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Duty. Honor. Country. The motto by which Major Harry Russell lived as a United States Army Special Forces officer. How does he move forward when his entire life has been turned on its head? Everything Harry worked toward all his life is gone. Gone like his foot in a nighttime mortar attack. Gone like his career since the Army kicked him out as worthless dead weight. Gone like his friends, missing on a secret mission. All he has now is himself. And as a Vietnam veteran, that may not be enough.

Duty – Service – Love of country – Honor – Dreams – Family. Those words mean everything to young Michael “Mikey” Roberts. From a small Kansas town, Mikey wants to find his path in life. To accomplish that he joins the United States Army. During his first tour of duty in Vietnam, he found his path…medicine. He became a Special Forces medic. However, in war that path can fork many times. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worst. Mikey finds more horror than he expected and learns more about life than he ever wanted to know

USMC Camp Pendleton, 1951. Jackson Joseph MacKenzie, a seventeen-year-old with a calling, enlists in the US Army. He finds himself hip-deep in the muddy trenches, machine gun nests, human wave attacks, and artillery barrages in the Korean War. Does he have the resiliency to keep moving toward his dream after watching his friends die? Is he a leader or a follower? Will he fold under pressure? Or rise to the top? Questions he must answer before reaching for that coveted prize, an appointment to West Point.

Award Winning Novel - Second Place - The BookFest Awards Spring 2023 - War and Military

Born into a well-off but strict family, eighteen-year-old Dakota Blackwater doesn’t appreciate his father’s plan for him. He wants to find his path through life and chase his own dreams. Instead of taking the easy road, he rebels, enlists in the US Army, and goes to war in a place foreign to him – Vietnam. He finds this choice may be the more difficult one, learning the pain of death, not only of his friends but his own hands. Will he keep his morality or slide down the rabbit hole of hate?

Danger lurks in the shadows, an unseen threat poised to strike at Colonel Jackson MacKenzie, his friends, and the heart of the American way of life. Once a decorated soldier, MacKenzie’s world was torn apart when a betrayal cost him his honor, his career, and his freedom. Now disgraced and living in the margins, he struggles to rebuild the pieces of his life while grappling with the ghosts of his past.But when a sinister conspiracy surfaces, endangering everything he holds dear, MacKenzie finds himself pulled back into a fight he didn’t choose but cannot ignore. His friends are counting on him, his country needs him, and his own survival hangs in the balance. With enemies lurking around ...

Award Winning Novel - Third Place - The BookFest Awards Spring 2023 - War and MilitaryWAR – What becomes of the soldiers who fight them?Do they go home and ride off into the sunset? Do they return to their families and have a normal life? Or are they left to fight another battle alone in an unseen, internal conflict—grappling with the horrible memories of a war no one wanted?Wars leave scars on the body and deep within the soul. So do words. Labeled with epithets like “baby killer” and “murderer,” too many veterans are abandoned or mistreated by the very system they swore to protect—sometimes at the cost of their lives.Lt. Colonel Jackson MacKenzie is one of those men. Having s...

In the heart of the Vietnam War, amidst the chaos and uncertainty, the 85th Evacuation Hospital at Phu Bai stood as a beacon of hope and healing. Within its walls, a tapestry of bravery, resilience, and camaraderie unfolded, woven by the hands and hearts of the men and women who served there.This anthology captures the essence of life at the 85th Evacuation Hospital—the triumphs, the tragedies, and the enduring bonds forged in the crucible of war. Tales of the 85th Evacuation Hospital is a testament to the indomitable spirit of those who answered the call of duty and forever shaped the legacy of the 85th Evacuation Hospital.Journey alongside these remarkable individuals as they recount the...

Award-winning novel - Third Place - The BookFest Awards Fall 2022The Jackson MacKenzie Chronicles: In the Eye of the Storm is not just a tale of action and suspense. It is a deep dive into the psyche of a man who must confront not only external threats but also his inner demons. War doesn’t just change the world—it changes the men who fight it. For Lt. Colonel Jackson Joseph MacKenzie, the battles he fought left scars far deeper than the ones on his body.Dive into this heart-pounding adventure with Lt. Colonel Jackson MacKenzie, a seasoned U.S. Army Special Forces officer with a knack for finding trouble or, perhaps, trouble’s knack for finding him during the Vietnam War. In “In the ...

“The plot, characters, and interaction, between the boys and the adults are all things editors look for.” -Heacock Literary AgencyIf you found a novel substance no one ever heard of & would guarantee instant success, would you use it? Would using it in a high school track meet be cheating, illegal? It’s a game changer. If you found a substance that no one in the world knew about and would absolutely guarantee you success and a bright future, would you use it? Is it legal? Would it be cheating if you used it in a track meet? No one really knows--and no one can know. It`s an experimental synthetic substance, a blob, and close enough to magic for two high school boys. B...

