PW Select September 2014: New Titles from Self-Publishers

Booksellers, publishers, and agents are encouraged to take a look at the 43 listings of self-published books below. Some of these authors are waiting to be discovered; others have a track record and a following and are doing it on their own.

Fiction

After Midnight: A Novel
Diane Shute. She Writes Press. $16.95 paper (394p), ISBN 978-1-63152-913-9; $9.95 e-book ISBN 978-1-63152-914-6
Amazon; BN.com; IndieBound
As far as Alix is concerned, she has no past—only today and her plans for the future: raising a string of racehorses to take the 1830s British racing world by storm. Then Alix’s estranged twin sister drastically alters the course of her life. Spoiled, selfish Lily married an English lord for his money and social standing, but she is expecting a child—the result of her most recent affair. She persuades Alix to change places with her until the infant’s care can be arranged. As Lily’s husband grows increasingly suspicious, Alix begins to have nightmares about the past she has forgotten. Desperate to unravel the mystery, she sparks a quest to reclaim the family’s former life in France.

Anthony
Harold J. Fischel. Harold J. Fischel. $11.60 (315p), ISBN 978-1-4948-5121-7; $3.99 e-book ISBN 978-1-4835-2556-3
Amazon; BN.com
Life has never been easy for Anthony, the secret love child of a well-known U.S. general and his mistress. After his father dies in a plane crash, Anthony and his cancer-stricken mother, Yuni, are forced to move to a tiny New York City apartment. There, he’s flagged as an easy target for neighborhood bullies. But after a brutal attack prompts him to fight back, things start to turn around. He joins the school swim and wrestling teams, and begins to grow into the tall body he inherited from his father. When tragedy strikes again, it’s the girl Anthony least expects to have the power to heal him who helps him shed his image as the illegitimate son through the magic of love and leave his tragic childhood behind.

The Grand Junction
Joe Costanzo. Lulu. $13.99 paper (176p), ISBN 978-1-4834-1198-9; $4.99 e-book ISBN 978-1-4834-1199-6
Lulu.com; Amazon; BN.com
After sailing back and forth between Italy and America, an unscrupulous “bird of passage” named Tommaso Caruso—or Thomas, as he prefers to be called—disappears Someplace Out West as World War II erupts in Europe. After the war ends and there’s still no sign of him, his wife ships their son, Tommy, off to the New World to track him down. For Tommy, what begins as a simple mission evolves into a wild journey of discovery as he and mid-20th-century America collide.

How to Be Alive
Mary Chris Escobar. CreateSpace. $13.95 paper (234p), ISBN 978-1-5001-9878-7; $4.99 e-book ASIN B00L0MN3WY; BN ID 2940046020908
Amazon; iBooks; BN.com; Smashwords
College sweethearts Jen and Tanner have big plans. World travel and the next great American novel are surely within reach as soon as they escape Parktown College and its small-town life. Fast-forward eight years, and Jen is still unmarried. The only thing she’s writing is course recommendations for the students she advises at her alma mater. With all remnants of the old plan stripped away, Jen is forced to figure out exactly what she wants in life and how to move forward. Through unexpected turns and old flames reignited, Jen finally learns the one thing they didn’t teach her at Parktown.

Lolita in the Lion’s Den; or Pre-Tween Juxtaposition: From Abuse to Empowerment
Justin Forest. CreateSpace. $8.99 paper (212p), ISBN 978-1-4997-1740-2; $2.99 e-book ASIN B00MOQ0X82
Lolitalion.com; Amazon; BN.com
Glen has fought for years to escape a brutal home life and to accept that his father has been molesting his sister for over a decade. But after dropping out of high school and spending years working aimless jobs, Glen starts a new chapter when he enters college. But with that freedom come disturbing sexual desires and inclinations. Having grown increasingly reliant on his own fantasy world, Glen soon finds himself mired in the world of adult pornography and struggling with his attraction to both women and girls in a hypersexualized world. Haunted by the damage his father’s actions wrought, Glen must come to terms with his admiration for the exact thing his father so actively destroyed.

