Collecting Coconuts

“Great and terrible can mean the very same things. Yet, I now understand both.”
–Keiba

Some people pray for rain. Others pray for it to go away.

Anne Lu’akanitz, Hawaiian and Jewish by blood, finds herself amidst both prayers in the Hurricane.

Will she find her family? Her friends? The science and plants she dearly loves amidst the island? Some people seek research. Some breathe it.

Haki Lindsgren, Swedish and American by blood, seeks both in the high tops of Aconcagua Mountain ranges amidst a snowstorm. He has a research partner, but where is she?

Will he find her? Will he finish his research? Or die trying?

How do they both fare?

“The trees quit dripping long enough to hear the silence.”
– Anne.

The Defenders

Ruth, Beth and Caroline are triplets and thick as thieves. They lead a happy life with their mother, Isabelle, and their two older sisters Phyllis and Aggie. They know nothing of their father. Whenever the sisters ask all their mother ever says is he is gone. They are most definitely an odd family with deep dark hidden secrets. But like everyone they know of the mysterious heroes called The Defenders.

The triplets live in a small village called Rosewater that can be found in the land of Black Haven. This kingdom is ruled by a greedy and cruel monarch, King Robert II. He is known as the worst and most vicious ruler the kingdom has ever known. He taxed Black Haven into poverty and still he wanted more. So, he invaded budding kingdoms and did the same to them. The Defenders do their best to make Black Haven a better place. They steal tax money and give it back to the citizens, catch robbers, bandits, and murders all across the kingdom. No one knows who they are or what they look like. But that hasn’t stopped King Robert from putting a large handsome reward on their heads. The citizens don’t know who they are but even if they did, they wouldn’t turn in their only source of hope.

Finally, both The Defenders and King Robert have had enough. The Defenders have a plan to change everything. However, so does King Robert.

The Good, The Bad, and The Random Times of Life

This is a book full of the poetry that I have written over the years. This started as something required for school but, eventually, I fell in love with it. I have learned that I can express how I feel through the words of poetry. Life has been hard, and writing has been the way to get through it.

In this book you will find both humorous and heartfelt poems. Some are drawn from my real-life experiences, while others are purely for fun.

I never imagined that something that was required for school would turn into something so much more – something that would make me fall in love with writing poetry. It has given me a way to escape real life and tell my story through it, a way to deal with my problems without having to talk to anyone and feel judged. I can be who I want, when I want, and no one can judge me for it.

Diligently Screaming: A Mage Within

For 9,000 years, a great and terrible evil plagued the lands…
A boy charged with murder…
And a forbidden love…

Luminous, a half-breed, finds himself thrown into a world of chaos and ruin, alienated by a world of prejudice in an age dominated by mages of immense power. Infatuated with an elven maiden, Aurora, she becomes his only light and shows him the true meaning of his existence.

When Tarethiel falls under attack, the Legacy Stone, a sacred jewel of untold power, suddenly vanishes. Now Luminous and Aurora must fight their way through traps, beasts, and a host of enemies in this ultimate race against time – the battle between good and evil.

Travel through a fabulous world of genuine beauty and experience a wide range of emotions as you read an enthralling tale of love, loss, and triumph. From feelings of excitement and affection to shock, fear, and yes, even joy, you’ll find yourself lost in the pages, laughing along while embarking on a splendid journey of hope and wonder.

The Further Adventures of Jelly Bean

Join Jelly Bean in the continuation of her adventures as she seeks solutions to the challenges that confronted her in book 1. Michael, her oldest brother, has dropped out of school and joined the Marines, which usurps much of her parents’ attention. Kylie, the new girl in school, faces a medical emergency. And Jelly Bean is still forbidden from going to her best friend’s house. She has to decide how to deal with these dilemmas and more. Along the way she learns about love, death, pain, relationships, the difference between right and wrong and the value of friendship. See the world through the eyes of this forthright fourth-grader as she discovers two truths about life – that it is always complicated, and always changing.

The Adventures of Jelly Bean

What if the start to your day was falling into the toilet, that caused you to miss your carpool, that in turn caused you to get to school late, that ultimately caused you to miss getting one of the decent parts in the upcoming Thanksgiving play? That is exactly what happens to fourth-grader Jelly Bean on the day we first meet her. Things only go downhill from there and no one at home seems to have much time for her. Except Roger-Over, her beloved dog.

