Devin Sharp, a gentle-natured boy, has
trouble sleeping. Recurring visions of strangers moving among shadows in his
bedroom keep waking him at night. He swears that what he sees and hears is
real. To no avail. No one believes him. An older sibling taunts him. “Silly
dreams,” she says. But are they?
Coming of age as a gay teen in the seventies,
Devin’s sleep issues are just one more secret safely locked up in his closet.
But not for long. Freshman year in college brings a measure of freedom and a chance
to explore well beyond the boundaries of stifling social molds.
Experimenting
with a powerful drug, Devin’s quirky visions resurface. This time, however,
something is different. A rabbit hole materializes out of nowhere.Thrust into it by a mysterious force, Devin is hurled
into another world centuries before his own. There, awaiting, a host of
strangers appear to know him…
D. C. Wilkinson’s passion
for historical fiction, portal fantasies and cappuccinos inspired him to write
“Devin’s Dreams,” his debut novel. A lifelong voyager of inner and outer
realms, he began his career in the Midwest as a student of Language Arts and the
Humanities before relocating to the East Coast in his early twenties. A
graduate of Columbia University and former New York City public school teacher,
he now calls Connecticut his home, where he resides with his spouse and their
beloved beagle.
Winner
of the Gold Medal in YA Fiction from The Historical Fiction Company!
When
her beloved step-grandmother, a semi-retired opera singer, dies of cancer in
1970, 15-year-old Eli Burnes runs away with a draft-dodger, thinking she's on
the road to adventure and romance. What she finds instead is a world of
underground Weathermen, Black Power revolutionaries, snitches and shoot-first
police.
Eventually
Eli is rescued by her father, who turns out both more responsible and more
revolutionary than she'd imagined. But when he gets in trouble with the law,
she finds herself on the road again, searching for the allies who will help her
learn how to save herself.
"The book is a fantastic read: fast-moving, full of
smoothly woven historical detail and rich characterizations, all told in Eli's
appealing voice." — Sarah Johnson, Reading the Past
Trish
MacEnulty is the author of a historical novel series, literary novels, memoirs,
a short story collection, children’s plays, and most recently, the historical
coming-of-age novel, Cinnamon Girl (Livingston Press, Sept. 2023). She has a
Ph.D. in English from the Florida State University and graduated Magna Cum
Laude from the University of Florida. She currently writes book reviews and
features for the Historical Novel Society.
She lives in Florida with her husband, Joe, and her two tubby critters, Franco and Tumbleweed. More info at her website: trishmacenulty.com.
For
readers of The World Played Chess by
Robert Dugoni and Last Summer Boys by
Bill Rivers
Love is never easy...even in easier times, like the
1950s and 1960s in the Ohio Valley with the steel industry booming.
Second-generation immigrant families were reaching
for the American middle class. And Catholic schools-made feasible by selfless
Catholic nuns-promised bigger lives for everyone, including Jack Clark and Laurie
Carmine. As they spent years searching for their separate futures, though, they
were also stumbling toward love just as their world came crashing down.
Steel Valley depicts a story of love longed for,
lost, and perhaps still within reach, just as our nation's mythic yesterday
became our troubled today, our last summer of innocence.
Jerry Madden
grew up in the Upper Ohio Valley in the 1960s. He holds a B.A. from the College
of Steubenville and law degrees from the University of Dayton School of Law and
the Georgetown University Law Center. After law school, Jerry served as the
sole law clerk to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio, C. William
O'Neill. He served in the United States Marine Corps (R) between 1970 and 1976.
Jerry has
practiced law in Washington, D.C., since 1979, including fourteen years at the
Department of Justice as a trial and appellate attorney. He is the principal of
The Madden Law Group PLLC in Washington, D.C.
He lives in
Northern Virginia with his wife, Cyndi, a retired educator. They have two
children, Kelsey and Jack, both of whom hold M.Ed. degrees. They have one
grandchild, Jamie Maclennan.
It's 1968 in Whisper Haven,
and 8-year-old Carl Pozzi’s world is about to change.
For eight-year-old Carl Pozzi, 1968 begins like any other
year—playing kickball with friends and enjoying the comforting aroma of Mom's
pasta dinners in their predominantly white suburban Whisper Haven home. But
when Carl's teacher introduces lessons about racial prejudice and injustice,
his worldview cracks wide open.
How far can innocence stretch before it snaps?
As Carl flips through the pages of his 3-ring binder, each
lesson serves as a gateway to a journey of self-discovery and understanding.
It's an expedition that not only changes him but reshapes his whole concept of
family and justice—especially as he watches his father put on a police uniform
during one of the most fraught periods in American history.
"Covered in Flour" is not just a heartfelt stroll
down memory lane. It's a captivating coming-of-age saga that digs deep beneath
the surface of suburban tranquility. It beckons you to reconsider long-held
family values and confront the societal norms you've taken for granted.
Written with genuine love, humor, and a tinge of sorrow,
this story blends the nostalgia of tradition with the inevitability of change,
offering a stirring mix that leaves you pondering long after the last page is
turned. This book isn't just a delightful read; it's a catalyst for
introspection, freshly baked and served for your soul.
