Coming of Age

Ain't No Shame in My Game: Mask Off — Book One By Chance At nineteen, Rain has been married for five years to a man she never chose. She has a secret plan to escape. She has money saved, and a date in mind. What she does not have is a reason to believe she deserves more — until Stormey. Now Rain must choose between the life she was forced into and the love that finally sees her clearly. Playing it safe could keep her alive. Walking away could set her free. But Entebbe does not let go easily. This is a preview: The Prologue and Chapters One through Three

The reader experiences quarantine wards, iron lungs, and endless spinal taps not as historical abstractions, but as the bewildering daily life of a small child separated from her family for two full years. Along the way we encounter fascinating characters who all impact the little girl’s life as she struggles to recover. Written with honesty and heart, A Little Girl's Life offers an unforgettable glimpse into mid-century medicine, family perseverance, and the resilience of children during one of history's most challenging epidemics. Ann Dowling brings personal memories vividly to life for modern readers.

When Autumn encounters the enigmatic and devastatingly handsome Tristan Jordan in downtown Chicago, she quickly realizes he's no ordinary man—he’s a vampire, and he knows who she is. What begins as a chance meeting spirals into an intense and magnetic connection that neither of them can ignore. Autumn soon learns she’s been under surveillance by the vampire world due to her unique bloodline, which may carry untapped magical power. As she and Tristan grow closer, their bond deepens—literally. Through Tristan’s bite, their souls become psychically linked, giving them the ability to communicate without words and feel each other's emotions. But love doesn’t come without shadows. Tristan harbors secrets of his own: a dark past, a chaotic younger brother named Jaiden with dangerous ambitions, and a vampire world divided by ideology. As Autumn moves into a new house with her best friend Jade and begins a new college semester, her life shifts from ordinary to surreal. Vampire politics, ancient bloodlines, and supernatural threats swirl around her. Soon, she’s being stalked by Jaiden, who is obsessed with making her his vampire bride—or worse. As her mystical ancestry begins to awaken, Autumn is drawn into a deeper war: between light and dark, power and purpose, legacy and love. She must learn to control her gifts, guard her heart, and survive the pull of ancient forces that seek to claim her. In the final chapters, Autumn embraces her destiny—not just as Tristan’s beloved, but as a powerful force in her own right. She faces the Hollow, confronts her shadow self, and finds the strength to forgive, love, and transform.

Ernie is twenty-nine, autistic, and reasonably certain that dating should come with an instruction manual. When he meets Eric on a dating app for gay autistic men, things start promisingly enough. Eric seems friendly, their conversations are easy, and nobody appears to be playing the sort of social guessing games Ernie would rather avoid. Then Eric asks to meet for coffee. Suddenly, a simple date becomes an exhausting exercise in overthinking, sensory concerns, and imagining every possible way things could go wrong. Ernie knows he wants to meet Eric. He also knows that staying home would be considerably easier. With a little help from his therapist, Ernie begins to confront a familiar pattern: wanting something, getting close to it, and retreating when it becomes real. But what if Eric really is as nice as he seems? *He Seems Nice* is a warm, gently funny story about autism, anxiety, vulnerability, and the courage it takes to step outside your comfort zone. Because sometimes the biggest adventure isn't falling in love. It's getting out the door.

This series focuses on the upcoming officer pipeline in training at Astro Corps Academy. this is a New Adult series as these are all college aged characters. The series focuses on Kathleen "Kat " Walters, Francessca "Fran" Corsacci, Jackson "Jax" Bates and Evan Linares. This series will focus on Academy classes that will refresh the officer pipeline in the *ASC Galaxy* series. This is a companion series to *ASC Galaxy*. These characters will join the *ASC Galaxy* series in *ASC Galaxy: Battle Lines (Book Six)*.

Mara Marinescu had spent most of her life trying to survive. Then she met Alaina Winslow, who showed her how to live. Everything changed the morning Alaina killed Raymond John Vixler. Something inside her began to disappear. And then she did. Reports emerged of a mysterious girl with a halo of lightning stepping through static to save people. They called her Statica. But with each life she saved, she lost a piece of herself. Refusing to let her best friend go, Mara sets out to bring Alaina home. Through the static, she discovers a hidden realm beyond reality, where impossible choices shape the fate of the living and the dead. From the author of *Earl* comes a contemporary fantasy thriller about friendship, memory, sacrifice, and the people we refuse to let go. For fans of *Shatter Me, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue*, and *All the Bright Places*.

A man must come to terms with a tragic loss and navigate life with complex trauma.

This will be a three-book series featuring Brenda Moonsong. They are Rise Lunar Sentinel, The Moon veil Accords, and Finally Final Eclipse.

*"What happens when a fifteen-year-old dishwasher discovers that professional kitchens and hard liquor both offer the same thing? An escape from the noise inside his head."*\ \ For Donald N. Walker, the answer is a thirty-five-year journey through some of America's finest kitchens and darkest corners—a story of extraordinary culinary achievement built on a foundation that was crumbling from the very first drink. At thirteen, Walker blacked out for the first time.\ At forty-eight, standing in a parking lot in Victor, Idaho, with everything he owned in a borrowed pickup truck, he'd been fired, laid off, or escorted out of more kitchens than he could count without a piece of paper. He had five DUI arrests across three states. He had slept in a homeless shelter while employed at one of the most exclusive resorts in the American West. And he was about to do the single best thing he would ever do. This is the instruction manual on how not to do it—and the hard-won wisdom of a man who finally learned to put down the shovel. **How NOT to Do It** weaves three powerful narratives into a singular, unforgettable memoir. First, it's a culinary coming-of-age story that takes readers from the chaos of an Ohio smorgasbord's dish pit to working alongside Certified Master Chefs at elite country clubs, from the pirate-ship energy of Florida's Mad Hatter restaurant to catering thousand-person events with Secret Service oversight. Walker apprenticed under some of America's most decorated chefs, learning mother sauces, classical technique, and the particular satisfaction of plating food that earns a nod from people who don't give easy praise. For anyone who has ever loved the controlled chaos of a professional kitchen, this is your story told with the precision of a chef's knife and the honesty of a man with nothing left to hide. Second, it's an addiction and recovery memoir of brutal honesty. Walker's first blackout came at thirteen with a glass of mixed liquor stolen from his parents' cabinet. What followed were fifteen years of drinking without attempting to stop, then fifteen more years of starting and stopping, then finally—on January 1, 2022—sobriety that held. Between those bookends: multiple DUIs, jail time, lost relationships, geographical solutions that stretched from Ohio to Florida to Maryland to the Florida Keys to Idaho, jobs abandoned, opportunities squandered, and the slow, grinding realization that the thing he was running from was inside him the whole time. This is not a redemption story wrapped in a bow—it's the raw, unglamorous accounting of how addiction works, how it doesn't, and what it finally takes to stop digging. Third, it's a coming-of-age narrative about a boy who grew up on an Ohio apple orchard with a beloved Irish Setter named Sandy, watched his schizophrenic brother's eyes go empty, survived the bankruptcy that took the family farm, and learned early that the storm always felt more exciting than the calm. Walker carries readers through the geography of American restlessness: port cities and country clubs, college attempts and spectacular failures, the basement room with the back door that let him slip in and out unannounced, and the long road to Sweetwater, Tennessee, where he would finally stop running. For readers who love memoirs of resilience, Kitchen Confidential-style kitchen culture, or the hard-won wisdom of recovery literature, **How NOT to Do It** delivers all three with unflinching prose and dark humor.

