Handpicked by the unread team

What if the legendary giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan and his pet blue ox Babe really did exist? Young Billy Bunyan and his disabled brother Hap are determined to find out with unexpected consequences that will change their broken family's future forever.

A miniature painting of a mermaid drawn in bat’s blood is taking the art world by storm. Why was it adrift at sea in a bottle, a coded message etched in the glass? Who painted it and why? It is up to Larry Settlebottom, a sheltered museum curator, to decipher the riddle. His adventures take him to Mexico and beyond as he encounters modern-day pirates, corrupt oceanographers, and a band of romantic sea gypsies, all leading him to a remote island where madness, death and art live together.

THE FIVE PEARLS is a story of personal redemption against incredible odds, peppered with teen narcissism, secret pregnancies, and misguided burglaries; A true portrait of under-privileged, throwaway kids and mismanaged adult lives in today's America. A part-time teacher has his hands full with a the Tadpoles, a band of disillusioned and rebellious teenagers that don't want or need anyone's help. Or so they think...

Fifteen-year-old street thief Eddie Doyle has spent his life surviving on the streets of New York—until one desperate act changes everything. Fleeing with his deaf sister aboard an orphan train bound for Kansas, he finds himself in a world both harsher—and more hopeful—than he ever imagined.At Bittersweet Farm, under the watch of Mary Christmas, a retired Wild West Show sharpshooter and her “found family”, Eddie and a group of forgotten orphans learn what it means to belong. But danger lingers beyond the wheat fields, and the past refuses to stay buried.In a land of second chances, E...

El coleccionador de arrugas. Poemas de la vejez. 2ª edición. 2021. 246 páginas. ISBN 9798783170911. (Poemas escritos en 2019)Independently published. Impreso en EE.UU."soy / frágil / ... /un pañuelo desechable / una pensión devaluada / uno número para el terror de las estadísticas / una sombra sin luz / una voz muda / una mirada ciega / un sueño encerrado sin ilusiones..."En estos poemas de la vejez, el poeta expone el lado sombrío y triste de los viejos: la soledad, el abandono, la enfermedad, la depresión, la ilusión vana, la desesperación, entre otros temas. Son poemas duros co...

Confesiones.  2ª edición. 2024. 234 páginas. ISBN 9798876121042. (Poemas escritos en 2019)Independently published. Impreso en EE.UU.Confesiones fue escrito en 2019 y es el segundo libro de poesía visual del poeta.La obra reúne un total de 36 poemas en los que el autor equilibra el uso del lenguaje coloquial con el lírico, manipulando los espacios físicos, diferentes tipos de letras, fotografías y dibujos para crear un paisaje, muchas veces irónico, de los diversos temas de la vida cotidiana: el amor, los recuerdos, los sueños, la soledad, la esperanza, la frustración, el existe...

Fuga das cidades das máscaras. Poesia visual. 2ª edición. 2023. 230 páginas. ISBN 9798391562269. (Poemas escritos em 2019)Independently published. Impreso en EE.UU.A massificação nas grandes cidades, o consumismo desenfreado, o anonimato nas ruas, a solidão nos prédios e condomínios, as máscaras que se usam na vida cotidiana e nos relacionamentos pessoais, a luta do individuo — como ente único — para não perder a sua identidade e a sua essência na vida tumultuada nas grandes urbes, são alguns dos temas de Fuga das cidades das máscaras.Escritos com rebeldia, sarcasmo e intrig...

Un momento en el tiempo. Los cuentos de la atemporalidad.3ª edición. 2025. 172 páginas. ISBN 9798312963694. (Cuentos escritos en 2019)Independently published. Impreso en EE.UU. Un momento en el tiempo. Los cuentos de la atemporalidad es un libro optimista, tal vez utópico, de ensueño.Los siete cuentos de este libro hablan del amor y de la amistad que sobreviven a través de los años, cultivando las remembranzas, la lealtad, alimentando el fuego de esas relaciones personales que no deberían desaparecer.Los personajes de estas historias son hombres y mujeres adultos que están entre ...

In the wake of his exodus from his life in New York, Dustin Cameron returns to his hometown of Sanford, Florida, to lie low and pick up the broken pieces of his life once again.

However, after discovering the local street racing scene, he learns that the Orlando chapter of the club is being threatened by a reckless and dangerous new champion whose actions hit too close to home.

With a war brewing for the club's future, Dustin's cover is blown when he is tapped for help by a familiar, iconic face. Cylinders fire when he decides to take matters into his own hands.

Having escaped a troubled past, Dustin Cameron now lives and works as a mechanic in Queens, New York. Struggling to make ends meet, he takes an off-hours gig as a rideshare driver to supplement his income. But what started as an ordinary night on the job ends up leading him into a harrowing encounter with wealthy billionaire playboy Bob Bellhorn, owner of Bellhorn Logistics.After the encounter, Bob exploits Dustin's past as a criminal street racer and hires him to compete in a mysterious and highly illegal world-wide street racing ring on a business deal. Spiderwebs begin to form, however, whe...