Please... Understand My Messed Up Life - Tales from Greenwood Middle School

Greenwood Middle School has your typical hip-hop dancers battling out their best moves in the cafeteria, brownies with special surprises waiting for just the right person, and sledgehammer-wielding teachers. Oh, this doesn’t happen at your school? Even so, I guess you have your own wacky stories of what happened during your time at middle school. One thing that I know for certain is the fact that a day at a middle school without an ounce of craziness is plain crazy itself. How does someone survive this chaos? Sometimes we just need someone to come along to say that they understand. Come dive into the adventures of the students and teachers of Greenwood Middle School as they help each other understand their messed up lives.

Melissa and Kasho

Melissa, a shy teenage girl, feels lost in a transnational high society world that drives her to the depths of despair. But her attraction to the very human Kasho, who has snippets of philosophy to impart, eventually enables her to develop her own strengths. But Kasho doesn't dwell physically on Earth. Melissa's realistic story traverses class, gender, and power dynamics. She is expected to walk, or is bullied into walking, a certain path required of her class, including marrying a certain man. It's only when she connects with Kasho, a native man whose values are in-line with hers, that she finds a kindred spirit who truly sees her. In an age of bullying and teen suicide, the resonating lesson throughout the story is "There is always a way of making your life better." But how will she and her best friend, Daisy, find it?

Thomas Sinclair Meets the Swamp Fox

A bevy of trouble is coming his way and it looks to be sooner, rather than later!

Little does Thomas know that taking on a job as a courier during a war would lead him into more danger and harrowing experiences than his 15-year-old self could ever imagine!

His questionable future looms ahead of him as a pistol in the hands of his guard jabs him squarely in the back. Who are these two ragtag men who forced him off the back of his horse, Ebony, over an hour ago? Why are they compelling him to trudge along this spongy path through the swamp to who knows where? While the stench and unidentifiable sounds from the marshland frighten him, he is more fearful of the destination. What if they are taking him to a British camp? He has a packet that could possibly seal his fate – a packet that probably has treasonable information! His plans to deliver it are now in peril, and possibly his life!

The Sitka Adventure - Return to Yerba Buena

The fantastical journey continues for Elsu and the charming animal crew of Sitka, picking up where Book One’s cliffhanger conclusion left off. With Grandpa Liwanu’s storytelling still shrouded in mystery, the friends plunge into wild new escapades bursting with magic, time travel and ever-growing camaraderie.

Readers will meet endearing new characters like Morgan McCaw, a chatty parrot, while relationships within the storytelling clan shift in unexpected ways. Nail-biting sequences challenge the lovable creatures’ trust and teamwork. Through sprinklings of humor and fur-raising risks, the crew’s bonds are tested as they lean on heart and wisdom to navigate each trial.

From rollercoaster action to tender moments between our flawed but spirited heroes, Sitka’s next chapter delivers exhilarating twists sure to keep young readers guessing. Cheer on the loyal animals as they support each other through the ups and downs of dilemma and destiny.

The Marsh Mouse Sorcerer and The Order of Ki-San

From the embers of collapsed human civilization, a decadent kingdom of sapient rabbits faces renewed threats of war from the religious fanatics of the feral North.

Promising a return of the Goddess Easter in exchange for the life of an embodied prophesy, the High Priesthood of the Cult of the Egg calls for the sacrifice of one of the Queen’s sons.

As conflict looms, the leader of an elite group of royal guards is sent to summon the mysterious mystic mouse at the edge of kingdom to the palace towers.

What begins as simple mission to escort an emissary soon transforms into the defining moment of a generation as trails in trust, friendship, magic, and manipulation are laid bare before a warring kingdom.

The technology of ancient Gods meets the foreign magic of a forgotten Hermetic Order in a fantasy adventure set on the edge of time that grapples with the powers of science and consciousness against the inspirations of spiritualism and sacrifice.

“To fight the demons without, one must first conquer those within.”

Initiation Rite, Order of Ki-San

The Hex Chromosome

At age 13, Tina had resigned herself to being an only child. She is thrilled when her parents manage to adopt a Scottish orphan and bring her home to live with their small family in rural Ontario. Catriona is just a few months younger than Tina and seems like a perfect fit. Catriona is eager to assimilate in her new Canadian surroundings and learns to ski and swim, and quickly becomes part of a tight threesome along with Tina’s best friend Sophie. Tina’s universally disliked art teacher, Miss Plunk, and her amateur magician brother Irwin Plunk seem to take an unusually strong aversion to the orphan, and the feeling is reciprocated. Tina begins to sense that all is not completely normal with her adopted sister. She finds herself holding secrets from her parents as she and Sophie are introduced into a world of magic, adventure, and danger.