New Book Release: The Adventures of Teddy Tennis Ball - by E.D. Massey

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Teddy Tennis Ball lives in a crowded bin with other tennis balls and enjoys the company of his friends. Boy and Girl play tennis and use the balls for practice. Teddy is hit hard by Boy, sending him over the fence and into the street. Teddy faces several challenges: nearly being run over by a car, floating in water, being licked and bitten by a dog, and getting stuck under a thorny bush. Abigail Ant and Albert Ant, along with their ant friends, help Teddy escape from under the bush. Crystal Ball, missing Teddy, gets herself hit over the fence to try to reunite with him. Girl finds both Teddy and Crystal Ball and returns them to the bin, where their friends celebrate their return.

About the author:

E.D. Massey is a native Californian, retired from the U.S. Air Force and California Air National Guard. He moved to Arizona 9 years ago and lives near the White Tank Mountains in Buckeye where his wife and friends encouraged him to share his unpublished stories of romance, relationships and family.

"Love on the Internet, Erick and Stacy Go Hollywood, and Erick and Stacy-Hard Times." Erick and Stacy series of Internet friends who fall in love.

"Growing up Carrie." A stepfather raising a young daughter.

"Second Chances...in Montana." A man finding a second chance for love in the middle of Montana.

"My Life by Elena." Not only a story of a bisexual woman, but people building friendships for a lifetime.

"Love at Any Age." Older man, younger woman, need I say more.

"Love's Journey." A divorced man finds his never known father's family.

"Andrew and the Walking Club." A troubled divorced man saved by a women's walking club.

Traditional medicine, acupuncture, ancient remedies... they still work - by Vijaya Schartz

 

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In this modern society of ours, dominated by the wealthy pharmaceutical industry, we tend to forget ancient medicine and healing practices, even though they worked for thousands of years… There is no profit in home remedies, so commercial advertising only focuses on marketable chemical solutions, and tends to ridicule the old ways. Worse, we now have to take secondary medicines to counteract the side effects of primary medicines.

Then, once in a while, someone realizes that acupuncture, Yoga, Chi Gong, Tai-Chi, chicken noodle soup, carrots, and other ancient medicine and disciplines can still keep modern people healthy and happy. Unlike most pharmaceuticals, these practices and remedies do not just treat the symptoms but promote general health.

In September 1991, a 5000-year-old frozen mummy later named Otzi was discovered in the frozen Alps between Austria and Italy. He was very well preserved and had 61 tattoos, corresponding to the traditional acupuncture points.

Now, scientists are curious about acupuncture. We can observe that it works. We just don’t understand how or why it works. As it happens, recent university studies discovered connections between the acupuncture points and the organs they are supposedly linked to, through what they call the interstitium, a fluid matrix permeating and linking various parts of the body, undiscovered by science until now.

8 pieces of Brocade Chi-Gong exercises

But the most important part of staying healthy is exercise. Yoga, Tai-Chi, Chi-Gong types in particular, can keep your joints flexible, your legs strong, your posture ideal. And when you have the right posture, all your organs work better. You breathe better, you digest better, your heart is not compressed… your lymphatic system (part of your immune system) is stimulated by movement.

As for food as medicine, here are a few ancient remedies that still work today:

Honey: Ancient Egyptians and Sumerians used it to dress wounds because its natural low pH and high sugar content kill bacteria. As an ointment or ingested, it’s a natural antibiotic.

Turmeric: A staple in Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine for millennia, its active compound, curcumin, is clinically shown to have powerful anti-inflammatory effects.

Aloe Vera: Historically used by the Egyptians, Greeks, and Chinese to heal burns and skin ailments, it remains a frontline natural treatment for sunburns.

Ginger: Used in ancient Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine for nausea, modern clinical trials support its efficacy in treating pregnancy-related and motion-induced nausea. It’s also good for your heart.

Chicken soup: Turns out, Grandma was right. Chicken soup can be good for a cold. Studies show it can ease symptoms and help you get rid of it sooner. It also curbs swelling and clears out nasal fluids.

My latest chicken soup creation

Carrots: They are not just good for babies. Their active compounds act as natural medicine by providing high levels of beta-carotene, dietary fiber, and antioxidants. In traditional and integrative health, they are used to support eye health, reduce inflammation, balance blood sugar, and combat oxidative damage

Green tea: This comforting drink does more than keep you awake and alert. It’s a great source of some powerful antioxidants that can protect your cells from damage and help you fight disease. It may even lower your odds of heart disease and certain kinds of cancers, like skin, breast, lung, and colon.

