Political Advocacy, Children's Politics & Government, Social Activism
Date Published: March 2, 2020
Publisher: CCR Press
This book educates a young audience on the history of the women's suffrage movement and actions a young activist can take to begin familiarizing themselves with civic engagement and the movement toward a more equal existence and experience for all women. The activity of coloring is not only stress and anxiety reducing and good for brain health but provides a helpful distraction from the seriousness and pressure that sometimes comes with addressing big issues with children. This book fosters a healthy discussion around gender equity and representation between caretakers, educators and children.
Caretakers and children are encouraged to color alongside each other, as they discuss these big ideas and talk through the terms, actions, and feelings that may arise with each page. The Resources page in the back provides contact to valuable organizations for getting involved in the movement and community programs available for further education on the issues.
About the Author
Casey Chapman Ross lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and three kids. As her own children learn and grow, so does Casey's passion for educating a young audience on how to become more community-minded, creative, kind, civically engaged humans. Casey believes the more we lead by example, involve our kids in our own passions and activism and educate through art, the more a younger generation will care to get involved. Ross founded CCR Press in 2019 as a platform to publish multiple books for her message and like-minded authors.
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Twitter: @ccrphoto
Instagram: @caseychap
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Date Published: November 4th, 2019
Publisher: Clay Bridges
It's Time to Stand.
Faithfully Fervent takes you along the journey of how Christ resurrected a once-dead life inside and invigorated a radical fight for love and redemption. This journey is rooted in what it means to truly stand for Christ and His promises when faced with the most debilitating adversity. Faithfully Fervent takes you through a transformative process to equip you to stand firm as a child of God despite the world’s invitation to run.
This book empowers you:
To say yes to becoming a fierce warrior.
To run your race with endurance and chase the prize that is Christ.
To faithfully choose to become agape love because of how He loves.
To fight the battle and become victorious when, against all odds, the world pressures you to do otherwise.
Strip off all your pride. Deny self. Pick up your cross. Get ready to live free and do a mighty work to bring glory to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Your story serves a mighty purpose because God isn’t finished with you yet.
Come along on the journey to being Faithfully Fervent.
About the Author
Rhianna Marie Mitchell is a woman of God who is radically pursuing her mission to mirror God’s vision. She was born and raised in Texas and currently resides in Dallas. Rhianna is a pediatric registered nurse and is passionately following her calling into ministry. Her mission is to help bring hope and healing through her testimony.
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Capturing the Bride
-- EXCERPT: She huffed and unfolded her arms. “I cannot help that I am boring, Nash. I am sorry I do not have a crumbling mansion and a mysterious past.” She lifted her hands. “This is me. I have little ambition and I like animals. That is it. I am boring.” Nash rose to his feet before he had quite fathomed what he was doing. He strode over and took her elbows in his hands, drawing her up to meet him. Her lips parted and her eyes widened. “What are you—?” “Do not ever say that again,” he said firmly. “But—” “You are far, far, far from boring.” He curled a hand around her neck and kissed her. Hard. It took all of two seconds. Two mere seconds and they were pressed together, her lips beneath his. Two seconds to break all of his silent promises to himself, to Grace, and all those very real promises he had made to Guy. She tasted so damned good, he couldn’t bring himself to regret it. After a little squeak of surprise, she settled against him, and he wrapped an arm around her waist to bring her closer. Her fingers dug into his upper arms while he explored her lips with his—only briefly, long enough to gain entrance. She made another sound, one that tugged deep inside him and made him harder than a stone statue. Her body softened further, and he gripped her to him tight, pushing the kiss hard and deep, sweeping his tongue into her mouth with a groan. It was no good. He was lost to her.
