Time Benders and the Long Road Home


Book Description

The havoc wrought by the time travel of the Fitzgerald siblings continues in this third book in the Time Benders series. Mary has been dealt a terrible blow. She discovers her fate as a result of Mr. Brewster's and Thomas' trip forward in time. She makes a drastic and emotionally-charged decision to break with Ken. The protection of her secret comes close to breaking the bonds between Ken and his siblings, until he overhears a conversation and learns the truth. All the while, Kim is growing up, and impatiently waiting for her chance to make a mark on the world as her older siblings have done. She convinces Joe and Becky to join her on a humanitarian mission to Philadelphia in 1853. There to assist the abolitionists and the underground railroad, they find themselves trapped for many days in 1853 when Joe gets too close to a fugitive slave trial and winds up in jail! The trip explodes when Mr. Brewster alerts the others to the missing Joe, Becky and Kim. Deb makes a perilous choice to reveal their secrets to Uncle Darrick. All of this time travel is cause for multiple corrective trips in the machine, when Joe's cell mate turns out to be a co-conspirator in the Lincoln assassination and Uncle Darrick uses the machine to mend his relationship with his now dead father. Ken and Ryan travel back to keep Joe from conversations with his cellmate that dramatically change the course of history and Mr. Brewster must travel to stop Uncle Darrick from ruining his relationship with Alicia. When the dust settles, and the group gathers, they make several profound decisions about their fate, their memories, and their time travel and discover they have travelled a long way, and learned much on their long road home. These now familiar characters will warm your hearts and restore your faith!




Time Benders and the Two Promises


Book Description

With echoes of the halls of Hogwart’s, the Fitzgerald kids continue their adventures in Time Benders and the Two Promises. In this second book in the series, the full impact of what Joe has done sinks in, angering Deb and Ken, and causing Ken to pronounce the end of trips in the time machine. Later, when Deb learns about Mr. Brewster’s history, she and Joe defy Ken and take the machine to Las Vegas, 1958 to keep Mrs. Brewster from a certain accident. Bolstered by the success of this trip, Deb decides recklessly to try to undo what Joe had done in his solo trip in the machine, returning to Cambridge to stop Joe. The unknown forces of the universe and energy are working against their efforts to be in the same space and time and Deb barely makes it back alive! All of this creates a rift between Deb and her best friend Mary, because of the spiritual questions of whether one should try to change fate, until she finally understands. When Mary learns she may face a terrible future and major illness, she convinces the Fitzgerald siblings to use the machine to go forward in time to discover her fate. Through all of this, the siblings commit to two major promises about the machine, and their parents. Underpinning all of their adventures, they wrestling with their faith, the questions presented by the time travel and the fact that their trips continue to wreak havoc on their memories. This heartwarming story packs a punch of history, faith, and science sprinkled with kindness through these relatable teens.




Curse of the Bloody Benders


Book Description

Johnny and Martha Reed shared the same dream of owning their own Bed and Breakfast when they both retired. The day finally arrived but little did they know that the greedy real-estate agent kept a horrible secret from them because all he cared about was a big sale he was going to make when Johnny signed the papers for the deed to the property and the beautiful Victorian home that was built in the very same spot where the horror began a hundred years ago. Little did Johnny know that the year 1971 he and his wife would be moving into their new home marks the 100th-anniversary date of when the Bender family moved into their bed and breakfast. If only Johnny knew the evilness that was bestowed upon this once quiet little town. He would have chosen another town to start his bed and breakfast and lived out his and his wife’s senior years happily ever after but it was too late because the realtor wasn’t about to lose the money of this big sale.




Bible Brain Benders


Book Description

Safe and age-appropriate, this collection features puzzles and pencil/crayon activities that enhance kids' familiarity with the Bible while keeping them occupied during travel and long waits.




Benders


Book Description

Jaxon Copper awoke one morning with a startling preview of an event that would change his life. He was planning to be a simple potters apprentice and making his way in life with a trade that would have made him safe and comfortable. Instead, through a change he could never have foreseen, he was catapulted into a world of power and intrigue. A world of danger and of learning about things he never thought existed. Jax was about to become something never seen before, even by the powerful group of Benders, a group whose influence and manipulation of the world was mostly uttered as tales to frighten children or an excuse for describing the magic of evil wizards. Jaxon Copper would someday be one of the most influential people everif he survived.




