New Arrival for December

When the Stars Fall Down

by

Pat Lamb

Author: Pat Lamb has taught in churches and schools at all age and grade levels since she was in the seventh grade. Pat and her husband, Keith, lived for many years on the Navajo reservation assisting the Navajo people. Pat is a graduate of Missouri University. She has been included in Who’s Who of American Education and was awarded the Missouri distinguished Adult Education Service Award. Pat currently resides in Missouri, with her husband, and writes a weekly column for local newspapers titled “Train up a child.”

Title: When the Stars Fall Down

Genre: Nonfiction/True-life/Inspirational

Description:  “Mrs. Lamb, spring is here?" The second grader looked up and asked as I stood holding the door with all my strength against the wind and sand. The Navajo children were filing back to the dorm from the classrooms.

How sad, I thought.

Back home in Missouri, the first sign of spring was robins chirping and hopping about in the yard, but here, on the Navajo reservation, a sandstorm was the first sign of spring. As I stood holding the door, my words of greeting to the children seemed to be whisked right out of my mouth and flung swiftly away. Was our work among the American Indians like the words that couldn't be discerned in the howling wind? Were all of our efforts no more than Talking into the Wind?

As a young woman, I had come to the reservation feeling that God wanted me to be of help to the American Indian people. I had miraculously met the man with whom I was to spend more than half a century, and the two of us wanted to do all we could to help the people who seemed so needy. There were many times, however, when we felt our efforts were futile. We learned, however, that God does not judge us by our results, but rather by our love for him and our brothers. When the Stars Fall Down is available at amazon.com.

Other books by Pat Lamb are Let the Children Come and Let the Children Come to Me.  Both books are weekly lesson guides that encourage children to grown in their relationship with God. The two books are a wonder resource for Sunday school teachers, parents, and grandparents. Let the Children Come and Let the Children Come to Me are both available at amazon.com.

New Arrival for December

The Adventures of Normal II

by

Joe Turner

Author: Joe C. Turner studied the Bible at a religious school from the seventh grade thru high school. Religion has been a big part of his life. He doesn't seem to be able to leave it out of his writing, nor does he want to. After serving in the navy, taking him to places like Japan, China, Taiwan, and Korea, he worked for TVA and the US Army Corp of Engineers for thirty-four years. He now lives in Ozark, Missouri, where he is pursuing his dream of writing.

Title: The Adventures of Normal II

Genre: Fiction/Adventure

Description: Normal, having sustained the loss of his surrogate grandfather, has trouble dealing with it. The chance to take a little bite of retirement, as he calls it, presents itself, and he travels to New England.

To his surprise, people recognize him as his new identity. He learns that his new identity’s parents where not married, and he only has the mother’s DNA. They tell him he has been murdered in New York City. When he finishes his business with the natives of Bangor, Maine, and leaves the reservation, he passes through the Eastern states and ends up in Boston, where he defends Mario’s cousin, who is suspected of murder. After clearing her of the charges, he tours the area in his quest for knowledge of the history of the nation of which he is proud.

By the time he gets home, he finds much work and intrigue has found him. It seems he is not the only one who has secrets. He becomes a surrogate brother and uncle all in one swoop. He thinks to himself, I may need another bite of retirement.

Suspense in the Persian Gulf

Six Faces: Six Chances to Win

 

 Author: David Hailstone is a pseudonym for David Lindsey, who has lived in Europe for fourteen years and now reside in Southwest Missouri. David is a former Marine captain, who served in a helicopter squadron during the Vietnam War. Virginia is a professional musician and writer. The novel was inspired by the lives of real people they met, including soldiers who were on the front lines of the Persian Gulf War, as well as civilians who had lived and worked in Kuwait for several years before the war, some of whom were caught up in the invasion and barely escaped with their lives.

