Of the 64 poems in my first book of poetry, eleven had been previously published. In response to my impatience to go to press with this second book before achieving at least that level of validation, my wife counselled, "Maybe it's too early."

With her poodle, Sprocket, popcorn entrepreneur Rebecca Anderson must bag a killer in the latest Popcorn Shop Mystery from the author of Pop Goes the Murder. Repairs are under way at Rebecca Anderson’s gourmet popcorn shop. With production of her tasty treats on hold, Rebecca has plenty of time to read the old diary she discovered hidden in the shop’s walls. It’s a fun peek into her town’s history…until the diary’s abrupt ending leaves Rebecca wondering whether she’s actually stumbled upon a cold case. Unfortunately for Rebecca, mysteries are popping up right and left. When local busybody Lloyd McLaughlin is found dead, the police suspect he was poisoned by Rebecca’s popcorn. But Rebecca has only made one batch of popcorn recently, and it wasn’t intended for Lloyd. Nothing about Lloyd’s death makes sense—until Rebecca discovers a startling connection between the missing diary-writer and the murdered man. Now, with her reputation on the line, Rebecca must discover who’s been cooking up murder—both in the past and in the present.

Republican kingmaker Richard Tobias has hired attorney Mara Coyne, he says, because of her skill in recovering stolen art, but Mara senses that he is not telling her everything. Tobias reveals that a centuries-old map was stolen from an archaeological dig he is sponsoring in China, and he wants her to get it back. But as Mara begins her investigation, she uncovers the shocking truth: The map is more valuable than anyone has even imagined, and her client’s motives are more sinister than she suspected. From Hong Kong to the Italian countryside, from Lisbon to the remote reaches of Communist China, and literally around the world on the ships of fifteenth-century explorers, Heather Terrell takes readers on an adventure of epic proportions.

Buzzfeed News,"15 Small Press Books To Kick Off Your 2020 Reading Season" The Millions, “February Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated” "Death looms in these four sparkling novellas—thus the book’s sly title—but until then there’s the wonder of life. Frank’s subjects include fascinating friendships and complicated marriages, awful parties and odd enthusiasm. Bonus: song mentions that add up to a terrifically eclectic playlist.” —Kim Hubbard, People Magazine In her quartet of novellas, Joan Frank invites readers into the inner lives of characters bewildered by love, grief, and inexplicable affinities. A young couple navigates a strange friendship and unexpected pregnancy; a woman recalls the bizarre fallout of her former lover's fame; a lonely widow is drawn to an arrogant young man; a wealthy spiritual seeker grapples with what wealth cannot affect. Witty and humane, Frank taps the riches of the novella form as she writes of loneliness, friendship, loss, and the filaments of intimacy that connect us through time.

Leo is a police dog, a mongrel with a passion for Looney Tunes. He always wanted to have hands in order to manage the remote control of the TV and the refrigerator, but when his boss Steve is killed in an ambush, his desire becomes a real thing because his hands are the only means that will allow him to unveil the killer and obtain justice. From then on he will be involved in a spiral of adventures during which he will ”borrow” the hands of other characters met along a tortuous journey that will bring him from time to time closer to the killer, to the finale ”face to face”. Leo is an atypical police dog, a mongrel with a passion for cartoons. Since he was a puppy, he always wished having hands; he believes that these will make his life easier and more enjoyable. His life flows smoothly until his partner Steve, an agent of the Task Force, is killed in an ambush by a corrupt colleague in an abandoned shed. During the ambush, the recorder Steve had brought to unveil the killer falls into a crack in the floor. Leo knows that that object is very important, but he is unable to retrieve it because he has no hands. During Steve's funeral, Leo recognizes the killer and attacks him to kill him. The Commander of the Police Headquarters believes the dog is mad with anger and sorrow, so he sends it to the veterinarian so that he can put him down. The veterinarian, however, instead of doing his duty, sells him to a laboratory where are doing animal experimentations. There, Leo befriends with Giotto, a chimpanzee who loves to paint and knows how to gesture. The two are aware that at the end of the experiments, the laboratory director will ”get rid” of all the tests. So they design and implement the escape. Leo now has the hands of his new friend to retrieve the recorder, though to win his reticence he has to tell him a little lie. After the daring escape, a good dinner and a little ”binge” during which they trust each other, the two go to the crime scene. Soon after they enter the courtyard, however, the killer also comes in the company of an accomplice: they are also looking for the recorder. The killer wounds Leo and retrieves the precious object, Giotto scares frightened. Leo manages to escape and is picked up by Italo, a lousy private investigator; while escaping by car the killer sees them and writes down the license plate number. Italo takes care of Leo, who during the convalescence attempts to blossom the love between him and Stefania, his next door neighbor, and to befriends with Barbie, her dog. Barbie first ignores him, but when Leo saves her from a Dobermann, she falls in love. Meanwhile, Leo has also to deal with Puffi, a very cunning and mischievous Persian cat. Just in the middle of a romantic dinner, a phone call makes Italo go away for a job interview and Leo goes with him. But in reality this is a trap organized by the assassin, who has messed with Italo's car brakes. The two go off a cliff and Leo wakes up at the hospital, where he finds out that his body is dead and that, who knows how, he's in the body of Italo, who has disappeared. This new situation frightens him, but after he has recovered, he immediately finds the positive side: now that he is a man, he can finally give a good lesson to Puffi, and especially he can try to unveil his enemy. But being men is not easy and Leo encounters several issues, such as the relationship with Stefania, who now finds him strange, and that with Barbie, who has recognized him and accuses him of treason. He also has to learn how to talk and wash, dress and go shopping, get money and do all that other men do. Resigned to stay forever in that situation, Leo is pondering on what to do when suddenly the ghost of Italo appears claiming his body. Leo tells him how things are and tells him about the corrupt policeman, the ambush to Steve and all the rest. Italo tells Leo that for a mistake he has ended up in the Translator: Eva Melisa Mastroianni PUBLISHER: TEKTIME

A kidnapped boy! A terrified blonde! A fortune in stolen pearls! Hardboiled Max Thursday, on-time private eye, had given up being a detective. But when the kidnapped boy turned out to be his own son and the frightened blonde his beautiful ex-wife, Max went into action with blazing fury in his heart. In four of the most hectic and hazardous days of his career Max got himself shot at, beaten up, and accused of murder before he caught a kidnapper, solved a puzzle in pearls and dealt out justice to a guilty bystander!