Books

LITERARY FICTION | FICTION

The Secret of the Butterfly

by Dina Dalbar

Iris is only nineteen and a half, yet she already knows that secrets should be hidden, especially the secret of her falling in love with Daniel. He is not only twenty years her senior but also married. But there have been many other secrets before and after that, and the visions that always come true. However, the most horrible secret is the future Iris is about to face. Will she be able to cope with all the challenges awaiting her?

Concerning Intellectual Suicide in The Human Race

by Massimo Fantini

Intellectual suicide corresponds to the more or less conscious decision to switch off the brain and renounce rational thought in favor of attitudes dictated by superstitions, by established habits, by prejudices, by common places. The effects of irrational choices – made with the brain switched off – can be devastating for oneself and for the others. Examples range from conformism, to religious superstitions, to ideological fundamentalism, just to name a few possibilities. Tommaso, the protagonist of this debate, is the victim of his parents’ intellectual suicide, perpetrated through procreation. Procreation – the unilateral act by which a couple throws innocent individuals into the stillicidium of life, without weighing the consequences that the hell of existence will have on them – is the most heinous form of intellectual suicide in the human race.

Deep Craving, A Collection of Poems

by Joe Giampaolo

“Beautiful in its simplicity and bold in its truthfulness… so tempting are the words and alluring the sentiments, that anyone will easily get caught up in these timeless verses.” --Indies Today “The author skillfully and eloquently captures emotions that many have experienced and will be able to relate to. The joys and sorrows, challenges, and triumphs of life are highlighted throughout these poems.” --Readers’ Favorite “In Deep Craving, it is easy to see the beauty of poetry. The allegories and representations of nature are clear and attached to the feelings of life.” --Literary Titan -- Gold Medal, Literary Titan Book Award -- #1 Bestseller on Amazon in Canada & Italy (Canadian Poetry) -- An Amazon Top 100 Bestseller in the USA (Canadian Poetry, Poetry about Love, Love & Erotic Poetry) -- Five-Star Badge, Indies Today -- Five-Star Seal, Readers’ Favorite

The Love of Impossible Sums

by Panayotis Cacoyannis

Still grieving the loss of his beloved wife, Oliver reluctantly agrees to attend a poetry reading event, and on the way a stranger asks him for a light. She is Alex, who is also the poet, and soon after the performance she and Oliver embark on a whirlwind romance. But an ever-present cast of meddling friends stir up tensions that risk coming to a head. "Readers will come to like Ollie and care about the outcome of his new love with Alex, which holds real promise... A rather strange but skillfully written study of a group of friends doing their best to get by." -- Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus verdict: GET IT!

Rift in the Cradle

by SS Aster

Rift in the Cradle is a futuristic dystopian novel that follows the journey of Lynk, a renegade who becomes the keystone of resistance against warring nations of human subspecies. Rift in the Cradle is set in the far future, dense with world-building, but filled with allegories about societal problems that hold true today. It combines futuristic science and its effects on human psychology to create a poignant tale of an antihero seeking to bring justice, but will she avoid being the very person she would've fought against?

Concerning Intellectual Suicide in The Human Race: A debate on the human condition (Human Condition Trilogy)

by Massimo Fantini

Intellectual suicide corresponds to the more or less conscious decision to switch off the brain and renounce rational thought in favor of attitudes dictated by superstitions, by established habits, by prejudices, by common places. The effects of irrational choices – made with the brain switched off – can be devastating for oneself and for the others. Examples range from conformism, to religious superstitions, to ideological fundamentalism, just to name a few possibilities. Tommaso, the protagonist of this debate, is the victim of his parents’ intellectual suicide, perpetrated through procreation.

Reduced Circumstances

by Gail-Lee McDermott

Margot’s life is a train wreck & she’s the engineer. An affluent social retirement married to widower Paul Salerno was expected. Paul planned a quiet Florida retirement. Margot sets herself on a track to a fourth divorce.

Egyptian Mythology Collection

by E. A Wallis Budge

Explore ancient Egypt's mythology, magic, and afterlife through Budge's comprehensive trilogy, unveiling the Ancient Egyptian civilization's mystique and wisdom. From the creation of the world by Neb-er-tcher to the intricate tales of Osiris, Isis, and Horus, this trilogy is a treasure trove for avid readers of history and mythology!

