Highlights from the offerings to be found here, our fifth PW Select, include: (trumpet please!) our first title to receive a starred review, Audrey Lynn’s novel about a Russian soldier returning from Afghanistan; an exciting medical thriller about illegal trafficking in venomous snakes; Vivian Yang’s fictional memoir about a Chinese teenager set during WWII and after; an important work by two pioneers in autism research and treatment; and many more that altogether reflect the diversity of interests and enthusiasms that find voice through self-publishing.

Art

Pistils and Poetry: Elizabethan Poetry and Images of Flowers.
Rolf Margenau. Frogworks Publishing. $18.95 paper (94p), ISBN 978-0-615-47763-3
www.frogworks.com
Poems by Spenser, Marlowe, Donne, Shakespeare, and more are juxtaposed with Margenau’s own photographs of flowers to show the delicacy of both poetical and botanical form.

Autobiography & Biography

Baghdad ER: Fifteen Minutes.
Todd Baker, M.D. Gray Fox Publishing. $15 paper (372p), ISBN 978-0-578-06992-0
www.BaghdadER.com
Dr. Baker spent 15 months as the chief of emergency medicine at Ibn Sina hospital near Baghdad, treating often severely injured American military personnel. In this gripping account, the urgency of quick and effective medical intervention was a matter of life and death.

Lone Holdout: A Memoir.
Linda Cox. Charles Street Press. $15 paper (266p), ISBN 978-0-9843733-0-7
Amazon
Cox, a bookseller from Boston, found herself serving on a jury for a cocaine-trafficking trial. She was the lone holdout against conviction of a Hispanic man. Her book has been a favorite of several book clubs in New England.

Swept: Love with a Chance of Drowning.
Torre DeRoche. Gauguin Media. $16.95 paper (320p), ISBN 978-0-615-52111-4
Amazon
A true story about how one girl confronted her deepest fears about love by jumping aboard a leaky sailboat for the adventure of a lifetime.

Yesterday’s Asylum: Reflections of Lunacy.
J.D. “Donnie” Fink. Vantage Press. $24.95 hardcover (244p), ISBN 978-0-533-16383-0
Amazon
Fink looks back at his life, beginning in 1959, when his family moved to New East Pines, Md. In relating tales of his friends and adventures over the next 12 years, he offers readers a look back at simpler times.

The Pig & Me.
Lindsay Frucci. Square Hill Publishing. $14.99 paper (320p), ISBN 978-0-615-42822-2
Amazon
Frucci launched No Pudge!, a fat-free fudge brownie mix, from her farmhouse kitchen and grew a multimillion dollar business. Along the way she met a smart, confident woman—herself.

Triumph and Tragedy: The Life of Edward Whymper.
Emil Henry. Troubador Publishing Ltd. U.K. $19.95 paper (464p), ISBN 978-1-84876-578-8
Amazon; BN.com
The biography of the best-known climber of the Victorian era’s Golden Age of Mountaineering, who made the first ascent of the Matterhorn, in 1865.

Navigating the Course: A Man’s Place in His Time.
David Fanshel. Valley Meadow Press. $25 paper (254p), ISBN 978-0-9723269-6-4
Amazon
Fanshel’s life story, from his Bronx childhood in a Russian Jewish family through the Great Depression and his experiences as a navigator aboard a B-24 bomber flying sorties over Nazi targets in WWII.

Youth to Golden Age.
Vera M. Kierstead-Farber with Robert Farber. Vantage Press. $10.95 paper (46p), ISBN 978-0-533-16420-2
Amazon
The author of a trilogy of early American historical fiction relates her own love story. After caring for her husband, who suffered a stroke at 49, until his death, she meets the man she had a friendship with 70 years earlier—and love is rekindled.

Sage Was the Perfect Shadow: A Survivor’s Story.
Mona Krueger. CreateSpace. $11.99 paper (122p), ISBN 978-1-4663-9361-5
Amazon
A memoir about identity reconstruction for a girl recovering from a burn trauma.

1000:1 Odds: Memoir of a World War II Childhood.
Peter Kubicek. CreateSpace. $12 paper (89p), ISBN 978-1-4611-6971-0
Amazon
Nine years old at the beginning of WWII, the author, now a docent at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, weathered the Holocaust in wartime Slovakia, surviving six German concentration camps, two Slovakian camps, and a hunger march just before liberation.

Poisoned by Pollution: An Unexpected Spiritual Journey.
Anne Lipscomb. Author-House. $16.98 paper (192p), ISBN 978-1-4389-6502-4
Amazon; (888) 519-5121
In this inspiring memoir, Lipscomb reveals her secrets for overcoming adversity after being forced to live mostly housebound for 18 years after exposure to toxic chemicals in the workplace.

The Boy from Bothell: Bipolar Vietnam Veteran.
Gene Olson. CSNBooks (Christian Services Network). $17.95 paper (279p), ISBN 978-1-59352-554-5
CSNBooks.com; Amazon
The Vietnam War is over, but not for many Vietnam vets, including Olson, who also suffers from bipolar disorder. This is the story of his battle for sanity.

Looking Up: A Memoir of Sisters, Survivors and Skokie.
Linda Pressman. CreateSpace. $16.99 hardcover (348p), ISBN 978-1-4564-7068-5
Amazon
A humorous yet somber memoir about growing up in 1960s and ’70s Chicago, one of seven sisters and a child of Holocaust survivors.

Clips & Consequences: A Memoir.
Beth Myrle Rice. Purple Stripe Publishing. $16.95 paper (379p), ISBN 978-0-615-48151-7
www.purplestripepublishing.com
Rather than face prosecution on marijuana charges, Rice gave up all contact with her daughter, Zoey, until she turned 18. This memoir charts Rice’s path to forgiveness and her attempt to redefine herself.

Blessed Be the Ties That Bind: Freewoods Community in the 1950s.
O’Neal Smalls. Vantage Press. $24.50 paper (216p), ISBN 978-0-533-16388-5
Amazon
Freewoods, S.C., was founded by freed slaves in the 1860s. Smalls, a retired law professor, grew up there in the 1950s, and in this work, based on his memories and extensive interviews, he chronicles the year 1955, during the early days of the civil rights movement following Brown v. Board of Education and facing the still active KKK.

The Upside of the Down Low: A Pastor’s Wife’s Memoir.
Yolanda King Stephen. No Ordinary Rose. $15 paper (154p), ISBN 978-0-9836285-1-4
www.upsidebook.com
An unsuspecting pastor’s wife discovers her husband is having illicit relations with boys. She struggles to keep the household together as the scandal overtakes her husband, who then ends his life, while Stephen is left to recover in this story of betrayal and renewed faith.

In God We Trusted: Escape from Lithuania.
Lili Hriskevicius Tremblay. Vantage Press. $19.95 paper (179p), ISBN 978-0-533164-16-5
Amazon
Hriskevicius, born into one of the wealthiest families in Lithuania, lived a fairy tale existence in a mansion on her family’s 1,000-acre estate until first the Soviets, then the Germans, took over her country. She and her family trekked across Europe to escape WWII.

Bowls Out Goes In: Every Man for Himself.
Gil Trott. Vantage Press. $10.95 paper (144p), ISBN 978-0-533-16002-0
Amazon
Trott grew up in Bermuda in the 1930s and 1940s, moved to the U.S. where he served in an all-black battalion during WWII, returned to Bermuda, and worked in corporate America. His title is drawn from a popular sandlot cricket game based on the principle of “every man for himself.”

The Journal of Unemployment Studies.
Celia Scher Wagner. Lulu.com. $14.95 paper (126p), ISBN 978-0-557-53508-8
Lulu.com; Amazon
Where else can you find unemployment haiku? A laugh-and-wince wisecracking book to accompany smart people on the job-hunt trail. “Why does a search on/ ‘Business Analyst’ bring back/ Nanny Wanted ad?”

Still Time to Live: A Biography of Jack Belden.
Gary G. Yerkey. GK Press. $14.99 paper (310p), ISBN 978-0-615-45888-5
Amazon
A biography of the legendary “mad and gifted” American war correspondent Jack Belden (1910–1989), who reported for Time-Life and other U.S. news organizations from China, Burma, North Africa, and Europe in the 1930s and 1940s.

Body, Mind & Spirit

Messages of Hope: Metaphysical Memoir of a Most Unexpected Medium.
Suzanne Giesemann. One Mind Books. $19.95 paper (278p), ISBN 978-0-9838539-1-6
OneMindBooks.com
A story of transformation, Messages of Hope shares the compelling transition of a former Navy commander into a practicing evidential medium.

