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I thought I would figure it out as I go. What else is there to do?I was moved from Germany to Mexico against my will when I was 18. No slave trade, just my opinion wasn't considered much by my parents who wanted a fresh start. I decided to hate everything and everybody. But despite my best efforts, I failed. This exotic country (in my teenage/adult eyes) and its people won me over in a heartbeat, so different from anything I had known until that point. I learned a new language and studied an engineering major. Don't even get me started on that one, I hated chemistry then and now, just another life changing decision I wasn't consulted about. But against all expectations, I graduated with a good GPA.I got married, had a kid and moved to another city. I built a business and watched it fail. That didn't stop me from having another kid (and we stop right here with that). Copy and paste several more failed entrepreneurial efforts to create a legacy.Then let's squeeze in another country thanks to my "Better Half's" qualifications. Welcome to China and "ni hao ma"? I tried to learn it, how hard could it be? Languages are my forte. Well, not that one. I declared defeat after three months. But again, people went out of their way to help us communicate and we felt very welcome. Learning about new traditions and getting to know incredible places, I knew we were very blessed.But let's try moving once again, this time to the USA. Luckily, I spoke that language already. Yet another huge change, "Everything's bigger in Texas", right? Add a dog and a cat (why not?), so adorable, but such scoundrels both of them. By then, I was trying to guide two teenage boys through hormonal adolescence attacks hoping there would be good adults coming out of the other side and took another swing at starting a business (the developer I paid to design my app ran with my money!). Then Covid hit and we decided to move once again, this time only four states north, nothing major, in the midst of a pandemic that nobody knew anything about yet. All the while pushing to avoid routine in my marriage (as per the priest who married us) to be a good wife, mother, daughter, friend etc...and trying to stay sane.It's easy, right? Everybody does it, right? WELL, IT'S NOT! But I wouldn't change it for the world. My 47 years of existence have been filled with love and challenges, blessings and sadness, sometimes all at the same time...these emotions made me the person who I am today. And I am only just beginning! I am preparing to run a 10KM race ( I normally just run to the fridge to get my chocolate snacks) and have just finished a certification for Project Management (What???) For the first time in my life, I have written my professional resume (which looks all BUT ordinary) and next week, I will go to school to license myself as a Realtor. A new opportunity fell into my lap, without looking for it and I am grateful and excited.Time to grow, time to start new, time to learn, it is NEVER too late! Don't let ANYBODY tell you what you can or cannot do! Be a little crazy sometimes! What happened in Las Vegas will not always stay in Las Vegas and comes back as a PERMANENT tattoo. This is my journey through the craziness of life, it has to be fun or else it's not worth living.Come with me through this book to live in Germany, Mexico, China and the USA. The world is a great place, so let's get to know it!

A neophyte reporter, William Weston III, assigned to cover the U.S. army's search for Pancho Villa, quickly becomes entangled with a bull-of-the-woods lumberjack named Monte Segundo and Rosa del Carmen Fernandez Bustamonte, a fiery captain in the revolutionary army.Together the trio plunge into the heart of the Mexican Revolution, Monte seeking revenge for the murder of his parents, Rosa struggling to justify the barbarism of Villa, and William attempting to find his place in a world he never knew existed. Each quest meets with failure and yet their fateful alliance is destined to change the course of history.

A family in transition is moving to a strange new concept of life. From isolation and freedom, to small town living, the children are used to wild animals, snakes, hills to climb and no close neighbors for miles. They will soon be confined to a home with untouchable, elegant furniture, rooms with wall-to-wall books, china dishes and crystal figurines, which are not to be touched. Houses as high as the lower mountain ranges that surrounded their one story family home in Wyoming, are seen on the streets of the Midwestern home of their Grandmother and her new husband. They are rancher's children, not used to all the restraints on their lives. There is a rift between the families, that needs to be healed, but has been allowed to fester for several years. Grandmother is stern and haughty and is not looking forward to taking in three wild children, plus a daughter in law she has never met. She does not know that they have several surprises for her.Grandfather is a gentle giant that hopes to broker a peace between son and mother, but must tread with a light step, or lose his chance of having a happy wife and grandchildren, whom he wants to enjoy and delight in. How they move to make these changes, and adapt to the needs and wants of all concerned, is a bigger challenge than they anticipated.A beautiful, prize winning flower garden, is a point of contention. Flowers are to be looked at only, not touched or picked. Three flights of stairs inside the house are a mountain climbing experience the children make into a wonderful conquest. Trees so tall, you can see the leaves and branches from the highest windows, are a view into a new world. Small furry animals that scurry along the branches of the trees, feeding their babies, can be seen.The rift continues after accidental happenings change the course of the relationships, in a major way. How the families deal with each occurrence is both unsettling and unique. Grandmother finds herself drawn to her granddaughter, in spite of the child's earsplitting, scream that irritates and frustrates her. The child is the delight of her grandfather, and has his heart. This will be a major obstacle to be overcome, for the grandparents.