Fender Benders


Book Description

Eddie Long plans to be a country music star but he's stuck touring the college frat circuit. After his wife dies at the hands of a serial killer, Eddie writes the best song of his life. It goes straight to number one. And that's when all the trouble starts. Jimmy Rogers is a freelance writer covering the Mississippi music scene. He sets out to write the life story of Nashville's latest sensation but unearths some facts that could ruin Eddie's burgeoning career while making Jimmy a huge bestseller. Throw in a beautiful and opportunistic country radio DJ, a pair of wily record producers, and a naive young singer-songwriter, and the stage is set. Everybody plans to make a killing -- one way or another. It's murder on Music Row, where things don't always turn out as planned. Praise for Bill Fitzhugh's Books 'A strange and deadly amalgam of screenwriter and comic novelist... in league with Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard.' New York Times Book Review 'A rip-roaring farce of a thriller.' Mirror 'Fitzhugh tightens his grip on a reputation for absurdist black comedy.' Bookpage




Books for the Teen Age


Book Description




Paradise Valley (The Daughters of Caleb Bender Book #1)


Book Description

An Amish settlement in Ohio has run afoul of a law requiring their children to attend public school. Caleb Bender and his neighbors are arrested for neglect, with the state ordering the children be placed in an institution. Among them are Caleb's teenage daughter, Rachel, and the boy she has her eye on, Jake Weaver. Romance blooms between the two when Rachel helps Jake escape the children's home. Searching for a place to relocate his family where no such laws apply, Caleb learns there's inexpensive land for sale in Mexico, a place called Paradise Valley. Despite rumors of instability in the wake of the Mexican revolution, the Amish community decides this is their answer. And since it was Caleb's idea, he and his family will be the pioneers. They will send for the others once he's established a foothold and assessed the situation. Caleb's daughters are thrown into turmoil. Rachel doesn't want to leave Jake. Her sister, Emma, who has been courting Levi Mullet, fears her dreams of marriage will be dashed. Miriam has never had a beau and is acutely aware there will be no prospects in Mexico. Once there, they meet Domingo, a young man and guide who takes a liking to Miriam, something her father would never approve. While Paradise Valley is everything they'd hoped it would be, it isn't long before the bandits start giving them trouble, threatening to upset the fledgling Amish settlement, even putting their lives in danger. Thankfully no one has been harmed so far, anyway.




Some Nerve


Book Description

“A compelling story of everyday courage” (Elizabeth Gilbert). Patty Chang Anker grew up eager to please and afraid to fail. But after thirty-nine years, she decided it was time to stop being a chicken. Motivated initially to become a better role model for her two kids, she vowed to master the fears that were choking the fun and spontaneity out of life. She learned to dive into a swimming pool, ride a bike, do a handstand, and surf. As she shared her experiences, she discovered that most people suffer from their own secret terrors—of flying, driving, heights, public speaking, and more. It became her mission to help others do what they thought they couldn’t and to experience the joy and aliveness that is the true reward of becoming brave. Inspired and inspiring, this book draws on Anker’s interviews with teachers, therapists, coaches, and clergy to convey both practical advice and profound wisdom. Through her own journey and the stories of others, she conveys with grace and infectious exhilaration the most vital lesson of all: Fear isn’t the end point to life, but the point of entry.




The Long Haul: A Trucker's Tales of Life on the Road


Book Description

“There’s nothing semi about Finn Murphy’s trucking tales of The Long Haul.”—Sloane Crosley, Vanity Fair More than thirty years ago, Finn Murphy dropped out of college to become a long-haul trucker. Since then he’s covered more than a million miles as a mover, packing, loading, hauling people’s belongings all over America. In The Long Haul, Murphy recounts with wit, candor, and charm the America he has seen change over the decades and the poignant, funny, and often haunting stories of the people he encounters on the job.