Joi had the ring, the man, and the plan. Then one night changed all three. Now she's done with love, but love, her past, and her family's secrets aren't done with her.

At thirty-nine, Valerie Stewart is trapped—a dead-end job, a deadbeat husband, forgotten dreams. But then, she secretly earns her accounting degree, and something inside her shifts. Six months later, Valerie is single, living in a new town, under a new name, and building the future she risked everything to achieve. For the first time, freedom feels real. Until her ex-husband finds her. Now, the fresh start Valerie created is threatened by the one man she thought she’d escaped.

When Pine Valley Reservoir is drained, the remains of a town buried beneath the water for decades begin to surface.   Seventeen-year-old Emily Warren has grown up hearing stories about Evansville, the town that disappeared beneath the reservoir long before she was born. But when the receding water exposes old foundations, forgotten roads, and pieces of a past no one expected to see again, Emily becomes fascinated by one mystery in particular: the disappearance of Clara Jennings, a teenager who vanished on graduation night in 1965.   The deeper Emily digs, the more tangled the story becomes. Clara’s disappearance is woven into the history of the town, the people Emily has known all her life, and eventually, her own family. Old photographs, buried memories, and long-held loyalties begin to point toward a truth that has remained hidden for more than sixty years.   But uncovering the truth is one thing. Knowing what to do with it is another.   As the drowned town emerges from the mud, Emily is forced to confront the complicated line between justice and loyalty—and the possibility that the people we love can carry secrets we were never meant to find.   What the Lake Knows is an atmospheric small-town mystery about family, memory, grief, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive the past.

Carter Barnes wanted a normal senior year. Instead, he discovers he can alter the density of his body—becoming nearly untouchable one moment and impossibly durable the next.\ At first, Carter wants nothing more than to understand what is happening to him and keep it hidden. But when another powered teenager begins leaving destruction across Tristan, staying out of it becomes harder to justify.\ With his best friend Miles at his side, Carter must learn to control his abilities, protect the people around him, and decide what kind of person he wants to become.\ Because having power doesn't make someone a hero. The choices they make do.

She thinks he's an arrogant asshole. He immediately thinks she's a stalker. At Weststar Elite Academy, everything is measured by status, power, and reputation. Everyone looks up to the Four Heirs...the richest, most powerful and untouchable guys in school. Sophia Miller is completely unaware of the world she has just stepped into. On her second week at Weststar, she somehow manages to walk into the boys' locker room and finds Lorenzo Calloway half-naked.... She wants nothing to do with him, and he wants her gone. But when the girl who was never supposed to belong in his world becomes the one person he can't seem to ignore... things start to get complicated.

Kathera always thought she was destined to be a warrior. Trained from a young age to serve the throne, she poured everything into her swordplay until her parents returned from a journey with a quiet girl in a Seer's cloak. That was the day the truth was revealed: Kathera wasn't meant to fight on the front lines. Her father’s vision foretold she would be Celentra’s next Empress, the very ruler her people would fight for.  Amiranthia loved her home in Paesuna, where she spent her days under the desert sun. Everything changed when two powerful strangers arrived at her door and demanded her service as a royal Seer. Bound by the Pact of Hithis, sealed by the God of Agreements himself, she was torn from her family and whisked away to the cold, distant mountains of Arynthia.  Cyrus is a scholar at heart and, unfortunately, telekinetic. He has spent years ignoring the strange ability to move objects with his mind, preferring the safety of ancient books and forgotten lore. But when he is thrust into the Academy of Mages for a placement test, his past becomes impossible to hide, and his powers far too dangerous to ignore.  Three souls, Three distinct paths, one intertwined fate. Together, they hold the pieces of an ancient puzzle, and an empire’s future hangs in the balance.

A teenage boy who is so average that he feels inadequate in every aspect of his life wants nothing but to be seen as equal to his peers and the people in his town, but more especially by his love interest, Allison. But he soon realizes that he was already just a little bit above average.

Four 15-year-old boys in a small town dream of heavy metal stardom and all that comes with it. But they discover the journey is long, and the path is rougher than they ever could have imagined. But the rewards, if achieved, are bigger than their wildest dreams; they just have to get there first. Will they make it, or will their dreams crash, burn, and die like so many before them?

Four 15 year old boys have heavy metal dreams only to have them shattered, or do they. Fighting to the top is not a strait or easy path, the pain severe, the rewards are bigger then they ever dreamed, but they have to get there first.

<u>No AI was used in the writing of this work of purely human imagination.</u> In Dominion, you don’t know whether you are pretty or ugly until you are fifteen. Not officially, anyway. It comes as no surprise to Rissa Marlow when she rated AP—Aesthetically Prohibited. She’s ugly, after all. Not stupid. The surprise comes when she arrives at ARC Three—Ugly Camp—to begin training for either a life of labor in the Corporations or a much shorter life in her nation’s endless war with the Enemies. Everything changes though when Rissa finds herself the unwilling leader of a group of fellow Aps ordered on a mission to find a madman operating without official sanction deep in the Forbidden Zone. But one more surprise awaits: Cannen Ramsey, a beautiful Aesthetically Optimal boy will be joining this impossible mission. Their journey down the Desert Sea is fraught with peril. Violent weather, dangerous animals and even more dangerous people greet them around every bend. But for the first time in her life, Rissa finds friendship. With cheerful Birdie, stoic Tree, and even with the arrogant Ettie and the unpredictable Shora. And as the reluctant adventurers are drawn deeper into the desert something even stronger seems to be growing between Cannen and her Only when Rissa finally comes face-to-face with the man whose command she has been ordered to terminate does she begin to learn the terrible truth. About him. About her country. About herself. While virtually everything Rissa thought she knew turns out to be lies perpetrated by the government, the corporations and even by her own parents, now she learns that the madman has found something here in the wasteland. Something ancient. Something horrific. Something deadly. On this journey into the very heart of darkness Rissa may have to sacrifice everything including those she has come to trust, respect—and love.

**This is a short story during the aftermath of the outbreak**   It started with a viral attack, glass vials shattered in the heavily trafficked corridors of Grand Central Station. Within a month the virus was the deadliest attack the world had ever witnessed. But it was only the beginning. The survivors, what few remained of the planet's 7 billion, would come to realize the virus attack was the easy part; it killed outright, but the Blight was a different story altogether. The end wasn't just the beginning.

Follow the journey of Crystilline Heiwa Yuy as she discovers her ties to a Japanese Mafia family and how she turns tradition on its head. Crystilline is no ordinary princess who sits within a tower, waiting to be rescued. She will rescue herself.