The Monster Between My Legs
Ray Flodna. Xlibris. $23 paper (242p), ISBN 978-1-4797-4487-9; $3.99 e-book ISBN 978-1-4797-4489-3
Amazon; BN.com
Guido, aka the Sicilian Mustang in the porn circle, always boasted of having a killer between his legs. He never knew how right he was until he noticed a swelling. Now he has two weeks to make right five years of lies and come clean once and for all with his friends, his family, and his best friend’s ex. And if that’s not enough, his ruthless agent wants to get it all on tape and make a reality show out of it. Will Guido manage to clean up his act before he becomes the Sicilian Gelding?

One Last Time
Jan Strnad. Jan Strnad. $14.99 paper (290p), ISBN 978-0-98903342-8; $5.99 e-book ASIN B00L2HT99I; BN ID 2940149776337
Amazon; iBooks; BN.com; Kobo
Grief counselor and skeptic Claire Devane finds her life turned upside down when the recently deceased begin to return from the hereafter to visit the living one last time, and secrets are revealed. Love and longing,| betrayal, murder, guilt—the visitations bring them all out of the shadows and into the light. It’s a strange new world, one that threatens to swallow Claire whole.

Pavitra in Paris: Stories for Life
Vinita Kinra. Greengardens Media. $17.95 paper (256p), ISBN 978-0-9920124-0-3; $7.49 e-book ASIN B00DO2IS50
Amazon; BN.com; Chapters
Eleven short stories take the reader on a roller-coaster journey from New York City to remote Indian villages with stopovers at Seattle, Vancouver, Paris, Bamiyan, Jaipur, New Delhi, Patna, and Mumbai. In the title story, a poor old Indian farmer travels to Paris with his masters. The other stories tell of arranged marriages, a lone journey through Thar Desert, finding a groom in an open bazaar, the desperation of a snake charmer, an older woman falling in love with a high school student, finding lifelong friendship with a parrot, committing suicide to teach your family a lesson, and coming face-to-face with your mother’s turbulent past during your own engagement dinner.

Reichold Street
R.L. Herron. CreateSpace. $12.99 (292p), ISBN 978-1-4751-0623-7; $2.99 e-book ASIN B007OZGXU0; BN ID 2940014276658
Amazon; BN.com
Albert Parker arrives on Reichold Street, a working-class American neighborhood in the turbulent 1960s Vietnam era, carrying the emotional scars of early parental loss and all the aggressive attitude a dysfunctional and abusive stepfather can create. His struggle to find a way to cope, and the stories of the neighborhood around him as he tries, create a story about friendship, love, and the remarkable redemption of war.

The Truth About Emily
Madi Brown. Concrete Jungle Publishing. $7.99 e-book ISBN 978-0-692-25171-3
Amazon
Emily Greene, 29, is still working on becoming a modern-day woman. It’s harsh but true—time isn’t on her side, and wanting to have it all doesn’t mean getting it. With zero prospects for a relationship and a stalled blogging career, Emily decides she’s been living too humdrum a life. She’ll have to start dating like a man, become more selective about invitations, and work even harder at getting her dream job. But gains don’t often come without risks, and Emily may be forced to choose—the profession she’s always wanted, or the love that she’s never had.

Zendoscopy: A Somewhat Coherent Collection of Stories
J. Allan Wolf. Inkwater Press. $16.95 paper (290p), ISBN 978-1-62901-057-1; $4.99 e-book ISBN 978-1-62901-058-8
Amazon; BN.com
The story of Sherman, from his unconventional birth to his settling into marital bliss, albeit with plumbing problems. His coming-of-age tale is sometimes tender, sometimes wrenching, and often funny and sexy.

