Those Who Live

Two cousins, Chinle Davis and Mae Godwin, are determined to find the truth about why six female infants spanning three family generations died shortly after birth. Their plan to interview family members about these deaths is fruitful, the details, alarming.

As the interviews proceed, Chinle, injured at five when someone pushed her on her bike down a deep, steep, rocky ravine, begins to have memories of the accident that left her with an inturned right foot, a leg with little feeling, and a spastic gait due to neurological damage. The mystery of who pushed Chinle gradually becomes more central than the mysteries of the six infants. The relationship between Chinle and Mae becomes tenser and more layered as each woman’s romantic life becomes more complex, Chinle establishing a bond with Cody and Mae, losing her bond with her long-time boyfriend, Bernie.

What will each woman discover about herself as mysteries between them unfold?

The Story of Words

The Story of Words intricately weaves the tale of Nathaniel Brand’s journey - intellectual, spiritual, and geographical. A deep dive into his life reveals a poignant discovery: the woman he believed was his soulmate, Stephanie Haller, is in reality a stranger. His PhD dissertation challenges decades of literary criticism but fails to bring him professional recognition. Nathaniel’s spiritual exploration, fuelled by marijuana and acid-rock from the 60s, results in seventy-five ‘messages from the beyond’, which he hopes will revolutionize society but are instead seen as negative by his peers. His quest, marked by trials and introspection, takes readers on a transformative path, hinting at an unexpected resolution that reshapes his understanding of life. This novel offers a unique glimpse into the complexities of pursuing dreams and truths.

The Man Who Wanted to Be Cary Grant

George is at rock bottom: His wife is leaving him, his job is gone, and even his kids can barely stand him. But instead of wallowing in despair, George opts for a drastic makeover. Inspired by his cinematic hero, Cary Grant, he sets out to reinvent himself, enlisting the help of modern-day mentors akin to Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering from ‘My Fair Lady.’

Suddenly, George is the toast of Hollywood. He rubs elbows with A-listers like Bradley Cooper and George Clooney, while acclaimed directors like Spielberg are captivated by his charm.

But when George’s estranged mother orchestrates a reunion with his childhood love, he’s forced to ponder the cost of his new life. Is this glamorous façade worth losing the one who got away? The choice becomes even more complicated when he spots her in the arms of another man.

Returning to LA, George finds that his friends and family have teamed up for the ultimate romantic intervention – with a celestial assist from Cary Grant himself.

The Eden Evacuation

When young historian Adam and his daring art conservator girlfriend Gina embark on a Roman holiday, they expect delicious food and captivating sights – not a bewildering mystery. While touring the Vatican Museums, Gina suddenly vanishes. Adam’s desperate search for her uncovers a shadowy art forgery conspiracy greater than either could have imagined.

To unravel the truth and reunite with Gina, Adam plunges headlong into a thrilling quest spanning centuries of history, culture, religion, and current affairs. As the perilous investigation spreads across two continents, Adam and Gina are each forced to confront what really matters most. Will their love unite them despite the dangers they face? Or will the high stakes of the mystery tear their relationship apart?

The Air That We Breathe - Book One

Father Marcellinus warns the young monk, saying, ‘The air that we breathe, that is the creature that we become’ explaining how every influence, both good and evil ultimately shape us into the person that we are. Based on real events, this novel unfolds in a nineteenth century abbey and is about a young man who struggles to face the truth of who he really is, something that all of us must ultimately do in our own lives. The reader is invited into that cloister, so full of passions and conflicts.

Simon desires only one thing since he was a little boy, and that is to serve God as a priest. He dreams of wearing silken gold vestments and being enveloped in great clouds of incense, offering the Sacrifice to God. When he is seventeen, he leaves home and becomes a monk far north in the mountains of Pennsylvania. His faith is genuine, and he gives himself to his studies in order to become a Roman Catholic priest.

But not all is as he expected. A sexual awakening he had not anticipated, blossoms in him and boyhood dreams are shaken to the core as he wrestles with a side of himself he never counted on. He falls in love in a monastic world filled with holy men, mischievous souls, colorful individuals and also great scoundrels.

A powerful visitor invites him to Rome, something Simon never expected. There is a dark price tag, however, something Simon is unaware of.

Stories From the Heart

Be it the sweetness of courtship, the fragility of flirtation or deep prevailing commitment, these are stories that bring a sigh and a smile as we glimpse love in all its iterations.

Set against the backdrop of Italy, whose very essence is romance, we spend time with a woman who flips the script on actors; a little boy and his beloved violin; a snowy-haired cupid and destined dance partners, all of whom are connected by the powerful theme of love.

Run Johnny, Run

Just days after his unexpected dismissal as the head track and field coach at the University of Minnesota, Ralph Dexter found himself lost in thought in a quiet café in South Dakota. On his way to Texas to seek solace with his best friend, the head coach at the University of Texas in Austin, Ralph’s self-pity was interrupted by an astonishing sight.

