Growing up in the inner city, Chris seen and heard a lot, only in his early twenties, he's what most might call an old soul. By his teenage years, he had a maturity and sincerity in his writings that were both thought provoking and heart warming. Early joy and pain have helped him to write about love, life and everything in between. Follow him in his journey from boy to young man as he expresses his life's trails and tribulations, up rises and down falls through passionate poetry. Travel from word to word, one poetic entry to the next. Witnessing a writing explosion on the topics of growing up without active parents and coping with the passing loved ones while contemplating his own death.

Professional success, public accolades, social prominence, or a glamorous lifestyle cannot insulate against private grief, family tragedy, or personal loss. Here is the eloquent story of a family, in so many ways blessed, suddenly stricken with loss and tragedy, and its response to those events. Written by the familty's youngest child, Hattie Gordon, this book is an honest and straightforward account of her family's painful losses, and especially her response to the tragic suicide of her beloved brother. This deeply moving story will be important for those dealing with the plague of mental illness and its effects on families.

The wackiest characters this side of Mayberry stumble through misadventures with Southern wit and audacity. Leonard, Elvis, and Jelly, the main characters, find themselves in one catastrophe after another; a holdup, a pickle eating contest, a giant snake and the capture of a Chinese troll as well as the ordinary problems of life. The stories are told by the Preacher who is the narrator. Kind hearts and good intentions clash with reality and mess-ups in this zany glimpse of rural america as it was and still is in a place called The Pour House Cafe in Maple Hill, Tennessee. "This book is to entertainment what cornbread is to black-eyed peas." Elvis Wilbanks

Can an icicle-themed festival thaw the most unlikely hearts? California lawyer Mina Richards spent her childhood helping her mom bake at their winter-themed café in the snowy village of Gosberg, Germany. When her retired parents want to sell The Icicle Café, Mina returns to facilitate the sale. She needs this to go right—she’ll fly in, finalize the deal and fly out to rescue her once high-powered career. But faced with Scott, her childhood friend and crush who doesn’t want to sell, Mina’s plan quickly falls apart. Rising chef Scott Dawson has turned The Icicle Café into a destination restaurant. His parents and their partners want to sell the café to a hotel chain, and Scott can't meet their price. When Mina arrives—more beautiful and determined than ever—he sees the possibility of a new future for the business and the town he loves. He just needs to change her mind…about more than selling the café. When Scott asks Mina to help with the café’s annual Icicle Fest, their icy relationship warms. Can these former friends find a future together in the snowy village of their past? Each book in the Second Chance Miracles series is standalone: *Love at the Icicle Cafe *Christmas in Full Bloom

It was a time when things were simpler--when large houses, not small cars, cost twenty thousand dollars and gasoline was eighteen cents a gallon. It was 1955 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and with a plan only the mind of a seventeen-year-old boy could contrive, Randy Betattini schemes his way inside a strip joint. Lola, the stripper pictured outside is his main objective. Before the night is through he lands himself a job as a singer between the more exotic acts. Fay, the club's manager, becomes his nemesis. Ruling with an iron hand, she deems the women in the show off limits to him. But he finds a way, and in Lola's tiny room above the club their forbidden affair begins. Randy's parents know nothing of his new career, and thus, his double life begins. Meanwhile, on stage each night, the girls in the show strive to outdo each other. With full nudity against the law, they have only their ingenuity, originality, and costumes to compete with, leaving the best parts always to the imagination. In keeping with the reminiscence of this time gone by, violence is similarly kept at a minimum. Poignant and humorous, The Café Royal is truly a coming-of-age story of the fifties.

This collection of one novella and three short stories captures the traditional, emotional spirit of Christmas and presents the spirit in contemporary settings. Holly Day's Caf, the novella, relates the story of the last day of business at a Kentucky diner. This last day happens to be Christmas Eve. It is also the day of a rare blizzard-one which strands several customers in the diner. What occurs next demonstrates the magic and wonder of the power and spirit of Christmas. "Molly's Santa Claus" tells of the drunken homeless man that six-year-old Molly literally finds on her doorstep. What follows exemplifies this family's true, selfless Christmas spirit. "Angel Tree" is a story of Christmas promises broken and Christmas promises kept when a busy businessman comes face to face with his memories of Christmas past. Finally, "St. Nicholas of the Neighborhood" shows that things have a way of working out at Christmas, even when the presents are forgotten in someone else's house! This collection of Christmas stories for adults is also ideal entertainment for families to share together as they count the days until Santa's visit! Gerald R. Toner is a great lover of Christmas. He is the author of two other books about the holiday, Lipstick Like Lindsay's and Other Christmas Stories and Whittlesworth Comes to Christmas, both published by Pelican.