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Books

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Bitter-Sweet Bitterness
* Recommended for mature, adult readers, a direct transcript of daily existence in a New York City public shelter for the Homeless. Uncensored and most certainly "raw" (as it was described by one of the very first readers and quoted in "Reviews"). The story begins with the realisation that, because of skipped pay-cheques, there was no recourse but to simply leave, silently and with dignity and head out the door to the absolute un-known of "Homelessness". Taking "residence" on the dunes, finding obscure "shelter" under trees, in thickets and then, after illness, the utter despondency, standing, in the darkness of an Autumn night, at the entrance to "the shelter". Almost every day documented, in no uncertain terms until, 16 months later, after working an ill-paying job, often at 10-plus hours per day, boarding a plane and leaving it all behind for the hope of a better life. "Bitter-Sweet Bitterness" has been read by the general public and social workers as well. But again, it is NOT recommended for young readers. It has been re-written in a slightly more palatable verbiage under the title of "Journal Days" (see below). *** As this work was being written, many of my shelter-mates noticed as I'd jot notes nightly as I lay on my little steel-framed bed. And when they gleaned what I'd noted, so many of them commented "Man! You can write! This isn't just YOUR story! This is the story of each and every one of us! But we don't write the way you do. PLEASE! PROMISE US you'll do something to get this out for other people to read! PLEASE?" I promised I would. This book is a promise made... a promise kept. Hopefully it will be received as such because this isn't just my story... this is the story of ALL Homeless people... around the world.

Death Of A Zionist
The "Jewish Law Court", known as a "Beit Din", holds, over the head of each and every Jew on earth, certain authorities and, shall we call them "powers". The Orthodoxy hang firmly and tightly to the authorities given to 3 "rabbis" who preside over the various "courts" across the globe. The Conservatives abide by the dictates, and the Reform view the "courts" as a symbol of tradition and not much more. But imagine when, asked to provide "proof" of one's being a Jew, the rabbis interrogate and, after a lengthy period of silence, drop an e-mail, not even a personal note, nor a face-to-face, heart-to-heart dialogue and, essentially, with the "click" of a computer "mouse", the manage to annihilate an entire ancestry! This is only one example of the tyranny imposed upon the people of the Jewish race and it's results can be devastating.

Dunes Sojourner
DUNES SOJOURNER - AN ANTHOLOGY OF PROSE ESSAYS: Monday, 11 January 2016 If Franz Kafka and Virgina Woolf ever had a secret, illegitimate Love-child... THIS would be the story of that child. Poetic. Inspirational. Poignant. Beautiful images. And after several weeks of compiling and editing and searching for the "right" images... and trying to keep "life in general" moving along... this is complete and getting ready to be presented to the market. So if you're looking for something to browse through on these cold nights, or a little something to give to somebody who enjoys a cushy recliner, a hot toddy and a large hand-made afghan... and a quite something to read... keep a watch because it'll be out there with-in the next day or two! It was another labour of love... and I hope you'll all give yourselves the pleasure of reading it. Thanks all!

I've Done It!
A brief, concise read on the subject of self-publishing. Rather than spend thousands on having one's work printed and bound, and the expense of having some-one else design and print a cover, e-books are not only the least expensive method of presenting your work to the world, but yes, you're no longer limited to particular markets in certain locations. Best yet of all: you're not left stuck with boxes of 100s or even 1000s of tomes and confronted with the dilemma of having to deliver them to local book stores (and hoping they'll accept at least a few-to-several). This little book also describes the short-comings and pit-falls of the likes of "Amazon" and "Kindle" publishing. So rather than fumble through trying to present your hard work as you see befitting and finding that it's been re-formatted and contorted, instead of shelling-out your dwindling cash, here's your way to publish as you like and get your work out... to the entire world, with a "click" in the comfort of your home. No more "On sale now... in my garage." Get reading! Get writing! Get publishing! Get selling!

Journal Days
JournalDaysJournal Days - December 2015 “A Promise Kept” If salary stopped, an illness devoured savings, or even Mother Nature ripped through the house, are there those who actually will come to provide support or any assistance at all? And if the only resources are strangers, paid to provide the essentials and no more, do any of us know what to expect? There are stories, rumours, told and un-told of existence in a Homeless shelter. There are Homeless who refuse to go, and others who truly have no choice but to go to a shelter. And there are stories about shelters... but THIS is the story FROM a shelter. When one pay-cheque failed to come, and then a second, there was no-where to turn and no one to turn to. The anxiety of knowing what was to come, leaving home to go... Where? From sleeping on a sheet on a sand dune on the shore of the Atlantic ocean, through the nights on trash bags opened and laid on the ground beneath a tree, behind the poison ivy, hidden away. One star in an indigo sky, shining through the leaves forecast the night's weather. Then a lung infection and a trip to hospital where kind hearts cared... until the truth was known: Homeless. Simply discharged to a NYC Homeless shelter, getting back to work, Zucotti Park NYC "Occupy Wall Street", through lead poisoning, an earthquake and "re-assignment" to another shelter in a hurricane, and all the while, so-called friends who knew, and no family to turn to. This book takes the reader through the actual experiences up to the day of walking out the door of the shelter, boarding a plane and leaving it all behind... physically but never emotionally. The "Promise"? As one resident in the shelter put it: "Man! You can WRITE! And this isn't just your story... this is the story of ALL of us! Please, promise me you'll do something with this. Please. Promise me." The "Promise"... kept.

Lembrook
In a small village, built of massive, ancient stone, on a tiny island in a river far off over many, many miles of meadow, Lembrook. One main street, two side streets and a series of alleys and breeze-ways to connect them. The river flows peacefully, restfully by and the residents of the secluded little village go about their daily lives in a bucolic peace and harmony un-touched by negativity for... well... for as long as anybody can remember and even longer than that. "Lembrook" is a short story of a dream... a dream that has never been forgotten and at long last is being shared, in the hope that it brings a smile to those who might be in need of at least one good moment, one good day, one good night.

 

Madelaine duBois
She's quite the soul: kind in some ways. Though, indeed, she's got the potential to be rather disturbing, sometimes annoying and, at other times, exasperating. This, the first installment of expected and anticipated further adventures of Madelaine, finds her involved with a rather common chore of keeping the wood-stove well-stoked and burning. But instead of simply removing the next available bit from the top of the wood stack, dear Madelaine repeatedly sorts through, as if searching for one, particular, specific bit, and as she does... well... the rather expected happens. It's funny. It's not funny. But it is amusing, and it's a nice, quick read that will no doubt, leave a smile.

 

Salvaged Prose
Poetry and prose essay are often the greatest means by which we can express all that is in our heart, our soul, our being, and they well and flow up and out in torrents of words, like the pounding cascades of awe-inspiring water-falls or the pounding surf against an unwary, unprotected shore. Over the years, in note-books, on scraps of paper, bits (orts) have been written, in parks, on subways, buses, beaches, back yards, wood-lands... and over the years, so much had gone missing either by negligence, irresponsibility and even out-right theft. "Salvaged Prose" is exactly as the title protrays: these are works that have been discovered, in boxes, note books, hard drives, thumb drives... so many places. They're up-lifting, sobering, joyful, sombre and always thought-provoking.

Be sure to check the latest PROMOS & PREVIEWS for previews of listed books and special offers.

 

 

 

 

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