WHAT IS ELLIES? ELLIES is a sci-fi dramedy for dynamic ladies who wish they lived in a peaceful, matriarchal utopia run by Black women. It's like Veep meets Planet of the Apes with a splash of Avatar. This quirky series of novellas contains twists, turns, and political hijinks. Even if you have never been lost in space, ELLIES will entertain audiences throughout the Milky Way and beyond. THE SYNOPSIS: “Welcome to Elle.” Senator Athena Napoli didn’t stick to the plan. Her Tuesday had a clear schedule. Pass her “Butter, not guns” bill first thing in the morning. Nail debate prep with her campaign manager Ilonka Van Dijk before lunch. Nap at home until her husband and kids come home from school. Then crush her fellow Coalition Party candidates on stage, earn the sitting Prime Minister's endorsement, and win the party's primary, setting up Athena to take the election in November as Elle's next prime minister. Except a bunch of aliens had their own plans to invade Athena’s country. Okay, technically, their original plan was to land on Styx, a moon of Pluto in a completely different galaxy. But sexegenarian Harrington Umar, the commander of the Knoxville mission, decided to go on a wild goose chase through a tesseract and landed at the airport in Athena’s backyard. If only Harrington had listened to John Charles Carter, his mission specialist and second in command, then they wouldn’t be in Elle. But here they are. And the Prime Minister has tasked Athena to find out what the invaders want, and send them on their way. But how was Athena supposed to know that Customs and Immigration would dismantle their ship? So now these strangers are stuck in a strange land, Athena’s stuck babysitting two grown men who act like stray puppies, and who is that knocking at her front door? THE VISION: ELLIES is a series about what happens when Black women run everything. Why Black women specifically? Black women remain the most educated demographic in the United States, yet Black women only earn 68% of what non-Hispanic white men do. As a group, on Earth, we are currently overeducated, underemployed, overlooked, and undervalued. But in the country of Elle, in the year 2222, there are no shackles, there are no strings. Elle is designed for us and by us, a radical, feminist, democratic socialist environment where Black women live our best lives. And so does everyone else. One hundred year prior to the start of the series, a group of Black women from Earth’s African diaspora founded Elle. It was a secret mission. The nine were fed up with their place in the world, the misogyny, the degradation, the genocide. These resilient souls reached out across the universe, a neighbor heard their siren song, and the women packed up and left for a new world, Vores Hjem. Once they determined their refuge was safe, the women called back to Earth for their sisters, families, friends. An exodus of a hundred thousand, kept hush hush. ELLIES exemplifies what is possible for Black women, if we have the freedom to simply be. It is not a request for other people to give us power; it is a statement about the utopian society we can create if we harness our existing power together, without the intertwined constraints of capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy. Let’s do this. ********** A full length standalone, sci-fi dramedy with an ambitious yet vulnerable, geeky heroine, a confident, tenacious hero, and a mysterious ending with a cliffhanger. ELLIES, volume 1: A Tuesday: a sci-fi dramedy novella is a contemporary, geek girl, multiracial, nerdy, political, utopian work of staggering genius. This funny, beach read is one-of-a-kind Kindle eBook that refuses to fit in one box. If you like Bindi, Black Mirror, Borgen, Galaxy Quest, The Illustrated Man, The Twilight Zone, and The West Wing, then you will love ELLIES. **********

A life she couldn't keep, a murder she couldn't forget. In the clear waters of Pine Island, Florida darkness is swirling. Trained to be a killer, Ellie O'Conner opts for a new life of quiet privacy away from the bloated bureaucracy that has become the CIA. Now, she wants nothing more than to catch up on years lost to the wind. But when a horrifying death shocks her sleepy fishing community Ellie is compelled by a sense of duty to track down the killer. And along the way, she finds out that some of Pine Island's residents may not have the cleanest of hands. And dark waters swirl fiercest in the daylight. _____________________Books 1-4 in the Pine Island Coast Suspense Series form one larger story arc, with everything tied up in Book 4. Beginning at the end of May one will be released every two-three weeks. By July all four will be available for purchase. ________________Dear Reader,If you enjoy Wayne Stinnett, Dawn Lee McKenna, and Randy Wayne White, odds are you'll love reading my books too. So come on and join me, and get away to one of my favorite places for a few hours. I promise, you won't be disappointed. Want to travel to South Florida or visit local places you don't live near? Maybe you can't because life hasn't afford the opportunity or the grandkids would rather go to Six Flags. I get it!...I have five kids of my own. While I can't personally get you to South Florida I can transport you there into an intriguing world filled with delightful characters whose lives are filled with mystery, love, loss, and adrenaline. Kind reviews can help far more than you know and won't go unnoticed as I keep writing and drumming up more Florida Adventure and Suspense Novels that you'll fall in love with. Drop me a line some time. I'd love to hear from you. Life is short, live it well. Jack