Mystery/Thriller

Antidote: Clandestine Warfare in Modern Russia
John Lonergan. CreateSpace. $12.99 paper (296p), ISBN 978-1-5003-6116-7; $3.99 e-book ASIN B00KZ2VEQM; BN ID 2940046046915
Amazon; iTunes; BN.com; Google Books
It’s a very real danger that, in the future, bacteria can be used as weapons of terror. A group of Soviet Georgians develop a strain of common bacteria and create an epidemic against the Russian high command. Robert Cook, a microbiologist in La Jolla, helps track down the perpetrators through France, Moscow, and the Georgian republic. The novel mixes the sights, sounds, and tastes of those lands with enough science to interest the lay reader.

Black Boat Dancing
Gerard Cappa. Piper’s Head. $8.99 paper (276p), ISBN 978-0-9572829-3-3; $4.99 e-book ASIN B00KAG7MJG
Amazon
The new cold war is heating up, pump primed by oil and the race to control the pipelines. Cyberwarriors mine the dark side of international finance to destabilize governments. Their money trail stretches from Macau and New York to Rio de Janeiro, Cyprus, Beirut, and Odessa, and the finance lines of governments and gangsters crisscross through Ukraine and Crimea. When Jorginho the Black Hat hacker goes AWOL in Portugal with the secrets of America’s role in the Arab Spring rebellions, Con Maknazpy is enlisted to bring him back—dead or alive. Maknazpy must keep one step ahead of his U.S. handlers, Chinese military intelligence, the Russian mafia, and a Brazilian street gang.

Blood Line: A Granger Spy Novel
John J. Davis. Simon & Winter. $15.95 paper (251p), ISBN 978-0-9903144-1-7; $9.99 e-book with audio/video ISBN 978-0-9903144-0-0
Amazon; iBooks; BN.com
When a simple home invasion turns out to be not so simple, Ron Granger puts aside his quiet rural life and returns to the Central Intelligence Agency to take on international arms dealers. Aided by his wife, Valerie, and teen daughter, Leecy, Ron must quickly decide whom to believe among the calculating opportunists, shrewd criminals, and power-hungry rival agencies racing to possess the technological breakthrough that will change modern warfare. But when Leecy is kidnapped, Ron and Val must choose between the mission and a rescue. With time quickly running out, Ron knows only one thing: when you can’t trust anyone else, trust your family.

The Brothers Cro-Magnon
Roger Pepper. TrekkerPress. $14.99 paper (324p), ISBN 978-0-9860776-0-9; $3.99 e-book ISBN 978-0-9860776-1-6
Amazon; BN.com; Baker & Taylor
When New York reporter Corky Mason returns to her Siberian homeland to cover a story about mammoths, she unearths the frightening account of a prehistoric rape that casts a shadow over a 21st-century woman—her. She could be the sister of four Cro-Magnon brothers, brothers who murder people that threaten their freedom.

Death Sentences
Michael Zimecki. Crime Wave Press. $13.95 (212p), ISBN 978-988-165578-3; $6.99 e-book ASIN B00KALIXVW
Amazon; BN.com
Peter “Pop” Popovich is a 24-year-old unemployed glazier, anti-Semite, and white supremacist who believes that liberals want to take away his guns and his liberty. After he is pushed over the edge by his chaotic mother, his unresponsive lover, an uncaring stepfather, and a right-wing hate machine that stokes his inner demons, Pop explodes in a paroxysm of politically motivated violence. While he waits to be executed for his crimes, Pop squibs sentences, whole paragraphs, a novel about life on death row in which he reprises the life that landed him there.

The Letter from Magda
Gus Leodas. CreateSpace. $18.50 (370p), ISBN 978-1-4782-6689-1; $3.99 e-book ASIN B009R8QD2A; BN ID 2940045447232
Amazon; BN.com
“My dearest Johanna, I pray you never have to read this letter while your father and I are alive.” So begins Magda’s letter to her daughter, urging her to change her identity, and to run and hide. Johanna returns home, needing to uncover the deadly family mystery.

