NEW BOOKS

Al Christie: Hollywood’s Forgotten Film Pioneerby Mark Kearney (with a foreword by Steve Massa)             Al Christie made more than a 1,000 short comedy films and features in a 30-year directing/producing career in Hollywood. In his heyday, his work was considered on par with such comedy giants as Mack Sennett and Hal Roach, but until now he’s been mostly a footnote in Hollywood history. Christie made the first silent comedy films in 1911 in the then-little known town of Hollywood and continued his movie making well into the 1930s as talking films took over.             Al Christie: Hollywood’s Forgotten Film Pioneer draws from interviews with silent film experts and family members, major archives in the U.S. and Canada, and dozens of newspaper and magazine articles to illustrate how he and his films were acclaimed in their time and his important role in the development of motion pictures.                This biography celebrates Christie's life and work from his early days growing up in London, Ontario, Canada where he helped touring Vaudevillians hone their comic skills to his years in Hollywood behind the camera. With more than 60 photographs and a detailed filmography, this book is a must-read for anyone with an interest in cinema history. Available at amazon.ca and amazon.com Published exclusively by BearManor Media.Contact Ben Ohmart at ben@bearmanormedia.comOr visit www.bearmanormedia.com     The Burden of Guilt by Richard K. Bercuson and E.W. Zrudlo               A Nazi war criminal extradited to France from Canada. A soldier’s war memorabilia, including a rambling diary, photos, and a loose page torn from a German ledger book. A 1944 prison escape involving leaders of the French Resistance. A country terrified to learn the truth about collaboration during the war and what happened to its legendary hero.               David Benson prepares to go to Paris to take on his first professional hockey coaching job. He carries with him the still vivid memories of his father who was killed in a traffic accident in France just weeks before. However, even before leaving, he is confronted with new information about his father’s death and the role he played while gathering evidence against the Nazi. As France wrestles with a looming war crimes trial, he seeks answers about his father’s mysterious death, who might have been responsible and why. This leads him to connect with people whose pasts are inexorably linked to the present and which put him and a young woman in harm’s way.                 Set mainly in Paris in 1980, The Burden of Guilt asks who the real heroes were during the Nazi occupation of France. Are there still secrets that need to be hidden and, if so, why? Papeeback and ebook are now available on Amazon and the e-book also on Kobo.

Greg is the son of Bobbi's oldest niece, Valerie Russo Buchanan. He has a son and a daughter, and lives with his family in the Atlanta area. This textbook, an important contribution to the "green" movement, was co-written by Bobbi's great-grand-nephew. GREGORY T. BUCHANAN, AIA, NCARB, CSI, LEED AP BD+C has spent his nearly thirty-year career endeavoring to advance the practice of architectural delivery through experience and leadership at top-ranked design firms. With advanced degrees in both Architecture and Civil Engineering, his pragmatic approach to problem solving enables him to develop and implement successful strategies and coach excellence in all facets of project delivery. Sharing his passion for process improvement, technology, and project delivery to a broader audience, Greg has presented his methodologies for a Lean Architecture at over a dozen regional and national industry events since 2013. Greg currently serves as Vice Chair for the BIMForum’s 2021 Lean taskforce. Greg visited Bobbi in Ottawa when the "new" city hall was being built, and although private vehicles were not allowed on the site, Bobbi took a chance, using her media credentials, to drive through the gates and close enough for Greg to take many photos. He then used these and his experience and research for a paper for one of his courses at the University of Illinois. He obtained both engineering and architecture degrees there, which proved a great help when he designed many large buildings that required both disciplines.