Beyond the Myth: How to Live the Life You Desire.
Maria T. Holmes. Beyond the Myth. $24.95 hardcover (60p), ISBN 978-0-9830946-0-9
beyondthemythbook.com
How to embrace and harness the principles of desire, visualization, gratitude, belief, and faith.

Business & Economics

Lose Your Broker Not Your Money.
Dan Calandro. Lose Your Broker LLC. $27.95 hardcover (220p), ISBN 978-0-9836613-0-6
www.loseyourbroker.com
Calandro untangles the mystery of successful investing by providing a market-based solution that is easy to understand, simple to use, and produces superior performance.

Building a Life, Building a Business: A Memoir & Workbook.
Karen Lorene. Lorene Publications. $18.50 paper (292p), ISBN 978-0-9618302-1-2
(206) 624-6768
Amazon; Blurb.com
Forty years of business balanced with 40 years of living: delusion to ecstasy all in one book.

The Monopoly Method: An Insider’s Guide to Navigating Wall Street and Becoming a Better Investor.
Greg J. McCall. Rock Crest Capital. $9.99 paper (146p), ISBN 978-0-615-49397-8
Amazon
“McCall’s strategy of focusing on monopolists has the dual virtues of being both intellectually compelling and also right. Plus, he’s got that rare attribute: a Wall Street guy who can speak in the language of the rest of us.”—Duff McDonald, contributing editor at Fortune magazine.

Family & Relationships

Seduction Redefined: A Guide to Creative Collaboration of the Feminine and Masculine.
Donna Oehm Sheehan and Paul Reffell. Pioneer Imprints. $19 paper (248p), ISBN 978-0-9818318-7-9
www.seductionredefined.com
As the authors see it, there are two problems on the planet—women and men. Witty solutions to save our species, involving seduction, sex, brain science, and empathy.

Fiction

Poor Man’s Out.
Mark Affif. Cityglow Publishing. $14.95 paper (304p), ISBN 978-0-9831628-0-3
www.cityglowpublishing.com
A young Lebanese-American’s handicap prevents him from joining in America’s WWII effort, but not from trying for prizefighting glory as a middleweight. Based on a true story.

The Return.
Maggie Allen. Outskirts Press. $14.95 paper (208p), ISBN 978-1-4327-6260-5
www.outskirtspress.com/thereturn
A high school graduate travels to Africa to reunite with her crush from summer camp. Their tour group encounters far more adventure than they expected.

The Ordinary Life and Extraordinary Death of Josh Turner.
David Treciak. Amberlin Press. $15.95 paper (200p), ISBN 978-0-9836694-0-1
www.davidtreciak.com
What happens to us after we die? This book answers that question, and many more, as we share in Josh’s final days on Earth as he careens through the cosmos with an all-knowing extraterrestrial named Max, who offers to reveal the secrets of the universe—if you ask nicely.

Obeste: The Biography of Sissy Weathers.
Victoria Barlow. JLWalters. $28 hardcover (108p), ISBN 978-0-557-38238-5
Amazon; Lulu.com
A young girl searches for freedom from her abusive family. Barlow’s novel addresses the largely ignored crisis of women and children forced into the sex trade as well as the health crisis—obesity—facing the United States.

Photo Shoot: A Will Porter Mystery.
Louis Barth. Vantage Press. $14.95 paper (258p), ISBN 978-0-533-16397-7
Amazon.com
Will Porter turns 50 on 9/11, watches the historic events unfold, and decides to change his life, hitting the road in an RV with his blind Welsh terrier and working as a free-lance photographer. Various events conspire to bring him in touch with Southern family traditions—both Sicilian and American.

Jane of the Jungle.
Jane Baskin. iUniverse. $20.48 paper (239p), ISBN 978-1-4620-0292-4
Amazon
A runaway nurse and a mobster fight to win a second chance at life—which will only happen if magic is real.

Jokers Club.
Gregory Bastianelli. JournalStone. $11.95 paper (200p), ISBN 978-1-936564-30-9
journalstone.com
Diagnosed with a brain tumor, Geoffrey returns to his hometown for a reunion of the Jokers Club (his childhood gang) with the hopes of unearthing his youthful imagination.

The Angel Hunter.
Jerrod Begora. iUniverse. $15.95 paper (208p), ISBN 978-1-4620-2826-9
Ingram
Lucile prays for her missing cousin. A secret society helps, but angels attack. The angels appear evil, and God is nowhere to be found.

Memories of an Emerald World.
Michael Bleriot. MacGregor Books. $11.99 paper (491p), ISBN 978-0-9833751-0-4
Amazon
Comic tales drawn from a pilot’s real-life adventures looking for drug smugglers in Central and South America.

Ultimaya 1.0: The Trouble with the Wishes of Leopold Stokes.
Saniel Bonder. Human Sun Meia. $14.95 paper (302p), ISBN 978-0-9753532-5-7
(707) 933-8466
This spiritual sci-fi fantasy with a Southern drawl chronicles a small town banker’s adventures with a computer program that promises to “fulfill his deepest wishes.”

The Teahouse by the Tracks.
Eric Schoeniger. CreateSpace. $14.99 paper (380p), ISBN 978-0-615-52960-8
Amazon
A retired widow opens a teashop and finds friendship in an unlikely collection of lost souls. But will a sudden tragedy destroy their haven?

A Medallion Sundered: Darian’s Story.
Vickie M. Briscoe. CreateSpace. $15 paper (360p), ISBN 978-1-4563-8123-3
Amazon
In a world of mortals and enchantments, young Darian finds himself turned into a horse. Thus begins a journey that walks the thin line between justice and revenge in this story of friendship.

Prophets of the Ghost Ants.
Clark Thomas Carlton. CreateSpace. $14.95 paper (399p), ISBN 978-1-4609-4904-7
Amazon
An epic sci-fi/fantasy of a distant future when humans have evolved to the size of insects and are intertwined with the insect world.

#Algorithm.
C. C. Carrington. CreateSpace. $14.95 paper (300p), ISBN 978-1-4636-2437-8
Amazon
A wild adventure into the trials and tribulations of interdimensional intrigue where bots, algorithms, and hybrids share multiple realities in a future technocratic society.

The Anaconda Complex.
Bryan Cassiday. CreateSpace. $25.95 paper (397p), ISBN 978-1-4609-0774-0
Amazon
A U.S. senator is kidnapped on his doorstep. No ransom note is left. Why? A fugitive CIA hit man is assigned to find out.

Dogs Have Angels Too.
Sarah Cavallaro. Custom Worthy Editions. $16.95 paper (218p), ISBN 978-1-935340-86-7
Amazon; BN.com; Ingram; B&T
Miss Pink, an out-of-work marketing executive who’s intermittently homeless, makes it her mission to find homes for a bevy of canines who are locked in a kill-shelter in New York City.

Two-Thousand Eighty-Four.
W. Schoellkopf. Arbor Books. $17.95 paper (295p), ISBN 978-0-9841992-2-8
Amazon
In the not-too-distant future, the richest families in the U.S. control everything, both politically and socially. But when the members of the ruling class begin to run amok, who will rein them in?

Hunt of the Sea Wolves.
John Chadwell. CreateSpace. $10.99 paper (245p), ISBN 978-1-4637-6687-0
Amazon
American and Indian Special Forces must stop terrorists who hijacked supertankers to use as weapons of mass destruction against cities in Australia, Japan, and America.

SHEgo: A Journey into Consciousness.
Tania Zaverta Chance. Outskirts Press. $14.95 paper (209p), ISBN 978-1-4327-5575-1
www.taniazavertachance.com
A beautiful, successful, yet disillusioned woman goes on a journey of self-discovery, but her painful past converges with her present to create a dramatic complication.

Destined: A Novel of the Tarot.
Gail Cleare. G&G Publications. $12 paper (348p), ISBN 978-1-4610-0776-0
Amazon; BN.com
Follow Emily’s journey to self discovery, spirit, and love, a lyrical magical-realism romance set in a contemporary multicultrual community.

22 Inches of Rain.
J. Max Cromwell. CreateSpace. $11.99 paper (304p), ISBN 978-1-4563-2373-8
Amazon
An inspirational novel about a chronic insomniac and his quest to find the meaning of life.

