Pivotal Universe by Miguel A. Rivera, Jr.

Raised in a law enforcement family, Detective Darlene “Dee” DiBenedetto has lived her life based on tenets of fairness and justice and the triumph of good over evil. She is fearless, hardworking, and driven. But after suffering unspeakable atrocities at the hands of a sadistic gangster, her world changes—because Dee is not who she thought she was. In the aftermath of her courageous escape, she learns the truth: Dee is from the future, and she has a crucial role to play in humanity’s evolution and survival. What follows is her introduction to an unimaginable alternate life as she struggles to become the heroic general everyone remembers.

A graphic adventure tale that explores scientific innovation and the human condition against a backdrop of fun, danger, and military life in the far future, Pivotal Universe pushes human imagination to the limits!

 

The Magic of Yes by Lori Pappas

Curious and ambitious women of all ages want to know what is possible; they want to be inspired, to feel safe, valued, and respected. Does this sound like you? The Magic of Yes is a captivating common-sense guide that will help you leverage what you already possess, build on your strengths, and shed old habits and “supposed-tos” that block your way. Lessons extracted from the journey of humanitarian and entrepreneur Lori Pappas and those of other extraordinary ordinary women, supported by expert advice and research, offer pathways to overcoming adversity, discovering inner balance, and ultimately finding peace.

Embracing the wise woman within is a lifelong journey that involves continuous learning and incorporating feedback, taking risks, aligning actions with personal values, and cultivating an attitude of gratitude. It takes time, energy, and an intentional mindset-but it’s worth it. Lori’s journey is a testament to the power of saying yes to curiosity, empathy, creativity, love, and, most importantly, to oneself.

Do You Hate the One You Love?: Strategies for Healing and Saving Your Relationship by Joan E. Childs

Many of us experience heartbreak, abuse, and a variety of “unmentionable” challenges in trying to make our relationships successful. For many couples, these challenges are daunting, especially when your partner becomes someone you despise as much as you adore. If that happens, what do you do, and how do you take good care of yourself? That’s what Do You Hate the One You Love? is all about, and though it’s written primarily for women, men should read it too, first to understand their partner better and then to learn a few lessons for themselves.

As a professional therapist specializing in couple’s therapy, Joan E. Childs has learned that the core problems and causes behind relationship strife can be traced back to childhood. This book is an adventure in intimacy, exploring universal issues that crop up in any relationship, and it describes rituals and principles that can heal a contaminated space. As Marcel Proust famously said, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” That’s exactly what is provided here!

 

Love and Conductivity by Erin Nieto

Love and adventure don’t mix, or so thinks Eleanor Morgan, a teacher of poetry in 1918 Oklahoma. And she’s heard the call to adventure all her life: through books, through histories and fairy stories, entering their worlds and their fancies. This kind of imaginative escape has given her life some of its most bright and shining days. And now, as a grown woman, she’s desirous of early twentieth-century life’s real adventures: seeing the West, joining the Navy, exploring the North Pole—and a future with no thought of romance.

But sparks fly, quite literally, on the night she meets Erwin Phipps, a chemist-turned-lieutenant, on his way home to Austin after the Armistice. Their chance encounter is brief but electric, one she’s not able to forget, as much as she tries.

Then, over a year later and with a continent now between them, an errant Valentine’s Day greeting from Erwin arrives. The embers in her heart are fanned back to life, her dreams of adventure having thus far gone unfulfilled, eclipsed by the demands of her family and profession. But letting her guard down, revealing her true self, and confronting her rejection of love may prove to be the most perilous—or gorgeous—adventure of all.

Doctor Witch by Frank J. Edwards

Dr. Jack Forester has seen his share of trauma as a longtime emergency physician—now, as the dean of a medical school and a single father still grieving the death of his wife, the greatest traumas he faces seem to be from within. But the real abyss opens when a notorious Russian cybercriminal conspires to destroy both Jack and his hospital, and a brilliant former colleague, whom Jack exposed as a psychotic serial killer, escapes from his psychiatric institution. When his beleaguered niece Kaitlyn gets entangled in the villain’s web, Jack finds himself head-to-head with not only evil conspirators, but the challenge of saving his family. Will he be able to salvage the hospital, his wavering reputation, and the already-fractured pieces of his home life?

 

One Happy Accident by Gary Simonds

Would-be soccer star Sean McLaine knows what it’s like to still inhabit a child’s body in high school. Well into junior year, he remains woefully puberty-challenged, and it’s messing with his soccer dreams. Ignored by his coaches, he faces daily embarrassment and bullying. Out on the pitch, he’s up against practically full-grown men who don’t mind greeting his undeniable talent with repeated pummeling.

At school none of the girls seem to see him at all. He’s a nothing, a nonentity. But not in the eyes of brilliant, whimsical Kayleigh McLaughlin, a recent transplant from Ireland. She is hopelessly drawn to Sean’s poetic nature, both in class and on the soccer pitch.

Kayleigh wants to help Sean clear the hurdles of a potentially career-ending injury and the echoes of a horrific past trauma. But will Sean’s unbridled devotion to soccer doom the couple’s budding relationship? He can juggle a soccer ball, but can he juggle reaching for his dreams and having a personal life too?

 

Gwendolyn & Eddie by Michael O.L. Seabaugh

In 1957, Gwendolyn is living the domestic dream as the prized wife of the dashing Dr. Paul Stanley Bollinger, with three beautiful, healthy children and a charming Edwardian home in the historic town of Cape Girardeau.

Enter Eddie, an inebriated monkey brought home as a poker prize by her equally drunk husband. Thus begins Gwendolyn’s yearslong struggle to domesticate two unruly fellas. Eddie is a hilarious handful but no match for Paul Stanley and his increasing penchant for bourbon and nurses. Meanwhile, as the predictable 1950s evolve into the increasingly tumultuous ’60s and beyond, Gwendolyn finds her conservative beliefs challenged by the realities of racism, homophobia, traditional masculinity, the sexual revolution, and the struggle for women’s rights.

For over forty years, a time marked by hilarity, heartbreak, and tragedy, Eddie serves as her clown prince, her unexpected confidant, and when all is said and done, her solace. The story of Gwendolyn and Eddie is ultimately about cages—the ones we are born into, those we construct for ourselves, and the ones we impose on those we love.

Finding My Son: A Story of a Family Finding Each Other by Nathan Aguinaga

After almost three decades of suspecting he might have a son he had never met, Nathan Aguinaga, retired master sergeant, husband, and father, got a call that changed his life. Through the miracle of DNA testing, his son had found him. A short and sweet tale of a family’s history and how they found each other through persistence and perhaps lot of luck, Finding My Son portrays the many angles of relationships, love, and the search for connection that all eventually lead us to where we’re meant to be on this crazy journey of life.

 

Culinary Leverage: A Journey Through the Heat by Douglas Keane

Culinary Leverage: A Journey Through the Heat is about exposing the dysfunction of an industry through the eyes of a highly decorated chef who, through hard-won experience, resilience and grief, soul searching and moments of reckoning, finds a healthier way forward, not just for himself but for the restaurant business as a whole. Travel with Chef Keane as his passion for hard work and cooking is ignited as a young kid growing up in Dearborn, Michigan. Cheer for him as he follows his dream to the gritty but seductive streets and kitchens of New York City and realizes his vocation. Empathize with him as he encounters and confronts bullies and egos hell-bent on destroying the dream. And root for him as he charges forth with a revolutionary new approach and strives to create an unparalleled magical journey at Cyrus for his guests and team, one based on style and substance with a conscience and connection.