Evan Chambers struggles to answer one question: does life have any meaning? Will he find his life's purpose as he navigates the maze of his religious family, the return of a high school love interest and the death of his grandfather? Or is he stuck in an endless cycle of disappointment?Some questions, once asked, can’t be shaken. When Evan Chambers dares to ask if life has any purpose, he finds the answer is elusive. After a random memory from his youth obscures the answer even more, Evan counts the steps from his bed to his balcony, and wonders if the only solution lies over the ledge.As Evan contemplates this, he receives a call from his brother Jordan. Evan’s grandfather is dying. This revelation draws him to his hometown in rural, upstate New York. While there, Evan navigates his grandfather’s last days, his disintegrating bonds with his religious mother and brother, and a surprising connection to the girl he admired in high school, Samantha. Initially hesitant to allow Evan to pursue her, Samantha begins to open up to him. Evan wonders if he is on the cusp of resolving the question that has disturbed him for so long. However, Samantha harbors her own secrets which threaten to derail their newly found relationship.Set against the backdrop of Easter week, Evan navigates through a maze of family, faith, love and death, searching for the meaning of life. Will he find the sense of purpose he desires? Or is he merely trapped in an endless cycle of disappointment? Views: 402
Three tales for children and some adults.The Magician - A fable style tale about a young man looking for protection that he could have done without.DreamDancer - a young girl wants to dance and gets her chance with remarkable results.Marshall - A number-loving cat, with the help of a mathematician causes trouble in the neighborhood.Three tales for children and some adults.The Magician, The Lion, And The Mouse - is a fable style tale about a young man looking for a little protection that he could have done without.DreamDancer - a young girl wants to dance and gets her chance with results greater than she expected.Marshall And the Mathematician - Marshall, a number-loving cat, with the innocent help of a mathematician friend, stirs up some trouble in the neighborhood. Views: 378
A young couple is forced to abandon their simple lives to uncover the true purpose behind the alien "Prohibitions" imposed upon the surviving human refugees after abandoning their doomed starship and accepting safe harbor in the vast gorge on Syton.If the atmosphere on Conboet’s inner moon hadn’t been poisonous, the human crew of the doomed generation ship, Tanis, might never have taken a second look at the frozen snowball that was Syton, might never have discovered that life could be sustained deep within its vast gorge, midway between the frigid surface, and the geothermal hell thirteen kilometers below. It was there, over thirty years ago, that Second Officer, Avram Elstrada struggled to break through the language barrier to negotiate a settlement agreement with the resident natives—safe harbor as long as humans agreed to follow certain Prohibitions. Foremost among them was the prohibition against the use of superior technology. They would have to give up thousands of years of science and engineering and live in the same agrarian manner as the natives, if they were to live in the Syton gorge. It was their last, best chance of surviving their dying, seven hundred year old starship. And they took it.The Second Moon, is a science fiction adventure that chronicles a young couple forced to abandon their simple lives and overcome treachery, kidnapping, and murder to save their fragile human colony. Struggling with their own fears and shortcomings, they not only discover the true mysterious purpose behind The Prohibitions, but that heroic and noble traits dwell within all races and possibly, even themselves. Views: 376
Christian devotional poems without (I hope) any taint of religion....Starfire lives in a wold where dragons and dragonriders are everywhere. She ran away from home when she was little, due to bad living situations and she lost her dragon when she was nine. She was then cursed for eternity. And then a boy shows up, and he appears to be her dragonrider. She doesn't even know if that's possible, because of the fact that she used to be human. Ride along over the clouds with Starfire as she tries to reverse the curse, running through labyrinths to get to the cure.. . . Views: 365
Don Thompson was a fan who worked most of his life as a professional journalist. He was also active in comic book fandom. He was married to Margaret (Maggie) Curtis Thompson, whose mother was SF author Betsy Curtis. Don and Maggie met in June, 1957, at a SF picnic at the home of SF author Basil Wells; they were married in June, 1962. He is often confused with Don C. Thompson, one of the several other Don Thompsons in fandom, who co-chaired Denvention Two with Suzanne Carnival. He and Dick Lupoff co-edited two collections of articles on comic books: All in Color for a Dime (1970) and The Comic-Book Book (1973). Don contributed chapters to both books. He published Rainy Days with Maggie Thompson. Views: 338
In this first book of the Goodly Woods series, twin boys with very different personalities learn why they have to be more than just a pretty face! Goodly has been accused of a dastardly deed, and his family must sort out the truth before he can make amends. Will the Widow Gotta Gossip triumph? Whose reputation will be tarnished? Wholesome fun for the whole family!In this first book of the Goodly Woods series, you will meet the townsfolk and discover why twin boys that have very different personalities have to be more than just a pretty face! Goodly has been accused of a dastardly deed, and his family must sort out the truth before he can make amends. Will the Widow Gotta Gossip triumph? Whose reputation will be tarnished? These questions and more will be answered as you begin the adventures of Goodly Woods. Goodly Woods is a refreshing new Christian western series that is packed full of adventure, drama, comedy, and sprinkled generously with good morals and virtue. Each book has many colorful pictures and is designed to entertain the whole family. Recommended for ages 6-99 Views: 323
These poems twirl their skirts as they explore bi-cultural identity, growing up, a young mother's struggles, and the limits of language. Half Guatemalan and half Anglo, the speaker worries about "black-topped boys with butterscotch skin" who whistle at her, but loves how flowers "explode into curls of crepe." She doesn't understand Spanish or why tragedy jabs into our lives, but still she sings.Along with pieces called "breathtaking" by Naomi Shihab Nye, these poems twirl their skirts as they explore bi-cultural identity, growing up, a young mother's struggles, and the limits of language. Half Guatemalan and half Anglo, the speaker worries about "black-topped boys with butterscotch skin" who whistle at her, but loves how flowers "explode into curls of crepe." She doesn't understand Spanish or why tragedy jabs into our lives, but still she sings. Views: 315
