Books

Cherry Tree Dares: Essays on Childhood written by Ilene W. Devlin was released in November 2020. In it, she describes her growing up in small Midwestern towns during the 1950s and 1960s. She dedicates her book to those from small towns or who wish they were. Real life is often more fascinating than fiction. To understand our lives as adults, we often reflect on important childhood events. Such adventures shaped us, making us who we are today.“People from my small towns had distinct characteristics. They were open, nosy, friendly, and helpful and encouraged community conformity. My heart will always rejoice in my childhood experiences. Those included trying to keep my active imagination entertained and to understand adults. My journey involved happiness and sorrow, the spectrum of emotions that many children encounter. Come explore life’s mysteries through my essay ‘Cherry Tree Dares’, my black eye in ‘The Chartreuse Monarch’ bicycle and ‘The Last Kiss’ between my mother and me.” Ilene W. Devlin Cherry Tree Dares: Essays on Childhood is the author’s first published nonfiction book.

Emma’s World: A World War II Memoir is a narrative nonfiction book by Ilene W. Devlin released in November 2020. The work is based on published research, family oral history and personal diaries and letters from World War II. This inspiring story shows one young American woman’s resilience in achieving her dreams by overcoming life’s obstacles. The book traces Emma’s life in Missouri in the 1930s through the end of World War II. Emma dreams of becoming a teacher. She would be the first in her family to finish high school but needs a college degree to receive her teaching certificate. She makes many sacrifices to succeed. Emma also dreams of becoming a wife and mother, but her boyfriend enlists in the Army during World War II. She faces the decision of whether they should marry before he leaves or after he returns, if he does so. Emma’s and Peter’s daily letters to each other are the heart of the second half of the book. Daily reality on the Midwestern home front continues, but stress, rationing and media war reports adversely affect all community members. From enduring muddy roads to learning about modern warfare, they find that their perspective constantly shifts from mundane life to world-altering events.

The story of a young pioneer girl who settled in Gonzales, Texas, just in time for the revolution. There is a spirit of vigor and courage in Texas. It inspired the early settlers, and it unified them during rough times. That spirit of determination rallied the men who defended the Alamo and fortified the volunteers who followed Sam Houston to San Jacinto. In 1831, Sydnie Gaston’s family had that spirit. Like many other families, they left the comforts of their home in the United States to brave the wilds in what was then Mexico. They settled in a village on the Guadalupe River and were soon swept up in the hardships of pioneer life. They overcame Indians and nature, and they helped to fight in a war against a deceitful government. Sydnie was one of many authentic women who fought for a better life in what became the Republic of Texas. And it all started with the Spirit of Gonzales.

In the first century, Channa’s stepfather gives her to her maternal great-uncle Avram to raise. Avram is known to be a peculiar, perhaps dangerous, man. His wife Yael cannot speak. Nevertheless, they are kind to Channah and teach her how to care for sheep. When her stepfather unexpectedly announces her betrothal to a Jerusalem tanner, the girl is forced to leave the only home she knows.

Channah looks forward to a loving husband, but soon learns she is to be Enos the tanner’s second wife. The beautiful first wife is barren, and she resents her youthful rival. Channa struggles to adjust to marriage and city life, cherishing the hope of someday having her own child to love.

It is the story of Ben Loch, a Confederate veteran and the son of a redneck farmer, and Annie Kingsley, the daughter of an upstairs maid and the plantation owner. She was the personal slave of her half sister until June 19, 1865, when Texas slaves learned of their freedom.

Buckle up for time travel, karate, and gambling in this action-adventure thriller. Matt McCain, a young man trying to overcome personal loss and family misfortune, and his amigo Juan, a Mexican orphan turned evangelist, are pitted against the Cyphers, a family that utilizes evil for every gain. The presence of Miss Guided, the angel who doesn't always get it right, changes them all. With more twists than a switchback trail, Re-Deal is a time traveling race against evil and misfortune. An 1882 poker showdown promises to change history forever, and Matt McCain aims to be the winner. But first he must match skills with the greatest cheaters of the Old West from Doc Holliday to S. W. Erdnase. The players, the power, and the present all hinge on the journey back to 1882, a trip through time that Re-Deals history in a startling conclusion.

This book has been a long time in the making. Eighteen years to be exact. Gary, whose voice you will hear through the first several chapters, died before the book could be completed. When Gary was first diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, he knew he would be spending long periods of time in the hospital. One day Gary announced, “I think I will write a book about how a family who was steadfastly a one-dog family came to own six dogs.” It was not until after Gary died that Betsy realized how much, and how well, he had written about their life and their dogs. After a year-long struggle, and after nearing the halfway mark of this book, he quietly died with family and friends by his side. Betsy moved on with her life. The book always stayed just out of her vision, almost too painful for her to consider. She took a glance at it from time to time, surprised at all he remembered and cherished of their life together. But, most of all, his book was about the dogs in their life and his profound and deep love for them. Nearly seventeen years after his death, Betsy began reading his funny and poignant words and she knew she needed to finish his story.

The Pet Detectives are an eleven-year-old English Labrador named Jaxxs, a fourteen-year-old yellow American Labrador named Blizzard, and a fifteen-year-old black English Labrador named Coopah! Their petmom is Lisa Smith Putnam, and together they make up Lisa and the Pet Detectives. Lisa and the Pet Detectives own and run Simply Pets Magazine by day, but they are always willing to lend a helping hand. They’re always helping to solve problems and helping others find their way! Learning lessons while at play!

Sirius is a Maremma sheepdog, a livestock guardian breed from Italy. They are usually solid white dogs. But not Sirius, he was born with spots. When Sirius was two months old, Mercury was born on the farm. Mercury is a blue-eyed miniature horse. He has spots too, and an unusual color pattern with three white legs and one dark leg, one white ear and one dark ear. Mercury and Sirius became instant friends.

How much fun do you think it would be, if we were all like Sirius and Mercury? They may be different but only see the ways they are alike.

This stirring tale of survival and hope chronicles the journey of two friends from the horrors of World War II to a quest for athletic mastery. Boudreaux and Johnny try to overcome their post-war bitterness with the help of new friends and an antique golf club. Did golf save them, or did they save golf?