Mari and Her Friends

Mari and Her Friends is an uplifting story about six loving children, all eager to meet each other on their first day of school. Each child brings something special, and none can wait to make new friends. Their destination on that beautiful September morning is the little red schoolhouse.

Mari, the first to arrive, joins her teacher, Miss Meadows, in welcoming the new students. Little did they know how wonderful and long-lasting their friendships would be.

This heartwarming tale will bring a tear to your eye and a smile to your face with every visit to the little red schoolhouse.

On the Wings of an Angel

These poems capture my 35-year love affair with my wife, Anna Mae, who recently passed away from stage three ovarian cancer. She loved me unconditionally, and in return, I endeavored to give her countless reasons to feel cherished. Anna Mae was my everything, and her loss has left me devastated. Witnessing her battle with the illness and undergoing chemotherapy inspired me to write and express my emotions. In these poems, I weave our life story, celebrating the decades we shared.

We first came together when I was just sixteen and spent twenty years together before tying the knot in 2007. I suppose I wanted to be absolutely certain she was the one for me - though, in hindsight, there was never any doubt. In 2000, we expanded our family by adopting five nieces and nephews, three girls and two boys, embarking on an extraordinary journey together. I always strived to bring happiness to my wife, embodying the essence of the quote, ‘It doesn’t take much to make a woman happy, but it takes even less to piss her off.’

In January 2023, Anna Mae succumbed to her battle with cancer. To my loving wife, now in heaven, these poems are for you. Thank you for joining me on this incredible ride.

The Nightingale Sings

On the Greek island of Lesbos, in the seventh century BCE, a young lyric poet hones her craft while navigating the world of love, loss, friendship and sex, after having suffered years of abuse by a member of her father’s household. After a series of attempts at a healthy relationship, all the while struggling with the effects of post-traumatic stress and profound grief, she is forced to leave her home for a faraway land across the sea. There she would make a name for herself as an artist that would spread all across the Mediterranean, continuing her search for love and friendship, and trying to raise her only child in a safe and nurturing environment – until her whole world is suddenly upended.

The Nightingale Sings is an imaginary tale of what might have been in the life of the historical Sappho of Lesbos, whose artistry would lead to her becoming one of the most revered poets of the ancient world, and would still be cherished today – more than two and a half thousand years after her death.

And so, the story begins with a simple celebration.

A birthday party for a nine-year-old girl…

Dad: A Son Remembers

Dad was a proud member of the Greatest Generation. A navigator in the U.S. Navy during World War II, selected for his mathematical skills, he was assigned to transport ships plying the South Pacific Ocean. Even as a youth, his son quickly realized that Dad viewed the world as a place full of challenges and difficulties – interminable adversities that had to be anticipated, grappled with head-on, and surmounted. As a result, he had no patience for complainers, excuse-makers, or shirkers of responsibility. But more than anything, he couldn’t stand liars, prevaricators, or connivers; like many of his generation, Dad believed that “a man’s word is his bond.” He often said, “If you don’t give me ammo, I can’t fire the gun.”

Above all, he expected full effort in every action and could instantly tell if one of his children wasn’t giving their best. Throughout his 84 years, his staunch Catholic faith guided him, and by both example and word, he steadfastly imparted those principles to his six children.

A Glutton for Punishment

Amidst the divisiveness of the latter stages which the 2020 pandemic presented in society, concerned citizen Alex Domingue takes it upon himself to become involved in local politics and affect positive change in his community. As a corporate professional, veteran, and well-educated man, Alex has developed an extensive resume of working with many people from different backgrounds and points of view to accomplish critical missions. He feels uniquely qualified to move the needle towards a better future.

What awaits him, however, are multiple ongoing political turf wars. As it becomes evident that local politics are no less combative than national affairs, Alex quickly learns that his fellow Republican candidate (Sam Demonikov) for the Board of Education is in the midst of a vengeance escapade towards several for whom he holds violent disdain.

Alex must navigate increasingly dangerous issues. Through hostile disagreements, threats to his safety, and eventual attempts on his life, Alex learns that apparent villains are decent. Apparent heroes are narcissistic villains. In the face of grave danger, he must make bold decisions which do nothing to appease violent opposition from those who were once his partners. The extremes of both sides, including his own as he would learn, threaten the opportunity for rational solutions.