Anya Springfield has spent her entire life running. Dragged from town to town by a mother desperate to keep them hidden, Anya has learned one painful truth: people are drawn to her—sometimes in dangerous ways. New schools, broken friendships, and constant upheaval are all she’s ever known. So when she arrives in a quiet town for what feels like yet another temporary stay, she vows to keep her head down and survive senior year unnoticed. But this town is different. Almost immediately, Anya finds herself surrounded by an unlikely group of boys unlike anyone she has ever met—Felix, Galen, Connor, and Griffin—each mysterious, fiercely protective, and strangely familiar. Along with their enigmatic guardian, Audric, they seem to know things about her no stranger should know. More unsettling still, they believe Anya is something impossible: A goddess. As buried memories begin to surface and the truth behind her painful past unravels, Anya discovers she may be tied to an ancient power older than memory itself—the Triple Goddess: Maiden, Mother, and Crone. But awakening to her destiny comes with a price. Dark forces from her past are closing in, desperate to claim the power within her before she can understand it herself. Caught between fear and destiny, healing and heartbreak, Anya must decide who she truly wants to be: the frightened girl always running… or the powerful woman she was always meant to become. **A heartfelt blend of contemporary fantasy, found family, healing from trauma, and elemental magic, *Maiden Mother Crone* is a coming-of-age story about reclaiming your voice, embracing your power, and discovering that family isn’t always the one you’re born into.**

This story came from a contest for an epistolary short story (which is the prologue). What continues is their story.

THE SPOKEN WORDS OF PATRICK SARAK SANG  Written in the land of California, in the Americas, in the year two thousand and twenty-six, being the forty-first year of the life of Patrick Sarak Sang, son of Sarak Sang and Vannareth Sam Sang, of the Khmer and American peoples, a witness of these things  THE FIRST BOOK & SECOND BOOK    Book 1 - God Book 2 - America, The World & A God Who Keeps His Promises

He was never supposed to love her.\ She was never supposed to survive him.  An epic romance that defies fate itself... \ Claire Halloway came back to Clearwater to escape her past. \ Instead, she found him. \ Damien is everything she should stay away from—mysterious, impossibly beautiful, and surrounded by secrets that seem to grow darker every night. Yet from the moment their eyes meet across the mist-covered lake, Claire feels something she can't explain. \ Something ancient.\ Something familiar.\ And something dangerously close to love. \ Then she discovers the truth.\ Damien isn't human. \ He's a vampire—and he's spent centuries fighting the hunger inside him. But when a ruthless woman from his past returns, determined to reclaim him, Claire becomes the one thing Damien cannot afford to lose. \ Because something else has awakened in Clearwater. \ The lake is whispering her name.\ The oldest families are hiding a centuries-old Covenant. \ And beneath the moonlight, Claire is beginning to remember a destiny that was written in blood long before she was born. \ They call her the Crimson Heir.\ Now Damien must choose between the woman he loves and the darkness that has waited centuries to claim her. \ Because some love stories are written in the stars. \ Others are written in blood.\ And when the lake remembers Claire's name, there will be no escaping what comes next.

A previously unknown species of seahorse is discovered by oceanologist Drew Boone and his daughter Karissa in the small New England coast town of Seaside Cove. Karissa is a troubled little girl, anti-social and withdrawn since her parent’s divorce. She is with her father for their summer visitation to stay with him and his mother. Karissa is the first of the coast kids to make contact with Star, a sea creature who is a unique hybrid of a seahorse and a normal horse. Drew speculates Star is the result of seismic activity that has been occurring around an offshore oil drilling platform. Karissa is brought out of her shell by her friendship with Star. She soon becomes the envy of the other coast kids. Before long more kindred seahorses join Star on land from the underwater passage. Every coast kid claims their own seahorse like a family pet. The parents turn to Drew for answers regarding these beguiling visitors. Overnight he becomes a seahorse authority of sorts. One of the children attracts the attention of the oil company president, Martin Thompson, who owns the offshore drilling site. Thompson sees him when he is out riding his seahorse on the ocean. Thompson tracks all of the seahorses in town and confiscates them. He puts them in glass tanks and plans to open an aquatic theme park which will feature the seahorses as its main attraction. The children are heartbroken and their parents are helpless to do anything in light of Thompson’s legal possession of the seahorses. The seahorses are miserable being cut off from the outside world and their youthful companions. Karissa organizes the coast kids into a peaceful protest of the theme park. On it’s opening day the children stand in a “ chain of life “ at the entrance to the seahorse attraction and garner major media interest. Infuriated, Thompson uses the police to run them off. The opening of the theme park is disrupted by the appearance of Father, a gargantuan 250 foot tall seahorse. A tidal wave generated from his surfacing smashes the park. Karissa is put in jeopardy by the resulting flood but is saved from drowning by Star. Father gathers his seahorse family and they return to their home at the bottom of the sea. Karissa is reunited with her father and grandmother. The community of Seahorse Cove unite to expose Thompson as the cause for all of the problems and run him out of town. One day while she is on her father’s research boat, Karissa is reunited with Star, who returns to her in a Pegasus like form. Their friendship is far from over.

Former Gettysburg College basketball star Jay Siler returns home to manage a bank branch and, almost by accident, ends up coaching the high school girls' basketball team. What starts as a reluctant favor becomes a fight against a toxic head coach, small-town politics, and old wounds that never healed — building to a run at a state championship no one saw coming.

So I feel like what inspired me to write this as someone who has been through really bad relationships, addiction issues, self-harm, loss, attempts, being locked up, losing myself trying to save other people, homelessness, bad self-image, loss of children terrible abuse that should happen to no one ever. I want my books to give people of all ages. that just because you have been broke doesn't mean you're broken. Just because you were given battles does not mean you give up because everything gets better and it doesn't always stay bad forever. I want people to connect not just on a mental level but to actually feel everything I have said and to know that all the emotions of hate, love , guilt ,shame ,peace ,fear ,distress , and hopefulness does not mean that their story hasn't ended and that it's just starting to take off. Because I remember thinking multiple times I will never get through this or I am not strong enough then I have to remember if I never went through the stuff I went through, I would have never become the person I am today. but yes, i have lost people along the way but that just means they weren't met to stay for the long run. They were met to be there for a lesson and to grow and that perfectly fine. Cause you're going to look at your and say that was worth it cause look at me now.

Thomas Rogers had resigned himself to a life of obscurity, preferring to fade into the background. One day, he stumbled upon a single wish that held the power to alter his destiny. Suddenly, he's transported to a different world, where he's frantic to find a path back home.

At nineteen, faith is no longer something she can simply inherit--it must become something she chooses, questions, and wrestles for herself.  *Nineteen* is a poetic short novel told through nineteen poems, written by a nineteen year old girl. Woven with Scripture, honest reflection, and the tension between herself and becoming, this intimate collection explores the questions that surface when growing up means confronting pain, identity, purpose, and God all at once.  Raw, vulnerable, and deeply personal, *Nineteen* is for anyone who is willing to face the truth.

