Category Archives: book

Girl Unreserved

by Tashia Hart

GirlGirl Unreserved is a very intimate coming-of-age narrative told from the perspective of a "mixed-blood" girl from a Chippewa Indian reservation in Northern Minnesota.

The story addresses how the concepts of identity, gender, and sexuality are shaped by both our cultural environments as well as the intrinsic, spiritual landscape we grow and carry inside of ourselves throughout our lives.

Other themes this book addresses are: the prevalence of sexual assault in Indian Country; poverty and malnutrition and their effects on the mental states of children; alcoholism; and one of the worst coping mechanisms for suffering, the "I Don't Care" mentality that allows subscribers the belief that they are in control of their own suffering--leading to cycles that recreate the suffering over and over again.

This mentality is currently devastating Native communities, with particularly harmful repercussions for the youth of these communities.

Girl Unreserved is based on the author's own coming-of-age story and has woven into it elements of fiction and a touch of magical realism.

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About the Author

Tashia Hart is from the Red Lake Reservation of Chippewa Indians in Northern Minnesota, where her father and other enrolled family members reside.

Like many women, her recovery from traumas like the ones portrayed in Girl Unreserved is a life-long, on-going process.

She is currently finding ways to bring healthy feminine and masculine energy into her life.

The Hunters #2: Beneath the Chapter

The Hunters #2

by Jessica Walsh and Briana Lawrence

BeneathWas this why? Was this the reason he'd told her to be quiet, because this needed to happen?

The middle of winter has given the residents of the warehouse plenty of time to mull over their last adventure. The Storyteller has been found, but has left behind only more questions and no real answers. Just when the group exhausts all of their resources, a new organization comes to the surface that could tie up all the loose threads.

Unfortunately, the Chapter isn't what it appears to be, and the Hunters are now left to deal with a new threat that hits a little too close to home. What secrets is the Chapter hiding, and is it worth uncovering the truth?

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About the Authors

Jessica Walsh's life is a flurry of writing, art and creativity. You can usually find her reading a book, scribbling notes in a notebook for future creations, typing on a laptop with music blaring in her ears or buried in her basement watching documentaries and sitting behind a sewing machine.

Jessica has been writing for as long as she can remember and have boxes of old notebooks in horrible handwriting to prove it. Only recently has she stumbled back into writing and finishing her ideas.

Seeking the Storyteller is the first novel she's published with her partner in crime and life, Briana Lawrence. Jessica also writes horror, fantasy, supernatural and occasionally romance pieces which she is currently shopping around through contests and publishers.

At the age of nine, like most kids, Briana Lawrence had a dream. She wanted to be the best "WRITTER" in the whole wide world. Her fourth grade class laughed and wondered how one hoped to become a "writer" if they couldn't even spell the word. Back then her stories were created with crayons and construction paper. As she grew older they progressed into notebooks and colored ink pens of pink, blue, and purple. When she lost her older brother, Glenn Berry, in a car accident, she stopped writing.

Dreams, however, have a funny way of coming back.

Before she realized it she was grabbing her notebook and pens again. She would write stories that ranged from high school romance to her imagination running wild with the likes of Goku, Vegeta, and the other characters of Dragonball Z. This continued throughout college where she would always end up writing about the space exploits of the pilots of Gundam Wing and other works of fan fiction. Soon she realized that she wanted to do more than that. Her head was full of ideas, full of original characters and worlds that she wanted to share with others.

Thus, she stepped into an English Major with some Women's Studies on the side.

She graduated Iowa State University in 2006 and moved to Minneapolis with her partner. Here, she tried to get into graduate school, but things didn't pan out the way she wanted. She ended up working retail, her dream becoming buried by Black Fridays and other busy times of year. Once again, however, that dream returned. She went from immersing herself in geeky fan fiction to actually writing about the geeky things she loved for several anime and video game review sites. However, it was her discovery of National Novel Writing Month that made her go back to creating her own characters and plots.

