Red Wolf and the Summer Flower

A thousand years ago, two Cherokee teenagers were forced to endure hardship, danger, peril, natural and unnatural disasters, and scorn for simply being teenagers.

They lived in an unforgiving world run by a harsh and dictatorial society but still managed to find meaning in their lives. They found that a good friendship provides strength, and loyalty to one’s friend ensures survival. Then, through a series of unfortunate circumstances, they learned that they had what it takes to be an adult.

This is a story about one short summertime in the lives of a boy called Red Wolf and a girl named Summer Flower.

Windswept Tales: The McDougall Clan’s Women Enduring Strength

In the tempestuous heart of 17th-century Scotland, amidst the wild highlands and fierce clan rivalries, a beacon of resilience shines through the noblewomen of the McDougall clan. Windswept Tales: The McDougall Clan’s Women Enduring Strength introduces readers to the indomitable Lady Michelle; a matriarch whose intellect and fortitude guide her family through treachery and triumph.

Join Lady Michelle and her four fierce daughters—each a lioness in her own right.

As they navigate a world that seeks to confine them to the shadows of domesticity. Lady Kristen’s captivating insights into human nature make her a master manipulator of alliances. Lady Rachel’s eloquent oratory invigorates the hearts of allies and sways the minds of adversaries; her words can rally a clan, but her spirit can also brandish a sword. Meanwhile, the astute Lady Nikole deciphers legal complexities with precision, ensuring her family’s fortunes, as Lady Angela wields her unique combat skills to defend their heritage and carve out their destiny in a world eager to erase them.

As whispers of power intertwine with tales of valor and cunning, these formidable women redefine the role the nobility plays. In an age where strength is often judged by bloodlines, McDougall’s proves that true legacy is built on intellect, alliance, and an unyielding bond of loyalty.

Will they succeed in altering the fate of their clan, or will the encroaching darkness snuff out their light? With suspense, rich historical intrigue, and an ensemble of compelling characters, Windswept Tales beckons you into a realm where sisterhood conquers adversity and women shape history. Immerse yourself in a riveting saga of power, passion, and the enduring strength of the lionesses of Clan McDougall.

Uncertain Times

Times have changed since the grandiose days of Tampa, Florida, in 1890. The success that Quinn and Mika enjoyed at Henry Plant’s illustrious Tampa Bay Hotel changed as well. Twenty years saw the passing of Mr. Plant and the decline of his hotel and its standards, while Tampa’s cigar industry rose to international prominence. Also intervening was Mika, bearing fraternal twins. Marc, the elder by fifteen minutes, is dark-skinned like his mother. Ian favors his father in skin tone and disposition. Mika and Quinn have found that contriving time alone together has become a challenge.

Quinn is the 1910 St. Andrews Chamber of Commerce president. The tourist season is ending, and he, Mika, and the twins are once again off to Florida for the winter. As they prepare to leave St. Andrews, Canada’s trade union movement arrives and attempts to organize the town. Quinn knows nothing about labor negotiations and endeavors to avoid confrontation but becomes entangled in worker demands.

Arriving in Tampa, Quinn and Mika discover that the city fathers are locked in mortal combat with a new union movement called La Resistencia. Union walkouts lead to protest marches, people are killed, two are lynched, and the town is burned. Quinn, Mika, and the boys are caught in a riot; a hurricane wipes out Tampa.

Choirs of Fire and Dust

In the tumultuous fires of the American Civil War, a young New York poet suffers a tumult of tense visions of past and future after a journalistic misadventure in the Holy Land. At the home of his ship chandler benefactor of Beirut, he meets his muse, the daring daughter. Back in New York, he is absorbed in her plot to sabotage her father’s gun-running operation. Self-sabotaged and lost, there is a hellish POW camp, some of the fiercest fighting of the war, and the hallucinatory wages of peace.

Stories, Poems, and Secrets Beneath the Waterfall

Some call the Army Residence Community an “old soldiers’ home on steroids.” It is an unusual residence for veterans, spouses, and civil servants, some arriving here before they can draw social security. Most residents are active, referring to themselves as “inmates” (those who live in the Highrise) or “street people” (those living in Legacy cottages, or Lakeside homes). For the most part, they willingly revealed their secrets as did Count Rostov, “The Gentleman in Moscow,” living in The Metropol. Resident writers may have altered names and embellished some stories, creating a mixture of fact and fiction, but in truth ‘life is how we tell it.’ This is not a daily diary of events at a retirement home, as penned by Hendrik Groen in The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen. Groen spoke of “weak tea and potted geraniums, exasperated by the indignities of aging…” and did not inspire this collection of stories.

These are stories of people who lived a life of service. There are more stories to be told by retirees and centenarians living among us, waiting to be discovered if only we listen.

Nexuses

At the conclusion of World War II, a few top ex-Nazi leaders escaped the Allied nets in Europe and were now living in various South American cities. International police efforts to identify and capture these criminals had been unsuccessful. The government was in desperate need of a new path forward.

Three former friends and recent European emigres to the United States had, totally unknown to each other, found a home in the US after the war. None knew that the others had even survived the war. Each had their own reasons to keep a low profile with the US authorities amid the commie scare of the 1950s, and all three were on shaky immigration ground.

If they could find each other again, and if they could help each other find a path forward, they just might get through their problems. In a curious turn of events, the three became intertwined with the international search for the missing Nazi criminals. Success in capturing the Nazi criminals would rest with the trio’s unique war-time experiences… experiences they had never shared with anyone… Until now.