Safely Buried.
John Pesta. CreateSpace. $15.95 paper (388p), ISBN 978-1-4563-4447-4
Amazon
When newspaperman Phil Larrison picks up Paula, a hitchhiker with a broken leg, he is plunged into a chilling murder mystery and a terrifying adventure.

Rain.
Leigh K. Cunningham. Vivante Publishing. $12.95 paper (316p), ISBN 978-981-08-8280-8
www.leighkcunningham.com/stores/
One family’s history in a journey that spans four decades and crosses the globe.

A Culpable Innocence: The American Dream Reprised.
Anthony DeBenedict. Vantage Press. $25.95 hardcover (340p), ISBN 978-0-533-16363-2
Amazon
A story grounded in the hard reality of war’s chaos and uncertainties, yet transcendent in its themes of love, heroism, and sacrifice. The author draws upon his own experience as a decorated soldier in Vietnam and many historical sources, some of which have only recently been declassified.

The Grand Mirage.
Darrell Delamaide. Barnaby Woods Books. $13.99 paper (304p), ISBN 978-0-9839958-0-7
Amazon
A historical thriller filled with intrigue and adventure depicts British agent Lord Leighton’s efforts to thwart the construction of the Baghdad Railway in 1910.

Meeting: The Business: Journal I.
Hollie Delaney. Author House. $15.99 paper (293p), ISBN 978-1-4567-4512-7
www.victoriaslilas.com
A Native American shaman of the 14th century finds the missing part of his soul in the 21st century.

The Fetching of Spring.
Reg Down. CreateSpace. $16.50 paper (248p), ISBN 978-1-4662-6619-3
Amazon
A Parsifal tale of high adventure, awakening, with a satirical bent.

Wine Killer: A Jake Halsey Mystery.
William Edgerton. Halsey Press. $14.95 paper (328p), ISBN 978-0-9834938-0-8
Halseypress.com
Wine lover and forensic enthusiast Jake Halsey suffers a personal tragedy, sells his software business in California, and moves to Greenwich, Conn., where he begins to sense that an someone is knocking off wine lovers and destroying wine cellars. Halsey can’t resist investigating, but discovers a horrible truth along the way.

A Passel of Hate.
Joe Epley. CreateSpace. $17.95 paper (349p), ISBN 978-1-4610-7593-6
Amazon
A thriller of brother fighting brother, neighbor fighting neighbor during the American Revolutionary War in the Carolina backcountry.

Walden 3.0: A Dystopian Romance.
Phil Fragasso. Erewhon Press. $7.99 paper (180p), ISBN 978-1-4663-6548-3
Amazon
“If Steve Jobs designed a utopian community, had it filtered by Lewis Black and then painted by Picasso, it would look like Walden 3.0,” says the author.

Discordia: The Inferno Trilogy, Book 1.
Morgana Gallaway. St. Bride’s Press. $27 hardcover (453p), ISBN 978-0-9836989-2-0
www.morganagallaway.com
In this reimagining of Dante, the arch-demon Astaroth forges an unlikely alliance with Mona, a human soul he’s supposed to tempt into damnation.

Wild Blue Yonder: A Novel of the 1960s.
Jack B. Rochester. Joshua Tree Press. $13.95 paper (296p), ISBN 978-1-4565-8889-2
Amazon
A 1960s portrait of the writer as a young man, brimming with romance, existentialism, military madness, social unrest, psychedelia, and great rock ’n’ roll.

A Small, Perfect Place: A Novel of Brazil.
Arnold Gordenstein. iUniverse. $20.95 paper (340p), ISBN 978-1-4620-2093-5
Amazon; Barnes & Noble; iUniverse
A disillusioned American ex-activist retires to Brazil in the turbulent 1970s, when the military ruled, but is returned to love—and subversion.

The Miracle Chip: Are You Ready?
Stanley Grainger. Xlibris. $23.99 paper (428p), ISBN 978-1-4653-4844-9
www.themiraclechipbook.com
An exciting saga that unfolds in the near future exposing a conspiracy that could manipulate humanity into willfully surrendering its sovereignty to a One World Government.

Blue Fall.
B.B. Griffith. Griffith Publishing. $12.95 paper (503p), ISBN 978-0-9824817-4-5
griffithpublishing.com
In a secret world, the rich and powerful place wagers in the greatest and most dangerous game on Earth.

Fire in the Henhouse.
Frances Grote. Rule Bender Press. $19.95 paper (474p), ISBN 978-0-9833341-0-1
www.indiebound.org; Amazon
Humor, mystery, and redemption grace this tale of a small Pennsylvania town full of quirky characters (including a cross-dressing car dealer) who must come to grips with tragedy.

The Shadow of the Staff: A Wizard’s Revenge.
M.A. Haddad. Vantage Press. $24.95 paper (272p), ISBN 978-0-533-16111-9
Amazon
A fantasy that takes place in the mythical land of Hatu, where a new power has arisen to threaten the continent.

The Queue and Warriors: A Novella and a Trilogy of Plays.
L. Michael Hager. Xlibris. $19.99 paper (195p), ISBN 978-1-4628-7544-3
Xlibris.com; Amazon
Aging, generational conflict, and mortality are the themes that run through this novella and three one-act plays.

The Queen of Washington.
Francis Hamit. Brass Cannon Books. $32 hardcover (309p), ISBN 978-1-59595-171-7
(800) 345-6665
An alternative historical fiction about famed Confederate spy Rose O’Neal Greenhow proposes that she may already have been spying for the French and British before the Mexican War.

My Name Is Grace.
Lorraine Oman Hanover. Infinity Publishing. $15.95 paper (286p), ISBN 978-0-7414-6423-1
www.buybooksontheweb.com
Grace’s diary, written in Scotland during WWII, chronicles her tragic life and serves as a road map to the Canadian runaway who finds it.

Whispers from the Ashes.
Patricia Hester. CreateSpace. $14.60 paper (409p), ISBN 978-0-9845616-0-5
Amazon; BN.com
In this coming-of-age novel, Hester tells an emotional story of family, community, simple living, and the harsh reality of surviving hard times.

The Day Before the Berlin Wall: Could We Have Stopped It?
T.H.E. Hill. CreateSpace. $9.95 paper (176p), ISBN 978-1-4538-2514-3
www.voicesunderberlin.com/buy.html
An American sergeant has intelligence that can stop construction of the Berlin Wall, but can he survive to report it before it is too late?

Destination: Michigan.
Shelby J. Holtz, illus. by Crystal R. Holtz. Vantage Press. $16.95 (404p), ISBN 987-0-533-16438-7
Amazon
Could the likes of Bigfoot, Sasquatch, the Alligator Man, El Chupacabra, and the Jersey Devil all inhabit the same novel? For Riley, on a summer vacation in Michigan, the answer may be yes.

The Case of the Missing Cobras.
Kathy Kaye. CreateSpace. $16.50 paper (445p), ISBN 978-1-4537-2506-1
Amazon
A thriller about cornering the market on one of the world’s most exotic species while trying to solve the mysterious disappearance of Thailand’s king cobra population. Kaye is a medical writer and former managing editor of the American Medical Association.

Some Feet Not Meant for Shoes.
Pamela Klein. iUniverse. $24.95 paper (447p), ISBN 978-1-4620-1849-9
Amazon
A defiant young white woman embarks upon a mystical journey through greed, racism, and intolerance to find that in a previous lifetime she was a black slave.

Flyover Country.
Daniel Koehler. Noosphere Publishing/KSI. $2.99 paper (420p), ISBN 978-1-4523-5694-5
danielkoehler.bizland.com
In 1962, three crimes—a patricide, a bank robbery, and a kidnapping—lead to tragedy, secret sharing, redemption, and a May/September romance in flyover country.

Off the Grid.
Dan Kolbet. CreateSpace. $14.95 paper (362p), ISBN 978-1-4664-1047-3
www.DanKolbet.com
Luke Kincaid is forced to become a corporate spy on behalf of a wireless company that has allowed a vast blackout to terrorize America.

Warned.
Dustin Kuhlman. Admonish Publishing. $14.95 paper (267p), ISBN 978-0-9829489-0-3
Amazon
The worst disaster mankind has ever known may lead to a great discovery in this eco-philosophical thriller.

Lucky Shot: A Novel.
Sarah Leamy. Strategic Book Publishing. $14.50 paper (214p), ISBN 978-1-61204-684-6
Amazon
Lucky takes photos throughout the chaos of avoiding his father’s death, and losing a girlfriend, by driving cross-country alone, yet returns openhanded if reluctantly to New Mexico.

