visitors arrive, but all the time, beneath the surface of their... more

Bringing Sunshine back to my Mind

by Momoko Uno

Sachi Kubo-Sanchez, a woman in her forties, leaves her unfulfilling marriage and conservative hometown for New York City. Plagued by resurfaced childhood trauma, she begins therapy and reconnects with lost aspects of her psyche, including her inner child, Sunshine. As she embarks on a journey of self-healing and integration, Sachi faces challenges balancing motherhood with her newfound sexuality, navigating the complexities of online dating, managing an unfamiliar job, and addressing family issu... more

The Tower Jockeys

by Bruce Golden

Part satire, part memoir, The Tower Jockeys is both hilarious and heartbreaking. Full of political and pop culture references from the early '70s, it tells the story of the last American military draftees and how they became part of the U.S. Army's most infamous and uproarious unit while guarding nuclear missiles in the Republic of South Korea. Come for the sardonic tower jockeys, stay for the sabotaged missile, the Bravo missions, the court martial, the tower ghost, the great raid, and the Kore... more

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