Edward R. Morrow once said, "Anyone who isn't confused [about Vietnam] really doesn't understand the situation." For many this quote is as true in 2023, on the 50th Anniversary of the war's "end," as it was when the war ended; therefore, it now seems timely to take another look at all this confusion. The "situation" in Vietnam was, to be sure, confusing to many who wanted to know, from the very beginning, why the United States became involved in those foreign rice paddies some 7,000 miles away, and it was equally confusing, at the end, to many who wanted to know why the United States, after it lost so much blood and treasure, abandoned its ally to communism in 1975. In an attempt to address these and other questions this account begins years before America became involved in Vietnam and ends years after it left. The Vietnam War proved to be a watershed moment in American history and I have picked this anniversary year to look back in time through a geopolitical lens to try and better understand that era. And, a better understanding of that moment in time might also prove helpful to understanding current events because past could well become prologue when it comes to completing unfinished business in Afghanistan and when it comes to ending the war in Ukraine.

Jennifer is lingering in Paris, avoiding the distress of her father's deterioration with ALS and hoping for a commitment from her boyfriend Guillaume when she receives a curt email informing her of her father's death.She catches the first direct flight to DFW, where she's met by her father's caretaker, Jase, an attractive but reticent young man she later learns is limited by Asperger's syndrome. Home in Preston Hollow, an affluent suburb of Dallas, she's met by the tearful cook/housekeeper Juanita, her surrogate mother. Inside, she finds Ross, her father's longtime friend, lawyer and money manager, and Tom, the groundskeeper, who was at a rehearsal when her father died ostensibly by a self-inflicted pistol shot through his brain.Ross and his charming wife Monica accompany Jen to the visitation at an upscale funeral parlor, where she meets Harlan, the handsome, charming, spiffily-dressed neighbor in the new "palazzo" across the alley, sees a demonstration of Jase's devotion to her father and Tom's support of his younger friend, topped by the visit of two of Dad's dishonest political adversaries, both drunk and boisterous.The interment at a modest cemetery in nearby Collin County where Dad grew up, is less eventful, but Tom is one of the pallbearers, an indication Ross recognizes his importance to her father. Harlan attends and she finds his consolation a bit effusive and over-rehearsed.When Harlan takes a seat at the family table during the post-funeral buffet Jen is a bit miffed. She is even more annoyed when her Uncle Ockie (Great Uncle Oscar), the only other survivor of her family recognizes Tom, who is quietly serving guests by replenishing their beverages, as a trusted friend.She is dismayed when Harlan produces a will leaving most of Dad's estate to his Center for Religious Understanding.Jase, a gifted pianist, is also proficient with a computer keyboard, finds evidence that Harlan is nearly bankrupt. He persuades Jen to attend a performance of Camino Real at the Bathhouse, in which Tom plays Kilroy, and she recognizes his talent and she is falling in love with him.Tom continues to keep his distance.She decides to investigate Harlan more closely, pretends she intends to return to Paris to marry Guillaume and asks for Harlan's advice about selling her house. He invites her to dinner at his scantly- furnished mansion, she has too much wine and overplays her hand by stealing Harlan's most valued possession, a platinum Rolex.When Harlan comes to reclaim it and threatens her with a pistol Jase intervenes and is seriously wounded. Tom comes to their rescue and saves Jase's life by stanching his wound.The police find a missing RFID card on Harlan that had been used to gain entrance at the time of Dad's death, and Jen and Harlan become a local cause célèbre.Tom gets an offer from a Hollywood casting director who has seen his performance in Camino and departs, but Jen remains hopeful and concentrates on promoting Jase's career as an amateur pianist.