Now, here she is, an author in the writing world.

The Hunters #1: Seeking the Storyteller

The Hunters #1

by Jessica Walsh and Briana Lawrence

SeekingI know of the Storyteller, it whispers into the man’s ear, I’ve met him. If you promise not to kill me, I’ll take you to him.

Alix Andre DeBenit and Randall Fagan are Hunters, part of a hidden network of humans who track and kill the monsters lurking in our world so everyone else can pretend they don’t exist. But when a living shadow mentions someone called the Storyteller, Alix hesitantly decides to learn more. They say the Storyteller lives in a massive library full of books that tell every being’s life story. He can read these books, rewrite them and change anything he wants, even if it’s already happened. That’s the power Alix wants, the power to bring his murdered family back and he’s determined to make the Storyteller do it. He just has to decide if working with the very creatures he’s supposed to kill is worth it.

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Seeking the Storyteller is available from:

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About the Authors

Jessica Walsh's life is a flurry of writing, art and creativity. You can usually find her reading a book, scribbling notes in a notebook for future creations, typing on a laptop with music blaring in her ears or buried in her basement watching documentaries and sitting behind a sewing machine.

Jessica has been writing for as long as she can remember and have boxes of old notebooks in horrible handwriting to prove it. Only recently has she stumbled back into writing and finishing her ideas.

Seeking the Storyteller is the first novel she's published with her partner in crime and life, Briana Lawrence. Jessica also writes horror, fantasy, supernatural and occasionally romance pieces which she is currently shopping around through contests and publishers.

At the age of nine, like most kids, Briana Lawrence had a dream. She wanted to be the best "WRITTER" in the whole wide world. Her fourth grade class laughed and wondered how one hoped to become a "writer" if they couldn't even spell the word. Back then her stories were created with crayons and construction paper. As she grew older they progressed into notebooks and colored ink pens of pink, blue, and purple. When she lost her older brother, Glenn Berry, in a car accident, she stopped writing.

Dreams, however, have a funny way of coming back.

Before she realized it she was grabbing her notebook and pens again. She would write stories that ranged from high school romance to her imagination running wild with the likes of Goku, Vegeta, and the other characters of Dragonball Z. This continued throughout college where she would always end up writing about the space exploits of the pilots of Gundam Wing and other works of fan fiction. Soon she realized that she wanted to do more than that. Her head was full of ideas, full of original characters and worlds that she wanted to share with others.

Thus, she stepped into an English Major with some Women's Studies on the side.

She graduated Iowa State University in 2006 and moved to Minneapolis with her partner. Here, she tried to get into graduate school, but things didn't pan out the way she wanted. She ended up working retail, her dream becoming buried by Black Fridays and other busy times of year. Once again, however, that dream returned. She went from immersing herself in geeky fan fiction to actually writing about the geeky things she loved for several anime and video game review sites. However, it was her discovery of National Novel Writing Month that made her go back to creating her own characters and plots.

Now, here she is, an author in the writing world.

The Callie Lindstrom series #2: A Stone for Amer

The Callie Lindstrom series #2

by Connie Claire Szarke

AWill Lindstrom was only sixteen when he and his father left the predictable routine of their family farm in southwestern Minnesota and were launched, via the Transcontinental Railway, into the wilds of eastern Montana to find Uncle Amer. The year was 1919. Decades later, after he and daughter Callie arrive at the Scandinavian Cemetery in Rockford, Illinois, in search of Amer's tombstone, an elderly Will recounts that difficult journey west, pays homage to the life that was, and reveals controversial truths about his beloved uncle and the prejudice that killed him. This novel, A Stone for Amer, is part of the Callie Lindstrom trilogy, which includes Delicate Armor and Lady in the Moon, A Novel in Stories.

