Though based on an oversimplified worldview where, at least morally, life is seen in monochrome, Phillip Freeman’s collection of faith-based, urban poetry is often inspirational. However, the lack of any thematic progression — the poems aren’t arranged strategically; in fact, they’re in alphabetical order according to the title — makes the reading experience an aimless […]

This first novel by Douglas Coop is a Dickensian story that trumps Dickens in one respect: it’s based on the true saga of Coop’s great-grandparents. With assiduous research, Coop has reconstructed the probable circumstances in which his ancestor, 17-year—old George White, was wrongfully arrested for theft in England, in 1834, and sentenced to deportation for […]

In the aptly named Perceptions, B. Forrest Thompson draws on his life experience — in his 78 years he has been involved in broadcasting, church music and church finance — and offers 109 very short essays about, well, just about everything. Familiar subjects, such as beauty, drugs, tolerance and honor, are covered. So are more […]

Judging from the sheer number of quotations in his relatively brief treatise, it appears Michael Ebifegha has read nearly every book, article and blog post on the subjects of evolution and creationism. In addition to Stephen Hawking, Deepak Chopra, and Albert Einstein, Ebifegha frequently quotes himself — a novel way to support one’s own conclusions.

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In D.S. Milne’s third novel, a widowed adventurer named Jack Collins, a footloose, half-Navajo sage called Timco (aka Cameron Yellow Fox Arnfinn) and a black hound dog they’ve rescued from the roadside end up in the small town of Estancia al Cabo, New Mexico. The men soon get involved in a dig at a long-forgotten […]

It’s no wonder Cherylann Thomas grew up to be hard-drinking, pill-popping, and promiscuous. As described in her memoir, Evil Eyes, her father, in and out of prison, is nearly a nonentity; her mother is at best neglectful and casually cruel, and her stepfather is a molester. Thomas runs away as a teenager and flits among […]

As American children continue to lag behind their global peers in science and math, educators and policy makers alike worry they will be ill-equipped to compete on the world stage. It is into this educational void that educator and author Clementine Fordham wades in, with mixed results.

A teacher of three decades, Fordham states that […]

The Judeo-Christian tradition is filled with contradictions and paradoxes. God issues the commandment, “Thou shall not kill.” Yet, two of Judaism’s greatest leaders, Moses and David, were both murderers. Another disciple, Peter, betrayed Jesus, not once, but three times, only to become the first pope. Go figure. As they say, the Lord works in mysterious […]

He grew up black in Arkansas with tough parents and a tender heart. So aspiring poet and writer Lonnie Philips took to pen and paper to make sense of life and living. The result is this book, an earnest mix that is part poetry, part autobiography and part scrapbook (including copies of letters to and […]

In his Author’s Epilogue, Robert Henman acknowledges that Behind the Altar, his first piece of fiction, is a response to his years of pastoral work in the Catholic Church. The statement will not surprise anyone who reads his book. The novel is filled with characters, specifically his lead, who over-analyze in elongated sections of dialogue […]