No Life Like It: Book Two

John Tripp returns with another vibrant narrative steeped in the fabric of naval life in No Life Like It: Book Two. We rejoin Jack and the sailors from the HMCS Gatineau as they carry on dealing with various ‘brushfires’ after returning from the festive wedding of Catharine and Dave Atkinson in Ireland. The navy decides to provide the crew with an MTB to assist on their adventures at sea.

With the new vessel and some downtime over Christmas, the sailors get up to all manner of lighthearted mischief and camaraderie. The tale captures the essence of friendship and humor that sees these men through unpredictable trials and twists of fate. Yet when adventure calls, the crew must come together to face each challenge.

This story offers readers a window into the shaping experiences of military life, from the competitive revelry during holidays to the unbreakable bonds forged in the heat of action. Along the way, the narrative travels from the snowy landscapes of Ireland to the bustling Canadian docks of Halifax, and out onto the high seas.

No Lost Tears

This collection offers an intimate glimpse into a life weathered by adversity yet renewed by purpose. The candid verses inside reflect the mind and heart of a writer who has suffered yet chooses to share the lessons and hope gleaned along the way.

With grit-edged honesty and tenderness, the poems mine the profound human experiences that forge us: love and loss, joy and grief. They chronicle the search for meaning amidst the hellish trials of life, while celebrating the saving graces of beauty, redemption, healing.

Not My Bachelor

Rina Spencer, a 27-year-old freelance writer, lives in Manhattan, New York, with her live-in boyfriend, Brandon. Upon hearing that her mother, Rose, has been diagnosed with incurable lung cancer, Rina flies to Southern California to spend time with her dying mother, who lives with Rina’s older sister, Susannah. During this visit, Rina meets Marcus Granger, also 27, a former law student and one of the bachelors on the romance reality show ‘Love at First Sight’.

As the reality show is being taped next door to Susannah’s house, Rina and Marcus develop a strong friendship, supporting each other as they navigate their respective journeys to find love and accept death. However, Rina finds herself struggling with emerging romantic feelings for Marcus, constantly reminding herself that he is not her bachelor.

To complicate matters further, Rose drops a bombshell that disrupts the entire family’s happiness. Stunned by Rose’s revelation, Rina and her three siblings make a pact to search for answers. When the truth is finally revealed, they realize that their entire lives have been built on deceit and lies.

Not My Life's Story

Not My Life’s Story is a poignant anthology of poetry, capturing the essence of transition from the brink of childhood through the turbulence of teenage years to the thresholds of young adulthood. Crafted over several years, this collection is an emotive journey, not bound by chronology, but rather woven through the myriad experiences and milestones that define growing up.

Within these pages, the poems traverse a diverse landscape of themes. They delve into the profound and often challenging process of coming out, the bewildering onset of puberty, and the complex feelings surrounding body image and dysmorphia. Relationships, in their many forms, are explored with raw honesty, alongside the poignant experience of leaving home and stepping into the unknown.

Nove

These nine stories, scenes from a now-faraway youth, necessarily would have been misremembered, truncated, and therefore come into the present morphed into an entity quite distinct and separate from what they once were; however, they still bear the better telling. Thus, memory often shall bend the tale into something new, and apart from mere fact. Still, their telling is well-warranted, since all nine tales, snatched away from Mercury, do knit and meld themselves together to form a better, more fanciful whole to create a most pleasing portrait of the distant past.

Of the Sun Fire

Moonlight glints and winks with a soft hum as girls in soft satin dresses dance around the fire. I can taste notes of empty forests and flowers smeared with blood on my tongue. Different reasons of their betrayal plague my mind. I opt to scream inward and swallow the lump in my throat. I see the candles lighting the wooden staircases of the haunted castle as I step in. The sight reminds me of when I was a child and held bears made of cotton tightly out of fear when I was left alone. I look down at my feet to see pictures of old loved ones crushed under them like worthless blossoms. Do I feel happy? Sad? Gloomy? Maybe all of them at once. I guess that’s the life of a dandelion girl.

The poems and pictures in this book represent the struggles I felt as an outcast and how I learned to find an exit for myself in the wonders of the world. I tried to capture the feeling of being rejected and later accepted into a new world in the poems and pictures I gathered. I hope people with similar experiences can read my book and feel a little less alone than they did before. I hope they realize things will get better. Your wings of fire will emerge.