Garlic: Some studies show that people who eat more garlic are less likely to get certain types of cancer (garlic supplements don’t seem to have the same effect). It also lowers blood cholesterol and blood pressure levels.

Hot bath: It’s good for all kinds of things that affect your muscles, bones, and tendons (the tissues that connect your muscles to your bones), like arthritis, back pain, and joint pain. And warm water can help get blood flow to areas that need it, so gently stretch and work those areas while you’re in there. But don’t make it too hot, especially if you have a skin condition. The ideal temperature is between 92 and 100 F.

In my latest series, THE PROTECTORS, set on a feudal planet, I use ancient remedies when my characters need a healer's attention. My Celtic legends series, Curse of the Lost Isle, also uses ancient remedies. 

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Happy Reading.

Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author
Kick-butt Sci-fi Heroines, cats, romantic elements
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New Book Release: Wrequiem at the Red Rocks: A Novel of Brutalist Satire and Futile Gestures - by Jason Makansi

 

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Bradley Maniopolos has Problems.

Sedona, Arizona Plays Host to Them.

When attendees at the “Neo-Anthropocentric Models of Retrospective Freedoms” colloquium arrive in spiritual Sedona, they become facilitator Bradley Maniopolos’s problem. Scholarly debate immediately devolves into who has freedom, who doesn’t, who’s getting it, who confers it, who assumes it, who guarantees it, and why the hell anyone cares. All the while, pontificating on stolen land.

But Bradley has problems of his own. Looming retirement. His identity. Personal issues of a private nature he’d rather not talk about. Too bad his best friend can’t keep his mouth shut, and the billionaire benefactors are keeping tabs through social media.

In the tradition of Catch-22, A Confederacy of Dunces, and The Sellout, Wrequiem at the Red Rocks makes you laugh until you see yourself. Then you cry. It’s not art that wins universal praise, but in the brutalist tradition, the satire is functional and effective exposing the hypocrisies we flawed humans depend on, and vociferously deny.

About the author:

Since launching a family newspaper in the 6th grade (it lasted two issues), Jason Makansi has considered himself a writer all his adult life. He wrote bad poetry in the 1980s and 1990s, a few published in vanity collections; short stories for fifteen years, a dozen of which were published in reputable (though now largely defunct) literary journals. His first novel, The Moment Before, came out in 2018 to a small but quite enthusiastic readership of about a hundred. Other publishing credits include several professional books, including the industry-acclaimed Lights Out: The Electricity Crisis, the Global Economy, and What It Means To You (John Wiley & Sons, 2007) and the 2016 IPPY Gold and Foreward Reviews Indie Silver winner, Painting By Numbers: How to Sharpen Your BS Detector and Smoke Out the "Experts," a layman's guide for strengthening numerical literacy. Makansi earned his BS in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University in New York in 1974, worked towards a higher degree in Sociology at the University of Missouri in the late 2000s, and attended the Sewanee Writers Conference in 2009. Other than the epigraph in the beginning, his favorite quote, from a long-ago Saturday morning cartoon, is "A pie in the face is worth two in the mouth. "Find out more about me and my work, including my music.

visit: kristinamakansi.com/jason-makansi
Instagram: @jasonmakansi

Substack: https: //jmakansi.substack.com/

New Book Release: A Diplomat, A Politcian, An Evangelist and A Warrior: Spotted Tail, Red Cloud, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse : The Greatest Lakota Leaders - by Steve Lindstrom

 

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The story of the rise to power of Spotted Tail, Sitting Bull, Red Cloud and Crazy Horse and how they used that power to address the convoluted and inconsistent military, humanitarian and treaty policies presented by the U.S. Government, is a study in leadership styles. They were each the most prominent Indian in America for a time and their every action was closely followed by politicians, military leaders and the American public. The relationships between the four were complicated and they were sometimes allies, sometimes bitter enemies and always rivals. They had drastically different political beliefs, personalities and leadership styles, but were all focused on the preservation of the future of the Lakota people.

About the author:

After completing a career in South Dakota State Government and another as a Vice President in the corporate world, Steve started a new chapter in his life writing and teaching.

He grew up in Western South Dakota and now lives and writes in Minnesota. He received a Master of Arts Degree in English Studies from Minnesota State University Mankato and his debut novel The Last Ram was published by North Star Press in June 2013. His second novel Murder Trial of the Last Lakota Warrior was published in June of 2014. He published a book of short stories called Collections in 2024.

