Cleveland & Ohio
Jake and Maddie lead the Artificial Crimes Unit in pursuit of the "Baron" as he digitally resurrects history's most notorious serial killers.
"M.T. Bass melds the characters into a macabre tale of murder and mayhem confounded with artificial intelligence...skillfully crafted to keep you entertained and guessing." -Rosepoint Publishing Reviews
Richard Speck, John Wayne Gacy, and Aileen Wuornos all come alive again in the bodies of hacked and reprogrammed Personal Assistant Androids and are turned loose to terrorize the city.
While police detectives Jake and Maddie scramble to stop the carnage and free Amy, the young kidnapped orphan witness, the cyberpunk head of the Counter IT Section, Q, struggles to de-encrypt the Baron's mad scheme to infect world data centers with a virus that is a collective cyber unconsciousness of evil.
"It might not make sense, but the beloved Media tags it 'Murder by Munchausen.' For a price, there are hackers out there who will reprogram a synthoid to do your dirty work. The bad news: no fingerprints or DNA left at the crime scene. The good news-at least for us-is that they're like missiles: once they hit their target, they're usually as harmless as empty brass. The trick is to get them before they melt down their core OS data, so you can get the unit into forensics for analysis and, hopefully, an arrest." [excerpt from Murder by Munchausen]
Artificial Intelligence? Fuhgeddaboudit!
Artificial Evil has a name...Munchausen.
The media stereotypes Black boys as dangerous and lacking discipline and etiquette. But in fact, they are descendants of Kings and Queens and should feel proud of where they came from and where they're going. However, navigating from one world to another-like boyhood to manhood-can be disorienting and uncomfortable. It doesn't have to be so uncomfortable, though. James B. Wingo's The Manners Playbook: Essential Lessons for Young African-American Boys on Self-Awareness, Confidence and Etiquette is full of guidance on approaching new situations, caring for the body, and being confident in one's self while practicing good etiquette in new situations and relationships. Worried about a first date? Wondering how to handle a fight with friends? Want to impress someone? Wingo has tips for all and more in his guide to living up to the person you are meant to be.
Part of Belt's Revivals Series and an undisputed classic of African American literature. With a new introduction by Wiley Cash (When Ghosts Come Home).
On November 10, 1898, a mob of 400 people rampaged through the streets of Wilmington, North Carolina, killing as many as 60 citizens, burning down the newspaper office, overthrowing the newly elected leaders, and installing a new white supremacist government. In a violent reaction prompted by the increasing political powers African Americans in the town were gaining during Reconstruction, the Wilmington Race Riots--also known as the Wilmington Insurrection and the Wilmington Massacre--was the only successful coup d'etat on American soil.
The Marrow of Tradition is a fictionalized account of this important, under-studied event. Charles W. Chesnutt, an African American writer from North Carolina who lived in Cleveland as an adult and was the first black professional writer in the nation, narrates the story of "Wellington" North Carolina through William Miller, a black doctor, and his wife, Janet, who is both black and the unclaimed daughter of a prominent white businessman. Along with dozens of other characters, including a black domestic servant whose speech is rendered in vernacular dialect, they create a composite of Reconstruction and the violent racial politics created in backlash. The novel is also a masterful work of art that stands on its own: gripping, nuanced, and wholly original.
An unsung American classic with startling resonance for America's racial issues today.
The new upper middle grade fantasy book The Munchkinsby Cleveland-based author Candice Zee was released in paperback and ebook on October 12. This story about thirteen siblings with mysterious powers and their malevolent neighbor is already receiving five-star reviews.
In the book, Capricorn Munch and her twelve siblings suddenly appear outside a children's home. At ten years old they stop aging, and she and her siblings develop powers that give them incredible abilities, like healing wounds and manifesting objects. They strive to live a normal life, hiding their powers, until a sociopathic neighbor moves in next door. As the dangerous neighbor encourages them to be reckless with their powers, the siblings realize he’s up to something more sinister and need to find out what—before it’s too late. The book is the first in a series and is available nationally and internationally through brick-and-mortar stores and online retailers.
Candice Zee is a middle-grade and young adult (YA) fantasy writer who first dreamed the idea of The Munchkins as a child while playing make-believe with her brother in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The two siblings would make up Munchkins stories, act them out, and imagine them into being. She is an early childhood teacher and now lives with her wife and dog in Cleveland, Ohio.
