Books published by publisher Old City Press

Travelling storyteller Joel ben Izzy recounts some of the tales closest to his heart in this voyage of laughter and tears that will take you around the world and back again. Starting with the title story, based on a Polish folktale, ben Izzy weaves together stories with memories of his father. Among the tales are some hilarious stories of Hershel of Ostropol and a wild Hatian story about the king of the elephants. You'll hear the following: My Father and Hershel of Ostropol (California & The Ukraine) Buried Treasures (Poland & Czechoslovakia) The Road Back Home (Spain & Haiti) One Last Hershel Tale (The Ukraine) This tape was chosen as an Editor's Choice by Booklist Magazine.

The Fall of a Great American City is the story of what is happening today in New York City and in many other cities across America. It is about how the crisis of affluence is now driving out everything we love most about cities: small shops, decent restaurants, public space, street life, affordable apartments, responsive government, beauty, idiosyncrasy, each other. This is the story of how we came to lose so much—how the places we love most were turned over to land bankers, billionaires, the worst people in the world, and criminal landlords—and how we can - and must - begin to take them back. Co-published with Harper's Magazine, where an earlier version of this essay was originally published in 2018.As New York City approaches the third decade of the twenty-first century, it is in imminent danger of becoming something it has never been before: unremarkable. By unremarkable I don’t just mean periodic, slump-in-the-art-world, all-the-bands-suck, cinema-is-dead boring. I mean flatlining. No longer a significant cultural entity but a blank white screen of mere existence. I mean The-World’s-Largest-Gated-Community-with-a-few-cupcake-shops. For the first-time in our history, creative-youngpeople- will-no-longer want-to-come-here boring. Even, New-York-is-over boring. Or worse, New York is like everywhere else. Unremarkable. This is not some new phenomenon, but a cancer that’s been metastasizing on the city for decades now. Even worse, it’s not something that anyone wants, except the landlords, and not even all of them. What’s happening to New York now—what’s already happened to most of Manhattan, its core, and what is happening in every American city of means, Boston, Washington, San Francisco, Seattle, you name it—is something that almost nobody wants, but everybody gets. As such, the current urban crisis exemplifies our wider crisis: an America where we believe that we no longer have any ability to control the systems we live under.

Head out for an African safari with the turn of a page! This stunning collection of photos puts the fascinating world of safari animals at your fingertips--meet hippos happily splashing in a lake, or catch a lion prowling in the tall grasses. See how different exotic creatures live, hunt, and play in this wild landscape. Animals from all over the world star in the bright and irresistible Snapshot Picture Library series. Gorgeous photography, ranging from dramatic to laugh-out-loud funny, will engage readers of any age, while young readers will particularly delight in the lively, easy-to-read, playful text. From the friendly and familiar animals found on a farm or in your very own home to exotic or endangered species that many people may never see, the Snapshot Picture Library series is your ticket not only to other places but to other ways of seeing and thinking about the world we love and share.

A witchy good girl hiding secrets from her family…Cami yearns for a regular, ho hum, average life. Or at least as normal as she can get in a family of witches. But she can’t tell her sisters about her violent ex. Or that she broke the first rule of magic to “harm none.” Yet, when her youngest sister asks for help unraveling the death of a 1930’s star abused by loved ones, Cami can’t refuse.A reformed bad boy who doesn’t know his family’s hidden secrets…Sam lives for his restaurant and the intrigue of digging into Hollywood history. He avoids the entanglements of relationships since even his own parents didn’t want him. But when the enchanting Cami needs his help to crack an unsolved mystery, he can’t resist. The closer they come to finding the killer, the more they crave each other. But someone is determined to stop them.Can they solve the mystery before history repeats itself?

The sequel to Ken Brosky's sensational sci-fi adventure "The Proving" takes readers on a new journey to a new world where nothing is as it seems! As the last remnants of humanity seek a new home, they find themselves hounded by the Specters, a ghostly alien race. For Gabriel Martinez and his ragtag crew, this is just the beginning. After their ship suffers catastrophic damage, they're forced to land on an unfamiliar planet ... and the creatures that live there might have a terrifying connection to the human race.

The hero's journey comes to a close in this epic two-part adventure! Alice Goodenough has passed through Death and now finds herself in a strange land with only her nemesis Sam Grayle for company. Their presence doesn't go unnoticed ... soon, they find themselves in the middle of a war between the good and the Corrupted. Old foes return. New allies are made. Lines are drawn and then crossed as the Corruption spreads, threatening to destroy the land itself and cover this strange world in darkness forever.Alice and her allies must stop it. But to do that, they'll have to find the source of the Corruption: an old enemy whose power has only grown stronger. And this time, the Golden Dragon has an army ...Like Katniss in The Hunger Games and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, hero Alice Goodenough is going to need to use more than her fists if she hopes to survive this nightmare!

