Government Girls

It’s 1942, and best friends Mary and Marge leave their teaching jobs behind in Iowa to move to Washington D.C. to work for the FBI. Excited yet apprehensive, neither of them could anticipate the rapid changes the war will bring into their lives.

Arriving at Union Station, they meet Dotty, a quick-witted woman who left her all-girl band in New York City in search of new opportunities. Despite rampant racism, Dotty manages to find a clerical job with the government, thanks to her prized possession - a typewriter.

The three women band together, renting rooms in a run-down mansion that operates as a restaurant and boarding house. Under the same roof lives Natalie, an eccentric artist trying desperately to sell her screenplays and achieve her Hollywood dreams.

As Mary and Marge begin their demanding fingerprint filing jobs at the FBI, they find themselves growing increasingly vulnerable, but also courageous, in the face of a world ruptured by war. The four women couldn’t be more different, yet they forge an unbreakable bond confronting rapidly shifting social conventions and opportunities for women.

Guardian Guerrillas

This is the fascinating story of Frank James, Jesse James older brother, as a bushwhacker in Quantrill’s Partisan Rangers during the Civil War. The actions of this brash, Shakespeare quoting young man represents the best and worst of guerrilla warfare in those turbulent and violent times.

After fighting as a Confederate soldier at Wilson’s Creek, captured and paroled, he returned home as a cocky nineteen-year-old barely staying out of jail. He joins Quantrill’s bushwhackers with escapades that are full of daring and bravery, sometimes cruelty, but also with humour.

We follow him through the many skirmishes and battles including the raids on Lawrence Kansas and Centralia Missouri and the critical events that precipitated them, the women’s prison collapse where several bushwhacker relatives were killed or injured and the infamous “General Order Number 11” that forcibly drove out all residents of an area over 2,200 square miles, twice the size of Rhode Island.

The characters in this work include soldiers, generals, politicians, crooks, thieves, farmers, bankers, lovers, wives, and sisters that suffered or caused suffering in this oft untold American history and their post bellum lives that were fraught with danger, excitement, success for some, failure for many, with ironic, karmic twists.

What drove these young men to become Jayhawkers and Bushwhackers? Were they blood thirsty cutthroats or Guardian Guerrillas?

Gullah Gravestones

Steve Riley is a realtor who sells his friend and client a large tract of land in coastal South Carolina for a pricey condo project. The old Gullah graveyard there is specifically not to be disturbed but during initial grading, it accidentally happens. The land explodes, forming a large crater, coughing out hideous, angry skeletons killing all the workers and pulling them into the doomed abyss—a fiery pit of no escape! Shocking mayhem has now come to the once peaceful sea island!

Unconcerned by the frightening supernatural event and events to come, Johnny is only upset about his ruined property and threatens Steve to get his money back. The two men become bitter enemies! Ironically, Steve’s twin daughters disappear. Filled with vengeance, Irish-tempered Steve believes Johnny kidnapped them! But did he? Out of desperation, Steve resorts to black magic in his quest to save his girls. After receiving amazing voodoo powers by an anomaly from the invisible world, will Steve find them? Can he deal with Johnny? And will the spirits rest again, under their Gullah Gravestones?  

Guns and Horses

From the Arctic tundra to the forested hills of the Klondike Plateau, this collection of Northern Short Stories hurls the reader into a maelstrom of wilderness adventure and survival. From a brutal fight to the death with the wolves and bears to the streets and saloons of scattered frontier towns slinging guns with outlaws and falling in love with beautiful women.

From the early explorers to modern times, driving dog teams of half wild huskies across the windblown wastelands and riding in the saddle with a Winchester under one leg, Simon Tourigny’s raw, rough characters roam the northern wilderness, hunting, hiding, fighting, and surviving in a land of rugged mountains, swift glacial rivers, and trackless forests.

Guns and Horses will take you to the razor edge of death and back again in time for tea and bannock. A blend of Jack London and Louis L’Amour with a dash of Tarantino and his own unique flair, this collection of stories will inspire you to keep going to the final, bitter end.

After all, what is life without love? While there is love there is hope, and while there is hope there is a chance...

Haikus-isms

This expansive collection features Ecila Mai’s observations on existence distilled into emotive works of poetry, prose and haiku. Drawing from diverse life experiences and poignant personal memories, these thoughtful writings invite self-reflection on both the trials and triumphs woven into the human experience.

As she delves into her rich interior landscape, Ecila’s raw ruminations examine the people, places and pivotal moments that collectively shaped her perspective. By confronting the fraught, the fanciful and even the mundane, her flowing verses illuminate the ebb and flow of life in all its dynamic complexity.

Ecila offers this diverse array of poetic pieces in hopes they will resonate with readers’ own winding paths, sparking intimate considerations about personal progression versus stagnation. Through contemplative language and keen emotional insights, Poetic Reflections serves as a stirring reminder that we each possess the power to transform our futures as we see fit – no matter the perils of the past.

Hell's Island

In the heart of Savannah, Georgia, Benjamin Farrows enjoys a life of luxury: a loving wife, an adorable daughter, and a remote island that has been in his family for generations. When a chemical company offers to purchase the island, Ben must decide whether to sell or keep the mysterious land.