Steve has published short stories in the Lake Region Review, Arizona Literary Magazine and the Talking Stick Journal.

He retired from teaching English at Southwest Minnesota State University in 2021. He regularly attends the West Side Writers group sponsored by the St Paul Riverview Library.

Steve and his wife Steph live in St Paul MN.

New Book Release: Sunflower Yellow: Memories of a Latin Lover - by Rob Lezcano

 

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A true story of love, loss, and the beautiful mess in between.

From sun-soaked streets in 1970s Miami to the turbulent path of early adulthood, Sunflower Yellow is the unforgettable memoir of a boy growing up with too much heart and not enough direction. Rob’s story is filled with first loves, locker room confessions, broken rules, and moments that define a lifetime, all told with raw honesty, humor, and the kind of nostalgia that stings a little.

But at its core, this is a love story, for his mother, for the girls who shaped him, and for the boy he used to be.

Set against the backdrop of a changing America, Sunflower Yellow is not just a coming-of-age story. It’s a coming-to-terms story, with grief, with guilt, and with what it means to truly grow up.

If you’ve ever loved hard, lost deeply, or wished you could go back... this book is for you.

About the author:

Rob Lezcano is a genre-bending author whose work explores memory, myth, legacy, and the thin veil between the ordinary world and the impossible one hiding just beneath it.

His writing moves freely between memoir, speculative fiction, magical realism, and myth-driven adventure, but each book is united by the same central question: What do we carry with us, and what refuses to let us go? Whether grounded in lived experience or wild invention, Rob’s stories examine identity, love, obsession, faith, and the quiet moments where truth reveals itself sideways.

New Book Release: O'Dooly's: Pub & Church - by Rob Lezcano

 

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Welcome to the only place in Ireland where you can sip a stout and save your soul.

Since 1870, O’Dooly’s Pub & Church has stood at the edge of Fisher Street in Doolin, Clare County, Ireland.

One building, one door, two eternal purposes.

On the left side of the room, a warm pub, full of music, stories, and the best pour in County Clare.

On the right: a humble church with stained glass and stubborn grace.

And just behind the bar, nestled between aged whiskey and imported gin, you’ll find the confessionals, carved alcoves in the wall of alcohol, where sins are shared as quietly as secrets and forgiven with a nod and maybe a nip.

Generations of the O’Dooly family have served this sacred and slightly sacrilegious space, pouring pints, offering blessings, and keeping the peace between the pulpit and the pint glass. And somewhere in the mix, a leprechaun named Laffy has been causing holy hell for over a century.

Told with heart, humor, and a splash of irreverence, this magical realist novel blends Irish family saga, religious satire, and Celtic folklore into one unforgettable tale. You’ll meet priests who pour whiskey, barkeeps who offer grace, and villagers who know the line between heaven and hangover is thinner than a communion wafer.

If you love The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window, An Irish Country Doctor, or Good Omens, pull up a stool, or kneel, if you must.

O’Dooly’s Pub & Church is a literary toast to tradition, rebellion, and the holy art of carrying on.

About the author:

Rob Lezcano is a genre-bending author whose work explores memory, myth, legacy, and the thin veil between the ordinary world and the impossible one hiding just beneath it.

His writing moves freely between memoir, speculative fiction, magical realism, and myth-driven adventure, but each book is united by the same central question: What do we carry with us, and what refuses to let us go? Whether grounded in lived experience or wild invention, Rob’s stories examine identity, love, obsession, faith, and the quiet moments where truth reveals itself sideways.

New Book Release: Gary Greenbird A Baseball Adventure - by D.K. Wingerson

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Gary Greenbird is back and he’s taking flight on a whole new adventure!

When Gary’s big brother, Greg, swoops in with a surprise invitation, the Greenbird brothers fly off to discover a favorite pastime of people everywhere.

They are going to the ballpark, and not just one ballpark. From the cheering crowds, the players running around a diamond, to the real reason they’re on this journey, the ballpark food, Gary learns that courage, curiosity, and teamwork can take you farther than you ever dreamed.

Join the Greenbird brothers as they fly half way across the country, from one ballpark to the next, making new friends and priceless memories, in Gary Greenbird A Baseball Adventure.

About the author:

Wife, mom, grandma, beagle mom, and Cubs fan. Now I can add author to my list. Inspired by my grandson, who is on the autism spectrum, I decided to write a book about courage. My grandson gets more courageous every day, and so does the character in my book. Stay tuned to see what other adventures Gary Greenbird might decide to take.