The Gift
A turbulent telling of one woman’s immersion in her faith, and one man’s journey to acceptance.
Seeking comfort in the isolation of the western landscape, young single mother Pansy Blackwell brings her son Butch to the Siskiyou Mountains. Fully engulfed in the Jehovah’s Witnesses assurances for a soon-to-arrive end of the world, Pansy raises her son to conform to the constrictive requirements of their religion. But as Butch discovers the wonders of the world around him with an endlessly patient and kindhearted rancher, he embraces the cowboy culture and struggles to live as his authentic self.
In the late 20th Century, rural communities in America were often hostile to the rising-awareness of LGBT people, and Butch is soon cast aside by his church for homosexuality. In The Gift, Scott Terry crafts a memorable and historically-accurate tale of religious extremism and the struggle for acceptance, before the truth of those times are swept under the forgotten rug of history.
More info →The Conductor
Beatrix Patterson has faced monsters before, but in a world teetering on the edge of social change, she comes up against her most complicated case yet. In one chaotic morning, her friend has been arrested following a fight during a strike at the railroad, the railroad owner was found murdered, and another close friend admits to being blackmailed.
Amid growing tensions between the Union Pacific Railroad and workers' strikes, Beatrix must go undercover before more people are killed or injured. But as she dives into this investigation, she finds one consistent group at the center.
In order to bring down the racial supremacist group digging its claws into Santa Barbara, California, she must put her intense loathing aside to stop the threat before it can reach Thomas, their baby girl Birdy, and the life they're building. With deadly secrets everywhere she turns, Beatrix has to keep her cards close to her chest if she hopes to escape this case unscathed.
More info →Hot Tango in Argentina
Part-time sleuth Blanche Murninghan and her love, Emilio Del Sierra, are enjoying a reunion on Santa Maria Island when Emilio gets news that his long-lost aunt and cousin need his help—in Argentina. Posing as tourists, Emilio and Blanche head out to the luxurious pink estancia, La Palma, on the pampa to unravel the plot endangering Emilio's family.
Escapees from World War II are managing La Palma, and they have a lot to hide. Blanche is intent on exposing them. She has help: from Emilio and Tomás with his divina tango partner, Anna de Gamoure, the mysterious and handsome Guillermo de Losada Iglesias, and Lusita, the elusive kitchen maid who knows more than she’s letting on.
Blanche maintains her touristy cover to snare the schemers, but around every corner a new twist threatens to put a stranglehold on her efforts. Blanche must right the wrongs before time can tango away.
Hot Tango in Argentina is the fifth installment in the Blanche Murninghan Mysteries. Known for a lively cast of characters and atmospheric settings, each mystery can be enjoyed as a stand-alone story or read in publication order, starting with Saving Tuna Street.
More info →The 53rd Parallel
In his evocative debut novel Carl Nordgren weaves an ambitious tale about the power of dreams, the hope of new beginnings, and the dangers of ghosts who haunt our past.
Brian Burke emigrates from 1950s West Ireland to the wilderness of Northwest Ontario with his partner Maureen O Toole. He's been exiled from his village, and she is running from her IRA past. The dreams of an Ojibway clan elder bring the Irish to the sacred place on the River, where they build The Great Lodge of Innish Cove.
The dreams tell of a white man who will destroy the River and another who will protect it. While the Ojibway believe Brian and Maureen are the River s guardians, Maureen s IRA connections and the construction of a pulp mill upstream threaten to destroy the newly created Eden before it even begins.
Under the watchful eye of a warrior spirit, the clan and their Irish companions risk all they love to protect the River and the promises it holds for their future. The fates of the two groups will intertwine as both seek to ward off the encroachment of the modern world.
In The 53rd Parallel readers will find a rich tapestry that weaves together the literary influences of such giants as Peter Matthiessen, Ken Kesey, Jack London, and Ernest Hemingway (whose son appears in Book 2 of the River of Lakes series).
More info →Whispers on the Mountain
When Celia Patrick arrives at the Bingham Reserve in the North Carolina mountains, something is very wrong. Celia is supposed to be on a much-needed family vacation, but when she hears whispers about a missing woman in the beautiful but treacherous landscape, she can't ignore the pull of the mystery.
Did Pamela Stevens get lost? Was she lying injured on the trail? Or did something more sinister happen? Soon, Celia is mired in the middle of a potential murder investigation, and everyone has something to hide:
The Type-A Resort Manager
The Devastated Husband
The Rest-on-his-Laurels Deputy
The Grizzled Local Water-Sports Guide
With each passing day, the road to unraveling the mysery grows colder and the odds of finding the lost hiker alive diminish. Despite the risk to her family, her sanity, and her safety, Celia refuses to give up the search. She's been down this dark path of obsession in a case before, and this time she is determined to find the missing woman alive.