Awkward, shy, antisocial, bashful and overly self-conscious are some of the words that describe seventeen year old Ellie Eguchi. But her juxtaposing nature of caring, assured self esteem, confidence and unflinching spirit are what keep her in a positive mindset with an optimistic outlook on life. At school, she keeps to herself and prefers to eat lunch away from everyone else. Torn between taking over the family bread and sweets shop or choosing a career weighs her down more than usual. As a way to ease the boredom of her mundane everyday life, she holds an IRL meet with five other youths who all share the same common desire as her: a desire to interact with the world around them. These five will be the ones who open the door of her sheltered world and show her that life isn’t as boring as she makes it out to be.

"Look out, Junie B. Jones! Ellie the engineer is thinking, making, creating, and showing enthusiasm and brilliance with her creations!" -School Library Connection A charming, hilarious illustrated middle grade about a girl who is an engineer--no, not the kind on a train, the kind that builds things! Perfect creative, STEM-powered fun for girls who have interests in how things work. Ellie is an engineer. With a tool belt strapped over her favorite skirt (who says you can't wear a dress and have two kinds of screwdrivers handy, just in case?), she invents and builds amazing creations in her backyard workshop. Together with her best friend Kit, Ellie can make anything. As Kit's birthday nears, Ellie doesn't know what gift to make until the girls overhear Kit's mom talking about her present--the dog Kit always wanted! Ellie plans to make an amazing doghouse, but her plans grow so elaborate that she has to enlist help from the neighbor boys and crafty girls, even though the two groups don't get along. Will Ellie be able to pull off her biggest project yet, all while keeping a secret from Kit? Illustrated with Ellie's sketches and plans, and including backmatter with a fun how-to guide to tools, this is a STEM- and friendship-powered story full of fun!

Ellie Rae Discovers Eight Ways to be SMART is a rhyming children's book that introduces young children and adults to Dr. Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences. In this early childhood story, Ellie Rae observes her friends at play and discovers something very special about each one. This is the first of a series of children's books that fortifies the sense of self in children by helping them understand their strengths, value the strengths of others, and learn how to work together to grow and learn.

Michigan's Upper Peninsula is blessed with a treasure trove of storytellers, poets, and historians, all seeking to capture a sense of Yooper Life from settler's days to the far-flung future. Since 2017, the U.P. Reader offers a rich collection of their voices that embraces the U.P.'s natural beauty and way of life, along with a few surprises. The 178 short works in this 584 page super-sized box set of volumes 1 through 5 take readers on U.P. road and boat trips from the Keweenaw to the Soo and from Menominee to Iron Mountain. Every page is rich with descriptions of the characters and culture that make the Upper Peninsula worth living in and writing about. U.P. writers span genres from humor to history and from science fiction to poetry. This issue also includes imaginative fiction from the Dandelion Cottage Short Story Award winners, honoring the amazing young writers enrolled in all of the U.P.'s schools. Featuring the words of Karen Dionne, Kaitlin Ambuehl, John Argeropoulos, Lee Arten, Leslie Askwith, Barbara Bartel, T. Marie Bertineau, Aimée Bissonette, Don Bodey, Craig A. Brockman, Stephanie Brule, Sharon Marie Brunner, Larry Buege, Tricia Carr, Mikel Classen, Ann Dallman, Annabell Dankert, Walter Dennis, Giles Elderkin, Frank Farwell, Deborah K. Frontiera, Elizabeth Fust, Robert Grede, Charles Hand, Rich Hill, Kyra Holmgren, Kathy Johnson, Jan Stafford Kellis, Sharon Kennedy, Chris Kent, Amy Klco, Tamara Lauder, David Lehto, Emma Locknane, Teresa Locknane, Ellen Lord, Raymond Luczak, Bobby Mack, Terri Martin, Sarah Maurer, Katie McEachern, Roslyn McGrath, Becky Ross Michael, Hilton Moore, Cora Mueller, Nicholas Painter, Cyndi Perkins, Shawn Pfister, Gretchen Preston, Janeen Pergrin Rastall, Christine Saari, Terry Sanders, Gregory Saxby, Ar Schneller, Joni Scott, Donna Searight Simons, Frank Searight, May Amelia Shapton, T. Kilgore Splake, Ninie G. Syarikin, Rebecca Tavernini, Tyler Tichelaar, Brandy Thomas, Fenwood Tolonen, Donna Winters, Jan Wisniewski and Lucy Woods. "Funny, wise, or speculative, the essays, memoirs, and poems found in the pages of these profusely illustrated annuals are windows to the history, soul, and spirit of both the exceptional land and people found in Michigan's remarkable U.P. If you seek some great writing about the northernmost of the state's two peninsulas look around for copies of the U.P. Reader. --Tom Powers, Michigan in Books "U.P. Reader offers a wonderful mix of storytelling, poetry, and Yooper culture. Here’s to many future volumes!" --Sonny Longtine, author of Murder in Michigan's Upper Peninsula "As readers embark upon this storied landscape, they learn that the people of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula offer a unique voice, a tribute to a timeless place too long silent." --Sue Harrison, international bestselling author of Mother Earth Father Sky "I was amazed by the variety of voices in this volume. U.P. Reader offers a little of everything, from short stories to nature poetry, fantasy to reality, Yooper lore to humor. I look forward to the next issue." --Jackie Stark, editor, Marquette Monthly The U.P. Reader is sponsored by the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association (UPPAA) a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation. A portion of proceeds from each copy sold will be donated to the UPPAA for its educational programming. Learn more at www.UPReader.org

