Many visitors to Yellowstone National Park don't realize that the boiling hot springs and spraying geysers are caused by an underlying supervolcano, so large that the caldera can only be seen by plane or satellite. And by some scientific measurements, it could be overdue for an eruption. For Alex, being left alone for the weekend means having the freedom to play computer games and hang out with his friends without hassle from his mother. Then the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts, plunging his hometown into a nightmare of darkness, ash, and violence. Alex begins a harrowing trek to seach for his family and finds help in Darla, a travel partner he meets along the way. Together they must find the strength and skills to survive and outlast an epic disaster.

Walking in circles, friendships will abound. With an eye toward heaven, angels around about. Found upon the sands, tinted glasses which help to see. Yesterday comes quickly. Where will we be? A star held dear, it will ring a silent chime. Stand tall in your faith. As a giant, be humble and oh so very kind. Long after death, a path will be seen. Words are most deadly. Listen, don't speak. Temptation will be offered. Let the curtains be sewn shut. A fortune for the sinner. Joints no longer rust. Roses colored black. Others will be blue. Many strings will be pulled. The scent will be true. Hidden in the shadows, paper will unfold. Eyes will be sleepy. A transformation will be bold. The truth in a tear frozen from the sky. Aligned past the suns, it burns very bright. All exits covered. Prayers, each and every heard. Not one but two of each. His is the Word.

This modern version of Romeo and Juliet tells the tragic tale of the love between a Czech girl and a Latvian basketball player.

We've all heard about Dementia, and quite possibly, have even been touched personally by this disease. But when I researched content for this endeavor, Dementia's voice foretold of a terrifying and nameless world, one in which identities, relationships, and memories were hollowed from the inside out. It's a world in which every frame of life smoldered until the ashes fell, leaving a land so barren that the final destination was unmistakable. It was only after witnessing 2 relatives succumb to the disease did Dementia have a face and leave me begging: 'what did you hear, see, and feel'? Before the Ashes Fall illustrates this world with uniquely distinct character voices, each struggling to understand the journey. Richard, the young schoolteacher battling the disease, desperately reaches for every thread which once made him whole. Cafferty, a prominent attorney turned Memory Care Advocate, wishes to offer 'unprecedented care with dignity' unlike the experience during his mom's own fight with the disease. Danny, Richard's cantankerous and terminally ill father, hasn't found a single reason to live until fate reunites him with the son he abandoned over a half-century prior. And finally, Dementia, the ultimate puppeteer who orchestrates the modern Danse Macabre with a brutal flair. In its purest form, the 81,000-word journey is a race toward freedom from a despotic disease and ultimate forgiveness of a father before time runs out. The manuscript has been content and line edited by a highly respected industry professional (David Aretha), who offered this impression upon conclusion:

In the years following its near-bankruptcy in 1976 until the end of the 1980s, New York City came to epitomize the debt-driven, deal-oriented, economic boom of the Reagan era. Exploring the interplay between social structural change and political power during this period, John Mollenkopf asks why a city with a large minority population and a long tradition of liberalism elected a conservative mayor who promoted real-estate development and belittled minority activists. Through a careful analysis of voting patterns, political strategies of various interest groups, and policy trends, he explains how Mayor Edward Koch created a powerful political coalition and why it ultimately failed.