Blake Simpson is a gifted twelve-year-old boy who loves to draw and paint. He dreams of being a successful artist one day.Rocco Marciano is an all-star pitcher for his Little League team. His dream is to pitch in college and then move on to the majors.Their fathers have different plans in mind for their sons, and they try to bully them down those alternative paths, paths that they had chosen for themselves many years ago. By forcing them to follow in their footsteps, they'd be living through the boys, attempting to fulfill their own dreams, especially the half-realized ones.Blake and Rocco form a tight bond because of their common plight, and they strive to stand up to their iron-willed fathers once and for all.

In the quaint southern town of Petal, Mississippi, Joe Ellis Keene is surrounded by a cast of colorful characters. There's a UFO chasing constable, a wise one-armed gardener, Cap'n Graybeard, a music loving macaw, and the "old farts" at The Country Kitchen, who are determined to keep secret the location of an impending explosives demolition.School's out and twelve-year-old Joe Ellis is rollicking through a summer of hilarious adventures with his dog, Sam, and best friend, Jimmy, until a horrible secret shatters childhood illusions. Their friend, Petal, named for their hometown, is being pimped out for drugs by her alcoholic father, Rand Watson. With his secret love for Petal, a manipulative character defect and a penchant for revenge against bullies, Joe Ellis becomes disturbingly obsessed with vengeance. After Watson attempts to kill his beloved Sam, Joe Ellis and Jimmy devise and carry out a vicious plan of retribution which goes terribly wrong. As the boys agonize over possible criminal ramifications for the scheme's unforeseen outcome, Joe Ellis, confounded by a daughter's unconditional love for her abusive father, fears that Petal will despise him should she discover the truth of his actions.Set in 1975, in small-town America, with a rope swing and a swim-hole, Friday nights at the skating rink, trespassing to fish a farmer's pond, daredevil challenges and Dixie Youth baseball, PETAL: Revenge Is Never Free is sure to delight and entertain readers of all ages.

Travis Riggins is living the American dream. He has a sexy wife, a sexier truck and a beautiful home set upon a spread of suburban loveliness, and he's obsessed with protecting both it and his sense of invulnerability against an adversarial world.Yet despite his security cameras and iron gates an intruder manages to breach his defenses, not from without but from below; while digging in his garden, Travis' shovel makes a chilling find, the likes of which he dares not share with the world. It's a discovery which proves but the first of many for Travis, one that launches a series of unearthings which will not be limited to what's buried beneath his feet.Employing equal measures of psychological thriller, historical mystery and social commentary, The Unearthing Of Mr. Diggins breaks through the sculpted facade of Travis' bucolic paradise and explores the secret gardens of the mind, where preconceived notions of race, religion and our most cherished values are challenged and reexamined. Blending elements of humor and horror, Mr. Diggins plunges deep into the murky corners of one man's unexamined life, exposing his secrets to the open air while forcing the reader to stare into its unforgiving mirror.From its first unsettling discovery to its shocking conclusion, The Unearthing Of Mr. Diggins throws its shovel blade against the big questions, revealing our hidden selves and the destructive weeds which infest our psycho-emotional Edens. Prepare to find what's buried in the dirt... and in the deeper soil of the heart.

This is a coming-of-age story, viewed through the lens of 1980s culture. The title Racecourse Oranges is a metaphor for the central theme of the book. It dwells on class and age, sexuality and celibacy. It is about a bicycle racer that is allergic to oranges but he desperately wants to eat a slice during a race. He encounters a woman that he realizes will likely cause him trouble. Despite the inevitable consequences, he eats the orange slice.

Gone with the Train is an historical fiction novel. It is an adventure/action book that begins in Florida when a drought killed many people living there during the early 1920s. Those people that survived the drought fled Florida. Two teenagers in particular, Sally and David, decided to leave Florida without their uncle who they were living with because they did not want to go to North Carolina with him.Instead, they hopped on a freight train and were missing from their loved ones for about a year and a half.Towards the end of their dangerous railroad journey, Sally and David were rescued by soldiers and stayed at an Army Post at the United States-Canada Border called Fort Evergreen.Near the end of the book, David and Sally escaped the soldiers and officers at Fort Evergreen. However, Evergreen soldiers and a private investigator named Ben Wilkens were doing everything they could to find them.Then in the end, the private eye and soldiers saw the teens in North Carolina but they still couldn't catch them. Once again, Sally and David escaped from the adults, jumped onto a freight train there and were gone with the train.