Seventeen-year-old Luna has never wanted to be anyone’s savior. She would rather understand the world around her than be placed at the center of it. But when long-buried secrets surrounding her family begin to surface, Luna discovers that the strange power awakening within her is tied to something far older—and far more dangerous—than she ever imagined. Drawn into a hidden world shaped by lunar magic, ancient enemies, fractured loyalties, and a history no one seems willing to tell her completely, Luna is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her father, her past, and the role others believe she is destined to play. As the darkness closes in, the people around her carry secrets of their own. Some want to protect her. Some need what she can become. And some may already know how her story is supposed to end. Luna must decide who to trust while learning to control a power she barely understands—one that could protect the people she loves or make her the very thing their enemies have been waiting for. Dark, atmospheric, and character-driven, *Luna Lumina* is the first book in a planned young adult fantasy trilogy about family, identity, sacrifice, and a reluctant heroine caught between the life she wants and the destiny others have chosen for her. For readers who enjoy mysterious magic, hidden histories, dangerous fantasy worlds, strong family bonds, and heroines who refuse to accept easy answers.

To those who have felt the crushing weight of societal expectations, the seductive whisper of digital validation, and the gnawing ache for a life that feels undeniably *real*. This story is for the dreamers caught in the gilded cage, for the navigators of blurred lines and curated realities, and for anyone who has ever questioned the actual cost of chasing a dream that glitters but may not satisfy. May you find your own truth beyond the screen, your own voice in the silence, and your own irreplaceable worth in the quiet spaces between the curated moments. May this narrative serve as a mirror, a cautionary tale, and ultimately, a beacon of hope for those seeking genuine connection and a life lived with authenticity and courage. To the unwritten chapters of your own story, may they be filled with purpose, peace, and the undeniable beauty of simply being.  Curated Self: The idealized, often selective, presentation of an individual's life,\ particularly on social media platforms, designed to elicit positive external validation.\ Digital Footprint: The trail of data left behind by a user's online activity, encompassing\ everything from browsing history to social media posts and digital transactions.\ Fulfillment: A state of deep satisfaction and contentment derived from living a life\ aligned with one's values and authentic self, rather than the pursuit of external validation\ or idealized outcomes.\ Societal Pressures: The external expectations and norms imposed by society regarding\ success, appearance, behavior, and lifestyle, often amplified by digital platforms.\ Vulnerability: The quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of attack or harm,\ either physical or emotional; in the context of relationships, it refers to the willingness to\ share one's true thoughts and feelings, even those that are imperfect or uncertain.

To the seekers of wisdom, the tireless questioners of existence, and the diligent builders of a more enlightened world. This work is a testament to the enduring power of foundational principles, gleaned from the echoes of antiquity and offered as a compass for our contemporary journey. May these Articles of Life illuminate your path, sharpen your discernment, and inspire you to contribute your unique verse to the grand, unfolding narrative of human civilization. May your inner kingdom be well-governed, your community bonds strengthened by unwavering morals, and your understanding of the cosmos deepened by the profound mysteries that lie both within and beyond. To those who tirelessly strive to balance the scales of justice, to preserve the sanctity of knowledge, and to learn from the grand tapestry of history, this book is humbly offered. It is for the scholars who humbly begin their quest, the masters who grapple with the complexities of ethical living, and the seekers who gaze into the infinite possibilities of existence, daring to understand our place within the celestial dance. May you find within these pages not mere information, but illumination; not simply knowledge, but wisdom; and not just guidance, but the courage to embody the timeless truths that have guided humanity towards meaning, order, and enduring prosperity since the dawn of time. This is a tribute to the enduring spirit of inquiry, the profound capacity for growth, and the unyielding human desire to live a life of purpose, integrity, and transcendence. This book is for the following: Readers interested in philosophy and ethics. Those who enjoy exploring foundational moral and societal principles, the nature of good governance, and the pursuit of a meaningful life will find the in-depth exploration of the Articles of Life compelling. Students of comparative religion and mythology. Individuals fascinated by the blend of biblical narratives (Enoch), ancient legal codes (Hammurabi), and mythological references will appreciate the synthesis of these elements. Readers seeking a structured and wisdom-driven narrative. The book's organized structure of articles and progression levels will appeal to readers who enjoy clear frameworks for understanding complex concepts and a journey towards self-improvement and transcendence. Academics and researchers of ancient law and governance. The detailed inclusion and analysis of Hammurabi's Code, alongside other historical and philosophical underpinnings of civilization, make it valuable for scholarly exploration.

Humanity was locked in a desperate war against the vicious Lyracken race and their god, Lycanther. As total defeat loomed inevitable, a mysterious group stepped out of the shadows calling themselves the Evolved. These were humans who had concealed their extraordinary powers for generations. Some generously shared their knowledge with the rest of the world in the hope of turning back the Lyracken tide, while others selfishly guarded their abilities and refused to let them spread. Jareth and his sister Mia had lost almost everything in the war, his home, and his parents. The only thing Jareth had inherited was a weird-looking advanced computer. When Jareth had unlocked the computer, he was granted “The Draven System,” it granted him power that was similar to a video game but in real life. When Jareth received the system, it made contact with its creator, Joseph Klein, before its completed bond, notifying a very powerful force of its activation and location. Now, forced into military school at age fifteen, Jareth enters a high-tech academy built on salvaged enemy technology where students are ranked by their Evolved powers and the rich buy powerful Evolved powers from special books. He must hide the Draven System inside him, its stats, experience points, quests, daily tasks, and growing skills, because powerful people are hunting for it. With a mysterious bracelet from his father, a tampered Evolved tablet giving him the rare “Jack of all Trades” power, and a strange egg that could change everything, Jareth begins to uncover a family secret tied to an ancient name: Draven. As tension rises and the old war threatens to restart, Jareth has to protect his sister, survive the academy, and figure out why the system chose him before the wrong people find out what he truly is. If he is discovered, the biggest war in the known universe may ensue, against the once strongest empire of the known Universe.

Darkside of the Moon is a testament to the future of human aspirations. Donald J. Trump's vision was a slow, steadily growing force. Within a decade, the vision became reality, with next-generation platforms and behemoths that carried humanity's dreams to the stars. Yet the future is much nearer than was believed. A secret is to be found, and a hope for the future of humanity is to be revealed, but the survival of humanity is to be determined by the willpower of a few brave souls and the ambitions of the newly envisioned United Galactic Space Force and the might of Sol's Vanguard

Alex Carter has always understood games better than people. At Ridgewood High, he’s the quiet kid with his head down, his best friend at his side, and an RPG waiting for him when he gets home. But when a mysterious interface suddenly appears before his eyes—complete with stats, quests, skills, and experience points—Alex discovers that reality has rules he was never supposed to see. And he isn’t the only one playing. Beneath the ordinary world exists the Nexus, a hidden realm of magic, monsters, secret factions, and ancient powers struggling to maintain a fragile balance. The Guardians want to protect that balance. The Rogues want to break free from it. And something buried far deeper has begun to notice Alex. As his abilities grow, Alex is forced to confront enemies who were once classmates, secrets hidden within his own power, and a corruption capable of turning fear, anger, and ambition into weapons. Every new level makes him stronger—but every choice threatens to pull the people he loves deeper into a world they were never meant to see. Because Alex is beginning to realize that his strange new power isn’t simply turning reality into a game. **It may be preparing him for one.** *Nexus: Balance of Shadows* is a LitRPG urban fantasy about friendship, identity, family, hidden worlds, and discovering that true strength isn’t choosing between light and darkness—it’s learning how to carry both without losing yourself.