Nobody’s Child: The Georgia Davis Series #4
Libby Fischer Hellmann. Red Herrings Press. $16.99 paper (350p), ISBN 978-1-938733-46-8; $4.99 e-book ISBN 978-1-938733-47-5
Amazon; BN.com
A bloodstained note left for PI Georgia Davis reveals the existence of a half-sister she never knew about. Her sister, Savannah, is pregnant and begging for Georgia’s help. Determined to track her down, Georgia finds herself heading deep into the secretive and dangerous underworld of Chicago’s sex trafficking business. She soon discovers that trafficking is just a small part of the horrifying and deadly situation in which her new sister is caught up. Even worse, as Georgia tries to extricate Savannah, she comes up against an old enemy determined to make sure neither woman escapes alive.

The Protocol: A Prescription to Die
John P. Goetz. Amazon. $18.99 paper (305p), ISBN 978-1-4774-9450-9; e-book $3.99
Amazon; iBooks; BN.com; Kobo
A medical thriller in the Eat Teague series. What if the government assigned value to individuals and controlled whether a person could live or die? What if the elderly and infirm became targets of a government authority with a mandate to test and determine treatment only if medical costs somehow justify their benefits? What if you are prescribed the Protocol, a prescription to die?

Public Offerings, Book 1: Birthright
Bob LiVolsi. Fifth Book. $6.98 paper (154p), ISBN 978-0-9769446-5-2; $2.99 e-book ASIN B00CLJ06ZW
Amazon; BN.com
As Boko Haram overruns Lagos, Nigeria, Dave Clement escapes, moving his revolutionary malaria vaccine program to Sierra Leone and expecting a more peaceful reception. Instead, sinister forces work to use the vaccine to seize power and inflict a genocide that could kill millions. Dave tries to stop the plot, only to find his 15-year-old daughter back home in Colorado is being held hostage to force his cooperation. Events signal the progress of the conspiracy as the conspirators relentlessly drive their new world order forward. With everything he ever cherished on the line, Dave races the clock to save his daughter and millions of others.

A Woman to Blame
Vincent Panettiere. AuthorHouse. $23.95 (356p), ISBN 978-1-4969-1435-4; $3.99 e-book ASIN B00LBCGU5U
Amazon; BN.com
A thoroughbred racehorse collapses and dies after finishing last in a race he was favored to win. Hours later the stallion’s trainer, a young woman with a promising career, is found dead on a beach in suburban Chicago. The police draw a facile conclusion: murder/suicide. Mike Hegan, a veteran police detective being forced to retire on a medical disability, refuses to believe the official version. His search for the truth leads him to a promontory on a Caribbean island where scores are settled and lives lost.

Romance/Erotica

Boy in a Band
Lisa Loomis. Lisa Loomis Books. $15.95 paper (300p), ISBN 978-0-557-30177-5; e-book ASIN B007F1VSLW; BN ID 2940045814676
Amazon; BN.com; Smashwords
Morgan Mallory meets beautiful, sexy, blond-haired, blue-eyed Mathew O’Conner, a singer in a rock band, when she’s just a teen. Her instant physical attraction to him completely unnerves her. Their convoluted relationship transcends years, and even when she knows it would be best to stay away from him she can’t seem to stop herself. What is it about the bad boy she seems to love? An erotic coming-of-age novel.

Cole: The Ride Series, Book 1
Megan O’Brien. Megan O’Brien. $2.99 e-book ASIN B00ILKTBSI
Amazon; iBooks; BN.com; Kobo
Scarlet Malone has lived quietly for years, hiding from her past. Aside from her best friend, Kat, she doesn’t allow herself to get close to anyone. Then Cole Jackson, vice president of the Knights MC comes bursting into her life with his gorgeous eyes and fierce determination to have her in his bed and his life. Could Cole really be Scarlet’s happily ever after? When Scarlet’s past becomes their present, will she run to protect those she loves? Or can she trust in Cole to protect her life and her heart?