GIVEAWAY! Darkness
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks This is the FINAL book in the series! PLUS! You can get book 1 – Hunt – for FREE! -- EXCERPT: The wolf huffed as a plate of food appeared by her bedside. Not food for the wolf, food for the girl. She buried herself deeper into the blankets around her, willing herself to fall back to sleep, but her empty stomach wouldn’t let her. Saying that she would rather starve than turn back was always a compelling thought in the moment, but she always, eventually, relented. Fur retracted back into her skin as her bones warped, returning her form to that of a woman. And her mind, as well. She cringed as the now-familiar blanket of grief and guilt enveloped her. It was unbearable. The palace cook had filled her plate with curry, the one thing Freya had been able to keep down for months. She had no idea why, but at least it was something. Freya was still sure that she would prefer raw meat that the wolf could stomach, but she knew that she couldn’t ask for that. She hadn’t even asked for this. It had presumably been the result of the palace staff realising that she didn’t eat anything else they sent her. Guilt gnawed further at her at that thought. She would prefer it if they just ignored her, but she supposed that there was no way they ever would. She was the one who paid their wages, after all. If she starved… Well, Damon would still be there. And Katherine. Maybe if Freya starved, they would finally be able to return home. Her door opened, and Freya grabbed her blanket to pull it around herself before glaring at the intruder. “I’m not dressed,” she growled at Rodrick, the wolf still in her throat. He, infuriatingly, didn’t seem to react at all. “You’re never dressed. But I needed to see you while you were in humanoid form. I do not know if the wolf can understand me, but she never turns back when I request it, she just goes to sleep.” The wolf did understand him, she just didn’t care. Unfortunately, Freya did care. “You’re holding court tonight,” Rodrick informed her. “I didn’t ask you to arrange that.” “No, but it has been too long. And as you were indisposed, I asked Prince Damon. He agreed that I should go ahead.” Flames flared across Freya’s skin. “I thought I told you not to bother Prince Damon while he’s away from the Palace.” “My Queen, you have been indisposed for weeks. While Lord Uther’s death, and the birth of Princess Katherine, means that things are now quiet, there are still some matters which cannot be ignored. If you will not deal with them, Prince Damon will have to.” “What matters could possibly be so important? The nobles are just bitching like always.” “And like always, they need their Queen to help them see sense. Otherwise squabbles will turn into something rather more dangerous. You did just avert a civil war, My Queen. It would be prudent not to let another fester while you’re distracted.” “Fine,” Freya said as she steeled herself as she wrapped her blanket around her, forcing herself out of her bed and towards the bathroom. She probably needed a shower. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had one. Wolves didn’t need them. “Prince Damon will arrive here in an hour,” Rodrick said before leaving the room.
GIVEAWAY! Legacy: The Awakening
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo -- EXCERPT: “So, we’re friends?” I turned to him as I spoke and read the regret on his face. “Jessica, I’m sorry about last night.” I felt my eyes warming up and willed myself not to cry. Aiden reached for my hand. “I like you Jessica. Of course we’re friends, but I’m also…” He sighed. “We’re different, you and I, and we’re in completely different places now. It was wrong of me to kiss you.” We stopped near the dry creek-bed, still holding hands. I glanced over at Aiden and realized he was watching me again, that same look on his face. He wanted me and I knew it, but something was restraining him. Neither of us spoke for a moment. “Aiden, the last time we were here, and I made that joke…” I paused. “About vampires?” I nodded, my heart racing in anticipation of pushing him away after he’d finally opened up to me. “It was only a joke,” I reiterated. “But I feel like you are hiding something or holding back.” I swallowed audibly. He inhaled sharply and stepped closer to the water. I followed him, but kept a few feet between us. “Aiden, I like you, and I want to know you better. I won’t judge you. I just want to know.” “What do you want to know?” he asked, his voice so quiet I could barely make out his words. “Everything. I want to know you, Aiden.” I bit my lip to keep from shouting at him, from insisting that he knew exactly what it was that I wanted to know, that I was the one who had no idea what he was hiding. “What specifically?” I blew out a sigh. “Why do you move around so often? Why can’t I go in your house? Why do you and your brothers all have long hair? Why couldn’t your sister wear a ponytail?” I held my breath and stepped closer, feeling uncharacteristically brave. “How did you know to get me out of that fire?” Aiden turned towards me slowly, his head down. “Jessica, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have started anything with you. I just can’t…” He sighed, then made eye contact. “I can’t answer your questions. And we can’t be together, so I shouldn’t have kissed you.” Without thinking, I leaned into him, pressing my lips into his. He hesitated, but then I felt his mouth respond to mine, his warm lips opening for me, the tip of his tongue gently tickling my lips. I broke off the kiss before he could reject me again. “I know you care about me,” I said firmly, empowered from my boldness. “I do,” he agreed willingly. “But that’s why I can’t…” “Bullshit!” I interrupted. “I’m already involved in whatever it is, so you might as well tell me the truth. What are you hiding? You can trust me.” Aiden’s eyes quickly darted around, scanning the woods behind me. Apparently satisfied we were alone, he turned back to me, locked his eyes on mine, then tucked his hair behind his ears. I was so captivated by his stare, with those unnaturally vibrant eyes, that it took a moment for me to register that he was showing me something. I blinked, and refocused on all of him, not just his eyes. And then, I saw it.
