Lotta Pedal Chases Buck Moon by Vanessa Cudmore
Lotta Pedal once again taps into her scrappy confidence and quick wit to tackle another outdoor adventure; leading her to discover new things about the environment and gets creative on ways to help protect and love the planet just a little bit more. Sporting her very own signature style, a tray filled with freshly baked full-moon themed whoopie pies, and a newly renovated backyard treehouse, Lotta Pedal is ready to celebrate the first full moon of the summer. Join Lotta as she chases a mysterious night owl thief, avoids near cycling mishaps with her brothers and welcomes some unusual winter-like summer weather. Eventually Lotta catches her unwelcomed Buck Moon visitor and unexpectedly learns a thing or two about how to protect the natural environment around her. Lotta and her friends rally together and come up with a creative plan to help contribute to the care of the wildlife, plants, and trails at their local regional park. (ages 6-12)
Vanessa’s fondest childhood memories kick-started her thirst for adventure. A graduate of Queen’s University in Film Studies, her desire for storytelling led her to a successful career in advertising. Living in California, you’ll find her riding her favorite mountain bike trails, photographing wildlife or cruising down Highway 1. Her passion and respect for the outdoors is something she wishes to share with all her readers; to inspire them to get outside, explore their own worlds and the beauty of the natural environments around them.
Lotta Pedal Catches Her Wave by Vanessa Cudmore
Sporting her very own signature style, a box filled with freshly baked beach-themed cookies, and a newly designed surfboard, Lotta Pedal is ready for her first surf of the summer. Join Lotta for a West Coast adventure as she taps into her scrappy confidence and quick wit while she tangles with mysterious underwater thieves, a school bully, and some dangerous weather. Eventually, Lotta catches her wave and unexpectedly learns a thing or two about what is threatening the natural environment around her. Lotta and her friends rally together and come up with a creative plan to help protect the sea mammals and ocean waters around their local surf spot.
Vanessa’s fondest childhood memories kick-started her thirst for adventure. A graduate of Queen’s University in Film Studies, her desire for storytelling led her to a successful career in advertising.
Living in California, you’ll find her riding her favorite mountain
bike trails, photographing wildlife or cruising down Highway 1. Her
passion and respect for the outdoors is something she wishes to
share with all her readers; to inspire them to get outside, explore
their own worlds and the beauty of the natural environments
around them.
The Rule of Two : A Zev Maslo Mystery by Hyman Sisman
Written by an ex-prosecutor who gets the law and setting right, Zev Maslo is a terrific fictional detective. I can’t wait for the next book
in the series. – Carole Reed, retired DA
When a prosecutor is accused of murdering his boss, the case against him looks airtight. In desperation, his wealthy grandmother turns to Zeb Maslo, a brilliant private detective who would rather read and play the piano than work. Maslo’s investigation uncovers a nest of vipers, each of whom has ample motive to have committed the crime. Can he find the murderer before the viper strikes again?
Hyman Sisman is a former L.A. County prosecutor who's always liked murder mysteries. On retirement, he decided to try his hand at writing his own. The Rule of Two, which takes place in the District Attorney's Office, is his first novel.
My First Female President by Stephanie Owens
The new President is about to be elected. A young Joy spends the day with her brother CJ learning about who and what a President is. Realizing that for the first time in history a female could win the election. After learning about what a President does and even where they live, Joy also begins to explore all the other things she can grow up to be. This is a story filled with encouragement, aspiration, and inspiration. (ages 3 - 8)
The All My First Series highlights children with unique characteristics, with hopes to promote embracing and celebrating our many differences. Flintridge Bookstore also offers the initial book in Owens’ series, My First Loose Tooth.
Stephanie Owens began writing children's picture books in order to inspire and excite little ones as they prepared to face life's changes. She chose to embrace her passions of poetry and children’s fiction stories in order to create a fun and memorable series highlighting the many milestones children will encounter. My First Loose Tooth is the first release from the All My Firsts Series. Stephanie is the founder and President of Hayward House Publishing, which she began in order to self-publish her series. With a degree in psychology, Stephanie spent the years following school working in a placement home counseling troubled youth. She lives in Los Angeles, California, but was born in the Bay Area and spent her formative years in Maine.
Big Bug Feelings: An A-Z Book by Jessica Stamm
Big Bug Feelings, a picture book, is a wonderful bridge between caregivers and children, helping guide through even the toughest of feelings including tantrums, stress, impulse control, and more.