Legal Briefs: Lawyers in Love #3
N.M. Silber. Mendelssohn Levy Publishing. $9.99 paper (335p), ISBN 978-0-9895984-5-3; $2.99 e-book ASIN B00JUDT4O6; BN ID 2940149548286
Amazon; iBooks; BN.com; Kobo; Smashwords
Smart and sassy lawyer Lily Adler has been waging an epic battle with handsome and cocky Assistant District Attorney Adam Roth since “the glitter incident” in preschool. Their friends’ marriage, a mysterious neighbor, a federal trial, and some bossy big sisters guarantee they’ll be spending plenty of time together. When they try to play nicely, will they discover that their reaction to each other is even more volatile? Can they manage to date without anyone sustaining injury? Can they avoid the mobsters trying to kill them without killing each other first?

Uninhibited (The Callahans, Book 2)
Melody Grace. Melody Grace Books. $3.99 e-book ASIN B00L1PCW18; BN ID 2940149798711
Amazon; iBooks; BN.com
Alicia Wright has spent years pining after the perfect man who’s about to marry someone else. Rock star Dex Callahan swore his days of fame and debauchery were behind him, but the spotlight keeps calling his name. Determined not to fall into his old life, he goes looking for distraction—and finds an intoxicating redhead with a mouth made for sin. Dex offers her a deal: spend one week with him, and she’ll forget her old flame ever existed. As the whirlwind week of pleasure unfolds, Alicia discovers a desire she never knew existed—and the tortured heart Dex hides behind his charming smile. But can old loves so easily be replaced? Uninhibited is set three months after the events of Unrequited but can be enjoyed on its own.

SF/Fantasy/Horror

DragonFly (Illustrated Edition): Missions of the DragonFly Squadron, Book 1
Charles A Cornell, illus. by Jose Garcia, Jordy Lakiere, Andrew Lounds. Charles Cornell Creative Partners. $3.99 e-book ASIN B00IPU44N6
Amazon; BN.com
On the eve of invasion by the Nazis, 22-year-old RAF pilot Veronica “Ronnie” Somerset is fighting another battle—winning respect within the stuffy, male-dominated British military. She’s feisty and brash and determined to become Britain’s first female combat pilot. When Ronnie is reassigned to a mysterious Royal Navy base off the coast of Cornwall, fate places her inside the cockpit of a revolutionary aircraft. Brilliant engineer Dr. Nigel Pennbridge has discovered quadra-hydrogen, an element that powers the DragonFly, a remarkable fighter-bomber that carries the hopes of Britain on its blue and silver wings.

Rule-Set: A Novel of a Quantum Future
Merrill R. Chapman, illus. by Norah Khor. Aegis Resources. $2.99 e-book ASIN B00LK00YNW
Amazon
In 2062, Rule-Set rootkitted Colossus, the quantum computing backbone of gaming’s first commercial immersive service. The FBI discovered that 42 accounts, each running a software simulation, had been illicitly installed. The government impounded Colossus, but no Rule-Set member was ever caught. For a quarter century, the 42 accounts have run. Now something wants out and will kill to escape. In 2087, Clarence Hamilcar, ex-Marine lieutenant, is flown by the U.S. Army to the Hyperconducting Hyper Collider, the world’s most powerful particle accelerator. Clarence must immerse and liaise with Hanabusa Narihisa, an AI extracted from one of the 42 sims. Clarence and Narihisa will engage in a battle of skill and wits whose prizes are the secrets of Colossus and Rule-Set.

The Stone Thread: Second Chronicle
J.R. Evangelisti. CreateSpace. $9.50 paper (242p), ISBN 978-1-5002-5554-1; 99¢ e-book ASIN B00LOZ4YV6
Amazon; BN.com
In AD 3000, what was once New York City has become a new and protected home for the survivors of the Great War but at a cost—impossible rules must be followed without question. The world outside is unfit for human survival. This is a tale of survival in a post-apocalyptic dystopia.