This is just one of the several murder mysteries Sandra Comini has written, now being translated into German. After retiring as an art history professor, Sandra decided to use her vast knowledge of art and music to create compelling stories featuring a clever sleuth whose background is very close to Sandra's own. That means a great deal of her fascinating life and travels is described in the books, along with characters, both living and imagined, who contribute to the arc of the story. Megan Crespi is a delightful protaganist, and her subjects often mirror artists and composers she has carefully researched, including Beethoven, Klimt, Kollowitz, Schiele, and Munch. Find them at https://www.alessandracomini.com. Friesen Press:  https://bit.ly/3oszotG Amazon & major bookstores       As a boy, he played a priest saying Mass. Fast forward to the '70s-long hair and rock-n-roll-a time for enjoying a new freedom as a budding young journalist at the Vancouver Sun. But after a random, chance trip to Seattle to visit family at a rectory, his life changed in an instant.     Because when God calls, you answer.     Father Rick thrived in the Second Vatican Council Reformation. He helped build communities and opened minds and hearts through his humour, passion, and understanding. Eleven years passed, and Father Rick began to feel the familiar pull of change. Love finds a way. He could no longer deny his new calling-husband to Suzanne and Dad to an irascible Adam who would lead him to forever love.      Father Rick, Roamin' Catholic is an eye-opening memoir shining a light on faith, religion, and the little-known life of priests. There is joy and mischief in the stories Rick tells a niece in Toronto as they munch Easter eggs on Good Friday during the Covid pandemic. He writes about a Church's declining attendance and troubling issues, right beside miracles, good works, and good people.      My faith was now more Roamin' than Roman Catholic, a God bigger than any catechism taught me. Be who we are. Love who we love. A believer, still standing.

Bob Barclay's new book reflects his continued interest in both music and history. In 1748 a mighty edifice rose in the Green Park in London’s west end, the launching pad for a grand firework to celebrate the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle and Britannia’s might! But what was King George II thinking when he decided to employ Frenchmen and Italians to undertake it? Did he believe the celebration of Peace meant peace between nations? And what of Mr. London Town, still smarting from a peace that was none to his liking and benefitting him not at all? Enter John Montagu, a highly capable and well-connected diplomat, courtier and statesman, to take on the task of realizing the His Majesty’s grand conceit. From the first spade in the ground to the shattering conclusion, here is the story from ten who witnessed and participated. And what a tortuous path the story takes. Read a sample and watch videos: loosecannonpress.com/new-release.html

Stories and poems have a way of transporting our minds to another place, making us feel something we have never felt, while informing and entertaining. Ottawa Independent Writers selected twenty-nine member  submissions for Short Stories for a Long Year, and created a diverse offering to suit every literary taste. As headline-grabbing events continue to unfold around us during this period of dynamic change, there has never been a better time to enjoy the power of words.  Edited by Bob Barclay. Produced by Ottawa Independent Writers.

Ottawa Independent Writers  has produced four anthologies in the past four years, which indicates how productive members of this organization are! Twenty in Eighteen features twenty pieces of short fiction, ranging from history to futuristic speculation, from personal memoir to wry comedy.  The twenty-four stories in the 2019 anthology range across the gamut of fiction and non-fiction, delving into speculation and introspection, exploring the future, the past and the present. Every taste is represented—wit and comedy, poignant moments and grand sweeps of imagination.  Open either of these books, dip in, and see where the story takes you. Our authors offer their readers an enjoyable escape. Both Twenty in Eighteen and A Two-four of Tales demonstrate the versatility and energy of their authors, and a deep appreciation of the talent that OIW boasts among its membership. There is something here for every literary taste. Edited by Bob Barclay. The 2020 anthology will be ready soon. It's called Short Stories for a Long Year. It's still under embargo, but watch this space to hear about the dedication. Available from Ottawa Independent Writers

We've featured this prize-winning poet's work before, when she as known as Sylvia Adams.  She is also an award-winning novelist, and her poems and short stories often win top honors in the annual Canadian Authors' Assocation (National Capital Region) contest. Her latest volume of poetry has been praised by A. (Albert) F. Moritz, the author of more than 15 books of poetry, who received the Award in Literature from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, the Relit Award (for Night Street Repairs, named the best book of poetry published in Canada in 2005), an Ingram Merrill Fellowship, and a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation. Moritz says: The sympathetic imagination, where it comes from and how it’s developed, is the underlying substance of Miller Adams’s stirring collection, Folding Laundry on Judgment Day. She shares the vision of Czelaw Milosz’s old man who tends his tomatoes and murmurs, “There will be no other end of the world.” Of this loving kinship with each and all, Adams says,  “She inherited it.// It should have a soft shell,/ birth morning echoes...” So she launches a beautiful book that takes us through lives and times, from love and its fulfillments and betrayals, to duty and its labours, and to death. The shot silk skein flashes from gratitude and honour to fear to discouragement and back, and catches up the whole of a life, always realizing there is something more, always something more...//Locking our doors will never stop the knocking. Many of her books are on the website.