The Corcoran Affair.
Philip Lentz. iUniverse. $12.95 paper (162p), ISBN 978-0-595-33568-8
iUniverse
The Corcoran Affair is a political thriller about a conservative president who gets AIDS and the flamboyant tabloid reporter who tracks down the truth.

Suggestion of Death.
Janet Kole. CreateSpace. $12.99 paper (288p), ISBN 978-1-4637-2199-2
Amazon
This murder mystery involves pedophile priests, AIDS, and “Big Law” lawyers with a unique narrator, a former prosecutor whose gender remains unknown.

In the Days of Noah: Apophis.
Jayne Lind. CreateSpace. $8.50 paper (196p), ISBN 978-1-4499-2747-9
Amazon; B&N; Smashwords
How would you live your life if you knew you only had one year to live? This novel is set in London in 2028, a year before the near-Earth asteroid Apophis is due to make impact.

Code of Darkness.
Chris Lindberg. Lulu.com. $16.99 paper (316p), ISBN 978-1-257-80263-0
www.codeofdarkness.com
When a high-stakes black ops mission within U.S. borders goes awry, only a mysterious loner and the police officer out to arrest him can prevent the unthinkable from happening.

What Happened When Technology Went Before Morality?
Harry Lintinas. Vantage Press. $13.95 paper (135p), ISBN 978-0-522-16375-5
Amazon
This 21st-century allegory explores the question of where our technological revolution went wrong—and how a group of individuals can correct it.

Near Side of the Precipice.
Dale Lowther. CreateSpace. $18.75 paper (470p), ISBN 978-1-4563-3331-7
Amazon
A thriller about the most feared terrorist conspiracy since 9/11.

Brighter Side of Darkness.
Sylvia Maria Lucas. Page Publishing. $14.95 paper (327p), ISBN 978-0-9832212-0-3
www.sylvialucas.com
A novel centered on Donna Brown, an ambitious Creole African-American local news anchor looking for true love.

A Better Man.
Audrey Lynn. Audrey Lynn. $17.95 paper (412p), ISBN 978-0-615-44968-5
Amazon
The Soviet Union is falling apart, and so is Vladimir Verstakov, who was called to serve in Afghanistan, from which he emerges the lone survivor after a brutal battle. Back home, he must contend with constant memories of war.

Out, Out: A Novel of Women and Apes.
Kim MacQueen. Jungo Books. $15 paper (208p), ISBN 978-0-615-48182-1
kimmacqueen.com
Deb chronicles her growing obsession with a scientist in a primate lab, as the apes start acting more human, and the humans more like apes.

Lifting the Wheel of Karma.
Paul H. Magid. Point Dume Press. $15 paper (192p), ISBN 978-0-9840160-6-8
Amazon
A modern tale that harks back to the myths of antiquity, where a boy finds God in the most amazing ways.

The Tides of Time: A Novel.
M.J. Manley. Vantage. $14.95 hardcover (325p), ISBN 978-0-533-16344-1
Amazon
Manley explores the notion that if mankind would just pay more attention to the inevitable waves and catastrophic challenges, much of the world’s peril could be avoided.

Public Information: A Novel About the Korean War.
Rolf Margenau. Frogworks Publishing. $25 paper (378p), ISBN 978-1-4581-7478-9
www.frogworks.com
Wylie Cypher comes of age as a soldier during the “forgotten war.”

Kings, Queens, Heroes, & Fools: The Wardstone Trilogy, Book Two.
M.R. Mathias. CreateSpace. $17.76 paper (420p), ISBN 978-1-4636-0585-8
Amazon
A continuation of Mathias’s the Sword and the Dragon series.

The Butcher’s Boy.
Michael Robb Mathias. CreateSpace. $9.99 paper (240p), ISBN 978-1-4565-3685-5
Amazon
A haunting paranormal thriller featuring a divorcée, her 11-year-old son, an overprotective Rottweiler, and the haunted house they move into.

The Color of Heaven.
Julianne MacLean and E.V. Mitchell. CreateSpace. $13.99 paper (314p), ISBN 978-0-9868422-2-1
Amazon
A tale of one woman’s journey through the ups and downs of life, and the profound experience that unlocks the secrets of her past.

Up from Corinth: Book 2 of Journey into Darkness.
J. Arthur Moore. Xlibris. $19.99 paper (160p), ISBN 978-1-4628-7454-5
Xlibris; Amazon; Barnes & Noble
This historical fiction takes young readers into the Civil War through the experiences of a peer, Duane Kinkade, at the Battle of Shiloh and the year that follows.

Blue Moon over New Orleans.
Anna Mayhall Munding. CreateSpace. $9.35 paper (292p), ISBN 978-1-4635-6211-3
Amazon
When New Orleanian Jack Landing’s newly found love disappears in post-WWII Europe, he is thrust into a world of intrigue.

Saamaanthaa.
D.T. Neal. CreateSpace. $19.99 paper (392p), ISBN 978-1-4636-8843-1
www.saamaanthaa.com
A Chicago artist-turned-werewolf finds grisly, gleeful inspiration in her affliction while devouring the local art scene in this comic, literary jaunt through the city.

Band on the Run.
Benita Nelson. $7.99 e-book (379p), ASIN B005ZVBBIO
Amazon
Rock star Dani McKenna has it all: fame, fortune—and an extortionist. Could it be a crazed fan? Not even close; it’s the U.S. government.

Red Right Return.
John H. Cunningham, Ph.D. Wheatmark. $15.95 paper (316p), ISBN 978-1-60494-704-5
www.jhcunningham.com
In this mystery set in Key West, Buck Reilly wants three things in life: a seaplane, a treasure to find, and a woman to rescue.

Tree Soldier.
J.L. Oakley. CreateSpace. $15 paper (368p), ISBN 978-1-4538-9647-1
Amazon
One mistake can ruin a life. One mistake can transform it. Can a government forestry camp bring redemption? Park Hardesty hopes for just that in this tale of love, guilt, and danger among the trees.

The Prospect of My Arrival.
Dwight Okita. CreateSpace. $14.95 paper (277p), ISBN 978-1-4609-5989-3
Amazon; Ingram
A human embryo is allowed to preview the world before deciding whether to be born. A cautionary tale served up with equal helpings of whimsy and dread.

Grace Note: In Hildegard’s Shadow.
P.J. Parsons. iUniverse. $18.95 paper (300p), ISBN 978-1-4620-3123-8
Amazon
Grace Note tells the 12th-century story of a 21st-century icon, St. Hildegard, through the eyes of a childhood friend.

The Thunderblade.
Kevin L. Perks. Vantage Press. $13.95 paper (326p), ISBN 978-0-533-16296-3
Amazon
This science fiction fantasy features a good wizard and two evil villains in a struggle for supremacy.

Sudden Deception: A Jill Oliver Thriller.
Judith Price. Judith Price. $12.99 paper (277p), ISBN 978-0-9877894-1-9
Amazon
A complex thriller that reflects the political realities of current events in a week-long journey that concludes in Dubai.

Zaftan Miscreants: Book 2 of the Zaftan Trilogy.
Hank Quense. CreateSpace. $14.99 paper (211p), ISBN 978-1-4637-4049-8
(201) 414-3434
Two alien cultures—one consisting of fantasy creatures, the other zaftan monsters—clash in space. Meanwhile, an android with an organic brain falls in love with a computer, and a zaftan tries to succeed through her abilities rather than treachery. With humor and satire, the Zaftan trilogy continues.

Impacts: A Novel.
David Radmore. Vantage Press. $15.95 paper (404p), ISBN 978-0-533-16372-4
Amazon
A coming-of-age novel brings its protagonist, Danny, through the era of the Great Depression and WWII, flavored with innocence, trepidation, and courage, and ending with his consciousness of the devastation of the two nuclear bombs dropped on Japan.

The Quiet Sound of Disappearing.
Ryan Rayston. AuthorHouse. $18.95 paper (328p), ISBN 978-1-4567-1814-5
Amazon; AuthorHouse
A gut-wrenching, fictionalized account of a young woman in the vortex of a 1980s sex, drugs, and hedonism scene, trying and failing at rehab, and caught in a major Capital Hill drug scandal.

Virtually Yours, Jonathan Newman.
Robert Rosell. Trailhead Press. $14.95 paper (332p), ISBN 978-1-4611-5745-8
www.TrailHeadPress
.com
A dystopian peek at a libertarian future, when the government is weak, the powerful play dirty, and life is no tea party.

