Books published by publisher Outskirts Press, Inc.

Thrilling, intelligent, make-believe, for all ages!“No man is rich unless he has a tale to tell.” — Lord Ever BlackwoodThe entire world loves folk tales, fairy tales and the stories handed down from earlier generations. Now delight in twenty tales you have never read before. Fateful decisions, evil promises, dangerous secrets, and daring rescues, along with brave girls and boys, await you when you step into The Land of the Seven Kingdoms.Guided by your storyteller host, Mijel the Tellara, you can journey, or Travelon as we call it in Merrinwold, into The Land of the Seven Kingdoms anywhere, anytime! You will experience wondrous transformations, evil creatures, and binding friendships; there is lasting love, frightful dangers, and more. Wonderfultales from the Land of the Seven Kingdoms, like classic tales from the past continues the telling of stories of wonder and amazement, and is certain to be the new standard in classic entertainment for all ages. Welcome!

Join Sir Gawain on his journey to seek the green chapel and battle the green knight who dwells there. Accepting the challenge of a Christmas game on behalf of his uncle, King Arthur, the young knight, Sir Gawain, leaves his home of Camelot and travels afar, finding board at a stately castle. Received by a hospitable Host, Sir Gawain finds refuge along with many tests and challenges along the way. His final challenge awaits at the green chapel, where he is to receive a deathly blow of the ax from the green knight. The greatest challenge of all is young Sir Gawain staying honest to himself.Jane England received an F in the children's literature course. The only failing grade of her entire academic career was on a mid-term paper she wrote about the anonymous fourteenth-century poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Her professor at the time disagreed that the well-studied piece of British literature was also a work of children's literature.Many great works of children's literature demonstrate Joseph Campbell's thesis of the mythical journey of the hero depicting the psychological and spiritual maturation necessary for human existence. "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" satisfies all the elements of Joseph Campbell's thesis of the hero's journey: the call to adventure, supernatural aid, crossing the threshold from the known to the unknown, beginning of transformation, aid from a helper, challenges and temptations, the revelation and the abyss, rebirth and transformation, atonement, and return to the known.Albeit, the anonymous fourteenth-century poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" as written did not lend itself easily to be read by children. Ultimately the mutually agreed upon decision was to rewrite a portion of the fourteenth-century work into the text of children's literature following the structure of the hero's journey and proving that the tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight can be children's literature. Challenge accepted.On and off for many years beyond college, Jane continued rewriting the entire poem into a simplified form to appeal to children.

Is she the choosen one? The heat raged with retribution, developing experience with every spark released. It grew massively strong, tall, and surface area....She was the fire. She was raging with retribution, taller, stronger, and gained more experience with every flare released....She admitted to herself that the only intolerable thing about being one with the flame was the damage to her appearance. Her dermis changed from porcelain to copper and the loosely charred dead skin flew with the wind.She rotates her head, owl-like, surveying the room. The square area around her was minuscule; there were rhythmic, infrequent intervals of wind coming through the open window high above ground level, enticing the flame. The guilty red-stained black walls were practically invisible, blocked by miniature bookshelves not occupied with books but jars, glasses, pipettes, and undefiled candles. Strange liquids rested inside them. Catching her eye, a decaying ash-brown five-foot toothpick podium stood amid the upper right corner. On top of the podium rusts away a forgotten war-fought, gold and black manuscript that he used.He was there too. She saw his silhouette now, most of him hidden within the opposing lower walls, but she knew. He observed her, took mental notes, and made conclusions like she was an experiment. It was admirable, the way he was meticulous about things. He was reserved, but everything about him was concise, deliberate, and mindful. His true qualities took time to pinpoint, but she knows now that he is the slow-and-conquer type. Time was not a problem for him--there was no need for haste. That's something she admired about him.K. McNee & Co is the author of The Reaper's Wife and more. For more info visit www.kmcneeandco.com

