A Soldier's Prerogative and Other Short Stories

A series of short stories that, in different situations, present characters facing unexpected challenges in unexpected circumstances.The different behaviour of two white men invited to a Navajo peyote church.An elderly man and a youth canoe for many years on Montana’s rivers, until the older man is no longer able to continue.A young college student, unfamiliar with Mexico, creates a disaster.A soldier in World War II is faced with a decision that cannot be ordered by his senior officer.A young man is introduced to his girlfriend’s father and finds himself searching for a dry place to sleep.A man questioning the value of life on a Grand Canyon hike finds himself in a life-or-death position.An art lover gets a chance for a fictional conversation with Vincent van Gogh.

The Collegium Conspiracy

A U.S. congressman is found savagely murdered—his body bound to a navigational buoy just off the rocky coast of a quiet Maine town. The message is chilling. The motive? Unknown.

In response, the President assembles a covert task force led by former FBI agent Nick Taglio and his life partner, ex-CIA officer Francesca “Frankie” Paterson. Having walked away from high-stakes intelligence work for a quieter life in Boston, Nick and Frankie are pulled back into the shadows by a crime too dangerous to ignore.

What begins as a murder investigation soon unravels into a global conspiracy. The clues point to Collegium—a modern-day criminal syndicate modeled after an ancient Roman cabal. Their objective: hijack control of the global cryptocurrency market and destabilize the U.S. dollar, threatening the entire world economy.

Armed with cutting-edge AI and off-the-books tactics, Nick and Frankie race against time on a high-stakes mission from coastal Maine to Boston, New York, London, and Washington—until the trail leads them to the unlikeliest of doorsteps: a rival superpower.

Fast-paced and fiercely intelligent, The Collegium Conspiracy is a gripping thriller that fuses history, technology, and political intrigue into a chillingly plausible global threat.

Freedom Runner

Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a nurse. It has now been so many years since I started being a registered nurse/BSN. I am getting close to retirement, but I still have a love of taking care of my patients. I usually work 3-4 days a week. I am presently working through the state of Michigan, which has the highest rate of neonatal and maternal deaths. I take care of pregnant women and babies.

During my spare time, I write novels and short stories. I play with our cats and a dog. I have four children and a granddaughter. I love taking them places, baking cookies, and watching movies.

The Man Called Death

“And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.” (Revelations 6:8, KJV).

Matthew Lloyd Garrison returns in the much-anticipated second instalment of the Legend of the Pale Rider trilogy. Leaving death and destruction in his wake, Garrison flees south, deeper into Texas. Hot on his trail is the one man who may be able to match him: his brother, Joshua Wayne Garrison.

Garrison presses on, determined to outrun his brother and leave his past behind him. But Joshua won’t give up and the past won’t die. Matthew’s headlong flight is soon interrupted as he finds himself embroiled in a bitter land dispute between the greedy Bryce Tillman and the beautiful Abigail Williams. Despite his best intentions, Garrison finds himself falling for this woman, from whom he hides a dark secret. Tragedy looms and before all is said and done, Garrison will be one step closer to becoming a legend: The Man Called Death.

Journey to Red Dawn

Despite his success as a Wall Street broker, a loving family, and a life others would envy, Altan is haunted by a recurring dream—one that tragically came true. On the brink of abandoning everything, he receives an unusual gift for his fortieth birthday: a veiled storybook. Drawn to its pages, he hopes to find solace and some answers, unaware that it’s an invitation to the mystical realm of existence.

Propelled by a series of strange events, Altan embarks on a breathtaking journey to the heart of Anatolia, following the threads of a supernatural mystery. What begins as a search for answers unravels into an odyssey beyond imagination—filled with peril, wonder, and revelations about humanity and creation itself. As he ascends through hidden dimensions of consciousness, courage, love, faith, and unyielding resilience guide him toward an awe-inspiring truth waiting at the journey’s end.

Journey to Red Dawn is an allegorical epic of the universal ‘Human’ story—a timeless pilgrimage back to the essence, where all faiths and quests for meaning converge.

Join Altan as he uncovers the secrets of life, death, and beyond. Through his eyes, witness a world where every step is a leap towards the truth, and every dawn brings new hope and understanding.