Hutch Worthington is the son of a good man who made one mistake and is sent to Australia on a convict ship. At seven, most of his family perish from typhoid fever, and he is left in the care of his older brother.Branded as the son of a convict, Hutch is bullied by his classmates and tormented by his unhappy teacher who dislikes his job and feels he made a mistake coming to Australia.Hutch secretly admires the courage of Sheila, a fellow pupil who is teased by other students because she has polio. Together, they form a secret bond of friendship.A chance meeting with an archaeology professor, Edmond McCormick, changes Hutch's life. Over time, the professor becomes a mentor to Hutch. Together, Hutch and Professor McCormick embark on an adventure across the Pacific Ocean, stopping in Hawaii and on to San Francisco in 1864.A mysterious Turquoise Bottle and a curious map help guide them on their adventure to find mysterious treasures in the Nevada Indian territory.

Entrenched in the teachings of the Church and enriched by the Bible is an untapped wealth of truth and what Pope Pius XI in his encyclical Casti Connubii calls "supernatural powers" concerning sacramental marriage that awaits those willing to undergo the journey. In this book, The "Supernatural Powers" in the Marriage Sacrament, those who seek will indeed find that through a systematic and tenable development of marriage, its mystery is not only illustrated and unveiled, but perpetuated in the supernatural gifts that Christ has embedded in this vocational Sacrament. Throughout these pages, as the marital union unfolds through the lens of Christ across the Old and New Testaments, Christian spouses will be moved by the depth of their own calling and inspired with renewed vigor to pick up the torch and to live out that life - a life which has been ordained by God in holiness as a truly unique and efficacious revelation of the redeeming power of Christ. In Part I of The "Supernatural Powers" in the Marriage Sacrament, the first seven chapters are specifically designed to led deacons, catechists, and lay Catholics - especially husbands and wives - to learn through a gradual yet intensively biblical and theological journey towards the unveiling of the unique redeeming gift to spouses - that which is seen, established and empowered through Christ at the Cross. Here one finds the specific dynamics of that Sacramental gift unpacked, and the sound spiritual evidence laid out for why there is such an absence of this marital fruit in our modern era. In Part II, Poulin then unpacks in greater detail how marriage and the gender of husband and wife serve as a revelation about man, salvation, and the Blessed Trinity; and just how the religious life falls within that plan without contradiction or constraint. ¿Lastly in Part III, Jeff Poulin puts under the microscope through the lens of the Church the powerful words of St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:14 and defends the charge that the simplest Catholic explanation - that which is often dismissed - merits a serious second look!

Two months into the new reality of a worldwide pandemic, death came to collect another soul, not by way of a virus but in the form of a horrific car accident. An event that left one mom's daughter, who was three days short of finishing high school, badly broken and torn, and with a brain injury so severe, that no one gave her any chance of survival.No one freely handed out any encouragement or optimism about the present, let alone the future, and watching her daughter sway between life and death for several weeks should have broken this mom's foundation of faith, but instead it became the catalyst that pushed her into a self-imposed quest to find joy and positivity, something she knew she would need to help her get through the grueling days that viciously waited ahead of her.Through her daily writing, she chronicles the daunting journey of the darkest and toughest emotional and mental walk of her life, but it would in due course bring her the joy she sought after, strengthen her faith, and ultimately get her to the impossible; witnessing the miraculous gains in her daughter's physical and cognitive healing.