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About the Author

Midwest author, Connie Claire Szarke, grew up in “The Land of 10,000 Lakes.” A writer of fiction and poetry, she also taught high school French for many years. She enjoys playing classical piano, painting, alpine skiing, and kayaking with her Shetland sheepdogs near her home west of the Twin Cities. Much of her work has been published in literary journals and magazines, including The Talking Stick, Dust & Fire, Stories Teachers Tell, Lake Country Journal Magazine, and Community Connections: The Minnesota Project.

The Callie Lindstrom series #1: Delicate Armor

The Callie Lindstrom series #1

by Connie Claire Szarke

DelicateSet in the Upper Midwest, 1950s-1990, Delicate Armor is the coming-of-age story of Callie Lindstrom, a cheeky girl who shares a special bond with her father. After the loss of his baby boy, Will Lindstrom places his energy in young Callie, teaching her his love for the outdoors. Accepted into the world of men within her family and privy to their dreams and struggles, she learns to navigate waves of conflict and loss while realizing her own place in the world. This book is about lost time, the tenacity of the human spirit, and our narrator’s emerging consciousness as she passes from young girl to self-possessed woman. Delicate Armor is Callie’s tribute to the land and to her microcosm of men.

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About the Author

Midwest author, Connie Claire Szarke, grew up in “The Land of 10,000 Lakes.” A writer of fiction and poetry, she also taught high school French for many years. She enjoys playing classical piano, painting, alpine skiing, and kayaking with her Shetland sheepdogs near her home west of the Twin Cities. Much of her work has been published in literary journals and magazines, including The Talking Stick, Dust & Fire, Stories Teachers Tell, Lake Country Journal Magazine, and Community Connections: The Minnesota Project.

The Callie Lindstrom series #3: Lady in the Moon

The Callie Lindstrom series #3

by Connie Claire Szarke

LadyOh, those formation years--coming of age never ends until it's time to leave this earth for good. Callandra Mae Lindstrom, a once feisty girl grown into a promising young woman, approaches her middle years altered by an abusive marriage.

During the road trip back home from Illinois, where she and her father Will traveled in search of Uncle Amer's gravesite, Callie spends time behind the wheel coming to terms with her personal struggles. In doing so, she reflects on the lives of others, including former residents of Masterton, her captivating hometown. The ways in which these people survived or succumbed to their own painful experiences serve as critical lessons, helping Callie to get on in the world as she alternately stumbles and dances through this part of her life.

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About the Author

Midwest author, Connie Claire Szarke, grew up in “The Land of 10,000 Lakes.” A writer of fiction and poetry, she also taught high school French for many years. She enjoys playing classical piano, painting, alpine skiing, and kayaking with her Shetland sheepdogs near her home west of the Twin Cities. Much of her work has been published in literary journals and magazines, including The Talking Stick, Dust & Fire, Stories Teachers Tell, Lake Country Journal Magazine, and Community Connections: The Minnesota Project.

Emily Swift 2: Homicide in Hawaii

Emily Swift Travel Mystery #2

by Lorrie Holmgren

HomicideTravel writer Emily Swift looks forward to a romantic trip to Hawaii with her boyfriend Jack. It’ll be a snap to write about the breathtakingly beautiful Hawaiian Islands – especially with a friend, who lives in Waikiki, as her guide. But Emily’s hopes are dashed when Amanda’s dead body is found in an ancient Hawaiian ritual site. Who would kill a woman whose friends describe her as “saint like”? Emily uses her reporter’s skills to find out. Did Amanda discover her husband’s philandering? Who is the father of Amanda’s Native Hawaiian goddaughter Kari? Why was Amanda obsessed by her family’s role in the history of Hawaii? What secrets lurk in old letters and photos? As Emily delves into the past to find the killer, she finds herself in danger. Finally, she realizes that the murderer is closer than she thinks––and a Hawaiian tourist spot may prove to be her grave as well as Amanda’s.

