Abbott Press – förlag

Judy Hamen was born in a hospital in South Dakota just before the start of World War II, when gas was eleven cents a gallon and the average life expectancy for a woman was sixty-five. As she grew into an energetic five-year-old, Judy had no idea that just days before her sixth birthday, she would become motherlessan event that would change the course of her life forever.

In her poignant memoir, Hamen details what it was like to grow up without a mother during a chaotic time in American history. Originally told her mother died from typhoid fever, Hamen discloses how it would not be until some twenty-five years later that she would learn the truth about her mothers death. As she shares her journey into womanhood, Hamen provides a glimpse into her unique life storymigrating to Minnesota in the 1950s, marrying at eighteen, and embarking on a diverse career that takes her from a secretarial job at a Ford dealership to Northwest Airlines, for which she trained airline mechanics in foreign countries. Included are illustrations and letters that bring her story to life and document important events.

Flying Free shares one womans unique path through life as she overcomes adversity, breaks through barriers, seeks adventure, and finds spiritual inspiration.

As a young boy, Gordon Plummer went on a camping trip with his parents. While camped near a clear Colorado creek, he found a beautiful blue stone. As children do, he put it in a cigar box, along with other oddities he accumulated as a boywhere it stayed for years, the battered box a source of fond childhood memories.

Year later, now a husband and father, Gordon finds his world is torn apart by divorce. His life in shambles, he searches for anything that can bring him peace and a sense of stability. One day, he finds his once-treasured and forgotten cigar boxand the odd blue stone he stashed in it so many years ago. As he soon discovers, that childhood find has inexplicable properties and powers that could change the direction of his adult life.

When he begins working with struggling contractor Scott Brady, Gordon learns more about the value of honesty and commitment. Gordon also learns that when tragedy befalls a friend, it is every bit as painful as if bad fortune had found him directly. Together, Gordon and Scott work to rebuild their shattered lives.

They encounter traps and pitfalls along the way, set by unscrupulous politicians and overly ambitious businessmen who learn that somewhere, somehow, there are traps made especially for them as well. Through adversity and shared challenge, Gordon learns that true friendship is the most powerful force in the universe and that the love he shares with others is truly returned to him.

Youre about to enter a city that has no equal. It was built by extraordinary people with imaginative minds. Did they drink? Not sure, but why else would they build it in a Nevada desert?

Some say you can go anywhere in the world and discover that people not only know about Las Vegas--theyd give anything to get there. True. As soon as I graduated from college I took an all-night bus to reach a city Id heard of, but never seen. I stayed 30 years.

Damn good years, too. And the mystique of the entertainers and the film stars and the elaborate restaurants and 24-hour-a-day casinos never wore off. I spent 20 of my years at the Sahara, on the Strip, got inside the gambling business in the 60s and loved it. Helped it, too, with my writing and my inventions.

The Mob was still around in those days. They were the first venture capitalists and owned a piece of every casino in town. Did that stop anyone from having a good time? Of course not. Gradually the Mob faded away--which is what happens when an FBI office with 15 agents sets up shop in town. But the gaiety didnt stop for a second, even when corporations realized they were the big guys now.

Our Sahara entertainment director stunned us in 1964 when he made a deal with The Beatles to play two shows. I met the boys after dark at a small Las Vegas airport, rode with them to the Sahara and helped get them to their suite before teen age girls tore their clothes off. So take a chance, have a seat and enjoy that drink in front of you. Its time to start the show.

--John Romero

Mr. Silver, in his newest Ookie Brothers mystery, blends fantasy, time travel, intrigue, and outright horror in Journey to Evil: A Case of Sweet Revenge.

A sequel to his first mystery, The Vengeful Veterinarian, this new tale sees the return of Mr. Black, evil incarnate, who was thought by the Ookie brothers to be dead and long since burning in hell. But Pookie, Mookie, and Dookie are wrong, maybe dead wrong!

With the help of the most renowned detectives of their time, Sirs Prescott and Basil Youngblood, a chief inspector from Scotland Yard and a host of incredible characters from the present day USA and 19th century England, they seek to rid the world of Mr. Black, once and for all. Unfortunately, this powerful evil is out for sweet revenge and his diabolical scheme won''t end until he destroys the Ookie brothers and everyone around them.

Mr. Silver''s dog detectives always challenge the readers. Written for pre-teens, teenagers and young adults, his many followers have tried to solve the mysteries, but few do until the last chapter.

Eight years ago, a nasty fall forced Mattie Samuelson to live in an assisted living facility called Silver Pines. Shes always maintained that someone pushed her, though her daughter, Heather, chalks it up to a simple slip in the rain.

One fateful day, Heather makes her mother promise to stay in the house and out of Oregons miserable weather. When Mattie breaks her promise and turns up dead in a suspicious accident, Heather cant forget her mothers ominous belief that someone tried to kill her. Her grief nearly overwhelms her, but she cant let Matties death go unresolved. She plunges into her own investigation. Instead of answers, however, she discovers more questionsand more dead bodies.

Heather has always loved puzzles, but this one may be her toughest yet. A missing fortune and a discarded teddy bear are somehow entwined in Matties murder, but how? Heather must figure it out and bring order to an assisted living center where assisted dying has become the norm

In Wisconsin, the argument is stringent: should the death penalty be reinstated or is it considered cruel and unusual punishment? Its an issue that incites debate; more so, it is an issue that incites anger, whether citizens are for or against capital punishment. Thomas McCormick is a member of the Wisconsin State Legislature. He has seen firsthand the pros and cons of the death penalty, so does he want it reinstated?

