Books
My Extraordinary Life : Monica Sucha Vickers
My Extraordinary Life
My Extraordinary Life is a true-life story of a congenital triple amputee who tells of her trials and triumphs in a matter-of-fact way without melodrama. Monica overcomes incredible odds that will remind readers that nothing is impossible. At times, it feels like she has no disability.
It is an epic story of an ordinary, yet truly extraordinary, life that will enhance one’s perception of a disability. It is a book for young and old alike, and difficult, if not impossible, to put down.
The book is well-organized with evocative pictures throughout. Monica anticipates reader’s questions, offers insight on handling untimely questions and stares from children, and gives views on dealing with discrimination and other emotional challenges.
Once readers finish this book, their lives will be richer, and they may never look at a “handicapped” person the same way again. Winner of multiple awards, this book is a definite must-read.
The Fornax Drive : Steven Burgauer
The Fornax Drive
The year 2425:
His boots heavy with mud, Fornax Nehrengel marched zombie-like through the bleak and raw dawn. He wore the face of exhaustion, wincing as each step brought forth a fresh dose of pain from the untreated blister oozing puss from between his toes. His dark skin and hair were grimy; his legs and arms sore. From deep within his belly an unheated breakfast of gruel protested its confinement. Indifference deadened his spirit and his eyelids drooped with fatigue. The black scowl etched on his face said it all. Fear. Exhaustion. Pain.
Through chapped and broken lips Fornax Nehrengel silently cursed his plight. He was not a brave man. Indeed, he found it curiously ironic that he should be fighting to defend a flag he paid scant allegiance to or risking his life to support cherished ideals he barely endorsed. Fornax resented being here and desertion was on his mind!
And so it began.
Humanity’s first push into space has been a disaster, this despite some noteworthy successes at the outset. Indeed, mankind’s initial attempt at colonization has been a total bust, accomplishing nothing more than making the moon a convenient dumping ground for our nuclear wastes.
Offering promise for the future course of space-travel, however, Fornax Nehrengel has identified a means for harnessing this otherwise useless radioactive sludge in a battery, a battery so advanced that crossing the solar system soon becomes a trip measured in hours rather than in months or years. On a par with the internal combustion engine or the microchip in its potential impact on human civilization, this breakthrough immediately attracts the attention of a power-hungry elite.
Now Fornax must run for his life as the future of space progress hangs in the balance!
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The Price of Justice : Vincent S. Green
The Price of Justice
At sleepy Fort Leavenworth, Kansas the commanding general’s wife Bunny Harris is decapitated with the Arabic word for “dust” scrawled in her blood over the bed.
JACK GARRETT (40s), a Los Angeles entertainment lawyer and former special ops soldiers reports for reserve duty at the fort and finds his orders are changed and he is working for CAMERON WELLS (40s), an ambitious attorney who began her career in military intelligence.
Two days later military judge FRANK O’CONNOR (50’s) is charged with the rape and murder of Bunny. He requests that Garrett defend him, and Garrett is placed on active duty.
Wells is put on O’Connor’s trial to spy on Garrett. O’Connor admits to an affair with Bunny and that she enjoyed rough, painful sex including whipping and strangulation.
The CIA brings in PHILLIP RUBIE (50s) and his daughter SIMONE (20s). The pair kidnap Garrett’s son then release him with a message to back off the case. Garrett and Wells are drawn closer over this incident and start to have a romantic relationship.
Evidence points to the general’s involvement in war crimes by killing Iraqi POWs with a nerve agent called “dust.” A reporter tells Garrett that he believes Bunny was killed with this nerve agent. Bunny’s body is exhumed and she melts out of her casket.
The trial begins and the prosecutor receives a CD with Bunny and O’Connor at an S&M club where O’Connor pretends to cut off her head with a machete. O’Connor is offered a deal and refuses.
Simone tells Wells she has evidence of O’Connor’s innocence. Rubie attempts to kill Garrett and Wells at the meeting, but Wells fights and subdues Rubie. Garrett tortures Rubie and he says that Wells knows who the real killer is.
Rubie is left to die but Simone finds him when he activates a GPS chip. His dying request is to kill them all. Simone decapitates the general and leaves a message written in Arabic: “Dust to Dust.” O’Connor is released from jail, since it appears Bunny’s killer is still at large. At a press conference with O’Connor, Wells and Garrett, Simone, disguised as a reporter, attempts to shoot Garrett and Wells. Simone is killed and authorities claim she is Bunny’s killer.
Wells and Garrett return to California and start a new life. Garrett’s son finds a sword in Wells’ footlocker with blood and hair on it. The sword belonged to Wells’ father and was given to him by Bunny. Wells confesses to the killing because the general discovered Bunny was having an affair with her father, and general sent him on a secret mission where her father was killed. Wells tells Garret to forget about what was found and go on, but Garrett can’t. Garrett turns his back and walks out of the house.
