Journeys

Imagine a 12-year-old girl being told by society that she is displeasing to God and to the world because of who she is. This is where her journey begins. She grew up in the 1960s when being queer was, well, queer. Amidst the clamor of the voices of society, she learns to turn her collar to the wind and keep moving. She is determined to flee the dust and dampness of the closet which becomes her safe, albeit lonely, haven. In spite of closet dwelling, she manages to create a face to meet the faces that she meets along the way. Slowly cracking the door of the closet and peeping out becomes an ongoing endeavor. Finally, in defiance, she is able to throw open the closet door and walk out into the sunshine. The journey is scary and exciting and freeing.

Although we all have a journey from cradle to grave, they are all different as they reflect our individual beings. Won’t you journey with me for a space of time?

K: The Letter Writer

Franz K is a Prague insurance lawyer who is also a dedicated part-time writer of literature. After meeting Felice at his best friend’s engagement party, he begins to correspond with her. Felice lives in Berlin. Their correspondence soon grows into a romantic relationship carried out nearly entirely in writing at first, though Franz visits Berlin occasionally to see her. Felice wants to take the relationship towards marriage and presses Franz in that direction. But Franz is ambivalent about marriage. It is something he strongly wants and equally strongly fears because he believes that his writing demands his single-minded dedication.

The result is a dramatic struggle he experiences internally between Franz the man and Franz the writer, with Felice becoming the unwitting battlefield on which it is fought, and its hapless victim. The struggle is the subject of the novel and it unfolds mainly between Prague and Berlin in a dramatic historical period starting just before the outbreak of World War 1 and continuing as the war progresses.

Kabaslot

Life for Allison Johnson, a young girl growing up in the heart of a thriving independent capital city, was good. Part of a well-to-do Krio family, she and her siblings had enjoyed the best of everything, and Allison was quick to share her life with their new adoptive sister, an orphan from the provinces.

Just as she starts to discover love with an unlikely suitor, tragedy strikes. The Republic is in crisis. As events spiral out of control, Allison’s life as she knows it is turned upside down. On the other side of a vicious civil war, she must give up everything she has known as home, to seek safety in the United States.

Navigating the turn of events and her new life as an immigrant, she finds strength and resilience she had only heard about in the stories of her ancestors.

She immerses herself in a quest for spiritual restoration until a sudden shift puts her at the center of a plot to bring the decayed Republic back from the brink. She’s intrigued by the opportunity but must contend with ghosts from a dark past.

Kat's Dilemma

Kat’s Dilemma is a work of fiction. Created out of bits and pieces of research into the social and cultural challenges encountered by women and men in America at the turn of last century. Only two of the characters are based on real life people in the history of my family. Katherine Gehm was my great grandmother. Some of the known family incidents and resulting emotions are reflected in the character Kat.

Johann Wuenderlich was a young German Lutheran who immigrated to the US, converted to Methodism, and returned to Germany to introduce and spread that Christian sect. A memoir of his experience came into my possession, was translated by my daughters, and provides the basis of some of that character’s words and actions.

The US Constitution and Bill of Rights were meant as a foundation of government for all American citizens. But, the men and women of that era (and ours), influenced by societal norms or religious dictates, have never fully understood its real meaning. Therein lies the promise and the struggle between principle and prejudice in Kat’s Dilemma.

Kennedy's Ghosts

Kennedy’s Ghosts is a novel that follows a young journalist as he embarks on a journey that begins in 1960, when he meets a mysterious bohemian bag lady. The story takes readers from the post-war era through the 1960s and beyond, as the journalist uncovers a web of secrets and conspiracies surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Against the backdrop of a tense Cold War and increasing paranoia over UFO sightings, various leaders - both in government and the intelligence community - work to keep the truth from the public. With the fate of the nation hanging in the balance during a critical election, Kennedy finds himself locked in a battle with an entrenched Republican incumbent. Meanwhile, two teenagers with ties to the intelligence community become embroiled in the mystery, unaware of the deadly forces that are closing in on them. 

Killdozer… And Other Stories of Horror

Dive into six tales that begin with a man who couldn’t deal his cards with reason and, instead, uses another form of negotiation with a fabricated 60-ton decision maker!