What would you do for your Best friend? Cassandra Grace will live through heartbreaks over a thousand lifetimes. Ellie (Eleanor James) wants to be a superstar. She has natural beauty and talent but is super impatient in achieving her goals. She drops out of High School to pursue acting. She achieves greater success but it comes at a cost. She dwells deeper into darkness as fame becomes a dangerous drug to her. Cassie (Cassandra Grace) is sweet and loving. She is terribly indecisive about what she wants to do in life but will follow Ellie anywhere, including dropping out of High School. After a few years, she decides to go back to University and discovers her love for English literature. As her life gains purpose, she doesn't realize how much her friend Ellie is drifting into despair. Can she save her? She vows to be there for Ellie and to get her the life she deserves to have, even if it means challenging Fate...and losing everything she loves to save her. 'My Dear Ellie' is Aisha Urooj's debut novel and is the first in the Love & Friendship trilogy series. She is currently working on her second novel 'Eleanor's Travels' which will chronicle Ellie's once-in-a-lifetime trip around the world, a extraordinary present given by her parents on her twenty-first birthday. Read 'My Dear Ellie' to learn about the two best friends and the two extraordinary girls, Ellie and Cassie. Join them in their triumphs, their struggles, their adventures and misadventures, and most of all join them for the love and friendship shared between them growing up from little girls to young ladies. Topics: series starter, first in series, romance series, romance saga, romance ebook, romance series, top romance reads, bestselling, Love, strong heroine, forbidden romance, romance fiction, top ebooks in romance, romance books, romance, young adult romance books, young adult books, ya book series, ya coming of age, ya fiction, young adult books best sellers, shy girl romance, good books teen girls, clean romance, wholesome romance Perfect for fans of John Green, Nicholas Sparks, stephen chobsky, michelle madow, megan montero, matt haig, marissa meyer, leia stone, kiera cass, k. a. riley, jen. l. grey, heather carson, chandelle lavaun, aiden thomas, adam silvera, jenny han, stephanie perkins, nicola yoon, alex light, tillie cole, J. C. Cervantes, talia hibbert, jova goffnev, Young adult, Young adult fiction, Young adult novels, Young adult fiction books, Young adult book series

In "Lonesome Cowboy, " Savannah Weston pursues disenchanted cowboy Laredo Smith; and in "Texas Two-Step, " Ellie Frasier leans heavily on her friends for support, until her relationship with rancher Glen Patterson deepens into love.

Return to Promise, Texas, in this favorite series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber, now with four classic romances in one box set! Promise is a ranching town in the Texas hill country—and it’s a place with a mysterious past. But Promise has a heart of goodness, and everyone here knows what really matters in life. Love, family, community… Lonesome Cowboy Savannah Weston is an old-fashioned kind of woman, quietly content to stay on the family ranch. Until she meets a disenchanted cowboy named Laredo Smith. Texas Two-Step Ellie Frasier is still mourning her father and needs her friends. But now her relationship with one of those friends, rancher Glen Patterson, seems to be changing, turning into something else… Caroline’s Child Who’s the father? Everyone wants to know, but the people here are protective of Caroline Daniels and her daughter. Especially rancher Grady Weston, who’s beginning to realize how much he cares. Dr. Texas Dr. Jane Dickinson is planning to work at the Promise clinic only for a short while before returning to California. Too bad she reminds Cal Patterson so much of the former fiancée he’s trying to forget!