GIVEAWAY! Voices & Visions
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo -- EXCERPT: “Can we talk about what happened back at the safe house?” she asked, finally breaking the awkward silence. “I’m not sure rehashing that shootout is such a good idea, Sid. It’s only going to make you feel lower than you already do.” “No, I don’t mean that.” “Oh.” He glanced at her again and knew immediately what she wanted to talk about. “You said that when you touch someone, you can see things about their life somehow? Things about their past or what’s going on with them.” “That’s right.” “When we met at the restaurant and you shook my hand… you saw something then, didn’t you? That’s why you looked at me the way you did.” The intrigue in her light brown eyes held his attention captive for a moment, but the certainty in her voice told him there was no point in trying to sidestep her question. He pulled his gaze away from hers and swallowed. “Yeah, I did.” His reply was quiet, resigned to the notion that their earlier conversation on this subject wasn’t quite finished. “What did you see?” The images came back to him in technicolor, every detail crisp and fresh in his mind. But he knew he couldn’t tell her about them. Not until he’d had a chance to sort them out. He couldn’t tell her that the flashes he’d seen involved him. Involved them. Together. Scenes from their future presumably. But what was it they always said in those science fiction shows he and Adam loved to watch as kids? That the future wasn’t set in stone, and any glimpse of it was just one possible outcome. Of course, that was science fiction. This? He had no clue what the hell this was.
GIVEAWAY!
Spiritual/Religious
Date Published: March 11, 2020
STUMBLING TOWARD GOD traces a woman’s spiritual search with an unusual twist – from an “atheist who prays” to unorthodox membership in two contrasting churches: Unitarian and Episcopal. In the second edition of her forthright memoir, McGee shares new adventures on her spiritual quest, culminating in personal encounters with a God of love. An honest, satisfying read for anyone questioning or seeking a spiritual path. First Place for Nonfiction Book in the PNWA Literary Competition. Includes Reading Group Guide.
"An offbeat, engagingly written, appealingly uncertain spiritual memoir." – Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Margaret D. McGee writes books about being alive in the cosmos, paying attention, and making connections. Her parents were both preacher’s kids, and her father pursued a successful career in public education. These two themes—applied faith and applied intellect—returned in her middle years when she joined the Episcopal parish and Unitarian Universalist fellowship in her small town. She says, “Going back and forth, week on, week off, between the “prayer-book” Episcopalians and the free-thinking
Unitarians provided an essential bridge in my spiritual path—a bridge that led me to a new place.” McGee has had a varied career, including a time at the Microsoft Corporation, where she was employed as a master writer. She now lives in the Olympic Peninsula with her husband, David. In addition to Stumbling Toward God, her books include Sacred Attention and Haiku – The Sacred Art, both published by Skylight Paths Publishing. Her liturgical prayers and skits have been used by faith communities across the United States, and can be found at her website, InTheCourtyard.com.