Leah Rigley disguised herself as a cabin boy in order to accompany her father, the captain of three trading ships, to the New World. She did not anticipate the turn of events that would happen during the voyage from Falmouth England to the coast of Mayne, and after the ships arrival at their destination.  Travel with this extraordinary girl across the Atlantic Ocean in a 16th century sailing vessel and experience her adventures in the strange new world as she tried to find her way home.

Some mysteries are too big for one generation to solve.

A girl born in the early 60s learns that in life, there's not always going to be someone to save you. The story captures the resilience, strength, courage as well as ways to get even against people who have hurt her, or her friends, in comical actions. Her father George became her silent hero, and with his silent actions, taught her the ups and down in life. *Life taught me to be strong.* *The men who cheated on me...* *Well, they taught me to be creative.*   People have asked me about the title of this book. Some assume it's about anger. Others think it's about revenge. It isn't. Wrath isn't always loud. Sometimes it's quiet. Sometimes it's walking away. Sometimes it's refusing to let someone else's betrayal define your worth. And sometimes... It's a harmless prank that reminds a person they should have treated you better in the first place. I never believed in cruelty. Life had already shown me enough of that. But I did believe in consequences. Especially the kind that could make you laugh years later. If that's wrath... Then I suppose I'm guilty.

**What if the most powerful girl on the island was the one who couldn’t use magic?** Rose Grey is a 205-year-old sea nymph who looks twelve—and she has a problem. On the mysterious Isle of Lumiere, magic is everywhere, pirates hunt magical beings, and Rose is the only one of Poseidon’s daughters who seems to have been born without powers of her own. But Rose is far from ordinary. Armed with an invisibility cloak, a stubborn streak, and a talent for finding trouble, she is drawn into an adventure filled with dangerous pirates, a mischievous elf, ancient secrets, a mysterious sorceress—and one cigar-smoking monkey named Smokey. As pirates close in on the elusive sea nymph, they have come to call the **Phantom Nymph**, Rose begins to discover that the truth about who she is may be far stranger—and far more powerful—than anything she imagined. ***Rose Grey and Pirates, Nymphs, and A Smoking Monkey*** is a whimsical middle-grade fantasy adventure filled with mystery, humor, pirates, mythology, friendship, and a heroine searching for where she belongs. Written by **J. D. Milligan**.

Sixteen-year-old Melanie Howard's world is fractured on her birthday when she discovers her magical angelic bloodline and processing her brother, Eli, gets dragged into the shadows of danger. Thrust into Bloodbound Academy, a pre-Civil War institution for the descendants of the Angelic Realm, Melanie discovers that she possesses the rare talent of psychometry, a gift that allows her to catch glimpses of her kidnapped brother. Desperate and struggling against time, Melanie has only one priority: to bring her brother home safely.

Reviewers are raving about KOSTYA... \--A well-written, emotionally intense novel that I couldn’t put down. \--From the very first pages, the writing pulls you into Kostya’s world with vivid, unflinching detail. \--Relentless sense of movement. \--The vivid imagery captured the setting and mood with cinematic precision. \--The ending is extremely beautiful. \--The difference in speaking voices between characters was quite fun to read. \--KOSTYA is a must-read. \--You will instantly form a connection with the characters in this book. The tensions they feel pours off the pages and directly into your heart.  \--The story combines historical depth with the momentum of an adventure novel. Readers become invested not merely in what happens next, but in who Kostya becomes along the way.

Fourteen-year-old Bernie McGee lives an ordinary life in the historic coastal town of New Bern, North Carolina. She worries about school, dreams about the future, and spends every day with her two lifelong friends, Katie and Lyle. Like most teenagers, she believes her biggest decisions still lie years ahead. Then, one afternoon beneath an ancient live oak tree, she meets a mysterious woman. Beautiful, compassionate, and unlike anyone Bernie has ever known, the stranger seems to understand her fears, hopes, and dreams before Bernie speaks a word. Drawn by an inexplicable bond, Bernie returns day after day, forming a friendship that transforms the way she sees herself, her town, and the world around her. But not everyone believes Bernie's extraordinary story. Her parents grow increasingly concerned. Her friends begin to question whether the mysterious woman even exists. A local priest experiences strange events of his own that challenge everything he has believed, while whispers of miracles and unexplained encounters begin spreading quietly through the community. As the woman's purpose slowly unfolds, Bernie is entrusted with a message whose significance reaches far beyond a small North Carolina town. Accepting it will require courage, faith, and a willingness to stand firm when almost no one believes her. **The Lady & Bernie McGee** is a moving novel of friendship, hope, and the quiet ways Heaven sometimes touches ordinary lives. Set against the charm of coastal North Carolina, it explores faith not through spectacle, but through kindness, compassion, and the enduring power of love.

Mia loves her freedom. She isn't interested in pack duties. She wants to support her brother and his future as Alpha, but things take a dramatic turn. Mia's life is changed forever by a vampire and her father's dying wish for her.

An Ongoing Saga Following the exploits of Zakary Sevendust and his found family on a hostile violent world known as Jistoa.

London, 1940, War has changed everything. For four-year-old Charlotte, it means sirens in the night, a father far away, and a world that is no longer safe.  When the bombs fall too close to home, Charlotte is sent to the countryside to live with strangers. Armed with only a worn rag doll, a small suitcase, and a brave heart, she must leave behind the only life she's ever known.  In a world filled with uncertainty, Charlotte discovers the meaning of courage, the comfort of unexpected kindness, and the strength that comes from love.  Charlotte's Journey Home is a touching tale of love, resilience, and the unbreakable bond between a child and the home she never stops believing in.

The Great Lakes Deaf Men's Group \[GLDMG) Retreat is held annually for deaf and hard of hearing men to learn about God. This retreat was founded by Chris, who saw the need for a retreat for his fellow deaf men in Michigan 15 years ago.  Our deaf men's fellowship is a good opportunity to meet and make new friends as well as keeping. Participants come from Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. Some car pool, stopping for lunch, after arriving in town, they'd have a bite to eat in town before camp. Some drive themselves or their wives would drop them off.

