For all of us who came of age during the time of Woodstock, hippies and Vietnam, our paths into adult life were more perilous than they might have been a few innocent years earlier. In 1966, although I had never heard a gun fired in anger, I was among the walking wounded of those days of political, intellectual and moral conflict. I was a fresh-faced, eager high school graduate about to embark on my journey of college, choosing a profession, and marrying my steady girl. No matter their sincerity, all of those dreams were broken and shattered. I faced difficult choices. I bore guilt I never imagined. I realized I had never learned how to give up. I Promised You Daisies is the second volume of my trilogy Imperfectly Ordinary. As a sequel to A Gift of Dreams, this is the story of my attempt to make sense of life during the disrupted decade that followed my boyhood in a contented traditional New England village. I recount meeting studious, serious-minded Karen Sandstrom, our discovery that we shared just about every opinion in life that mattered, and our student marriage. We were convinced our mutual support would enable us to accomplish more good things in the world than we might have managed on our own. But would that be enough to sustain our growing love?

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Ellis House    by Maria Channell

Jenna’s journey to present day has not been easy.  Born to teen parents.  Along with her mother, a victim of a neglecting and abusive father.  Forced to be her own caretaker at a pivotal time in her life. 

Back to relative normalcy and stronger for the experience, the time is ripe for Jenna to focus on herself—and on coming clean about her feelings, despite her mother’s warnings, to the object of her affection.  A once ordinary, overlooked tree now becomes a symbol for Jenna’s desires.  Even in her dreams, the perfect apple lingers just beyond her fingertips as she searches for a way to say, “I love you." 

But when an intruder invades campus, putting Jenna’s newfound love in the center, Jenna must face her haunting past, must forgive her mother for the unforgivable, and must ultimately decide if love that is out of her league is worth the climb.  

When sixth grader Jeremy Chase meets a strange visitor who wants to transport him to the mysterious land of Teradawn, Jeremy thinks nothing of it. Then his younger sister Sandy is mistakenly taken instead. Jeremy and Priscilla, Sandy’s twin, find a way to Teradawn where they are desperate to rescue their sister and return home.

In Teradawn, those who claim to be their friends seem less and less friendly. Their enemies continue to grow in number, and their only hope for rescuing Sandy is to master the elusive power of the Language. Meanwhile, they must grapple with the most pressing question of all: who has kidnapped Sandy, and why?

All Henry, Walsh, and Peter wanted was to win the Junior International Robotics Competition. They never wanted to clash with undead whale zombies, or battle six-foot-tall skeleton key soldiers or even contend with a minotaur disguised as a Siamese cat.  But these three fifth graders will have to do all that and more when a Ring Dragon kidnaps Henry's sister, Anne Mai.

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Switcher                                   by Diane Mayer Christiansen

Samantha Schmealy is no one special, really. In thirteen years, she has lived a quiet life with her parents on their family farm. Nothing out of the ordinary has ever happened to her, unless you count the strange goings-on at a neighbor's house a mile away.  She has friends and enjoys school, but likes summer vacation even better. Yes, everything is quite normal for Sam...that is, until her parents find out about her ability to transform or switch into a sleek, black cat. There is only one thing to be done. Sam must be sent away for readjustment. Follow her journey through fear and anger to discovery and self acceptance as Sam and her new friends unravel the secrets of St. Levitius.

You might even say that being different is just fine...in fact it's downright amazing!

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Will Saris, an ambitious and young officer in the Space Fleet, embarks on his first mission alone with one directive – be discrete. He disobeys that directive and sets off a chain of events that not only change his life but much of the universe as well. The Eye of Icarus, book one in the Space Frontiers Series, starts off with edge-of-the-seat action, heart-throbbing romance, and chilling suspense where Will Saris goes from a rookie Officer and boy to a mature master manipulator of the alien races. The Eye of Icarus is the long awaited follow-up to D’Ambrosio’s Fractured Time Trilogy as Will Saris, son of Fractured Time’s Billy Brock, proves to be much like his father as he weaves his own thrilling and romantic adventures in a hostile universe.

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Hitler pressed a button, the elevator doors slid open and they ascended a 6,000 foot shaft through the heart of the mountain to Eagle’s Nest, his secret observatory. Astrological symbols were painted on the walls, and the Zodiac was rendered on a high ceiling of deep blue glass. “I call this room the Chamber of Stars,” he said to Afra.

“But why am I here?” she asked.

“Reichfuhrer Himmler has acquainted me with your astrological expertise,” he explained. “And I would like to know if you foresee anything significant in my future.”

The Dictator’s Astrologer, a historical novel, is based on the life of Afra Waesch, a real astrologer in Nazi Germany. Though the dark forces, personified by Hitler, destroy Germany, a still higher power protects Afra from the treachery of the Hitler regime. Surviving several attempts on her life, Afra develops into a master spiritual astrologer with psychic abilities of clairvoyance and astral travel. But would she have the strength to tell the Fuhrer what she read in his stars?

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The Cowgirl and The Colts                         by Paul Travers

In 1959 Carolyn Clark and her pony Dixie rode into the pages of football history as the first female mascot in professional football.  Carolyn was  an accomplished horsewoman by the age of ten and daughter of the legendary jockey Willie Clark. She dreamed of starting a riding academy for handicapped children.  Her fame as a Baltimore Colt created a touching story of faith, family, friendship and football.  This is her story – a look at life in the 1950’s, professional football, horses, and rock and roll as seen through the eyes of a young cowgirl.  

 “The Baltimore Colts were a complete team...that was not just the players but the fans.  What would that team have been without Carolyn and Dixie?  They were special part of that team, the magical and fragile bond between players and fans."   Raymond Berry, Baltimore Colts 1955-1967, 1958 and 1959 World Championship teams, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1973

The Separatist   by Gordon Snider (Author of Sigourney's Quest)

Meet journalist Julia Rice, who is sought out by a mysterious Mr. Anderson with the promise of giving her a very interesting story that would definitely help her career.  Julia follows her curiosity and meets with Mr. Anderson.  At first she is taken back by his ways but something makes her continue to meet with him as he begins to reveal a story that goes back into time and one that seems to have some connections with one she is working on in present day. A connection perhaps with her own life and a story that will definitely bring her to the brink of extreme danger, yet give her the story of a lifetime.   Mr. Anderson was at one time a Separatist, hired for a case that would change his life forever. The Separatist is based on a Japanese custom where people hire such a specialist to end relationships.  This might involve a spouse, a lover, a business partner, or any other kind of personal relationship.  The idea is to create a situation that is so embarrassing to the “mark” that he or she will agree to severe the relationship without public displays of discord, publicity, or court proceedings.  This is the story he must reveal to our Julia that will in turn change her life. Just who is this mystery man, Mr. Anderson, and why has he chosen Julia to confide the details of the evil he knows and the people involved?  Will Julia come out of this alive or has Mr. Anderson put them in a situation that will end both of their lives?

A Gift of Dreams is a classic American coming-of-age tale cast well outside the ordinary mold, a memoir with roots deep in youthful experience. It invites the reader to share my challenge of making a remote controlled vehicle fly in the days when even NASA had trouble doing it, while still trying to act like a normal teenager worried about working at the town drugstore and getting into college and handling the joys and perils of young love and emerging sexuality, all in the unique context of society in a New England seacoast village. Today, thoughtful readers everywhere are looking for optimistic, engaging storytelling that endorses positive values, and they will find it here. A Gift of Dreams is about a lot more than building model airplanes that will fly...it is about finding the courage in daring to be different.

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