Rachel Chance is happy with her life in Glen Falls, Indiana with her retired racing Greyhound Abby and her gray cat Dancer. She left a high stress job in social work and is still stinging from the betrayal that led her to divorce a husband she realized she did not know after all. Now Rachel is managing rental properties for her stepfather and selling real estate.Rachel's life is predictable. Daily walks take her past her neighbors including Charley and his Greyhound Gooch. Every Saturday is a trip to the dog park so Abby can play with her Greyhound friends. Most Sundays involve helping her friend Stephen with his kennel business. A year after her divorce, Rachel appreciates the way her life has settled into comfortable patterns. Then a murder occurs in her neighborhood. The victim is Gerald Price, the brother- in-law of her neighbor Carol. He is killed in a house that Rachel manages for her stepfather, a house just a few doors from Rachel's. When Carol comes under suspicion, Rachel vows to help her. When a friend needs help, Rachel doesn't even need to think about it. She commits to assist in any way needed. She's joined by Will, a new love interest who has recently moved back to Glen Falls. Together, Rachel and Will come up with a plan to find out who might have killed Gerald.Rachel finds that Carol's family has lots of money but lots of secrets as well. Carol's father Donald Morris amassed a fortune before he died that included both inherited family money and the proceeds from a lucrative car dealership. Carol has been estranged from her brother William and her sister Jackie, but knows she must confront them when she is accused of stealing family money. Rachel and Will strive to uncover secrets about the family and the family business.Rachel finds that the victim, Carol's brother-in-law Gerald, was involved in schemes that may hold the key to solving the mystery. However, uncovering the truth about the schemes is not easy. Rachel and Will know some people are lying, but who and about what? Finding who had a motive to kill Gerald is hidden in a web of lies.When Carol's niece Allison disappears, Rachel and Will suspect it has something to do with the murder. Allison's father, William, doesn't seem concerned and Rachel wonders why not. The mystery becomes more complex, and the stakes are even higher as Allison's life may be in danger.As they search for clues about who killed Gerald, Rachel and Will hear a story about lost treasure belonging to George Rogers Clark that may be hidden on property owned by Carol's family. They rely on Rachel's friend Charley, an expert in local history, to help them discover whether the story about a lost treasure could be true. And a motive for murder.Although Rachel and Will find out more details about Gerald's life, they are no closer to finding out who killed him. Plenty of people had a motive for killing Gerald, but each new lead comes to a dead end. When Rachel and Will are summoned to the police department, they are warned to stop investigating, but Rachel will not stop as long as her friend Carol is under suspicion.As Rachel and Will continue to seek answers, Rachel is faced with a new danger. A cunning killer had been hiding in plain sight all along. In a dramatic confrontation, Rachel's life is on the line. Her beloved Greyhound Abby may be Rachel's last hope of escaping from the killer.

Each year millions of animals are killed or maimed by forest fires. Houses are destroyed and people are left homeless or trapped by the hot blazing heat.Morgan, a North American porcupine, born in the hills of the Adirondacks awoke one morning to the scent of smoke. His trusty friend Isabelle had left earlier, before the fire erupted, to meet with a church group to hike to the waterfalls.Volunteers raced to the campground on the east side of the mountain to form teams to fight the fires. Amid the raging inferno and monster dense clouds, a sky angel appeared instructing Morgan to enter the mountain, on the west side and follow a trail to a cave called the Black Hole.Along the way, he met Black Diamond, a significant ingenious crow, who gave additional instructions, about entering the darkness of the cave and a special rock that would help light his way.Morgan encountered bravery on this journey, more so than ever before. His courage gave him purpose to believe in himself. He knew scorching fires lay ahead while unknown dangers such as deadly rattlesnakes, fisher cats, and burning trees would threaten his life.Through pure determination, a keen sense of smell, discovering evidence to an arsonist and, using good judgment Morgan never gave up. He never knew if he would find the church group but he knew also they may never be found if he didn't try.

This book of tiny stories is the third in an ever-expanding series. The author dances through tall grass as she shares the experiences of a soul triggered by the 'who am I and why am I here' question.Mystical moments, happy happenings and joyful oracles reveal themselves in every dance of words across page.Simple, ordinary language has become her trademark style, as she artfully crafts stories and poems which transports the reader along this soul adventure.Stories are birthed out of everyday living, and demonstrate the beauty and magic in the mundane, an experience missed by many.