If your A Christian believers this is the Ultimate book for you and your young readers

### [**Obey, or Fade Away** **You were always meant for more**](https://open.substack.com/pub/obeyfadeaway/p/3-for-the-ones-who-stayed-and-the?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=73fanv) \ The Arc So Far\ #1 — You Were Never Meant to Disappear opens the series with a confrontation: the reader has spent years learning to shrink, stay quiet, and erase their own edges in the name of safety. It names that erasure for what it is — not peace, but a slow kind of dying — and insists the reader was built with weight and voice, not built to fade into the background of their own life. \ #2 — The Four Possibilities Beyond the Light pushes past the initial awakening into the terrain that opens once someone stops hiding. It maps out the different paths available once the light (the signal, the recognition) has been seen — suggesting that awareness alone isn't the end point, but a fork with several possible directions, each with its own cost and its own truth. \ #3 — For the Ones That Stayed and the Witness Never Blinks shifts focus to endurance. It's written for the people who didn't leave, didn't disappear, didn't fade — the ones who stayed present through the discomfort. It introduces "the witness," an inner presence that tracks everything without judgment, watching to see whether the person will keep showing up for their own life even when nothing dramatic is happening. \ #4 — When the Silence Answers deals with the strange phase where nothing external responds, yet something still communicates. Silence itself becomes the message. This piece explores the discipline of sitting with unanswered questions long enough that the absence of an answer becomes its own kind of confirmation — training the reader to stop needing loud signs and start trusting the quiet ones. \ #5 — The Assignment names the responsibility that follows all that listening. Once someone has stayed, once they've heard the witness, once the silence has answered — they're handed something specific to do. This piece frames spiritual growth not as a feeling to chase but a task to complete: an assignment that requires real-world action, not just internal shifts. \ #6 — The Shape of a Real Response (Time and Time Again) ties the whole arc together. It explicitly revisits the earlier stages — staying present, hearing the silence answer, acting on what's known — and argues that all of those were prelude. The real test is whether the change can survive ordinary life: everyday , errands, people who don't know your mythology. It introduces the phrase "obey or fade away" as the central law of the series — not obedience as submission, but obedience as full listening that produces movement. Coherence, this piece argues, isn't a comfortable alignment; it has teeth. It costs relationships, unmasks false loyalties, and forces the inside and outside of a person to finally tell the same story. The piece closes on the idea that the witness from piece #3 becomes an internal architect, and that the ultimate demand isn't belief — it's response. \ Together, pieces #1–6 trace a single throughline: recognition, endurance, silence, duty, and finally, the demand for coherent action. Each piece raises the stakes on the one before it, moving the reader from "you matter" to "prove it with your life." \ #7 #8 & #9 coming soon !!!!  Obey Your Reasons to Refuse !!!!

**One ordinary night changed the world forever.** When a mysterious meteor shower lights up the sky, fourteen-year-old Derek watches as the impossible becomes reality. Dragons awaken, ancient powers stir, and the world he thought he knew begins to unravel. As fear spreads and civilization struggles to understand the mysterious changes, Derek discovers he has become part of something far greater than himself. Alongside unexpected allies, he must navigate a dangerous new world where courage, friendship, and sacrifice may be humanity’s only hope against a growing darkness. Filled with unforgettable characters, breathtaking adventure, and the timeless battle between hope and evil, **Meteor** is an epic fantasy that asks one question: *What would you do if the impossible suddenly became real?*

In The Battle Angels, faith, fire, and family collide in a thrilling saga of celestial warriors and human struggle.   Emelie, a former Battle Angel, has built a quiet life—until dark forces reawaken and her twin daughters, Sofine and Delphine, discover powers they can’t control. As ancient enemies rise, Emelie must train her children to face a war between light and darkness while confronting the secrets she swore to hide.   Blending supernatural adventure and emotional depth, The Battle Angels is a story of courage, destiny, and the unbreakable bond between a mother and her warrior daughters.

*“First rule of being a Storm Chaser, don’t walk; stride. Second rule of being a Storm Chaser, don’t stride; **fly**.”*   Corbingiin Peregrine from Rook has always had her heart set on something bigger than the pastoral life surrounded by goats and horses she was born into. With her powers over the wind, water and electricity, Peri is determined to become a Storm Warden, masters of the three elements and the right hands of the Storm Warden General who rules over their large sprawling kingdom. To do so, she'll have to leave everything behind and start out as a Storm Novice, a student of the Storm Guard Academy in the Capital City. When she's told that she'll only be allowed to master wind, her natural element, due to her lack of nobility, Peri is determined to go around the rules being imposed upon her and keep her three skills sharp without the powers that be at the Academy knowing. The Academy's Instructor of Wind, Anirgiin Taymour from Ilhan, not only ignores Peri's drive to accomplish what only the nobility have been allowed to achieve, but actively encourages it - until she's taken away by the Watchers, the Storm Warden General's guard dogs, for interrogation. Left without a teacher she can trust, she seeks out one of the last of the Noble Houses from her own region at Taymours insistence, a reclusive healer named Narengiin Batu of Salhi, to aid her in her small rebellion and after wearing him down she acquires a grumpy yet effective teacher who, like Taymour, encourages her to not only hone her skills but to question everything around her for the betterment of her follow citizens. Between her training, her noble classmates looking down on her and a system that wants to keep her in her place, Peri is finding it hard to breathe, but if there's one thing a Storm Warden never runs out of it's wind. Fueled by her passion to become the first so called 'peasant Storm Warden', Corbingiin Peregrine from Rook is determined to not only succeed but soar higher than anyone ever has before.

"What is going on with me?" Jazmyn Wolff felt a wave of panic wash over her. It was her 21st birthday, and she had no idea what the future held for her. All she knew was that the word 'magic' was about to play a big role in her life. She was gifted with a special power, and it was up to her to unlock it with help from a group of witches, a healer, and her own strength of will. She had to learn to become her true self and use her powers to stop a deadly demon from ruling the world. Jazmyn must trust in her ability to overcome this daunting challenge and her determination to succeed. She was allowed to make a difference, and she was determined to take it. With courage and bravery, she set out to learn all she could about her magical powers and use them to save the world.

Before the celebrations and legends, Patrick tells a story of captivity, escape, and faith.   Taken from his home and carried across the sea, a young Patricius must endure enslavement in Ireland and find a way to survive. As he journeys toward freedom and eventually returns to the land where he was held, hardship and faith shape the man he becomes.   Saint Patrick is a first-person creative historical narrative that draws on historical sources, including Patrick’s Confession, and imagines dialogue, emotions, and events to bring his story to life.

Maylene never asked to be dragged into another world where trees walk and objects have souls. She's just the clumsy friend tagging along while her bestie discovers that she's some fated princess with purification powers. Guiding them is a young prince thrust into leadership after his father's death, determined to help the princess save a world that is falling apart. But while everyone is focused on prophecies and duty, May can't stop hearing things. Whispers on the wind. Grumbles in the dirt. And an unidentified voice that won't stop complaining. The princess's older brother is drawn to a weapon that whispers temptations in his ear. A corrupted sorcerer keeps sending his soldiers to destroy or enslave any people they find. And the safe zone keeps shrinking. Will they return home safely, will they be discovered by the enemy, or will they be destroyed by their own powers before they can safely master them?

To whoever finds this notebook… This is what really happened to Jim Hobbins, the boy lost out of Cedar Key. I’m drifting somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. Out of food. Only a couple sips left of water. And, well… I don't write a lot of stories so I might get my order mixed up.  Still, don’t let nobody tell it different. I just hope that whoever finds this notebook also finds the *Montauk* and figures out how to get it back to my family.  It's a good boat.

