Story 1: The Delights of Sean Jr.

Sean Jr. had a tough life—as his mother told him, he had the ‘forbidden illness’: lusting for men. His uncle took him in, yet Sean lived a criminal lifestyle ingrained in the family business. Thug life meant trouble was Sean’s middle name; the drugs and jail did not help much either.

Now Sean had two loving parents. Yet his uncle was in conflict, wanting to protect Sean from the evils of their family’s work while disapproving of his player lifestyle. Meanwhile, the body count from their criminal exploits continued to rise.

Spa Day - Be Careful What You Ask For

Caroline Chandler and her best friend, Abby, spend a Sunday afternoon at their favorite Day Spa. They leave the spa relaxed, refreshed, and rejuvenated, but Carli soon discovers an unexpected result from that spa visit. A microchip capable of two-way communication has been implanted behind her right ear. When it is activated, it instructs Carli to perform private courier tasks. The tasks are simple pickup and delivery of anonymous items on behalf of anonymous clients.

Over the next several months, Carli searches for the source of the unintended technology that is now taking over her life. Her search quickly takes her into the world of high-value art and antiquities. The more information she uncovers, the more confused she becomes as to the source of “the system”. Are the tasks legal? Are the tasks safe? The rewards are great, but at what personal cost? How far will she go without compromising her own integrity? Who will she trust in her search for answers?

Caroline has worked in the Harvard hospitals of Boston for most of her career. She has had an interesting life of work-related travel and has met an array of scientists and researchers. But none of her experiences could have prepared her for what she is being asked to do.

Spa Day is set in the present day, amid the historical sites of Boston and the Massachusetts shore, just coming out of a pandemic. The main characters are based on actual people, their experiences, and their expertise. The people that Carli meets along this journey change her life forever. Her story begs the question: What would you do?

Scam Seduction

Scam Seduction is an intriguing story about deception. We see how money in the world of big government and business is especially seductive. This novel masterfully shows the dark side of humanity contrasted by exceptional human spirit and fortitude. Simon Benjamin’s powerful literary work is touching and unpredictable. Although there are times when the reader will laugh out loud, the nefarious acts of sinful people will keep you fascinated.

Compassionate, deft, and deeply moving, Benjamin’s debut will have you rooting for good against evil. What a compelling and absolutely gripping story based on true events.

Running Stop Signs

Los Angeles super sleuth Natalie North is fed up with catching cheating husbands red-handed and reporting back to their wives, complete with incriminating photos. Quick-witted and sharp, Natalie yearns to use her investigative skills to solve real crimes, the grittier the better. When a dead body is discovered in the Brockstone Tire parking lot in San Pedro, Natalie puts her life on the line to find the killer, determined to outdo the LAPD.

While also investigating the tangled marriage of Melvin and Ramona Evanski, hoping to catch Ramona in a compromising position, Natalie’s resolve to crack the Brockstone Tire murder case overrides her common sense. Add in Natalie’s tumultuous love life, torn between prosecuting attorney Darren McAllister, LAPD Officer Vincent Sherburne, and the enigmatic taxi driver Alfonso Di Paolo, and discover what happens when betrayal, greed, passion, and murder collide.

Rewind Ranch

What price would you pay to reclaim the vigor and allure of youth? Four spirited Southern seniors are about to find out. Tempted by the promise of Rewind Ranch, a paradise nestled in Hawaii’s enchanting Hana hills, they embark on a journey that promises unlimited cosmetic enhancements, captivating company, and indulgent escapades.

As the ladies dive into a world of luxury, laughter, and liaisons, they soon discover that the ranch offers more than just superficial pleasures. Beneath the veneer of hedonistic delights, a darker secret lurks. As doubts creep in and stakes rise, they realize their dream vacation might be a trap they need to escape to ensure their very survival.

Join these fearless women on a roller-coaster of suspense and camaraderie, where beauty is more than skin deep, and friendship is the ultimate savior.

Puzzled Mysteries

Detective John Grizzley has just 72 hours to find Sarah after she was kidnapped. If he fails to locate her in time, her life hangs in the balance. To find Sarah, Grizzley must solve an intricate series of puzzles that send him racing across the city. With each new riddle, he draws closer to Sarah’s whereabouts – and her merciless captors.

Armed with razor-sharp focus and instincts, Grizzley pushes himself to the limit tracking down every scrap of evidence. Around every corner lies the possibility of a fresh lead… or a lethal trap. To crack the case in time, he’ll need to stay one step ahead and follow the trail wherever it takes him.

With the clock ticking down, Grizzley faces the ultimate test: can he decipher the kidnapper’s web of clues and rescue Sarah before she meets a terrible fate? On this mission, every second will count in the race to save an innocent life.

