Caffeine and Catnip

Madison Moss thought inheriting her aunt’s cozy coffee shop would mean a quiet life in Happy Valley. Instead, she’s juggling enchanted espresso machines, a talking cat with attitude, and a winged sprite whose caffeine habit should probably be illegal.

But when strange magic starts seeping into town, Madison finds herself tangled in family secrets, forgotten wards, and a brewing threat that could swallow Happy Valley whole.

Armed with a stubborn streak, a frothy latte, and a few unexpected allies, Madison will have to decide how far she’s willing to go to protect her café… and the magic that comes with it.

To Mr. Brummell My Best Teacher

A migrant teacher from Guyana, with no special education experience, is sent to teach an uncontrollable junior high school special education eighth-grade class that no one wants in a tough Brooklyn, New York, neighborhood, but he battles the challenges of disgusting unruliness, sickening apathy, and jarring disrespectfulness and overcomes them. It’s only the beginning, though, as each successive year comes with difficulties that he must triumph over to deliver meaningful academic instruction.

The public will appreciate this book for its clear language and raw honesty, and some people who treat teachers with indifference will develop respect for them.  Parents uninvolved in their children’s school life, or who are marginally involved, will re-examine themselves and pay closer attention to their children’s academic progress and behavior. However, teachers in the United States and other countries will love learning from a former educator’s true, thorny classroom experiences and what he did to be victorious over them.

All I Ever Wanted to Be Was a Nurse

Want to be a nurse? Find out what you’re in for. Already a nurse? You can identify.

All I Ever Wanted to Be Was a Nurse shares the sad, funny, terrifying, and compassionate feelings in the daily routine of a nurse’s life. Looking back, I can see more clearly how God guided this nurse in her work. Each chapter is its own individual story taken from my experience in different fields of nursing.

Here are a few samples, just a few, to whet your appetite:

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The impact of the car on the motorcycle sent Justin flying up into the air as the gas tank burst into flames, his body landing hard on the burning, racing bike. “No!” Justin screamed.

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“I’ve decided not to deliver—AND YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!

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I rushed into the street in pursuit of the beautiful, young-looking Alzheimer’s patient; now we had stopped the traffic both ways. As I tried to corral her, she started to beat me up with her large, leather purse. She rushed at the waiting traffic yelling. “Help, she’s trying to kidnap me!”

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“Give it to me or I’ll just hold my breath and die!” I couldn’t give more meds to him; surely a grown man wouldn’t do such a thing. But...

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“Director of Nurses, come here!” No one but the Director of Nurses was acceptable for this former neurosurgeon.

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All I Ever Wanted to Be Was a Nurse is still true—no regrets. I hope that those who are sitting on the fence about nursing will, after reading my story, choose to be that one more nurse who will carry on!

Song of the Summer Jazzman

Wilson Patch, a conventional upper-middle-class man from New Jersey, changed in college. He developed an ill-conceived dream of moving to California, living on the beach, and never owning an alarm clock. His dream gradually evaporates as forces he cannot control draw him back to New Jersey and New York City.

Along the way, he meets Lisa, Slade, and Grace, all of whom figure prominently in the novel. Wilson’s life gravitates eventually from fantasy back into reality.

He eventually travels to California, but via airliner on a business trip. This is about the disintegration of Wilson’s dream.

SHEB: The Woolly Mammoth

SHEB: The Woolly Mammoth describes silly theories about how mammoth bones got to the island of Capri.

One “scholar” proposed mammoths arrived via Noah’s Ark. Another theorized that Capri mammoths weren’t woolly at all; rather, they swam over since they were covered with down and had webbed feet. And a third scholar proposed a “Dumboesque” theory, envisioning that mammoths flew by flapping oversized ears.

Given the ending developed by the two children, the story could possibly be categorized as “historical fiction.” Mammoth bones were discovered on Capri early in the 20th century, and the accepted theory matches the one offered by the children.

Call Me Karma

There are threads that keep us tethered to this world; there are rules and beliefs that play us all for fools. Call Me Karma follows the journey of learning that fate pulls strings for no one. That Lady Justice sees every rise and fall, and that perhaps we were selfish for assuming she ever served us at all.

Grief, love, denial, reflection—there is balance to nature; for every sin on the scale there sits a virtue on the other side. The roadmap of life rarely follows a steady path; not every success is permanent, and not every failure is damning. There is a strength in accepting these simple human truths and in understanding that some stories call for a bittersweet ending. These poems are yours to embrace or despise, to comfort those they reach, or to patiently wait on the bottom shelf until the right time.

The Devil's Grapevine

A young woman in the late 1930s became the mother of an illegitimate child. She was living in a small, pious town, which was very judgemental. The conception of her child was by an infamous rapist. Interpol had been chasing him across three continents. There had been hundreds of rapes. His crimes made headlines around the world, and he was soon captured, sentenced to death, and electrocuted. Only the girl, her mother, and the authorities were aware of who impregnated her.