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Reverend of Silence
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Google Play -- EXCERPT: “He ordered me out?” Papa Burke removed his spectacles, then rubbed a hand down his face. He looked like he had aged ten years in the last ten days. He pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and gestured for me to sit across from him as he put his spectacles back on. I sat and waited for him to answer my question, the one I hadn’t asked him. Why? Why had Sam ordered me from his room? My hand came to rest over my heart. It ached from his rejection. Days. I had spent days at his bedside, waiting for him to wake up, hoping that he would, caring not only for him but for his parents every second of those days. Never in my wildest imaginings did I think he would toss me out the moment he did. If he had kicked me in the teeth, I don’t think it would have hurt this badly. It took everything in me not to cry right here at this table. Papa Burke leaned forward, his eyes searching mine. “I’m sorry,” he signed. “You didn’t deserve that.” My eyes burned. I knew that. I wanted him to tell me something I didn’t know. I leaned forward as well and asked, “Why was I tossed out?” He tapped his fingers on the table, a silent beat I couldn’t hear. He looked like a man trying to gather thoughts to put into words. I waited, watching his fingers as they moved up, down, up, down. Until his fingers went still. Then they formed the words, “Sam doesn’t want you to see him like this. He feels weak.” I frowned, signing my response. “I don’t fault him for being weak. He’s injured!” I stood, feeling agitated. “He’s had a fever! He almost died! I know he’s weak!” Papa Burke also stood and came to stand before me. “Not that kind of weak.” I blinked, trying to understand his meaning. “He doesn’t feel like a man.” Papa Burke eyed me pointedly. “He has no pride. He doesn’t want you to see him like that,” he emphasized, pointing above our heads to the second floor. Oh. I reclaimed my seat and shut my eyes. Stupid, stupid man. Yet, at the same time, my heart broke all over again. For Sam. I knew from watching my father how hard men could be on themselves. I’d just never thought Sam would. Papa Burke put his hand on my shoulder. I glanced up. “Go home, Lucy.” My breath caught. That was the first time I’d been issued that command. Everyone was tossing me out? No one needed me anymore? Noah had left without saying goodbye, and now the Burkes were telling me to leave? “I don’t want to go home,” I signed with a trembling hand. Papa Burke’s face was sad. He lifted me up to stand. His hug was sympathetic. He released me and said, “Then go back to school. Sam needs some time.” My nose tingled. My jaw ached. My eyes stung. My chest felt like it was being cut from the inside. Sam needed time. He just didn’t need me. Message received. I glanced around the room, taking in all the details and all the memories. I packed them all away, but I didn’t know where to place them. My heart felt too fragile. My mind too burdened. So I left them right where they were and walked out the door.
GIVEAWAY! Finding Edward
-- EXCERPT: My mother came out with two shot glasses and a bottle of bourbon. She poured some liquor in each glass and put one in front of me on the coffee table. She downed hers before taking a seat on the couch next to me. My stomach curled at the thought of mixing bourbon with my upset stomach. “For some strange reason, Grams wants me to go to Italy. She said you had a secret to share, something that could explain why.” My mother fidgeted silently, hands in her lap. I braced myself. “Tom Rudack is not your father.” I stared at the boring beige rug under my feet. I didn’t know what I expected her to say, but it wasn’t that. I wrangled my bottom lip between my teeth and winced from the bruising I’d given it earlier. “Stop biting your lip,” she said. “Are you saying the man you were married to is not Ray’s and my father?” I raised my eyes to her face. Chin lifted with an air of defiance I didn’t quite understand, she watched me, her brown eyes partially hidden behind long bangs, unnaturally dark for her age. “He’s Ray’s father. Not yours.” I let out a noisy breath and shook my head. “Then who… who is my father?” “He’s a man from the garden center where I used to work. An Italian who came here on a work visa. He worked a year and went back to Italy.” My real father was Italian?
GIVEAWAY! Alien Minds
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play -- EXCERPT: “Intoxication with technology is the hallmark of an underdeveloped society.” – Beauregard the Great, Instructions for Visiting Parallel Worlds After spending hours on guard duty, I can finally leave Mass General. Soon I’m tooling my hoverbike toward the outskirts of the Boston Dome. Overhead, a cloud-free sky is projected onto the plasma. Tall buildings loom around me in a maze of chrome and concrete. An image appears in my mind. Meimi—I never even think the false name Wisteria—lies curled on her hospital bed, drugged up and asleep. Every instinct in my soul says I should’ve stayed behind and guarded her while she rested. Not an option. An important appointment is coming up, and I can’t miss it. For Meimi. Of course, Godwin—my boss and Meimi’s doctor—doesn’t know I’m leaving the city. Then again, the doctor doesn’t know a lot of things about me. Like the fact that I’m not from this planet. Plus, I’m not just any alien. My father’s the Emperor of the Omniverse, the universe of universes. So what Godwin doesn’t know about me is quite a lot, actually. Meimi doesn’t know much, either. To begin with, she doesn’t remember that I’m her transcendent. Even worse, she thinks I’m in league with someone as evil as Godwin. Not to mention that I’m part of a government creating an apocalypse for anyone who isn’t perfect. Bands of sorrow tighten around my chest. There’s no avoiding the truth. Meimi sees me as her enemy. I straighten my spine. But being her enemy? That keeps my girl safe. So that’s what I’ll no do, no matter how much it tears at my soul.
GIVEAWAY! |
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