Mr. Fullerman’s Flag Factory

A fuller is a person who works with cloth. In this book, Mr. Fullerman dyes his bolts of cloth different colors in preparation for making the flags that he will send all over the world. Join the fun as the friendly and playful bolts, led by the wise bolt Wooly, go through the process of becoming different after they have all been the same. It’s exciting, and sometimes scary, too. In the end, they realize that, just like people, even though they will represent different cultures and countries, they all came from the same cloth and are the same, but unique in their own way. The next time you see flags from different countries waving at each other, you’ll know the real reason why: because they were friends before they were flags.

Lost Boy

After being kicked out of his childhood home, Jamie Perkins finds refuge with local Presbyterian pastor Pete Gailey and his wife, Meg. Impressed by Jamie’s work ethic and character, Pete offers him a job at the church. Life seems to settle into a peaceful rhythm… until people in the community start dying.

Jamie has an unsettling habit of being the last person to see many of the deceased, particularly the elderly, alive. As suspicions grow, Pastor Gailey must uncover the truth. Are these deaths acts of murder, or could they point to something far more mysterious… and miraculous?

Set in a small Appalachian town nestled in the rolling hills of eastern Ohio, Lost Boy introduces readers to a cast of eccentric and unforgettable characters. With humor and heartfelt poignancy, this story explores what happens when God’s presence defies expectations, challenging both faith and understanding.

Inky's Miraculous Escape

Living on the Pania Reef off the coast of New Zealand, a very intelligent and friendly purple octopus named Inky finds great pleasure in helping his friends. However, sometimes others take advantage of a special friend’s generosity.

Grumpy Grouper, a newspaper editor, Christy Crayfish, a talented actress, and Larry Lobster, a restaurant owner, don’t realize how much they depend on Inky’s help until he is captured and whisked away.

If only he would return so they would have the chance to tell him how much he is appreciated.

The Loura Lure – Book 2

Dr. Shamus Bergin and his former patient Erladoch Dunbar have leapt into a time portal hurtling them backwards 20,000 years to Loura, a time and place erased from history. Before the seas rose up to separate Ireland and the British Isles from the rest of Europe, the Kingdoms of Loura thrived in peace.

Much has changed since Erladoch’s departure four years earlier. Enilorac, the Evil King of Treborg has already begun his invasion. He has come looking for the last Angel’s Itavo stone. If found, Enilorac will use it to open the gates of Hell and usher in the end of times.

Having accepted that his parents were descended from the Sacred Order of Keepers, Shamus must find his place amongst this army of part-human, part-angel warriors in their struggle to repel the encroaching darkness. Can this man of science come to terms with a world filled with magic, or will he lose his sanity in the presence of so many emerging voices seeking to direct his Will? These voices, whispers from the past and echoes of future battles, threaten to overwhelm him.

Burdened with so much, the answers he seeks may lie in the hands of a woman he has never met. He doesn’t know her, but her call grows stronger in his mind with every passing danger. With the weight of obligation crushing down on him, he must have faith that his allegiances will hold and that not all paths laid before him will ultimately yield the same destiny.

Milo

When Milo, a small mouse from New York City, meets Francesco, a chef at The Tall Skies Restaurant inside the World Trade Center, an unexpected friendship begins to bloom.

Milo is drawn to the bountiful food Francesco leaves behind, making frequent visits to the restaurant. Though he has explored many other places in the city, something always brings him back. More than just the food, it is Francesco’s warm and welcoming nature that makes Milo feel at home.

By day, Milo scurries through the streets of Manhattan, exploring the city and keeping his belly full, all thanks to Francesco. But one fateful day, on September 11, 2001, in downtown Manhattan, Milo’s world changes forever.

Gypsy Moth

The primary goal of this book is, and always has been, to depict and illustrate the sanctity of human life, as well as the cycles of birth, death, and rebirth.

To achieve this, the author immersed herself in the perspectives of various characters, capturing their voices, thoughts, and emotions. By doing so, she sought to bring their experiences to life in a way that resonates deeply with readers.

This book is not intended to be understood purely on an intellectual level but to be felt as a tangible and profound sensation.

There’s a Bee in my Tea!

How do you like to drink your tea? With sugar? With milk? With ice? There are many ways to drink your tea, but I’ll bet none of them include having a bee with your tea! This is the story of an enterprising but very annoying bee who seems to think it’s totally okay to do the backstroke in someone’s cup of tea!

So, what would you do if you found a bee swimming in your tea? Would you get grumpy and climb up a tree? Would you call the bee catcher angrily, or would you exercise creativity… and look and think and wait and see?

Find out how one very forgiving tea drinker deals with this problem in the mad-cap, rhyming adventure, There’s a Bee in my Tea!