Five Dreams

by Elizabeth Michaud

Celebrate black history with this 2023 Best Book Finalist for Narrative Poetry by the American Book Fest! This debut collection of narrative poetry by Haitian-American Elizabeth Michaud will take you from the doldrums of reality to the varied landscape of dreams. The words on these pages tell stories of love, loss, & longing; they ponder the duality of perspective and they tiptoe around the spirits that haunt us. With artistry and simplicity, Five Dreams will forever change your idea of dreams.

The Rubble and the Shakespeare

by Ty Unglebower

Dimitri lives on a pension in a city still half-covered in Rubble from a recent Revolution against the tyrannical Regime. A freer, somewhat safer life for a tired, cynical former building-inspector, but one without considering the luxury of the arts. That is until his best friend, Otto, comes barging in with a box full of copies of The Tempest by William Shakespeare. Otto begs Dimitri's help, for just one day, to help stage a production of this previously forbidden theatrical work. But is one day enough to overcome the many obstacles of such a venture?

Persephone's Tears: A Romance in the Seventh Dimension

by Karen Nilsen

When a warlock steals an egg from a phoenix nest and brings it to the afterlife, he hopes to bargain his way out of Hell. However, the thief’s wicked scheme doesn’t work out quite as he plans, and the egg winds up in the possession of Hades, the ruler of the dead. Desperate to hatch the egg, Hades and his loyal servant Dante seek Zeus’s advice. Chaos ensues . . . Above ground, Persephone dances with other maidens through a world that has never experienced winter. Her mother, Demeter, goddess of fertility, has kept it summer forever. One day, Persephone hears mysterious singing and whispers coming from a dark chasm in the forest. Her mother forbids her to investigate the strange matter further, but Persephone rebels and ends up in Hades’s chariot. More chaos ensues . . .

London Tales

by Tim Walker

London Tales is a collection of short stories that offers dramatic pinpricks in the rich tapestry of London’s timeline, a city with 2,000 years of history. The final story is a dystopian thriller that imagines the final evacuation of a drowning city.

Madeleine and Jane

by Emily Fox Gordon

Jane and Madeleine are roommates, first in an East Village tenement and later in the luxurious uptown apartment of a mysteriously absent woman. Madeleine and Jane encounter the terrors and excitements that burgeoned in the New York of that era. As the two develop a wary friendship, a self-appointed therapist becomes entangled in their lives.

Rise to the Horizon

by Hyunah Kim

Poseidon, a thoroughbred show jumping horse, is injured during a devastating fire at the horse ranch. Traumatized, the beautiful colt becomes trapped with his demons, and aggressively attacks anyone who approaches. After Poseidon hurts several people, the vet suggests that the horse be euthanised. Axel, a painter who grew up with horses all his life on his grandparents' stud farm, has a unique ability to communicate with horses. In his neighborhood he's known as a horse whisperer. After a desperate plea from Poseidon's owner Martha to help the wretched horse, Axel agrees to cure him, regardless of the vet's deadly warning. Can Axel help Poseidon get back to normal? A heartwarming story for all animal lovers about a magical bond between a horse and a man, and how their encounter changes their lives for good.

London Skies

by Paul Tomkins

“An admirably ambitious … and beautifully told story of intersecting lives and histories. Poetic and beautiful prose. The connections across space and time are what really spark and make the novel fly.” Kirkus Reviews London Airport, 1956. Charlotte Bradbury, trapped by her past amid the Jet Age bustle, remains haunted by memories of love and death during the Blitz, and the enigmatic Icelandic airman who vanished a year after she nursed him back to life. Dotted around the terminal, a handful of strangers whose lives will be forever linked by the tragedy that rolls in with the snowstorm, and the decades each spends attempting to unravel its remarkable connections and mysteries. From wartime Piccadilly Circus to a remote Icelandic shoreline as Eyjafjallajökull erupts in 2010, London Skies is a sweeping story of family secrets, lost loves, and unravelling the past.

Semi-Gloss

by Joe Barrett

Waking up next to a corpse, Sammy Junior, a house painter turned suspect, faces trouble. Enter Penny Sullivan, a runaway with street smarts. Misunderstandings thrust her into Sammy's world, revealing the quirky, healing dynamics of house painting. This fast-paced tale explores friendship, love, tragedy, and redemption for two lovable characters.