Devil’s Eye.
Al Ruksenas. Meridia Publishers. $17.95 paper (366p), ISBN 978-0-615-40498-1
devilseyethebook.com
A secret U.S. commando teams up with a beautiful French historian to uncover an ancient cult’s high-level infiltrator trying to subdue America through a nuclear surrender in this paranormal thriller.

The Tenth Day.
Don Safran. Red Willow Publishing. $7.99 paper (208p), ISBN 978-1-936539-22-2
Amazon
A Marine Corps major pursues a female killer among a shipload of Army wives sailing to their husbands in Germany at the close of WWII.

Ivetha: An Airedale’s Compendium.
Bradd Allen Saunders. CreateSpace. $11.99 paper (366p), ISBN 978-1-4635-0427-4
Amazon
Ivetha is an apparently ordinary street, but people who encounter it face strange and mysterious occurrences, described in this unusual compendium, which chronicles the mysterious manner in which it changes people’s lives.

Rainbows: A Novel in Five Parts.
W. Schoellkopf. Arbor Books. $18 paper (148p), ISBN 978-0-9818658-5-0
Amazon
Peter and his three daughters—Carol, a gallery owner and addict; Helen, a collector of Dutch art; and Nancy, a modern art specialist—can relate to each other in life’s crises and discussions only through color theory, art, and the art business.

A Little Dab a Do Ya.
Eric L. Brantley. Mahogany Moon Communications. $10.95 paper (162p), ISBN 978-0-9827883-0-1
mahoganymoon.com
A young poet and an elderly blues singer meet at a jazz club in Detroit and share their experiences in ways that enlighten and support each other.

Amo, Amas, Amat...: An Unconventional Love Story.
Carter Taylor Seaton. CreateSpace. $16.95 paper (293p), ISBN 978-1-4635-8464-1
(304) 523-7902
Seaton’s second novel is set in 1983, when Mary Cate, a naïve homophobic, marries Nick, a closeted gay man, leading her to discover that fairy tale notions of love are far from true love. Seaton’s first novel was a category finalist for ForeWord magazine’s 2003 Book of the Year Awards.

The Arranger: A Futuristic Thriller.
L.J. Sellers. Spellbinder Press. $13.99 paper (264p), ISBN 978-0-9832138-5-7
Amazon
In 2023, ex-detective Lara Evans witnesses a crime, then competes in a national endurance contest, but a mysterious assailant threatens her chances of surviving. Sellers has also written the Detective Jackson mystery series.

My Sweet Saga.
Brett Sills. Admiral J Press. $16 paper (452p), ISBN 978-0-6155-3213-4
www.journalstone.com
Take one 30-year-old man in L.A.; add boring job, upcoming marriage, and father who’s won the lottery. Mix in a trip to Sweden with said father and falling into a quirky love triangle. The resulting adventures are in screenwriter Sills’s first novel.

Seven Stories to Read Before They Become Movies.
Mike Slosberg. Xlibris. $19.95 hardcover (113p), ISBN 978-1-4628-7264-0
(888) 795-4274
Some movies have grown from short stories. Slosberg, a novelist and author of The Official Book of Old Age Haiku, tosses seven short stories—some funny, some with twisty ends—into the cinematic competition.

The Dark Before Dawn.
Laurie Stevens. Follow Your Dreams Productions. $13.49 paper (372p), ISBN 978-1-4564-5011-3
Amazon
Grisly murders are taking place high in the Santa Monica Mountains. On each of the victim’s bodies is a note left for the L.A. sheriff’s detective, Gabriel McRay. First in a series.

Women Outside the Walls.
Trisha Sugarek. CreateSpace. $14.95 paper (300p), ISBN 978-1-4537-1501-7
Amazon
Playwright Sugarek has turned her eponymous play about Alma, Kitty, and Hattie—women who love men who are in prison—into a novel, revealing their lives in flashbacks, and then confronting them with a moment of violence and heartbreak on one visiting day.

The First Ward: Mark Twain, Fingy Conners & the Sullivan Brothers.
Richard Sullivan. CreateSpace. $19.95 paper (394p), ISBN 978-1-4636-3658-6
Amazon
Irish workers on Buffalo’s waterfront First Ward in the mid-to-late–19th century are at the heart of this engrossing saga of the Sullivan family, Mark Twain, and a First Ward saloon keeper; based on historical research and family stories.

That Which Should Not Be.
Brett J. Talley. JournalStone. $12.95 paper (262p), ISBN 978-1-9365-6414-9
Amazon
Miskatonic University’s reputation for a connection to the occult and supernatural proves true when a student tracks down a book, The Inferno of the Witch, for his professor. But has he unleashed forces beyond anyone’s control? Winner of JournalStone’s 2011 Horror Writing Contest.

A Hollow Cup.
Alan Thompson. WingSpan Press. $32.95 hardcover (314p), ISBN 978-1-59594-404-7
Amazon; BN.com
Set in a town very much like Chapel Hill, N.C., this debut novel tells the story of two men who were boys there in the 1960s and who return as lawyers on opposing sides in a murder tale that is as much about race and culture as it is a legal thriller.

You Don’t Die of Love: Stories.
Thomas Thonson. CreateSpace. $11.99 paper (254p), ISBN 978-1-4609-2874-5
Amazon
Dreams collide with reality in this inventive collection of linked short stories about Hollywood lives gone awry from screenwriter Thonson.

Cross Purposes: If Newspapers Had Covered the Crucifixion.
Joel Thurtell. Hardalee Press. $20 paper (181p), ISBN 978-0-9759969-6-6
Amazon
If Christ were crucified today, would modern media notice? This satirical debut from a former Detroit Free Press journalist and now blogger eviscerates newspaper mores, media arrogance, and stupidity.

The Secrets They Kept.
Joanne Tombrakos. Joanne Tombrakos. $11.99 paper (288p), ISBN 978-0-9840076-0-8
Amazon
A lawyer discovers she has a long-lost relative, which leads her to a box of letters and long-kept secrets in this story of a Greek-American family living in New York.

The Essene Conspiracy.
S. Eric Wachtel. S. Eric Wachtel. $14.99 paper (308p), ISBN 978-0-615-42646-4
Amazon
A blood-stained card found in the shirt pocket of a slain Israeli minister leads international security consultant Harry McClure to a Wall Street money-laundering scheme and a Messianic brotherhood plotting to overthrow the Israeli government.

A Song of Africa.
Ronald Brian Wheatley. CreateSpace. $13.99 paper (200p), ISBN 978-1-4635-1179-1
Amazon
Set in Nigeria in 1966 during the Biafran War, this vivid depiction of three Americans playing out their battles of conscience, pride, and passion draws on the author’s experience as a Peace Corps volunteer in that country.

Search.
Jan Widgery. Mystery Bay Press. $19.50 paper (259p), ISBN 978-1-257-93970-1
Lulu.com
A child is kidnapped and abused by her father in the 1960s; as a young woman in the 1980s, she’s haunted by her past. In searching for her identity, she discovers her own strength.

Murder in Vienna.
Irene Wittig. Lulu.com. $19.50 paper (213p), ISBN 978-1-105-09426-2
Lulu.com
A ceramics artist and author, Wittig delves into her family history for this haunting tale of three friends, only one of whom survives WWII, and how the choices they made ripple out to the next generations.

Mneme’s Place: Book One.
Glenn P. Wolfe. iUniverse. $18.95 paper (296p), ISBN 978-1-4620-1714-0
iUniverse
The posthumously published autobiographical novel by a former TV writer is set in a timeless saloon, where Ralph Jonas, the writer, indulges in his twin passions of the English language and baseball, and encounters all the events and people—living, dead, and fictional—that reside in his memory.

Reternity.
Neal Wooten. Mirror Publishing. $6.99 paper (240p), ISBN 978-1-61225-041-0
(414) 763-1034; www.reternitybook.com
In this coming-of-age tale, Max heads to college where his parents fear his Christian faith will be tested. In a physics class, whose professor holds weekly Bible sessions, Max finds his fascination with science and his faith not so much colliding as raising questions he never expected.