Being sixteen can be Hell. For Sarah, every day is the same. Keep up with the grades. Stay on top of the cleaning and laundry around their cramped apartment. Friends? Boys? If her mom found out, her rage would follow. For as long as Sarah could remember, it’s always been her and her mom. Stories of her dad’s untimely death hold their own questions.\ \ So long as her chores get done and she stays close to home, everything’s sunny. Otherwise, she might feel the wrath of her mom’s love.\ \ That all changes when Sarah’s great aunt leaves her a mysterious journal in her will. Its pages tell tales of a missing brother’s adventures, riding the rails in the 1930s. The further Sarah delves into the events surrounding him, the closer she gets to uncovering her own past. As the truths of her great uncle’s disappearance come to light, she unearths the skeletons hidden in her mom’s closet.\ \ Then, there’s Collin. The boy she’s had a crush on for years picks now of all times to ask her out. Juggling a boyfriend and a relationship on top of everything else could push her and her mother to their breaking point.\ \ Sparks will fly on Sarah’s journey to independence and healing. One boy’s journey across Great Depression America could hold the key to setting her free. Sarah needs to find him in time to get to the truth before time takes another relative and his secrets to the grave.

**About the Story** What if the key to your survival was locked inside a secret, ancient bloodline?\ Spun from a fascinating true piece of Russian history and set against the brutal, breathtaking backdrop of the frozen north, *Daughter of the Falcon* blends gripping suspense with an unforgettable romance.\ For centuries, deep within the endless, snow covered forests, an elite and hidden clan of warriors lived by their own laws. They did not just survive the winter they ruled it, training lethal military falcons to hunt, fight, and protect secrets hidden from the world. Today, that fierce bloodline legacy is alive, but the isolation of the frozen north is cracking. A dangerous, unpredictable threat is closing in, forcing old secrets into the light and testing the loyalty of a clan that has never bowed to anyone.\ Filled with high stakes twists, deep betrayal, and a slow burn love story that burns hot against the bitter ice, this fiction novel proves that some family histories can never stay buried. Step into a harsh, beautiful world where danger hides in every shadow, trust is a luxury, and you never know what's going to happen next. Discover what happens when the frost bites deep, and the falcon finally takes flight.

Forget the green beer. Forget the plastic shamrocks. Forget the myths of little green creatures and fairy tales.\ Long before he became a legend, he was just Patricius an arrogant, wealthy sixteen year old Roman British boy who cared about nothing but his own comfort. But when brutal Irish raiders tear through his home, his world is violently shattered. Dragged across the sea in chains, Patricius is sold into slavery, stripped of his name, and left to survive the freezing winters of a wild, pagan land.\ Forced to herd sheep on a desolate mountain, the terrified boy must either break under the cruelty of his captors or forge himself into something unbreakable.\ *The Confessio* is the raw, cinematic, untold true story of Saint Patrick. From a daring, near-impossible two hundred mile escape to a powerful, miraculous return to the very land that enslaved him, this is an epic tale of survival, grit, and a faith that would forever transform a nation.

**A breathtaking true story of unimaginable loss, survival, and the fierce resilience of a child's heart.** **In the gritty, contrasting streets of post-Soviet St. Petersburg, nine-year-old girl lived as a "Little Shadow" always running to keep pace with her older brother and undisputed hero, Yuri. To her, the city was a sun-drenched playground of fortresses and boundless adventure.** **Until the fateful morning a catastrophic explosion shattered her world in a single second.** **Left holding nothing but Yuri’s scuffed rubber shoe, she was thrust into a downward spiral of adult tragedy. As grief mutated into fatal addiction and suicide, she lost both of her parents, survived the cold cruelty of an abusive relative, and was violently torn away from her sister by state authorities. Stranded in a sterile Russian orphanage, she had to build a calloused armor just to survive the freezing institutional gray.** **But from clouds of flour in the kitchen to the hot spotlights of the orphanage stage, her spirit refused to bleed out. Clutching her brother's shoe beneath her iron cot, she used her memories as a weapon against the dark.** **UNBROKEN is a profoundly moving, cinematic memoir of a young girl’s journey through the deepest shadows of trauma to the brilliant, twinkling Christmas lights of a new beginning in America. It is a raw, heart wrenching testament to the unbreakable bond of siblings, the cost of survival, and the beautiful, enduring light that can never be extinguished.**

*The Awkward Formula for Growing Up* is an honest portrait of early adolescence. It captures the moment when childhood ends in a slow, inevitable bend toward adulthood. The novel stands alone while also opening a multi‑volume cycle that traces Chris’s life. Sometimes funny, exciting, emotional, or tragic.

Welcome to Silver Creek City!  A young man stared at his test, trying to focus, but the cool breeze drew his gaze to the beautiful day outside. Clack, clack, clack, clack! The boy's gaze snapped to the window in time to see a grinning, shirtless, long-haired boy about his age glide by on his skateboard. The young man tried to focus on his test, but the only questions he could think of were, "Who the heck was that kid, and what was he doing *out there?"* I carried this image in my mind for several years, wondering about these two young men. Who were they? What happened before? What happened after? Finally, things slowly came together, and a short story that looked only slightly like this one began to emerge and take shape into a book. The book grew into a series. And now, here we are. I feel like I should give you a warning before you start. This story is about teenage boys. Sometimes they are wonderful. Sometimes they're gross. Sometimes, they're both at the same time. I tried not to clean them up to make them more "presentable." If you are under 16, I respectfully ask you to reconsider this book. You may want to wait a bit. It is often deeply personal. If you choose to proceed, be prepared to get muddy. \~Jack  Update, September 12, 2026 I've envisioned this as being a series for quite a while now. This was intended to be the first volume. However, after I wrote this volume, it became clear I needed to expand the series further. Now, the childhood portion of the book will be part of a prequel trilogy. I've expanded the material to include more of what happens in the summer and fall of 1998, which will eventually be released as the first volume in publication order, as "June 1998- New Year's Day 1999." The 1999 content will actually be part of a follow-up volume: "January 1999-May 27, 1999. So now, what we have here in what was going to be "volume 1" will be spread out and expanded through several volumes.  \~ Jack

A young girl who wishes for peace in a nation built around warfare is sent into exile with her once celebrated war hero father and their loyal steward. When her father mysteriously falls catatonic, the burden of survival shifts. Forcing the steward to decide whether to tend to the broken man he considers family or protect and provide for the man’s young daughter in a land that’s alive with hostility toward humankind—a hatred born of war.   Choosing to take matters into her own hands, Fiora looks back on memories of her deceased mother’s flower garden and struggles to coax life out of tainted soil. She gains an unlikely ally in a curious tree spirit who teaches her to look deeper into the growing things around her. But the land remembers more than it reveals. As Fiora digs into its roots—and into her father’s silence- she senses that exile is only the beginning. Some truths lie buried in the soil, while others are guarded by the people she trusted the most.

