Looking Back, as the title suggests, is a glimpse back in time to some of the author's experiences as a young person, a middle-aged man, and finally, a happily retired senior, and the writing that continues to evolve as I tell these stories. I have always lived with the idea, in the back of my mind, that one truly does not know what you have until it's gone. With that I mind, I decided to write a book that explored some of the experiences in my life that clearly shaped my thinking and in m...

Letting Go is my latest collection of autobiographical poems and short stories. Having been writing for over sixty years, and trained as as folklorist and educator, I sometimes think of myself as a collector of my family's stories. I have also always been amazed with what I remember about my life, and what I do not. Perhaps this explains why I feel the need to record these stories, because they mean so much to me, and therefore represent higher ground. For example, as an adolescent, I spen...

Positively preoccupied with character, Eric Jan Larsen's Lonesome Love offers a collection of poems that touch upon the South, the Civil War, race and equality, family history, and the pandemic to explore what now seems like long forgotten virtues: integrity, dignity, empathy and compassion. Expanding on subjects expressed in earlier poems, the author has composed verse that speaks to contemporary and traditional issues such as the environment, political division, American values, and the ...

It was during my tenure as an English teacher helping children learn to write, however, that I formulated the guiding principle of my work: We all have a voice, and we all have something to offer via the written word. To this day, some of the most influential writing I have had the pleasure to read was provided by my students, many of whom, like their teacher, did not initially realize they had so much to offer others. I am forever indebted to them for their inspiration. Lyrical Life sprin...

Floodplains provides an overview of floodplains and their management in temperate regions. It synthesizes decades of research on floodplain ecosystems, explaining hydrologic, geomorphic, and ecological processes and how under appropriate management these processes can provide benefits to society ranging from healthy fish populations to flood-risk reduction. Drawing on the framework of reconciliation ecology, the authors explore how new concepts for floodplain ecosystem restoration...

This issue, we have 11 tales instead of our usual 10. Why? Because we felt like it! Or it’s a Mother’s Day special bonus. Whatever…just enjoy!This is another issue jam-packed with original stories. Tom Larsen and Anna Scotti (thanks to Acquiring Editors Michael Bracken and Barb Goffman), as well as Hal Charles and Robert Lopresti, lead off the pack with new mysteries. And Grigory Lukin, Eric Rutter, E.E. King, and Andrew Akers contribute new science fiction and fantasy. Classic rep...

Whether one is interested in learning about anthrax, sarin, the neutron bomb—or any other weapon of mass destruction—this thorough and detailed reference is the place to find answers.The threat posed by weapons of mass destruction (WMD), whether nuclear, radiological, chemical, or biological, is the number-one topic of concern for the intelligence community, first responders, policymakers, and myriad non-governmental organizations—and many members of the general pu...

In a world rife with violence, powerful warriors called Guardians protect the village of the strongest clan. To become a Guardian is both an honor and a duty. However, to become a Guardian is no easy feat. A potential Guardian must pass seven Ascension Rituals, each a test designed to kill. Follow Alix on his journey to become a Guardian. Alix's first Ascension test finds him locked in a cave with hundreds of undead corpses, alone, in the dark, and without weapons. He must solve a riddle w...

Jazzy Beckett touches a skeletal hand that is sticking out of a riverbank…and all at once, she is lost to the owner of that hand, a girl named Carolyn Crossley, also known as CC.CC was murdered back in the 60's by a man named Max Trumain. Now it is up to Jazzy's husband Richard to find Max Trumain. But if Richard fails, then Jazzy will die. No ifs, no buts. CC will drown Jazzy in the river. Jazzy who is pregnant, if only just, and expecting the child that she and Richard have always...

A vampire tale in a future America where terror reigns. Not your sister's Twilight.

From the collection Dreamin' Dreams; A short ghost story in 3,500 words.It was strange seeing the old Picturedrome again. After twenty-five years I don't know what I expected, but I never thought it would be exactly as I remembered it.A gust of wind threw rain against me and peppered the door with tiny droplets, and somewhere in the deep, dark clouds, thunder rumbled ...

When a human colony spacecraft crash lands on a planet ruled by Dragons and populated by mythical creatures, they mistake the creatures rush to assist them as an attack, this mistake leads to years of war until a truce is forged by the Red Dragon, will it last, can they all survive.