Be the Greatest You
By Kenneth Williams
Publisher: All Ball Out Publications
Paperback: 238 pages, 6 x 9 inches, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sellers (ISBN: 979-8-9892914-0-3)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 979-8-9892914-1-0)
Published October 2023
How can you expect to reach your full potential when you settle for living beneath your means? How can you fulfill your obligations to your existence when you aren't even living within your purpose? How can you question the lack of prosperity and counterproductivity that are preventing your life from moving forward, while burdened by poor decisions you made in the past?
Paperback: 238 pages, 6 x 9 inches, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sellers (ISBN: 979-8-9892914-0-3)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 979-8-9892914-1-0)
Published October 2023
How can you expect to reach your full potential when you settle for living beneath your means? How can you fulfill your obligations to your existence when you aren't even living within your purpose? How can you question the lack of prosperity and counterproductivity that are preventing your life from moving forward, while burdened by poor decisions you made in the past?
MORE ABOUT THE BOOK
Life can approach you on its own terms, through various circumstances and situations, through many ups and downs, smiles and frowns. Through a variety of unimaginable failures, successes, hardships, and headaches. All of these unpredictable variables that life delivers distill to one common denominator, one single person — the one you see daily in the mirror. Yes, you alone are the master architect of the foundation, structure, building, and design of your life.
After Kenneth Williams came to that realization and determined how to surgically dissect his personality flaws and rectify his path to improve his life, he decided to document his thought processes so others could benefit. He did so in his book Be The Greatest You! Calling upon his own experiences and deep self-analysis, he crafted this self-help book to guide you through self-discovery and constructive thought processes to set you on a new path on which you can find the motivation and inspiration to become the Greatest You.
After Kenneth Williams came to that realization and determined how to surgically dissect his personality flaws and rectify his path to improve his life, he decided to document his thought processes so others could benefit. He did so in his book Be The Greatest You! Calling upon his own experiences and deep self-analysis, he crafted this self-help book to guide you through self-discovery and constructive thought processes to set you on a new path on which you can find the motivation and inspiration to become the Greatest You.
Beneath an Irish Lavender Moon
By R.J. Fish
Publisher: RJ Fish Publishing, Murphys, CA
Paperback: 272 pages, 6 x 9 inches, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sellers (ISBN: 979-8-9889989-0-7)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 979-8-9889989-1-4)
Published: September 2023
Beneath an Irish Lavender Moon is a timeless tale, fictional though rooted in reality, that has a beginning in 1951. This is the time in Ireland when the British were gone but their imprint remained, and scars left from 800 years of British rule were still fresh, though the Irish never gave up or gave in. Vestiges of the past and glimpses of the cosmopolitan future paint a mosaic on the country.
Paperback: 272 pages, 6 x 9 inches, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sellers (ISBN: 979-8-9889989-0-7)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 979-8-9889989-1-4)
Published: September 2023
Beneath an Irish Lavender Moon is a timeless tale, fictional though rooted in reality, that has a beginning in 1951. This is the time in Ireland when the British were gone but their imprint remained, and scars left from 800 years of British rule were still fresh, though the Irish never gave up or gave in. Vestiges of the past and glimpses of the cosmopolitan future paint a mosaic on the country.
MORE ABOUT THE BOOK
At this time in history, Ireland had not been electrified except in the big cities. Dubliners referred to the country folks as "muck savages." While that term was condescending, there was a realization among the populace that there indeed was a layer of smoke and dirt on the interior of their small dark cottages that was revealed after they obtained electrical service. Life in Dublin is hardscrabble without a clear upward or outward path.
This is a story of a young man who, after finding his true love, loses it through no fault of his own. He dedicates everything he knows to his lost love, yet he doesn’t know to regain it. He embarks on an exploration of the hidden worlds surrounding us and calls upon these other worlds and entities in an effort to find out what happened in his own world. He learns that doing so comes with certain risks and expectations that often do not align with reality or the outcome.
Interwoven with this story is an unauthorized biography of the world’s most famous bear and the people who knew him.
This is a story of a young man who, after finding his true love, loses it through no fault of his own. He dedicates everything he knows to his lost love, yet he doesn’t know to regain it. He embarks on an exploration of the hidden worlds surrounding us and calls upon these other worlds and entities in an effort to find out what happened in his own world. He learns that doing so comes with certain risks and expectations that often do not align with reality or the outcome.
Interwoven with this story is an unauthorized biography of the world’s most famous bear and the people who knew him.
StarKids in America: Pennsylvania
By Britt Crennell
Illustrated by Yuuki Matsuyama
Cover artwork: Laura Catrinella
Publisher: Civics4Kinds (nonprofit organization)
Storybook in paperback, 122 pages, 5.25 x 8 inches, black and white interior, available from Amazon (ISBN 979-8-9869858-5-5)
Plus: StarKids in America: Pennsylvania Workbook
Illustrated by Yuuki Matsuyama
Cover art by Laura Catrinella
Paperback, 66 pages, 8.5 x 11, black and white interior, available from Amazon (ISBN 979-8-9869858-6-2)
Both books published: August 2023
Publisher: Civics4Kinds (nonprofit organization)
Storybook in paperback, 122 pages, 5.25 x 8 inches, black and white interior, available from Amazon (ISBN 979-8-9869858-5-5)
Plus: StarKids in America: Pennsylvania Workbook
Illustrated by Yuuki Matsuyama
Cover art by Laura Catrinella
Paperback, 66 pages, 8.5 x 11, black and white interior, available from Amazon (ISBN 979-8-9869858-6-2)
Both books published: August 2023
MORE ABOUT THE BOOKS
About the story book: Pennsylvania, the second book in an entertaining series, emphasizes respect and civic mindedness. Through humor, magic and adventure, young readers learn about the U.S. Constitution, individual rights and American values.
The stars have vanished from every American flag! No one knows why.
After discovering a magic flag, the StarKids race against time to solve the mystery. Pennsylvania has a unique history. Does it hold a clue? It’s time to find out. Young readers join the wild adventure as the StarKids hunt for clues in the Keystone State. Together, they dive into the mystery and discover some cool facts about America.
Each book in the series has a companion workbook that emphasizes critical thinking and vocabulary development and is aligned to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (for fourth and fifth grades).
About the workbook: The Pennsylvania Workbook includes over 50 activities. Each chapter corresponds with the same chapter in the book. Readers will demonstrate their understanding of the vocabulary words, concepts and information contained in the book by completing vocabulary worksheets and answering standards-based comprehension questions designed to promote critical thinking. Students will develop reading comprehension skills by finding themes and central ideas, supporting their answers and conclusions with evidence in the text, distinguishing between fact and opinion, and analyzing characters. Students will also practice sequencing events, analyzing cause-and-effect relationships, and making predictions using evidence from the book.
The workbook activities and worksheets are aligned to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy (for fourth and fifth grades).
About the author: Britt Crennell, a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, is a mother, lawyer and adjunct professor, and she has a teaching degree in early education (K-8). “Civics has been all but eliminated from elementary school, and yet, it’s so important to teach our children their duties as citizens and how they can contribute to their community,” Britt said. “With everything that has transpired since 2020, I felt a need for a funny, educational book series that introduces basic civics, empowers children, encourages civic-mindedness, and instills in the young reader a sense of pride in their country.”
The stars have vanished from every American flag! No one knows why.
After discovering a magic flag, the StarKids race against time to solve the mystery. Pennsylvania has a unique history. Does it hold a clue? It’s time to find out. Young readers join the wild adventure as the StarKids hunt for clues in the Keystone State. Together, they dive into the mystery and discover some cool facts about America.
Each book in the series has a companion workbook that emphasizes critical thinking and vocabulary development and is aligned to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (for fourth and fifth grades).
About the workbook: The Pennsylvania Workbook includes over 50 activities. Each chapter corresponds with the same chapter in the book. Readers will demonstrate their understanding of the vocabulary words, concepts and information contained in the book by completing vocabulary worksheets and answering standards-based comprehension questions designed to promote critical thinking. Students will develop reading comprehension skills by finding themes and central ideas, supporting their answers and conclusions with evidence in the text, distinguishing between fact and opinion, and analyzing characters. Students will also practice sequencing events, analyzing cause-and-effect relationships, and making predictions using evidence from the book.
The workbook activities and worksheets are aligned to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy (for fourth and fifth grades).
About the author: Britt Crennell, a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, is a mother, lawyer and adjunct professor, and she has a teaching degree in early education (K-8). “Civics has been all but eliminated from elementary school, and yet, it’s so important to teach our children their duties as citizens and how they can contribute to their community,” Britt said. “With everything that has transpired since 2020, I felt a need for a funny, educational book series that introduces basic civics, empowers children, encourages civic-mindedness, and instills in the young reader a sense of pride in their country.”
Little Shadow
By S.L. Schultz
Publisher: Yellow Horse Books
Paperback: 336 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 inches, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sellers (ISBN: 979-8-9885918-0-1)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 979-8-9885918-1-8)
Published July 2023
The provocatively engaging suspense novel Little Shadow, by Michigan author S.L. Schultz, has drawn high praise from readers. With vivid character depictions and unsettling developments, Little Shadow is an exquisitely detailed, intricately layered tale of love, lust, longing, lost innocence and remorse. The story unfolds through the eyes of flawed characters struggling to come to terms with the mistakes they made and the wrongs endured at the hands of others.
Paperback: 336 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 inches, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sellers (ISBN: 979-8-9885918-0-1)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 979-8-9885918-1-8)
Published July 2023
The provocatively engaging suspense novel Little Shadow, by Michigan author S.L. Schultz, has drawn high praise from readers. With vivid character depictions and unsettling developments, Little Shadow is an exquisitely detailed, intricately layered tale of love, lust, longing, lost innocence and remorse. The story unfolds through the eyes of flawed characters struggling to come to terms with the mistakes they made and the wrongs endured at the hands of others.
MORE ABOUT THE BOOK
Little Shadow takes place in June 1991, in a small town in the American heartland. Bagwell, a Marine sniper, has just returned home from the first Gulf War wounded and shell shocked. On the day of his injury, he received a Dear John letter from his wife, Brenda, who has taken up with his best friend, James. Emotionally distraught, Bagwell imagines their heads in the crosshairs of his rifle. Could this love triangle prove deadly to one of them? Or could it be Peter, inching his way out of the closet for the first time? Maybe Peter's controlling father, Martin, will die, still devastated by the brutal murder of his wife 10 years before. Or could it be Martin's brother, Sammie, struggling with the dark reminders of his combat duty in Vietnam? As thunderous storms roll across the landscape, tightly coiled tensions reach a breaking point.
Little Shadow, which explores erotic adult themes, is intended for readers age 18 and older.
Little Shadow, which explores erotic adult themes, is intended for readers age 18 and older.
Cradle Crow
By S.L. Schultz
Publisher: Yellow Horse Books
Paperback: 326 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 inches, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sellers (ISBN: 979-8-9885918-2-5)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 979-8-9885918-3-2)
Published: July 2023
Cradle Crow picks up in 2002, eleven years after her provocatively engaging suspense novel Little Shadow leaves off. The story unfolds with a prologue detailing the 1981 heinous murder of Jeanine Becker in the tiny Midwestern town of Willis. Although the case is still cold 21 years later, Jeanine's family remains determined to find the killer — but how? Will the lead detective acquiesce to their pleas and reopen the investigation? If not, will taking action into their own hands prove too risky?
Paperback: 326 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 inches, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sellers (ISBN: 979-8-9885918-2-5)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 979-8-9885918-3-2)
Published: July 2023
Cradle Crow picks up in 2002, eleven years after her provocatively engaging suspense novel Little Shadow leaves off. The story unfolds with a prologue detailing the 1981 heinous murder of Jeanine Becker in the tiny Midwestern town of Willis. Although the case is still cold 21 years later, Jeanine's family remains determined to find the killer — but how? Will the lead detective acquiesce to their pleas and reopen the investigation? If not, will taking action into their own hands prove too risky?
MORE ABOUT THE BOOK
As crows gather and their caws echo, intents collide and alliances build. Sensing his days of freedom may be numbered, the killer chooses to wreak more havoc before he flees. In a rain of autumn leaves beneath the full moonlight, synchronicities work in the killer's favor. Over the course of three short but harrowing days, parties join forces to bring the killer to justice.
About the author
S.L. Schultz's body of work includes poetry, prose, plays, screenplays and novels. Her plays have been staged in San Francisco and Chicago, and she has published short works. She lives in Michigan, where she teaches English composition and creative writing in area colleges and correctional facilities. S.L. Schultz is a graduate of California State University, Long Beach.
About the author
S.L. Schultz's body of work includes poetry, prose, plays, screenplays and novels. Her plays have been staged in San Francisco and Chicago, and she has published short works. She lives in Michigan, where she teaches English composition and creative writing in area colleges and correctional facilities. S.L. Schultz is a graduate of California State University, Long Beach.
Advertising That Reminds:
Walldog Art and Other Vintage Signs
By Robert A. Olson
Publisher: Whispering Oak Publishing
Paperback, 148 pages, 8.5 x 11 inches, color throughout, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-1-7371663-2-0)
Published: March 2023
Seismic safety expert Robert Olson first became interested in advertisements painted on structures while he was observing the aftermath of an earthquake in Santa Rosa, California, north of San Francisco. Demolition of a heavily damaged building exposed an old advertising sign on an adjoining building's brick wall that had been concealed for decades. Observing that and other colorful painted messages on other old buildings triggered his interest in learning more about this vintage art and its history.
Paperback, 148 pages, 8.5 x 11 inches, color throughout, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-1-7371663-2-0)
Published: March 2023
Seismic safety expert Robert Olson first became interested in advertisements painted on structures while he was observing the aftermath of an earthquake in Santa Rosa, California, north of San Francisco. Demolition of a heavily damaged building exposed an old advertising sign on an adjoining building's brick wall that had been concealed for decades. Observing that and other colorful painted messages on other old buildings triggered his interest in learning more about this vintage art and its history.