Following a bank robbery and the murder of a policeman, capital punishment advocates go wild. The criminal killed a cop; doesnt the criminal deserve to die? McCormick finds himself involved with the protestors, especially when he meets beautiful Barbara Hernandez, a tenacious crusader out for justice. Tom must decide which side hes on, and he has to decide fast, before things get out of control.

With Barbs help, Tom gets a referendum put before voters that would reinstate the death penalty. Not only are Barb and Toms lives threatened, but a certain political activist will attempt to prevent their success through strong arm tactics and even murder. It isnt the ideal time to fall in love, but Tom cant help his growing feelings for Barb. As they fight for what they believe is right, they must also fight for each other.

Life is complicated, plain and simple.

What we see is not what anyone else sees. We see a red rose, but no one else sees that same red, for no one else has our eyes. And thats life. We rely heavily on our five sensestaste, smell, touch, sight, and hearingbut only we can taste, smell, feel, see, or hear how we do.

The poetry included in Coffee Cup Stains: Thoughts from an Autistic Poet is based on Joy Olrees own five senses. She was, as Lady Gaga says, born this waywith autism, in a world that cannot fully grasp the meaning. In this new poetry collection, Olree attempts to enlighten that non-autistic world, to make its inhabitants see what she sees.

RAGGED RISE

Ragged rise I live

careful not to see

what there is to feel.

Fair the well my child

say therell never be

ever cause to doubt

what it is my place

here on earth to be.

Ragged rise I go

climbing to the top

up the mountain side

staring at the heavens

waiting for the answers.

Peaceful though I am

I would give it all

if only you would ask.

Ragged rise I see

man in all his glory

weathered worn but

whole, scattered torn

they roam sheltered

from lifes storm.

Ragged but to rise

over and again

down but never out

thus it seems my life.

Ginna Aiken just wants to be loved. As a child, she receives little affection from her parents and begins building walls, finding happiness only in her books and in listening to music. At age thirteen, she attempts to take her life for the first time. As the victim of a broken family, Ginna must somehow move from childhood to adulthood, all while on a seemingly endless quest for inner peace.

It turns out that dealing with her dysfunctional family is not Ginnas only thorny challenge. After an attempted rape by a trusted family friend, Ginna discovers a bottle of tranquilizers in her mothers dresser drawer. She swallows what is left in the bottle and begins an addiction to prescription drugs that masks her pain, but clouds everythingincluding her judgment. Ginna just longs to sink her roots into a place where she finally feels like she belongs, but first she must somehow find the power to forgive.

Where Do I Belong? is a poignant and powerful tale about the acts of love, betrayal, and the devastation that accompany a broken childhood.

Author Ivy Shih Leung shares her not-so-perfect road to motherhood in this book that is part memoir and part self-help guide, reflecting lessons learned in the form of helpful tips and information to empower readers on the biological and sociological roots behind postpartum depression (PPD). She also seeks to raise awareness of the myths of motherhood and the stigma of PPD that contribute to the silent suffering of many mothers, as well as the importance of adequate social support in the early postpartum weeks.

A culmination of Ivys frightening PPD journey and her emergence from it with a passion to learn more about perinatal mood disorders, this book is fueled with passion to help other women and their families, anger from the unnecessary suffering Ivy went through from the lack of information available to the public about PPD, her doctors ignorance and lack of sensitivity, and public remarks like, There is no such thing as a chemical imbalanceall of which shows theres still a long way to go in terms of educating the public about an illness that is suffered by one in eight new mothers.

With side effects that include shame, helplessness, and despair at a time that is supposed to be one of the happiest in a womans life, Ivy wants to help fellow PPD advocates get the message out that PPD is not a mind-over-matter thing, as those who dont know any better tend to believe. PPD is an illness that must be taken seriously. We must all remember that the health of the family unit depends on the mothers well-being.

Ivy Shih Leungs voice as a storyteller is strong, loud, and clear. Ivy is a survivor of postpartum depression, and through the written words on each page you can hear her roar. Jane Honikman, Founder of Postpartum Support International

Thirteen-year-old Jason Sorenson has nothing left to lose. Following a tragic car accident, his family is dead, and his leg is mangled. The courts send him to Washington to live with an uncle hes never met. To him, Washington is a strange and unfamiliar place, and it certainly isnt easy to make new friends until he stumbles upon the ruins of an ancient Native American village nearby.

So begins an unplanned journey for Jason, one that wont be easy. The Native American culture is even more foreign to him than the state of Washington. When he meets Crystal Clearwater, things come into focus, but Jason cant tell if its his newfound knowledge of her culture or the girl herself. Things get more complicated when some of the bullies in her tribe dont take too kindly to an outsider falling for one of their people.

Together, Jason and Crystal unearth artifacts that seem almost magical. They also stumble over human bones, the discovery of which opens up a whole lot of questions for the locals. As time passes, Jason needs Crystals help to make sense of it all. He also forges an unexpected bond with his Uncle Jake in the process. Maybe Washington isnt so bad after all, and maybe treasure is not always buried in the ground.