In June 1970, my life was working as I’d hoped. At twenty-six, when my son Jim was born with a severe cleft lip and palate, my world turned upside down. Doctors took charge of my son’s medical needs. I felt side-lined, pressured to cope silently and without support. I recoiled when I saw my ten-day-old infant’s battered face after the first surgery. Feedings were traumatic, and I feared Jim would fail to thrive. Emotions I’d never felt before – disappointment, guilt, helplessness, self-loathing, resentment -- overwhelmed me. I shrank from the inevitable stares and insensitive comments. I worried that I had caused Jim’s cleft. My husband was consumed by medical training, so I was on my own for Jim’s medical appointments and hospitalizations. A surgeon dismissed my concerns and efforts. I yearned to be the mother my son needed but could not imagine ever being a positive force in his life....

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Choosing Ourselves, by Barbara R. Walker, Ph.D.

Esteban's journey of resilience and transformation unfolds with unexpected twists and turns in "Love's Irony." From an affair with Aja to his adventures in Las Cruces and Kochi, his path is marked by profound change and unforeseen challenges.

After his expulsion from Mexico, Esteban seeks solace in bustling Kochi, India, immersing himself in his duties and encountering intriguing individuals. Despite grappling with illness and loneliness, he finds moments of joy and fulfillment, especially within the hospital corridors where he bonds with Aja, the head nurse. Their romance is complicated by Aja's commitment to her faith, leading to their eventual separation.

Egged on by Jesus, Esteban's journey takes him to Macau, where a twist of fate brings both triumph and deportation. Through these tumultuous experiences, Esteban navigates the complexities of love's irony, a journey that continues to captivate and surprise.

Esteban: Love's Irony, by Fish Nealman

It's Dyngus Day in Buffalo, New York where identical twin sisters Lilah and Laylah Larceny (pronounced LAR -SEN-EE) are celebrating their favorite ethnic festival as they are getting ready to retire from their 30-year careers as makeover queens. The twins are similar, with some differences: One twin believes in ghosts and the other in Aliens from outer space. Unbeknownst to Lilah, her newly adopted pet cat, whom she calls Dyngus is a bit of both. One day as Lilah is watching a YouTube video, she comes up with an unusual idea about how she can retire comfortably abroad for free! But her sister Laylah who has always been competitive with her sister on the down low discovers her plan and takes off for Scandinavia without her! Travel to Norway with the Larceny twins and find out how Lilah's unusual plan unfolds!

Lies Lust And Larceny, by Lisa Marie Shankles

A preadolescent boy is caught in Castro's Revolution and struggles with trading a Cuban Huck Finn childhood for the price of liberty after fleeing with his family to New Jersey via Mejico. The boy reminisces about his roots in the barrio. He chronicles spirited narratives that range from stealing a rowboat and being nearly capsized by a Russian tanker, to befriending an old fisherman who tells him a haunting tale, to being bullied by a neighborhood thug, to cockfights gone bad, and to being nearly mauled by a wild boar. He witnesses the plight of captives taken near his home during the Bay of Pigs invasion, and tries to navigate the complexities of growing up in a machismo, homophobic culture. The U.S. Blockade of Cuba during the Missile Crisis unexpectedly disrupts the family's egress. They endure the next several months in isolation.
As a new expatriate, the boy lands in Mejico. He eventually arrives at freedom in blue-collar, New Jersey neighborhood. He endures the many ordeals of being an immigrant in an at-times intolerant culture and struggles to adjust to American life. But he perseveres. He scratches his way from a Green Card to American citizen, then to becoming a highly respected professor of medicine at two major medical schools in the United States. He eventually returns to the island in search of his roots, of the mango tree and of the boyhood for which he so dearly longed. He doesn't succeed altogether. But he doesn't lose hope.

The Mango Chronicle, by Ricardo Jose Gonzalez-Rothi

In a desolate future where Earth is divided into zones of despair and privilege, Doctor Marcus Jarret has a life most can only dream of in the elite crystal zone. But when Anja, the woman he loves, vanishes, Marcus is thrust into the unstable yellow zone, a territory teeming with secrets. Accompanied by Finch, a watchful Associate Advocate, Marcus stumbles upon a horrifying truth—plans to wipe out entire zones and their desperate inhabitants. With the fate of humanity hanging by a thread, they must unravel a conspiracy led by the enigmatic Leader and make agonising sacrifices. Narrated by the Last Advocate, an unborn entity observing humanity’s final gambit, this gripping tale reveals shocking truths about our past, present, and a perilous future. Can Marcus and Finch defy fate and prevent a cataclysm before time runs out?

The Last Advocate, by L.J. Goodman

Years of filming, extreme dangers, and daring rescues have taken their toll on documentary producer Pero Baltazar and his team. To relax and reconnect with the East African wildlife they love, Pero organizes a walking safari for him, his camerawoman Nancy Breiton, and their elite guide Mbuno Waliangulu. Still, Pero has trouble truly disconnecting from work. When the team comes across a herd of elephants making their annual migration north of Lake Rudolf, Pero decides the team will film their journey from Kenya into Ethiopia along the Omo River.