None of Your Business! is a novel about the richest business leader in the world, John Mako, spanning one year of absurdist changes to our society with the goal of being both entertainingly thoughtful and outside the box. Nowadays as businesses and global corporations have more and more power, it allows them unprecedented influence and control in society. What if the leaders of one of those companies - or specifically, the richest and most powerful business leader in the world, had a sudden epiphany and dedicated himself wholly to making the world a better place?¿What if the world's premiere business leader spent all of their resources on transforming society? This novel looks at this concept through an absurdist, whimsical lens. For example, taking the concept of Work/live situations like real factories abroad but satirizing the concept. Or actual stores of 'Free Stuff' to parody the concept of liberal takers. This is all wrapped around John Mako's crisis of conscience.None of Your Business! - can be categorized as satirical fiction, with the elements of a self-help-book. A blend of Kurt Vonnegut, Philip K. Dick, and Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, it's a book meant to be absurdist, thought-provoking, and provocative. Is this really the future of business, or whose business? Or maybe that's None of Your Business!

Cathy Simms was sold to a pornographer as a child. As a teenager she lived enslaved by a brutal pusher-pimp named Daddy Jones. One day a young Christian man tried to lead her away from a seedy hotel to a safe house, but was beaten to death by the pimp's brother, who then turned his wrath upon her. She was rescued by a kickboxer named John Starr, but a gun battle ensues drawing the attention of the police.Cathy and several girls were rescued that day, but Daddy Jones escapes. Cathy and John marry but she gradually discovers she has married a cold man, who can show little affection other than a flicker of a smile. They have a beautiful daughter named Rachel. Her dad takes a job as a Forest Ranger in a sparsely populated visual paradise called Brightwater Bay. They want to escape the possibility of a vengeful Daddy Jones and Starr's fears that he might become a loose cannon living in the city. Rachel has but a few friends, all living on the west side of Brightwater except Quentin, a boy her age next door.Quentin is enchanted by her beauty, but that's as far as it goes, because he's not into the mushy stuff-yet. The children and a monk, standing on a nearby turret, see a vision of a glittering light and a black circle floating in the tree tops their first day together. This is an omen that they are to become part of the supernatural warfare between good and evil. Quentin does befriend Rachel and eventually falls in love. But he encounters enemies such as a stuck-up rich girl, a joker, a bully, unusual circumstances, and the devil himself.

People often pull me aside to say they have an idea for a story I should write. Story ideas come to me in every way except that way. I've learned to listen for an emerging tale when my mind is creating. Sometimes the idea for a complicated novel arises from that mass of gray matter, and I hurry to write down the central theme. Often-like in this collection of short stories, there's an urgency to start writing immediately and get it done fast. A short story might barge in between two chapters of a novel. I give it plenty of air, treat it tenderly, and write it. Handful of Pencils fiction is for readers seeking a short creative interlude. Read one story at a time, or all of them at once. The stories are varied and include settings in Spain, Italy, England, and America.¿This book contains the best of those stories.

A Doc Who JotsPart of an article in 1996, by George S. Poehlman M.D., noted: "Always ask your patients about something that is totally nonmedical before closing out the patient encounter. You will ensure that your life's work is made up of more than simply treating disease. You will become an amateur anthropologist on whom people's stories are bestowed. This is what makes men and women of medicine wise." Doing just that led to a renewed appreciation, by this family physician, for his medical career. It did not add a significant amount of time to an encounter, and he started to briefly record, in a journal, some of the interactions that he felt were worth remembering and documenting. There are encounters included from the office, as well as from the homes of patients. The first three books, derived from the journal, were entitled "Patients Say the Darndest Things." (BookLocker.com: book #1: 2003, book #2: 2006, book #3: 2009.) He changed the title for this collection. All names (or initials) of the patients have been changed. He acknowledges that many interactions with patients do not have as pleasant an outcome as is depicted in most of the encounters included in this collection. However, some will illustrate the ability to tease out some unique, uplifting, or funny aspects that arise during many patient encounters, even during a hectic day. As a result, many days of patient care may be much better than they might have been otherwise. A few of the entries are not from patient encounters.He also included some personal reflections at the end, including a couple sections on how he navigated through grieving and bereavement after the unexpected death of his first wife. He greatly benefited reading how others dealt with their own loss. He hopes someone might benefit from reading his journey.