CANADA BOOK AWARD WINNER “Suspenseful” “Intriguing” “Great read” ‘Hard to put down.” “Frightening!” “Excellent!”4.0 out of 5 stars "A rollicking tale of crime & action! – Christina Hoag author of ‘The Blood Room’ & ‘Law of the Jungle’The polar vortex has grown stronger with every winter, ravaging northern cities, and forcing an evacuation of a major city until springtime. Firefighter Captain Jack Sellars and his men are contracted to protect the city with one mandate: don't let the city burn down. With no power or gas, and all the citizens gone, what could possibly happen? But when an SUV flips over on a snowy freeway with a body, an AK-47, and diamo...

"A sharp and witty read for anyone who wants to be pushed a little out of their comfort zone!” - 4.0 of 5 stars Lansdowne School E. M, teacherIf your pet was poisoned, how far would you go to get payback? Evens Duluce, a small ambitious Haitian boy, knows the man who poisoned Scraps, his dog, but can do little about it. He vows to get even somehow, someway. Unfortunately, no magic wands, incantations, or friendly creatures can help. He's not sure how to get even for the dog’s death until he stumbles upon the dark secret of the high school bully, Algie. Evens, in grade ten and much too small to physically confront Algie, must control him somehow. Handling the walking, talking slab of meat...

Author Shout - Honorable Mention award 2023 

4.0 out of 5 stars “A rollicking tale of crime & action!” – Christina Hoag author of ‘The Blood Room’

Do you have a bully in your neighborhood? A squatter you can’t get rid of? When the courts and police can’t—or won’t—help, there’s little you can do. Unless you know Ritchie and Arlan. They’re the bad kinda good. They can do the job fast and without any comebacks—until now.

Clashing with gang-bangers was not in the plan. In a dangerous twist of irony, there is no one they can call to rid them of that problem. It will be a one shot attempt where failure is not an option.

2024 International  Fire Bird Book Award Winner “A spellbinding juvenile mystery novel that is sheer magic." - Michele Rooney Literary Agency“…I was charmed by Archie.” – The Rights FactoryYoung Archie Crane shines shoes on the mean streets of a tough blue-collar town amidst ex-cons, drunks, and dirty cops. He hates his transplanted town, his new school, and most of all the frightening Boogy—a big Neanderthal misfit who wants his shoeshine spot. When someone drops a stolen gold coin, a British Sovereign, in his money can Archie is thrown into a world of trouble where everyone catches gold fever. Turning the gold into cash for bus ticket money to see his estranged father...

Build a tree house under Egghead's nose? Wait a minute! Egghead is Big Bill's mean old landlord who hates all kids and even kills all cats. Big Bill and Squirt will need courage, smarts, and timing to pull this one off. Getting caught by the old man is not an option.

"...a real page-turner, I couldn't put it down until the last page." - Alberta Writing for Youth Competition (anonymous judge)

When three friends go for their usual jaunt into the woods a gang war develops over territorial rights. Out-manned, out-sized, and out-smarted by a rival gang, they attempt to turn the tables and are shocked when Big Bill, their strongest and bravest, is captured and held for ransom by the imposing Fat Harold and his gang. Bill's two friends must rescue their friend to battle against great odds.  Smarts may just win the day.

AUTHOR SHOUT - Reader Ready Awards 2024 RECOMMENDED READ “Aaron Landers is in paradise - problem is, it’s going to get him killed.  Ever wondered what it would be like to have the Mexican mafia, police, and drug smugglers looking for you – and wanting you dead?.” – Jeff Buick, bestselling author.With plans to grow his Mayan Riviera dive tour business Aaron Landers falls hard for the alluring Maria Vasquez. When he rescues two children from a car accident, little does he know they are the sons of Commandant Luis Gutierrez, head of the Mexican state police. Aaron’s life begins a descent into crime as he is swept up by dangerous events and people. His obsession with Maria ...

Out with the fantasy/dystopia/magic and in with the real world.

Ricky the paperboy is relentlessly bullied along his route due to rumors stemming from a tragic boating accident in the Welland Canal where a popular teenager is killed by a Great Lakes freighter. He is forced into a dangerous contest of 'manhood' to end the hostilities with three bullies. What appears to be a mere swimming race to the far bank is complicated by the police, two rival gangs, a municipal swim ban, a newspaper reporter, and Leo, his competitor who is not to be trusted. Whatever happens in the water will change Ricky’s life.

Crime fans and first responders, you are gonna love this one because it's written by an AWARD WINNING author and retired fire rescue captain—the real deal.  Who needs yet another police/lawyer/private eye story?  

Ex-fire rescue captain Gerry Ormond from FIRE DREAM takes a fire chief position thinking he’ll cruise through his contract. The Russian Mafya, embezzlement, fire investigation, arson, extortion, and murder are rolled into one. Chief Ormond is being set up as a scapegoat for a corrupt administration. Nothing has prepared him for this. But the chief is no one’s fool and fights back with everything he has. Can he win a war by losing every battle?