What begins as a peaceful trip quickly turns into a chaotic nightmare as the trio crosses paths with a crew of poachers whose ivory sales are financing terrorists. The three are determined to protect the endangered herd from slaughter, and Mbuno enlists the help of local tribesmen. But the corruption of ivory poachers has deep roots that stretch to UN refugee camps, Chinese gangs, and the Iranian elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard. Faced with overwhelming odds, the trio must now rely on Pero’s contacts in the CIA, as well as Mbuno’s skills in the bush, if they hope to ever return from this excursion alive.

Elephant Safari, by Peter Riva

An intimate and soul-searching chronicle of Rosanne's transformation from seeing her father as a source of pain, hurt, and fear to embracing the healing power of compassion, generosity, and forgiveness.
Rosanne shares her tumultuous yet redemptive relationship with her father. —a saga where moments of sheer joy collide with gut-wrenching heartache and revelations so bittersweet, they'll bring tears to your eyes. From the haunting image of a young girl dressed in a yellow pinafore, white socks, and shoes, afraid to smile, to the heartwarming camaraderie of Sunday morning adventures to the bakery, where they indulged in watermelon-sized pumpernickel bread and witnessed the magic of coconut bars being meticulously crafted.
Hold on tight as her extraordinary journey is punctuated by tales of Divine Intervention (DI's), jaw-dropping moments that defy logic. Pivotal moments that shaped her perceptions and personal growth. Her understanding of her father evolves with every revelation, peeling back layers of miscommunication and seething resentment to expose the electrifying potential of forgiveness. Each story is a testament to her mind-bending evolution and the awe-inspiring resilience of the human spirit.
Rosanne's writing is a force to be reckoned with--vivid descriptions and an attention to detail as sharp as a lightning bolt. Her style doesn't just draw you in; it kidnaps your senses, thrusting you headfirst into her world, forcing you to experience her memories and emotions as if they were yours. Brace yourself for a journey of healing that will leave you forever changed.

Pain, Pumpernickel & Profound Forgiveness, by Rosanne D'Ausilio

Anthony’s father, Gerald Mohr, is a well-known radio actor before slipping to the Hollywood B-list thanks to the advent of television. Accepting the lead in a dying Swedish TV series, he falls for the script girl and divorces Mohr’s mother, who goes on to meet and marry another divorced person, credit card industry pioneer Stanley Dashew.

As his stepfather’s career rises and his biological father’s eases downward, Anthony tries to find his place. One weekend he’s sailing on his stepfather’s fifty-eight-foot catamaran; the next, his Swedish stepmother tells him that they’re poor. Coming of age in a time when divorce is rare and viewed as shocking, Anthony lives at the edges of what others regard as a dream world, a place where reality and fantasy blend, maps lead to the homes of the stars, and obstacles abound.

Every Other Weekend, by Anthony J. Mohr

From USA Today bestselling author L. R. W. Lee, Marked is the third book in the addictive Morningstar Academy series, about a fallen angel who fights to save a world spiraling out of control, all while trying to protect humans and her own heart. This intriguing and unseen world of angels and demons is perfect for fans of Good Omens and Penryn & the End of Days.

Despite their best efforts, fallen angel Gladriel, her new fallen friends, and her former squadron mates have had limited success shifting the world ending prophecy and they feel increasingly helpless as war, famine, plague, and hyperinflation rage, killing millions of the humans they are committed to protecting.

With conditions worsening on Earth, celestial warriors are kept increasingly busy aiding humans, making Kessien less and less available. At the same time, Morningstar Academy forces Glad to do increasingly heinous things to humans, and the distance stretches their relationship to the breaking point.

Glad and her fallen friends’ only hope for rescue is to throw themselves on the Almighty’s mercy and beg him to reverse their sentences. Trouble is, Glad will never be sorry for avenging her BFF’s honor, against his explicit orders. So when her friends promise to never abandon her for their own safety, she finds it unbearable to be the cause of their impending doom along with her own.

Marked, by L.R.W. Lee

As much as Christians or believers of God would like to believe that, just because we acknowledge God in our lives, we should never have any sorrow. That is untrue. Just believing this makes us commit sin because then we are not humble, but haughty. We will all have challenges, disappointments, and unfair situations arise in our lives, but as believers of God, we are to handle ourselves so that unbelievers will want to become like us. We are to TRUST, HAVE FAITH, and BELIEVE that GOD has our back and will keep us lifted above, fight our battles, and always cause us to Triumph!

The Rain Falls on the Just & the Unjust, by Donna Louis

The day democracy was assaulted...Protesters at the President’s rally morph into a mob that storms the Capitol, right-wing extremists in their midst. 
In halls the author walked for decades as a reporter, hostages are taken, the House Speaker among them. A horrific standoff gives extremist militias time to unleash deadly terrorism across the nation.
The President, in election denial, weighs declaring martial law to quell the violence – and justify refusing to leave office.
Will we again face insurrection?
"Brewer gets inside the violent insurrectionists' heads as the revolution spreads. It didn't happen... but it could have!" - John Dinges, author of The Condor Wars

The prestigious Midwest Book Review "unreservedly" recommends January 6: A Novel "to community and college/university library collections" and calls it "essential reading for those with interest, in politics, terrorism, freedom..."

January 6: A Novel, by Norman Brewer

A professional interview program where new and seasoned authors in all book genres present their work to readers. Some interviews include short readings.

Choosing Ourselves, by Barbara R. Walker, Ph.D.

The Authors Show

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