BookLife - Resources and tools for book publishers and writers

The View From Here

by The Walnut Creek Writers Guild

What do a boy on a train, a girl wandering through an apocalyptic landscape, a nurse cleaning a belly button, an ex-cop dealing with scam artists, an American learning to drive in England, a tourist venturing off the beaten path in Prague, a woman trying to find the truth about love, and a stranded driver facing ultimate horror, have in common? The answer is in nine diverse stories told by eight authors from The Walnut Creek Writers Guild who explore, The View From Here.

The Stories We Don't Tell

by Melissa Thayer

"Growing up had stolen the truth of us."

A life worth living is a life worth sharing. Growing up in a small town in Montana not worth a name, that kind of life is not one Nick can manage, let alone comprehend. When fate gives him an existence he can barely recognize, he searches for meaning in the future he wishes existed, and attempts to escape a past that cannot be told, save for in the pages of a faded memory.

Melissa Thayer's lyrical and poignant debut ... more

The Magic Star

by Bruce Oatway

Follow the Magic Star on it's colorful journey through magical lands meeting magical characters on the way to your heart. Children and adults with 'the heart of a child" will be enchanted by the original works of art and taken in by the lilting poetic rhyme. A true keepsake treasure with an eternal message of joy.

Sons of the Sphinx

by Cheryl Carpinello

Sons of the Sphinx is based on the schism that shot through ancient Egypt when, according to historians, the Pharaoh Akhenaten turned his back on Thebes and the gods of Egypt. Although his son Tutankhamen reverses Akhenaten's proclamations, the damage has been done, and his entire family is dishonored. Armed with what she considers her grandmother’s curse, 15-year-old Rosa agrees to help the ghost of King Tut find his lost queen Hesena. Though Hesena’s ba inhabits part of Rosa, finding the whole... more

Another Sunset

by Jason Zandri

David Stephenson is a kind drifter who comes to settle in the small Texas town of Westville. His sense, empathy, and awareness are well received by the residents of the failing town as they welcome and befriend him. During his stay he helps a small local girl try to realize her dream and while doing so excites and energizes the whole town to help out. Lives change as fate takes a critical turn. The local would-be reporter, tasked by David’s longtime friend, takes off on a mission to unravel the ... more

Fortune's Detour

by Abigail Schwaig

Meet Natalie Pryce- an artist at heart, constantly misunderstood by most of the people she knows. She has changed her career aspirations more times than she can count and feels like a grand failure at life. She is directionless until accidentally falling into an exciting relationship with David, a charming and expressive young man who is more than willing to live moment to moment with her. Life starts looking up, until, just her luck, disaster strikes, secrets are revealed, and Natalie is for... more

The Last True Spartan: An Epic Historical Fiction Novel

by mike rogers

Sparta Slumped To Its Knees With Haunched Shoulders And A Fading Final Breath Was this the end of them..... ? After the third Macedonian war Greece is under control of the mighty Rome. Athens is under control of the Romans. Macedon is plundered and broken. Sparta is but a shadow of its former glory. And yet...A spartan warrior arises and brings a dream of freedom Greece and Macedonia were under the iron fist of Rome. Plundered and scalped. Tortured, beaten and left for shadows of w... more

Eighty Guns Afloat: The Suppression of the Slave Trade off the Coast of Africa

by mike rogers

FROM 1830 to 1850 both Great Britain and the United States, by joint convention, kept on the coast of Africa at least eighty guns afloat for the suppression of the slave trade. At this time the traffic in slaves was very brisk; the demand in the Brazils, in Cuba, and in other Spanish West Indies was urgent, and the profit of the business so great that two or three successful ventures would enrich any one. The slavers were generally small, handy craft; fast, of course; usually schooner- rigged... more

Jack's Tales

by jim Westcott

Meet Jack!

He;s afraid that his basement is haunted. He's scared that there is a monster in the bay. He's nervous about the championship soccer game. But he's also determined to overcome his fears, even if it means serving pizza to a ghost.

Jack's Tales isn't quite a chapter book. It's not exactly a short story collection either. It's Jack's Monster when Jack is age 8. It's Jack's Pizza Ghost when he's 9.. Then it's Jack... more

Persephone in Hell

by C.F. Joyce

Troubled teenage Glory imagines herself a mighty queen, but discovers in her 1968 Massachusetts town that even queens have to watch their heads as savages await. Glory and her family move from Boston city life to rural cow country where people have heard of Jews but never seen a real one. Persephone in Hell tells a coming of age tale about a girl who doesn’t understand why her sister won’t talk to her and even Mother Nature seems out to get her. She cries out to the gods for help. But nobody see... more

Kibble Talk

by Cynthia Port

Once Tawny decides to do something, there’s no holding her back. So when her best friend dares her to eat dog kibble, down it goes. Little does she know how that dusty, tasteless lump will change her life. Suddenly she can hear what dogs have to say and talk back to them too! This might not be such a big deal, except that her own dog, an enormous and cantankerous Great Dane, has a LOT to say. He lets her know right away that his fondest wish is to be a teeny tiny lap dog with all the accessories... more

Lexi Goes on Vacation to the Outer Banks

by Janice Wills Kingsbury

Ms. Janice and Mr. Rob have vacationed in the seashore town of Duck in North Carolina for 10 years. Duck is a friendly place with sandy beaches where children and dogs romp to their hearts content. This year Lexi, a new addition to their dog family, will come too. But the vacation will be like no other and as the sun sets on the beach it promises to be a long night, one the family will never forget!

Act Normal - And Don't Tell Anyone About The Dinosaur In The Garden: Read it yourself chapter books

by Christian Darkin

Jenny’s latest experiment has accidentally turned her chickens into dinosaurs. Her brother, Adam thinks this is great. He decides to feed the same experiment to some ostriches at a local farm. This isn’t going to end well, but Jenny is used to strange things happening in her life, and thinks the best move is to just ACT NORMAL...

She Only Speaks to Butterflies

by Sandy Appleyard

Her husband is dead. Her daughter does not speak. The town she’s raised her child in is being set aflame and nobody knows who or why. Sherry is alone, facing her worst fears while the town pulls together to keep everyone safe. She prays the culprit will be found before it’s too late, but her instincts predict otherwise. When a new face arrives in town, Sherry realizes she is not the only one who has lost, and more importantly, that there is much more she could lose.

Kidwise: the world according to Benjamin

by Daniel Rosales

These are the things my son Ben has said, since learning he could say things. Benjamin was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma 4-s at 2 months old; he spent his entire first year of life fighting this rare form of cancer. He didn't have the strength to talk until he was well into his 2nd year and walking came soon after. I do my best to listen to my son, as it was made clear to me there's no guarantee he'll be here tomorrow, or neither may I for that matter. We live life now, creating memories fo... more

Emma Von N.

by Sheldon Cashdan

A young girl arrives at the office of Sigmund Freud with symptoms that have baffled the best medical minds in Vienna. During a lengthy psychoanalysis, a mysterious dream surfaces that contributes to a cure although Freud, for reasons of his own, deliberately fails to pursue the dream's deeper meaning . The heroine, Emma, subsequently journeys to America to attend Vassar College, then returns to Vienna after graduation only to find herself in an arranged marriage. Her efforts to escape... more

Discover Books

General Fiction (including literary and historical)