Books published by publisher Quad City Press

The Christmas Cats in Silly Hats is a Dr. Seuss-like book, with rhyming wisdom, sly humor and colorful characters that will help parents teach their young children that success in life is about learning to get along and work cooperatively. The cats of the story must learn to share and put aside their petty catty spats, in order to be happy and successful. Written for the author’s two-year-old granddaughters, Ava and Elise Wilson, with the assistance of two talented young illustrators (one, the girls’ nanny from Venezuela, Emily Marquez), The Christmas Cats in Silly Hats employs a whimsical, non-preachy style, using the rivalry and friendship between two cats to teach a valuable life lesson. The lesson? It is better to learn to cooperate and to share in order to get along in life than it is to be mean and to fight. Andrew Weinert began the illustrations for the book when still a high school student in 2004. Due to a series of circumstances beyond the authors’ control, the book languished for eight years until after Elise and Ava Wilson were born in January of 2009. The girls’ Venezuelan au pair, Emily Marquez, offered to help bridge the areas of the story that had changed with the passage of time. Now, the book was not just about two cats, but---indirectly---about two children, twin girls, who should learn to be nice to one another. Children of all ages should learn to share and to work and play together nicely. Valuable lessons for any age presented with humor and style in The Christmas Cats in Silly Hats. A labor-of-love Christmas gift for two special little girls and a tribute to the young lady who has taught them so much over the past two years about kindness and being nice to one another.

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.

Set amid the perils of illegal border crossings, The Iguana Tree is the suspenseful saga of Lilia and Hector, who separately make their way from Mexico into the United States, seeking work in the Carolinas and a home for their infant daughter.Michel Stone's harrowing novel meticulously examines the obstacles each faces in pursuing a new life: manipulation, rape, and murder in the perilous commerce of border crossings; betrayal by family and friends; exploitation by corrupt officials and rapacious landowners on the U.S. side; and, finally, the inexorable workings of the U.S. justice system.Hector and Lilia meet Americans willing to help them with legal assistance and offers of responsible employment, but their illegal entry seems certain to prove their undoing. The consequences of their decisions are devastating. In the end, The Iguana Tree is a universal story of loss, grief, and human dignity.

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 Christmas Cats Chase Christmas Rats is a Seuss-ical tale for young children which builds upon the moral of the first Christmas Cats book to once again teach children a valuable life lesson. In this second Christmas Cats adventure the lesson to be learned is: In life, always keep an open mind. Don’t accept stereotypes as true or let the unfounded opinions of others prevent you from finding out the truth for yourself. We all need to act without prejudice and learn to accept each other as individuals. The Christmas Cats learn that rats, too, should be judged as individuals. Another message: all of us should try to help others. Written for the author’s four-year-old granddaughters, Ava and Elise Wilson, with the assistance of talented professional illustrator Gary McCluskey, The Christmas Cats continue to have adventures while attired in their familiar silly hats from Book One (The Christmas Cats in Silly Hats). Learning to accept others in a non-judgmental, open-minded fashion is a lesson we all must learn. If children can internalize this behavior while young, learning to help others and to do good works, the world will be a better place.

Set amid the perils of illegal border crossings, The Iguana Tree is the suspenseful saga of Lilia and Hector, who separately make their way from Mexico into the United States, seeking work in the Carolinas and a home for their infant daughter.Michel Stone s harrowing novel meticulously examines the obstacles each faces in pursuing a new life: manipulation, rape, and murder in the perilous commerce of border crossings; betrayal by family and friends; exploitation by corrupt officials and rapacious landowners on the U.S. side; and, finally, the inexorable workings of the U.S. justice system.Hector and Lilia meet Americans willing to help them with legal assistance and offers of responsible employment, but their illegal entry seems certain to prove their undoing. The consequences of their decisions are devastating. In the end, The Iguana Tree is a universal story of loss, grief, and human dignity.

The poles are amazing places. With their stark landscapes and harsh climates, they are unlike any other environments on Earth. Yet so many different animals have found ways to make these places home. From polar bears to puffins, humpback whales to huskies, you'll marvel at the variety of life to be found at the world's extremes. 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 modern-day Dennis the Menace, Robbie Knightley stumbles through life annoying the next-door neighbor, frustrating his teachers and perplexing his parents, who can't quite understand why he's so different than his six older sisters. When Robbie opens his Christmas presents prematurely without remorse for the second year running, his parents consult his therapist grandfather and Robbie hears his parents say they think there's something wrong with him, something missing. Robbie decides he'll get by in life by keeping his mouth shut and avoiding spending too much time with other people. But when a five-day class trip is unexpectedly moved up and he can't get out of it, Robbie fears the worst: that his friends will see him for who he really is, a boy with something missing.

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!