Nick and Laurel Salupo currently live in Newburgh Heights Ohio. Laurel is a housewife, freelance writer, and child care provider. Nick is a writing instructor and Adjunct Faculty at Western and Metro Campuses of Tri-C. They are working on two more fictional novels that should be completed in the near future.

A taxonomy we didn’t know we needed for identifying and cataloging stray shopping carts by artist and photographer Julian Montague. Abandoned shopping carts are everywhere, and yet we know so little about them. Where do they come from? Why are they there? Their complexity and history baffle even the most careful urban explorer. Thankfully, artist Julian Montague has created a comprehensive and well-documented taxonomy with The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America. Spanning thirty-three categories from damaged, fragment, and plow crush to plaza drift and bus stop discard, it is a tonic for times defined increasingly by rhetoric and media and less by the plain objects and facts of the real world. Montague’s incomparable documentation of this common feature of the urban landscape helps us see the natural and man-made worlds—and perhaps even ourselves—anew. First published in 2006 to great perplexity and acclaim alike, Montague’s book now appears in refreshed and expanded form. Told in an exceedingly dry voice, with full-color illustrations and photographs throughout, it is both rigorous and absurd, offering a strangely compelling vision of how we approach, classify, and understand the environments around us. A new afterword sheds light on the origins of the project.

Two bloggers fall in love while the world falls apart in Blog Love Omega Glee, a comedic story set in 2012, with each chapter taking place on a different day counting down to the end of the Mayan calendar on 21 December 2012, when the world either ends or continues on much the same as before. The two central characters are Jake Falls, a twenty-five-year-old unemployed man living with his parents who spends most of his time blogging about pro wrestling, and Francine Apple, a twenty-nine-year-old barely employed woman who has dropped out of the American Dream to blog about various conspiracy theories. Other characters abound as well, including Jake's cats, family, and friends, and Francine's coworkers, housemates, and neighbors. The story is set in Cleaveland, a decaying industrial city in the northern part of the USA, and its suburbs on the shores of Lake Eerie. It's year 12 of a fascist regime, and a severed head named Dick with a soft drink vending machine for a body is president/dictator, but no one much notices because they're too busy watching television and obsessing over their personal lives to worry about wars overseas, the government swindling taxpayers, and the rich stuffing their already-stuffed pockets further with rapidly-depreciating currency. Some people find this worrisome, but most people just change the channel. Regardless, even though in many ways for the average person life is still better than ever before in the history of human existence since Eden, most people feel a vague sense of unease, as if the delicate stitching of society is about to come undone at any moment, pouring forth a centuries long buildup of too many human beings, anarchy in the streets, environmental collapse, and lots and lots of really bad coffee. Between existential dread, economic worries, presidential electioneering, electronic domineering, and large sweaty men in tights touching one another as entertainment, there's Blog Love Omega Glee! Blog Love Omega Glee was originally published on Wred Fright's Blog as a blognovel or a blovel! Unlike, most blognovels and blovels, this one actually was finished, instead of being abandoned. Since the story has four parts, depending on how you look at it, it's either one really long novel, or a series of four novels. After being serialized on the blog and as a zine to a few select zinesters Fright trades with, the novel was collected as an ebook. One fun way to read it is a chapter a day during the course of a year (especially a leap year like 2012 was), or go for reading all 230,000 words or so in one lump! The novel's been noted in American Pop Lit (who called Fright "an innovative writer of fun new pop lit--a pioneer in the fight to revive American literature"), Attacking The Demi-Puppets, Cleveland Scene, Cool Cleveland (who wrote, "and (perhaps best of all) it's set in 2012 in a city called 'Cleaveland' (not to be confused, wink-wink, with our city with the slightly different spelling)"--hmm . . . I wonder if there's a Cool Cleaveland email newsletter in the novel . . .), The Rumpus by author Mickey Hess (who blurbed "Goons and patriots, get ready! Wred Fright’s new novel scowls at your perfect sentences. There are gorgeous techniques and colorful dialogue, the book’s action, mood, the author himself. There are things this novelist should be allowed to do that the rest of us are not."), Try This At Home by novelist Eddie Willson (who wrote, "After experimenting with multiple narrators in his novel The Pornographic Flabbergasted Emus, Wred Fright continues to develop his fiction in inventive ways. Here he’s posting a new novel in blog form. Set in the near future the regularly updated narrative charts the lives of wrestling-fixated loser Jake and militant waitress Francine. I’ve got some catching up to do but this is addictive stuff. Here and elsewhere Wred’s big strength is in characterization-–he’s got a real gift for getting you rooting for characters whose lives have got a bit bent out of shape. This tale’s going to be taking up my lunch breaks for the foreseeable future. Highly recommended."), The Whirliblog (who wrote that "It's tastier than Cap'n Crunk!"), Xerography Debt, and Zine World.

Hannah loves her accounting job, the condo that she purchased herself, and her best friend Melinda. What she doesn’t love is baking. To be fair, she’s never tried. But when her cousin shames her into bringing homemade cookies to the family Christmas Eve celebration, she begins a quest to make the perfect holiday cookie. Paramedic Josh also occasionally teaches kids’ cookie baking classes at his family’s bakery. When a beautiful accountant mistakenly signs up for a children’s holiday baking class, he realizes immediately that she’s in the right place. Can this local hero help to save Hannah’s Christmas? Or will it all go up in smoke?