More about the book
During the course of his travels and earthquake field research, Olson met Caleb Whitbeck, an elderly man who had been a "walldog" artist — a sign painter. While such painted signs often were unadorned and purely functional, many were of the scope and artistry of murals. Noting that this bit of Americana had been overlooked as an art form, Whitbeck began to regale Olson with tales of the loosely knit fraternity of "walldoggers" who, as he had done, made a living by painting ads on building walls to sell products and services of the day. That inspired Olson to begin photographing any remaining wall dog art that he encountered. He consolidated many of those photos in his book Advertising That Reminds: Walldog Art and Other Vintage Signs, which he dedicated to those sign painters.
While much walldog art has been lost to demolitions, weather, concealment by adjoining buildings, and local laws requiring removal of any advertising that is irrelevant to the current occupants of a building, the art form endures through modern walldoggers, muralists, preservationists, and graffiti artists. The walldoggers name comes from the notion of “working like dogs” on exterior building walls, while using durable but dangerous lead-based paints, climbing tall ladders, and balancing themselves on suspended scaffolding.
Olson also sprinkled Advertising That Reminds: Walldog Art and Other Vintage Signs with some non-walldog signs, including early neon signs and interesting modern-day murals.
While much walldog art has been lost to demolitions, weather, concealment by adjoining buildings, and local laws requiring removal of any advertising that is irrelevant to the current occupants of a building, the art form endures through modern walldoggers, muralists, preservationists, and graffiti artists. The walldoggers name comes from the notion of “working like dogs” on exterior building walls, while using durable but dangerous lead-based paints, climbing tall ladders, and balancing themselves on suspended scaffolding.
Olson also sprinkled Advertising That Reminds: Walldog Art and Other Vintage Signs with some non-walldog signs, including early neon signs and interesting modern-day murals.
Addiction: What I Wish I Could Tell My Father
By Denver J. Hamilton
Publisher: Brain Bucket Publishing
(Cover designed by the author)
Paperback, 290 pages, 6 x 9 inches, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sellers (ISBN: 979-8-9875136-0-6)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 979-8-9875136-1-3)
Published: January 2023
Writing can be an exercise of self-discovery that some people find cathartic. Introspective explorations can be helpful not only for a writer, but also for others. With that in mind, first-time author Denver J. Hamilton turned to EditPros’ BookPrep service to help him publish Addiction: What I Wish I Could Tell My Father, his first-person account of how he, as a colorblind and tone-deaf artist and musician, learned to cope with depression, anxiety, poor self-image, and thoughts of suicide.
(Cover designed by the author)
Paperback, 290 pages, 6 x 9 inches, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sellers (ISBN: 979-8-9875136-0-6)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 979-8-9875136-1-3)
Published: January 2023
Writing can be an exercise of self-discovery that some people find cathartic. Introspective explorations can be helpful not only for a writer, but also for others. With that in mind, first-time author Denver J. Hamilton turned to EditPros’ BookPrep service to help him publish Addiction: What I Wish I Could Tell My Father, his first-person account of how he, as a colorblind and tone-deaf artist and musician, learned to cope with depression, anxiety, poor self-image, and thoughts of suicide.
More about the book
What started as social drinking and occasional experimentation with drugs quickly devolved into the author's hopeless addiction to alcohol and a dependence on self-medicated, hallucinogen-guided psychotherapy. As he teetered on the brink of mental collapse, an unexpected turn of events led Denver Hamilton down a path to recovery. After detoxing in military basic training, which served as his rehab, he returned home with a new brand of people-pleasing perfectionism, a survival mechanism built to hide the mistakes of his past. Sober living, falling in love, and having children sparked a new journey with shadow work therapy that uncovered his deepest, darkest secrets that once fueled his substance abuse. Denver realized that the only way to truly break his addiction for good was to admit to his parents and brother what he had hidden from them his entire life.
Written as a letter to his father, Addiction: What I Wish I Could Tell My Father takes readers through Denver's childhood, his parents' divorce, sibling rivalry, bullying, and his feelings of inadequacy of never living up to their expectations. A unique, artistic approach to understanding perception, trauma, and parenting in a tragically playful, yet hilariously sad introspective story that serves as a guide for anyone struggling with addiction or for families that want to regain the closeness they once had with each other.
Written as a letter to his father, Addiction: What I Wish I Could Tell My Father takes readers through Denver's childhood, his parents' divorce, sibling rivalry, bullying, and his feelings of inadequacy of never living up to their expectations. A unique, artistic approach to understanding perception, trauma, and parenting in a tragically playful, yet hilariously sad introspective story that serves as a guide for anyone struggling with addiction or for families that want to regain the closeness they once had with each other.
Bread of Shame
By W.K. “Jake” Wehrell
Publisher: AfterWit Books
Paperback, 6 x 9 inches, 474 pages, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-0-9987632-8-6)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN 9978-0-9987632-9-3)
Published: November 2022
W.K. “Jake” Wehrell of Florida, who in 2020 completed the final installment in a four-part series he published with the assistance of EditPros’ BookPrep service, enlisted us to help him publish a fifth book. In Bread of Shame, Wehrell’s new release, he speaks through the voice of protagonist Roger Yahnke, as he did in the four prior novels.
Paperback, 6 x 9 inches, 474 pages, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-0-9987632-8-6)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN 9978-0-9987632-9-3)
Published: November 2022
W.K. “Jake” Wehrell of Florida, who in 2020 completed the final installment in a four-part series he published with the assistance of EditPros’ BookPrep service, enlisted us to help him publish a fifth book. In Bread of Shame, Wehrell’s new release, he speaks through the voice of protagonist Roger Yahnke, as he did in the four prior novels.
More about the book
The Bread of Shame story is based on the true lifetime journey of one man, an unrelenting quest to find the one woman he believes is his destined soulmate. His desperate search to find her dictates every significant decision of his, causing him to repeatedly and impulsively make ill-advised choices that bring about dire predicaments.
As a Marine Corps pilot in the Mediterranean Sea, Roger stumbles through Europe’s most glamorous cities. He is whisked through after-hours Barcelona on the coattails of the girls of the Stafford Ballet; has lunch with an exiled king in his vacation home on the island of Rhodes; spends the night in an Istanbul jail cell with a German movie star and a Middle Eastern princess; and accompanies an international arms dealer into Bulgaria to buy guns from the KGB.
Following his military discharge, his civilian life remains just as incendiary. He lives life on the edge, courting but deftly eluding danger. All the while he remains tethered to the search for that one woman.
As a Marine Corps pilot in the Mediterranean Sea, Roger stumbles through Europe’s most glamorous cities. He is whisked through after-hours Barcelona on the coattails of the girls of the Stafford Ballet; has lunch with an exiled king in his vacation home on the island of Rhodes; spends the night in an Istanbul jail cell with a German movie star and a Middle Eastern princess; and accompanies an international arms dealer into Bulgaria to buy guns from the KGB.
Following his military discharge, his civilian life remains just as incendiary. He lives life on the edge, courting but deftly eluding danger. All the while he remains tethered to the search for that one woman.
The Voice Over Actor’s Handbook:
How to Analyze, Interpret, and Deliver Scripts
By John Burr
Publisher: John Burr Enterprises, Inc.
Paperback, 280 pages, 6 x 9 inches, available from Amazon (ISBN: 979-8-9867794-0-9)
E-book, available through KDP on Amazon (ISBN: 979-8-9867794-1-6)
Published: August 2022
Six years after publishing the first edition of his well-received instructional book on voice-over announcing techniques, respected Florida-based voice-over coach John Burr turned to BookPrep to help him publish the second edition with improvements as he envisioned them.
Paperback, 280 pages, 6 x 9 inches, available from Amazon (ISBN: 979-8-9867794-0-9)
E-book, available through KDP on Amazon (ISBN: 979-8-9867794-1-6)
Published: August 2022
Six years after publishing the first edition of his well-received instructional book on voice-over announcing techniques, respected Florida-based voice-over coach John Burr turned to BookPrep to help him publish the second edition with improvements as he envisioned them.
More about the book
The Voice Over Actor’s Handbook: How to Analyze, Interpret, and Deliver Scripts, Second Edition is geared to career development for voice over acting and broadcasting. The handbook teaches techniques for flawless script delivery. Readers will learn how to develop incremental control of pace, pitch, pause, volume, flow, emotional level, and how to identify points of emphasis. The text contains a coded link to John Burr’s website, which contains hundreds of audio examples of good and bad script reading.
The book has earned the praise of readers, one of whom wrote, “This is the book for any lover of words and fan of the English language. After 25-plus years as a successful voice over talent, I have read many valuable resources on the art of voice acting and the skill set needed to make a career out of a marvelous business. However, this is a rare take on how the structure of the written word can and should affect our interpretation of the writer's words.”
Another observed, “There is no other resource like this one for the voiceover industry. This is the definitive bridge to better voiceover delivery.” One reader wrote, “An excellent book for the beginner and journeyman alike. Even a few pros could benefit from the info here. The book is organized well and very methodical. Written intelligently and concisely. Not a detail has been overlooked.”
Through his consulting company, John Burr Voice Dynamics, the author conducts expert individual instruction in person and online. Many of his students have won local and national awards for excellence in voice acting.
The book has earned the praise of readers, one of whom wrote, “This is the book for any lover of words and fan of the English language. After 25-plus years as a successful voice over talent, I have read many valuable resources on the art of voice acting and the skill set needed to make a career out of a marvelous business. However, this is a rare take on how the structure of the written word can and should affect our interpretation of the writer's words.”
Another observed, “There is no other resource like this one for the voiceover industry. This is the definitive bridge to better voiceover delivery.” One reader wrote, “An excellent book for the beginner and journeyman alike. Even a few pros could benefit from the info here. The book is organized well and very methodical. Written intelligently and concisely. Not a detail has been overlooked.”
Through his consulting company, John Burr Voice Dynamics, the author conducts expert individual instruction in person and online. Many of his students have won local and national awards for excellence in voice acting.
StarKids in America: Delaware
By Britt Crennell
Illustrated by Laura Catrinella and Michelle Christabella
Publisher: Civics4Kids (nonprofit organization), Davis, CA
Storybook in paperback, 112 pages, 5.25 x 8 inches, color cover, black and white interior, available from Amazon (ISBN 979-8-986-9858-2-4)
(Cover designed by the illustrator)
Plus: StarKids in America: Delaware — Workbook
Paperback, 70 pages, 8.5 x 11 inches, black and white interior, available from Amazon (ISBN 979-8-9869858-3-1)
Both books published: May 2023
Storybook in paperback, 112 pages, 5.25 x 8 inches, color cover, black and white interior, available from Amazon (ISBN 979-8-986-9858-2-4)
(Cover designed by the illustrator)
Plus: StarKids in America: Delaware — Workbook
Paperback, 70 pages, 8.5 x 11 inches, black and white interior, available from Amazon (ISBN 979-8-9869858-3-1)
Both books published: May 2023
More about the books
About the story book: The StarKids are four friends from diverse backgrounds who race against time to solve America's greatest mystery: the stars have vanished from every American flag, and no one knows why. After discovering a magic flag, the kids set out to search for clues and rebuild Old Glory one star at a time. On these adventures, the StarKids contend with their nemesis, George, a grumpy bald eagle determined to derail them, and Lucy, a quirky eagle who is supposed to help the holder of the magic flag search for clues — but her preoccupation with fancy clothes and wigs distracts her from the task.
“My philosophy with respect to this educational book series is make it so entertaining with humor and illustrations that children don’t realize that they're learning. The books introduce children to civics, important historical documents, American history and also align with Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (4th and 5th grade),” Britt explained.
By tagging a flag, the StarKids are magically teleported to rural areas, cities, historical sites, and obscure places where they encounter fascinating people, historic figures, and fantastical creatures from folk tales and urban legends. Eventually, they discover that the clues are the core virtues of this country and that the first letter of each clue spells the inscription on the Liberty Bell: Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof. With the mystery solved, the StarKids watch proudly as each star returns to America's flags.
About the workbook: In the workbook, the characters from the book “create” the activities and questions and communicate with each student who completes the exercises. The chapters in the workbook correspond with the book chapters. Britt Crennell created the educational package (book, workbook and screenplay) with parents, teachers, instructors and students in mind. Students can work independently or collaboratively while reading a chapter and completing the corresponding chapter in the workbook. The screenplays in the workbook are designed for reading groups and classroom plays.
About the author: Britt Crennell, a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, is a mother, lawyer and adjunct professor, and she has a teaching degree in early education (K-8). “Civics has been all but eliminated from elementary school, and yet, it’s so important to teach our children their duties as citizens and how they can contribute to their community,” Britt said. “With everything that has transpired since 2020, I felt a need for a funny, educational book series that introduces basic civics, empowers children, encourages civic-mindedness, and instills in the young reader a sense of pride in their country.”
“My philosophy with respect to this educational book series is make it so entertaining with humor and illustrations that children don’t realize that they're learning. The books introduce children to civics, important historical documents, American history and also align with Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (4th and 5th grade),” Britt explained.
By tagging a flag, the StarKids are magically teleported to rural areas, cities, historical sites, and obscure places where they encounter fascinating people, historic figures, and fantastical creatures from folk tales and urban legends. Eventually, they discover that the clues are the core virtues of this country and that the first letter of each clue spells the inscription on the Liberty Bell: Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof. With the mystery solved, the StarKids watch proudly as each star returns to America's flags.
About the workbook: In the workbook, the characters from the book “create” the activities and questions and communicate with each student who completes the exercises. The chapters in the workbook correspond with the book chapters. Britt Crennell created the educational package (book, workbook and screenplay) with parents, teachers, instructors and students in mind. Students can work independently or collaboratively while reading a chapter and completing the corresponding chapter in the workbook. The screenplays in the workbook are designed for reading groups and classroom plays.
