Step Back from the Baggage Claim


Book Description

Have you ever experienced the way small moments can impact our lives? Have you ever wanted to participate in a movement to change our world? Jason Barger spent seven straight days flying 6,548 miles to seven different cities in the United States, living only in the airports. He studied 10,000 minutes of observations and reflected on how our airport experiences can teach us about our lives today. The airport metaphor leaps to life through profound anecdotes about an orphanage in Mexico, a summer camp in Ohio, climbing Mt. Everest, a hotdog grill, and much more. These funny and inspiring stories show us how to change our daily world through thoughtful and compassionate action.




The Professor’s Nightmare (and Other Stories)


Book Description

Mystery and Magic at the Old Folks' Home! When the residents of Lakeview Haven retirement community start experiencing vivid nightmares and hallucinations, amateur sleuth Eli grows suspicious. Could someone be causing these disturbing visions on purpose? Teaming up with his magician uncle Harry, Eli begins investigating the residents and staff at the senior facility. Using a clever trap involving illusions, they attempt to catch the perpetrator red-handed. But will their scheme backfire on them and help the criminal disappear into thin air? This volume also includes the novellas “Lost In the Shuffle” and “The Square Circle.” Lost in the Shuffle When Eli takes a pitstop for a cinnamon bun en route to Magic Camp, he bites into more than he bargained for, finding himself swirled into a zany whirlwind of unexpected danger. With his magician's skill and a sprinkling of humor, Eli turns a dreaded trip into an exhilarating, high-stakes escapade. The Square Circle Eli finds himself entangled in a kidnapping case while planning a surprise party for his astute Uncle Harry. As the mystery deepens, Eli applies his unique knowledge of magic to decipher a bizarre web of clues. But when he finally unravels the riddle, Eli finds himself face-to-face with the ruthless mastermind behind the scheme.







Back Burning and Other Stories


Book Description

Several stories in this collection, some in earlier versions and one in a German translations, have appeared in the following print, online and broadcast media: Australian Multicultural Book Review, BBC World Service, Buzzwords Magazine, Conspire, Eclectica, Etcetera, Ex Tempore, Gangway, Intercultural Platform, Offshoots, Southern Ocean Review, The European, The Past Present, The Richmond Review, Woman to Woman and World Wide Writers.




Cherubimbo and Other Stories


Book Description

Few writers can create worlds so rich and fully-realized the reader immediately feels at home, even when the concepts have not yet been fully laid out. Fewer still can do so with language so rich and lyrical it is a joy to read, with details so rooted in the human experience that one cannot help but be absorbed into the story. Gabriel de Anda is such a writer. Whether delineating the struggles of a law firm dealing with the demands of an ex-partner --- about as ex as one can get --- or the dichotomy of rich and poor spreading out among the galaxies or even musing on the irrelevance of a classic icon which somehow makes it seem more relevant than ever de Anda nails it. Readers, you are in for a treat.