More info →Worlds Between
Book 2 in the River of Lakes Series
In this evocative series spanning oceans and decades, award-winning author Carl Nordgren weaves a tale about the power of dreams and the dangers of ghosts who haunt our past.
In Worlds Between, book two of the River of Lakes series, readers are immersed in the idyllic setting of the fishing camp Maureen and Brian have built with Joe Loon's clan along the English River. The visit of IRA sympathizers, the building of a hydro-electric dam, and a dangerous accident provide a chilling reminder that old threats still lurk even as new dangers emerge.
Even as she celebrates the extraordinary birth of her child, Maureen continues to battle the ghosts of her IRA past. Brian grasps at the fraying promises of Eden as his world is torn apart. The Ojibway find their land and traditions further curtailed by the encroachment of the modern world. And This Man watches out over all.
"At its heart, Worlds Between is an accessible, engaging and sympathetic tale of families, cultures, and the choices that shape them. It will please fans of historical fiction, family sagas and stories from around the world."
–Foreword Reviews, 5 stars
“[Carl's] writing is remarkably lovely from the first page.”
–Foreword Reviews, 5 stars
Deadly Quiet (The Eliza Fox Files, #1)
Eliza Fox must be smarter than the police and a step ahead of the killer.
When an exchange student is found dead in the music practice rooms of Wexford College, there are few suspects and no clear answers. Martina Noto's parents will fly into California from Rome as soon as they can, but until then the nearest relatives are Martina's cousins: Private Investigator Eliza Fox and her mother, Francesca Noto-Fox.
As detectives Byron Comstock and Jessica Fonseca get familiar with the case, Eliza is determined to help catch Martina's killer. She quickly begins her own investigation and is soon caught up in the twists and turns of finding the murderer, a far cry from her usual work as a paralegal. Often out of her depth, Eliza must overcome her own inexperience and learn to trust her instincts as she fumbles through her first high-stakes case.
Filled with both humor and suspense, this is one traditional mystery novel you don't want to miss.
More info →Intimate Conversations: Face to Face with Matchless Musicians
"Music is life. Music is a reflection of who we are as humans. Music tells us things that words can’t, it ignites feelings in us that we didn’t know we had, and it can reach a depth that nothing else can.” —Susan Graham, renowned American mezzo-soprano
Music has existed as long as there have been people to listen. It takes on many forms and is many things, providing entertainment, emotion, storytelling, and most of all, magic for all who hear.
In revealing and genuine interviews, Larry Ruttman converses with world-renowned musicians of the 21st century and engages them in an approachable manner. Dive into the recesses of their minds to discover the influences and inspiration behind classical music and other popular genres such as pop, jazz, folk, Americana, and many other genres impacting today’s musical culture.
Perfect for dedicated fans, determined students, and the casually interested listener to music of all genres, Intimate Conversations: Face to Face with Matchless Musicians is sure to inspire, fascinate, and entertain.
More info →The Overexamined Life of Jacob Hart: a novel
Jacob Hart has always been convinced there is an answer to any problem. That belief propelled him to a successful engineering career at corporate giant, GoldOrb Diversified. But following an abrupt retirement and his wife's untimely death, Jacob suffers an existential crisis. The man who once believed that anything could be solved becomes all consumed with uncovering the role of a higher power in his seemingly crumbling world. Plagued with prophetic visions, he travels to Lake Paradise in pursuit of his coveted answer to life's mysteries.
Joined in his quest by a kind Rabbi who has lost his faith, an unruly Ivy League professor, and the powerful CEO of GoldOrb, Jacob enters into a philosophical pursuit for the ages. But the troubles of the real world follow the friends to paradise, and soon they are ensnared in a high stakes political scandal that threatens to destroy everything.
The Overexamined Life of Jacob Hart tests the bonds of friendship, family, and country and infuses existential questions from time immemorial with modernity, intrigue, and sheer excitement.
More info →Foster’s Revenge
In a kill or be killed world, The Reaper does whatever it takes to survive.
Following the murder of his half-brother, legendary Army Ranger Luke Foster returns to the United States from fighting terrorists. His brother’s history with a prominent New York Mafia family was no secret, so it’s no surprise his life was cut short. But the Mafia enforcers don’t know about Foster, his reputation as The Reaper, or that he’s coming for them.
FBI Special Agent Calico Hayes is determined to stop Luke Foster from leaving a trail of bodies across the U.S. in his unsanctioned quest for vengeance. But stopping Foster’s revenge proves more difficult than she expected, and sparks fly in more ways than one when the two cross paths.
While investigating his brother’s murder, they uncover a sinister plan to assassinate a populist presidential candidate. Hayes and Foster must put purpose before passion in order to stop the diabolical plot that could trigger a World War.
More info →