Memoirs of a Eurasian.
Vivian Yang. CreateSpace. $15.99 paper (220p), ISBN 978-1-4610-1341-9
Amazon
Mo Mo, the granddaughter of a Chinese teenager and a Russian exile, lives through the tumultuous times during and after the Chinese Cultural Revolution. In her travels from Shanghai to Hong Kong and beyond, she faces racial prejudice and a difficult relationship with her mother. An excerpt won third place in the Leonard Lopate (of WNYC radio fame) Essay Contest.

Gardening
Flowers of Volunteer Park Conservatory:
Blooming Month by Month.
Sara L. Chapman. Book Publishers Network. $27.95 hardcover (144p), ISBN 978-1-935359-81-4
www.lovethatimage.com
The Volunteer Park Conservatory of Seattle celebrates its centennial with this sumptuous photography book presenting a month-by-month tour. Each chapter shows the flowers blooming that month along with an index listing the common and scientific plant names. This work will inspire flower lovers, gardeners, and plant professionals.

Health & Fitness
Growing Ageless: The Simple Art of Health and Longevity.
Richard E. Bush. Longevity Press. $14.95 paper (198p), ISBN 978-0-9828192-0-3
Amazon; Ingram
The author—a certified instructor for the Universal Healing Tao in Thailand, a shiatsu practitioner, and an Usui Reiki master—offers a system combining Eastern and Western health and longevity practices, including meditations, exercises, and methods for customizing one’s diet for best results.

What Do the Doctors Say?: How Doctors Create a World Through Their Words
Janet Farrell Leontiou. iUniverse. $13.95 paper (109p), ISBN 978-1-4502-2582-3
Amazon
One of Leontiou’s twin sons was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. As a professor of communication, she found herself studying the language of the doctors she consulted, and she presents her analysis of how medical culture gets created through the way that doctors talk. Her identification of 12 language patterns that create a culture of disconnection is intended to help parents of children with disabilities, and all patients, navigate the medical conversation.

Skin Sense!: A Dermatologist’s Guide to Skin Care.
Stephen Schleicher, M.D. iUniverse. $13.95 paper (117p), ISBN 978-1-4401-7427-8
Amazon
For every skin-care problem from acne to wrinkles, Skin Sense! is a resource from dermatologist Schleicher, who is founder and director of DermDOX Center for Dermatology in Pennsylvania, on the medical board of Emergency Medicine magazine, and on the advisory board of the Day Spa Association; he has also co-hosted Skin Sense, on TV, and Speaking of Your Skin, on the radio.

History

Alone, Unarmed, and Unafraid: Unarmed Reconnaissance During the Vietnam Conflict.
Taylor Eubank. Ramtho Publishing. $19.95 paper (131p), ISBN 978-1-934668-33-7
www.aloneunarmedandunafraid.com
Former FBI agent Eubank, also a veteran of the Vietnam War, offers accounts of the air crews that flew reconnaissance missions without weapons or escorts over an armed Hanoi.

Fairest Picture: Mark Twain at Lake Tahoe.
David Antonucci. CreateSpace. $17.99 paper (302p), ISBN 978-1-4637-6569-9
Amazon
Mark Twain’s second major work, Roughing It, details his search for wealth in Nevada. In this work, Antonucci brings together every fact he could find about Twain and his adventures at Lake Tahoe, as well as every word Twain wrote about the place.

House & Home

Good Riddance: Showing Clutter the Door.
Susan Boraz & Heather Knittel. Professional Organizing Solutions. $14.95 paper (156p), ISBN 978-0-9867177-0-3
www.goodriddance.ca
In this humorous yet practical book, two professional organizers dissect every room to motivate readers to tackle the most common CRUD (Completely Ridiculous Useless Debris) problems; they identify the top 100 house-cluttering culprits and show how to get rid of them.

Humor

One Thing or Another.
Ritchie Piazza. Vantage Press. $14.95 paper (104p), ISBN 987-0-533-16413-4
Amazon
A collection of 22 original and witty stories: says the author: “We’re not laughing enough these days. We’re worrying too much about Asian carp. Let the Asian carp worry for a while.”

Juvenile Fiction

Hotey.
Josephine Bailey. AuthorHouse. $22.50 hardcover (152p), ISBN 978-1-4634-2390-2
AuthorHouse; www.Hotey.net
Set in the American southwest at the turn of the 19th century, these are the adventures of a wild burro, known as Donkey Hotey, who wanders from his home to follow wild mustangs, befriends Sancho the parrot, and meets danger, fear, and sorrow. A portion of the proceeds are donated to Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue.

The Windwalkers.
Robert Carlile. Longwood Publishing. $14.99 paper (183p), ISBN 978-0-615-40545-2
www.windwalkersthebook.com
A windwalker is someone who gains the courage to face his enemy. Chris Creighton, 14, fears a vicious bully called Spider. He and his two friends construct their own world in the marshes and learn how to defeat Spider.

Malcolm McDinkelstorm
Fedderman Stich.
Peter Carnegie, illus. by Patty Johnston. CreateSpace. $10 paper (26p), ISBN 978-1-4538-3835-8
Amazon
Malcolm has to decide what to call his new frog, and with a name like Malcolm McDinkelstorm Fedderman Stich, choosing a name is tongue-twisting, silly fun. Ages 3–10.

Kusikiy: A Child from Taquile, Peru.
Mercedes Cecilia. Keepers of Wisdom and Peace Books. $24.99 paper (48p), ISBN 978-0-9844079-9-6
www.Kusikiy.com
When a constellation is missing from the sky, Kusikiy, who lives on Lake Titicaca in Peru, flies toward the highest peaks to ask the Great Glacier for his help. Folk art highlights the island’s traditions. Ages 6–12.

A Gift of Love.
Dr. Claus, illus. by Christopher Vassallo. Dr. Claus Publishing. $9.99 paper (30p), ISBN 978-1-61497-001-9
www.drclausbooks.com
A little girl goes from pajamas to pancakes as she gets ready for her first day of school on September 11, 2001.

No Money Molly: Her Daddy Lost His Job.
Terri Creswell. Lulu.com. $24.95 hardcover (31p), ISBN 978-1-257-99326-0
LuLu.com; (650) 592-7296
When a little girl’s Daddy loses his job, she learns how to enjoy life and find hope through doing things that are free. The friend she finds along the way has the same problems, and they help each other.

The King of Fish.
Darrell House. Maggie Music Inc. $16.95 hardcover (32p), ISBN 978-0-615-46534-0
www.maggiemusicinc.com
Told in verse, this empowering story of a handicapped boy and an aging king embraces dreams and the wisdom and strength found in the heart of a child.

Vickie Van Helsing.
Solomon J. Inkwell. Oakberry & Inkwell. $14.95 paper (270p), ISBN 978-0-615-44840-4
www.solomoninkwell.com
When Vickie Jenkins, 17, discovers she’s a descendant of Abraham Van Helsing, she realizes there’s a bigger monster than her biology teacher obstructing her graduation.

What Do You Suppose?
Nora Leone, illus. by Kara Leone. Higher Ground Press. $13.99 paper (28p), ISBN 978-0-9766062-6-0
Major retail book stores; Amazon
If animals wore clothes, would they dress fashionably, have problems finding their size, or simply look preposterous? This charming tale is an adventure in imagination. Ages 2–up.

Martin Mixed-Up at the Beach.
Jess Golden Linehan. Salty Pond Publishers. $15.95 hardcover (32p), ISBN 978-0-615-45705-5
Amazon
This picture book for beginning readers shows Martin trying again and again to stop his sister’s sobs until she reaches for the object she wanted all along: Martin’s book. Linehan has worked in elementary and school library education. Ages 3–5.

You Are a Twisting Tornado.
Angela Malavolti, illus. by Michael Stiffler. Jungle Wagon Press. $16.99 hardcover (28p), ISBN 978-0-9834092-0-5
www.junglewagonpress.com
Like the weather, a young child’s temperament can change drastically from one moment to the next. This picture book reminds us and our children that “no matter what the forecast, my love is yours forever.”

Soccer Dreams:
Playing the Seattle Sounders FC Way.
Clare Hodgson Meeker. Creating One LLC. $16.95 hardcover (48p), ISBN 978-0-615-43236-6
Partners West Book Distributing; (425) 227-8486
A 10-year-old boy from Kenya moves to Seattle and helps his coach build a winning soccer team. B&w illustrations for the story are accompanied by color photographs and profiles of the Major League Soccer team Seattle Sounders.

Secret of the Scarab.
Jay Roudebush. Lulu.com. $9 paper (143p), ISBN 978-0-615-53001-7
Lulu.com
An 11-year-old British schoolboy orphaned by the 1918 influenza epidemic is given an ancient Egyptian talisman that leads him on an astonishing adventure from England to Egypt.