  

Title: Six Faces: Six Chances to Win

Genre: Historical Fiction

Description: Kuwait City in the fall of 1989, a year before the Persian Gulf War begins, is the setting for Six Faces. The story develops a friendship between two American expatriates and former Marines living in Kuwait. One has just arrived to teach at an international high school, while the other is married to an Assyrian woman and has called Kuwait City his home for many years. A partnership is formed between the two when the older man shows the new guy in town how to win big money shooting craps in private games. Always using the laws of probability to their advantage, the men are consistent winners. During this time, the younger man falls in love with the Australian ambassador's daughter and they plan to marry. When Kuwait is invaded in August 1990, the men find themselves chained to artillery pieces as human shields on enemy lines. They scramble to find a way to safety, only to be forced into setting up a private game for a gang of marauders just as the Allied Forces are about to invade the city. After teaching the soldiers of fortune how to play craps, the men work their way into this once-in-a-lifetime game where millions of dollars worth of stolen property is on the table. The dramatic outcome of the game and their planned retribution against their oppressors bring the story to its exciting conclusion.

Facts pertaining to the Persian Gulf War within this novel are historically accurate. No reference to any living person who was a part of these events is intended. However, this story was inspired by the lives of real people, including soldiers who were on the front lines of the war, as well as civilians who had lived and worked in Kuwait before the war, some of whom were caught up in the invasion and barely escaped with their lives.

Six Faces is available on at amazon.com.

Just in Time for Gift Giving!!!!

Wet, Wild & Woodsy

Cookbook for the Sportsman

Authors: The three authors, Carolyn Craig, Kathy Brown, and Schyrlet Cameron, live in the Ozarks with their families.

Title: Wet, Wild & Woodsy

Genre: Wild Game Cookbook

Book: This wild game cookbook offers a complete collection of recipes that are easy to prepare and taste great. The three authors, Carolyn Craig, Kathy Brown, and Schyrlet Cameron, share over 400 of their families’ favorite recipes, such as roast venison and elk steak smothered in mushrooms. They have also included an assortment of their more unique recipes, such as armadillo meatballs, opossum casserole, and rattlesnake kabobs. Wet, Wild & Woodsy is available at amazon.com.

 

New Arrival for November

Donald Richardson

Author: Sgt. Donald Richardson is a retired trooper with Missouri State Highway Patrol. He has dedicated years to researching and writing the true story of the shootings of Trooper Victor O. Dosing and Trooper Sam Graham at the Coffee Pot Traven southeast of Springfield, Missouri, December 7, 1941. All profits from his book, “Don’t Eat My Pie, Squirt,” are donated to the Missouri Association of State Troopers Emergency Relief Society (MASTERS). “The MASTERS” fund provides financial aid to a trooper’s immediate surviving family members if the trooper is killed in the line of duty.

Title: “Don’t Eat My Pie, Squirt”

Genre: Nonfiction/True Life

Book: The attach on Pearl harbor was not the only tragedy on December 7, 1941, for the Missouri State Highway patrol family and the citizens of Missouri. About 15 minutes after the attack began at Pearl Harbor, Trooper Victor O. Dosing was killed and trooper Sam Graham was critically wound by Milan James Nedimovich at  the Coffee Pot Tavern southeast of Springfield, Missouri. This book is the true story of the event. The book is available at all Home Grown Books locations, ABC Books in Springfield, Missouri, and Home Town Pharmacy in Mt. Vernon, Missouri.

New Arrival for November

Velma Merritt

Author: Velma Merritt loves to write and read Christian romances. As a teacher and speaker as well as a writer, she communicates the vastness of God's love. Her interest in Christian romance began when she met and married her college sweetheart, who kept her life an adventure. While raising three children, they lived in seventeen different areas, including two European countries and four states. Today Velma lives in the Ozarks. In addition to Christian romance, her interests include travel, gardening, and her beloved pets.

Title: River of Love

Genre: Fiction/Christian Romance

Book: Meg, a teacher on summer break, plans to have a relaxing summer working at River's View Resort. Can she endure the summer working with the new manager who irritates and fascinates her? As she begins to love, can she survive losing James, a man she can never have-or is love even possible? The book is available at amazon.com.