About the author: Britt Crennell, a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, is a mother, lawyer and adjunct professor, and she has a teaching degree in early education (K-8). “Civics has been all but eliminated from elementary school, and yet, it’s so important to teach our children their duties as citizens and how they can contribute to their community,” Britt said. “With everything that has transpired since 2020, I felt a need for a funny, educational book series that introduces basic civics, empowers children, encourages civic-mindedness, and instills in the young reader a sense of pride in their country.”
Hilda and the Cup Babies: I Am Not Afraid to Read
(story book for children)
Hilda and the Cup Babies: Rise Early Story Coloring Book
(companion coloring book)
Both books written by Kathy Brown and illustrated by Zachary Roberson
Publisher of both books: Unirock Productions, Shreveport, LA
About I Am Not Afraid to Read (story book)
Paperback, 44 pages, 8.5 x 8.5 inches, color throughout, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN 978-0-5789660-4-5)
Published: August 2021
About Rise Early (coloring book)
Paperback, 32 pages, 8.5 x 8.5 inches, black and white interior, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN 978-0-578-34736-3)
Published: September 2022
About I Am Not Afraid to Read (story book)
Paperback, 44 pages, 8.5 x 8.5 inches, color throughout, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN 978-0-5789660-4-5)
Published: August 2021
About Rise Early (coloring book)
Paperback, 32 pages, 8.5 x 8.5 inches, black and white interior, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN 978-0-578-34736-3)
Published: September 2022
More about the books
Louisiana primary and secondary school educator Kathy Brown understood that one of the biggest obstacles that children confront in learning to read and developing comprehension is lack of “automaticity” — the skill to identify letters, letter-sound correspondences, and isolated words quickly and accurately. She wrote Hilda and the Cup Babies: I Am Not Afraid to Read as an enjoyable way through which children can learn how to visually “decode” the tricky words that cause problems for many young readers. Children who have not formed automaticity in decoding by certain intellectual timelines are at risk for reading failure. Hilda and the Cup Babies: I Am Not Afraid to Read contains a thoughtfully composed inventory of foundation words, word families, vowel teams, vowel combinations, digraphs, blends, trigraphs, and alphabet sounds instrumental in helping kindergarten through second-grade youngsters develop and strengthen reading skills upon which they can build.
Hilda and the Cup Babies: Rise Early Story Coloring Book is a companion to Hilda and the Cup Babies: I Am Not Afraid to Read. The developing “Hilda and the Cup Babies” series consists of stories rooted in educational and social lessons and centered on heartwarming family engagement principles. These fictional stories, based on nonfictional topics, are intended to strengthen academic capabilities while supporting moral, ethical and social sensitivities.
Each book is sold separately. The “Cup Babies” series was conceived to promote child and family welfare, integrity, courage, respect, social responsibility, personal responsibility, moral responsibility, educational responsibility, and family responsibility.
About the author
Kathy Brown, a mother of three children, is a published author who has had a love for story sharing since she was a teenager. She is an active advocate for children’s welfare and family wellness and is compassionate about raising awareness regarding child abuse prevention. Kathy holds a bachelor of science degree in psychology and a master of science degree in education and special education.
About the illustrator
Zachary Roberson is a storyboard artist and video editor as well as an illustrator. His love for art and his passion for drawing began during the early portion of his youth, when he developed a deep admiration for Peanuts specials, Our Gang shorts, Hanna-Barbera cartoons, Japanese animation, classic Disney and Hayao Miyazaki animated films, and Dr. Seuss illustrated stories. Zachary, who hails from Shreveport, Louisiana, now resides in Texas. He can be found on Instagram @madeby.zackkattack.
Hilda and the Cup Babies: Rise Early Story Coloring Book is a companion to Hilda and the Cup Babies: I Am Not Afraid to Read. The developing “Hilda and the Cup Babies” series consists of stories rooted in educational and social lessons and centered on heartwarming family engagement principles. These fictional stories, based on nonfictional topics, are intended to strengthen academic capabilities while supporting moral, ethical and social sensitivities.
Each book is sold separately. The “Cup Babies” series was conceived to promote child and family welfare, integrity, courage, respect, social responsibility, personal responsibility, moral responsibility, educational responsibility, and family responsibility.
About the author
Kathy Brown, a mother of three children, is a published author who has had a love for story sharing since she was a teenager. She is an active advocate for children’s welfare and family wellness and is compassionate about raising awareness regarding child abuse prevention. Kathy holds a bachelor of science degree in psychology and a master of science degree in education and special education.
About the illustrator
Zachary Roberson is a storyboard artist and video editor as well as an illustrator. His love for art and his passion for drawing began during the early portion of his youth, when he developed a deep admiration for Peanuts specials, Our Gang shorts, Hanna-Barbera cartoons, Japanese animation, classic Disney and Hayao Miyazaki animated films, and Dr. Seuss illustrated stories. Zachary, who hails from Shreveport, Louisiana, now resides in Texas. He can be found on Instagram @madeby.zackkattack.
Walker-Stefani Family History: Part 3
The Family Business: Larry Walker Associates Inc. — The First 25 Years
By Larry Walker
Paperback, 102 pages, 8 1/2 x 11 inches, with color and black-and-white photos
Published in June 2022 for private distribution, among only family members and friends
Following publication of his two-volume Walker-Stefani family history, Larry Walker set about documenting another aspect of his memoirs: the establishment and operation of the family business, Larry Walker Associates (LWA), an environmental engineering and water quality management consulting firm based in Davis, Yolo County, California.
Walker-Stefani Family History, Part 3: The Family Business, Larry Walker Associates, Inc. — The First 25 Years is based on Larry's personal recollections, records and the activities in which he was directly involved as company president. By design, other aspects of the history of LWA are not included.
Published in June 2022 for private distribution, among only family members and friends
Following publication of his two-volume Walker-Stefani family history, Larry Walker set about documenting another aspect of his memoirs: the establishment and operation of the family business, Larry Walker Associates (LWA), an environmental engineering and water quality management consulting firm based in Davis, Yolo County, California.
Walker-Stefani Family History, Part 3: The Family Business, Larry Walker Associates, Inc. — The First 25 Years is based on Larry's personal recollections, records and the activities in which he was directly involved as company president. By design, other aspects of the history of LWA are not included.
More about the book
The narrative, which Larry Walker prepared for his existing members and descendants, describes the first 25 years of LWA operation, from 1979 through 2004. Larry had worked for nine years as an employee of a consulting engineering firm and for seven years at the California State Water Resources Control Board before deciding to establish his own consulting engineering firm, LWA. The book is organized in sections describing the startup years (1979–1980), the formative years (1980–1989), the growth years (1990–2004), and the ownership transition to his children (2005). He attributes the success of the company to its key employees, to the LWA guiding values, and to the company's integrity in delivering valuable services to clients.
"It is easy to look back and reflect on LWA's success and the positive aspects of its history," Larry wrote in the narrative. "But for those of us who were involved, there were long hours, frustrations, disappointments, mistakes, and disagreements. The same is true with most businesses. While some of these are addressed in this history, on balance it focuses on the positive. Who wants to reflect on the negative?"
"It is easy to look back and reflect on LWA's success and the positive aspects of its history," Larry wrote in the narrative. "But for those of us who were involved, there were long hours, frustrations, disappointments, mistakes, and disagreements. The same is true with most businesses. While some of these are addressed in this history, on balance it focuses on the positive. Who wants to reflect on the negative?"
Sum and Substance
Comprehending Yourself, Your Universe and Your World
By William L. Martin
Paperback, 308 pages, 6 x 9 inches, with black-and-white photos, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 979-8-9860657-0-0)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 979-8-9860657-1-7)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022907123
Published: May 2022
During his varied and consequential career, William Martin worked as a designer of computer and military command and control systems in the defense industry, administered a major commercial air traffic control program, gave senior-level briefings at the Pentagon and NATO headquarters, taught at MIT and USC, and was vice president of engineering for a Northern California test equipment firm. Following his retirement, William immersed himself in philosophical thought and began composing his observations about human existence, drawing upon his broadly encompassing perspective. The result of that introspection is William Martin’s first book, Sum and Substance — Comprehending Yourself, Your Universe and Your World.
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 979-8-9860657-1-7)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022907123
Published: May 2022
During his varied and consequential career, William Martin worked as a designer of computer and military command and control systems in the defense industry, administered a major commercial air traffic control program, gave senior-level briefings at the Pentagon and NATO headquarters, taught at MIT and USC, and was vice president of engineering for a Northern California test equipment firm. Following his retirement, William immersed himself in philosophical thought and began composing his observations about human existence, drawing upon his broadly encompassing perspective. The result of that introspection is William Martin’s first book, Sum and Substance — Comprehending Yourself, Your Universe and Your World.
More about the book
This book leads readers on a personal journey to a richer comprehension of their own life; our universe, as revealed by science; and civilization, from the first humans to modern times.
Richly illustrated and using language understandable by anyone who will try, the book offers the ambitious hope that if you spend eight hours reading it, you may learn more than in any other eight hours of your life. The book first identifies where each of us fits in the universe, the use of the scientific method as the best way to understand reality, and a concise timeline of events beginning with the Big Bang and leading to the appearance and evolution of modern humans. The author hypothesizes about the meaning of life and the possible futures of our planet Earth.
Sum and Substance — Comprehending Yourself, Your Universe and Your World is written in a non-judgmental tone, acknowledging that every person is unique and derives from 4 billion years of evolution of life on Earth. The goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you a foundation for comprehending everything you experience. The book shares how others have defined the meaning of their lives, and suggests that you can choose your own unique purpose.
Richly illustrated and using language understandable by anyone who will try, the book offers the ambitious hope that if you spend eight hours reading it, you may learn more than in any other eight hours of your life. The book first identifies where each of us fits in the universe, the use of the scientific method as the best way to understand reality, and a concise timeline of events beginning with the Big Bang and leading to the appearance and evolution of modern humans. The author hypothesizes about the meaning of life and the possible futures of our planet Earth.
Sum and Substance — Comprehending Yourself, Your Universe and Your World is written in a non-judgmental tone, acknowledging that every person is unique and derives from 4 billion years of evolution of life on Earth. The goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you a foundation for comprehending everything you experience. The book shares how others have defined the meaning of their lives, and suggests that you can choose your own unique purpose.
Risk Assessment: A Mystery
By Susan and Randy Padgett
Paperback, 290 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 inches, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 979-8-9859339-0-1)
Ebook, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 979-8-9859339-1-8)
Published: April 2022
Over the course of their careers, lawyers and paralegals encounter people whose lives have become entwined in preposterous misadventures and intricate schemes that are often stranger than fiction. Drawing upon their decades in the legal profession, Susan and Randy Padgett conceived Risk Assessment: A Mystery, a fictional tale of intrigue about a mid-career attorney they named Jake Maxwell, who has a legal practice in Sacramento, California.
Ebook, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 979-8-9859339-1-8)
Published: April 2022
Over the course of their careers, lawyers and paralegals encounter people whose lives have become entwined in preposterous misadventures and intricate schemes that are often stranger than fiction. Drawing upon their decades in the legal profession, Susan and Randy Padgett conceived Risk Assessment: A Mystery, a fictional tale of intrigue about a mid-career attorney they named Jake Maxwell, who has a legal practice in Sacramento, California.
More about the book
Readers meet Jake just as his life has been turned upside down. His wife has left him, and his employer, Farmstead Insurance, is being rocked by a major corporate takeover engineered by a shadowy private equity firm, Black Belt Capital Ltd. About the only diversions keeping Jake on the rails are the time he spends with his border collie, Elwood, and the opportunities he has to spend a few hours fishing during the course of his many out-of-town business trips. But prospects begin to brighten for Jake after he meets and falls for Meg Vann, one of his co-workers from the coastal California town of Eureka.
When a resort property insured with Farmstead burns down and the body of a man is discovered in the charred ruins, Meg begins to suspect that the fire was not accidental. Jake is initially skeptical, but as he and Meg dig into clues stretching from Sacramento to Eureka, they discover that Black Belt appears to be setting up an insurance fraud of massive proportions, threatening Farmstead’s solvency. Fighting corporate resistance and government inertia, Meg and Jake have to rely on the wits of their co-workers and Meg’s Eureka contacts to put the puzzle together and prevent the disastrous loss.
Susan and Randy Padgett live in Davis, California, 20 miles west of Sacramento. They have shared a love of mysteries and the attractions of California for more than 40 years. Susan is a retired legal secretary, paralegal and university staff member. Randy is a retired attorney. They are fond of the rugged north coast region of California and its dense, dark redwood forests, where much of Risk Assessment: A Mystery unfolds.
When a resort property insured with Farmstead burns down and the body of a man is discovered in the charred ruins, Meg begins to suspect that the fire was not accidental. Jake is initially skeptical, but as he and Meg dig into clues stretching from Sacramento to Eureka, they discover that Black Belt appears to be setting up an insurance fraud of massive proportions, threatening Farmstead’s solvency. Fighting corporate resistance and government inertia, Meg and Jake have to rely on the wits of their co-workers and Meg’s Eureka contacts to put the puzzle together and prevent the disastrous loss.
Susan and Randy Padgett live in Davis, California, 20 miles west of Sacramento. They have shared a love of mysteries and the attractions of California for more than 40 years. Susan is a retired legal secretary, paralegal and university staff member. Randy is a retired attorney. They are fond of the rugged north coast region of California and its dense, dark redwood forests, where much of Risk Assessment: A Mystery unfolds.
Ireland 2021 — The Emerald Isle
A rainbow of hope for 34 Americans visiting Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic
By Marti Smiley Childs with Jacquelin J. Smiley
Paperback, 98 pages, 8.5 x 11 inches, color throughout
Published in February 2022 for private distribution, among only family members and friends
We use our BookPrep publication services not only for clients, but also for ourselves. EditPros co-owner Marti Smiley Childs took advantage of our BookPrep resources to create and publish a journal of her vacation travels through Ireland last autumn. Marti wanted to give family members and friends the opportunity to view many of the hundreds of photos that she shot during the trip. And she wanted to present the photos in a durable form. She concluded that the best way to do that would be to produce a book, but to keep its circulation status “private” — that is, to make it available only to people whom she chooses. Several clients who used BookPrep services did likewise with their books.