Publisher

Published by: Cozy Cat Press

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About the Author

Lorrie Holmgren is the author of two Emily Swift travel mysteries -- Murder on Madeline Island, and Homicide in Hawaii. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, busily penning mysteries when she isn't traveling the world. Lorrie has a special affection for Madeline Island, one of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior, which she often visits with her writing group, friends and husband. She is currently writing her third travel mystery novel about Emily Swift.

Love in a Tuscan Kitchen

Savoring Life Through the Romance, Recipes, and Traditions of Italy

by Sheryl Ness

LoveChocolate cake makes sweet dreams come true.

In a real-life fairy tale, author Sheryl Ness shares how she fell in love with Vincenzo, a chef in a quaint Tuscan kitchen, over his decadent hot chocolate cake.

This enchanting memoir will transport you to the cobblestone streets, lush hillsides dotted with grapevines and olive trees, and unique characters that create the backdrop for Sheryl’s Italian love story.

Love in a Tuscan Kitchen is sprinkled with traditional recipes she collected along the way and flavored with rich accounts of how her dreams were fulfilled many times over while living in a picturesque village in Chianti.

Raise a toast and taste pure joy as Sheryl opens her heart to love, and in turn finds herself on a remarkable journey of discovery through the people, traditions, and customs of Italy as the blond Americana fell in love with the chef with twinkling eyes.

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About the Author

Sheryl Ness was inspired to become a nurse by her father’s mother, who was one of the first formally trained nurses of her time. Sheryl has a master’s degree in Transcultural Nursing from Augsburg College in Minneapolis. She works as a clinical editor for Elsevier based in Rochester, Minnesota, and where she worked for thirty years as a nurse at the Mayo Clinic.

Her interest and love for the appreciation of cultures has been a strong influence in her life and inspired her to travel to other areas of the world—always curious for knowledge from cultural traditions of places and how this influence defines a person’s world.

Sheryl and her husband, Vincenzo Giangiordano, now live in Rochester, Minnesota, where he prepares traditional Italian cuisine as a chef for specialty restaurants. Together, they present Italian cooking classes and events as well as host private dinners.

They would love to hear from readers. Share your stories, try the recipes, invite them to come and cook with you, and send a note if you want to be in touch!

The Accidental Series #2: The Accidental Stranger

The Accidental Series #2

by CJ Fosdick

TheJessica Brewster is being watched...and things go missing from the remote Wyoming home she shares with her toddler. In a freak accident, she shoots the bearded thief stalking her before she recognizes the mesmerizing green eyes that belong to the only man she ever loved.

Has Mitch bridged time to find her? In a race to save his life and change hers forever, she takes him into her home and heart. But his memory loss and puzzling clues curry doubt and expose mystery and danger. Is he truly her son’s father or an irresistible stranger in her arms?

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About the Author

CJ was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wis. but has lived longer in Rochester, MN where her writing career escalated from locally- and nationally-published award-winning stories, articles, and anthologies to her first novel--The Accidental Wife. Though she has lived on a woodsy 12-acre hilltop deer haven for decades, she has ventured down on rare occasions to climb a waterfall in Jamaica, float in the Dead Sea, kiss the Blarney Stone, and train wild mustangs, several dogs, cats, children and one patient husband.

Lost Children #0: Awakened

The Lost Children

by Krista Street

AwakenedAfter waking in an alleyway with no memories, a strange tattoo and a supernatural ability, Lena knows something extraordinary happened to her. When a deep guiding instinct hums to life inside her, she sets out into the unknown in hopes of unlocking secrets to her past. Now, hitchhiking around the country with nothing but a personalized bracelet as proof of a life she once led, Lena must decide - seek answers to her past at any cost or accept that the truth to who she really is may never be known.

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Awakened is available from:

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About the Author

Krista Street is a Minnesota native but has lived throughout the U.S. and in another country or two. She loves to travel, read (obviously), and spend time in the great outdoors. When not writing, Krista is either chasing her children (or hiding from them, it varies depending on the day), spending time with her husband and friends, sipping a cup of tea, or enjoying the hidden gems of beauty that Minnesota has to offer.