War Torn: A Riveting Tale of Love, Sacrifice, and Survival in the Heart of WWIIAmid the horrors of war, can love cross enemy lines and survive the battle within?October 1942. Frances Meyer, a gifted violinist, faces an unthinkable choice: stay in Nazi-occupied France under the menacing gaze of an SS officer obsessed with her or risk everything for freedom. With her ailing Jewish husband, she boards a fragile boat to escape, but fate has other plans. Shipwrecked in the unforgiving Atlantic, her fight for survival lands her in the last place she expected—a German U-boat. Commanded by the enigm...

Do you know when the world ended?What is the measure of a person’s hope through their life? What drives and thrives in the toil of people?Akureyri City, a future vision of a concreted relic of human determination, one built from sweat and industry and raised in a paradigm in which the very builders are those that suffer most and glean the least. A skyward hive of consciousness, where money and power are not always what matters.A place where the stories of the many soak into the tarmac like oil: trodden on, climbed over, forgotten.This is a story about existence.Four lives intersect by chance...

Uncork Your Confidence and Discover the Joy of WineDoes the wine world feel complex and exclusive? Let Strasbourg-based wine writer Daniel Savin be your friendly guide. Trained in oenology and writing in a clear, approachable style, he helps you explore wine with curiosity and pleasure.Inside this 140-page guide, you'll discover:Famous Varieties Demystified: Profiles of 20 essential red, white, rosé, champagne, and sparkling wines, including their fascinating histories, most famous growing regions, and recommended wineries.Your Tasting Toolkit: Simple, step-by-step instructions on how to prop...

Alex Curtner, the CIA’s Chief of Station for Russia and Ukraine, is in dire straits. His most critical operation is on the verge of collapse. Russian counterintelligence is closing in on a spy – Alex’s prized asset at the top of Moscow’s hierarchy.It all started with a whisper. A traitor inside the Ukrainian General Staff tipped off the Russians: Ukraine had prior knowledge of Moscow’s war plans. Now the noose tightens, and Alex must do the impossible – unmask the traitor before the Russians can neutralize his asset.But if they strike first, the CIA’s operation – and Alex himse...

With American interests increasingly under threat, the FBI must turn to an unlikely collaborator...On routine business in Russia, Silicon Valley tech executive Hanna Arnol overhears two men discussing an espionage plot in a Moscow café. From what she can make out, an influential piece of United States AI is in danger of being stolen — and Hanna’s expertise makes her uniquely qualified to identify the target. And the FBI is convinced she’s the woman for the job.Determined to avoid a security breach and its ensuing uproar, Hanna follows one of the men to CyberStena, one of two Russian tec...

Hanna Arnol, a Silicon Valley exec, leads an ordinary life.Until her favorite uncle, her sole family, dies unexpectedly.Was it a mere accident or a carefully planned murder? If the latter, who killed him?In pursuit of answers, Hanna embarks on a globe-spanning quest to unravel her family’s dark secret.She finds herself thrown into a world of blackmail, crime, and intrigue. The world where political parties dig up hundred-fifty-year-old dirt on their opponents to win the general election in one of the oldest democracies.But don’t underestimate Hanna. In this nefarious jungle, she will fight...

Ben Braddock, a struggling actor and playwright, is celebrating his fortieth birthday. His friends hire a psychic off the internet for the party who makes two predictions. First, that Ben will win the lottery and second, that he will probably die before his next birthday. Ten minutes later, Ben wins a million on the lottery. Fearing he has less than a year to live, Ben looks for love among the luvvies and learns how to write a novel along the way, opening with the words “By the time you read this I may or may not be dead...”LUVVIE: a humorous term for an actor. (Oxford English Dictionary)"...

The Orcs are attacking again and with Uncle Mortimer’s passing it’s all up to Sam. But he’s new to the job and there’s that big sandwich order for the Chess Club coming up. Can Sam stop the evil Raymond and deliver on his biggest catering contract yet?

A far cry from his hollow log house, an upbeat and unruly ferret, sets out across Woodzley in search of an adventure.With his new companion Birzy, Ferald embarks on a journey into the unknown. Along the way, they meet many interesting characters, such as Mr. Wiggly, who offers them a scrumptious tea and toast. Join Ferald and Birzy on their journey as they learn the true meaning of adventure and appreciate the beauty of nature.Your children will be enchanted by the magic of Ferald's woodland world. They'll laugh and learn with Ferald as he discovers the best adventure of all and meets new frie...