Published in February 2022 for private distribution, among only family members and friends
We use our BookPrep publication services not only for clients, but also for ourselves. EditPros co-owner Marti Smiley Childs took advantage of our BookPrep resources to create and publish a journal of her vacation travels through Ireland last autumn. Marti wanted to give family members and friends the opportunity to view many of the hundreds of photos that she shot during the trip. And she wanted to present the photos in a durable form. She concluded that the best way to do that would be to produce a book, but to keep its circulation status “private” — that is, to make it available only to people whom she chooses. Several clients who used BookPrep services did likewise with their books.
More about the book
Marti and her mother, Jacquelin, initially purchased tickets in 2019 from CIE Tours to visit Ireland in May 2020. Those plans were put on hold because of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pair rescheduled and were forced to postpone their trip several more times during the ensuing 16 months, as Irish government officials restricted travel there. Finally in September 2021, after Ireland reopened for tourism, Marti and her mother were able to travel there. Along with 32 other Americans in their tour group, they circled the Emerald Isle in two buses. During their nine-day adventure they visited Dublin, Glendalough, Waterford, Cobh, Killarney, the Ring of Kerry, the Cliffs of Moher, Galway, Knock, Donegal, Derry, the Giant's Causeway and Belfast, before returning to Dublin, where they were on their own to tour the Guinness Storehouse and tasting room.
Marti shot photos throughout the journey, and upon her return to our office began work on this book as a gift not only for her mother's 87th birthday, but also for other family members and friends. Although Marti has not made the book available for sale to the public, she is able to purchase as many copies as she wants at the wholesale price. For authors who do want to make their books available commercially in both print and digital editions, EditPros formats and converts the book files into e-book formats for sale through Amazon (Kindle), Apple (iBooks), Barnes & Noble (Nook), and Kobo, by means of submission to IngramSpark's e-book service.
Marti shot photos throughout the journey, and upon her return to our office began work on this book as a gift not only for her mother's 87th birthday, but also for other family members and friends. Although Marti has not made the book available for sale to the public, she is able to purchase as many copies as she wants at the wholesale price. For authors who do want to make their books available commercially in both print and digital editions, EditPros formats and converts the book files into e-book formats for sale through Amazon (Kindle), Apple (iBooks), Barnes & Noble (Nook), and Kobo, by means of submission to IngramSpark's e-book service.
Black, Brown, and White: Stories Straight Outta Compton
By Lynne A. Isbell, Rebecca Pantaleon and Bonita Bradshaw
Publisher: Bobely Books
Paperback, 246 pages, 6 x 9 inches, color throughout, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN 979-8-9851540-0-9)
Ebook, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN 979-8-9851540-1-6)
Published: December 2021
Black, Brown, and White: Stories Straight Outta Compton chronicles the lives of three friends from different ethnic backgrounds, including their unique individual experiences while coming of age in Compton, California, during the 1960s and early ’70s. Against the backdrop of the nation’s civil rights and Black power movements, Compton quickly underwent a transition in its racial demographics. Although the girls grew up together, they experienced Compton’s transformation very differently. Their experiences left indelible marks on their later development into adulthood.
Paperback, 246 pages, 6 x 9 inches, color throughout, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN 979-8-9851540-0-9)
Ebook, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN 979-8-9851540-1-6)
Published: December 2021
Black, Brown, and White: Stories Straight Outta Compton chronicles the lives of three friends from different ethnic backgrounds, including their unique individual experiences while coming of age in Compton, California, during the 1960s and early ’70s. Against the backdrop of the nation’s civil rights and Black power movements, Compton quickly underwent a transition in its racial demographics. Although the girls grew up together, they experienced Compton’s transformation very differently. Their experiences left indelible marks on their later development into adulthood.
More about the book
As our country struggles with racial tension rivaling that of the 1960s, the timing of this book could not be better: it offers a real-life example of how finding common ground among people who are different can lead to a lifetime of mutual caring and support. This book holds appeal for those who appreciate books about urban history, racism, and social justice, books from underrepresented voices, or coming-of-age memoirs. It also will be useful to academic programs in English, California history, ethnic studies, and race and social justice discussions.
Coauthor Lynne Isbell is a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Davis, and author of the award-winning book The Fruit, the Tree, and the Serpent: Why We See So Well (Harvard University Press, 2009), as well as more than 100 scientific journal articles and book chapters. Rebecca Pantaleon is the author of two children’s books and is an assistant manager for the SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union. Bonita Bradshaw is a visual artist and director of special projects at the Grace Hopper STEM Charter Academy in Inglewood, California. The three developed lifelong mutual friendships as they grew up together in Compton.
Coauthor Lynne Isbell is a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Davis, and author of the award-winning book The Fruit, the Tree, and the Serpent: Why We See So Well (Harvard University Press, 2009), as well as more than 100 scientific journal articles and book chapters. Rebecca Pantaleon is the author of two children’s books and is an assistant manager for the SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union. Bonita Bradshaw is a visual artist and director of special projects at the Grace Hopper STEM Charter Academy in Inglewood, California. The three developed lifelong mutual friendships as they grew up together in Compton.
The Sitka Adventure: Voyage To New Helvetia
By Andrew St. Mary, Sonya St. Mary and Shirley Ann Wilson Moore
Cover and illustrations by Sharon Machida Okada
Publisher: PonyBoat Publishers, Sacramento, CA
Suggested age range: 8–12
Paperback, 130 pages, 6 x 9 inches, color throughout, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN 979-8-9852106-0-6)
Ebook, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN 979-8-9852106-1-3)
Published: November 2021
The Sitka Adventure: Voyage to New Helvetia is based on historical fact but is first and foremost a children's fantasy and adventure story. This rousing tale of whimsy and what-ifs is told by a 10-year-old Miwok Indian boy named Elsu, his father Enyeto, and mother Litonya. It unfolds through the memories of Elsu's grandfather, Liwanu, who is the principal narrator.
Suggested age range: 8–12
Paperback, 130 pages, 6 x 9 inches, color throughout, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN 979-8-9852106-0-6)
Ebook, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN 979-8-9852106-1-3)
Published: November 2021
The Sitka Adventure: Voyage to New Helvetia is based on historical fact but is first and foremost a children's fantasy and adventure story. This rousing tale of whimsy and what-ifs is told by a 10-year-old Miwok Indian boy named Elsu, his father Enyeto, and mother Litonya. It unfolds through the memories of Elsu's grandfather, Liwanu, who is the principal narrator.
More about the book
Over the course of several days, Elsu and his family sit fascinated as Grandpa Liwanu recounts his experiences as a young man on a long-ago trip to Yerba Buena Island in the San Francisco Bay. To reveal the events he witnessed, Grandpa Liwanu draws on Miwok traditions of storytelling, respect for Elders, and their special relationship with animals (whom they regard as brothers and sisters). After hearing Grandpa Liwanu's amazing story, Elsu and his mother and father know that they will never be the same. The Sitka Adventure: Voyage to New Helvetia is meant to encourage young readers to imagine a world in which animals can talk and reason, act compassionately, and work together even when others might appear different from or hostile to them. The intrepid animals in this story are challenged by all of this. By the time they are ready to steam back home to Yerba Buena Island, they have learned many life-changing lessons — the most important one being that all creatures, no matter how big or small, can be afraid, yet no matter how big or small, they also can be kind and brave — even in difficult and dangerous situations.
“The sharing of stories gives us our history and reminds us of our purpose.”
— Mary Tarango, Miwok Tribal Elder,
Chairperson Emeritus, Wilton Band of Miwok, Wilton Rancheria
“The sharing of stories gives us our history and reminds us of our purpose.”
— Mary Tarango, Miwok Tribal Elder,
Chairperson Emeritus, Wilton Band of Miwok, Wilton Rancheria
Chemical Insensitivity — How the Environment Cost Me My Life:
My Struggle with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
By Sandy Major
Publisher: SJMCS, LLC
Paperback, 156 pages, 5.25 x 8 inches, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-1-0879-8814-6)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN 978-1-0879-8818-4)
Published: November 2021
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is a modern environmental illness that is difficult to live with, often misdiagnosed, and frustratingly misunderstood by many people. Chemical Insensitivity — How the Environment Cost Me My Life: My Struggle with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity presents one woman’s detailed story of her initial inklings of illness, its relentless worsening, discovery of the cause of her odd symptoms, and the realization of the changes and impact it would have on her life.
Paperback, 156 pages, 5.25 x 8 inches, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-1-0879-8814-6)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN 978-1-0879-8818-4)
Published: November 2021
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is a modern environmental illness that is difficult to live with, often misdiagnosed, and frustratingly misunderstood by many people. Chemical Insensitivity — How the Environment Cost Me My Life: My Struggle with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity presents one woman’s detailed story of her initial inklings of illness, its relentless worsening, discovery of the cause of her odd symptoms, and the realization of the changes and impact it would have on her life.
MORE about the book
This compelling account lends perspective to the vagaries of the illness by comparing her experience with another woman’s long-term MCS, including the similarities and differences between them. Chemical Insensitivity — How the Environment Cost Me My Life includes some of the latest medical findings about MCS, a description of the quirks of the illness, and their medical explanations. Learn what can be expected during the course of the illness, numerous tips on how to live with it, and suggestions for others who wish to support persons afflicted with MCS.
Unfortunately, we are all susceptible to this illness in our modern chemical-laden world. Will your stress, circumstance and/or genetics, together with hundreds of detectable chemicals in your body, change your immune system forever? Do you know what is really causing your cough, your anxiety, your inability to focus, your inability to sleep well, or your brain fog? This book can help you learn what you can do to help ward off MCS.
Chemical Insensitivity was published posthumously, following Sandy's death from cancer; MCS had rendered her unable to withstand chemotherapy.
Unfortunately, we are all susceptible to this illness in our modern chemical-laden world. Will your stress, circumstance and/or genetics, together with hundreds of detectable chemicals in your body, change your immune system forever? Do you know what is really causing your cough, your anxiety, your inability to focus, your inability to sleep well, or your brain fog? This book can help you learn what you can do to help ward off MCS.
Chemical Insensitivity was published posthumously, following Sandy's death from cancer; MCS had rendered her unable to withstand chemotherapy.
Walker–Stefani Family History
By Larry Walker (a two-volume set)
Part I : The Twelve Ancestral Immigrants To California
Hardback, 98 pages, 8.5 x 11 inches, color and black-and-white photos
Published in February 2021 for private distribution, among family members only
Part 2 — Larry and Louise Walker and Their Children, Parents and Grandparents
Hardback, 228 pages, 8.5 x 11 inches, color and black-and-white photos
Published in June 2021 for private distribution, among family members only
When retired civil engineer Larry Walker, P.E., began organizing his family history, he realized the saga would be best presented in two volumes. He traced ancestral lines to the early 1600s in colonial New England. With the help of the EditPros BookPrep service, in February 2021 he published the first volume, The Walker-Stefani Family History: Part 1 — The Twelve Ancestral Immigrants to California, which focused on his 12 ancestors and family groups who immigrated to California between 1850 and 1921.
Hardback, 98 pages, 8.5 x 11 inches, color and black-and-white photos
Published in February 2021 for private distribution, among family members only
Part 2 — Larry and Louise Walker and Their Children, Parents and Grandparents
Hardback, 228 pages, 8.5 x 11 inches, color and black-and-white photos
Published in June 2021 for private distribution, among family members only
When retired civil engineer Larry Walker, P.E., began organizing his family history, he realized the saga would be best presented in two volumes. He traced ancestral lines to the early 1600s in colonial New England. With the help of the EditPros BookPrep service, in February 2021 he published the first volume, The Walker-Stefani Family History: Part 1 — The Twelve Ancestral Immigrants to California, which focused on his 12 ancestors and family groups who immigrated to California between 1850 and 1921.
More about the books
Larry then turned his attention to the second volume, The Walker-Stefani Family History: Part 2 — Larry and Louise Walker and Their Children, Parents and Grandparents. Published in June 2021, the concluding volume contains detailed information on the lives of Louise and Larry, based on their records and recollections. It also presents information on the early lives of their four children, and on the experiences of their parents and grandparents. The two companion volumes will become invaluable heirlooms for present and future generations of the Walker and Stefani families.
“My purpose in researching our family history and then writing this book was to satisfy my own curiosity, while at the same time providing a resource should future generations of our family develop a similar curiosity,” Larry said. He intentionally limited distribution of both volumes only to family members; the books are unavailable for sale by commercial retailers.
“My purpose in researching our family history and then writing this book was to satisfy my own curiosity, while at the same time providing a resource should future generations of our family develop a similar curiosity,” Larry said. He intentionally limited distribution of both volumes only to family members; the books are unavailable for sale by commercial retailers.
When Good Science Won (But It Wasn’t Easy): California’s Rise to Earthquake Safety Leadership
By Robert A. Olson
Publisher: Whispering Oak Publishing
Hardback with dust jacket, 200 pages, 6 x 9 inches, with black-and-white photos (ISBN: 978-1-7371663-0-6)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-1-7371663-1-3)
Published: May 2021
Throughout the first eight decades of statehood, earthquake-prone California lacked building and engineering codes to reduce earthquake-induced structural damage that endangered human life. The devastating 1933 Long Beach earthquake in which at least 115 people died and more than 100 schools were heavily damaged or destroyed brought about the first meaningful change. Fortunately the quake occurred in the late afternoon, when students were already home. The quake precipitated passage of two precedent-setting structural integrity laws: the Field Act, which empowered the Office of the State Architect with regulatory authority over construction of public schools, and the Riley Act, which set minimum locally enforceable standards for constructing buildings in general. Other deadly earthquakes since then have instigated additional legislation that established greatly improved safety standards — but development and passage of those bills wasn't easy.