“A fascinating and admirable history. The detailed and descriptive chapters in this book create entire cultural worlds for readers to learn from, enjoy, and remember.” —Chitra Divakaruni, international award-winning and bestselling author, Houston, TX “An inspiring story, a wonderful saga of a migrant in America.” —Tom Reid, Mayor of Pearland, TX “An engaging memoir of a doctor, an Indian American.” —Aseem Chhabra, columnist for India Abroad, NY “Provides an interesting reading of a diasporic longing for home.” —Professor Sanoo Master, writer, critic, humanist, Kerala, India “Unbelievable…interesting and fascinating reading.” —Padma Shri Dr. Vyjayanthimala Bali, dancer, actress, former MP, Chennai, India “Remarkable journey from his native land of India to America.” —John K. Graham, MD, D. Min, President/CEO, ISH., Houston, TX “Enjoyable and authentic descriptions; touching; impressive.” —Padma Vibhushan, professor, physicist, Dr. E.C.G. Sudarshan, Austin, TX

Colby Dixon's life is going to hell. He's failing his senior year, his one and only friend is leaving for college, and his house is a nightmare filled with empty wine bottles, neglect, and abuse. Just when it can't seem to get any worse, Christian, the new, mysterious student, catches his interest. But this new friendship quickly turns Colby's world completely upside down when one night Colby finds himself the only thing between Christian and a new alter-ego with a death wish. Will their newfound journey lead to a happy ending or will it uncover a darker secret sure to destroy families and end lives?

**Don't Blame Hazel! is a Gold Award Winner of Mom's Choice Awards!!** "Being a BULLY doesn't make you look good!" Hazel may dress different but she loves the way she looks. At her new school Hazel is bullied over and over until one day the bully shows up at her front door as a slimy green toad!! What happens next may surprise you... "Don't Blame Hazel!" is a story that helps children recognize signs of bullying. It will encourage them to be themselves and empower them to maintain their individuality and confidence. They will discover that bullies have their own weaknesses, and that through understanding and forgiveness, a new friendship can be formed. Don't Blame Hazel! is a recipient of the prestigious Mom's Choice Award. The Mom's Choice Awards® (MCA) evaluates products and services created for parents and educators and is globally recognized for establishing the benchmark of excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. Using a rigorous evaluation process, entries are scored on a number of elements including production quality, design, educational value, entertainment value, originality, appeal and cost. Around the world, parents, educators, retailers and members of the media trust the MCA Honoring Excellence seal when selecting quality products and services for families and children.

This tells of why and how a young Rhodesian army Captain decided in 1963 not to fight the oncoming war over majority rule. His future unknown, he leaves the country for studies in Cape Town; marries; wins a Beit Fellowship to Oxford; and is recruited to a career at the World Bank. In time he becomes an expert on Eastern Europe. Invited home in 1975 to help prepare Rhodesia's transition to Zimbabwe, he spends three years living through the very war he chose to avoid. Rejoining the Bank, he works on Hungary and, in a unique period after communism fell in 1989, he lives in Poland as Resident Representative. A man of two transitions, he explains how they are separate but ironically linked. His book, a testament to the value of education and the power of family, is written as a memoir to his grandchildren. Now himself a proud American, he offers them a world view-what he calls a moral equilibrium- to harmonize their vexed heritage with today's divided America. Happy with his life, he regrets the outcomes in the country he left. He describes a different path to majority rule his countrymen could have taken, instead of herd-think support of Ian Smith's UDI and war. Had they done so, both the war as well as the brutality, corruption and devastation of Mugabe's Zimbabwe could well have been avoided. As a life's message to his grandchildren, he exhorts them not to make similar mistakes: beware the herd; think for yourself.

On a night when the sky is full of stars, sometimes there appears light that cannot be explained, even by the smartest astronomers...Evelyn is a little girl who lives with her parents and brother in a house with a big backyard. On nights when the sky is filled with brightly shining stars, she loves to go outside before bed to see the Milky Way and the Big Dipper and dream about the planets.But Evelyn has a secret: She is able to see flashes of light streaking across the night sky that no one else can see. And she’ll soon learn that her secret is actually a wonderful gift!

The main characters of Finding Lord Stanley are three sisters who started their summer vacation in the usual manner, playing with friends. Playing games in the front yard turned into a surprise discovery under a bush in the neighbor's yard, a tiny grey kitten. The girls set out to convince their Mom and Dad that the kitten needed a home. Although Mom was easily convinced, their Dad would be a challenge. This delightful story takes a few twists and turns until the sisters gave this lost kitten a "furever" home.