Memories in Technicolor

Poetry is the most expressive of the various forms of the written language. It allows one to describe events, experiences, people and emotions in an imaginative manner. The poems in this anthology illustrate the writer’s belief that the natural world and the emotions of the individual are interconnected. That the rhythm and imagination within the mind of the individual is inherent within the forces, the beauty of the physical world. The author believes that poetry, expressed in simplistic words can lift the heart, cause old romances to live again and transpose oneself into the natural world as a participant, not just an observer.

Memories of "A Kid from the Heights"

As the years go by and each step I take brings me closer to the end of my journey, coupled with the advent of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, I started reconnecting with many childhood friends via social media. The past two years of isolation brought the realization that this unique era we shared in a remote village during the 50s and 60s will never be available again to future generations, and that generations born after the 50s and 60s lose the likelihood of ever having an opportunity to experience this phenomenon with each passing generation.

With the encouragement of friends and acquaintances, I penned my Memories of Being a Kid from the Heights, how these experiences of ethics and morals molded our characters, and how these often comical encounters and responsibilities would benefit us while navigating life with our children. These two decades provided a lifestyle that evaporated and elapsed with each sun rotation.

Mia Amata

Megan Davis is an abused wife contemplating taking her own life before her husband, Allen, gets around to killing her. A chance encounter in a grocery parking lot sparks a life-changing transformation for Megan. She sheds her identity, becoming Mattie, and embarks on a new life filled with love and happiness. Despite the unorthodox circumstances, she marries the man of her dreams, Jacob, believing that Megan is dead and buried, along with her past.

But fate has other plans. The past resurfaces, threatening to shatter Mattie’s carefully constructed world and expose the secrets she so desperately wants to keep hidden. Her idyllic life with Jacob hangs in the balance as she faces the devastating consequences of her choices.

Militiaman

As the USSR crumbles, a young medical officer faces a pivotal choice: a promising military career or a new life in a shifting world. Opting for the latter, he joins Ukraine’s law enforcement – the militia – only to confront a harsh reality marred by violence, corruption, and despair.

In this gritty journey, he becomes entangled in a web of bribes, illegal activities, alcoholism, and nepotism, slowly eroding his hope for a better future. As disillusionment sets in, he realizes he must break free from a life devoid of promise.

Militiaman is a compelling tale of duty turned desperation, offering a stark look at one man’s quest for a new beginning in a world tainted by the darkness of its own making.

Millie's Quest

“Who am I really?” That is the burning question that absorbs the mind of young Millie even as her talent for writing folklore is discovered and nurtured. She becomes something of a celebrity in her village in the heart of rural Trinidad as her stories get published in the newspapers. “If only her real daddy would see them and be moved to make himself known to her!” That’s her most fervent wish. How that would affect her life and the life of others is not of immediate concern. Her mother’s stubborn reticence to reveal his identity is beyond her comprehension.

Her ambition is to become a teacher, but romance gets in the way, and she marries and goes to live in Sangre Grande. There, she picks up clues that she hopes will lead her to the identity of her real father.

Her experiences make her realize that society’s prejudice against illegitimacy has its roots in religious practices which she would like to change. She also must develop ways of coping with a difficult situation as her marriage is in jeopardy.

Mirror of Time

Thomas Roop has been fortunate enough to travel widely through his life, learning from a wide variety of cultures, traditions, and religions. These encounters inculcated and developed a love for humankind. While travelling through Denmark, he encountered and fell in love with the work of the 19^th century poet, novelist, and playwright Hans Christian Anderson. The literature of T. S. Eliot, Carl Sandburg, Sylvia Plath, Maya Angelou, and others are all evident influences on Roop’s own work. All of these encounters inspired him to share his own ideas, reflections, and insights in this anthology of poetry.

Mirrors

Mirrors is a collection of three stories that look beyond the surface of what reality appears to be. 

Mirrors

Katrina has worked the same job in the same small town her entire life. She has always considered herself and her existence nothing but commonplace and boring until a birthday present—one she promised herself never to use—changed everything. 

Each of us has a different version of ourselves. Some are better when left undiscovered. 

Deciduous

Daisy wakes up in a hospital bed with vague memories and broken images of her past. Her caretaker explains that she was the sole survivor of a tragic accident that left her parents dead.

They are all in a room, says a pressing voice that will soon lead her to discover the transience of seasons as they bring about death and form new life.

What’s On the Menu?

Chris Newberry has won the most coveted prize that one could win: a trip to What’s On the Menu?

In a society that relies solely on supplements for sustenance, What’s On the Menu? is the only chance to experience the long-lost sensation of eating.  

But in order to get there, you have to win the lottery. And if you do win, the trip is one you might never forget. 

MissGuided

Trouble has never looked so goddamn fine. Imagine, if you will, a world ruled entirely by monarchies. Two princesses, having turned twenty-one, are now eligible for the crown within their own kingdom. Thus, the race for the throne has officially begun. I refer to it as a rat race, because I’d rather race a rat than think about any of this – especially the princes from those eligible kingdoms whom Mother dearest has sequestered to court Addylin, my twin sister, and me, Emryne. Six of them, I can easily handle. But the seventh one… Enter Prince Skylan Alexandrius Dormer: suave, witty, handsome – the epitome of every woman’s fantasy. The problem? Skylan is my goddamn nightmare. He broke my heart two years ago when he vanished without a trace. And now, he’s back. Sky was trouble then, and he’s trouble now, as if I don’t have enough problems in the backstreets of my kingdom already. Join Emryne on her adventure of a lifetime as she battles crime and falls in love in this epic tale of childhood friends turned lovers. Experience the trials and tribulations of navigating a secret identity as the infamous Dark Warrior, a vigilante taking the law into her own hands, all while grappling with the looming pressure of succeeding to the throne of Alorewyn.

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.

Mistakes Like This

Mistakes Like This is a book of poetry that strongly emphasizes the harshest and most confusing of truths. This book focuses specifically on the realization and appreciation for one’s own worth and the importance of recognizing an unstable relationship or a toxic friendship and coping with the loss of the ones we hold most dear.

This book covers personal experiences that people of all ages can enjoy and learn from. Each poem within this book has a specific meaning and storyline that readers can insert themselves into to really get a full feeling of what each poem has to offer. With lots of sharp turns and plot twists, this book succeeds at making its readers interested and wanting more.

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?

Monty and the Rabbit

Julia Montgomery (Monty) and Paddy Assenfeld (Rabbit) meet one fateful night at an Irish bar called The Lucky Slut. Their initial encounter is marked by sharp-tongued banter and fiery tension, ending in an angry parting. Days later, their paths cross again, and Julia quickly takes charge of Paddy’s fate, dragging him headfirst into a life of crime.

Their partnership begins with the robbery of a local launderette and escalates into chaos when Paddy is unexpectedly drawn into the Mafia, becoming a sicario – a hitman. Together, Monty and Rabbit navigate a thrilling world of danger and deceit, their criminal escapades bound by an unwavering devotion to each other.