Hardback with dust jacket, 200 pages, 6 x 9 inches, with black-and-white photos (ISBN: 978-1-7371663-0-6)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-1-7371663-1-3)
Published: May 2021
Throughout the first eight decades of statehood, earthquake-prone California lacked building and engineering codes to reduce earthquake-induced structural damage that endangered human life. The devastating 1933 Long Beach earthquake in which at least 115 people died and more than 100 schools were heavily damaged or destroyed brought about the first meaningful change. Fortunately the quake occurred in the late afternoon, when students were already home. The quake precipitated passage of two precedent-setting structural integrity laws: the Field Act, which empowered the Office of the State Architect with regulatory authority over construction of public schools, and the Riley Act, which set minimum locally enforceable standards for constructing buildings in general. Other deadly earthquakes since then have instigated additional legislation that established greatly improved safety standards — but development and passage of those bills wasn't easy.
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Disaster prevention and hazard mitigation expert Robert A. Olson was instrumental in drafting key seismic safety bills and shepherding them through the legislative process, which he documents in his book When Good Science Won (But it Wasn't Easy): California's Rise to Earthquake Safety Leadership. Olson describes the lengthy, often labyrinthine course through which earthquake safety requirements are conceived and codified into law.
Olson was the first executive director of the California Seismic Safety Commission, from 1975 to 1981. His engaging narrative in the book transports readers into the rubble of earthquake-damaged buildings, roads and bridges, and deep into the corridors of the state Capitol, as he describes the negotiations that led to passage of the two pioneering laws stemming from the Long Beach earthquake. The book also explores the negotiations behind legislation instigated by three other catastrophic convulsions: the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, the 1989 Loma Prieta quake and the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
When Good Science Won (But it Wasn't Easy): California's Rise to Earthquake Safety Leadership is as much about geologic underpinnings and damaging effects of earthquakes as it is about legislative politics: the process that every proposed California law undergoes from idea to law (or rejection). The seismic safety bills that California's legislature passed into law are testaments to the earnestness and diligence of lawmakers, volunteer advocates and staffers whose intention was to protect the people of California and minimize damage to public and private property.
Olson was the first executive director of the California Seismic Safety Commission, from 1975 to 1981. His engaging narrative in the book transports readers into the rubble of earthquake-damaged buildings, roads and bridges, and deep into the corridors of the state Capitol, as he describes the negotiations that led to passage of the two pioneering laws stemming from the Long Beach earthquake. The book also explores the negotiations behind legislation instigated by three other catastrophic convulsions: the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, the 1989 Loma Prieta quake and the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
When Good Science Won (But it Wasn't Easy): California's Rise to Earthquake Safety Leadership is as much about geologic underpinnings and damaging effects of earthquakes as it is about legislative politics: the process that every proposed California law undergoes from idea to law (or rejection). The seismic safety bills that California's legislature passed into law are testaments to the earnestness and diligence of lawmakers, volunteer advocates and staffers whose intention was to protect the people of California and minimize damage to public and private property.
The Journey— A Memoir
By John C. Bruhn
Hardback, 108 pages, 8.5 x 11 inches, color and black-and-white photos
Published in April 2021 for private distribution, among family members and friends only
The scholarly distinctions of food scientist John C. Bruhn are well documented. During an academic career that spanned nearly four decades, Bruhn was a University of California Cooperative Extension specialist and director of the UC Davis Dairy Research and Information Center, through which he oversaw educational programs for the dairy foods industry and conducted research. Beginning in 1969, he published his findings in more than 140 reports and scholarly journal articles. But while his academic life has been well chronicled, little had been written about his personal life, and his childhood experiences that ushered him toward a career in dairy food science.
Published in April 2021 for private distribution, among family members and friends only
The scholarly distinctions of food scientist John C. Bruhn are well documented. During an academic career that spanned nearly four decades, Bruhn was a University of California Cooperative Extension specialist and director of the UC Davis Dairy Research and Information Center, through which he oversaw educational programs for the dairy foods industry and conducted research. Beginning in 1969, he published his findings in more than 140 reports and scholarly journal articles. But while his academic life has been well chronicled, little had been written about his personal life, and his childhood experiences that ushered him toward a career in dairy food science.
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Inspired by the memoirs that his wife, Christine, produced with the assistance of EditPros' BookPrep service, John Bruhn set about writing his autobiography, which he titled The Journey: A Memoir. The resultant charming narrative recounts his early childhood years in a Cleveland suburb, in the rural Ohio community of Willoughby and in the Euclid neighborhood, when he discovered how to make colorful creations by melting crayons on the home's heating radiators and he operated his Lionel trains in an attic that overlooked Lake Erie. He recalled his family taking a "farm vacation" on a family farm in West Virginia, giving him his first exposure to agrarian practices. In 1954, when John was in junior high school, he and his family relocated to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which at that time had not yet become a "spring break" destination. His school had been converted from a shuttered U.S. Naval air station that had been erected during World War II.
As John progressed to high school, he learned to play the trombone and joined the marching band, which issued wool uniforms to the band members, despite the steamy tropical climate. John's growing interest in nutrition and food production prompted him to enroll at Michigan State University, where he majored in food science, a discipline that he pursued in graduate school beginning in 1962 at UC Davis. That is where he would meet his future wife, fellow graduate student Christine Mattson. Both became faculty members at UC Davis and built their lives together in the Northern California college town, as John's autobiography, The Journey: A Memoir, recounts. The book is illustrated with selected color and grayscale photographs.
As John progressed to high school, he learned to play the trombone and joined the marching band, which issued wool uniforms to the band members, despite the steamy tropical climate. John's growing interest in nutrition and food production prompted him to enroll at Michigan State University, where he majored in food science, a discipline that he pursued in graduate school beginning in 1962 at UC Davis. That is where he would meet his future wife, fellow graduate student Christine Mattson. Both became faculty members at UC Davis and built their lives together in the Northern California college town, as John's autobiography, The Journey: A Memoir, recounts. The book is illustrated with selected color and grayscale photographs.
Musings from the Field: Volume 3 — Greece
By Louis Evan Grivetti
Paperback, 8.5 x 11 inches, 228 pages, color photos throughout (ISBN: 978-0-9978109-8-1)
Published in February 2021 for private distribution, among academic libraries, family members and friends only
Over the course of his life as an academic researcher, food scientist and geographer Louis Grivetti spent considerable time in Greece between the mid-1960s and the early 21st century, exploring the Greek mainland and islands. His travels to study archaeological and historical artifacts brought him in contact not only with fellow scholars, but also with villagers in isolated settlements where people still invoke ancient spells and offerings to ancient gods and goddesses in pursuit of cures for health ailments. He traversed the length and breadth of the country by boat, on foot, and by bicycle, from northeastern Thrace, to the southern Peloponnesus; across Macedonia from the Aegean Sea to the Ionian Sea. Along the way, he learned about cultural and dietary traditions, rites and festivals, and customs of the ancient past. In his book Musings from the Field: Volume 3 — Greece, Grivetti has consolidated and described much of what he learned on those exploratory journeys.
Published in February 2021 for private distribution, among academic libraries, family members and friends only
Over the course of his life as an academic researcher, food scientist and geographer Louis Grivetti spent considerable time in Greece between the mid-1960s and the early 21st century, exploring the Greek mainland and islands. His travels to study archaeological and historical artifacts brought him in contact not only with fellow scholars, but also with villagers in isolated settlements where people still invoke ancient spells and offerings to ancient gods and goddesses in pursuit of cures for health ailments. He traversed the length and breadth of the country by boat, on foot, and by bicycle, from northeastern Thrace, to the southern Peloponnesus; across Macedonia from the Aegean Sea to the Ionian Sea. Along the way, he learned about cultural and dietary traditions, rites and festivals, and customs of the ancient past. In his book Musings from the Field: Volume 3 — Greece, Grivetti has consolidated and described much of what he learned on those exploratory journeys.
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Lou Grivetti and his wife, Georgette, attended ancient Greek plays at the Epidaurus Theater; they walked beneath the Lion Gate at Mycenae and marveled at the size and grandeur of the Cyclopean walls that defined that ancient citadel and traditional home of Agamemnon; they visited the Island of Kos, the ancient home and healing center of medical pioneer Hippocrates; and they traced their fingers over the graffiti letters that Lord Byron carved on the wall of the temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion.
This book is the third and concluding volume of Louis Grivetti’s Musings From the Field series. In all, Grivetti has documented more than 50 years of fieldwork and family activities in that part of the world. Musings From The Field: Volume 3 — Greece is the eighth book that Grivetti has published through BookPrep.
This book is the third and concluding volume of Louis Grivetti’s Musings From the Field series. In all, Grivetti has documented more than 50 years of fieldwork and family activities in that part of the world. Musings From The Field: Volume 3 — Greece is the eighth book that Grivetti has published through BookPrep.
Kate M. Herring — Mrs. J. Henry Highsmith: Collected Writings
Edited by D. Kern Holoman
Publisher: au Vieux Logis
Paperback, 644 pages, 6.7 x 9.6 inches, 7 black-and-white photos, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-1-7356907-0-4)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-1-7356907-2-8)
Published: November 2020
Kate Herring Highsmith (1880–1966), journalist and club woman, was an indefatigable Raleigh activist on behalf of the health and welfare of all North Carolinians. Writing principally for the state Health Bulletin and Sunday newspapers, she covered subjects from tuberculosis to marijuana, incarceration to maternity and infant care, libraries to art museums. This collection of some 250 of her essays and press releases is presented by her grandson, D. Kern Holoman.
Paperback, 644 pages, 6.7 x 9.6 inches, 7 black-and-white photos, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-1-7356907-0-4)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-1-7356907-2-8)
Published: November 2020
Kate Herring Highsmith (1880–1966), journalist and club woman, was an indefatigable Raleigh activist on behalf of the health and welfare of all North Carolinians. Writing principally for the state Health Bulletin and Sunday newspapers, she covered subjects from tuberculosis to marijuana, incarceration to maternity and infant care, libraries to art museums. This collection of some 250 of her essays and press releases is presented by her grandson, D. Kern Holoman.
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The chronology that introduces each chapter, based largely on items in the “society” pages, is necessarily selective. Not every Tuesday meetings of the Twentieth-Century Book Club, for instance, nor all the regular meetings of the Woman’s Club of Raleigh, make sense to include. Mrs. Highsmith was said to have attended every single Duke University commencement after her own graduation from Trinity in 1906. She organized the Wake County Duke Alumnae Association, which often met at her home. Doubtless she was present at, often speaking to, many dozens more PTA and church meetings than cited here, and she likely tried to be present when Dr. Highsmith gave major orations, which was often. The text also makes note of social events and vacations, for their insights into her rich social life and into her devotion, in the midst of everything else, to her sisters and her children.
Honor and Trust: My Journey With America’s Refugees 1975–2020
By Nguyen Van Hanh
Paperback, 8.5 x 11 inches, 250 pages, color photos throughout, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-1-937317-51-5)
Published: October 2020
Honor and Trust: My Journey With America’s Refugees 1975–2020, is a comprehensive account of the exodus of Southeast Asian refugees in the aftermath of the Vietnam War since 1975 and their adaptation in America. The book chronices the distinguished military, government leadership and academic career of its author, Nguyen Van Hanh, a former Vietnamese refugee who had served as a senior staff member for Nguyen Van Thieu, president of the Republic of Vietnam in Saigon, then in the late 1970s became director of California’s Office of Refugee Affairs and subsequently director of the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement.
Published: October 2020
Honor and Trust: My Journey With America’s Refugees 1975–2020, is a comprehensive account of the exodus of Southeast Asian refugees in the aftermath of the Vietnam War since 1975 and their adaptation in America. The book chronices the distinguished military, government leadership and academic career of its author, Nguyen Van Hanh, a former Vietnamese refugee who had served as a senior staff member for Nguyen Van Thieu, president of the Republic of Vietnam in Saigon, then in the late 1970s became director of California’s Office of Refugee Affairs and subsequently director of the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement.
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In Honor and Trust, Nguyen reveals intimate details about his professional and social interactions with officials in California and Washington, D.C., as he expanded programs affording immigrants improved access to technical training, health care and business start-up capital. He epitomized the courage and determination of more than a million Vietnamese who escaped communist rule with little more than the clothing that they wore. His leadership helped them surmount their struggles to become self-reliant, productive members of society in the United States. The first 167 pages of the book are written in English, and the last 83 pages present a summary written in Vietnamese.
The book’s introduction by Arthur Dewey, former assistant secretary of state, says, “When I was assistant secretary of state for Population, Refugees, and Migration under President George W. Bush, Hanh was at the Department of Health and Human Services in charge of all refugee resettlement in the United States at the national level. I knew the importance of his work while we were coworkers, but not the inspiring trajectory that had brought him to this pinnacle of the American refugee resettlement program.”
A naturalized U.S. citizen, Nguyen exhibited enduring personal commitments to the national humanitarian endeavor, led in-depth discussions on U.S. policies and programs, and maintained active working relationships with government agencies and private-sector organizations that have assisted millions of newcomers in becoming contributing members of American society.
The book’s introduction by Arthur Dewey, former assistant secretary of state, says, “When I was assistant secretary of state for Population, Refugees, and Migration under President George W. Bush, Hanh was at the Department of Health and Human Services in charge of all refugee resettlement in the United States at the national level. I knew the importance of his work while we were coworkers, but not the inspiring trajectory that had brought him to this pinnacle of the American refugee resettlement program.”
A naturalized U.S. citizen, Nguyen exhibited enduring personal commitments to the national humanitarian endeavor, led in-depth discussions on U.S. policies and programs, and maintained active working relationships with government agencies and private-sector organizations that have assisted millions of newcomers in becoming contributing members of American society.