 Love a feisty heroine? Soldiers murder her mother. They force her from the family home in my #historical #novel Angel of Aleppo. Not only diving deeply into the reality of #genocide, #war, #cruelty and #refugees, it also explores what it takes to find the strength to #survive.Anoush must endure a death march through unforgiving desert, as Armenian refugees perish all about her, some of the million-plus whose blood forever stains the hands of the Ottoman Turks and the souls of their descendants. From Anatolia to Aleppo and beyond, through the outrages and injustices of the 1915 Armen...

Christina Mahony grew up in Cork In Ireland  in a house where silence was survival. She and her brother Simon endured years of abuse at the hands of their older brother John. Pain their mother refused to see, and their father ignored. Both tried to escape by studying and conforming. One night by the Royal Canal, everything changed. John disappeared, and Christina carried the burden of that secret into her future career.Two decades later, Christina has remade her life in New York’s Catskills. With her partner Claudine, her brother Simon, and Paul—the quiet, brilliant man who has become...

When the sky fractures and the Aeldstorm descends, Silfra Keegard’s life shatters with it. Once a priest-in-training, now an outcast, she crosses paths with Hamari, a fugitive whose strange tekknik and forbidden knowledge make her a target of the New Voluskar Order. With Elthar, her exiled mentor, and the Bograz, a creature straight out of myth, Silfra flees the only home she’s ever known, unaware that her childhood friend Johra, now a Gothi of the Fifth Order, has been sent to bring them back or destroy them.As the Aeldstorms intensify and the gods begin to stir, Silfra is drawn into a we...

London, 1832...Debonair Simon St. Lawrence, Viscount Waverly, lives a rakish lifestyle. So, his parents have arranged a marriage for him, much to his chagrin. Lady Marisa Denton is as opposed to the marriage contract as is Simon. Together, they scheme to disolve the marriage arrangement, but reluctantly fall in love. In the meantime, they are dangerously thrust into a search for a murderer in league with body snatchers selling cadavers to medical schools.

England, 1854...Charity appears as a mysterious, veiled woman insisting upon an interview with Hugh Morgan for the position of governess. Hugh was cuckolded by his deceased wife and no longer trusts women, doubting that 'his' child is truly his own and achingly withholds love from the little girl. But once kind-hearted Charity lifts her disguise, she will teach Hugh to trust and love once again.

1863: The American Civil War rages on. En route to Liverpool, the center of Confederate operations in Europe, a French agent bearing an offer from the Emperor is killed. A scramble begins to retrieve the papers he was carrying, papers which could expose a plot to build warships in France in exchange for Southern approval of its Mexican empire. Viola Ross, daughter of a Boston shipping merchant, serves as social secretary to the American legation in London. When a French countess confides in her about the plan, Viola realizes that a secret French-Confederate alliance could prolong the bloody co...

Stories of perception, stories of connection. In these four short stories, collected here for the first time, author Lewis Smith weaves four stories examining what we see, and what connects us:“Lakeside Park”—When your truest friend is leaving, how do you best make the most of your last moments? “Every Picture Tells A Story”—Drawing from life—what is seen, and what is observed?“Ouroboros”—When “what could have been” isn’t, can a new connection be created?“One Place”—Is “home” a place, a person, or can it be both?

Brandy never expected to survive her addiction - and she certainly never expected to find life worth staying for. What began as a desperate attempt to numb her pain became the very thing that nearly destroyed her. She lost herself piece by piece, trying to outrun a darkness she didn't know how to face.In this raw and unfiltered memoir, Brandy shares the truth of what it looked like to fall apart, relapse, get back up, and learn to live clean one day at a time. Through meetings, sponsorship, step work, and service, she discovered belonging, purpose, and a life she never believed she deserved.Th...

1992, where were you, what were you doing? 

'92 Fast paced and filled with mischief and mayhem. '92 tells a real life story of an English pub, its landlord and staff in the hedonistic year of 1992. Great musical references with strong language, sexual scenes, violence and drug references. Don't miss the read of the year!

Robert's exciting new story is about faith, family and Lucia's struggle from the depths of darkness and despair. Find out what happens as Lucia and her family try to find peace and pray for a better life for themselves. The author brings us into the personal life of Lucia, the excitement and drama that unfolds on her journey. Things happen in life; does fate and luck come into play? Come along for the ride as Lucia starts a new life with her family and meet the new friends she finds along the way.

How can a painting become a space for meditation?How does art help us slow down and become present?Can art be a form of meditation?How does visual art influence mindfulness?How does art help self-reflection?Painting and Meditation invites readers into the contemplative world of Erik Pevernagie, where art becomes a practice of mindfulness, presence, and inner reflection.This book reveals how visual art can slow perception, deepen awareness, and create space for meditation. Drawing on philosophy, phenomenology, and poetic insight, it shows how painting can function as a silent language — one t...