The Sword of Agrippa
Gregory Ness (as Gregory Lloyd). Indie. $3.99 e-book ASIN B00LCOTMCU
Amazon
Roy Swenson is on a quest to discover dark energy, which could transform the world and lead to a new tech revolution, but mainstream science and religion view him as a threat. Roy chases his dream with everything from graphene-coated sensors to experiments with pineal glands and DMT. At night Roy’s dreams take him through secret rooms in the Great Library of Alexandria as a young Roman soldier, Marcus Agrippa. Agrippa falls in love with an Egyptian slave priestess, who guides him through racks of now-lost scrolls. Along the way, Agrippa must make painful, personal sacrifices for the glory of Rome. He eventually builds the Pantheon, not as a tribute to war but as a quiet dedication to the priestess who introduced him to love and enlightenment. Both heroes fight to the end, each in his own way, as they seek the betterment of humanity.

Inspirational

The Contemplator: Practical Philosophy to Keep Your Mind Clear, Body Light, and Spirit Free
Vijay Mattewada, M.D. Yampress Books. $6.99 paper (146p), ISBN 978-0-692-02645-8; $1.99 e-book ASIN B00KQQI3S4
Amazon; BN.com; Books-A-Million; eBay; Ingram
Contemplation is a lost art, and chances are, you’ve forgotten how to be alone with your thoughts. Philosopher-physician Mattewada provides an accessible gateway to inner peace and clarity with his new book of aphorisms. He helps you understand the importance and life-changing benefits of a moment’s pause to reflect, whether it’s of nature, your soul, God, a personal burden, or a decision big or small. Soon the inclination to step out of the daily grind and away from the information highway, to stop and think, will become second nature. The goal of deliberation is a better understanding of yourself, your life, and your purpose for living.

The Gospel According to Judas: A Handbook on Life
John H. Doe. CreateSpace. $8.77 paper (130p), ISBN 978-1-4912-7115-5; $3.99 e-book ASIN B00EET47AW
Amazon; BN.com
I was drafted into the War in Heaven on October 7, 1988, by an infinite light. Off and on it was there, in this other world I lived in sometimes, something like that—for 25 years. Only near the end of it, January 2013 (the tail end of the Year of the Dragon), only then did it all start to come together and make sense. Not only the War, but what the War meant to all of us, all who have ever been born or ever will. And the secrets of the universe can be distilled as,“Walt Disney is God.”

Nonfiction

No Labels
Monica Gurdjian. First Choice Books. $7 e-book ISBN 978-0-9920474-0-5
Amazon
This book traces the lives of the author and her interfaith and multicultural family from war-torn Europe to Iran and then to Canada within an overarching theme of politics, culture, and religion. Gurdjian traces her quest to find an identity within the kaleidoscope of cultures and religions that defined her childhood and describes how this journey informed her life lessons.

The Word: The Best of Simon’s 10Q Interviews, Vol. 1
Simon Duringer, illus. by Michael Price. CreateSpace. $16.80 paper (416p), ISBN 978-1-4974-9958-4; $3.39 e-book ASIN B00LH8I3MQ
Amazon; BN.com
Have you ever fantasized about working alongside screen legends? What would it take to work for the same publisher as Dan Brown, or be nominated for and win an Oscar, Pulitzer, Emmy, or Best Novel award? How would an entertainer survive on a desert island with nobody to entertain? What thoughts would cross your mind moments before death? Who inspires the inspirational? The answers to these questions and so much more are contained in this collection of interviews with award-winning novelists, directors, publishers, and artists by 2014 UK National Blogging Finalist Duringer. Ten percent of all royalties are donated to the Royal British Legion.

