Showing results by narrator "Kevin T. Collins" in All Categories

The most civilized and 'decent' among us find that we are complicit with the most brutal murderers. We enter into literally unspeakable alliances - of which we dare not speak except through the obliquities and indirections of fiction, poetry, and visual art of the sort gathered here in New Jersey Noir.

All work and no play...would make Jason Montgomery a very happy man. Ever since his brother had married a woman who worked for their company, Jason has been walking around fending off the unwanted advances of all of the single women in his employ. Now, with a make-or-break business expansion in the works, Jason needs an assistant he can trust not to mix business with romance.

From the introduction by David L. Ulin: "For me, Cape Cod is a repository of memory: forty summers in the same house will do that to you. But it is also a landscape of hidden tensions, which rise up when we least anticipate. In part, this has to do with social aspiration, which is one of the things that brought my family, like many others, to the Cape. In part, it has to do with social division, which has been a factor since at least the end of the nineteenth century, when then summer trade began."

Russia, 1940. Fifteen-year-old Misha’s life is about to transform when his father is offered a job in Stalin’s inner circle. They move into a luxurious apartment in the Kremlin, but doubts about the glorious new Russia quickly surface. Misha realizes that the secret police can do whatever they like. His own mother is arrested and sent to prison, but Misha and his father daren’t complain. Then as German troops advance on Moscow, the atmosphere in the Kremlin ignites.

Will Easterly leads a great life in Chicago. The postcollege uncertainty of his twenties behind him, he’s married to Rachel Armas, love of his life, and in just a few months he’ll become a father too. But instead of feeling excited, he finds himself doubting his ability to be a good parent. Probably because his own dad walked out when Will was only a kid. So the day Rachel comes home in tears, he jumps at the chance to bury his own insecurities and focus on her. Turns out she was just offered her dream job…in Los Angeles.

When Jackson McKay and his daughter are kidnapped, their captors demand his research files on a devastating chemical weapon - or they'll kill his little girl. Jackson searches desperately for a way to save his daughter and also protect his country from the terrorists. No risk is too great. His daring escape sets in motion a deadly game of cat and mouse.

It's been two years since Nate abandoned his boring life on Earth to travel to another realm. Two years of slaying monsters to level up his elemental powers. Two years of longing to become a hero. So when one of the realm's immortal rulers betrays their kin, he vows to do whatever it takes to bring the renegade to justice.

The Appalachians are an ancient and mysterious mountain range, whose peaks at one time rivaled the Himalayans. The mysteries of these mountains have been cataloged by Native American tribes and settlers alike. One of these mysteries is that Bigfoot inhabits these parts. Building off his book, Tracking the Stone Man: West Virginia's Bigfoot, Dr. Russell Jones, a certified master naturalist, lifelong outdoorsman, and longtime Bigfoot researcher, has put together one of the most complete examinations of these creatures in Appalachia with The Appalachian Bigfoot.

This second edition of Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know® discusses what is happening with marijuana policy, describing both the risks and the benefits of using marijuana, without taking sides in the legalization debate. The book details the potential gains and losses from legalization, explores the "middle ground" options between prohibition and commercialized production, and considers the likely impacts of legal marijuana on occasional users, daily users, patients, parents, and employers-and even on drug traffickers.

Monty and Simon survived the Stormblood, but not without grave consequences. Whatever method York used to complete the ritual opened a door to something ancient, dark, and evil. A Revenant. Now, that Revenant is hunting them. It needs their life force to be completely free. There’s only one way to get it. Eliminate them both. Together, they must face this new threat before it becomes too powerful to stop and destroys them all.

Eric Walsh presents Book 3 in the Mad Immortal series.

When the entire Montgomery family comes together, it makes for a holiday to remember. But it’s more than just the tree, decorations, and gifts that have everyone talking. With so many people crammed under one roof, there’s bound to be some drama. Between last-minute business crises, talks of retirement, a new relationship, a sprinkle of marital problems, lots of snow, and a surprise baby, this has all the makings of a blue Christmas. They’ll need more than one Christmas miracle to get everything back on track, and hopefully Santa—or William Montgomery—will come to the rescue.

Eric Walsh presents Book 2 in the Mad Immortal series.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought forth global anxiety about linkages between the environment and society at a fundamental structural level. Earthly Order: How Natural Laws Define Human Life provides an accessible exposition of the latest foundational knowledge on how natural and social systems science can inform planetary crises. Humanity has either tried to conquer or capitulate to natural order, whereas we should be seeking to understand latent structures and patterns that permeate all systems and develop an "earthly order," that is socially functional and sustainable.

A young man caught in a time loop has to figure out how to convince his crush—a barista at his favorite coffee ship—to go out with him so he can escape the loop. After a series of mortifying and hilarious attempts, he finally realizes the only approach he hasn’t tried is to simply be himself. 

For fans of Charles Yu and Matt Haig, this short tale features a grandfather who claims not merely to have been abducted by aliens when he was a young man, but to have fallen in love in the process. His grandson (the story's narrator) is the only person who believes him. My Grandfather’s Ship is a quirky examination of how the passions (real or imagined) of our elders can inspire us. 

A man arrives home from an international flight to find that the airline has delivered his lost luggage. Wonderful, except he never lost his luggage in the first place. The story is told through his increasingly maddening call to customer service as he tries to figure out how, and why, the airline created a perfect replica of his suitcase and possessions. 

In working-class Bay Ridge, Michael drives for a car service and gives lifts to his father, a former sanitation worker and current small-time bookie. He has a friend with a heroin habit, and a longtime girlfriend who expects they’ll get married one of these days. Michael spends most of his time on the familiar streets where he grew up, but now he’s crossing the bridge into Manhattan for some college classes—where he meets a seductive female classmate who seems to come from a whole different world.

It's the rule--always watch your fives and twenty-fives. When a convoy halts to investigate a possible roadside bomb, stay in the vehicle and scan five meters in every direction. A bomb inside five meters cuts through the armor, killing everyone in the truck. Once clear, get out and sweep twenty-five meters. A bomb inside twenty-five meters kills the dismounted scouts investigating the road ahead. Fives and twenty-fives mark the measure of a marine’s life in the road repair platoon.

Stephanie Kendrick gave up her whole summer to ace her NYU film school screenwriting course, so she's pissed to be stuck with a preppy, spoiled frat boy as her writing partner. Then again, with her piercings, black-rimmed eyes, and Goth wardrobe, Stephanie isn't exactly Ethan Price's type, either. He's probably got his eye on some leggy blonde . . . or does he?