"My name is Ethan Canfield Ballard. It wasn't always my name, though. It used to be Pups, Pups Swift, to be exact. Unfortunately, I do not have a good origin story for that name; it seems to be one of those 'always been' sorts of things. Sticky. I survived the orphanage, or vice versa. But once I was out, the wide world was mine. What I didn't know was that a simple blood donation in a truck parked by my favorite library would change everything. Then I met Sean Challe, who had figured out ...

Genesee finds herself conflicted even as she seeks the solitude of a quiet stroll through the farmlands of Iowa. She has been summoned to Alaska by her former mentor, who is currently recovering from a mysterious ailment. Although it has been several years since she last talked to him, she makes arrangements without question. She is blissfully unaware that her life has been woven into a project that casts her as the key to unlocking the most powerful weapon nature possesses. The Everything...

A collection of short and long stories, a sampling of poetry, and a screen adaptation of the novel "The Sparkle of Fish."

Anthem Waller is living her best life in the small fictional town of Barclay, West Virginia. She had a complicated beginning to her life, losing her parents to violence and despair while still too young to know, being adopted by the town and her recently arrived uncle. Forty years later, married but childless, she is content in the relaxed pace of her 'bump on a knob.'And then a stranger arrives. He has been traveling for forty years in search of merchandise stolen from a German Je...

Note to Readers: If you are considering this book, thank you. While not a trilogy, it does bring my previous two books to a conclusion. Sarason Seed was not an easy character to explore, and his demise in this final installment (not a spoiler) was necessary to relieve me of his presence and the characters he fooled while he was alive. He was the nicest not-nice man I have ever constructed. The book is broken into three parts: how he dies, the atonement his acquaintances are offered by the ...

This story begins with a visit from an old friend of her husband. His appearance, while welcome, is not coincidental. A good deed is uncovered and goes viral which brings more unwanted visitations. A retired private investigator has enlisted the help of a local reporter and penned an unauthorized biography of the reclusive billionaire with a murderous past.Raffe has come to visit Marley Cornish, forty years after her husband and his friend lost contact with each other. His visit is ...

Sarason Seed was reborn as the child of a crime. From that revelatory beginning, he stumbles forward with a broken moral compass and an unusual sense of belonging to others experiencing the same social isolation.His innocence and confusion, having survived a mostly loveless childhood, were permanently lost to the challenge of what was good and what was evil. The young Sarason willingly withdrew into a world that was too adult. He learned to navigate the decay of his hometown, chall...

Eden Chance is a seeking a stolen treasure. His quest has led him across numerous continents until he finds what he hopes is a clue in a rural southern town. Happenstance offers him a clue to the possibility as he overhears the local residents talk about a dead man's claim to have hidden a cache of jewels, a tale they consider tall. Griffin has long since passed away but the rumor that he had stashed the 'loot' on his property gave Eden hope that his journey may be close to ending. He rent...

Do you keep doing things differently but the result always winds up the same like you always end up in the same relationship or the same argument or the same bad feeling? Time to get off emotional hamster wheel. WHAT PATTERN? can show you how. From the 'This or Prozac' series - short focused advice for everyday life. Matt Prager is a licensed therapist who offers dating coaching business coaching and phone therapy for both individuals and couples. He also offers assistance with all ...

A young man writes letters in a last gasp at finding meaning in the world.

This section deals with overcoming a broken heart. A broken heart is one of the worst feelings in the world. The trick is to understand that life progresses and over time the wounds will heal. Not saying the scars will disappear, but the wounds will heal and you will be able to breathe again. It's having understanding and patience during the healing process that will either make or break you.

Robert had received a sticky saying he would find God at a Kosciusko Street address. He accepted the invitation and met with the woman you see in the picture. The conversation they had, the lunch they enjoyed at Angelo's Pizza Palace, and the monumental event that occurred there will astonish you and strain your credulity.