From his very first poem in 1990, D. Alexander Holiday has engaged in an intense form of poetry that might be called Reality Writing. He has dealt with issues both personal (the abandonment and loss of never knowing his own parents), and universal (racism, genocide, imperialism). Now he returns with more poignant poems in which he continues a tradition he began long ago: putting people on trial in the public arena. In this case, the defendants include those who have united against him to prevent him from gaining custody of the granddaughter he was never informed he had – until the death of his own daughter, the little girl’s mother. Together with assorted letters and documents, this body of work tells the often horrifying story of Mr. Holiday’s run-ins with the human race: with the abusive and sadistic foster parents with whom he spent his first 18 years of life, having been abandoned by his mother and father (“Somehow Mama Knew”); with his daughter’s mother (“Ashes to Ashes,” “All the Killers Gathered”); and with co-workers (“Please Tell Massuh,” “How I Am Perceived”). But they also offer a few moments of gentle respite in the form of salutes to comedians whose work got him through the worst of times (“Stop Laughing at Me” and “Final Curtain”). As you read these poems, you will gradually learn of the insidious pattern of betrayal and deceit to which Mr. Holiday has been subjected to since his daughter’s mother packed up their child and moved her back down to New York City when she was still an infant. You will learn why he had no contact with his daughter, whom he loved deeply, for over 10 years – until he learned of her death in a most bizarre manner. And as you read of his conflicts with the human race - the years spent in abusive foster homes, repeated betrayals at the hands of family members, acquaintances, and others - you will marvel at the amazing story of a man who faced utter abandonment and turned to reading and writing instead of drugs, alcohol, or even more destructive forms of catharsis and escape which he might have (understandably) chosen.

From his very first poem in 1990, D. Alexander Holiday has engaged in an intense form of poetry that might be called Reality Writing. He has dealt with issues both personal (the abandonment and loss of never knowing his own parents), and universal (racism, genocide, imperialism). Now he returns with more poignant poems in which he continues a tradition he began long ago: putting people on trial in the public arena. In this case, the defendants include those who have united against him to prevent him from gaining custody of the granddaughter he was never informed he had until the death of his own daughter, the little girl's mother. Together with assorted letters and documents, this body of work tells the often horrifying story of Mr. Holiday's run-ins with the human race: with the abusive and sadistic foster parents with whom he spent his first 18 years of life, having been abandoned by his mother and father ("Somehow Mama Knew"); with his daughter's mother ("Ashes to Ashes," "All the Killers Gathered"); and with co-workers ("Please Tell Massuh," "How I Am Perceived"). But they also offer a few moments of gentle respite in the form of salutes to comedians whose work got him through the worst of times ("Stop Laughing at Me" and "Final Curtain"). As you read these poems, you will gradually learn of the insidious pattern of betrayal and deceit to which Mr. Holiday has been subjected to since his daughter's mother packed up their child and moved her back down to New York City when she was still an infant. You will learn why he had no contact with his daughter, whom he loved deeply, for over 10 years until he learned of her death in a most bizarre manner. And as you read of his conflicts with the human race - the years spent in abusive foster homes, repeated betrayals at the hands of family members, acquaintances, and others - you will marvel at the amazing story of a man who faced utter abandonment and turned to reading and writing instead of drugs, alcohol, or even more destructive forms of catharsis and escape which he might have (understandably) chosen.