Outside the café window, he watched in awe as a young Native American boy dashed with uncanny speed to rescue a girl in danger. The townspeople revered the boy for his heroics and compassion, but Ralph was transfixed by something else — the boy’s extraordinary running prowess. In his esteemed career, Ralph had witnessed some of the world’s most elite athletes, yet never someone with such natural talent.

In a twist of fate, a recently ousted track and field coach stumbles upon a prodigious talent. The question remains: Can Ralph harness this serendipitous encounter into an opportunity for both of them?

Nama

When we write the story of one person, we tell the story of all people who have lived through all times, across the entire geography of the universe. We borrow from the history of life and its footprints, emerging from the deep past and leading into the ever-receding future. One life is a mirror for all, in a very important sense, though not in every sense. In Nama, an ancient Native American woman recounts the mystery of life, weaving the tapestry of life – of birth and death, of brave battles to be won, dreaming of love and justice, of creating a heaven on earth. She sings of grief over loss of love, of greed and rivalry that tear us apart, pushing us to harm, and even to kill. Yet she is also firm in her trust in the affirmation of life. Battles are never lost, lives are never given in vain. She preserves her faith in the redeeming power of grace and self-expansion and is willing to wait patiently for future generations to pick up the cross and find the path of emancipation for imprisoned humankind. Should we join her march?

Money Is Sweeter Than Honey

“It is the preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else that prevents us from living freely and nobly.” 
― Bertrand Russell

For other people, Dohan Choudhury is just a weird Bangladeshi immigrant halfway to lunacy as he throws away every opportunity. He is unemployed, he hates businessmen and pawnbrokers, he makes fun of the police, he talks to rivers and trees, and he burns money.

At least, that is what Dohan is in a glance.

The truth is Dohan Choudhury is an idealist who is also a loving husband, a doting father, a poet and writer, and a highly educated man who finished his PhD in Columbia University. He is a man full of dreams, aspirations, ideals, and hopes he was so optimistic to use when he landed in America… until the rampant capitalism, oppressive materialism, pro-American objectivism, tyrannical stereotyping, and severe alienation sucked out all the positivity in Dohan’s life. In a few years, these negativities defining the world poisoned Dohan’s mind, heart and soul… along with his relationship with his family and relatives who are all corrupted by money and high reputation.

Will Dohan be able to free himself from the veil of pretension and greed in the society, or will he succumb to the devils of worldly possessions… just like how everybody else did?

Missing Parts

In Missing Parts, a powerful and thought-provoking novel, the unbreakable bond of friendship is tested when Lacey Pierce encounters her childhood best friend, Mimi Faraday, in a Boston homeless shelter. The story delves into the complex factors that contribute to resilience in the face of mental illness and life’s challenges, exploring why some individuals thrive while others struggle.

Lacey and Mimi’s story begins in a charming New England town during the transformative 1960s and 70s, where they attend a prestigious prep school. After Mimi’s wedding to Chapin, the couple embarks on a life of community service in Newfoundland, while Lacey joins the Peace Corps in Africa, all young, idealistic, and full of promise.

Fast forward to the summer of 1995, when Lacey’s world is shaken by the discovery of Mimi among the homeless at a soup kitchen in a Boston cathedral. After a quarter-century in Newfoundland, Mimi has returned to Boston, destitute and living in a halfway house for abused women in Cambridge. The novel masterfully traces the parallel journeys of these two women over the intervening decades, revealing the twists and turns that led them to their current circumstances.

Missing Parts is a standalone fiction that explores the enduring power of friendship, the impact of life’s choices, and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity. Through Lacey and Mimi’s story, readers are invited to contemplate the complex interplay of factors that shape our lives and the lives of those we hold dear.

Meghan and Beth Discover, It's a Men's World

Intrigued by whispers of a community connection, Beth picks up the book chronicling Meghan’s life after graduate school. As both women navigate careers amid outdated attitudes about women’s place, they discover the persisting barriers of a man’s world.

While Meghan conducts research into the decline of family farms, her work conjures Beth’s own rural upbringing and current reality as a farm wife straddling tradition and technology. Their parallel sexual awakenings underscore the universality of women’s experience.

An insider’s glimpse of Meghan’s faculty position reveals to Beth the complex machinery underlying campus life. As Beth reflects on the roads untaken, Meghan’s bold choices highlight the excitement missing from Beth’s more traditional path.

Ultimately, their interwoven stories surface timeless questions about agency, destiny, and the feminine struggle to balance fierce independence with enduring community. Do we ever really choose our fate, or does life choose for us?

Love, Ruthie

Was the poet, William Wordsworth, right when he wrote “the child is the father of the man”? That is the question Jane Meyer asks Ruth Lucas in a letter. Best friends since high school, and now in their early thirties, Ruth and Jane keep in close touch through letters, phone calls, and when they can, visits.

When Ruth gets Jane’s letter with this question about Wordsworth’s line, she decides to review what stood out in her childhood and ask herself if those times informed and shaped the woman she became. This process takes her weeks and traverses early family memories, her college years, a job in Washington, her first lover, and other experiences on her way to becoming her own woman. Her answer to Jane’s question is Love, Ruthie.