The ocean is a mysterious place inhabited by creatures unlike any found on land. Meet these wild, wonderful, and sometimes weird animals, who live in a colorful world without humans. Stunning photos introduce creatures large and small, each with its own special place in the depths of the sea. Animals from all over the world star in the bright and irresistible Snapshot Picture Library series. Gorgeous photography, ranging from dramatic to laugh-out-loud funny, will engage readers of any age, while young readers will particularly delight in the lively, easy-to-read, playful text. From the friendly and familiar animals found on a farm or in your very own home to exotic or endangered species that many people may never see, the Snapshot Picture Library series is your ticket not only to other places but to other ways of seeing and thinking about the world we love and share.

When Freedom Has a Price, Who Will Stand Unafraid?The Metrics government has claimed success in relocating millions of Unregistered citizens out west. But the group who escaped their insidious plan knows the truth—the government had their fellow outsiders murdered.As winter approaches the hidden monastery in the hills, Bristol, Samara, Denver, and Jude realize that the responsibilities of keeping their community safe and plotting their next escape has fallen upon them.But even when they reach the allusive outside, the political turmoil in their new country makes them question if life there is any better than under the Metrics.As trust fractures between the four friends and each tries to find a way to function in this strange new world, will they be able to continue working together to find the future they thought they wanted?“Lynch’s exceptional near-future totalitarian nightmare of obedience and forced sterilization, all major individual decisions are removed. Four central characters in an unnamed city resent their repressive lives...Their lives intertwine in Lynch’s scant but complex book, which packs in scathing commentaries on police brutality, crime prevention, population control, classism, and state-sponsored murder.” - PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY ★★★★★AUTHOR INTERVIEWQ: Why do you write?A: Writing is a compulsive behavior of mine. I started filling journals with observations, stories poems, lists, and quotes throughout my childhood and just never stopped. I've had a blog ever since my family got a computer. I'd always wanted to write novels, but up until recently, I lacked the discipline. Now that I've found a process that works for me, I write novels because it's what lights me up; it fulfills me.Q: What do you write?A: Right now, I write fiction with speculative elements. Real life can also be bizarre and thrilling, but I really enjoy playing with science and technology, magic, and time travel. Below is the reading order for my current series.CHILDREN OF THE UPRISINGUnregisteredUnafraidUndoneQ: Why should readers pick up your books?A: Readers are on my mind the entire time I'm writing. I try to be thoughtful enough to craft the experience that a reader will have when they enter the world of my novel. I'm always proud to say that I write commercial fiction, because it means my stories are created with the reader in mind. Be sure to scroll up and hit that BUY NOW button to journey into a world of science fiction, adventure, and the unregistered!

200 years ago, the Brothers Grimm unleashed their stories upon the world. Now the characters of the Grimms' stories walk among us, cursed by a corrupting black magic. With every day that passes, they grow more evil. More dangerous.For 18-year-old Alice Goodenough, summer vacation was supposed to mean part-time work at the local library. But when she comes across a mysterious creature and a magic pen, she finds herself suddenly thrust into the role of the Hero. It is now her responsibility to wipe out the Corrupted once and for all. She has no choice in the matter. The Corrupted are everywhere, and only Alice can see them for what they truly are.This book contains the first 3 episodes of the critically acclaimed series: Episode 1: Prince Charming Must Die!Alice Goodenough has been chosen to be the new hero, but not before undergoing a test to see if she's worthy. Shaken, confused, Alice discovers that her weapon is a magic fountain pen and her ammunition is her mind: whatever she can draw, she can create. With the help of a rabbit friend, Alice must learn the ways of the hero and discover the truth about her frightening dreams: who is the terrible creature feeding on its victims at night?Episode 2: Happily Never AfterAlice's nightmares have begun to grow more real. Terrifying man-eating rats are plaguing the city of Chicago, and it's up to Alice to figure out a way to stop them. But before she can do that, she'll have to face off with an even more dangerous enemy sent to kill her.An enemy that has killed heroes before ...Episode 3: Revenge of the Castle CatsAfter being rushed to the hospital, Alice Goodenough finds herself trapped in the worst dream imaginable: a horrible monster is hunting in the darkness, searching for its next victim: Alice. It will stop at nothing to kill her.And that's not the worst of it. All across the city, people are growing more addicted to Castle Cats, a smartphone game created by Grayle Incorporated. And it's not just a game. The more you play, the more it controls you. Soon, Alice learns that the dwarfs who run Grayle Incorporated are watching her everywhere she goes, using human beings to spy on her.There must be a confrontation. Sam Grayle and his brothers have to be stopped. And Alice is going to need help.Additional features for this special edition:- An introduction- Two special "Lost Diaries"- A behind-the-scenes interview- Links to the original Grimms' Fairy Tales