Distance Learning During the Covid-19 School Closures:
A guide for students, teachers and families during the 2020-21 school year
By David Daniels
— AND A SPANISH-LANGUAGE EDITION --
Aprendizaje a Distancia Durante el Cierre de la Escuela por el Covid-19:
Una guia de aprendizaje para estudiantes, maestros y familias durante el año escolar 2020-2021
By David Daniels, with Spanish translation by Leticia Amezcua
Paperback, 8.5 x 11 inches, 48-page workbook
English version, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble (ISBN: 978-1-0879-0646-1)
Published: September 2020
Spanish version, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble (ISBN: 978-1-0879-1054-3)
Published: September 2020
When secondary schools shifted their curricula to distance learning at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, California high school education specialist David Daniels became acutely aware of the shortcomings of video conference platforms for teaching students remotely.
English version, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble (ISBN: 978-1-0879-0646-1)
Published: September 2020
Spanish version, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble (ISBN: 978-1-0879-1054-3)
Published: September 2020
When secondary schools shifted their curricula to distance learning at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, California high school education specialist David Daniels became acutely aware of the shortcomings of video conference platforms for teaching students remotely.
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David immediately began developing Distance Learning During the Covid-19 School Closures (and Aprendizaje a Distancia Durante el Cierre de la Escuela por el Covid-19), a workbook designed to help fill in knowledge gaps that became evident following school closures. This guidebook presents a framework for students, families and teachers to discuss vital topics, such as how and where to study in the home environment, and how to cope with continuous change, within an optimistic framework: looking forward to a brighter future. This workbook supports distance learning by identifying some of its shortcomings but encouraging academic success and participation.
This learning guide features 18 writing/discussion prompts addressing issues such as active participation, family support, emotional strain, and distance learning challenges. It contains more than 20 additional fill-in prompts for students to record the names of their teachers, daily class schedule, and weekend activities.
While many school districts strive to meet new challenges using paperless electronic formats, Distance Learning During the Covid-19 School Closures offers a welcome and tangible benefit for many students and their families. The print format offers greater opportunity and ease of access for parents who face unprecedented burdens, including a barrage of school-sourced emails. Attractive graphics and interesting topics make Distance Learning During the Covid-19 School Closures a unique tool for connecting with teens who are reluctant to fully engage in distance learning.
This learning guide features 18 writing/discussion prompts addressing issues such as active participation, family support, emotional strain, and distance learning challenges. It contains more than 20 additional fill-in prompts for students to record the names of their teachers, daily class schedule, and weekend activities.
While many school districts strive to meet new challenges using paperless electronic formats, Distance Learning During the Covid-19 School Closures offers a welcome and tangible benefit for many students and their families. The print format offers greater opportunity and ease of access for parents who face unprecedented burdens, including a barrage of school-sourced emails. Attractive graphics and interesting topics make Distance Learning During the Covid-19 School Closures a unique tool for connecting with teens who are reluctant to fully engage in distance learning.
Musings From the Field: Volume 2 — Egypt
By Louis Evan Grivetti
Paperback, 8.5 x 11 inches, 236 pages, color photos throughout (ISBN: 978-0-9978109-7-4)
Published in September 2020 for private distribution, among academic libraries, family members and friends only
Musings from the Field: Volume 2 — Egypt encompasses selected passages from the letters and fieldwork journals of retired University of California professor Louis E. Grivetti, who lived and worked in Egypt during several intervals between 1964 and 2011. Grivetti, a food scientist and geographer, immersed himself in Egyptian culture when conducting fieldwork. He also spent time visiting and traveling with family members and friends throughout Egypt.
Published in September 2020 for private distribution, among academic libraries, family members and friends only
Musings from the Field: Volume 2 — Egypt encompasses selected passages from the letters and fieldwork journals of retired University of California professor Louis E. Grivetti, who lived and worked in Egypt during several intervals between 1964 and 2011. Grivetti, a food scientist and geographer, immersed himself in Egyptian culture when conducting fieldwork. He also spent time visiting and traveling with family members and friends throughout Egypt.
More about the book
This is the second of three planned volumes from Grivetti’s Musings From the Field series. His fieldwork and research in Egypt focused on historical and contemporary cultural food habits. As a professor of nutrition and geography, he spent several sabbatical periods working in the eastern Mediterranean region, primarily in Egypt and Greece, but also in Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon and Turkey.
In all, Grivetti has documented more than 50 years of fieldwork and family activities in that part of the world. Musings From The Field: Volume 2 — Egypt, the seventh book that Grivetti has published through BookPrep, offers his personal insights about what he observed, experienced and learned during his explorations of Egypt.
In all, Grivetti has documented more than 50 years of fieldwork and family activities in that part of the world. Musings From The Field: Volume 2 — Egypt, the seventh book that Grivetti has published through BookPrep, offers his personal insights about what he observed, experienced and learned during his explorations of Egypt.
A Dog’s Tale — A Furry Farm Fantasy
By Susan Curry; ideas and illustrations by Isla B
Across Ocean Books, Davis, CA
Paperback, 100 pages, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-0-944176-06-1)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-1-087903-35-4)
Published: June 2020
Life on a farm can be challenging. A Dog’s Tale — A Furry Farm Fantasy is a story about a farm family’s adventures as told from the perspective of their Australian Shepherd dog, who has a secret ability, and uses it well. Facts mingle with fantasy in ways that readers will find both engaging and exciting. The story grew out of a request from 11-year-old Isla, one of Susan’s granddaughters, to write a book for her during the COVID-19 shelter-in-place restrictions. “For once, I had time, as did she,” Susan said.
Paperback, 100 pages, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-0-944176-06-1)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-1-087903-35-4)
Published: June 2020
Life on a farm can be challenging. A Dog’s Tale — A Furry Farm Fantasy is a story about a farm family’s adventures as told from the perspective of their Australian Shepherd dog, who has a secret ability, and uses it well. Facts mingle with fantasy in ways that readers will find both engaging and exciting. The story grew out of a request from 11-year-old Isla, one of Susan’s granddaughters, to write a book for her during the COVID-19 shelter-in-place restrictions. “For once, I had time, as did she,” Susan said.
More about the book
Isla had in mind whom and what the plot should include. Her list of people included a family — a mom, dad and four children — and she envisioned details of their activities and character traits. She suggested building the story around an Australian shepherd dog named Sheila, who understands human language.
“Because we were separated for safety, Isla and I communicated via FaceTime. About once a week I sent her a few pages,” Susan explained. “She’s the middle child of three, a fifth-grader, and a true animal lover. Her interest in and vast knowledge of animals has grown over the years. She now fosters kittens for the SPCA prior to their adoption.”
Susan Curry, who lives with her husband in Davis, California, is a licensed marriage and family therapist, mostly retired, and the mother of three adult children. She is the author of Truth, Fiction and Lies, a murder mystery also published with the assistance of BookPrep.
“I’ve had so much fun writing this story,” Susan said. “From the beginning I had two goals: to produce a book that Isla will enjoy and treasure, and as a suggestion that other parents or grandparents might like to try during our weeks of confinement at home.”
“Because we were separated for safety, Isla and I communicated via FaceTime. About once a week I sent her a few pages,” Susan explained. “She’s the middle child of three, a fifth-grader, and a true animal lover. Her interest in and vast knowledge of animals has grown over the years. She now fosters kittens for the SPCA prior to their adoption.”
Susan Curry, who lives with her husband in Davis, California, is a licensed marriage and family therapist, mostly retired, and the mother of three adult children. She is the author of Truth, Fiction and Lies, a murder mystery also published with the assistance of BookPrep.
“I’ve had so much fun writing this story,” Susan said. “From the beginning I had two goals: to produce a book that Isla will enjoy and treasure, and as a suggestion that other parents or grandparents might like to try during our weeks of confinement at home.”
Learning To Be Deaf Without Losing Your Hearing
By Kim Harrell and S. Lea
Fourth Journey Press (Cover designed by the authors)
Paperback, 182 pages, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-1-7923-3534-1)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-1-7923-3554-9)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020905554
Published: April 2020
Learning to be Deaf Without Losing Your Hearing, which is part biography and part commentary, introduces readers to the world of Deaf culture. Although written to help beginning American Sign Language students gain understanding, the book is equally engaging for readers interested in learning more about interacting with deaf people. Learning to be Deaf Without Losing Your Hearing is a collection of delightful and engaging stories that chronicle the journey of a Deaf Studies professor from the hearing world into the Deaf world.
Paperback, 182 pages, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-1-7923-3534-1)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-1-7923-3554-9)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020905554
Published: April 2020
Learning to be Deaf Without Losing Your Hearing, which is part biography and part commentary, introduces readers to the world of Deaf culture. Although written to help beginning American Sign Language students gain understanding, the book is equally engaging for readers interested in learning more about interacting with deaf people. Learning to be Deaf Without Losing Your Hearing is a collection of delightful and engaging stories that chronicle the journey of a Deaf Studies professor from the hearing world into the Deaf world.
More about the book
Based on her experiences from life on the farm to her triumph of establishing a college-level Deaf Studies program, coauthor Kim Harrell challenges the system in ways that offer a fresh perspective to everyone in her wake. Embracing Deaf culture, as well as hearing culture, she bridges the gap, to the benefit of everyone involved.
The authors explain that being Deaf embodies a deep description of who a person really is. It is a culture, a lifestyle, a way of thinking beyond any physical characteristics or heritage. Their intentional capitalization of the word “Deaf” is a mark of respect for individuals who are part of the Deaf culture; it signifies recognition of the experiences, obstacles and frame of reference they have in common.
Kim Harrell, who was born Deaf and raised by hearing parents in Louisiana, attended Gallaudet University as an undergraduate student, and subsequently earned a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Western Oregon University on her way to becoming a professor. She now is dean of Deaf Studies at a community college in Northern California. When she is not in the classroom, conducting scholarly work or traveling, she serves as a certified first responder, traveling to fire and flood zones to gather and transport animals to safety. Her life is hectic but rewarding, and she takes pleasure in spending time at home with her dogs Brodie and Gabby.
Born and raised in California, S. Lea received her bachelor’s degree from UCLA. While working for an audiology clinic to help finance her education, she became intrigued with Deaf culture and the Deaf community. Her realization that few opportunities existed for hearing people to learn ASL made a lasting impression on her. After a long-standing career in hospital administration, Lea went on to fulfill her lifelong dream of learning American Sign Language. She wrote three books of her own before collaborating in this book with Harrell, her ASL professor. As an ASL student, Lea was convinced that the hearing world must develop a better understanding of the Deaf community. Her leisure pursuits include travels with her son and caring for their animals at home.
The authors explain that being Deaf embodies a deep description of who a person really is. It is a culture, a lifestyle, a way of thinking beyond any physical characteristics or heritage. Their intentional capitalization of the word “Deaf” is a mark of respect for individuals who are part of the Deaf culture; it signifies recognition of the experiences, obstacles and frame of reference they have in common.
Kim Harrell, who was born Deaf and raised by hearing parents in Louisiana, attended Gallaudet University as an undergraduate student, and subsequently earned a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Western Oregon University on her way to becoming a professor. She now is dean of Deaf Studies at a community college in Northern California. When she is not in the classroom, conducting scholarly work or traveling, she serves as a certified first responder, traveling to fire and flood zones to gather and transport animals to safety. Her life is hectic but rewarding, and she takes pleasure in spending time at home with her dogs Brodie and Gabby.
Born and raised in California, S. Lea received her bachelor’s degree from UCLA. While working for an audiology clinic to help finance her education, she became intrigued with Deaf culture and the Deaf community. Her realization that few opportunities existed for hearing people to learn ASL made a lasting impression on her. After a long-standing career in hospital administration, Lea went on to fulfill her lifelong dream of learning American Sign Language. She wrote three books of her own before collaborating in this book with Harrell, her ASL professor. As an ASL student, Lea was convinced that the hearing world must develop a better understanding of the Deaf community. Her leisure pursuits include travels with her son and caring for their animals at home.
Musings From the Field: Volume 1 — Viet Nam (1993)
By Louis Evan Grivetti
Paperback, 8.5 x 11 inches, 246 pages, color photos throughout (ISBN: 978-0-9978109-6-7)
Published in April 2020 for private distribution, among academic libraries, family members and friends only
When American food scientist and geographer Louis Grivetti arrived in Ha Noi on April 21, 1993, only 16 months had elapsed since the United States government removed the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam from the restricted travel list for American citizens. The United States had not yet established diplomatic relations with Viet Nam, and the U.S. economic-trade embargo against Viet Nam remained in effect. Grivetti and Garrett Smith, one of his graduate students at the University of California, Davis, had sought to conduct field research in Viet Nam to evaluate the damaging effects of the U.S.-Viet Nam War on agricultural production, the food supply, and ultimately the nutrition and health of the citizens of that southeast Asian nation.
Published in April 2020 for private distribution, among academic libraries, family members and friends only
When American food scientist and geographer Louis Grivetti arrived in Ha Noi on April 21, 1993, only 16 months had elapsed since the United States government removed the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam from the restricted travel list for American citizens. The United States had not yet established diplomatic relations with Viet Nam, and the U.S. economic-trade embargo against Viet Nam remained in effect. Grivetti and Garrett Smith, one of his graduate students at the University of California, Davis, had sought to conduct field research in Viet Nam to evaluate the damaging effects of the U.S.-Viet Nam War on agricultural production, the food supply, and ultimately the nutrition and health of the citizens of that southeast Asian nation.
More about the book
Grivetti spent more than a year navigating circuitous diplomatic channels through the United Nations and the Vietnamese Embassy in Ottawa, Canada, before the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, and Ministry of Interior granted him permission to visit the then-secretive nation. His hosts were the Department of Geography and Geology at Ha Noi National University, and the Vietnam National Institute of Agricultural Planning and Projection.
Grivetti’s book Musings From The Field: Volume 1 — Viet Nam (1993), the sixth book that he has published through BookPrep, documents his observations and findings during that initial visit.
