Books published by publisher Black Rose Writing

“This sensational small town crime thriller is a perfect beach read.” –Best ThrillersIt’s an unseasonably hot April night in 1965. The social revolutions rocking America have mostly bypassed Burr, a tiny rural community in western Oklahoma. Like much of the state, Burr remains as it’s always been: Religious. Conservative. And 100% white. When an unknown young African-American woman is found murdered on the railroad tracks outside town, most of Burr would rather look the other way. The town’s police chief, troubled local hero and ex-Marine Emmett Hardy, doesn’t have that luxury. A lover of books and jazz in the land of football and country & western, Emmett is an outsider in a place he knows like the back of his hand. In his search for the killer, he’s forced to slice through layers of hate and hypocrisy to confront the ethical rot at the town’s core, while being haunted by the vision of a life and love that might have been.

Seinfeld writer Andy Cowan's 2018 comedy memoir, Banging My Head Against the Wall: A Comedy Writer’s Guide to Seeing Stars, foreword by Jay Leno, was recently acquired by The National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York, a 2019 USA Today Best New Attraction.“The Opposite” wasn’t just the classic Seinfeld episode in which George Costanza followed the opposite of his instincts to land success. The method behind the madness has been championed in industries worldwide and even likened to the rise of Trump. The award-winning writer who helped Costanza win, and first pondered “the opposite” in his own life, identifies traces of it in the legends he mined for anecdotes before the cameras rolled at his first high-profile Hollywood job on which he also became a recurring performer, and in numerous stops along his unique road of comedy writing and performing twists and turns, as the only scribe associated with Cheers, Seinfeld and 3rd Rock From the Sun. (Multiple episodes and staff)For a Tinseltown backstage pass, lessons from film and television icons, in-the-trenches comedy writing and performing strategies, Seinfeld episodes that could have been, talk show, sitcom and single panel cartoon development, and pitching the decision makers (or doing the opposite of playing their game) you’ll want to keep… Banging My Head Against the Wall!

“My tale starts with a ‘once upon a time’ — A long time ago, beings lived who could control the elements, immortality, and time. We called them gods and gave them our worship. They played with us like toys, took our lives and sabotaged our love. Now, the gods are myths. Stories in books—not to be confused with our modern world. I believed this until I found myself tumbling into a dream. This dream takes me to another life. To a forgotten time in a bloody age. I dream of Hades’s son and a lustful goddess. I dream of limitless power and revolving time. I dream a death and love that was mine...My name is Cara Wynter— and this is my story.”Cara Wynter is a literature student living with her twin sister, Lily, in Fairhaven Washington. A daughter of witches, touch brings Cara only pain, and dark visions of pasts and futures she can rarely change. Already fighting to exist in her strange reality, she begins to crumble when the reoccurring dreams of her own death begin. In a desperate attempt to unlock the secrets in the violent images, she finds herself lost in a contest between love—and the will of the ancient gods. With only forgotten memories and the pages of a book to guide her, she struggles to understand her past and break a deadly curse. Cara must face her worst fears—to save the soul of a god she has treasured for centuries, and a love she cannot live without.

“A courageous journey of survival and loyalty through the eyes of children during WWII.” –S.A. Larsen, author of Motley EducationEleven-year-old Joyce and her little sister hide in their bomb shelter during the German Blitz on London, during World War II. After nights of bombing, it’s decided that they’ll join the over 800,000 children who’ve already been evacuated during Operation Pied Piper. They board a train not knowing where they’re going or who will take them in.The long, crowded train ride is less than pleasant. Thankfully they make two allies, Sam and Molly. Upon arriving in Leek, the evacuees are herded off the train and paraded down the street like sheep. Joyce and her sister are terrified they won’t be chosen.Eventually, a family welcomes them. As they adjust to all the changes, they find the people of Leek aren’t so accepting to all the evacuees. Sam’s host is dark and abusive. As the girls help plan his escape, they discover this sleepy little community holds a dark secret...

“A unique and creative world full of adventure, romance, and suspense.” –Kristen Jackson, author of Keeper of the WatchDespite all odds, humanity survives and evolves in the face of a disaster that nearly destroys Earth. But now the Commander, a brutal dictator from Pax Lunar Colony, seeks to control both worlds. Telekinetic teen Madi tries to save her parents from his schemes, but realizes she must help save the world first. Stranded in a post-apocalyptic American wasteland, Madi will fight to find her way back to her friends and family, while searching for new allies and a way to end the Commander’s violent conquest. Ashes is the dark, thrilling sequel to The Scorching.