Ephraim Fox was born in Barboursville, Knox County, Kentucky, to Nicholas and Sara Fox. Ephraim's grandfather Benjamin had been adopted into the well-known Virginia Fox family who populated much of Kentucky and Tennessee. Whether it was the adoption of Benjamin or another reason that has been forgotten centuries ago, his eldest son Nicholas was not close to his immense extended family. When Ephraim was 21, he moved with his parents and all but one married sister, to Missouri. Nicholas died within a couple years. When Ephraim was 30 he brought his family across the Oregon Trail, in 1852. There, 2000 miles from the United States, Ephraim made a new beginning for his family in Oregon. No one knew the past; they only knew Ephraim, the man. Family secrets and turmoil was left behind and never spoken of again. It was Ephraim alone, who established a Virginia Fox family in Oregon.Just as the Fox family reached Oregon, bubbling hostility between Native tribes and American settlers were only beginning to worsen. In 1853-1854, the generational hatred fueling deadly back and forth confrontations led to several deadly battles between regular army and volunteer troops, and the Natives. In 1855 when hostilities were perceived to threaten the settlements in Oregon, Ephraim, his brother John, and two brother-in-law's named Bunch, enlisted in the provisional sponsored mounted volunteers. The group was involved in the First Meadows Battle.Ephraim raised two families in Oregon. He saw port towns develop, and some wash away in Willamette River flooding. He saw the heyday of steamers on the river, and he saw the iron horse retire them.Ephraim Fox took his place as a humble farmer at a table of Oregon pioneers who had distinguished themselves in their communities. He was proud of that identity. Even so, the world had become a different, unrecognizable place to him by the time he grew old, the population grew, industrialization loomed, and morality suffered. He came from a time dominated by the Great Awakening, when divorce was rare, and alcoholism even rarer. If Ephraim found himself in a cramped world, it was only because pioneers had reached the sun setting on the Pacific Ocean, and there was nowhere else to go. The effect of the era of industrialization on his sons would be stark.Then, at a time when he should have been sitting on his porch with grandkids on his lap with a faithful dog napping nearby Ephraim faced the ruination of all he had worked for. When two sons earned themselves jail time, and ended up spending it with their childhood chum, the first person in Oregon accused of patricide, all hell broke loose in newspapers all over the state. The public fiasco created a tide of embarrassment and needless humiliation that washed over the family.In his 70's, stooped over with rheumatism, plagued by strokes and half crippled, with his life's work and family reputation on the line, Ephraim Fox, stepped forward, to set things right.

NEXT STOP - UNKNOWN is a compilation of imaginative short stories with the feel and flavor of "The Twilight Zone"... fantastical and disjointed tales, each different from the next. Stories comprise eerie, supernatural and mystical events, science fiction drama, shifting time periods, dark fantasy, gothic horror; even with a bit of romance and a touch humor added into the mix.The reader is often surprised by the unexpected twist or surprise ending that he or she is faced with, leading them to realize, "I never saw that coming!" Characters exhibit the same attributes that we all have - to one extent or another. Perhaps more so here: greed, envy, narcissism, egotism, pride, bigotry, arrogance. Some may also exhibit love, friendship, loyalty. How the characters use their traits and desires are the main points that drive each story; but to what end?