Adam Prashaw’s life was full of surprises, from the moment he was born. Assigned female at birth, and with parents who had been expecting a boy, he spent years living as “Rebecca Danielle Adam Prashaw”, before coming to terms with being a transgender man. Adam captured hearts with his humour, compassion and intensity. After a tragic accident cut his life short, he left a legacy of changed lives and a trove of social media posts documenting his life, relationships, transition and struggles with epilepsy, all with remarkable transparency and directness.                 In Soar, Adam, Soar, his father, a former priest, retells Adam’s story alongside his son’s own words. From early childhood through first coming out as a lesbian and then as a man, and his battles with epilepsy and refusal to give in, it chronicles Adam’s desire to define himself, his joyful spirit and his love of life which continues to conquer all.” Tomson Highway described this book as Remarkable book, by a remarkable father Rev. Cheri di Novo, former Ontario MPP, said This book makes decades of queer activism seem worthwhile. Published by Dundurn Press.

https://alexbinkley.com/books/

A simple-sounding request from his brother, the new king of Bernna, sends Dameron on what turns into a dangerous mission in the Lands south of the Great River. He needs his solider skills to survive encounters with treacherous priests, bandits, thugs and shapeshifters under the control of the Evil.            After gaining important texts for his brother, Dameron heads for home with people he has saved from marauding gangs. Among them is Lady Burska, who is trained to fight with a sword. His group encounters Giants on a mission to warn their clans about the return of the Evil that is once again trying to destroy all who live in the Lands of the Great River.            The Giants’ Elder realizes Dameron is the Champion of the Spirit and starts to prepare him for a battle with the Evil that will appear as a massive black cloud. Collaborating with brother Artorus and his cousin Yukul, Dameron plans to confront the Evil’s hordes who have besieged Compard, a walled city on the shores of the Great and Reddon Rivers. They hope that will draw the Evil into the open where Dameron can confront him using the power of the Spirit.            He knows from the ancient Credo of the Champion that he must tap into the power of the Circle of the Chosen to gain the full strength of the Spirit when he faces the Evil. How to do that is a mystery he must solve.

A collection of haunting legends, delightful yarns, and spine-tingling ghost stories from the author of Shipwrecks and Seafaring Tales of Prince Edward Island. Swathed in mist, surrounded by the secretive sea, wind wailing like the lost souls of sailors around its shores, Prince Edward Island is the ideal setting for the strange and incredible, even the supernatural. Islanders have handed down, from one generation to the next, many legends and ghost stories of visiting spirits, buried pirate treasure, sea serpents, and ghostly apparitions. Who dares to doubt the veracity of the sailors who met a phantom schooner, the fishermen who fled from a sea monster, or the countless Islanders who have dug for pirate gold, only to be terrified by something uncanny and to have abandoned their search? Curl up on a dark night with this new second edition and find yourself transported to the magical and mysterious Prince Edward Island. Julie Watson is a prolific author of books on cooking, money management, small business, and diabetes, although her speciality has always been regional history. She lives in Charlottetown. Illustrated with stunning black and white photos by John C. Watson. From Dundurn Press

Detective Inspector Colin McDermott is assigned to learn the identity of a young woman who died in a London traffic accident and to notify her family. He discovers that she had two identities, one of which concealed a very private life, and that her death may very well have been intentional.     The trail leads back to McDermott’s alma mater and he must determine if an old friend and mentor is her killer.     Legacy has been highly praised as a multi-layered contemporary police procedural with well-drawn characters and a challenging puzzle at its heart. "A riveting procedural...Napier layers his story with subplots...and suspense” (Kirkus Reviews) "Seamless and believable...Napier shows himself to be a compellingstory-teller.” (The Sherbrooke Record) "We get a satisfying conclusion that we knew we should have predicted, if only we had paid closer attention...That is how the best mysteries are written, and Legacy is up there with the best.” (Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph) Selected by the American Library Assocation for its crime book club.    Available from FriesenPress jimnapiermysteries.com