Then follow the journey of a man who finds himself stranded on an island with amnesia, and an approaching fog carrying within it unknown horrors!

Learn why one shouldn’t open their home to a stranger who might simply be crying wolf, and be wary of the houses we buy, for either can turn into ultimate nightmares!

And so, journey into madness, and prepare for absolute horror as you read these tales of phantasmagoria!

Labyrinth

When everyday people find themselves trapped in unthinkable circumstances, they discover reserves of courage that transform them in profound ways. This gripping tale pulls back the curtain on a hidden world, one where the influential and privileged prey upon the defenceless. As the characters navigate this treacherous maze, they are forced to confront the darkest corners of humanity and summon the heroism within themselves. Labyrinth is a heart-pounding exploration into the complexity of morality and the depths of depravity that will leave readers questioning where the monsters end and the humans begin.

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.

Laughing Out of Context

Mia, mother of her six-year-old son, Cody, strives to balance care and volunteering at Cody’s school the only way she knows how: by recuperating nightly in what she calls her escape room. Meditation and a little bit of solitude at night can fix some hectic mothering days, but sometimes a glass of wine is just what is needed for those extra challenging kids-tell-all no-filter moments.

With the family Dalmatian, Caesar, right by Cody’s side in mischief, Mia works overtime to dodge embarrassing public incidents, hoping her imaginary hats will finally work in making her invisible at just the right time. By getting weekly advice from her mom’s group, Mia realizes she’s not alone in this crazy, funny, and loving motherhood journey.

The struggle is real, and finding a better motherhood routine is right at the top of her list of things to do, before she tips over to the other side of the sanity line.

Law Dogs

In the aftermath of Missouri’s brutal Civil War, shattered bonds and loyalties hung heavy in the hearts of its people. Karl, hailing from a staunchly pro-Union German family orphaned by the conflict, faced harrowing decisions. His dearest friend, a Wilson, hailed from a pro-slavery family fiercely loyal to the Confederacy. It was a friendship tested by the fires of war, and Karl’s journey was only beginning.

Armed with a six-gun and driven by circumstance, Karl first rode with Quantrill’s Raiders before joining the ranks of the Texas Rangers. But life had more twists in store. As a bounty hunter, he relentlessly pursued the ruthless Ivory Thompson gang, tracking their bloody trail to a lawless mining town, Silverton, just north of Durango, Colorado. There, a shadowy outlaw named Red was gathering a crew of the most hardened criminals for a grand heist.

To collect the bounties and secure his retirement, Karl knew he had to be faster, smarter, and more ruthless than Ivory Thompson and his two henchmen. A new identity was his ticket to the big rewards, but fate intervened when he stumbled upon the lifeless body of Thorn T. Hagerman, a former Pinkerton Agent who had been chasing the same outlaws. Thorn’s name was now his to wield.

As the newly christened Thorn T. Hagerman, our protagonist found camaraderie with a group of young lawmen and a charming waitress in a local hotel. But just when the rewards seemed within grasp, chaos erupted in Durango, threatening to unravel everything Thorn had fought for.

Learning How to Let It Go in the Shadow of the Belvedere

Sometimes it becomes difficult for us to recognize the beauty of the forest in its full splendour and diverse grandeur, even though it has always been right in front of us. Our view becomes obscured by the thick, opaque tangle of branches. To overcome this universal challenge for us all, we need to be able to adopt a new perspective. This can come from meeting new people and considering their point of view, or even by putting oneself in an entirely different time and place. In doing so, even the most stubborn and set-in-their ways can be jostled out of their slumber and comforting complacency.

The elements necessary for this process of self-transformation are already in our souls for those who allow them to surface, while for others who are more resistant, a more literal journey can be exactly what is required to shake us loose from our preconceived notions.

Leavenworth City

Leavenworth City is a novel that will take you on a journey back though time. Its captivating history told through a fictional character from 1854 to 1861 will have you glued to the pages. This is an adventure you will not be able to forget after you read the journal entries taking you back into the 19th century. Stories with historical figures and other unmentionables telling their antics weave a gripping tale that will leave the reader wanting to learn more about this era in time.