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No Curveballs : Bill Werndl with Joe Vallee
No Curveballs : My Greatest Sports Stories Never Told
When you’ve amassed a career in sports spanning 50 years, you’re bound to have some great stories, and Bill Werndl has plenty.
From his humble upbringing in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania, to becoming the first full-time sports producer in Philadelphia news, to his ascension as one of San Diego’s most popular sports talk radio hosts, Bill shares some of his most memorable and previously untold stories from a remarkable journey that was half a century in the making in “No Curveballs: My Greatest Sports Stories Never Told.”
Bill’s very first book covers it all: From his summers spent in Akron, Ohio as a youngster, when he answered sports trivia questions for root beer, to his very first professional interview with NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain, his time spent with the 1970s Philadelphia Flyers (aka the Broad Street Bullies), his work with Ourlad’s Guide to the NFL Draft, an infamous encounter with broadcaster Howard Cosell, his impressions of a young M.C. Hammer, a run in with an angry Dan Dierdorf, his friendships with baseball greats Ted Williams, Tony Gwynn, Mike Piazza and Dick Allen, how he gave Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and Philadelphia Phillies great Mike Schmidt his first break in television, as well as the day he got body slammed by Eagles Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik.
Bill also discusses his relationship with legendary Super Bowl-winning coach Dick Vermeil, his spotting career for the Philadelphia Eagles, ESPN and various other networks, including his “shortest day ever spent in Japan.” Never one to shy away from giving an opinion, Bill also discusses the use of steroids in baseball, and his controversial take on baseball’s handling of Pete Rose, the lack of passion in today’s athletes, the night that ABC Monday Night Baseball missed an opportunity to break racial boundaries, and more! No Curveballs also features insights from the late, iconic Philadelphia Daily News sportswriter, Stan Hochman, Bill’s fellow Loose Cannon radio co-host, Steve Hartman, and more!
Writer Joe Vallee (A Snowballs Chance: Philly Fires Back Against the National Media) was assigned the task of putting into words the no-holds-barred look at the life and times of one of the most diverse and accomplished personalities in the world of sports. Vallee, a former Philadelphia Phillies bat boy and one of the founders of the website Philly2Philly.com, is considered an authority on the history and inner workings of Philadelphia’s often-maligned but beloved sports teams.
“No Curveballs: My Greatest Sports Stories Never Told” is a biographical, controversial, informative and always entertaining read. Bill wouldn’t have it any other way.
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Transport : Death Mission : Phillip P. Peterson
Transport : Death Mission
“Transport? Transport to where, Sir?”
“Possibly straight to hell.”
An extraterrestrial object is discovered off the coast of California; a sphere that transports people to other solar systems. Death-row inmate Russell Harris and nine other convicts are given the chance to save their own lives by agreeing to travel as test subjects on the transporter. But when the first volunteer dies a gruesome death, it becomes clear to Russell and his comrades that the venture is little more than a merciless death mission on which they will all perish. Their only chance of survival is to uncover the secret of the mysterious object, but that too seems hopeless – because no trace of the transporter’s constructors can be found.
Phillip P. Peterson worked as an engineer on booster rockets and as satellite program manager; he has also written popular science articles about space travel. At the 2015 Frankfurt Book Fair he received the first Kindle Storyteller Award. Characters and action take centerstage in his hardcore science fiction that profits from Peterson’s technical background.
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The Heart of Discipline : Carmen Y. Reyes
The Heart of Discipline : For Parents: Understanding and Delivering Feedback, Criticism, and Corrections that Teach Positive Behavior
The topic of this innovative guide is simple yet powerful: what adults say to children (the words we use) influences the way children behave. Feedback and criticism that convey high and positive expectations influence positive performance, but feedback and criticism that constantly remind children of inadequate performance and negative behavior reinforce the same low performance and behavior problems we wanted to extinguish in the first place. With more supportive and constructive language, parents and caregivers can make a huge difference in the way children behave; this is how influential our words and messages to children are. Therefore, if we want to change children’s negative behavior and low compliance, a good way to start would be to monitor, and if necessary change, the messages sent to them.
“The Heart of Disciplining: Understanding and Delivering Feedback, Criticism, and Corrections that Teach Positive Behavior-For Parents” by Carmen Y. Reyes, The Psycho-Educational Teacher, explains these three corrective acts in detail, presenting ways in which caregivers can use enhanced language to inspire children to be the best they can be. Parents and caregivers looking for language-based and interactional approaches to discipline, popularly known as child guidance, will find plenty of advice and in-depth techniques here.