Dr. Ian Prattis is an author, professor Emeritus, Zen Teacher, and poet, who is also an ambassador for peace and a spiritual warrior for planetary care. Through his numerous public talks and retreats around the world, Ian encourages people to find their true nature, so that humanity and the world may be renewed. This collection of poems features six thematically distinct parts, displaying a full spectrum of human emotions, capturing the shared aspects of our experience. Each poem reflects how deeply the author has travelled into his personal experience to process its meaning. His poetry is incisive and devoid of redundant imagery that might obscure the truth, both the poetic and human one. Ian has published many books with Manor House Publishing. The cover design for Painting With Words, was created by his wife, Carolyn Hill.

I've known Arthur Milner since the founding of the Great Canadian Theatre Company in 1975, when he was a graduate student at Carleton University. When the tiny organization moved into their first home, a renovated garage on Gladstone Avenue in Ottawa, Arthur's magnificent play, "Sandinista," set the standard for outstanding professional theatre.  GCTC is now Ottawa’s largest professional, independent theatre. Arthur has served as its Artistic Director along the way, and has written many memorable and award-winning plays for that stage. Arthur thinks that audiences were different in the 90s than they are today.  "They had higher expectations. There was a bit of electricity in the air. There was a sense that we might be about to witness something important. These were left-wing, nationalist times in Canada, and Five Political Plays captures something of the spirit of the era." Available online from Indigo.

Since he first heard a herald in the marketplace when he was ten years old, all Jacob Hintze has wanted to do is play the trumpet. Apprenticed to a German cavalry unit as a teenager, he is thrown into the horrors of the Thirty Years War. Employed as a courier and secret agent by his Duke, Jacob meets love, hatred, vengeance and betrayal as around him Europe tears itself to pieces. He plays his trumpet on the battlefield to send men to their deaths; he makes music in holy service to the glory of God. Jacob Hintze’s life story is a stirring struggle in which music, war, espionage and the love of a good woman wrestle for his soul on a backdrop of bloody conflict and fragile peace. This is another great story from Bob Barclay, author of Death at the Podium,  Ask Me About My Bombshells, and many others. Ordering information at Loose Cannon Press as well as from Amazon.

A charming memoir told in four parts: "An Army Childhood", learning what moving every two to three years across the globe means; "Turbulent Teens", where the moves continue, and life lessons come harder; "Married with Children", where the author begins family and career growth throughout an Air Force wife and Hockey Mom world, and finally "Alls Well that Ends Well", where a lifetime goal of settling in an adopted hometown is achieved. Each section in the book contains its own episodes, complete with wonderful illustrations. The book evokes the nostalgia of a time and lifestyle not experienced today, but that thousands of Canadian military "brats" lived. Michele Sabad takes us on one army brat’s journey with stories about a childhood in Calgary, Germany, Labrador, and Saskatchewan; becoming a young Air Force wife and Hockey Mom in Edmonton, Kingston, Winnipeg, and Cold Lake; building a career in Information Technology; and finally, settling in a new culture and life in Ottawa and Aylmer, Quebec. Available from http://stevieszabad.com/books/

“It’s Harriet’s fault. It’s always her fault, not that she’ll ever admit it.”             So begins A Spell of Murder: the first Witch Cats of Cambridge mystery, the first in a new cozy series that mixes feline fiction with a touch of the paranormal, and a little romance as well.             Becca, newly single and newly unemployed, wants to believe she has psychic powers. With nothing but time – and a desire for empowerment – she’s studying to become a witch. What she doesn’t know is that her three cats – Harriet, Laurel, and Clara – are the ones with the real power.             And when Harriet – “a cream-colored longhair with more fur than commonsense” – conjures a pillow for her own comfort, Becca believes her spells are finally working.                  Could that be why Trent, the coven’s devilishly handsome leader, has been showing her special attention? Or why Suzanne, a longtime coven member, draws her aside to share a secret – a confidence that may lead to murder?     This is another new series of cozy cat mysteries by Clea Simon, whose many books have been featured on this website HERE. Published by Polis.