The first in a trilogy of books about the founding of the U.S. Navy, The Founding Fathers at Odds: The Quasi-War, is told in the form of a memoir from the vantage point of young South Carolinian of Scottish descent from the Waxhaws who goes to sea and is later impressed into the British Navy.This first work, spans the tumultuous era of the Quasi-War with France, the writing of the United States' Constitution, and the birth, in the United States, of partisan politics, which becomes increasingly bitter and divisive.The second volume, entitled Dueling Brothers, Dueling Countries, and The Lure of Empire: The Barbary Pirates, recounts the War with the Barbary Pirates, the rise of Aaron Burr, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson, while the third volume, entitled, Free Trade and Sailors' Right: The War of 1812, covers the Second War of Independence (the War of 1812). The second volume should be out later this year of 2023, with the final volume to follow in 2024.The oldest of large family, James goes to sea sailing on a merchantman, while his brothers and sisters have roles to play as shipwrights under Joshua Humphreys, building the frigates that will serve the nation so well, such as the Constellation and the Constitution, or in serving in the militia under Andrew Jackson, or running the family's farm and other businesses.The setting in the Waxhaws, the site of an infamous massacre during the Revolution, and the clan's father and grandfather, having fought at both King's Mountain and at Cowpens under Daniel Morgan, grounds the novel in the era following the American Revolution.The spirit of partisan politics even divides James' family, with his brother John becoming a correspondent of Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and James Madison, while the patriarch of the family is longtime friend and admirer of Alexander Hamilton.When James is impressed by the British Navy, he finds himself under the cruel tutelage of Lieutenant Campbell and the equally sinister Sailing Master William Samuelson. Floggings and other punishments, such as mastheading during a vicious storm, are only some of the measures Campbell and Samuelson take in order to torment and hopefully kill young James.While James fights against the French in the British Navy, Captain John Truxtun defeats two French frigates in one-on-one ship battles during the Quasi-War.At home, his younger brother, John, who has always despised James, not only courts the intended of James, the prominent and wealthy Patience Pendleton, but also tries to displace James as the eldest son in their father's eyes and their father's businesses. John, over the wishes of his father and the objections of the rest of the family invests in slaves to work their landholdings.This is the era where the relationship between the United States and France deteriorates, with the diplomats of France demanding huge bribes, merely to start diplomatic talks in the infamous X, Y, Z Affair. John Adams becomes aware that his Vice President and best friend, Thomas Jefferson, has been intriguing with France, counter to the policy of President Adams to court Great Britain and its secure some of its vast world trade network.While Great Britain fights Napoleon, among other naval adventures, our young sailor, James, fights the French fleet at Aboukir Bay in Egypt under Admiral Lord Nelson, learning the British naval tactics, discipline, and signals, which he later brings to the U.S. Navy during the War of 1812.If James can survive his servitude in the British Navy and come home, what will he find? His love stolen? His inheritance stolen?

What is it like to cast off your professional and social moorings, sail across an ocean and re-establish a new life in a place like Tahiti? Climb aboard the yacht Cherish and experience with loved ones and friends the awesomeness of sea and sky, calm and a mid-Pacific typhoon, memories and future dreams. This book is the third in the series of the Stockton family sailing adventures. It is also a love story that is possible but not probable - you be the judge. The time frame is 2018, prior to our world pandemic, but at a time when all the world is in chaos and the Stocktons seek and hopefully find peace and fulfillment doing what they love with the ones they love. Let this story awaken you to another kind of life for this is about what dreams are made of. Aloha.

Graeme Stockbridge is America's best TV journalist and nightly news anchor, unequalled in talent and charisma. He's at the height of his career.But now, Graeme would like to drastically slow down whenever he's off the air. Rather than doing the news from the constant tumult of his network's studios, Graeme decides he wants to broadcast year-round from a small working ranch in semi-rural Idaho.Instead of being caught in the noisy rush of big city life, he wants to continue his work but also to enjoy farming, ranching and nature while living near Hiram, a small Idaho town where neighborliness is key.In his free time, Graeme wants to take long, traffic-free walks in the quiet countryside, try his hand at agriculture, rediscover photography, study birds, plants and insects, wander the canyons of the Snake River, enrich his marriage and further explore the meaning of his life.Graeme's network resists his grand idea; his wife Lara, a noted architect, also resists; and his TV-pioneer father resists. On top of that, not everyone in the little town of Hiram is as welcoming as one might expect.Far from it.Hiram and the surrounding areas have many charming residents and more than a few slightly-oddball types, mostly harmless and often fun. But there are also those people who like to flaunt their rights under Idaho's open-carry law, those who like to challenge all levels of government and those who keep parts of their lives well-hidden-for good reason.In seeking to move away from the ultra-fast pace of network news in Los Angeles and New York, Graeme sets in motion a serious of events which lead to tragedy, and which take him and Lara into a world of secrets and danger.The novel goes behind the scenes into control rooms and studios during major television broadcasts, into the adrenalin-infused complexities of covering of a national news crisis, into the machinations of corporate boardrooms and out into the remarkable Idaho countryside-a world of dramatic scenery, incredible raptors and an amazing insect, the dragonfly.HOVER POINT is told with Eric Wallace's usual flair, quiet humor and gorgeous prose. It is an intriguing mixture of drama, philosophical observations, lyricism, wit and suspense, with a great lineup of characters, including an operatic pathologist, an enigmatic sheriff, a sociopathic university professor and a border collie named, not without good reason, Trepidation.