Big Bug Feelings engages kids and parents alike with friendly rhymes, accessible coping strategies, and a special look and find BUG!
A GREAT RESOURCE FOR ALL!
Jessica Stamm is a mom and dietitian. She is passionate about mindfulness and talking about feelings, starting at an early age. Her book explores tougher emotions and gives accessible coping strategies in a fun way.
Winter Time (Book One in the Winter Saga YA Romance Trilogy) by Sevan Minaskanian
A Timeless YOUNG ADULT Love Story
Victoria Evans is the kind of sixteen-year-old who never gets grounded, yet she hides secrets she can’t share with anybody. That is, until she meets handsome William Winter. Outwardly, she enjoys a posh lifestyle while silently enduring the abuse of the bullies at her private school. She finds solace in daydreaming about romance, deep green forests, black-and-white movies, and her family.
Victoria convinces her friends to go on a winter forest trip and is a little annoyed with the unexpected guest joining them, William Winter. But as the trip progresses, Victoria finds that William has more in common with her than she expected, including love for snowy, mysterious forests. Is he the answer to her romantic dreams and a way out of her secret life?
Winter Time, Book 1 in the YA romance series Winter Saga, features heartfelt storytelling, plot twists, humor, intriguing characters, and a relatable female protagonist. It is a “magically written” and “captivating” love story.
SEVAN MINASKANIAN is a YA romance novelist who deeply loves life and people. Be authentic, live with an open heart, and follow your dreams at any age is her motto and also a powerful message in her writing. Sevan believs that love is all around us and, if we open our eyes and hearts, it will reward us.
Between Two Worlds: An Armenian-American Woman's Journey Home by Jemela S. Macer, Ph.D
Psychologist Jemela Macer takes us on a deeply reflective familial, cultural, and spiritual journey to reclaim lost parts of her ancient Armenian soul and unite them with her modern American life. Born the grandchild of Armenian Genocide survivors long silent about the atrocities they endured, Macer asks: what is passed down unknowingly from one generation to the next? How does transgenerational trauma live within us? How do we forgive our perpetrators and find healing?
Macer discusses her upbringing in Southern California, her travels to India, Europe, Pakistan, China, South America, and finally, in what she calls “The Genocide Tour,” her time in ancient Western Armenia.
Searching for an inner sense of home and a relationship to her ancestral roots, she ultimately finds them back in Southern California, in the very place where she began.
Jemela Macer has been a clinical psychologist in private practice in the Pasadena, CA, area for more than thirty years. She taught English as a Second Language and cross-cultural communication at the University of Southern California and cross-cultural psychology at Antioch University. She has also consulted in the areas of diversity, cross-cultural communication, and parenting throughout the United States. She loves to read, write, make mosaics, and travel to far-off places. She lives in La Cañada Flintridge, with her husband Jim and their dog Ralph.
Admitting Abuse by Crista Andja Polich
Admitting Abuse: You Might Not Get Over It, But You Will Get Through It
POLICH invites readers to follow her profound journey from an abusive marriage to becoming a widow. Her memoir serves as a beacon of hope for women who have endured similar hardships, assuring them that they are not alone in their struggles. The book is thoughtfully divided into what Crista terms “The Four D’s”: The Four Most Unexpected and Life-Altering Events a person can face – Death, Divorce, Diagnosis, and Disaster. In sharing her experiences, she hopes readers will find solace, inspiration, and practical strategies for facing their own hardships head-on.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: After living for years in an abusive marriage, Crista Andja Polich summoned up the strength to end that unhealthy relationship. She had just launched their youngest child off to college when she and her husband decided to get divorced. Only three and a half weeks later, her husband committed suicide. Because she had been a stay-at-home mom for most of her marriage, she found herself completely unprepared and overwhelmed in her new reality. However, Crista did not sit idle. She began reclaiming her life one step at a time. She started tackling the tough stuff, and now she helps others do the same.
Crista is a powerful informational speaker who engages audiences by sharing her stories with unbridled truth and humor. She founded her own consulting business helping people be more prepared in the event of an unexpected tragedy. In addition, Crista is committed to helping widows and widowers less fortunate than she, which inspired her to start a non-profit ministry called Widows Without through Bridges US (bridgesus.org).
A lemur called Brigitte by Sibylle Westbrook
Brigitte is a Brown Lemur living in a forest in Madagascar. One day her forest is cut down, and she is captured by humans. This is the amazing story of what happened next! This book is based on the author’s real encounter with Brigitte, and explores themes of conservation and the bond between animals and humans. Chloe Spencer brought the character to life with her wonderful illustrations.