Melissa Yuan-Innes is a prolific author who also works as an Emergency Room physician. Writing under her pen name, Melissa Yi, her latest medical crime novel features Dr. Hope Sze, who flies to Los Angeles to reunite with her soul mate, John Tucker. She expects Botoxed blondes with Brazilian wax jobs, not terror at 35,000 feet in the air. Yet on their way home, with 1000 miles to go and nowhere to land, she and Dr. Tucker must strive to save one man’s life. Hope and Tucker have no surgical equipment. No surgeon on board. And, as first year family medicine residents, almost no experience. But right this second, they’ll try anything. Especially Hope, because minutes before, she might have accidentally helped to kill the man sprawled at her feet.

As Susan Taylor Meehan says, "Dr. Ian Prattis, Zen teacher, ecologist and peace activist, outlines the urgent challenge of climate change and the prevailing attitudes that have enabled it to threaten life on planet Earth. He writes movingly of his own journey towards enlightenment to illustrate his basic thesis: that we cannot heal our planet until we heal ourselves." Koozma J. Tarasoff, Anthropologist, Peace Activist, Author and Photographer, says: "Ian Prattis' new book is an urgent call for action in our troubled world. Environmental pollution, wars, violence, greed, ego worship and crass materialism are issues that urgently need to be resolved for the health of our Planet Earth and its inhabitants. Indeed, we need to release our bad thoughts to the soil and become informed. This is a book for the new generation who also need to nurture a respectful relationship to Mother Earth." Published by Manor House.  Our World Is Burning website.

Benoit Chartier was inspired by his two young boys to write his first children's book, illustrated by Juan B. Juan Oliver. Ideal to read to toddlers, this is a fantasy about fighting fears (and plucking boogers). Flintebetty Flonagan is just like any other little girl growing up in a strange world full of mythical creatures. That is, until the day she answers a wanted ad for a booger hunter's apprentice! That night, she will go on an adventure that will change her life! The projected date of publication is early March 2019, but you can pre-order via the KickStarter campaign, where you can secure a copy of the book for $15, as well as see other options. Meanwhile, Benoit's adult books are available from Trode Publications.

Simon & Schuster

Bobbi's cousin, Gwen Florio, grew up in a 250-year-old brick farmhouse on a wildlife refuge in Delaware and now lives in Montana. Currently the city editor for the Missoulian, Gwen has reported on the Columbine High School shooting and from conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia. In 2013, Montana, her first novel in the Lola Wicks detective series, won the High Plains Book Award and the Pinckley Prize for debut crime fiction. Her latest novel, Silent Hearts, is set in Kabul,  Afghanistan, in 2001. An American aid worker and her local interpreter form an unexpected friendship despite their utterly different life experiences and the ever-increasing violence that surrounds them, as people fling off years of repressive Taliban rule. This hopeful chaos brings together American aid worker Liv Stoellner and Farida Basra, an educated Pakistani woman still adjusting to her arranged marriage to Gul, the son of an Afghan strongman whose family spent years of exile in Pakistan before returning to Kabul. Scroll down to find other books by Gwen, and go to her website for further titles and descriptions.

The Year of the Introvert is a seasonal daybook that takes introverts on a true adventure in introspection and self-care, 365 days of the year. You’ll get daily morsels of wisdom to strengthen your relationships, develop confidence, and truly blossom in your own introverted way. The book also has monthly gratitude moments, challenges, and “Fortune Cookies” to keep you motivated. We featured Michaela's first book, The Irresistible Introvert, when it was published two years ago. Her website contains confidence-building tools and inspirational quotes. Go to https://introvertspring.com/

More at: alluring-skopelos.com

This book contains striking images and insightful text that portray the beauties, history and culture of one of the most interesting, but lesser known and least exploited of the Greek islands. It includes some of the more than 350 ecclesiastic buildings on this island of less than 6,000 people, a tribute to the place of religion in its people’s lives.         The reader is introduced to Skopelos’s culture and history with its numerous architectural and archaeological treasures, footprints left behind by Minoans, Mycenaeans, Romans, Venetians and Turks, who have all been there.         Jesse Sisken is the author of The Minoan Gold Trilogy, novels set in Crete, Santorini and other Aegean islands from the 17th century B. C. to modern times.  His many photos of Greece are for sale from his website.