Charles Presti, emerging from the sun-drenched shores of
Pensacola, Florida, crafts narratives that echo with the richness of his varied
life. His journey from a USF College of Medicine graduate to a storyteller is
as unconventional as it is inspiring. Drawing from his days as a physician and
informatics specialist, Charles infuses his writing with a rare blend of
scientific precision and heartfelt emotion. His debut novel, "Covered in
Flour," is a vivid tapestry of his Italian-American heritage, his experiences
in the whirlwind era of the 1960s, and his personal journey as a gay man. These
elements converge to create stories that not only entertain but resonate deeply
with themes of family, discovery, and the delicate dance of life's everyday
moments.
Charles's passion for storytelling is paralleled only
by his commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion. Alongside his husband,
Mike Bruce, and their beloved Wheaton Terrier, Zoey, he is a vibrant force and
founder of "Sunday's Child," a local charity dedicated to nurturing
inclusion and empowering LGBTQ+ andother marginalized communities through grants to local charities. A
pillar in the Emerald Coast Writers group, he continually explores the nuances
of identity, heritage, and a sense of belonging. Discover more about Charles's
captivating world and "Covered in Flour" at www.coveredinflour.com, where each story
is a window into a life lived fully and authentically.
Travel back in
time to late Ninth Century Anglo-Saxon Britain where Alfred the Great rules
with a benevolent hand while the Danish King rules peacefully within the
boundaries of the Danelaw. Trade flourishes, and scholars from throughout the
civilized world flock to Britannia’s shores to study at the King’s Court School
at Winchester.
Enter Concordia,
a beautiful noblewoman whose family is favored by the king. Vain, willful, and
admired, but ambitious and cunning, Concordia is not willing to accept her
fate. She is betrothed to the valiant warrior, Brantson, but sees herself as
far too young to lay in the bedchamber of an older suitor. She wants to see the
wonders of the world, embracing everything in it; preferably, but dangerously,
at the side of Thayer, the exotic Saracen who charms King Alfred’s court and
ignites her yearning passions.
Concordia
manipulates her besotted husband into taking her to Rome, but her ship is
captured by bloodthirsty pirates, and the seafarers protecting her are
ruthlessly slain to a man. As she awaits her fate in the Moorish captain’s bed,
by sheer chance, she discovers that salvation is at hand in the gilded court of
a Saracen nobleman.
While awaiting
rescue, Concordia finds herself at the center of intrigue, plots, blackmail,
betrayal and the vain desires of two egotistical brothers, each willing to die for
her favor. Using only feminine cunning, Concordia must defend her honor while
plotting her escape as she awaits deliverance, somewhere inside steamy,
unconquered Muslim Hispania.
Travel back in time to late Ninth Century Anglo-Saxon Britain where Alfred the Great governs with a benevolent hand while the Danish King rules peacefully within the boundaries of the Danelaw. Trade flourishes, and scholars from throughout the civilized world flock to Britannia’s shores to study at the King’s Court School at Winchester.
Meet Concordia, a beautiful noblewoman whose family is favored by the king. Vain, willful, and admired, but ambitious and cunning, Concordia is not willing to accept her fate. She is betrothed to the valiant warrior, Brantson, but sees herself as far too young to lay in the bedchamber of an older suitor. She wants to see the wonders of the world, embracing everything in it; preferably, but dangerously, at the side of Thayer, the exotic Saracen who charms King Alfred’s court and ignites her yearning passions.
Concordia manipulates her besotted husband into taking her to Rome, but her ship is captured by bloodthirsty pirates, and the seafarers protecting her are ruthlessly slain to a man. As she awaits her fate in the Moorish captain’s bed, by sheer chance, she discovers that salvation is at hand in the gilded court of a Saracen nobleman.
While awaiting rescue, Concordia finds herself at the center of intrigue, plots, blackmail, betrayal and the vain desires of two egotistical brothers, each willing to die for her favor. Using only feminine cunning, Concordia must defend her honor while plotting her escape as she awaits deliverance, somewhere inside steamy, unconquered Muslim Hispania.
About picking the topic:
My lifelong dream was to write a novel about Erik, the Viking, after having seen such Hollywood blockbusters as The Vikings,The Longships, and other period movies including King Arthur, and Knights of the Round Table. When it came time to put pen to paper, Alfred the Great’s reign was the perfect backdrop for my story.
About how The Briton and the Dane: Concordia differs from other books that cover the same or similar information;
The Briton and the Dane trilogy is an epic adventure, which includes several storylines with multiple characters. Concordia was three-years-old in the final novel of the original series.
In the offshoot story, Concordia has come of age in a turbulent era where women were expected to behave according to societal standards. Her story runs the emotional gamut of love and betrayal, and while her struggle may not be unique, her story is deeply personal and poignant.
The novel delves into Concordia's psyche where the reader witnesses her turmoil as she suffers the consequences of unwise decisions. Was Concordia's judgment clouded by emotion or was she a product of her environment? Concordia picked up the gauntlet fearlessly, with an iron will to survive. If she were a man, would she have been judged differently? There were mitigating circumstances, after all. Would you cut her some slack? Whether you like her or not is irrelevant. Justice is rendered based upon facts, not emotion. What say the jury?
About what was liked most when writing this book:
I enjoyed shedding light on the reason why someone did what they did, right or wrong. It is easy to be judgmental without knowing the whole story. I understand Concordia, do you?
Mary Ann Bernal is a passionate supporter of the United States military, having been involved with letter writing campaigns and other military support programs since Operation Desert Storm. She has appeared on The Morning Blend television show hosted by KMTV, the CBS television affiliate in Omaha, and was interviewed by the Omaha World-Herald for her volunteer work.
