Shells on the Sand

Shells on the Sand chronicles a family’s escape from Kuwait during the First Gulf War. Based on a true story that is fictionalized for dramatic effect, the novel takes its readers on a journey through a perilous region that maintains deep roots to our civilization. Readers will learn about the history of the Muslim Caliphate, Saladin and Richard the Lionheart, the Ottomans, Mongols, and Ancient Baghdad as the family journeys through the region in search for solace and refuge. Tales and events that significantly shaped our history and reverberate to this day will be told about a region many Westerners regard as tumultuous, but that maintains unparalleled diversity in history, science, and culture. Similar published works include True Kuwait Stories by AMA Smith, and Minarets in the Mountains by Tharik Hussain.

Shining Star

Quirky writer Elena Jimenez begins an unlikely secret friendship over email with ultra-famous actor Ben Jones after a serendipitous first meeting. Over several years, the two forge an enduring bond centered around the joys and challenges of parenting. During this time, Elena painfully endures a failed marriage, which takes her years to recover from.

From day one, Elena and Ben share a palpable attraction, readily apparent to those around them. Elena finds herself longing for those exhilarating moments when she gets to see or hear from him again. Ben seems to inhabit an entirely different world defined by fame, fortune, and a jet-setting lifestyle. By comparison, Elena’s life appears mundane – a single mom navigating her writing career.

When Elena finally gathers the courage to explore her feelings, she’s catapulted into Ben’s dazzling world of celebrity. Will she adapt to the glaring spotlight, or will the trauma of her past undermine her shot at happiness?

Shiny Silver-Green Soul

After a tragic accident, Georgie wakes up to find that he has been given a second chance at life, but with a twist. He now inhabits a different body and has been gifted with extraordinary powers that he struggles to control. As if that weren’t enough, he also discovers that he has a twin sibling who is unaware of his existence.

Driven by a burning desire to uncover the truth behind his own murder, Georgie sets out on a quest to find the killer’s brother. But the road ahead is fraught with danger, and he soon finds himself confronted by a flask-seeking, swaggering dynamo who seems determined to disrupt his life at every turn.

As Georgie navigates this strange new world and tries to come to terms with his unusual abilities, he realizes that he must learn to control them if he hopes to succeed in his quest. But with time running out and danger lurking around every corner, can he find the killer’s brother and finally put his past to rest, or will he be consumed by the very powers that gave him a second chance at life? Find out in this thrilling tale of mystery, intrigue, and the power of the human spirit.

Shouts

It is 1915. A great war is coming to America. You are in The Bronx, a borough of New York City, a bastion of ethnic German enterprise and culture, and struggling Irish laborers. German spies and saboteurs roam the city. Firebrand Irish soapbox orators inflame crowds with anti-war speeches. Paranoia, hatred, and politics rage in the streets. The social and economic fabric of the city begins to unravel.

Enraged by the sinking of the Lusitania, pro-war thugs severely injure a German junk dealer and his grandson, young Tommy Muldoon. The boy’s Irish nationalist father collaborates with German terrorists with disastrous consequences for himself and his family. Under this tumultuous backdrop, young Muldoon takes over the junk business and sets out to save his family, by day in the junkyard, by night taking boxing instruction from a Catholic priest.

A sumptuous tapestry, interwoven with meticulously researched details, SHOUTS tells of the last days of the pre-World War I golden age. The richly detailed narrative orchestrates the profuse voices of its characters--priests and bartenders, boxers and violinists, politicians and brew masters. The book resounds with the symphony of those tempestuous days full tone and tint. And at the end, Tommy Muldoon stands alone in the ring facing his destiny. And the reader, by knowing better those particular times past, now better understands the times today.

Silicon Minds

The book Silicon Minds: Tales from the Frontiers of Artificial Intelligence contains three short stories following the activities of a group called the D.A.W.N. (Digital Aged World Nexus)—consisting of hackers, activists, and rebels. The stories revolve around their efforts to challenge the dominance of the tech company GDC and expose its dark secrets, exploring themes such as identity, power, and the ethics of hacking in a digital age. The tales involve characters like a journalist, a hacker, a security agent, and a scientist, whose lives intersect and intertwine as they question the role of technology in society and contemplate the future of humanity.

