What unifies these stories is the voice of the writer. Life Surge explores the nature of sexual arousal, the special attraction between strangers or in unusual circumstances.Searching for Caroline is the wandering of a young man's heart trying to cope with the loss of his wife which causes him to 'see her' in the strangers he meets. They make Furniture explores the psychology of selling, as well as the subtle brainwashing that takes place. More of the Same, explores motivation underlying behavior. Say Yes to Life shows that change is sometimes possible as in the voluntary rehabilitation of this young woman who was both a drug addict and a lesbian and struggled to be 'clean'and 'straight.'Earth Mother is an encounter with the social assistance system by a proud older couple. "Tenants" and "Taking stock" are time capsules of our times, (current affairs) but the protagonists in the struggles are always universal man.

A collection of memories about Maman who had alzheimer disease and cancer. Her character is painted and the painful changes brought about by the disease have not yet undermined her giving and charming personality

The story takes place in a small area in an anonymous southern state. The main character is a Creole lady named Indiana who was fortunate enough to be legally adopted by a very affluent white couple and raised as a sister to their biological daughter. Indy’s mother passed away while in their employment. The author has drawn on a cast of eccentric people she has met over the years in various parts of the south. Her grandmother always told her that the difference between eccentric and just plain crazy was money. If you have money eccentric sounds so much better than crazy. There are lots of people with money in Trudeau the town where the nucleus of this story takes place. The (fictitious?) story includes the Grande Dames of the area, a madame who bought a mansion in their upscale neighborhood!!! Add to the mix the Bonner brothers, the (slow) twins the town has sort of adopted. What they don’t get into! Things heat up when several young women of a certain reputation are found dead in the surrounding area. This story goes from one of the better known citizens of the town attempting to ax down her garage door at 2 a.m. to get to her liquor supply. The town la-de-da’s and Daughters of the South picketing the house of ill repute once they figured out it is not going to be a bed and breakfast. The sheriff is a less than savory character. There are a cast of other colorful locals as well as people just passing through. This all mixes well together to form a story about life, warts and all. Some characters are waiting in the wings to be in more stories. There are sequels in the works. We introduced the main characters in this novella.

Young Bella Hunt has been afflicted by perceptual distortions &a thought disorder ever since she was abducted from Planet Debonnaire by the mad scientists of Planet Terrorista. With the help of Sherlock Holmes, her mother, Hyacinth Hunt, locates and visits her on Planet Terrorista and years later succeeds in taking her back home to Planet Debonnaire. However the young girl now displays full blown mental illness and a search is on for a cure. These events happen against a background of art exhibitions and a budding romance between Hyacinth Hunt and Sherlock Holmes.

Act of Faith: America's longest running criminal conspiracy perpetrated against children By: Stephen Rubino www.actoffaithbook.com About the Book In his debut novel, trial attorney Stephen Rubino takes the reader on an electrifying journey of deceit, intrigue, tragedy, passion and ultimate redemption. At the intersection of the sacred and the profane, Act of Faith dissects the Vatican’s complicity in America’s longest criminal conspiracy perpetrated against children. This multi-generational family saga is richly portrayed through an ensemble cast of unforgettable characters, revealing the secret world of the Vatican’s sheltering of sexual predators to avoid bringing scandal to the faithful. Act of Faith offers an unflinching account of the still emerging sexual abuse scandal plaguing the Catholic Church and its impact on the survivors and their families across America. The story chronicles the lives of siblings Francis and Elizabeth Natale, who suffer unspeakable psychological damage after being sexually abused by their trusted parish priest. As adults, Francis and Elizabeth become estranged, each hiding their secrets in dangerous double lives. He as a gifted pianist and sexually conflicted Catholic priest, she as a reckless but highly successful trial attorney. After resigning her partnership in a major New York City law firm, Elizabeth sets out to uncover the roots of the abuse scandal and to exact her personal revenge. On a serendipitous road trip across the country, Elizabeth confronts her lifelong demons and forms an unlikely alliance with Father Thomas Atkinson, her long lost high school love who has become a Vatican whistleblower. After a tense reunion with Francis, the trio enters the super-charged environment of high stakes litigation, exposing the Church’s centuries old practice of hiding sexual predators in plain sight from the religious faithful and law enforcement. Together, the trio brings to the courthouse steps the first Federal Civil Racketeering lawsuit against the Catholic Church.

When partners in crime-reduction Jerry “Leafy” Green and Bill “Beefy” Goodness — two of the LAPD’s most skilled homicide detectives — investigate the bizarre killing of a fashion model at the Hollywood Sign it soon becomes clear that this murder is part of a much larger conspiracy that threatens not only the people of America, but the entire population of the planet. As the case progresses, they recruit the help of a Jesus-lookalike ufologist, a streetwise Goth graffiti artist, a world-renowned geneticist, a super-nerd cyber investigator, and a fire-and-brimstone inner city reverend. The detectives and their motley crew of improvised freedom fighters must work quickly to take down the tainted global elite and avert the merciless enslavement of humanity that looms large on the horizon.

When a lush brunette turns up unexpectedly dead in a stranger’s bed, and an antique dealer (who is “mostly legit”) settles down in an easy chair with a dagger in his back, and a big-time gambler drops all bets on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood—then Peter Chambers, fiction’s most eye-catching, hard-boiled private eye, finds himself staked out as victim number 4 in a high-priced game of death and international intrigue.

An anthology of short fiction featuring the finalist selections from the 2016 Saints+Sinners Literary Festival.

Come dream a little dream with top SF writers--such as Poul Anderson, Greg Bear, Gregory Benford and Charles Sheffield--and scientists, as they explore our Nanotech future. Welcome to the world of the microminiaturized future where all things are possible--but only human wisdom stands between us and unspeakable disaster.