Playing Through the Break

In the early 1980s, young Chicago architect Phil Ashley and his live-in girlfriend, TV newscaster Alison Knight, find themselves locked in an unlikely love triangle with a neighboring temptress whose undraped window appearances trigger untimely, unfinished spiritual and emotional issues left over from the psychedelic sixties.

When Phil is offered an unusual architectural project set in the countercultural West Coast waterfront community of Samsara, the pair agree to temporarily part ways in hopes that a break will do them good.

Little did they suspect that their romantic recess would soon turn chaotic when Samsara’s pirate broadcast featuring aqua goddess Pearl explodes into international headlines. Could the untimely uproar help reunite the troubled couple… or bring a dramatic end to their relationship?

No Good Deed

YOU WANT THE BEST WHEN THE WORST IS OUT TO GET YOU

Help. That’s what Matt Pearson, his wife Dana, and the rest of their team at the Pearson Group do every day: protecting the life of strangers at the risk of their own.

Guillaume De LaCroix helps as well. His company helps sick people get better; his foundation helps women in need. He has it all. Success at work, the respect of his community, and a beautiful family. But when someone launches a terror campaign against him and his loved ones, he turns to the Pearson Group for protection and to discover who is behind these attacks.

As the case evolves and suspects come and go, discovering who is behind the threats leads the Pearson Group down a path far worse than they ever could have imagined. Matt, Dana, and the team must tread carefully to avoid becoming the next target.

A powerful, contemporary novel with engaging characters and intertwined story lines, No Good Deed carries the reader through the dark side of human nature and back.

Murders in the Cascades

During a lucid moment, an Alzheimer’s patient tells amateur sleuth Biodina d’Angelo that 40 years ago he killed his lumberyard partner in the Cascades of Washington state. Biodina begins searching historical records, and a clever fraud scheme is uncovered, along with news articles about a missing lumberyard owner. Along the way, her intuitive nature and nosiness helps her uncover another murder of a well-respected record producer. Will the murderess be a starstruck performer, a jealous wife, or a vindictive assistant?

Medicine Park

Medicine Park is a compelling small-town murder mystery that takes place in southwestern Oklahoma in the historically pivotal year of 1963.

As the town’s high-school history teacher reminds us: “People have lived here all their lives, but they have no idea what goes on beneath the surface.”

Medicine Park uniquely blends engaging characters, humor, romance, suspense, and Native American tribal culture – with a splash of metaphysics, a dash of the macabre, and an onslaught of surprising twists and turns.

Buckle up!

Last Phone Booth on the Left in Brooklyn

What possibly can an emotionally unstable, elderly Italian American woman have in common with the recent day’s “La Cosa Nostra,” the Italian organized crime syndicate? Teresa Cussimano, originally from the Fordham section of the Bronx, has now been living in Brooklyn for over 30 years. Italian organized-crime families who dug in roots early in the previous century still hold some power here but they are barely surviving. In the after-effects of the terrorist attacks on America, the justice department and local law enforcement continue where they left off, to further eradicate what’s left of organized crime – La Cosa Nostra. With a confidential informant, the F.B.I. feels it finally has what it takes to achieve this hard-fought goal. At the same time, Teresa Cussimano’s emotional instabilities and her “Orwellian” distrust of the overall system is getting entangled in one scrape after another with individuals whom she deems “her enemy-ship.” She feels threatened, is threatened, and worse. Her beloved nephew who looks out for her can only do so much and the N.Y.P.D. cop’s hands are tied. Full of exasperation, Teresa knocks on a door anxiously, seeking help. That door belongs to a mob boss. For certain reasons, they get involved and duly help with her problems. Later come down racketeering arrests against many who have helped her, particularly the boss. Now Teresa gets involved to help them in their situation in what becomes an unprecedented quid pro quo.

Firstlings of the Flock

As with the story of Cain and Abel, the two MacKenzie brothers, Duncan and Cameron, do not get along – never have. For years, there has been almost no communication between brothers until the death of their father, John Jay.

Cam feels compelled to return for the funeral and the subsequent hearing of his father’s will, though he is uncertain what drives him. Although Cam expects nothing from the estate, surprisingly, the will decrees that he and Dun should travel to the High Uinta Wilderness (a special place for his father) to settle their differences.

Needless to say, both brothers do not return from the wilderness, but unfortunately, that still does not resolve the matter. Now the will is being contested by a third party claiming to be a previously unknown daughter.

Through DNA testing and some serious sleuthing, Cam discovers nothing is as he thought, and even he, Cameron MacKenzie, is not who he thought he was.