SIBYLLE WESTBROOK was born and raised in Germany. She holds a BA in Language Arts and worked as a freelance translator and interpreter for many years with assignments all over Europe. Since moving to California to marry her husband she has raised her family, taught German to young children, worked in Avantgarde fashion and pursued philanthropic interests. Her love of animals led her to travel to Madascar in 2019. The unexpected encounter with lemur Brigitte touched her so profoundly that she felt compelled to share her story.
Sibylle currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, children and two cats.
The Body on the Beach by Chris Wieland
In Crabtree, Michigan, winter can be murder.
Thirteen-year-old girl detective Kat Dylan and her little brother, Alec, are back!
Even after cracking the case of the century, Kat and Alec are still stuck in Crabtree, and suffering through a long, cold winter. When a middle school mean girl approaches her with a problem, Kat can’t imagine it’s worth her time—or that there’s a chance it will lead to the next big mystery. But then Gabby becomes the focus of the local police, especially Kat’s Grandpa Nick. Before Kat can get to the bottom of things, she finds Gabby dead.
Kat wonders if she should have paid closer attention to the mean girl’s troubles. With Alec in tow, she sets out to find Gabby’s murderer. Along the way, she learns that the case is tied to the
kidnapping of a rich kid from Chicago.
As Kat and Alec try to solve the murder, they find themselves at odds with kidnappers and killers, private eyes and cops, and more than a few kids and adults who would just like them to go away.
(Ages 8-13)
Chris Wieland is an award-winning writer and filmmaker. He lives in Southern California with his family, which includes two tough, smart kids who help him find the voices of his protagonists, K
The Ruffington Dog Show by Hayley Rose
Four contestants compete for top dog at the Ruffington Dog Show, but when one performer falls out of line, will anyone break rank to save her? In this humorous, rhyming fairytale, all dogs learn the value of friendship, kindness and the importance of helping others. Featured dogs in the book: Poodle, Schnauzer, Pug, Basset Hound, and Schnoodles. (Fun dog facts included)
President’s Book Awards Winner – Florida Authors & Publishers Association., Inc
HAYLEY ROSE is a chocolate loving writer and goat yoga enthusiast. A former entertainment business manager, she has embraced the world of publishing with creative, interactive books
for kids. Hayley has been a featured author at the Children's Learning and Play Festival, presented keynote presentations, presentations for the Readers Favorite International Book Awards, the Desert Nights, and Rising Stars Conference, and recently interviewed on the Author Learning Center alongside authors Stan Lee and R.L. Stine. Hayley is involved with several writers groups across the country but spends most of her time in Scottsdale with her cookie obsessed mini schnauzer, Blanche.
Gomer the Gassy Goat by Hayley Rose
Kids and adults alike will love this hysterical, tongue-twisting read-aloud about a goat who farts A LOT! Whether he is making silly faces or farting during goat yoga, Gomer the Gassy Goat will have you laughing out loud before you can say, “Trendy-bendy, nosy, noisy, smiley, smelly, classy, silly, sassy, gassy goat!” (Fun goat facts included)
HAYLEY ROSE is a chocolate loving writer and goat yoga enthusiast. A former entertainment business manager, she has embraced the world of publishing with creative, interactive books for kids. Hayley has been a featured author at the Children's Learning and Play Festival, presented keynote presentations, presentations for the Readers Favorite International Book Awards, the Desert Nights, and Rising Stars Conference, and recently interviewed on the Author Learning Center alongside authors Stan Lee and R.L. Stine. Hayley is involved with several writers groups across the country but spends most of her time in Scottsdale with her cookie obsessed mini schnauzer, Blanche.
Killing Time in Beverly Hills by Brooke Harris Wolff
Take a noir journey through 1967 Los Angeles in Killing Time in Beverly Hills, as a homicide detective investigates the murder of one of Beverly Hills’ leading citizens. To solve the case, he questions everyone from hippies on Sunset Strip to wealthy families of Beverly Hills and San Marino, cults in Box Canyon, political groups in Watts, the John Birchers in the Valley’s middle-class neighborhoods, and more. It’s a fast ride through a multi-layered era of creativity and mayhem.
BROOKE HARRIS WOLFF is a descendant of Hollywood storytellers. This is her third book.