Hanley Rivers, an old family friend, fills Ben’s mind with chilling tales of voodoo worshippers and demons who inhabit the island, warning him that they will stop at nothing to protect their sacred ground. Intrigued and determined to uncover the truth, Ben sets out to investigate, unaware that he is about to face a formidable foe: an evil, supernatural demon named Everette Marlowe.

As Ben delves deeper into the island’s secrets, Marlowe lures him into a deadly trap, unleashing unspeakable horror upon his family. Can Ben protect his loved ones and prevent Marlowe from guarding his evil domain, a place known as Hell’s Island, which he has secretly watched over for more than three centuries?

“Hell’s Island is filled with southern atmosphere and local folklore…a spooky horror novel that successfully blends history with demonic chills…”

– Sue Terry, Metapsychology.

“The author hooked me with the fifth sentence on page one. From then on, I had no choice but to go with the tide of words…”

– Detra Fitch, Huntress Reviews.

“William Hardy does a wonderful job of weaving a story with interesting twists and turns and then ends with all your curiosity satisfied.”

– Fiction Addiction.net

“Witchcraft, suspense, and plenty of twists and turns add up to a book that’s sure to hold the reader’s interest… William Hardy has a winner with Hell’s Island.”

– Ken Bell, The Beaufort Gazette.

Her Name Is Blue

Florencia-Blue is an introverted dreamer, a believer in the power of love yet skeptically guarded against its reality. She’s crafted a life comfortably hidden beneath the veil of her beloved books and manuscripts, convinced that true happiness dwells only within their pages. Enter James Murray: sweet, albeit grumpily so, with a heart encased in metaphorical stone, having long forsaken the notion of love. Until, that is, a shy New Yorker with a captivating dimpled chin gently unravels his defenses, weaving the concept of love into a tangible tapestry they both begin to cherish. Their bond forms from the roots of friendship, slowly unfurling into something profound, stirring emotions neither was prepared to confront. Yet, as time marches on, they find themselves inevitably drawn into the embrace of something they once dared not acknowledge. She is Jamie’s Sassenach, and he, Florencia’s long-anticipated Ginger lad, a testament to the unexpected paths love carves, leading them towards a shared destiny they never anticipated but ultimately cannot deny.

House Ravenin - The Folded Path

The world is always changing, each step uncertain as the old ways and the new collide in a struggle for supremacy. Yet even the most well-paced paths sometimes turn in odd directions, the rumble of discontent along the western border leading to bloody clashes against the advancing world slowly encroaching upon the once open wilds.

As Crissone lies in flames and the tenuous peace between elven and human people threatens to collapse, the slaves taken in from the attack and sold to the estates are not what they seem to be.

It is here beneath the roof of House Ravenin that the lives of all hang in the balance, the arcing destinies of singular lives quietly merging together to decide the fate of an unsuspecting people. Each has their own part to play out, the Folded Path watchful upon all who grace its stones.

As poisonous secrets are revealed and true natures rise to the surface, careful hands begin to unravel a deadly mystery in hopes of staving off a greater, more sinister threat.

Hunter in the Mountains

The fight rages on as the Minutemen search for a way to turn the tide of the war.

With a new threat looming in the skies, Johnny is given a mission that could alter the course of the conflict – or seal America’s fate under the shadow of the Imperial Forces.

Hurricane Rescue

After meeting in school and dating, Andy Thompson, and Milly Richards, grew apart and began their adult lives separately, though they still held strong feelings for each other. While Milly sought a career in Design, Andy joined the Navy and began training as a SEAL, but after an auto accident led to his leg being amputated, he was discharged and with his dreams all but destroyed, chose to live on the sea, piloting a boat and doing his best to make a living.

While working for a hotel chain, Milly was tasked with working on a new property in the Caribbean, but even though she was worried about a future hurricane, her boss ignored the threat until it was too late and the two were now trapped in the path of a Category Five Hurricane. Using her contacts, Milly managed to call home to warn her family about her predicament and her father contacted Andy’s family. When Andy learned that Milly was trapped, it brought back all those memories of her and realizing she meant more to him than anything else, he contacted his old Navy buddies and using a borrowed boat, they were able to barely reach the island alive just after the storm passed.

Arriving safely was one thing, finding the love of his life was something even more difficult in the destruction and chaos now engulfing the island. Reaching her last known location, Andy was upset to find she was gone and frantically searched the surrounding area until he was able to decide where she had gone and had a difficult time reaching her before they were able to plan how to safely leave the island.

Icons

Over the span of fifty years, the author has been captivated by the dynamic world of sports, experiencing its thrilling victories, and confronting its poignant defeats.

In this collection, poetic tributes pay homage to the legends and moments that have shaped sporting history. From tales of unparalleled bravery to narratives of profound loss and triumph, these stories have left their mark on countless fans.

Dive into this evocative journey, and discover the timeless essence of sports as seen through the author’s eyes.

In Hugger Mugger

In Hugger Mugger tells the story of two women, one a member of the nobility and one a commoner who are both constrained by their sex and position to live the lives they want. They are forced to hide, to lie and to suffer in order to survive under the English laws.

Mary Sidney, a noblewoman, vows to write the greatest works in the English language, to fulfil the ambition of her deceased brother, but she must use trickery and deceit to have her writings published. Sarah Burton, a commoner, scarred by a nobleman, uses her intellect to outfox the Crown.

After a chance meeting, the women form a friendship that enables them to get what they desire most.