“My Vietnamese government hosts greeted me with kind hospitality,” Grivetti wrote. “I was touched emotionally each day in Viet Nam. My mind was flooded with images of the war years, memories triggered merely by seeing road signs – 50 kilometers to Da Nang; 60 kilometers to Sai Gon; or 100 kilometers to Hai Phong. I photographed street vendors selling T-shirts with curious logos, among them Good Morning Vietnam. When I heard hotel Muzac systems playing American music from the 1960s, I was transported back in time.”
Although hostilities had ceased in 1975 and the immediate horrors of war had ended, scars remained, as Musings From the Field describes.
“Some of the landscapes I visited remained lethal, whether from unexploded ordnance or from lingering toxic effects of herbicides and defoliant agents,” Grivetti wrote. “Numerous citizens I encountered on the streets of Viet Nam exhibited physical and mental effects of the war that ravaged their country. Most telling were the numerous cemeteries and monuments to the dead that silently cried out to me.”
Musings From The Field: Volume 1 — Viet Nam (1993) presents images and offers insights about what Viet Nam was like in 1993, and how the process of healing between the two nations — once bitter enemies — had begun.
Grivetti’s book Musings From The Field: Volume 1 — Viet Nam (1993), the sixth book that he has published through BookPrep, documents his observations and findings during that initial visit.
“My Vietnamese government hosts greeted me with kind hospitality,” Grivetti wrote. “I was touched emotionally each day in Viet Nam. My mind was flooded with images of the war years, memories triggered merely by seeing road signs – 50 kilometers to Da Nang; 60 kilometers to Sai Gon; or 100 kilometers to Hai Phong. I photographed street vendors selling T-shirts with curious logos, among them Good Morning Vietnam. When I heard hotel Muzac systems playing American music from the 1960s, I was transported back in time.”
Although hostilities had ceased in 1975 and the immediate horrors of war had ended, scars remained, as Musings From the Field describes.
“Some of the landscapes I visited remained lethal, whether from unexploded ordnance or from lingering toxic effects of herbicides and defoliant agents,” Grivetti wrote. “Numerous citizens I encountered on the streets of Viet Nam exhibited physical and mental effects of the war that ravaged their country. Most telling were the numerous cemeteries and monuments to the dead that silently cried out to me.”
Musings From The Field: Volume 1 — Viet Nam (1993) presents images and offers insights about what Viet Nam was like in 1993, and how the process of healing between the two nations — once bitter enemies — had begun.
What If You Were God? 21-Day Work And Prayer Book To Find Your Inner Substance
By Andrea Elizabeth
Paperback, available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-1-7346885-0-4)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-1-7346885-1-1)
Nonfiction — spiritual guidance; substance abuse and addiction recovery
Published: February 2020
This 21-day work and prayer book is intended for people who seek to change their lives for the better by recognizing their spiritual weaknesses that influence their character, and by making changes that can help them improve their relationship with themselves. Author Andrea Elizabeth is a seer who derives spiritual guidance from visions, words and music. She is a self-described psychic, wife, mother and recovering alcoholic, as well as a visionary and seer.
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-1-7346885-1-1)
Nonfiction — spiritual guidance; substance abuse and addiction recovery
Published: February 2020
This 21-day work and prayer book is intended for people who seek to change their lives for the better by recognizing their spiritual weaknesses that influence their character, and by making changes that can help them improve their relationship with themselves. Author Andrea Elizabeth is a seer who derives spiritual guidance from visions, words and music. She is a self-described psychic, wife, mother and recovering alcoholic, as well as a visionary and seer.
More about the book
“I find it impossible to imagine my life being one of these six descriptions without the others,” Andrea explained. “Each pivotal point assists the other, and each remedy or idea I have found is because I am one of these things.”
Andrea said that she wrote What If You Were God? with the intention of guiding other people.
“I want to help readers come to the realization that we are all God inside — not God as a man-made God, but rather the name given to our spiritual substance held deeply within our soul,” she said. “Having been to the bottom of my life, and worked my way upward and, more importantly, inward, I have at last found peace and a new way to live — free from all ideas of who I thought I was at any particular point in my life. Survival was my only mode for many years, until I surrendered and found that God, or my idea of God, was my threshold for my life.” As Andrea progressed in her recovery, she discovered who she is.
“I found that I am a literal vibrational song of God, or Christ, or Christ-consciousness,” she said. “I have found me. I resonate within my own vibration, within my own sound at my own level of understanding — first, who I am, and second, who God is.”
Andrea challenges the notion of God as an external being to whom people should pray.
“I previously thought that was true. However, I now believe the opposite — that we are all God inside,” she said. “The definition I find most easy to understand is that we are ‘the essence of unconditional love expressed as light.’ What If You Were God? 21-Day Work And Prayer Book To Find Your Inner Substance gives readers the tools to overcome their past and allow themselves to begin creating a new future of self-recognition, self-appreciation, and self-acceptance. Love.”
Andrea said that she wrote What If You Were God? with the intention of guiding other people.
“I want to help readers come to the realization that we are all God inside — not God as a man-made God, but rather the name given to our spiritual substance held deeply within our soul,” she said. “Having been to the bottom of my life, and worked my way upward and, more importantly, inward, I have at last found peace and a new way to live — free from all ideas of who I thought I was at any particular point in my life. Survival was my only mode for many years, until I surrendered and found that God, or my idea of God, was my threshold for my life.” As Andrea progressed in her recovery, she discovered who she is.
“I found that I am a literal vibrational song of God, or Christ, or Christ-consciousness,” she said. “I have found me. I resonate within my own vibration, within my own sound at my own level of understanding — first, who I am, and second, who God is.”
Andrea challenges the notion of God as an external being to whom people should pray.
“I previously thought that was true. However, I now believe the opposite — that we are all God inside,” she said. “The definition I find most easy to understand is that we are ‘the essence of unconditional love expressed as light.’ What If You Were God? 21-Day Work And Prayer Book To Find Your Inner Substance gives readers the tools to overcome their past and allow themselves to begin creating a new future of self-recognition, self-appreciation, and self-acceptance. Love.”
Surviving Bina’s Secrets: A True Story of Abuse and Recovery in Africa and America
By Bina [Maria Durham]
Paperback, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-1-937317-49-2)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-1-937317-50-8)
Nonfiction — autobiography
Published: February 2020
Surviving Bina’s Secrets: A True Story of Abuse and Recovery in Africa and America is a story of survival, of triumph over persecution and abuse. It’s a story that spans seven decades, a story of redemption, a 6,000-mile journey of desperation that began in the late 1940s on the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of West Africa. It is a saga that Maria Durham — known since childhood as “Bina” — had suppressed in her mind for years, but about which she has found peace and attained equilibrium in her life by recounting her experiences in writing, in this book.
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-1-937317-50-8)
Nonfiction — autobiography
Published: February 2020
Surviving Bina’s Secrets: A True Story of Abuse and Recovery in Africa and America is a story of survival, of triumph over persecution and abuse. It’s a story that spans seven decades, a story of redemption, a 6,000-mile journey of desperation that began in the late 1940s on the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of West Africa. It is a saga that Maria Durham — known since childhood as “Bina” — had suppressed in her mind for years, but about which she has found peace and attained equilibrium in her life by recounting her experiences in writing, in this book.
More about the book
Bina says, “On these pages, I have written the story of my life — the bad and the good but, as you will read, mostly the bad. I used to be so embarrassed about it all, but I’m grown up now — I’m an old lady.” She acknowledged that she initially resisted the notion of mentally revisiting all that she endured at the hands of predators who took advantage of her trusting nature. Yet she found the process therapeutic.
“I’ve been learning how to talk about it to make myself feel better. Writing this book has helped me a lot. It has helped take away the anger and resentment I’ve had since childhood,” Bina explained. “I am very lucky that I have some good friends to talk to. Some of them are here in the United States, and some are still on the islands off the coast of West Africa. I kept this secret all of my life, until after I turned 50.”
While writing the book was cathartic for Bina, she had an altruistic goal in mind.
“I want to help children so they will not go through what I went through,” she said. “I would like all young people to know that you should not wait until you are old to talk about what happens in your life. Find somebody to talk to. Don’t keep it inside; don’t keep it a secret. Find some way to deal with it, or it will deal with you.”
Even though Bina’s story is disturbing, it’s also enlightening and liberating.
“I wrote Surviving Bina’s Secrets about my life to discover who I am. I want to let other women know what went on in my everyday life as a young child and into adulthood. No one should have to live with the things that I lived with. Women need to speak up for themselves,” she asserts. “I’m not embarrassed anymore.”
“I’ve been learning how to talk about it to make myself feel better. Writing this book has helped me a lot. It has helped take away the anger and resentment I’ve had since childhood,” Bina explained. “I am very lucky that I have some good friends to talk to. Some of them are here in the United States, and some are still on the islands off the coast of West Africa. I kept this secret all of my life, until after I turned 50.”
While writing the book was cathartic for Bina, she had an altruistic goal in mind.
“I want to help children so they will not go through what I went through,” she said. “I would like all young people to know that you should not wait until you are old to talk about what happens in your life. Find somebody to talk to. Don’t keep it inside; don’t keep it a secret. Find some way to deal with it, or it will deal with you.”
Even though Bina’s story is disturbing, it’s also enlightening and liberating.
“I wrote Surviving Bina’s Secrets about my life to discover who I am. I want to let other women know what went on in my everyday life as a young child and into adulthood. No one should have to live with the things that I lived with. Women need to speak up for themselves,” she asserts. “I’m not embarrassed anymore.”
I Guess I Just Wasn’t Thinking – a 4-part series
By W.K. “Jake” Wehrell
I Guess I Just Wasn’t Thinking – Part 1: Instead of Skipping Stones
AfterWit Books
Paperback, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-0998763200)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-0998763217)
Published: March 2017
I Guess I Just Wasn’t Thinking – Part One: Instead of Skipping Stones is the first in a series of books portraying the life of Roger Yahnke, who grew up in the 1950s and ’60s. The book is an unlikely prelude to Roger’s future duplicitous global adventures. It is a collection of innocent and endearing admissions; a fresh and confidentially narrated pre-teen to adult memoir. The reader will be caught up in a succession of delicate, weighty, and progressively more thought-provoking scenarios. Readers will find themselves smiling or wincing at Roger’s adolescent doubts, conclusions, and best-guess responses — up to and including his almost happenstance choice of a life’s work.
Paperback, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-0998763200)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-0998763217)
Published: March 2017
I Guess I Just Wasn’t Thinking – Part One: Instead of Skipping Stones is the first in a series of books portraying the life of Roger Yahnke, who grew up in the 1950s and ’60s. The book is an unlikely prelude to Roger’s future duplicitous global adventures. It is a collection of innocent and endearing admissions; a fresh and confidentially narrated pre-teen to adult memoir. The reader will be caught up in a succession of delicate, weighty, and progressively more thought-provoking scenarios. Readers will find themselves smiling or wincing at Roger’s adolescent doubts, conclusions, and best-guess responses — up to and including his almost happenstance choice of a life’s work.
More about the book
In sharing with you his youthful aspirations, efforts, understandings, and misgivings, Roger hopes to gain some credibility and maybe even a bit of affection, before later disappointing you with a surprising string of selfish, inconsiderate and often illegal activities.
During the Vietnam War, author Jake Wehrell was a pilot for Air America, a passenger and cargo airline that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency operated to conduct covert operations in support of U.S. military air and ground forces. Wehrell flew numerous high-risk rescue missions and flights delivering weapons and supplies behind enemy lines during the course of the war. Wehrell drew upon those experiences in creating the fictional Roger Yahnke character.
Excerpt:
Kids generally listen real hard whenever their parents’ voices go hushed, or if we see them react with unusual concern. Well, I was one of those kids, and Dad frequently gave me occasion to respond accordingly. He had a way of registering a look of shocked disbelief whenever some information came his way that was outside his data base. As good a man as he was, it was not because he had spent his youth reading or perfecting cause-and-effect reasoning. He had his own facts; a long list of things that, irrespective of their lack of statistical or scientific basis, were certainties to him. While growing up, what his “Pop” had told him, or other finger-shaking adults had said, became his encyclopedia.
During the Vietnam War, author Jake Wehrell was a pilot for Air America, a passenger and cargo airline that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency operated to conduct covert operations in support of U.S. military air and ground forces. Wehrell flew numerous high-risk rescue missions and flights delivering weapons and supplies behind enemy lines during the course of the war. Wehrell drew upon those experiences in creating the fictional Roger Yahnke character.
Excerpt:
Kids generally listen real hard whenever their parents’ voices go hushed, or if we see them react with unusual concern. Well, I was one of those kids, and Dad frequently gave me occasion to respond accordingly. He had a way of registering a look of shocked disbelief whenever some information came his way that was outside his data base. As good a man as he was, it was not because he had spent his youth reading or perfecting cause-and-effect reasoning. He had his own facts; a long list of things that, irrespective of their lack of statistical or scientific basis, were certainties to him. While growing up, what his “Pop” had told him, or other finger-shaking adults had said, became his encyclopedia.
I Guess I Just Wasn’t Thinking – Part 2: The French Riviera, Leo, June and Big Trouble
By W.K. “Jake” Wehrell
AfterWit Books
Paperback, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-0998763224)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-0998763231)
Published: August 2018
Roger Yahnke’s decades-long saga of unnerving global escapades (and aggrieved marital status) continues in I Guess I Just Wasn’t Thinking – Part Two: The French Riviera, Leo, June and Big Trouble. The tale begins in the summer of ’64, at the height of the Cold War. You will gain a new respect (or frightening concern) for the military component of our foreign policy.