Ogmond

When the problems with the Earth’s inhabitants’ civilities, humanity and care for the planet reached it limit…When pollution, greed, selfishness, and lawlessness created a universal problem…One man had answers and took necessary actions, applying his special skills, discoveries, and knowledge to save and restore the civilizations and the planet. This man’s name was Ogmond.

On the Road to Exile and Other Short Stories

This book contains seven of the most unusual short stories ever written.

In On the Road to Exile, a woman travels a thousand miles on her donkey, returning to the family she left a year earlier to find the only thing that has changed is her.

In The Accidental Transvestite, a man wants only to get in his ex-girlfriend’s pants but once he has them on, he soon realizes he would do anything to get them off.

In How Much Further to Insanity?, a woman boards a train that takes her to the edge of madness, confronted by the strangest circumstances that begin with the insults of an Amish passenger and ends with the deprivations of a simeopath.

In She Fell to Sleep, a man ruminates over the question of whether his girlfriend fell asleep or faked it.

In Six Kittens, Six Victims, a man and his two children stand outside a grocery store, trying to find homes for their kittens.

In This is Your Life, a man’s perfect life turns complicated when his girlfriend finds him sharing a joint with two fatties, who were at his house due to unexplainable reasons.

In Ode to a Shitonion, a man wakes from a coma and recalls the circumstances that led to him being charged with “...exhibiting a flagrant disregard for the sanctity of life while satisfying unnatural sexual impulses...” and the brief courtroom drama that follows.

One Heart

Vivian believed she had found love with Donovan, her partner with whom she renovated and shared a home, envisioning a future together. However, her dreams are shattered when Donovan abruptly ends their relationship. Refusing to drown in sorrow, Vivian sets out to find a new beginning and inadvertently stumbles upon a real estate office that would change her life forever.

There, she meets Andre, an irresistibly charming and strikingly handsome man who captures her attention like no one ever has. Andre is not just any real estate agent; he is one-half of the dynamic duo behind the popular home improvement show, House2Home. Just when Vivian thinks her luck couldn’t get any better, she encounters Sean, Andre’s equally captivating twin brother, adding an unexpected twist to her new venture.

To her astonishment, Vivian discovers she’s been selected to appear on their show. The twins are not only interested in transforming her living space but also, it seems, in winning her heart. As Vivian navigates this unexpected turn of events, she finds herself in a thrilling predicament: caught between two desires, each as alluring as the other.

Opelika Opiate

“Opiate” – to induce sleep; to stupefy; to hijack the brain and change its normal function.

Opelika, Alabama – where cars, men, and race collide to unhinge the life of a young woman. Piecing it back together will require figuring out the role she played, and who she really is – or wants to be.  

Ordinary Kate

Kate, an ordinary woman, finds her world turned upside down when she becomes a widow and loses the comfortable life she’s always known. Suddenly, she’s faced with questions she never imagined: Did her husband have a second wife? Where did the money in his account come from? Is it hers? And who stole her identity?

As Kate searches for answers, she is befriended by a handsome US Customs Officer and an unorthodox neighbor. Her adventure takes unexpected twists and turns, leading her to a final choice that challenges her honor and integrity.

Out of a Dream

Jessica Benjamin, an accomplished family lawyer from Toronto, Canada, embarks on a dream cruise to the Mediterranean with her best friend, Pat. Fate intervenes when an accident brings the charming Spanish hero, Carlos De La Garcia, into her life. With Pat under the care of Carlos’ capable young employee, Jess continues her journey by land, despite a cast on her leg.

Captivated by his ‘little sleeping beauty,’ as he affectionately called her during her coma, Carlos enlists the help of Pat and his sister Kia to persuade Jess to extend her stay. As they explore the sights aboard his yacht, their connection deepens into a passionate and loving relationship, leaving them both uncertain about the future.

Complications arise as others on both sides pursue their own romantic interests, threatening to tear the couple apart. Amidst questionable circumstances and the looming prospect of Jess’s return to Canada, their newfound love is put to the ultimate test. Will their bond be strong enough to withstand the challenges that lie ahead, or will their romance be cut short by the very forces that brought them together?