"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 ...

A young philosopher, who has sought the solitude of Iowa for no other reason than the free rent, is unexpectedly summoned by her former mentor to a remote village in Alaska. Although it has been several years since they last spoke, she leaves without question. Her roommate also receives a similar request.Only his response sets off a series of events involving unnamed billionaires with a secret project to search for an organic source of knowledge to feed their A.I. machines, a gover...

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 ...

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...

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 ...

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.

I'm seeing in the New Year, with my chosen lover, in front of the fire. Wonderful. Until, that is, an unidentified rural noise makes the townie nervous and something must be done to restore the magic.

Post-Apocalyptic TP Blues is the tale of a not particularly likeable fellow named Norman Joyner. A doomcryer from birth- Norman gets his wish when 94% of the population dies of the flu. When the dust clears- Norman has a plan to rule what remains of America- one little white square of TP at a time.