VOWS is the most dramatic love story ever written. Two friends, separated by life’s challenges and circumstances, are suddenly reunited after twelve years of anonymity and with stirring emotion rediscover each other. Wishing never to lose the gift they have found, they lovingly design meaningful marriage vows, promises that will impact every day of their lives now and forever. Along the way, they share unequaled tenderness and intimacy, moments of humor, all of which lead to the serious structure of their marriage vows and subsequent marriage. “Vows” is a model of how to plan for a triumphal marriage, from day one to time eternal. The pathway of this tale of love will touch every emotion and strum your heartstrings. Whether you tingle, laugh, cry, or all three, “Vows” will leave you breathless.

Shy and awkward, ruthlessly ridiculed by other children and carelessly treated by adults, Claudia Fryar flees her hometown of Philadelphia after her father’s death. But years of shame and silent suffering as the love child of the respected—and married—Louis Harrison finally come to a raging boil when Harrison’s jealous widow cheats Claudia out of her inheritance. Twice-scorned, Claudia transforms herself into Peach Harrison: bold, beautiful…and sinister. Now a successful newscaster, Peach makes a triumphant return to Philadelphia, to the welcoming arms of those who once cast her aside. But as Peach puts her “big payback” scheme into action, she realizes that revenge comes with some serious costs of its own.

The essence of time produced a spiritual connection between Justin and Shakira. This spiritual bond lead to a happy marriage in the year 2001, the month of September and yes, the day the nation came to a standstill, "the 11th!"

Seventeen-year-old Penelope (Pen) has lost everything—her home, her parents, and her ten-year-old brother. Like a female Odysseus in search of home, she navigates a dark world full of strange creatures, gathers companions and loses them, finds love and loses it, and faces her mortal enemy. In her signature style, Francesca Lia Block has created a world that is beautiful in its destruction and as frightening as it is lovely. At the helm of Love in the Time of Global Warming is Pen, a strong heroine who holds hope and love in her hands and refuses to be defeated.

The Cowboy’s Unexpected Love is the first book in the new, sweet n steamy, western romance series from USA Today Bestselling author SJ McCoy. The MacFarland Ranch series takes us back to Paradise Valley, Montana, where the winters are cold and hard, and the cowboys are hot and harder. Wade MacFarland is one of life’s good guys. He built and runs a guest lodge on the family ranch. His marriage to his high school sweetheart ended in bitter divorce years ago, his only consolation being that they didn’t have kids. He’s not looking for love anymore, but he’d be happy if it found him. What he doesn’t expect is to find love sitting in a ditch on the side of the highway – in a wedding dress. Sierra Hartford is running from her wedding – and running for her life. The life that she’s never been in charge of. She’s the heiress to Hartford Enterprises, and with her father and brother dead, she’s a billionaire in her own right. Running from someone who plans to kill her lands her in the arms of a kind, sexy cowboy who makes her want a whole new life. And if simply staying alive wasn’t enough to deal with, Sierra’s also about to become the adoptive mom to two small children. She’s never met them, but she’s determined to give them a good life. She might be falling hard for Wade, but he’s divorced because he didn’t want children. He didn’t expect her to come into his life, how can she expect him to accept the children? Pick up your copy of this sweet and steamy romance and you’ll laugh and cry with Wade and Sierra as they discover that unexpected love can be the very best kind. MacFarland Ranch Book 1: The Cowboy's Unexpected Love – Wade and Sierra Book 2: The Cowgirl's Unmistakable Love – Janey and Rocket Book 3: The Sheriff’s Irresistible Love – Deacon and Candy Book 4: The Cowgirl’s Inevitable Love – Laney and Luke Book 5: The Cowboy’s Undeniable Love – Kolby and Callie (Releasing Aug 25) Coming Next Book 6: The Rancher’s Inescapable Love – Ace and Ari Remington Ranch Book 1: Mason Book 2: Shane Book 3: Carter Book 4: Beau Book 5: Four Weddings and a Vendetta A Chance and a Hope Trilogy These are NOT meant to be read as standalone stories and need to be read in order. Book 1: Chance Encounter Book 2: Finding Hope Book 3: Give Hope a Chance The Davenports Series The sexy brothers, of the Billionaire Davenport family. In their own words they are - the "Suit", the "Vet" and the "Geek." Oscar TJ Reid Spider

"Download the first five chapters of LOVE IN THE TIME OF GLOBAL WARMING by Francesca Lia Block! Seventeen-year-old Penelope (Pen) has lost everything—her home, her parents, and her ten-year-old brother. Like a female Odysseus in search of home, she navigates a dark world full of strange creatures, gathers companions and loses them, finds love and loses it, and faces her mortal enemy. In her signature style, Francesca Lia Block has created a world that is beautiful in its destruction and as frightening as it is lovely. At the helm is Pen, a strong heroine who holds hope and love in her hands and refuses to be defeated. LOVE IN THE TIME OF GLOBAL WARMING by Francesca Lia Block is on sale August 27! "