Business/Personal Finance

Build Wealth & Spend It All: Live the Life You Earned
Stanley Riggs, M.D. Monetary Publishing. $27.95 hardcover (212p), ISBN 978-0-99152150-0; $3.49 e-book ASIN B00M4M2SZ2
Ingram; BN.com; Amazon
Riggs has built wealth for over 50 years through several very different careers, each of which made him a multimillionaire. Here he explains the three basic financial concepts anyone can use to build and protect wealth. But while visiting his aged mother in a nursing home, he realized the home was draining the money she had saved simply because she still had it, while other residents who had already enjoyed spending their money were getting a free ride. Riggs made a plan to enjoy strategically spending his own money or gifting it all over a predetermined period of time, before the private IRA, 401(k), and Roth retirement accounts are nationalized and redistributed. He would spend it all and die broke—insolvent but not illiquid or destitute.

Simple, Smart Investing: A How-To Investment Guide for Everyone
Ian Kennedy. Inka Publishing. $14.95 (292p), ISBN 978-0-615-86906-3
Amazon; BN.com
Most savers don’t know enough about investing to protect themselves from financial advisers who earn their living selling products and services that cost a lot and generate inferior returns. This guide wants to help investors identify and hire an investment adviser who does not have a conflict of interest with his clients, tell you what you need to know about the capital markets to avoid costly mistakes, and how to filter out the nonsense fed you by the financial services industry and understand what does and does not contribute to investment returns. It shows why costs matter far more than investors realize. You’ll also learn how to write an investment plan and stick to it, and then how to construct and manage an investment portfolio with suitable risk controls. And finally how to keep score properly so that you can tell whether your (or your adviser’s) decisions are adding to or detracting from your net worth.

Self-Help

The Grieving Parent’s Book of Hope: How to Survive the Loss of Your Child
Norma Sawyers-Kurz, illus. by Norma Sawyers-Kurz. Dogwood Publishing. $23.95 hardcover (131p), ISBN 978-0-963003-16-4; paper (131p), ISBN 978-0-963003-18-8; $6.99 e-book ISBN 978-0-963003-17-1
Amazon
A comprehensive and compassionate journey down the road of grief toward healing for moms and dads who have lost a child. The book helps take the parent away from the lonely path of lost hope to a life once again filled with meaning and purpose. It is written from the intimate firsthand experience of a mother who has lost her child and holds the reader in a continual warm embrace. Although competent professionals have written many books about the grieving process, this book has been written someone who personally understands how a bereaved parent feels.

SACRED Survival: Help and Hope When Living Hurts
Dr. Chris Hilicki. Clovercroft Publishing. $14.99 paper (192p), ISBN 978-1-940262-36-9; $9.99 e-book ASIN B00LP34RP0
Amazon; BN.com
An inspirational and practical guidebook for anyone facing loss and disappointment associated with long-term challenges such as chronic pain, divorce, financial problems, unemployment, assault, illness, dying, and growing old. A source to turn to when you feel like giving up and settling for less than you hope for. The six practices—Strength, Acceptance, Compassion, Relationship, Exits, Decisions—take the crisis out of chronic problems to help you let go and go on.

Children’s Fiction

Cinderella Spinderella: The Diverse Book for Families
Mark Binder, illus. by Steve Mardo. Light Publications. $11.99 paper (52p), ISBN 978-1-940060-05-7; $4.99 e-book ISBN 978-0-9824707-3-2
Cinderellaspinderella.com; Amazon; BN.com
Wicked stepsisters, a rocking fairy godmother, and a very unusual chauffeur have entertained thousands of listeners of all ages and backgrounds for more than a decade. Binder began creating Cinderella Spinderella when he was telling stories to ethnically diverse audiences and disabled youngsters. The award-winning e-book has 25 possible variations. In print, choose among five seasonal versions: Autumn/African-American; Winter/Caucasian; Spring/Asian; Summer/Hispanic; and Monsoon/Indian Subcontinent. Ages 5–8.