The Best of All Possible Worlds by Brooke Harris Wolff
The Best of All Possible Worlds is based on Voltaire’s satirical classic, Candide, and was developed into a modern-day fantasy by Brooke Harris Wolff and Rick Carter (two-time Academy Award winner for Production Design), and illustrated by Talia Spencer. It tells the story of Frank, a man who clings to magical thinking as a way of freeing himself from a world created by power-hungry bullies, even though his journey is filled with the suffering their tyranny has caused.
Breaking Free from Pain: From Suffering to Strength, My Own Personal Journey with Fibromyalgia and Healing Modalities by Shari Emami, H.H.P.
Hearing your doctor say you have fibromyalgia and might be living with inflammatory pain for the rest of your life can be devastating. A kaleidoscope of emotions sets in. Sadness. Anger. Resentment. And then the question, ‘Why me?’
Emami’s book provides hope to those battling fibromyalgia. It takes readers on the writer’s personal journey of healing and shares actions and holistic approaches patients can take to combat and treat fibromyalgia.
Shari Emami is a published author and writer. She is also a board certified holistic health practitioner ( H.H.P.). She is a former fibromyalgia patient and disability advocate. She is also a firm believer in holistic living and has dedicated most of her life to learning about natural healing methods. She has been pain-free since since 2016. In her spare time she loves visiting her family and volunteers as an animal rights activist with The Humane League. She currently resides in Southern California.
Inner Space & Outer Thoughts: Speculative Fiction from Caltech and JPL Authors
Edited by Techlit with a foreword by David Brin
Fact ignites fiction in this first-of-its kind anthology of speculative fiction by Caltech and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) scientists, engineers, technologists, and students. Experts at the frontiers of their fields, along with renowned Caltech alumni such as David Brin, S. B. Divya, and Larry Niven, present stories about alien astrobiologists, AI parenthood, a quest to preserve our histories beyond the heat death of our universe, a heist to steal engineering secrets from an ancient monk-scientist, the recovery of a long-lost phase of the human life cycle, the demise of Earth’s first intelligent species—billions of years before the rise of humanity, and much more!
Authors with a fresh perspective on modern science come together in this collection of unique science fiction stories. – online review
TechLit, Caltech’s creative writing club, authored and edited the stories in this collection, typeset the manuscript, and published the book. Amazing Stories and Caltech magazines, respectively, featured articles on the book in their April and May issues, and several of the contributing authors celebrated the launch of Inner Space and Outer Thoughts with a panel discussion at Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium in May.
Seller Mistakes by Michael B. Bell
What You Were Never Told About Selling Your Home and Why it Should Matter to You shares what the real estate industry doesn’t want you to know. Hundreds of thousands of homeowners try, but fail, to sell their home, and it’s almost always because of big mistakes made by their agent. Things that appear to work for the seller often only serve the agent – at tremendous expense to the seller. This book prepares sellers to take the necessary steps to sell their home quickly and at top dollar.
MICHAEL BELL is a full-time real estate broker and a first-time author living and working in Pasadena. Rated as a one of the top agents in the nation, Mike is known for his high-level fiduciary service of specializing in single-party seller representation and marketing his listings to a local and international audience. From luxury to the challenging, Mike has handled over 500 sales with more than 20 years of experience.
PRAISE FOR THE BOOK:
“This book is such an incredible resource for a potential seller.” – JD WRIGHT
“Written in plain English for us Non Real Estate savvy folks to understand, a must read…” – N. Guillen
“Who would have thought there could be so much to think about when selling your home?”– G. Robin
Patchwork Poems by David Nile Chase
From the poet: The poems in this collection are like patches on an Amish quilt. They are all separate and distinct, yet all unified into one complete piece. They are written in rhyme in traditional iambic pentameter.
The qualities I value in writing as in my life are authenticity, clarity and direct experience. Inspiration comes from many of the songwriter lyrics I’ve listened to obsessively since high school from the time of the Beatles, especially Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry, and Lucinda Williams. The poems are written to tell stories, my point of view on various social issues, and some, hopefully, to entertain.
David Nile Chase was born in Iowa, spent his childhood in small towns in Illinois and Indiana, and college years in Chicago from 1967-1971, during the turmoil of the student movement against the war in Vietnam. He arrived in LA in the summer of ’71 with the intention of experiencing everything in that zeitgeist after campus life. Chase studied acting and worked many restaurant jobs before going back to school to study psychology at Immaculate Heart College, Hollywood, where he became very interested in cognitive development and researched a link between children’s cognitive development and fairy tales. He went on to teach in the Los Angeles Unified School District for twenty-five years ending in 2012, during which time he wrote many short stories. He has also maintained a tome of journal writing since his university days.