New Arrival for November

Author: Michelle Higgins
Illustrator: Daughter, Rebecca Mendenall

I am very proud to share my mother’s story with you. Grandma Mary Slade passed away this February, 2013 and was so proud to see this little book go to print. She was a blessed lady with a big heart and love for her family and friends.

It is my honor, as her daughter, to open up her world to you. Acre the Mouse has many more books to come – let us journey together in reading, and educating ourselves on how to better our environment. 

Where did the story of Acre the mouse come from?

Acre the Mouse is a Heritage Story, handed down from Grandma Mary Slade to her

granddaughters, Kaylee Higgins and Rebecca Mendenall. Grandma Mary would tell each girl the story of this mouse before putting them to bed. This is a 20 year old story, and carefully put together into a beautiful book for children

Grandma Mary Slade loved to plant beautiful flowers and gardens and used special soil. She was able to create this soil by recycling her food scraps and putting them into her dirt and mixing them together, just like Acre the Mouse, and making special healthy soil.

Grandma Mary Slade taught her daughter and her grandchildren how to recycle at an early age. She was very conscious of the environment and how precious that it was to her family. She grew gardens, recycled her food scraps, and was great at teaching others to care for the beautiful earth. Acre the Little Mouse and the Special Garden is available at http://www.friendswithacre.org/.

New Arrivals for October

CC Brown

Author: CC Brown is the pseudonym adopted by the three authors: Schyrlet Cameron, Carolyn Craig, and Kathy Brown. The authors have published two novels in the Dark Side Series: Black Widow Society and Wolf Stone. The women live in the Ozarks with their families. Both books are available at amazon.com. Visit their website at www.ccbrownbooks.com.

Title: Black Widow Society

Genre: Fiction/Fantasy Romance

Book: The sacred relic of the undead . . . the Vampire Bible has fallen into the hands of a paranormal-artifact dealer. An eBay bid and an annual vacation lead Koleen O’Brien and her five friends to San Antonio to deliver the book to a wealthy Texan. They are clueless to the fact that a pack of blood-thirsty vampires are stalking them to reclaim the Bible. Immortals meet their match as they discover that these women aren’t typical mortals; they're members of the Black Widow Society!

Title: Wolf Stone

Genre: Fiction/Fantasy Romance

Book: Just when Dmitri thought nothing could stop him from executing his plan to become king of the shapeshifters enters sexy Mona Dix. The sacred relic of the werewolf nation, the Wolf Stone, has fallen into her hands. With the possession of the stone comes the power to dominate and rule the thirteen werewolf tribes. Vacationing on the Oregon coast in the rugged terrain of the redwood forest, Mona and her friends are unaware of Dmitri and his pack of ancient wolves in hot pursuit to retrieve the precious stone. For the first time, Dmitri meets a woman who is more than a match for his supernatural powers and strong will. She is a Black Widow and a member of the Society.

 

New Arrival for September

A Traveler’s Guide to Understanding

by

Ken Bavuso 

 

Author: Ken Bavuos lives in southwest Missouri with his wife. In 2008, he lost his way and began to search for purpose and fulfillment in life. A Traveler’s Guide to Understanding was borne out of his search for answers. Ken hopes his journey may help someone else who is wondering,”What’s next?”

Title: A Traveler’s Guide to Understanding

Genre: True Life/Inspirational

Description: In 2008, Ken lost everything. He lost his home to foreclosure. He lost his business, rentals, retirement, and life savings. When he walked out of his home for the last time, he had less than one hundred dollars in his pocket. In his sixties, he found himself trying to find work competing against 8.7 million others who had also lost their jobs. A potent mixture of depression and a death in the family caused Ken to face his mortality in a way he never had before. He felt like he was running out of time. A Traveler’s Guide to Understanding is the true story of Ken’s journey for answers. Ken’s book is available at amazon.com

New Arrival for September

A Glimpse of Glory: My Journey to Heaven and Back

by

Rick East and Yvonne Erwin 

 

 Authors: Rick East and Yvonne Erwin both live in Springfield, Missouri. Yvonne is the president of the Springfield Writers' Guild, a chapter of the Missouri Writers' Guild, and is a member of Ozarks Romance Authors. Yvonne recently won second place in the prose-fiction category in the 19th Annual Springfield Writers' Contest Literacy Contest. Finding Rick’s story compelling she partnered with him to write a true story, A Glimpse of Glory: My Journey to Heaven and Back. The book is available at www.amazon.com.