High School Society of One
Antranig Dereyan. Amazon. $2.99 e-book ASIN B00J43XFTC
Amazon
Sevag Hopefulian steps out of middle school Special Ed and into high school, quickly establishing himself as class rebel. His darkly comedic narration of the gritty day-to-day reality is like a descent into Hell as he struggles with kids who have bullied him for years, but he stumbles into a sideways acceptance by the Cool Kids. His comedy of errors escalates as he disrespects his classes and not only dates the Cool Kids’ “Virgin” Mary, but falls into an after-school job as a drug-dealing apprentice and a college-age girlfriend in New York City. Sevag’s own experiments with drugs take him into dangerous territory with a close call with a dirty needle and some serious side effects. He sees two of his former frenemies busted before deciding to put girls, dope, and friends to one side while he cleans up and buckles down so he can pass freshman year by acing his finals. Ages 12–up.

The President’s Caddy: A Golf Story
Tony Rosa. Jackpot Press. $11.95 paper (136p), ISBN 978-0-9828225-0-0; $4.95 e-book ASIN B00KI7QYGY
Amazon; BN.com
Sam Parma,16, lands the job of caddying for the president at a celebrity golf tournament. His younger brother will be caddying alongside him. Well, sort of; Matthew gets to drive around in a cart and play the “cute” card while, Sam hauls clubs next to an egotistical popular high school senior who thinks he’s as good as the pros. Sam wants to prove he is cut out to be a professional tour caddy but soon worries he may not be good enough. He’s a little put off that the president selects his own clubs and never asks for his advice. Then there’s Theresa Bellissima. She’s at the golf course, and Sam can’t stop thinking about what to say to her and whether she’s flirting with him. Sam’s not just learning about how to be a good caddy; he’s also discovering things about himself. Ages 12–up.

The Rose Master
Valentina Cano. Reuts Publications. $12.99 paper (194p), ISBN 978-0-9896499-7-1; $4.99 e-book ASIN B00L9EWSKG; BN ID 2940045662703
Amazon; BN.com
The day Anne Tinning turns 17, birds fall from the sky. She’s also being shipped off to become a parlor maid at a place she’s never heard of. Staffed with only three other servants, all gripped by icy silence and inexplicable bruises, and inhabited by a young master as cold as the place itself, Rosewood Manor is shrouded in neglect and thick with fear. Anne’s questions are met with hushed whispers, and she’s left to tidy rooms no one visits. As the feeling of being watched grows, Anne begins to realize something else is in the house—a creature that stalks the frozen halls and claws at her door. But as Anne forces the truth from Lord Grey, she learns secrets she isn’t prepared for. Now, Anne must risk her life for the young man she’s grown to admire or abandon her post while she still can. Ages 12–up.

When Lucky Met Unlucky
Miriam Dor. CreateSpace. $10.75 paper (34p), ISBN 978-1-4960-2515-9
Amazon; BN.com
It seems that Duck always has bad luck, while his friend, Bunny, is always lucky. One day their lucks meet. The same events happen to both of them at the exact same time. Will Duck’s luck change? Can Duck ever be lucky? This story shows kids that they have the power to be happy by finding the positive aspects of every situation. Ages 4–7.

Children’s Comics

Snowman Amuck
Cindy Samul. Key Art Books. $1.99 e-book ASIN B00IJ1ZVN8
Amazon
Jack’s parents are out, and soon Jack will discover something: never insult a snowman. Jack is dozing in front of the TV when he remembers that he left his sled outside. While Jack puts his sled away, a snowman sneaks into the kitchen and locks all the doors. Now Jack is stuck outside and it’s freezing. Jack thinks his sister is playing a trick on him, so he climbs to a second-floor window to attract her attention. That’s when he sees the snowman inside the house. When Jack finally gets inside, he’s on his own with a snowman determined to throw him out—permanently. Ages 6–9.