Are you ready to let the sun rise within you? Let your journey begin…

‘Questions that have found their answers are the ship's final arrival to harbor.’

Farewell to Ordinary

Say goodbye to Ordinary in John Gentry’s second volume of the ‘X-Legged Table’ series. Too bad if you missed Victims and Perpetrators. What is ordinary? Well, ordinarily it’s, well… on the wall, instead of off.

What could rouse your interest less than something titled, ‘Minutes of the Meeting’? Pretty ordinary, huh? It depends on the meeting, don’t you think? Or (in “Quick Change”), Man of Steel not quite ready for action! What? And one more, farewell-to-ordinary caper: “Intimate Moments,” extra-ordinary for the porno geeks. Read on.

After the Flames Have Cooled

This magnificent novel is a fiction filled with passion, thrills, and adventures, and it includes a flair of religious beliefs—beliefs that demonstrate strong characteristics in the characters.

After over fifty-seven years of composition (intense meditation and creativity), the author brings to life a well-developed Beasley family saga (six generations) that relied on hard work, courage, dreams, and God to give them strength to escape impoverishment, deadly romances, triumphs, and tribulations. Female matrons paved the way as traditions molded passionate hearts. High expectations to rise above poverty with rewards (happiness and wealth) were driven via romance, strong family connectivity, and education. As they embarked upon new territory—internal and external to the Mississippi Delta—they survived floods and economic downfalls, wars and societal upheavals, untimely deaths, and heartfelt relationships resulting in pleasure and deep conflicts—even murder. The author was born in such an environment where only the strongest survived!

So be it as it was—mysteries unfold like unto “diamonds in the rough”—in this fictional publication. An in-depth creation of characters & events gives life to individuals trapped in an era of American history via which they are freed as readers are enlightened & entertained. A vivid imagination allows readers to peek into a “bittersweet,” mysterious realm where secrets are told—spreading like wildfire among tall cotton and catfish ponds.

An “Unclaimed Race” of people (Mulattos) created during slavery—survives enduring journeys in spite of many evils, triumphs, and tribulations. Before burials in soil from whence they’d risen (disappearing like unto dust whirling across a broad delta plain), four of life’s secrets to happiness became their golden treasures: (1) Eros Love; (2) Storge Love; (3) Philia Love; and (4) Agape Love—in “After The Flames Have Cooled.”

The Web

If you think you’re too small to make a difference, you haven’t spent a night with a mosquito.

Mr Solomon had once heard this proverb, but to truly understand it, he had to hear something else: her buzzing.

The relentless sound of a mosquito's wings that mercilessly filled his nights.

Night after night, buzz after buzz, he found himself caught in an unusual battle. Forced to stay awake, he spent his nights chasing the unbearable, high-pitched whistles in the darkness.

She was determined to suck his blood. He refused to surrender.

She did not give up. He did not yield.

Until one night…

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.

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.

Shoes to Kill

Shoes to Kill is about the case of a media mogul found murdered at the home of one of the nation’s leading college basketball coaches during a nationally televised game. It plays on the State’s and South’s obsession with college sports, particularly basketball and football.The protagonist, Detective Hatchell Breeze, seeking retribution for a previously botched and forgotten case involving the university football team, enthusiastically takes on the investigation and an inevitable confrontation with the powerful players of the state university once again.This leads him to prostitution, illegal drugs, errant boosters, big business, university stonewalling, and the prominent men and women of college sports. As he tries to connect the two cases, he is reminded of his own bitter history with the university, forever embedded in his mind as his own life spins out of control.

Real Life

We all experience good and bad times in life. This book touches on some situations that occur, expectedly and unexpectedly, to all of us. Some of the stories you will find inside include the heartache of losing a child, the experience of living the single life, and a husband and wife working together to solve problems. Other stories inspire themes of seeing and accepting others, handling retirement, and realising that what you have is better than what you think you want. You will find hope, sadness, and happiness in these short stories. It will give you laughs, possibly some tears, and inspire you to think about and contemplate your own life, as well as understand the lives of others. Enjoy the characters. Get ready for Real Life.