In book one, Slingshot, three scientist/engineers reach for the stars as they blend their skills with a host of skilled colleagues to create the world’s first Space Launch-Loop. A team of young eco-terrorists will go to any length to halt the project. One woman is determined to scoop the story, reporting events to a watching world. Slingshot ranges from Seattle’s financial district, to the ocean bottom off Baker Island, to the edge of space, and across the vast panorama of an Equatorial Pacific. It’s a love story, a gender-bender, and a mystery about a missing aviatrix, a conspiracy, and a true-believer. It’s about high finance, intrigue, heroism, fanaticism, betrayal…and humanity’s surge into outer space. In book two, The Starchild Compact, an international team ventures to Saturn’s moon Iapetus to verify it really is a derelict starship. They discover the Founders, descendants of the starship’s builders who arrived in our Solar System 150,000 years ago. Together with the Founders, the explorers advance Founder science with momentous implications for the entire Solar System, paving the way for a joint push to the distant reaches of the Galaxy. But, a Persian Caliphate stowaway sabotages the mission, hoping to destroy science that he believes violates Islam. The Starchild Compact blends tomorrow’s science with human foibles, fears, beliefs, and political intrigue, speculating on how civilization might develop while traveling on a generational starship, and how modern humans might interact with remnants of that civilization. In book three, The Iapetus Federation, besieged Israelis on Earth make their way to Mars as the Federation expands throughout the Solar System. While global Jihad rages on Earth, putting millions to the sword, the Starchild Institute develops wormhole transportation. But will this new technology be ready in time to rescue all that is left of the United States, the beleaguered Lone Star Conservancy, and remnants of other cultures around the globe? From hand-to-hand combat in the oceans, to battles on Earth’s surface, to struggles in interplanetary space, our heroes fight to survive and expand to the far reaches of the universe.

The Starchild Compact is an epic tale of beginnings, of roots, of what might have been, and what might be. The Starchild Compact is an adventure of heroic proportions, commencing on a planet 500 light years distant, arriving here just a few years from now, and ending up in the far distant expanses of the Universe. Jon Stock takes his exploration team to Saturn’s moon, Iapetus, that Earth scientists have determined may be an artifact. Following launch, they discover Saeed Ismail, a Jihadist stowaway, who hopes to sabotage the mission. They arrive at Iapetus, determine it is a derelict starship, and eventually meet with the Founders, descendants of the starship builders. Their revelations impact the entire Solar System with momentous implications going backward and forward in time, paving the way for a joint push to the distant reaches of the Galaxy.

Although presumed dead, Saeed Ismail resurfaces following the events of The Starchild Compact to lead a global Jihad. Aided by Founder Asshur, besieged Israelis on Earth make their way to Mars. Under Rod Zakes, the Iapetus Federation expands to include the human-settled parts of the solar system, protected by Dmitri Gagarin’s Federation Security Force. While global Jihad rages, the Starchild Institute on Iapetus develops a form of wormhole transportation, but will this new technology be ready in time to rescue Sam Houston and all that is left of the United States, the beleaguered Lone Star Federation? Can wormhole technology solve the task of moving millions of people from Earth to Iapetus? While Earth sinks into medieval barbarism, off-world humanity struggles to survive and prosper in the far reaches of the Solar System - and beyond.

Drawing on national, state, and local data, the Urban Child Institute partnered with RAND to explore the social and emotional well-being of children in Memphis and Shelby County, Tenn. The book highlights the importance of factors in the home, child care setting, and community that contribute to social and emotional development.

A Vermonter rambles through the writing field for nearly three-quarters of a century. During the first part the flow in the field grows a crop of poetry. Then the course of growing produces a large quantity of messages delivered on Sunday mornings in a number of Vermont churches. Portion three of the field grows a limited crop of essays. In the final little corner of the field some small seeds of Christmas "editorials" from the "Brennan Chronicle" spring up and flourish. For more specific details, select for reading those portions which appeal to your interests.

The inspiration for the urban fantasy series, Starchild’s Fire, we can find many of the characters featured in these works exploring this town and universe in the novels. Volume two in the slice of life series, we again go on adventures with the starchild, Val, as they once more explore the absolutely typical town they call home. Nothing strange going on in a hometown in the middle of nowhere. A place with less direct sunlight than a rainy day, and with a forest that contains creatures of myths. Plus the ocean remains a great location to dip your toes in the water. As long as you stay behind the net so knowledge-hungry mermaids don't drag you beyond the drop-off. Still a land of ordinary magic and monsters, the shapeshifter will meet a werehyena whose life they save and fight to not repay for such a friendly deed; befriend a kind immortal with an affection for jewels and living in an isolated cabin in the woods; and relax with intergalactic friends on a bench in the park on a quiet afternoon. But with a love of the tranquil life and making new acquaintances wherever they go, these are just another day for Val. A gentle smile always on their face as they’ve had for the last few decades no matter the situation. After all, aren’t all towns like this?