The Renegade Patriot

by William Shanks

Set in Thailand in the early 1970's, the Renegade Patriot is a murder mystery, a war novel, a love story, and a slow-burn psychological thriller about hero worship, personal corruption, and atonement during the CIA's secret war in Laos.

Lex Talionis

by Njord Christensen

"God does not play dice," it's how I start all my physics undergraduate lectures. Little do they know that I'm the one holding the dice. Friedrich Nietzsche once said that God was dead, and we had killed him. I don’t think Elara agrees with him. Otherwise, why would we be here again? Hunting for yet another religious paedophile to punish – How many more then before we achieve what we set out to achieve? She has her reasons. She only tells me what I need to hear. It’s a gift – I needn’t worry about the emotions it entails to torture someone in equal measure to the crimes they have committed. I needn’t worry about how God will suffer from what we’re doing – that’s all her. Still, God – both warden and prisoner. Creator of, and slave to – us, Mankind, the greatest predator ever to walk the earth. And what of love, lust, ephemerality?

This book contains scenes of: torture

Tough Trail Home

by Marie Watts

In the wake of the 2008 recession, the Dunwhitty family's aspirations crumble, pushing them from urban comforts to a rundown Texas ranch. As they grapple with shattered dreams and strained relationships, an unexpected crisis tests their unity. Will they find a way to mend their bond, or is it irreparably broken amid the vast expanse of rural Texas?

Clucked

by Troy Hollan

Love a good adventure story-one with sweet old dogs and flawed, yet lovable humans? Hate the idea of factory farming and animal abuse? If so, you're gonna love Clucked! Clucked takes the reader, its bereaved Spam-loving protagonist, and one elderly rat terrier on a wild voyage from Corpus Christi Bay to the Sea Islands.

The Witch Awakening

by Karen Nilsen

The odor of burning flesh and the screams of those condemned to the flames disturb the dreams of young Safire of Long Marsh. Safire struggles to keep the curse of her psychic abilities secret, lest she be burned at the stake as a witch in her native land Cormalen. Forced to keep her talents hidden instead of learning how to use them, Safire is ill-prepared to face the evil that awaits her. When she meets the rebellious Merius of Landers, a nobleman determined to escape his overbearing father's influence, she finally finds someone who accepts her. But their romance interferes with court plots and family duty and ultimately leads Safire to confront the dark secrets of the House of Landers alone. What she finds there proves to be a test of her unusual gifts, a test that could free the soul of a haunted man--or end in her death.

This book contains scenes of: sexual violence

Birds of a Different Feather

by J. Schlenker

Three best friends circumnavigate the pitfalls of middle age together, confiding their innermost secrets to each other, or do they?

The Golden Manuscripts:A Novel

by Evy Journey

An unusual sale of rare medieval manuscripts sends nomadic Asian American graduate student Clarissa and doctor-cum-art journalist Nathan on a quest into the dark world of stolen art. But when clues whisper of old thieves and lead to the unexpected, they raise more questions that defy easy answers. A tale based on a WWII theft of illuminated manuscripts.

All We Cannot Leave Behind

by Yossi Koren

Israel, 1975. Following the sobering events of the Yom Kippur War, a budding romance comes to an end like a slap in the face. The woman is a beautiful, bright foreigner. The man is a young officer, newly discharged from military service yet still burdened by memories of fighting on the front lines in a desperate war. Through their relationship, he confronts truths about his inner war—and the loss of innocence he had to endure. Israel, 1999 More than twenty years have passed since the end of that war, but the man can still feel its echoes in his quiet civilian life. Driven by a desperation for something he cannot describe, the man enters a complicated love affair with a married woman. Even though he is no longer a young officer, the passion of his new lover reopens his old scars of war, as he confronts all that he could not—must not—leave behind.

The Secret of the Lost Diary: A Novel

by Yonit Oved

Emma Jones longs for a way out. While she is working as a caregiver for the elderly Mrs. Baum, between her ward’s sullen demeanor and the clockwork routine of her household, every day feels the same. Until a parcel carrying the wrong address arrives at their doorstep one day, holding a faded, sealed diary. Compelled, Emma opens the diary and immerses herself in its incredible story – a choice that will change the course of her life, and the lives of those closest to her, forever. The only thing that Cricket still has of Ginger is her nickname. Everything else was lost – buried, just like the dreams they used to share. Desperate, she begins to write. First to herself, then to Ginger, not knowing that her diary will change her future – in more ways than she can imagine.