Title: A Glimpse of Glory: My Journey to Heaven and Back

Genre: True Life/Christian/Inspirational

Book Description: A mysterious illness caused Rick East to lapse into respiratory failure the afternoon of December 25, 2012. Rick discovered his spirit was in heaven and was being coached by the Holy Spirit. Rick saw the city of heaven and had many conversations with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit answered questions that have puzzled Christians for years.  A Glimpse of Glory: My Journey to Heaven and Back is available at amazon.com.  

New Arrival for September

Buffalo Gal

by

Perry Posey 

Author: Perry Posey is retired and lives in Springfield, Missouri.

Title: Buffalo Gal

Genre: Historical Fiction/Christian Romance

Book Description: An inspiration love novel. The rich city boy meets the poor Indian girl--Buffalo Gal. They meet in their young years and make a blood covenant that no one or anything could ever come between them. The book is available at Amazon.com.

New Arrival for September

Trouble on the Doorstep

by

Elaine Orr

  

Author: Elaine Orr was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Maryland. She currently lives in the Ozarks with her husband. She has studied writing at the University of Maryland, Georgetown University School of Continuing Education, the Writer's Center of Bethesda, Maryland, and the University of Iowa Summer Writing Festival.

Elaine has written fiction and nonfiction for many years and recently introduced the Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series. Elaine created a setting she likes (an east coast beach town) and a profession that would let Jolie meet a lot of people and have an opportunity to get into a lot of trouble (real estate appraising). And friends, lots of friends. The first book in the series is "Appraisal for Murder," then "Rekindling Motives." "When the Carny Comes to Town" was published in February 2012, and "Any Port in a Storm" was out in September. "Trouble on the Doorstep" debuted in March 2013.

Other books written by Elaine include "Secrets of the Gap," set in Bath, England, home of the astonishing Roman Baths that have been excavated since the late 1870s. It's a wonderful site with ancient and modern mysteries. "Biding Time" is the story of young Frank Myers, nephew of his namesake who was MIA in Vietnam. Geared to a young adult audience, "Biding Time" has appeal for all. It was one of five finalists in the National Press Club's 1993 fiction contest, the club's first. All of Elaine's book are available at www.elaineorr.com.

Title: Trouble on the Doorstep

Genre: Mystery/Suspense

Description: From Hurricane Sandy to B&B repairs to Aunt Madge's wedding in three weeks. If Jolie can handle that surely she can deal with a sobbing woman who shows up at midnight. When the next morning Jolie learns that Pooki's husband is missing, and his partner is dead, it seems there may be a connection to some shady hurricane repairs at Ocean Alley's senior complex. Jolie incurs the ire of a prominent builder, her boyfriend (local reporter George Winters), and of course the police--so she knows she's on to something.

New Arrival for September

City of the Gods: The Descendants

by

SJ McMillian

Author: Samantha McMillian lives in Southwest Missouri with her super supportive husband and three energetic young rascals. After a slew of interesting job choices, she just could not shake the writing bug she picked up in high school. The love of reading is what spawned the desire to try her hand at writing a novel of her very own. She loves creating the characters and giving them their own personalities and voices.

Title: City of the Gods: The Descendants

Genre: Fantasy Romance

Description: In 700 A.D. Teotihuacan, Mexico, the High Priest believed himself to be a powerful as the gods. He set a plague on the city as a demonstration of his power. The Gods took pity on the remaining loyal congregation. They granted each survivor immortality and an extraordinary ability. Three loyal survivors were given a mission of great importance: train the lone human descendant of their civilization to stop the evil priest from damning the rest of humanity.