When the boy was three, she and her mother decided she must become anonymous for fear that Roddy may find out that the blood of this monster runs through his veins. Changing her name, she and Roddy leave the past behind and end up in California.

Roddy, now ten, ends up working in an out-of-the-way truck stop in Grapevine Village. Many adventures and complexities lay before them. Love, death, a boy’s fantasies, the FBI. and warring trucking companies transporting Mexican farm workers without proper papers, who are fighting over who controls the rights to use the highway called “The Devil’s Grapevine.”

Roddy and his mother are caught between the FBI and the warring truckers, which ends in a gunfight that ends up burning much of the village to cinders. All works out in the end with the mother, the son, and a truck driver who rescues them from the gunfire and flames.

Rowan Reads Her Way

Rowan loves stories—but reading them doesn’t always love her back. Letters twist, tumble, and flip until the page feels more like a puzzle than a story. Sometimes Rowan worries she’s “bad at reading.” But Rowan’s imagination is brighter and braver than any jumble of words. She sees adventures bursting with pirates, dinosaurs, and donut-eating dogs just waiting to be shared.

Rowan Reads Her Way is a celebration of creativity, courage, and the many ways kids can tell their stories. It reminds young readers that brains work differently—and that’s something to cheer about. Rowan’s journey helps children who struggle with reading know they are not alone, while also teaching classmates, parents, and teachers how to value the unique strengths that come with dyslexia.

This heartwarming story is part of the Brains That Shine series, which highlights the brilliance of neurodivergent kids. With humor, imagination, and hope, each book encourages empathy and inclusion, showing that every child’s way of learning is worth celebrating.

Perfect for bedtime reading, classrooms, or anyone who has ever felt “different,” Rowan’s story invites readers to see the world not just through words, but through wonder.

Zach Zooms Through Life

Zach has two speeds: fast and faster. His ideas come in flashes, his feet can’t stop bouncing, and his imagination runs wild. To Zach, the world is one big adventure waiting to happen—if only everyone else could keep up.

Sometimes Zach’s quick brain gets him into trouble. Teachers ask him to sit still. Friends tell him to slow down. Even Zach wonders if maybe he’s “too much.” But when a big classroom challenge arrives, Zach discovers that the very thing that makes him different is also what makes him shine.

Zach Zooms Through Life is more than a story about one energetic boy. It’s a celebration of kids who think, move, and dream differently. With humor, heart, and vibrant illustrations, Zach shows readers that ADHD is not a flaw—it’s a unique way of experiencing the world.

This uplifting picture book is perfect for:

• Kids who feel “too busy” or “too different”

• Parents and teachers looking for stories that build empathy and inclusion

• Families who want to celebrate the strengths of neurodivergent children

Because every child deserves to see their brilliance on the page.

Come zoom with Zach—and discover the superpower of a fast brain!

Long Green

This book is about a New Yorker, Kob Hansen, whose parents were both born in Kentucky, though he had only visited as a child with his grandmother to bury them both after a tragic murder suicide. Yet, while teaching part-time at Columbia, he falls for a graduate student who is from Kentucky. They fall in love and decide to get married, and she talks him into returning to her hometown for the wedding and to live. There, things go awry as he learns about his own family and hers—his family poor Norwegian miners while hers rich Bluegrass elite.Meanwhile, Kob encounters a man known simply as Long Green, an old hermit who did twenty years for murder who, after his release, is shunned by the people of the county. The man he murdered thirty years before, Kob soon comes to believe to be his own grandfather, or so he thinks, until he begins to believe Long Green (Labe Cornett) may be his real grandfather.This changes his entire picture of his life and upbringing, all among the Southern culture and mindset of native Kentuckians.

The Most Excellent Adventures of Bang and Clang

Somewhere between the rustling leaves and moonlit shadows of Whispering Woods, two brothers are about to get into trouble. Really good trouble.

Meet Bang—bold, brave, and absolutely certain that every idea he has is his best one yet. And Clang—his loyal, lovable little brother who would follow Bang anywhere... even when anywhere turns out to be exactly where they shouldn’t go.

Together, they’re unstoppable. Together, they’re hilarious. Together, they’re about to learn that the greatest adventures aren’t just the ones you survive—they’re the ones that change you.

In twelve unforgettable tales, Bang and Clang will make you laugh out loud, hold your breath, and maybe—just maybe—wipe away a tear or two. They’ll face the kind of choices that feel enormous when you’re small: Is it okay to keep a secret? What do you do when being honest is really, really hard? How do you make things right when you’ve made them terribly wrong?

For young readers, these stories are pure magic—funny, fast-moving, and filled with characters who feel like friends from page one.

For the parents reading alongside them, these tales offer something equally precious: a gentle, joyful way to talk about the things that matter most.

Because Bang and Clang aren’t just raccoons having adventures in the woods.

They’re proof that the biggest lessons in life often come wrapped in the smallest, furriest packages.

Your adventure begins now.