Valancy Stirling is an unappreciated 29-year-old living a miserable life with her overbearing, hyper-critical family. When she receives a secret medical diagnosis giving her only one year to live, she decides to stop being afraid and finally speak her mind. She moves out to care for a dying friend and eventually proposes to Barney Snaith, a mysterious local outcast living in the woods. Together, they discover absolute bliss in their remote cabin, which Valancy considers her "Blue Castle." Her heart condition is later revealed to be a medical error, but by then, she has secured her freedom, a massive fortune, and a deep, mutual love.

Beyond the walls, nothing is as they told her.  More than a century after global eruptions plunged the climate-fragile world into chaos, seventeen-year-old Barrett is destined for a Noble life in the coastal stronghold of Nuevo Leben, until Ronan, a dangerously perceptive rogue, shows her evidence that her mother is alive and captive in Old North America. Barrett's perfect future shatters. She must cross a deadly wasteland to find her, guided by the last person she should trust. As they face a forgotten world of hostile tribes, vicious predators, and unexpected allies, Barrett questions everything, including her growing feelings for Ronan and her place in this fractured world. But the further she travels from Nuevo Leben, the more she wonders whether its walls kept the world out, or kept her in.

A devout young woman is chosen as one of seven to usher in their goddess’s blessings at the lunar equinox of new beginnings, only when she returns home, she receives a message: flee, stay hidden, and learn to survive. Only when she finds sanctuary, she’s not alone.    *100% human-created*

Clyde has always known the Princess is special—perfectly imperfect and full of wonder. From childhood adventures to adult trials, he protects her, plays with her, and stays by her side through loss and hardship. Though he is never her prince, their bond endures, folding past and future into a single, magical friendship that transcends the world he knows.

TOO FAR TO WALK.TOO SMART TO QUIT. Siul just wanted to egg an old lady in Brooklyn. Instead, he ends up on a starship 2.5 million light-years from Earth. Chazlyn just wanted to avoid people. Now, she's the second-in-command of an Earth-based international crew of twenty. Twenty children with three things in common: They are all eleven years old. They are all on the Autism Spectrum. They are the only ones who can see the broken pattern. Recruited by an Al named Protocol, Team Twenty (T-20) has been brought to the Andromeda Galaxy for a mission that shouldn't exist: navigate the Möbius Loop while avoiding the Vessel Protection and Interception Force. But the police aren't the only threat. Orbiting the massive planet Big Papa, the crew must survive static-charged aliens, sentient floating turnips, Mr. Jiggles, enemies that won't die, and a glitch in reality that suggests their whole mission might be a lie. Armed with gravitic nanites, hyper-focused genius, and a penchant for chaos, T-20 must master the Pattern to survive. Because out here in the void, being different isn't a disability-it's a superpower.Welcome to the Cutlass. Don't forget to feed the cat.

In a quiet garage on an ordinary Saturday morning, Kevin Davis opens a forgotten box and finds a cassette tape he hasn’t seen in decades. Labeled in careful cursive by a girl he once knew, it’s more than music—it’s a doorway. And once it opens, there’s no closing it again.   Transported back to Stockton, California in the early 1980s, Kevin is seventeen—standing at the edge of the last summer that still felt infinite. It’s a world of Walkmans and mixtapes, of river days and late-night conversations, of friendships forged in heat and recklessness. Alongside Jimmy, Rick, and Dougie, he moves through a season that feels ordinary while it’s happening—but will prove anything but.   At the center of it all is Teppie—a girl who sees something in Kevin he hasn’t yet recognized in himself. Through her, and through the quiet rhythms of home shaped by his mother Joyce, Kevin begins to understand that identity isn’t built in grand moments, but in the accumulation of small ones: a song captured at just the right second, a promise kept, a choice made without realizing its weight.   But summers end. People change. And the distance between who we were and who we become can stretch farther than we ever expect.   Told with humor, warmth, and unflinching honesty, They Call Me Baloney is a deeply personal story about memory, music, and the moments that define us long after they’ve passed. It’s a reminder that the lives we think we’ve left behind are never really gone—they’re just waiting for the right moment to press play.

Shana is on a mission to become a famous Christmas squirrel, so she can eat all the hazelnut Christmas cupcakes she desires. But when she discovers she's not actually a squirrel, her dream is in jeopardy. A joyful holiday adventure about identity, belonging, and the magic of embracing who you are meant to be. I love reading the reviews! They mean so much to me!

**America’s Town**  In the era of Caitlin Clark and the unorthodox style of *Ted Lasso*, an accidental coach leads an under-appreciated girls’ high school basketball team in Gettysburg, America’s most famous small town, through a season no sports parent could ever predict-or forget.  Former Gettysburg College basketball star Jay Siler returns to the scene of his glory days to manage First Colonial Bank’s downtown branch to complete his last rotation as an executive trainee. As Jay’s business star rises, city fathers urge him to become assistant coach of Gettysburg High’s girls’ basketball team. Hesitant at first, Jay takes the job, only to face conflicts with verbally abusive, dim-witted, and unwelcoming head coach, Barry Hughes.  Jay cannot look the other way as he sees Coach Hughes act his worst against Stefani Baker, a promising player ordered to sit in favor of Megan Reynolds, the less-skilled daughter of a local power broker, president of a rival bank. Jay’s older sister was similarly abused; her basketball dreams ended with her suicide. His sympathies lie with Stefani, but he must get her to change her flippant attitude and play to her potential. Jay joins with Bonita Blount, her teammate and best friend, Gettysburg’s most recruited basketball star in a generation, to make Stefani their personal project.  As a promising season goes awry, Coach Hughes’ abusive actions reach a head. Jay takes over and puts Stefani into the starting role she deserves, over the objections of Megan’s father, Stan. As Stan relentlessly attacks Jay’s personal and professional credibility, it’s up to Stefani to rise to the occasion to help Gettysburg win its first state championship. Will Stefani and Jay respond to their challenges, or will the community’s basketball aspirations end in disappointment?

Action heroes are too nice. Saviors, too lame. The girl in the orange beret is neither action hero nor savior. She may, however, be a better version of both. And that may be exactly what we need.

INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY! Madison thought she was the only sane one in the house.\ \ Fourteen and isolated in a remote farmhouse ruled by her mother Faith’s rigid devotion, Madison is convinced the madness belongs to the adults around her. Aunt Hope urges patience. Aunt Grace sees demons in everything. Faith stands between doubt and doctrine.\ \ Certain she is being suffocated by religious extremism, Madison secretly launches a livestream channel to expose her mother to the world. The followers grow. The comments validate her. And no one in the house knows they are being broadcast live.\ \ When Grace convinces Faith that Madison’s rebellion is something darker, prayer turns to accusation. Accusation turns to restraint. An exorcism unknowingly unfolds live as viewers watch religious fanaticism spiral out of control.\ \ This may seem like just another story about a rebellious teenager and her controlling mother.  Another story about faith gone too far.\ \ But the footage tells a different story.\ \ UNORTHODOX is a claustrophobic psychological horror about faith, rebellion, and a mother who refuses to abandon her child, even when the world calls her crazy.