Available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Thirty years ago a disparate group of Ottawa writers decided it was time to get together. The initiators of Ottawa Independent Writers represented the complete range of literature: novelists (in many genres), poets, speechwriters, historians, journalists, essayists and more.       By 1990 OIW had hundreds of members, had organized a successful conference, and had published many newsletters and several anthologies.       From the beginning, the OIW membership has always had this wide base, and this 30th anniversary anthology is evidence of the same spectrum. There continues to be a great deal of talent in OIW; some writers are beginners, others have years of writing experience, and some are starting to write after long experience in other fields.       Every story, essay and poem in this anthology demonstrates the members’ craft and skill. We can heartily recommend them to you, and we know you are sure to find a few—or many—that speak to you. WATCH for the next OIW anthology: Coming in June:  Ottawa One Five O: in celebration of Canada's 150th anniversary. SEE IT NOW on the Quick Reads page.

Pottersfield Press Marjorie's website: www.marjoriesimmins.ca https://www.facebook.com/ Year-of-the-Horse-1627858887504581/

Dynamic and lyrical, Year of the Horse shares the setbacks and triumphs of a 55-year-old horsewoman determined to put the pain of the past behind her, and to create the sunniest of futures with new, extraordinary horses in it.           After a severe horseback riding accident in 2011, writer Marjorie Simmins finds herself unable to walk, or even turn over in bed. Two years later, partially healed, she surprises herself by making a bold decision: she will ride again, in a riding discipline that is new for her, and she will even compete in a show – her first in 42 years.           Mentored by two riding coaches, Simmins' initially modest goals take fire. She is also welcomed by a whole new horse community across Nova Scotia. Their encouragement carries her back in memory to the vibrant horse community of Southlands, in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she first started riding.           The Year of the Horse is about horses, healing and improbable dreams. It's for every person who's been really hurt – and has come back from that, different, and in some ways stronger. It's about daring to believe in the power of your own story.            An award-winning essayist and journalist, Marjorie Simmins divides her time between Nova Scotia and British Columbia. Author of the popular memoir Coastal Lives, she teaches memoir writing across Canada. She shares her life with her husband, writer and filmmaker Silver Donald Cameron – and dreams of learning how to drive miniature horses. She plans to ride forever.

Available on Amazon, and from Trode Publications.

One reviewers said "Benoit Chartier’s Red Nexus is as entertaining as some of the best action movies, and at the same time compels us to reflect on values we set on family, and raises disturbing questions about what could become of corporate allegiances, should we allow them to take control of us." Another reviewer describes the book:         "Once part of the Tokyo elite, Wen Harkwell lost his status when his mother died, and now he's forced to labor in the depths of the city, far from the easy life of the Heights, struggling to support his thirteen-year-old brother Sammy. By day he toils in a factory and by night he digs for scrap in the infamous Heap under the city. One night Wen is drawn to an old book he finds and risks taking it home - a quick decision with devastating consequences.         "Soon after, Sammy is kidnapped, and when Wen turns to a friend and coworker for help, the two find themselves embroiled in a secret high-tech operation that will stop at nothing to maintain their ciphered code. When Wen realizes that the same corporation connected to his mother's disappearance is behind the attack, he knows he must do whatever it takes to save his brother - even if it means working for the enemy." Finalist in the Foreword Reviews INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award