Now in San Diego, California, the time has come to finally make Katalina Deckard aware of her destiny. Her life has been a constant struggle since the loss of her parents when she was young. These struggles have made her a fighter, but she doesn’t believe they have prepared her to save the world. Her friends, who have survived for so long, must convince her that she has what it takes to accept the mantle of the Redeemer. City of the Gods: The Descendants and other books by SJ McMillian are available on amazon.com.

New Arrival for September

Healing for the Heart

by

Nancy Hughes

Author: Nancy is a published author and abstinence educator. Besides traveling extensively and sharing her knowledge and experiences through the years, Nancy has written a series of children's books that teach life lessons. It was only through her experience as a recent widow that she realized the need for a ministry to women in her situation. Nancy lives in southwest Missouri with her 3 children and 5 grandchildren.

 

Title: Healing for the Heart: Survival in the World of the Widow

Genre: True Life/Christian/Inspirational 

Book Description: As Nancy walked through their living room door and called her husband's name, she knew instantly that something was terribly wrong. While trying to deal with her overwhelming sadness and grief at the death of her husband, Nancy found hope and compassion in the Lord. She also found that there were many experiences as a widow that she was totally unprepared for and needed answers. Healing for the Heart contains personal stories and encouragement from seven widows to help strengthen your faith and reassure you that the Lord will never leave your side in this journey. It is Nancy's prayer that this book will speak to those women who have become members of the "Widowhood Club." She also provides information for anyone who wants to reach out to widows, but is unsure of what to say or do. Healing for the Heart: Survival in the World of the Widow is available at Amazon.com.

Not So Square Festival Rounds up Crowd

Local and regional artists and authors were on display Sept. 7 at the Mt. Vernon, Missouri festival of the arts sponsored by the regional arts council. The sixth-annual Not So Square Arts and Literary Festival event sees largest crowd yet with estimated overall attendance between 1,500 to 2,000 people.



Two Authors Recognized at Festival



Kathy Brown of Home Grown Books presented Laurence Stoll author of The Happy Accident, a Christian romance, with the “Author of the Year Award.”



Schyrlet Cameron of Home Grown Books presented Bill Armstrong, World War II Veteran and author of the Survival on a Coral Planet and The First Voyage, with the Best of Show Award.

Festival Offers Readers a Variety of Genres

Susan Stark 2012 recipient of the “Best of Show Award” and author of Temptation with Luggage

Karla Phelps author of Yama the Llama-Off to Bethlehem and Yama the LLama-Off to Jerusalem 

Mary White author of Jack the Rat and His Funny Little Hat

  

Linda Sartin recording artists, Simply Dulcimer  and Dulcimer Daze  

 

Sharon Rushton author of No Paved Road to Freedom    

                                                                                                                                 

Perry Posey author of Buffalo Gal

Nancy Hughes author of Healing for the Heart-Survival in the World of a Widow

 

June Barnhart author of Diabetes: One Step at a Time

Don Shmedeke author of Three Feet to Now

Kitty Sutton author of Wheezer and the Painted Frog and Wheezer and the Shy Coyote

                                                                    

Mary Boll author of MeMa’s Manna Cookbooks

Dan Trogdon author of And So It Goes

Larua Valenti author of several Christian romance novels including the Heart of the Spring Series

Samantha McMillian (right) author of City of the Gods: The Descendant

LeAnn Campbell author of Century Farm Juvenile Mystery Series and Kay Rose author No God No Hell No Churches No Saloon

Richard East author of A Glimpse of Heaven

          

                                                                                                                           

 

Zona Crabtree author of the Corn Cave Series

 

Elaine Orr author of a murder mystery series including the novels Trouble on the Doorstop and Appraisal for Murder

Ken Bavuso author of A Travelers guide to Understanding