Chain and Other Stories


Book Description

The book Chain and Other Stories contains nine stories. The first story, Chain, is about two federal agents who go undercover in Anchorage, Alaska, with two NYC detectives to investigate whether or not an oil mogul is using kidnapped kids to make weapons sold throughout the United States if so stop him. The next story, Gradill, is about an FBI agent who is investigating a case in Chicago where a bioterrorist is using SARS and Anthrax to poison or sicken CEOs of biochemical companies and local politicians who are giving them leeway to get funding and do research. The last of the first stories is Shatter Blue Magica story dealing with a young man who is an assassin who leaves a person alive he was supposed to kill, now he is only having to kill the person before he kills him and the lady he loves. The second batch of stories starts with Shatter Blue Magic 2, which is about the assassin from the first story having to kill his younger brother and sister-in-law, who have both been assigned to kill him, his wife, son, and employers. Web is the sequel to Chain where the two federal agents from the first story go undercover in Phoenix, Arizona, with two Phoenix detectives to investigate and stop two nightclub owners in Phoenix from kidnapping teenage girls and selling them to the adult entertainment industry to work as adult film stars. Gradill 2 is where the FBI agent from the first story is going undercover in Chicago to investigate a local domestic terrorist group and stop them from wrecking havoc in Chicago. The third batch of stories is Gradill 3 where the FBI agent from the two previous stories goes undercover with her sister to investigate a growing local domestic terrorist group who is causing trouble in Chicago and to stop them. The Last Call for Shatter Blue Magic picks up where the second story left off, healing his wounds from his encounter with his brother and sister-in-law, the assassin takes one last job where he must go around the world killing criminal organizations, corrupt policemen, crooked politicians, and terrorists, or he and his family and employers will be killed. Link is the last story in the Chain series where the two federal agents must go to Honolulu, Hawaii, with two Honolulu detectives to go undercover at a local sweatshop to investigate and stop a local rich woman and her friends from using children from Asia and America to work in her sweatshop making clothes that end up in department stores.




Bird North and Other Stories


Book Description

The vignettes in these fresh, searing short stories, closely examine the complex male life. From a predatory act during a cross-country run in Fiordland to a doomed diving trip off Wellington's south coast, this collection combines emotional urgency with a surprising dose of humor to a great range of worlds. The result is a startlingly candid portraiture of the modern man.




Unclaimed Baggage


Book Description

*A New York Times Staff Pick* *An NPR Best Book of 2018* *A Buzzfeed Best YA Book of 2018* In Jen Doll's young adult debut novel, Unclaimed Baggage, Doris—a lone liberal in a conservative small town—has mostly kept to herself since the terrible waterslide incident a few years ago. Nell had to leave behind her best friends, perfect life, and too-good-to-be-true boyfriend in Chicago to move to Alabama. Grant was the star quarterback and epitome of "Mr. Popular" whose drinking problem has all but destroyed his life. What do these three have in common? A summer job working in a store called Unclaimed Baggage cataloging and selling other people's lost luggage. Together they find that through friendship, they can unpack some of their own emotional baggage and move on into the future.




Migrations and Other Stories


Book Description

In the story entitled ñThe Neighbor,î seventy-nine-year-old Sarita has just called 911 to report a disturbance next door. Sarita doesnÍt much like her neighbor Matilde and thinks sheÍs a fool to put up with the philandering boyfriend who beats her. But Sarita feels obligated to help because MatildeÍs mother was her best friend. ñThatÍs for not singing at your funeral, even though I promised,î she whispers to her dead comadre. And this time, SaritaÍs deliberate provocation of the volatile situation next door will end the beatings once and for all. Past and present are interwoven in this award-winning collection of 11 stories dealing with migration across geographical and cultural boundaries. Set in California and Mexico, the characters in these stories struggle with all that life throws their way, including abusive boyfriends, separation from loved ones, and unfaithful spouses, all in an uneasy search for a balance between a Mexican past and a Mexican-American future. With vivid brushstrokes, Hernandez paints a collage of Latinas who work vigorously to overcome drastic situations. A woman is convinced that her brother-in-lawÍs constant fooling around with co-eds caused her sisterÍs heart attack, and she obsesses about getting revenge even if it means turning to brujeria. A young woman who has flunked out of college multiple times finally goes home to confront the memories of her fatherÍs sexual abuse that she hasnÍt been able to flee or forget. On her deathbed, Chata reveals to her daughter that when she was growing up in a small Mexican village, her first love was a beautiful prostitute. Themes of survival, identity, and cultural conflict are woven through the stories in this intriguing and entertaining collection, the winner of the University of California-IrvineÍs Chicano / Latino Literary Prize.




The Girl at the Baggage Claim


Book Description

"A ... study of the different idea Asians and Westerners have of the self and how this plays out in our differing approaches to art, learning, politics, business, and almost everything else"--