Hurricane Helene: Resiliency After the Storm Part One by Rebecca Wells Phillips is a powerful nonfiction historical account documenting the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina following the catastrophic storm of September 27, 2024. Through survivor interviews, firsthand testimonies, research, and photographs, Phillips chronicles the fear, destruction, heartbreak, and extraordinary resilience experienced by mountain communities suddenly overwhelmed by historic flooding and isolation.The book places readers directly inside the chaos as families faced rising floodw...

 SCBWI award for best picture book 2025

 The Wishing Shelf gold medal winner

Oh no, not another boo-boo! That makes five! I am pretty tough, but when it comes to these boo-boos, enough is enough.

Your childhood adventures will come with scratches and bruises, but think of those Band-Aids as medals for bravery earned by trying new things. 

You are brave, you are strong, you can do hard things!

 

In Karnis City, justice isn’t blind. It wears a black mask.By day, Will is a quiet high school math teacher, keeping his head down in a metropolis rotting under the absolute control of a ruthless underworld syndicate. He grades papers, avoids trouble, and blends perfectly into the smog-choked background.But by night, Will becomes the very thing the cartel fears.Armed with lethal training, three combat knives, and a blinding rage, he is The Dark Cipher—a brutal, ghost-like vigilante dismantling the city’s corrupt criminal empire piece by piece. When the police look the other way, he break...

In a world that tracks everything, the most dangerous thing is what doesn't exist.Mara Kess leads a five-person unit that doesn't exist on paper. No agency acknowledges them. No government funds them. No record survives their operations. Exiled from the institutions that built them, they work in the space between flag and shadow — finding what the system refuses to see.When a drive surfaces in Tbilisi containing the financial architecture of twenty-three disappeared events, Mara's unit follows the signal from Georgia to London, from Lisbon to Trieste, into the heart of Europe's intelligence ...

“Wow! Not a book you can easily put down!”“A skillfully written, finely paced, engrossing thriller.”When the widow of David Dartman’s best friend demands he prove her husband’s suicide was in fact murder, his first response is that he doesn’t have time in his rat-race suburban life for murder. Besides, the former investigative reporter and crime writer believes his friend’s death was suicide, not murder. Yet . . . remorseful for not being there for his troubled friend in his last days because he was “too busy,” David reluctantly starts poking around. His investigation and a...

Travesuras mágicas. 2ª edición. 2023. 199 páginas. ISBN 9798865763833. (Cuentos escritos entre 2004 y 2017)Independently published. Impreso en EE.UU. Travesuras mágicas.Una bruja simpática, pero tan golosa que pierde la cabeza por un dulce de leche; una fantasma que tiene miedo de la lluvia; un fantasma goloso que se come toda la yuca frita de un pueblo; una perrita que protege a la flor de las estrellas; un niño goloso que ve cómo todos los dientes salen corriendo de su boca; una niña que aprende a saltar y a jugar en las nubes; un lobito que se desespera por conocer a la luna l...

El viajante. 3ª edición. 2026. 144 páginas. ISBN 9798247241379 (Poemas escritos entre 1985 y 1990)Independently published. Impreso en EE.UU.El viajante reúne poemas intimistas, escritos entre 1985 y 1990, que presentan una visión particular sobre el hombre en los años de juventud del escritor: la vida cotidiana, el hombre común, el extranjero, una búsqueda constante por una identidad en las grandes urbes, como se puede ver en el fragmente de la parada del autobús (1985): “quieto / firme / alerta / prevenido // se limita a respirar pánico / en medio / de la gente que no habla / en m...

B-ellas. 3ª edición. 2025. 152 páginas. ISBN 9798269593883. (Cuentos escritos entre 2018 y 2020)Independently published. Impreso en EE.UU. B-ellas.Siete historias de tres generaciones de mujeres que aman a las mujeres.Estos cuentos retratan la alegría de unas, el dolor y las frustraciones de otras, y la esperanza de muchas de vivir sus pasiones sin tener miedo a la discriminación, a la intolerancia, tanto de los familiares como de la sociedad en general.Los cuentos de B-ellas son sensitivos y actuales. Laura, el cuento que abre el libro, nos lleva a una historia conmovedora de dos mu...

Aghast at American cinema's descent into boundary-pushing violence, famed Hollywood director J. Edgar Schnatz decides to move in the opposite direction-a celebration of sexuality. But making the world's first mainstream adult film comes with its own unique set of challenges, from finding a willing cast and sufficient financing to getting that all-important NC-17 rating.

A  nine-year-old totally oblivion to his special abilities and a single mom who is not sure what'sgoing on with her son. The mom is not sure who her son talks to or referring to when he points at a person, but she is not able to see or understand what's happening?  The first shock wave thatany parent dreads, her son has a special ability and a very dangerous one at that. How can she protect him?      Eddie tries to hide from a traumatic event and befriends another young boy while playing in the park, not knowing the real truth about Ben. Not Yet! &n...