Christmas Village.
Jack Gilhooly. McNeil and Richards. $9.95 paper (92p), ISBN 978-0-9825602-1-1
Amazon; Barnes and Noble
When Amanda, 9, and Rudy, 6, visit their grandparents for Christmas, something magical happens when they play with their grandfather’s miniature Christmas village. They shrink into the village and discover they have a whole new life there, where Christmas is celebrated as it used to be.

Camellia the Fabulous Flower Girl.
Lynelle Woolley. Markelle Media. $16.99 hardcover (32p), ISBN 978-0-9833116-2-1
www.flowergirlworld.com
Camellia discovers friendship and fun when she learns to share the spotlight and walk down the aisle with two other fabulous flower girls in this charming picture book addition to the Flower Girl World Web site. Ages 4–8.

Juvenile NonFiction


Portrait of a Girl and Her Art.
Elena Caravela. Lulu.com. $25.47 paper (81p), ISBN 978-0-578-08965-2
Lulu.com; portraitofagirlandherart.wordpress.com
This book of photographs of young women and the art they have made illustrates the empowering, transformative, and joyful value of making visual art. Through peer questions and examples, it invites young people to immerse themselves in critical and creative thinking. Ages 7–17.

Flaked Out: The Story of Cod and Newfoundland.
C.H. Colman. CreateSpace. $9.99 paper (33p), ISBN 978-1-4538-5662-8
Amazon
A stamp collector since age five, Colman uses postage stamps to illustrate historic events as he tells the history of Newfoundland and cod fishing, from the days of the Beothucks 2,000 years ago through European exploration and overfishing of cod in the 20th century to their repopulation today; includes factual back matter as well as a bibliography.

The Adventures of Fluff the Wonder Bear and His Discoveries About Health and Fitness.
Maureen E. Lupton, illus. by Isabela Nadal. Vantage Press. $13.95 paper (52p), ISBN 978-0-533-16491-2
Amazon; Barnes & Noble
Maureen Lupton, a registered nurse, takes seven-year-old Caspian and Fluff, his bear, on adventures that teach them fitness, nutrition, and how good it feels to be healthy.

Law

The Law School Decision Game: A Playbook for Prospective Lawyers.
Ann Levine. Abraham Publishing. $15.95 paper (241p), ISBN 978-0-9838453-0-0
www.lawschoolexpertbook.com
Whether you’re considering law school or are already committed, this work by a law school admissions consultant explains what lawyers do, how to choose a specialization, how to find the right law job, and what to consider before taking on a load of student debt.

Music

Musician! A Practical Guide for Students, Music Lovers, Amateurs, Professionals, Superstars, Wannabees, and Has-Beens
Dan Wilensky. CreateSpace. $15 paper (156p), ISBN 978-1-4528-5771-8
Amazon
Wilensky tells neophytes how to become a musician, musicians how to advance, and established players how to nurture their creativity, based on his own life playing jazz, funk, rock, and folk. He has played with more than 250 artists, including Ray Charles, Santana, and Madonna.

NonClassifiable

Haunted Watauga County.
Tim Bullard. The History Press of Charleston. $19.99 paper (128p), ISBN 978-1-60949-215-1
Barnes & Noble; Amazon; Books-A-Million
Just as the Blue Ridge Mountains dot the landscape of this famed North Carolina county, so do the spirits of the residents who have died.

Sitting with Warrior.
Carl Hitchens. iUniverse. $13.95 paper (180p), ISBN 978-1-4502-7631-3
iUniverse
Hitchens takes a journey that brings him to the Native American Warrior and, in weaving memoir, history, and myth, builds an exposé of America’s Vietnam War era in hopes of healing America’s old wounds.

Last Laughs: A Pocketful of Wry for the Aging.
Everett Mattlin. Two Harbors. $14.95 paper (207p), ISBN 978-1-936401-34-5
everettmattlin.com; Amazon
These short humorous essays about growing older include lighthearted treatment of topics like oldster grumpiness, travel travails, hateful diets and exercise, endless doctor appointments; from the author of a dozen nonfiction books.

NonFiction

Paul of Tarsus: A Study of the Man, His Role in History, and His Parallel Lives.
Allan B. Burdick. Vantage Press. $17.95 paper (105p), ISBN 978-0-533-16387-8
Amazon; Barnes & Noble
An emeritus professor of genetics investigates the life of Paul, tracing his life, travels, and work, and argues that “Luke” was actually Paul’s alter ego, in effect creating a parallel life for Paul.

Eating an Elephant: Write Your Life One Bite at a Time.
Patricia Charpentier. Life Story Publishing. $16.95 paper (163p), ISBN 978-0-9832382-3-2
www.writingyourlife.org
Eating an Elephant helps you break down the elephant-sized task of putting your life on paper into quick, easy-to-understand bites. The author is a journalist and writing instructor, and has ghost-written many memoirs.

Nine Lives: Nine Cases Histories Reflecting the Human Condition.
Newell Fischer, M.D. Vantage Press. $19.95 paper (133p), ISBN 978-0-533-16331-8
Amazon
Henry is sleepwalking through his life; Mary feels constantly unfulfilled; Sara is afraid she will kill her infant. A psychiatrist and psychoanalyst describes the psychoanalytic treatment of nine patients, revealing their shared humanity and each one’s struggle with his or her particular anguish and conflict.

Life: The Way It Was.
Betty Sherwood Genter. Vantage Press. $13.95 paper (80p), ISBN 978-0-533-16389-2
Amazon
Having grown up on a farm in upstate New York in the 1940s, the author details that life: “The Thorpes had a huge cream separator in their kitchen.... Sometimes I was allowed to turn the crank handle.... Fred would hire Bill Gaylord or anyone else with a truck to take his lambs to the train station [where] the sheep and lambs were loaded on the train and shipped to Buffalo for slaughter.”

Undisputed: Notre Dame, National Champions 1966.
Mark O. Hubbard. Vantage Press. $26.95 hardcover (305p), ISBN 978-0-533-16512-4
Amazon
Focusing on the Notre Dame national championship team of 1966 and specifically on the 10–10 tie with Michigan State, Hubbard recounts the game and the lives of many of the players and coaches behind the scenes, adding significantly to the debate over whether this is the greatest college football game ever played.

Letters from My Sister:
On Love, Life and Hair Removal.
Eve Lederman with Faye Lederman. Squeeze the Stone Press. $12 paper (205p), ISBN 978-0-9753466-0-0
Amazon
A collection of correspondence between sisters, one in Chicago, the other in New York, shares their offbeat urban escapades and musings while lovingly ridiculing everyone in their path over the course of a year.

Insanity: Beyond Understanding.
Bajeerao R. Patil. Eloquent Books. $17.50 paper (347p), ISBN 978-1-60976-098-4
www.bajeeraopatil.com; (610) 457 7640
Drug and alcohol counselor Patil describes the gripping yet brutal stories of his clients: entertaining, hilarious, insightful, sad, and thought-provoking. Patil explores how some are able to break the cycle of addiction while others cannot.

The Tucson Tragedy: Lessons from the Senseless Shooting of Gabrielle Giffords.
John Newport. Outskirts Press Inc. $16.95 paper (174p), ISBN 978-1-4327-7607-7
www.healingtucson.net
Newport, a social activist, writer, and resident of Tucson, presents a riveting account of the human side of the January 8, 2011, shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others, the aftermath, and lessons to be learned.

Turning It Around: Redirectional Therapy.
Sidney M. Rosen, M.S.W., Ph.D., and Deborah L.K. Spencer-Chun, M.S.W. Vantage Press. $18.95 paper (217p), ISBN 978-0-533-16490-5
Amazon
Adult Friends of Youth, in Honolulu, works with gang members and at-risk youth to reduce substance abuse and violence. Two staff members of AFY describe their successful program, the principles underlying it, and how it has helped change the behaviors of 30 gangs.

Shoestring Reporter: How I Got to Be a Big City Reporter.
Joel Thurtell. Hardalee Press. $25 paper (227p), ISBN 978-0-9759969-3-5
Amazon; joelontheroad.com
Thurtell has been a newspaper reporter for more than 30 years and taught journalism, yet he never went to J School. He demonstrates how any literate person, with hard work and street smarts, can be a professional reporter without paying for a college journalism degree.