Dolls for my Daughter

The Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia during the Second World War brought death, fear, and hopelessness to the country. Already dealing with a broken heart, Marie’s only purpose becomes keeping her daughter Janina alive and safe. Once the war is over and dangers seem to settle, Marie is met with a new threat: keeping her daughter safe from the man she is supposed to trust.

Two decades later, Janina and her own family have their lives brought to a halt with the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia. Once the dangers in the streets awaken the dark, buried memories of her childhood, Janina does whatever she can to keep her family, and daughter Pavka, safe and free, even if that means starting over again in a foreign land.

Young Pavka is blissfully unaware of the true horrors of war, but due to her mother’s only choice, she must learn to face her own fears: living life as an unwelcome refugee in a country far away from the only home she has ever known.

Through generations of struggle, war, heartbreak, and holding onto hope, one thing always remains true: the strength and sacrifice of a mother’s love.

Musa

Regarded as the wealthiest man to have ever lived with an estimated wealth of 400 billion dollars in today’s money, Mansa Musa’s life is shrouded in mystery and legend. Known for his lavish journey to Cairo, where he gave away so much gold that the Egyptian economy was ruined for decades, not much is known about Mansa Musa; until now.

Musa: Mansa of Mali spans fifty years of political and familial turmoil of the famed West African ruler. A ruler that had an executioner on hand at all times. A ruler that annexed smaller kingdoms, forcing them to pay taxes or into slavery. A ruler who removed his brother from the line of succession and placed his ill-prepared son on the throne upon his death. These facts create a narrative of a different Musa of popular culture, but of a ruler who ruled with absolute authority and held on to power by any means necessary.

A story that crosses from the banks of the Niger River in the Malian Empire capital, the busy streets of Cairo, to the rolling hills of the newly formed Ottoman Empire. Musa: Mansa of Mali weaves historical facts and speculation into a story laden with assassination and coup attempts. Loveless marriages that are politically necessary, and consequential decisions that have an impact for generations to come.

Meet Leon and Maggie Cobb

Most of us, as children, perceive our parents as perfect. Ah, the confusing age of innocence! Do you remember, as a child, thinking of your parents as though they were born as adults – parents, fully formed – and never considering that they, too, were once children? Now, as the shoe is on the other foot, how often do we reflect on our lives from childhood to adulthood? Can you recall the mistakes you made as you grew up, collecting them as “life’s lessons,” shaped by experiences that molded and defined who you are today? Some of those experiences may have been painful, even traumatic.

But such is life’s grand design. In hindsight, our parents – just as we – never were, aren’t, and never will be perfect, nor should we set such unrealistic expectations for ourselves. It is more than enough to be kind and loving. After all, no one escapes life’s moral challenges, whether they lead to good or bad outcomes. ‘Perfect’ – a word so overrated!

Now, as you reflect on your own life, you may find yourself wondering what unspeakable deeds your parents may have hidden, and who they truly are. For many, it may be too late to ask; for others, it may be fear or respect that keeps those questions unasked.

Meet Leon and Maggie Cobb in this tell-all story!

The Image Maker

In 1860, just a year after Drake’s historic first oil well, photographer John Mather arrived in Titusville, Pennsylvania, determined to capture the burgeoning oilfields, one glass negative at a time. From his makeshift darkrooms – one on a creek barge, another strapped to his wagon – he risked life and limb to preserve the history of the nascent petroleum industry.

General Charles Miller, alongside his wife, Adelaide, tirelessly cultivated relationships with the titans of this new era, becoming a major player himself. Even Andrew Carnegie took notice, only to withdraw when Miller’s personal indiscretions threatened his reputation.

Former cavalryman Patrick Boyle, a natural storyteller, chronicled the region’s explosive growth as editor of the Oil City Derrick. His experience as a roustabout in the oil fields and later as a daring oil scout after the Civil War made him uniquely suited to report on this worldwide source of oil production statistics and news.

Through the eyes of John, Patrick, and Charles – their families and their stories – a vivid portrait emerges of the oil boom and life in late 19th-century America. This is the story of how a rough-and-tumble stretch of Oil Creek in rural Pennsylvania fueled the world’s oil lamps, machinery, trains, and, eventually, automobiles.

The Eye of Sicily

The year is 1895, and poverty is sweeping through Sicily, bringing a wave of la miseria to its people. Letters from America summon two Sicilian families to the shores of a distant land, but they soon discover that everything comes at a cost.

Time is running out for Giuseppe LoPinto, a victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Out of options, his dire circumstances drive him to join the mass exodus of Sicilians from their beloved island. With a heavy heart, Giuseppe accepts an invitation to America. He embarks on an arduous journey, accompanied by his younger brother, Giacomo, to the bustling streets of Detroit.

A hundred miles away, on the eastern tip of Sicily, Vincenza Catalano blames a different letter from America for turning her life upside down. Forced to leave the scenic coastal city of Messina, she must put all her dreams for the future on hold. Aboard the steamship Giava, the Catalano family crosses paths with the LoPinto brothers from Termini Imerese. Vincenza, with her fiery spirit and determination, leaves a lasting impression on the younger brother, Giacomo. Defying her family’s wishes, she challenges the cultural limitations placed on women and confides her deepest secrets to him.

Arriving in Detroit during the dark era of the late nineteenth century, the Catalano and LoPinto families face ethnic prejudices, language barriers, and extortion threats from the notorious Black Hand. The bond between Giacomo and Vincenza grows stronger as they strive to find a sense of self in their new homeland, battling the perils of a dangerous time period. Inspired by true historical events, the young Sicilians soon realize that the luster of the American Dream is fading. Will they ultimately risk everything to achieve their dreams?

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.