This story of one Australian family from 1808 to 1998 is based on real people and some fiction to “fill in the gaps.” Many names were changed and other events deleted to respect  living family members. A history of Australia as it affected the family through the generations, it commemorates the supreme sacrifices they made during war and hardship. Called “A Stunning, Generation-Spanning Epic” one reviewer  says “Smith has managed to bring the microcosm of a fascinating and complicated family in line with the macrocosm of global history over the course of more than a century.” http://www.an-australian-story.com

In 1935, Ruth was in born to an unmarried Jewish mother in Germany. Fearing the Nazi persecution, Ruth was sent to England on the "kinder transport“ to be raised by a Church of England priest. He raised her both as a Christian and a Jew. Her faith  enabled her to build bridges between different groups, even at an early age. She grew up to become an engineer, became a giant in the largest construction company in the world, where she developed and implemented the unique social interaction system that would unite people from different backgrounds and beliefs. http://www.lady-ruth-bromfield.com

Based on a special unit to create movies and newspaper articles designed to reassure the Australian public that their coastal cities were safe from invasion, this work blends fact and fiction in a tale showing the development of the unit, along with the romances and intrigues that developed. A loved one goes missing in action, folllowed by surprising events that include developments in Hollywood, Canberra North Queensland and war-torn south-east Asia. http://www.the-ministry-communications unit.com Look for Smith's books on Amazon and at http://www.gordontraffic.com

From Skyhorse Publishing    Michaela Chung's website On Amazon

From the review in Publishers' Weekly:       Michaela Chung is a Life Coach who educates her fellow introverts on how to effectively use their innate strengths while making slight behavioral adjustments to achieve self-esteem and earn respect from others.       On a mission to combat a perceived social “bias toward extroversion” where gregariousness is rewarded and the more withdrawn are unappreciated or ostracized, Chung celebrates the introvert’s natural magnetism, loyalty, intuition, and empathy.       She covers coping skills for introverts to cultivate, such as creating time and space to retreat and recharge, and tips to “extend our social batteries” to get the most out of social activities without becoming overstimulated. For those struggling with emotional roadblocks, she suggests creative expression and clever mental tricks of personification.       She also discusses some introversion-specific problems surrounding intimacy and how to overcome them. Exercises show readers how to “perform an energy audit,” identify their own goals and desires apart from societal norms, and project when speaking.       With public interest in introversion currently on the upswing, this is a useful all-purpose guide, particularly for younger readers who have not had the life experience to develop these skills on their own.

Although Laurie Gough was an intrepid traveller who had explored wild, far-off reaches of the globe, the journey she and her family took in their own home in their small Quebec village proved to be far more frightening, strange, and foreign than any land she had ever visited.          It began when Gough’s son, shattered by his grandfather’s death, transformed from a bright, soccer-ball kicking ten-year-old into a near-stranger, falling into trances where his parents couldn’t reach him and performing ever-changing rituals of magical thinking designed to bring his grandpa back to life.          Stolen Child examines a horrifying time in one family’s life, the lengths the parents went to to help their son, and how they won the battle against his all-consuming disorder. Praise for this book has been extensive, including a feature article in The Ottawa Citizen, in the Sunday Times in the U.K., on CTV News, Publishers' Weekly, and Maclean's Magazine. Go to www.lauriegough.com and order from Amazon.

| Published by Midnight Ink Other books by Gwen Florio

When former foreign correspondent Lola Wicks heads to Wyoming for a Yellowstone vacation, she comes across a story that hits close to her past. One Wyoming soldier returning from Afghanistan commits suicide, two others spark a near-fatal brawl, and a woman is terrorized. Lola, accompanied by her young daughter, senses a story about whatever happened on the far side of the world that these troops have so disastrously brought home. But she soon realizes that getting the story must take second place to getting herself—and her little girl—out of Wyoming alive. A gut-wrenching mystery/thriller that explores prejudice and the incredible stress on soldiers in a seemingly unending war with no clear goals.           Kirkus Reviews With the chops of a world-class journalist and an unsurpassed knowledge of the Rocky Mountain West, Gwen Florio weaves a compelling tapestry that combines family saga, social consciousness and human frailty, making Disgraced difficult to put down.        Craig Johnson, author of the Walt Longmire Mysteries, the basis for the hit Netflix drama