If it took reduction or torch hair, the Cirissins wanted a bump. Hokum, thistle, gluck. Views: 305
Love is an emotion of a strong affection and personal attachment. Love may be understood as part of the survival instinct, a function to keep human beings together against menaces and to facilitate the continuation of the species.There are many different theories that attempt to explain what love is, and what function it serves. It would be very difficult to explain love to a hypothetical person who had not himself or herself experienced love or being loved. In fact, to such a person love would appear to be quite strange if not outright irrational behavior. Views: 300
After the Florida State Legislature passes a bill called the Good Guy with Gun Bill mandating that armed security guards be placed in every school, there is yet another school shooting by a lone student who guns down seven Black students in a classroom. The shooter is shot by the newly hired guard and hailed as a hero. On the surface, it appears to be a simple case of “Good guy shoots the bad guyAfter the Florida State Legislature passes a bill called the Good Guy with Gun Bill mandating that armed security guards be placed in every school, there is yet another school shooting by a lone student who guns down seven Black students in a classroom. The shooter is shot by the newly hired guard and hailed as a hero. On the surface, it appears to be a simple case of “Good guy shoots the bad guy” until a local reporter starts investigating more closely into the shooting and the security guard. He discovers that all is not what it appears to be. The book also looks at some of the history of gun legislation and the surprising history NRA's stance on it. Views: 295
‘Psychs 1st’ is a spin off from the 'Psychs series' that tells the story of young Hassan, a guy with eight ghosts connected to him by the tragic event of his birth. He decided to visit the United States in an effort to put closure to 7 of the ghosts by visiting their families and give them letters with a fake story of how he got them, only to discover that he is there to do more than that.‘Psychs 1st’ is a spin off from the 'Psychs series' that tells the story of young Hassan, a guy with eight ghosts connected to him by the tragic event of his birth. He decided to visit the United States in an effort to put closure to 7 of the ghosts who are connected to him by visiting their families and give them letters with a fake story of how he got those letters, only to discover that he is there to do more than that, and probably to try and survive. Views: 288
Quijana is a girl in pieces. One-half Guatemalan, one-half American: When Quijana's Guatemalan cousins move to town, her dad seems ashamed that she doesn't know more about her family's heritage. One-half crush, one-half buddy: When Quijana meets Zuri and Jayden, she knows she's found true friends. But she can't help the growing feelings she has for Jayden. One-half kid, one-half grown-up: Quijana spends her nights Skyping with her ailing grandma and trying to figure out what's going on with her increasingly hard-to-reach brother. In the course of this immersive and beautifully written novel, Quijana must figure out which parts of herself are most important, and which pieces come together to make her whole. This lyrical debut from Rebecca Balcárcel is a heartfelt poetic portrayal of a girl growing up, fitting in, and learning what it means to belong. Views: 282
The formula Ed memorized was the start of journeys that put moon landings, mars missions and faster-than-light travel to shame. It was the very beginning of D.T.Investigations (Dream Travel) and it's discreet work for private clients worldwide."When a web is broken it can never be rebuilt. Instead you abandon the old and build anew. But the new web, you wonder, will it break? What caused the old one to break, what tore that painstaking symmetry that experience and the history of lifetimes of web building created? So you build the next web more carefully, sure that this one will hold together. Yet it doesn't. The next web you decide you know what the weak place was. You will build this one different, uniquely strong. Again the jester of life tears the web and rebuild you must. Each time you build, more certain you know the fault, and each time it fails. "Finally you discover that your estimate of the weakest link was wrong and the next web is a terrible shamble because it is built in complete uncertainty. Every connection in it is tentative, unsure of itself."Now the last web, the fragile identity shaped from pain and fear, is in shreds. In despair, you give up all the spinning ... and the dreamer awakens. "With the dreamer the webs are spun in instants of golden steel. Now reality is the servant, the unknowing worker in the Dreamer's domain. And you become the master of your universe."I read my handwriting, wondering what I meant when I wrote it. I was lying in bed after a good half hour memorizing Martin's formula and this was my last read for the night. The passage came out of my grief at breaking with Carol. I had written it a few days after she moved out and its' meaning for me still lay hidden."If there is a God, a final Top God of gods, awaken the dreamer, please. Dreamer awake." That was my prayer to the sky somewhere above my house, somewhere above a Dayton, Ohio suburb, above the United States of America, far beyond the planet Earth and its atomic structure of a solar system, reaching out past the stars of the universe that man pretends to know because he can count dots of light on sheets of film.I felt that prayer touch someone, somewhere. There's no way to describe the feeling unless you know it for yourself. There's a click and you know the prayer, plea, begging has been registered on some monumental scroll, perhaps beyond the bounds of time. That second was the beginning of a life of adventure that I would only relinquish in those moments when I was in terror for my very existence. Views: 280
The first book in a family saga about Rose Sullivan, an Irish girl who comes to Philadelphia in 1880 and finds love, heartache, loss, and unexpected joy during the tumultuous years around the turn of the century. She marries an Irish mystery man named Sean McCarthy, who has a violent past and a secret life, and he takes her to new heights and depths of passion.The first book in a family saga about Rose Sullivan, an Irish girl who comes to Philadelphia in 1880 and finds love, heartache, loss, and unexpected joy during the tumultuous years around the turn of the century. She marries an Irish mystery man named Sean McCarthy, who has a violent past and a secret life, and he takes her to new heights and depths of passion. The stories of multiple characters, vividly drawn, come together in this series that examines what happens when the rural Irish of the 19th century encounter the breathtaking pace of change in the America of the 20th century. Views: 257
