The American Civil War divided the United States from 1861-1865. During those years, over two million soldiers served in both the Union and Confederate Armies. What is little known is that not only the numerous children, some as young 12, enlisted on both sides, but also women who disguised themselves as men in an attempt to make a difference in the epic struggle to determine the future of the United States of America.

Short stories about kids ages 7 to 14, that when facing completely unexpected situations, show unexpected bravery they didn't know they were capable of. There are 7 stories, varying in length, about 1,000 to 10,000 words, varying genera, adventurous to fantasy, varying narrators and tense, and eras. Not a single story is like any you have read before, I am sure it. And if you like adventurous variety, you'll like this. To see more, go to d-d-ward.com

The American Civil War divided the United States from 1861-1865. During those years, over two million soldiers served in both the Union and Confederate Armies. What is little known is that not only the numerous children, some as young 12, enlisted on both sides, but also women who disguised themselves as men in an attempt to make a difference in the epic struggle to determine the future of the United States of America.

When life-changing pain is coupled with the welcoming of a new story for yourself, the word bittersweet just doesn't do it justice. You are quite literally in the middle - anchored between where you thought you were headed and where you're going now. In that uncertain middle space is where this story takes place, and maybe where you find yourself, too. The life Kelsey Baldwin had imagined for herself, the one she was right in the middle of, quickly crumbled around her on a single day as she was faced with a looming divorce while staring at a positive pregnancy test. It wasn't the way it was supposed to go. With each uncertain transition she went through - divorce, pregnancy, giving birth, moving cities, dating, raising a child without a partner - she clung to what she knew for sure: she was a strong girl and a brave girl, and the middle was not the ending. (Spoiler: that's why it's called the middle.)My story might look really different than yours, but I'm willing to bet you find threads from my messy middle that are also woven into yours.

Davie Paterson's rather hum-drum truck-driving lifestyle is thrown into disarray when both he and his twelve year old daughter are inadvertently plunged into an alternative reality. For reasons beyond their comprehension, they find themselves navigating a strange new world where nothing is quite as it seems, a land where they have suddenly been targeted by a ruthless band of mercenaries who by all accounts seem hell-bent on their destruction. As the tension slowly mounts, so does the daunting realization of their imminent demise should they fail to solve a series of baffling conundrums cast mercilessly in their direction by a greater force. As they attempt to decipher these perplexing riddles, they soon discover the difficulties involved are increased tenfold by the onslaught of attacks by their deadly enemies whose unexplained hatred for them, and all they stand for, remains unfaltering.