“Relentlessly paced . . . As usual, McCammon dazzles the reader with gritty historical detail, vivid local color, and a cast of memorable grotesques.” —Publishers Weekly The year is 1703. The woman Matthew Corbett loves is rapidly deteriorating. A drug forced on her by criminal mastermind Professor Fell has destroyed her sanity. And the one thing that could save her—a book of potions—was stolen during an assault on the English village where she has been living under another name, an attack directed by a deranged man known as Cardinal Black. Matthew is a professional problem solver employed by an agency in New York, but this case is personal. To save Berry Grigsby, Matthew will journey to London with one of Fell’s henchmen and attend an auction to which Black has summoned unsavory characters from near and far—all vying to possess the powerful volume. But before Matthew can obtain the book and heal Berry, he must survive Cardinal Black . . . The “most intense yet” in the unique series that began with Speaks the Nightbird, Cardinal Black is a brutal and brilliant historical thriller from this New York Times–bestselling and Bram Stoker Award–winning author (The Florida Times-Union). Praise for the Matthew Corbett Novels “Excellent . . . full of tension and suspense.” —Stephen King on Speaks the Nightbird “Told with matchless insight into the human soul . . . deeply satisfying.” —Sandra Brown on Speaks the Nightbird “The Corbett novels are rich, atmospheric stories, the kind of historical mystery that makes the reader feel as though he really has stepped back in time. Matthew is a very well designed character, very much a man of his time but also ahead of his time, as though he has stepped out of a modern-day crime lab into the early eighteenth century.” —Booklist

Monsters. We all have them around us in one form or another, from the little bully in the schoolyard or the bigger bully next door or the bully at work and on the street. Some of our monsters appear to us as our parents or other guardians or adults and some are other siblings and strangers. These monsters can be quite real, they can be touched, seen, and heard. They haunt us during the day and they come to bed with us when we are ready to go to sleep. Some of these monsters are created for us by television, magazines, and comic books, monsters like the Alien creature that was always after Sigourney Weavers character Ripley, or the things in the cavernous hell-like holes in The Descent (1 and 2) movies. Monsters, whether they be the Power Ranger variety or some creature out of a really good horror novel or movie, comic or the heart pulsing kind, and either human or imaginary, these creatures leave their scars behindif you can survive their brutality. Mr. Holiday would like you to turn the pages and meet a few of his monstersone in particular being.

This collection bundles all 3 of Rene Gutteridge’s “Storm” suspense novels into one e-book for a great value! The Splitting Storm: Unsatisfied with the police investigation of his brother’s murder, FBI agent Mick Kline embarks on a journey to discover the truth. A young blind woman holds the key, but her fear for her own life keeps her silent. Readers will be gripped by the suspense and moved by the underlying themes of faith and spiritual blindness in this novel by up-and-coming author Rene Gutteridge. Storm Gathering: In this exciting prequel to The Splitting Storm, we meet Mick Kline at a time when his life is spiraling out of control. Mick finds himself accused of the kidnapping of a woman he hardly knows, and he refuses to turn to his estranged brother for help. Storm Surge: After ten years, FBI Agent Mick Kline thought he had put his past behind him. But when mysterious letters start arriving at his house, Mick finds himself drawn back to a case that had been solved ten years ago—a murder case in which Mick had once been the prime suspect. Mick’s investigation leads him to a man on death row for a crime he claims he didn’t commit and the homicide detective who handled the case. As Mick gets close to discovering the truth, a woman he cares about is kidnapped and held hostage. It’s a race against time as Mick rushes to stop a murderer before he kills again.

Heritage from Father is a poignant testimony on the suffering from discrimination and the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. It is also a testimony of love, compassion and healing after the authors parents, six brothers and sisters were killed in the genocide. In this testimony, the author highlights his awareness of Gods blessings upon him through people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. It is evidence that the awareness reminds him of the values of gratitude and faith instilled by his father from early age. The very values that had healed his father during the persecutions of the Tutsi in the years that preceded the horror of the 1994 genocide. Heritage from Father is also an account of how the saving hand of remembrance kept away from him the pressing need for hatred that had started to overrun him, and how it urged him to life in peace instead, with himself and with the world. This is particularly true in his personal style of forgiving the executioners of his family and relatives, in spite of their refusal to own responsibility.

Ferida Durakovic refused to leave Sarajevo when the bombs began to fall. Having seen her home and library bombed, she invokes in her poems the icons and myths of a troubled people caught between the two dominant religions of Europe. The first English-language collection by one of Bosnia's most promising young poets shows us how when the world is narrowed by guns, one's field of reference widens so much that "everything hurts."