These meditations take a verse from one of the lectionary texts not chosen for preaching for a given service and offer a devotional reflection on the verse, often using the context of the entire pericope as described in the lectionary. I try to make them worth the while of my readers, finding a fairly broad readership among the congregations I served through the years. The Cross on the cover was made by William Herbert Durst in his Florence workshop. Mr. Durst was the grandfather of Mary-Bess Halford-Staffel who calls it his “Trinity Cross”.

In Quiet, Grit, Glory Ricky Ray displays a delightful delicacy and neatness while sharing a deep relationship with pain, and Rilke-echoing existential questioning. These poems are explorations into our interactions with the animal kingdom, as leaders and followers, as participants. Quiet, Grit, Glory is full of poems of silent courage, softly spoken, with a generosity of spirit that opens out to everyone.

Islands of Silence is the story of the young Alec Marquand, who in the summer of 1914 has just graduated from college with a degree in archaeology. He has been hired by the lord of a remote country estate in the Scottish Highlands to survey the ancient Stone Age brochs that lie on his property. Once there Alec comes upon a small island which is called Eilean Tosdach--the Island of Silence. What Alec discovers on that island changes him forever. And just as Alec makes his amazing find, he is shipped off to war . . . a war he does not want to fight, but one in which he ends up as a medic aboard a ship ready to storm the beaches of Gallipoli. A brilliantly crafted novel in the tradition of All's Quiet on the Western Front and The Ghost Road, Islands of Silence is a tour through one man's hell in search of a path for redemption.

Six decades. Seven people. One unspeakable secret. 1957. A catastrophe occurs at the pharmaceutical lab in Coventry where sixteen-year-old Wilf is working for the summer. A catastrophe that needs to be covered up at all costs. 2017. Phiney is shocked by the death of her grandfather, Wilf, who has jumped from a railway bridge at a Coventry station. Journalist Mat Torrington is the only witness. Left with a swarm of unanswered questions, Phiney, Mat and Wilf's wife, Dora, begin their own enquiries into Wilf's death. It is soon clear that these two events, sixty years apart, are connected - and that Wilf is not the only casualty. But what is the link? And can they find out before any more lives are lost? A Quiet Contagion is a powerfully disquieting mystery for modern times, inspired by the 1957 Coventry polio epidemic and the 1955 Cutter Incident (one of the worst pharmaceutical disasters in US history - which saw thousands of American children mistakenly infected with a live polio vaccine) as well as the more recent global coronavirus pandemic. PRAISE FOR JANE JESMOND 'An original voice in crime fiction' - Sunday Times on Cut Adrift (A Best Crime Novel of 2023) 'Jesmond's delineation of her characters as people with plausible flaws and hot tempers adds depth and complexity to a story that might wear its sentiments on its sleeves, yet which is trimly steered and freighted with contemporary resonance' - Times on Cut Adrift (Thriller Book of the Month) 'In an over-saturated market, finding a new voice with something compelling to say in the crime writing field can be difficult. Thankfully there are people out there trying to deliver a twist on the genre, and Jane Jesmond is one of them' - On Yorkshire Magazine on Cut Adrift 'This amazing debut novel from Jane Jesmond will give you all the thrills you've been looking for and keep you gripped from the get-go' - Female First on On The Edge 'Evocative, compelling and pulse-pounding' - Philippa East on On The Edge

“Miret’s captivating and harrowing, no-holds-barred account of a life lived in the trenches . . . You don’t have to be a major Agnostic Front fan to get maximum enjoyment out of this book. . . . A compelling read.” ―Classic Rock Revisited "Miret’s memorable, affecting stories capture an important time in the hardcore music scene. . . . Equal parts music memoir and gritty coming-of-age story, it’s an eminently readable and fast-paced look at life during hardcore’s heyday. . . . Not just for music fans, My Riot is a valuable snapshot of an important time." ―Foreword Reviews “My Riot is a powerful and riveting read. A brutal look into the life of a man that did what he had to do to survive.” ―Scott Ian, Anthrax Born in Cuba, Roger Miret fled with his family to the US to escape the Castro regime. Through vivid language and graphic details, he recounts growing up in a strange new land with a tyrannical stepfather and the roles that poverty and violence played in shaping the grit that became critical to his survival. In his teen years, he finds himself squatting in abandoned buildings with unforgettably eccentric runaways and victims of similar childhood trauma. With like-minded misfits he helps pioneer a new musical genre, but with money scarce and commercial success impossible, he turns to running drugs to support his family and winds up in prison. It’s the ultimate test of his toughness and perseverance that eventually sets him on a path towards redemption. My Riot is both an unflinching portrait of downtown New York in the 1980s and a testament to the perils of growing up too fast. “It's a great read, tracing the roots of New York Hardcore via lots of crazy stories about potentially deadly situations. . . . Pick up this book and take a walk back in time through the Lower East Side when it was still a hair-raising adventure.” ―D. Randall Blythe, Lamb of God

The book is a daily devotion for those who wish to “change the relationship they have with their life.” It was originally designed for use within an addiction recovery facility. We found that many others were improving the quality of their life through these God inspired devotions. They are simply written and easy to understand, therefore easily applied to your life. If we allow God into our lives, He will help us with our Relationships. Living in God’s will for our lives gives us the Integrity to walk through life with our head held high. And last, but not least, we need to find the Truth. We must put in the work to find the Truth and stop accepting what the world tells us. We can use this G.R.I.T. FILTER to help us on the journey of changing the relationship we have with our lives. By asking four simple questions, we can avoid many of the “potholes” of life. Those four questions are: Have I invited God into my decision process? How will my decision affect my Relationships? What will my decision do to my Integrity? Have I done the research and found the Truth before I react? Living a life with G.R.I.T. will give you joy as you “Transform the relationship you have with your life.” If you believe you have a terrible life, it will be terrible. If you work to change your outlook and become grateful for what you have, every day becomes a blessing. It is my sincere hope that these devotional messages will be a blessing to you as you start to live with G.R.I.T.. GETCHASOME! David Douglas