The abolitionist Garretts and the Slaver McCunes are border state natives still haunted by the moral ghost of the Garrett patriarch, Valentine, and the evil machinations of the McCune patriarch, Jake. Together, or on their own, family members experience, Slaughter’s Mountain, an Indian uprising on the Plains, a German uprising in Texas, as well as the battles of Second Manassas, Antietam, and Fredericksburg.They enter common homes and glittering mansions. They interact with historical characters as well as fictional, and along their journey, they visit the capitals of Richmond and Washington, allowing you the reader to peer behind the curtain, to participate in historical decision-making.I...

In 1861, Lincoln’s election caused eleven Southern states to break with the Union. The peculiar institution of slavery, its continuation and spread into the Western Territories became the sticking point.The Garrett family resides in Western Maryland, a border state that lies between the warring parties. There, opinions are as divided as the country, and emotions run hot. Because of their abolitionist leanings, the Garretts have their homestead burned. They have lost their patriarch, Valentine. His brother, James, falls at Bull Run. Their friend and Mennonite neighbor, Aaron, is lost at Ball’s Bluff. In the midst of it all, Toby, a little slave girl is rescued and taken in by the family a...

The Garrett Family faces an alarming situation. War is declared and they’re in thethick of it. On the border between the Confederacy and the Union, Marylandfamilies live on both sides of their brand-new, disconcerting border. Friends andneighbors are forced to take sides.The reader witnesses unrest in California and conflict in Arizona. Back East, greensoldiers flock to their flags and tragedy strikes at the Union debacle, Ball’s Bluff.Soon after, we stand with Confederate militia to watch the Union beaten again inthe first Battle of Antietam.Burned out for ministering to runaways, the Garrets sell their land and move inwith relatives closer to the Mason-Dixon. Amid it all, a slave girl ...

The Garretts, their friends, and family tell our American story-the story we didn't hear about in school.In Fire-Eaters , the second book in the Snakebit series, John Poniske skillfully shows how our Dis-United States came to be on a war footing. The humor, the humanity, and the horror blend in a tightly woven tale, as historical as it is fictional.Geoffrey Garrett acts as his family's conscience. Geoff's dead father, Valentine, acts as Geoff's compass in a world gone snakebit-crazy. The Garret and McCune families introduced in book one Prelude to War live in Maryland, a border state torn between abolitionists to the North and slavers to the South. The McCunes are slavers, the Garretts are n...

The Western Maryland, Garret family, struggle to maintain their farm as their neighbors argue the slavery issue. They live in a border state where folks take both sides and emotions run hot. Their stoic matriarch, known only as "Mother" holds the family together in the absence of her dead husband. The deceased patriarch, Valentine, was a giant of a man both in stature and character. He acts as the family conscience and mentor throughout the novel. It is his admonition that people who get snakebit think and act crazy which is how he viewed the state of the country when he died. Gabe the eldest and an adventurer, has wandered off to Bleeding Kansas. This has left taciturn Geoffrey, the spittin...

The Western Maryland, Garret family, struggle to maintain their farm as their neighbors argue the slavery issue. They live in a border state where folks take both sides and emotions run hot. Their stoic matriarch, known only as "Mother" holds the family together in the absence of her dead husband. The deceased patriarch, Valentine, was a giant of a man both in stature and character. He acts as the family conscience and mentor throughout the novel. It is his admonition that people who get snakebit think and act crazy which is how he viewed the state of the country when he died. Gabe the eldest and an adventurer, has wandered off to Bleeding Kansas. This has left taciturn Geoffrey, the spittin...

Author: ret. fire rescue officer – the real deal“The tale has lots of twists and a reveal, that I didn’t see coming. This novel offers a fresh perspective into firefighting, arson and revenge.” - Caffeinated ReviewerA fresh angle in the crime/mystery genre. Not another police, lawyer, or PI story.Obsession, a deadly secret, hot romance, murder, revenge, and arson. Twenty years ago, Gerry Ormond, along with his two teenage fraternity buddies committed a horrendous crime, unsolved and paved over by layers of time. It’s why Gerry fled his hometown. It was a tragedy for all, a secret to some, buried and forgotten—almost—until now upon a visit to his ailing father. Now as a decorate...

CRIME WRITERS OF CANADA FINALIST. YA and up historical crime fiction.Canadians are only too happy to supply liquor to thirsty Americans during U.S. Prohibition. Running rum and whisky over to Pelee Island on Lake Erie has been a piece of cake - so far. Jarrod Hooker, seventeen-years-old, steps in for his injured, taking his spot on the boat. Jarrod is thrown in with rough men, many of them WW1 vets who resent the boy. Jarrod must swallow his fears and try to carve some self-respect for himself amid deadly efforts to undermine him. But ill winds begin to blow across Lake Erie: missing liquor money, the U.S.Coast Guard stepping up patrols, and an American gangster moves in. Jarrod's second run...