The last few years have separated people, physically and mentally. This isolation has not been healthy. Human beings are social creatures. Even so, many people were lonely or isolated long before the pandemic. My writing, despite itself, constantly toys with experiences of isolation, be it a physical separation from others, or that sense we get of being alone in a crowd. Loneliness and isolation have been near constant partners in my life, to more or lesser degrees, so the fact I find them showing up in my writing shouldn’t really be a surprise. Noticing thusly as I stare into the mirror, I decided to face isolation and loneliness directly, with a book of short stories orbiting these ideas, examining them from different angles like the facets of a cut diamond. My Crystals of Dead Lakes.

When Illian, a thirteen year-old boy, is awakened by a chilling dream, he's thrown into the midst of an age-old battle. Now, he must face a monstrous king, dangerous perils, dragons, and evil beasts. All to bring the true king back to power. Though lacking the qualities of a skilled warrior, the true King of Varveria anoints Illian as the "Chosen One" and gives him a stone prophesied to crush the evil king's tyranny. Plain to the ordinary eye, the Stone contains great powers. It's up to Illian and a small band of friends, each with unique gifts, to discover the Stone's true purpose. Will Illian face his fears and destroy the evil king, or will darkness prevail? Travel with Illian to an ancient land layered in truth and mystery, where falcons talk, warriors ride fiery chariots, evil has wings, and one boy with one stone can change everything. Arnita C Wright is an accomplished author, wife and mother, with several published short stories and articles. Her book The Journey has sold copies nationwide. Wright breathes true life experiences into her characters. You'll find yourself laughing, crying and on the edge of your seat, all in the opening chapter. With a degree in education from Bethany Bible College, CA; Arnita combines her love for biblical studies and literature into powerful stories filled with faith driven characters, whose lives leap from the pages of her books. Her husband, Jeff Wright, is a member of Solar Eclipse (www.myspace.com/solareclipseband), an alternative worship band that ministers to youth and adults in the Plains States. Find out more about The Stone, and other A.C. Wright books and stories at www.myspace.com/faithwriter, or email her at [email protected].

In Lakes: Their Birth, Life, and Death, John Richard Saylor shows us just how deep our connection to these still waters run in a revealing look at lifegiving bodies of water. Think all lakes are the same? Think again. Saylor leads an illuminating tour of the most fascinating lakes around the world. Whether it's Lake Vostok, located more than two miles beneath the surface of Antarctica, whose water was last exposed to the atmosphere perhaps a million years ago; Lake Baikal in southern Siberia, the world's deepest and oldest lake formed by a rift in the earth's crust; or Lake Nyos, the so-called Killer Lake that exploded in 1986, resulting in hundreds of deaths. Along the way we learn all the many forms that lakes take--how they come to be and how they feed and support ecosystems--and what we stand to lose when lakes vanish.