Silver Bells and Mistletoe

It’s Christmas time, and Ivy Winters is royally upset. She’d longed to go to the Winter Lights dance ever since she was a freshman in high school, but when she finally gets to go, she is humiliated by her long-time crush, Michael Morgan. She is devastated and runs out of the gym, vowing to forget him and what he did to her, and swears off love forever.

Several years later, she works for a company called Silverbells and Mistletoe. When Michael is sent by an investor to evaluate her store, Ivy and her friends think he’s there to help save it; little do they know that the investor, his father, has sent him to tear it down and replace it with a mall.

How are these two going to get along after so many years of harbored feelings? Can these two ever overcome what has been between them? And can Ivy forgive him and even find love with him?

Since We All Have Yesterdays

In 1965, young Kim, alongside her mother and sister, bravely leaves behind an abusive father to seek a brighter future in South Carolina. At just fourteen, destiny introduces her to Ronnie, and what blooms is a bond like no other. As the story unfolds, their relationship faces profound challenges, including heart-wrenching tragedies.

A pivotal moment steers Kim towards a transformative chapter, marked by the birth of her son and a fresh start in a commune in 1971, with Ronnie’s steadfast presence. As the narrative reaches its crescendo, it delves into the profound spiritual connection between Kim and Ronnie, presenting a depth of love and destiny that readers might never have fathomed, elegantly bringing their tale to a poignant conclusion.

Singing Down the Rain

Poetry can be viewed as a reflection, a song, if you will, of society in the time it is written, but at the same time, it is timeless in the continuum of past, present, and future. In the dance of words, the reader will follow the Rorschach Ink Blots in the dance of words to find meaning in the visual imagery presented here.

Sitting on a Park Bench

Robi and Vic, two old friends, are sitting on a park bench on a misty fall evening, munching nuts and reminiscing. The smell of jasmine in the chilly fall air suddenly reminds Robi of their university days, many moons ago. A floodgate of memories of this time of their lives, when ‘life held promise and powers felt indefatigable,’ opens up. Who was the mysterious creature they had seen in the Gymkhana late night after the concert of ‘87? Who ratted them out after they crashed into the social event illegally held on university premises one evening? What started the infamous mess wars that drove such a rift through campus? The past becomes the present and the two compatriots go through their own remembrance of things past, while the sinister syndicate and the feared disciplinary committee loom over every encounter.

Slow Dance in a Winter Garden

Following Nathaniel Hawthorne’s footsteps in Rome, a disillusioned middle-aged writer seeks meaning in things of little value while mistaking the needs of the soul as trivial, and of the heart as unreliable. Inspired in part by Hawthorne’s The Marble Faun, this tale is also a bit of a travelogue, as significant events often take place in sites of historical mystery. Though somewhat dark and serious, Slow Dance in a Winter Garden is a story of contemporary people who find themselves – like Nathaniel – torn between the persons they had hoped to be and those they have actually become.

Smitten: Beneath the Layers of the Holy Land

Beneath the layers of politics, religion, and history lies a social life often overlooked. Amidst the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, people continue living their lives beneath the tumultuous surface.

Saba Salim finds herself living with the man she loves. However, the man she chose to be her husband and protector becomes her tormentor. The house she thought would be her sanctuary becomes her personal prison, where she endures physical abuse and constant verbal attacks.

Saba struggles to prove her abuse, facing interrogation by various men. Ultimately, she stands alone, presenting her case to the deciding elders of East Jerusalem.

The walls of Jerusalem feel suffocating, but they expand little by little as Saba gains her freedom. A feminist without realizing it, Saba discovers her strength and identity, breaking free from the chains of her oppressor and becoming her own person.

Snow Globe

When life is hard, aim for the stars.

Space has been Kent Everette’s passion and his only outlet during his rough upbringing. Against enormous odds and through numerous struggles along the way, he manages to achieve his dream of working in the US space industry as a scientist. After a multibillion-dollar joint venture between NASA and a major commercial space company, Kent is selected as part of mission operations. After a major equipment malfunction occurs on the icy moon of Europa, the public is outraged over the huge waste of funding. Opinion of the space industry is at an all-time low, and distrust grows as accusations run rampant. Kent is given a major life-altering choice. Little does he realize that this will lead him on an adventure of galaxy-sized proportions.

Snow Globe is a sci-fi adventure that is epic in scale while staying grounded in reality.