Respecting Autism: The Rebecca Schools DIR Casebook
for Parents and Professionals.
Stanley I. Greenspan, M.D., and Gil Tippy, Psy.D. Vantage Press. $19.95 paper (228p), ISBN 978-0-533-16454-7
Amazon
The Rebecca School for autistic children in Manhattan uses the DIR program developed by Dr. Greenspan, focused on developmental levels, the uniqueness of individual children, and relationships. This casebook, by Greenspan and the school’s clinical director, describes how the school came into existence and how its program works.

Philosophy

Homage to Stretcher Bearer.
Gideon Tolkowsky. Inkwater Press. $20.95 paper (258p), ISBN 978-1-59299-457-1
inkwaterbooks.com; Amazon
The book’s subtitle, “The Human Oscillation Between Two Sensations of Oneness,” refers to two feelings, one Eastern, the other Western. The author, founder of a venture capital firm, claims that both perceptions, oneness in a whole and intellectual individualism, are essential for our complete humanity.

Poetry

142 Short Stories...as Poems That Inspire, Entertain and Enlighten.
Dr. Ed Pahl. Vantage Press. $23.95 hardcover (304p), ISBN 978-0-533-16422-6
Amazon
Inspired by his own ordinary and extraordinary life experiences, Pahl strives to convey a wide range of emotions in a compilation of witty, insightful, and sometimes nostalgic verse.

Alone: For All Those Who Grieve.
W.F. (Bill) Cento. Tasora Books. $14.95 paper (104p), ISBN 978-1-934690-49-9
Amazon; (800) 901-3480, ext. 118
Newspaper editor Cento cared for his wife, who had Alzheimer’s. In this collection of poems and prose, he lucidly presents the stages of coping with the strain of caregiving, and the grief and healing after a loved one dies.

Mosaics of Understanding: Poems.
E. Milton Scott. Vantage Press. $22.95 hardcover (280p), ISBN 978-0-533-16418-9
Amazon
Scott writes of his third book of poetry “May you share with me these poems and gain thoughts and ideas which may be considered, not to convince or influence, but rather, for meditation, as I have used it.”

Sirens’ Song: Livre d’Artiste Facsimile.
Elisabeth Stevens. BrickHouse Books. $18 paper (85p), ISBN 978-1-935916-03-1
Itascabooks.com
This collection of 48 erotic and imaginative poems and 13 original copperplate etchings is a facsimile of the original artwork published in a limited edition of 20 by Stevens, who has published several works of fiction and poetry as well as art catalogues and monographs.

The Brewing Storm:
An Erotic Poetic Storytelling.
Catrilia Watson. Lulu.com. $15 paper (234p), ISBN 978-0-557-66211-1
Amazon; Lulu.com
A collection of individual erotic poems about a woman torn between two lovers as she discovers unabashed love while uncovering the passionate nature of her soul.

Political Science

The Managed Healthcare Industry: A Market Failure.
Jack Charles Schoenholtz, M.D.
CreateSpace. $82.95 paper (495p), ISBN 978-1-4392-8061-4
Amazon; BN.com
A clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at New York Medical College takes a comprehensive look at America’s healthcare crisis. His extensive research-based account of the complex present-day American healthcare system diagnoses the systemic problems and presents an effective course of treatment in his call for adequate health care for all.

Adamant Aggressors: How to Recognize and Deal with Them.
Bruce D. Thatcher. Xlibris. $19.99 paper (353p), ISBN 978-1-4628-9193-1
Xlibris; (888) 795-4274
A business executive takes a business case-study approach to several historical figures he identifies as having obsessions with power and inflexible goals with the intent of illustrating the benefits of this approach in dealing with foreign policy and possible threats to America today.

Religion

Blind Faith?
J. Mark Gibson. Vantage Press. $8.95 paper (39p), ISBN 978-0-533-16262-8
Amazon
Gibson reviews Bible translations from the King James and New Living Translation to the Amplified Bible (AMP), examines their discrepancies and ramifications, and formulates a concordance based on contextual clarity. He addresses such questions as what is the name of God; what is the meaning of the cross; and how to conduct an active inner conversation with the Divinity.

Who Is God and Who Are You?
Steven Towers. Vantage Press. $15.95 paper (268p), ISBN 978-0-533-16392-2
Amazon
In his efforts to spread the good news about God and Mother Nature, former steelworker Towers offers a new book of spiritual awakening as he attempts to explain who God is and who we are.

Godmine: A Memoir of Costly Obedience to God Told Through My Poems, Lyrics and Thoughts.
Elizabeth Christopher. Elizabeth Christopher. $14.99 paper (95p), ISBN 978-0-9711976-5-7
www.godmine-online.com; Amazon
A compilation of original poems, lyrics, and thoughts reflecting “a three-year journey with the lord.”

Science

Love, Sex, and Mushrooms.
Cardy Raper. Cardy Raper. $18.95 paper (254p), ISBN 978-0-615-43440-7
Amazon; Barnes & Noble
Raper’s memoir delineates a convoluted life balancing wifehood and motherhood with a career in the male-dominated profession of molecular biology during the 20th century.

Politics As If Evolution Mattered: Darwin, Ecology & Social Justice.
Lorna Salzman. iUniverse. $10.95 paper (78p), ISBN 978-1-4620-3475-8
iUniverse
Scientifically authoritative essays on the intersection of evolution with human social and poltical systems by a professional environmental writer and activist.


Self-Help

Letters to a Prisoner: A Survivor Speaks Out.
Connie D. Create Space. $12.95 paper (100p), ISBN 978-1-4564-0536-6
Amazon
The mother of a meth addict son in prison offers poems and letters as she learns to confront the demons of addiction and stop being an enabler.

Alpha Chick: Five Steps for Moving from Pain to Power.
Mal Duane. Alpha Chick Press. $16.95 paper (304p), ISBN 978-0-9834129-0-8
Amazon; alphachick.com
Through revealing her own success overcoming alcoholism, Duane offers a model and roadmap to happiness, success, and fulfillment by sharing her own story and promoting a five-step process.

Get a Life After College: A Starter Kit for Life on Your Own.
Marilyn McGreen Hotz. Xlibris. $15.99 paper (93p), ISBN 978-1-4653-4004-7
Amazon; marilynhotz.com
Plenty of books tell you how to get into college. This one tells you how to get into life after college, including how to find a great place to live, furnish on a tight budget, cook like a pro, save and spend wisely, and most important, enjoy your own company.

Frumpy to Fabulous: Flaunting It: Your Ultimate Guide to Effortless Style.
Natalie Jobity. Élan Image Management. $18.95 paper (236p), ISBN 978-0-9829297-0-4
Amazon; www.elanimagemanagement.com
The president of Élan Image Management guides readers in developing their authentic style and image to achieve their goals, whether at work or play, with help in filling their closets with the right accessories, choosing colors, and dressing for their body type.

Making the Moment Meaningful: Creating a Path to Purpose and Fulfillment.
Dana LaMon. ImageWorth. $19.95 paper (226p), ISBN 978-0-9656633-1-1
www.danalamon.com
A blind African-American retired judge in California, now a motivational speaker and Toastmasters International world champion of public speaking, shares inspirational stories and practical advice to lead readers to a life of purpose and meaning.

55+ Unite! Welcome All Wise Working Women.
Georgian Lussier. CreateSpace. $11.99 paper (136p), ISBN 978-1-4664-1112-8
Amazon; hrhelp.squarespace.com
A human resources consultant for many years urges women 55 and older who want, or need, to work, to celebrate their midlife strengths through sharing resources, networking, remembering their achievements, and relying on friends.

Living Life Dying Death: A Guide to Healthy Conversations.
Jennifer Collins Taylor. MyRehab LLC. $19.99 hardcover (64p), ISBN 978-0-9679887-9-5
www.livinglifedyingdeath.com
This Next Generation Indie Book Award winner by a hospice social worker and speaker is a call to action to find the courage, comfort, and confidence to have conversations about death and dying. Taylor’s overarching message is that we embrace living well and dying well.

Social Science

The Digitally Divided Self: Relinquishing Our Awareness to the Internet.
Ivo Quartiroli. Silens. $17.90 paper (274p), ISBN 978-88-97233-00-8
Amazon; www.indranet.org
An Italian programmer and publisher of books on technology and spirituality explores the intersection of media studies, psychology, and spirituality to elucidate how we lose human experience and inner exploration as we succumb to obsessions with the Internet’s incessant flow of information.