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Persuasive Discipline : Carmen Y. Reyes
Persuasive Discipline : Using Power Messages and Suggestions to Influence Children Toward Positive Behavior – Expanded Edition
“Persuasive Discipline: Using Power Messages and Suggestions to Influence Children Toward Positive Behavior—Expanded Edition” is an education and teaching book by Carmen Y. Reyes, The Psycho-Educational Teacher. On this innovative guide, readers venture into the fascinating realm of persuasive communication, learning 40+ persuasion-based techniques that influence positive behavior in children.
The most compelling lesson learned in this child discipline guide is that, to get better compliance from children, parents do not need flamboyant techniques or procedures; they just need better communication and persuasion skills. Generally speaking, persuasion is the process of communicating using just the right words to get the positive outcome we want.
Most specifically, in persuasive discipline, parents use specific language patterns and ways of talking to shift their child’s attitude and mindset from adversarial to cooperative. Simply put, when we persuade, we control and change behavior. Some of the techniques introduced in this book may be part of any parent’s repertoire already; we just need to be aware of their rich influential value, so that we learn how to articulate our messages in a constructive and influential way.
Other techniques, although well-known by persuasion experts, are less familiar to the average parent. Carmen Y. Reyes guides readers in how to easily apply these powerful techniques to the home setting.
Onyx Webb : Andrea Waltz
Onyx Webb : Book One
Onyx Webb is a multi-genre mash-up that combines supernatural suspense, crime, horror, and a touch of romance. Finalist: National Indie Excellence Awards: Cross Genre.
Onyx Webb is a ghost. Billionaire playboy Koda Mulvaney becomes obsessed with a girl he sees inside a mirror. Juniper Cole is on her way to the prom and… well, we don’t want to spoil anything… how all these events are related is part of the mystery that is, Onyx Webb.
The Onyx Webb series follows the unusual life of Onyx Webb along with a central group of characters in various locations and times. The billionaire Mulvaney family, piano prodigy Juniper Cole and her brother Quinn, paranormal show hosts Cryer and Fudge, and a few others make up the core of the series. Written like a book version of a supernatural soap opera (think: American Horror Story) each character’s story moves forward with most every episode.
It may appear that the characters are entirely unrelated and yet episode by episode, the connections will become clearer. Like being an inch away from a spider web, with each book, the web will move further and further away revealing the full story of every character and most importantly, the stunning conclusion for Onyx Webb herself.
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Mike and Me : Anita Green Burkett and Jada Elise Mitchell
Mike and Me – A Guide to Caring for the Grieving-Sensitivity Training for the Non-Grieving
Countless others are grieving all over the globe for their loved ones. There are plenty of people who have endured more loss than I have, perhaps even losing many at once. Where there are those who grieve, there are those who do not know what to say. There are also those who think they know what to say to the grieving. I’m not certain which one’s words are more painful.
This is my sensitivity training for the non-grieving. Remember, everyone is different, but this pointer would have helped me a great deal. Don’t ask, “How are you?” Perhaps a person could show concern and say, “I care,” or “I am thinking about you,” or “You are on my mind.” Give the person a hug and say, “I am here for you.” I could have handled those words much better. I knew that people were concerned, but I couldn’t truthfully say that I was great, never been better.
I have tried and still try to avoid answering the question of how I am. It sometimes makes me want to tell them exactly how I feel, which would not be a good thing to do.
What do people expect the grieving to say? I said in the beginning, after I could actually hang around after the church service without crying, “I’m fine.” I had a friend remind me that I was lying in church. So when the next person asked how I was, I told him the truth-and it was not pleasant. I apologized the next time I saw him. Jesus is my source of strength, but even so, we still grieve.
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The Grandfather Paradox : Steven Burgauer
The Grandfather Paradox
Marooned in the present, their only hope for the future lay in the past.
But first there was still the small matter of staying alive. The planet they were marooned on was crawling with bird-beasts, immense parrotlike carnivores that stood two meters tall, weighed upwards of fifty klogs, and had a giant scooped beak like a pelican. They normally swallowed their prey whole, though not before crushing them to death in their vise-like jaws.
Then there were the vipers — writhing snake-like creatures armed with dozens of sucker-bearing tentacles. They sprayed their victims with acid, then ate them while they were still alive.
But it got worse. Much worse . . .
Now, join Andu Nehrengel and his three female clone companions on an intense voyage through time. First stop: the Civil War and the Battle of Shiloh, April 1862, one of the most horrendous land battles of all time. Meet Mark Twain when he is still a riverboat pilot. Journey with him north to Missouri when he joins the Confederacy.
Then it’s back to the future and on to Mars!
And when you’re done reading this adventure, check out these other fine books by author Steven Burgauer: The Fornax Drive, The Brazen Rule, The Night of the Eleventh Sun, and The Road To War: Duty & Drill, Courage & Capture.
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