Paperback, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-0998763224)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-0998763231)
Published: August 2018
Roger Yahnke’s decades-long saga of unnerving global escapades (and aggrieved marital status) continues in I Guess I Just Wasn’t Thinking – Part Two: The French Riviera, Leo, June and Big Trouble. The tale begins in the summer of ’64, at the height of the Cold War. You will gain a new respect (or frightening concern) for the military component of our foreign policy.
More about the book
Yahnke, a captain in the U.S. Marines, is assigned as a nuclear weapons delivery pilot aboard a U.S. supercarrier. He is assigned his own aircraft, his own bomb, and his own target — an Eastern bloc city that he will vaporize should the Russians launch one ballistic missile westward (or if someone somewhere thinks they did). Stand by for compelling (some mirthful, some tragic, all engaging) shipboard events. But that’s nothing compared to what happens when he’s ashore.
From the bronzed and oiled hedonism of the Cote d’Azur beaches, to bargaining with the KGB in an abandoned house in Bulgaria; from a jail cell in Istanbul where he spends the night with an international film star, to a sunny veranda on the island of Rhodes where he lunches with an exiled king, The French Riviera, Leo, June, and Big Trouble recounts Roger’s baptism to another world and his desperate struggle with his own crippling dilemma.
From the bronzed and oiled hedonism of the Cote d’Azur beaches, to bargaining with the KGB in an abandoned house in Bulgaria; from a jail cell in Istanbul where he spends the night with an international film star, to a sunny veranda on the island of Rhodes where he lunches with an exiled king, The French Riviera, Leo, June, and Big Trouble recounts Roger’s baptism to another world and his desperate struggle with his own crippling dilemma.
I Guess I Just Wasn’t Thinking – Part 3: The CIA Secret Airline and Eureka! She Exists!
By W.K. “Jake” Wehrell
AfterWit Books
Paperback, 312 pages, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-0-9987632-4-8)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-0-9987632-5-5)
Published: December 2019
In the third installment of this adventure series, Roger Yahnke becomes an agent in America's covert paramilitary foreign operations. The saga resumes in Southeast Asia, where Roger is witness to the defilement of humanity, seeing firsthand the results of flawed military policy, and — most importantly — the underestimated will of the Vietnamese “silent majority” (which is the real reason the war was from the onset unwinnable).
Paperback, 312 pages, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-0-9987632-4-8)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-0-9987632-5-5)
Published: December 2019
In the third installment of this adventure series, Roger Yahnke becomes an agent in America's covert paramilitary foreign operations. The saga resumes in Southeast Asia, where Roger is witness to the defilement of humanity, seeing firsthand the results of flawed military policy, and — most importantly — the underestimated will of the Vietnamese “silent majority” (which is the real reason the war was from the onset unwinnable).
More about the book
Back in the States, finally divorced but dedicated to being the best provider for his family, Roger finds himself pitifully out of touch with all that surrounds him. After a series of endeavors, including a disreputable “pyramid sales” scheme, he retreats to his comfort zone, cavorting with danger on risky 10-hour Atlantic crossings and all-night flights across the Sahara as the sole pilot in small, puddle jumper single-engine aircraft that were in no way designed for either.
Roger pauses for a cup of tea with Judy Garland, experiences a UFO engagement over the Caspian Sea, survives a crash and capture in the jungle, and he pursues vision-saving surgery at the Clinica Barraquer in Barcelona, the city in which he intrudes on a private dinner with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Sadly, these exploits do not mask the deficiency that has subjugated his being. Struggling in an ill-fitting world, he continues to seek that one magic but historically fated-to-failure union. Ashamed and embarrassed, he sincerely and apologetically strives to explain to readers his life-altering condition and his otherwise inexplicable behavior.
Roger pauses for a cup of tea with Judy Garland, experiences a UFO engagement over the Caspian Sea, survives a crash and capture in the jungle, and he pursues vision-saving surgery at the Clinica Barraquer in Barcelona, the city in which he intrudes on a private dinner with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Sadly, these exploits do not mask the deficiency that has subjugated his being. Struggling in an ill-fitting world, he continues to seek that one magic but historically fated-to-failure union. Ashamed and embarrassed, he sincerely and apologetically strives to explain to readers his life-altering condition and his otherwise inexplicable behavior.
I Guess I Just Wasn’t Thinking – Part 4: At the End of the Rainbow
By W.K. “Jake” Wehrell
AfterWit Books
Paperback, 218 pages, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-0-9987632-6-2)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-0-9987632-7-9)
Published: August 2020
I Guess I Just Wasn’t Thinking. — Part Four: At the End of the Rainbow brings the saga of fact-based fictional character Roger Yahnke to a close. In Part IV, Roger finally finds that one woman, Mireille — who for reasons not to be understood, decisively unlocks his manhood. He is now a changed being, emboldened and empowered; however, he is now faced with a daunting challenge: he has to find a way to construct a life with Mireille.
Paperback, 218 pages, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-0-9987632-6-2)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-0-9987632-7-9)
Published: August 2020
I Guess I Just Wasn’t Thinking. — Part Four: At the End of the Rainbow brings the saga of fact-based fictional character Roger Yahnke to a close. In Part IV, Roger finally finds that one woman, Mireille — who for reasons not to be understood, decisively unlocks his manhood. He is now a changed being, emboldened and empowered; however, he is now faced with a daunting challenge: he has to find a way to construct a life with Mireille.
More about the book
After seeing and feeling the majesty of snow-capped mountains and the pastoral French countryside, Roger is fearful that Mireille would not be able to abide the States (especially hot, flat Florida).
In spite of this doubt, Roger must investigate any stateside opportunity, and is hugely lucky in attaining a position with a Fortune 500 company. There he is sabotaged, unfortunately, by a jealous superior and endures the disgrace of being “outplaced for management convenience” (fired). The circumstances surely would deny him any future chance of landing another respected position in the aviation field.
Because Roger is incapable of changing his spots, he predictably retreats to more familiar territory: engaging in a string of dangerous, disjointed and sometimes illicit jobs. Unthinking bravado might prove to be Roger’s ultimate undoing after all.
In spite of this doubt, Roger must investigate any stateside opportunity, and is hugely lucky in attaining a position with a Fortune 500 company. There he is sabotaged, unfortunately, by a jealous superior and endures the disgrace of being “outplaced for management convenience” (fired). The circumstances surely would deny him any future chance of landing another respected position in the aviation field.
Because Roger is incapable of changing his spots, he predictably retreats to more familiar territory: engaging in a string of dangerous, disjointed and sometimes illicit jobs. Unthinking bravado might prove to be Roger’s ultimate undoing after all.
Dr. Ridiculopickulopot and the Shot
Written by Doc Zavod
Illustrated by Orsolya Orbán
Doc Zavod Books, Davis, CA
Paperback, 42 pages, color throughout, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-1-7331716-0-1)
Hardback, 42 pages, color throughout, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble (ISBN: 978-1-7331716-1-8)
Published: October 2019
Doc Zavod (Matthew B. Zavod, M.D.), author of Dr. Ridiculopickulopot and the Shot, is a practicing otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat doctor) and facial plastic surgeon who, as a child, dreaded getting shots. He believes the best medicine is preventive and has strong convictions about maintaining public health. That’s why he decided to write a series of entertaining but instructional children’s books, with his character Dr. Ridiculopickulopot guiding the way.
Paperback, 42 pages, color throughout, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-1-7331716-0-1)
Hardback, 42 pages, color throughout, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble (ISBN: 978-1-7331716-1-8)
Published: October 2019
Doc Zavod (Matthew B. Zavod, M.D.), author of Dr. Ridiculopickulopot and the Shot, is a practicing otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat doctor) and facial plastic surgeon who, as a child, dreaded getting shots. He believes the best medicine is preventive and has strong convictions about maintaining public health. That’s why he decided to write a series of entertaining but instructional children’s books, with his character Dr. Ridiculopickulopot guiding the way.
More about the book
Dr. Ridiculopickulopot is a clumsy but lovable doctor who bumbles through his day, stumbling over shoes, lunchboxes, and other obstacles while treating his patients. The boy sits diminutively in the doctor’s office, trying to melt into the furniture to avoid the terrifying likelihood of today’s doctor visit: the shot. Nobody likes shots, or bumbling, but the struggles of both Dr. Ridiculopickulopot and the boy show us, in a humorous and endearing manner, how the boy overcomes his dread of shots, and how a bumbling doctor is reminded of what it is like to be a patient. At the same time, the boy learns that doctors and shots should not be feared, and that vaccination is important. The antics of Dr. Ridiculopickulopot are sing-songy so preschool and early grade school kids can repeat the words, or at least have a laugh trying.
Dr. Zavod’s passion is entertainment, with humor and music paramount. The Doc lives and sings with his family in Northern California.
Orsolya Orbán, whose nickname is Orshee, is a highly talented children's book illustrator who was born, raised and is living in Transylvania, Romania. Her illustrations always have a healthy dose of humor, like her depiction of Dr. Ridiculopickulopot. Her characters are funny and quirky, but can be sad, if necessary, to convey a mood or a message. Her favorite activity is laughing, however, because it lifts her spirit.
Dr. Zavod’s passion is entertainment, with humor and music paramount. The Doc lives and sings with his family in Northern California.
Orsolya Orbán, whose nickname is Orshee, is a highly talented children's book illustrator who was born, raised and is living in Transylvania, Romania. Her illustrations always have a healthy dose of humor, like her depiction of Dr. Ridiculopickulopot. Her characters are funny and quirky, but can be sad, if necessary, to convey a mood or a message. Her favorite activity is laughing, however, because it lifts her spirit.
Truth, Fiction and Lies: A Merran Scofield Mystery
By Susan Curry
Across Ocean Books, Davis, CA
Paperback, 296 pages, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-0-944176-05-4)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-0-944176-04-7)
Published: November 2018
An old diary, tucked away in a historical museum since the Great Depression, provides clues about what may have occurred on a farm outside Wirrim, a small Australian country town. Nothing bad ever transpires there — if you set aside the depression-era murder-suicide, and the present-day disappearance of a Japanese exchange student. What really happened?
Paperback, 296 pages, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sellers (ISBN: 978-0-944176-05-4)
E-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo (ISBN: 978-0-944176-04-7)
Published: November 2018
An old diary, tucked away in a historical museum since the Great Depression, provides clues about what may have occurred on a farm outside Wirrim, a small Australian country town. Nothing bad ever transpires there — if you set aside the depression-era murder-suicide, and the present-day disappearance of a Japanese exchange student. What really happened?
More about the book
A class reunion sets the ball rolling. Was the shooting death of a young mother and her three children murder-suicide? Or was her husband responsible? Does knowledge of the history of the time carry some weight?
A teenage Japanese exchange student, Hiroshi Nakamura, chronically anxious and depressed, walks away from Wirrim and vanishes. Has he survived? If so, where is he? If not, is this a suicide? Or murder? Malcolm Richardson, an elderly farmer and son of a Japanese prisoner-of-war survivor, admits that he met the boy but swears that he had nothing to do with the disappearance. Truth, or lies? And where do his father’s letters to his mother from the Middle East in World War II fit in?
These are mysteries that claim the attention of historian Merran Scofield, who grew up in Wirrim but left long ago to pursue an academic career in San Francisco. When she returns for a short study trip and attends a class reunion, she has little idea that her life will never be the same, thanks to former classmates, the local police officer and, again, her knowledge of the times.
Truth, Fiction, and Lies appeals to mystery buffs; to people interested in Australia, particularly its history; and to armchair psychologists. It’s an engrossing, brisk read, with a surprisingly complex plot that will keep you absorbed well into the night.
A teenage Japanese exchange student, Hiroshi Nakamura, chronically anxious and depressed, walks away from Wirrim and vanishes. Has he survived? If so, where is he? If not, is this a suicide? Or murder? Malcolm Richardson, an elderly farmer and son of a Japanese prisoner-of-war survivor, admits that he met the boy but swears that he had nothing to do with the disappearance. Truth, or lies? And where do his father’s letters to his mother from the Middle East in World War II fit in?
These are mysteries that claim the attention of historian Merran Scofield, who grew up in Wirrim but left long ago to pursue an academic career in San Francisco. When she returns for a short study trip and attends a class reunion, she has little idea that her life will never be the same, thanks to former classmates, the local police officer and, again, her knowledge of the times.
Truth, Fiction, and Lies appeals to mystery buffs; to people interested in Australia, particularly its history; and to armchair psychologists. It’s an engrossing, brisk read, with a surprisingly complex plot that will keep you absorbed well into the night.
Nutritional Geography: Representative Lectures and Presentations (1977–2018)
By Louis Evan Grivetti, Professor Emeritus, Department of Nutrition, UC Davis
Volume 1 (1977–1992), 8.5 x 11 inches, 270 pages (ISBN: 978-0-9978109-3-6)
Volume 2 (1993–2000), 8.5 x 11 inches, 248 pages (ISBN: 978-0-9978109-4-3)
Volume 3 (2001–2018), 8.5 x 11 inches, 246 pages (ISBN: 978-0-9978109-5-0)
Published in April 2019 for private distribution, among academic libraries, family members and friends only
When Louis E. Grivetti received his Ph.D. in geography from the University of California, Davis in 1976, he embarked on a distinguished academic career as a professor and scholarly researcher. He became an authority in two areas of inquiry: the origin and continuity of nutritionally sound diets in different regions of the world, and the ways in which migration influenced cultural and ethnic dietary traditions.
Volume 2 (1993–2000), 8.5 x 11 inches, 248 pages (ISBN: 978-0-9978109-4-3)
Volume 3 (2001–2018), 8.5 x 11 inches, 246 pages (ISBN: 978-0-9978109-5-0)
Published in April 2019 for private distribution, among academic libraries, family members and friends only
When Louis E. Grivetti received his Ph.D. in geography from the University of California, Davis in 1976, he embarked on a distinguished academic career as a professor and scholarly researcher. He became an authority in two areas of inquiry: the origin and continuity of nutritionally sound diets in different regions of the world, and the ways in which migration influenced cultural and ethnic dietary traditions.