"The story is engaging, the suspense is authentic, and his characters are industrious, accessible, and great role models for the target audience." –Authors Reading“Arthur, is that what I think it is?” she gasped.Summer vacation for Arthur and Marya takes a very strange turn when a weird old man with a long white beard draws the two friends into an ancient mystery that they must solve in order to recover a magical artifact from the distant past. They soon learn that they are not the only ones who seek this relic; closing in on them are powerful evil forces that will stop at nothing to get their hands on it. With help from some very unlikely sources, Arthur and Marya unravel clues that lead them to their goal, only to discover that it is protected by creatures they never imagined. When they find themselves deep underground, with time running out and with nothing to rely on but their own courage and trust in each other, the teenagers must vanquish inhuman forces if they want to get out alive.

Sunshine is a charming story of a little girl and her new pony, Sunshine. Sunshine is sweet, sassy, and oh, so stubborn! It doesn’t take long before her owner finds out her little pony has a problem - she only likes to walk in a straight line! Over and over throughout the book Sunshine gets herself and her little owner in some pretty harrowing situations due to her "handicap"; but blinded by love, her owner refuses to see her cherished pony’s flaws and forgives her each time she gets them in a pickle. In her young owner’s loving eyes, Sunshine can do no wrong. Despite Sunshine’s handicap, she somehow teaches her owner right from left, even though she only likes to walk in a straight line!

Cucina Tipica: An Italian Adventure is the story of Jacoby Pines, a disheartened American who arrives in Italy on holiday, and decides he never wants to leave. What follows is a wine-soaked, food-filled, travel-laden adventure about one man’s quest for an antiquated existence in the modern world."Any reader with a passion for food, wine, literature, and, most of all, the streets of Florence, will find the release of Andrew Cotto's latest novel, Cucina Tipica: An Italian Adventure, a rare delight to the senses and intellect." –The Brooklyn Rail

"A taut, compelling family tale." –Kirkus ReviewsMillington Valley is a quintessential small Pennsylvania town: families go back generations. Football rules. Kids drink while adults look the other way. High school is a whirlwind of aspiration and rivalry, friendship and jealousy. When smart and pretty Molly Hanover moves to town and attracts the attention of the football team’s hero, Wade Thornton—a nice guy with a bad drinking habit—longtime friendships are threatened and a popular cheerleader tries to turn the school against Molly.The young couple’s future is shattered when Wade, drunk, wrecks his truck and Molly is thrown through the windshield. She wakes from a coma to find her beauty marred and her memory full of holes. As she struggles to heal, she becomes sure that something terrible happened before the accident. And there is somebody in the valley who doesn’t want her to remember.

“Brisk sci-fi futurism with a feline star and a positive outlook.” –KIRKUS REVIEWSThe fate of the world rests on the haunches of one small cat.It’s 2135. Fluffy is a super-intelligent GAB (Genetically Altered Brain) cat. Like many dogs, cats, mice, and the occasional pig, her brain is the product of genetic tinkering by humans that started more than a century ago. With their powers of telekinesis, the animals can manipulate physical objects without being able to grasp them. They can speak to each other telepathically without audible voices. Now, people have begun to fear them and to systematically capture and exterminate them. Fluffy leaves the safety of her home to look for her lost brother and joins a band of animal revolutionaries. After a series of brushes with death, Fluffy and her friends find a secret university for GAB animals. There, they work with enlightened humans to save Earth from certain destruction.

When baby Stanley is raised as a dog by his exceptionally far-sighted owner, he quickly realizes that being a dog is hard. More than anything, he wishes he could just fit in. So that’s what he and his stuffed-monkey pal Anderson set out to do – find one wish. Along the bumpy way, a magic spider reveals a wish-promising meteor shower that bursts into the night sky. Thanks to a last-second change of heart and the power of true friendship, Stanley soars to heights he never knew existed.

“A timely edge-of-your-seat terrorism thriller that plays on every parent’s worst fears. This cinematic thriller is destined for TV.” –Best ThrillersErik Petersson works with the High-Risk Traveler Task Force, an organization that prevents radicalized individuals from joining extremist groups. Disciplined and dedicated, Erik’s carefully controlled world is upended when his daughter, Arielle, leaves university to join the Islamic Caliphate, a terrorist regime in Syria. Erik rallies a desperate effort to stop her, but when he fails, he resolves to bring Arielle back, whatever the cost.Driven by a secret she can’t outrun, Arielle’s dream of a more purposeful life is confronted with the brutality of life in the Caliphate. When she attracts the attention of Abu Noor al Kanadi, a terrorist leader bent on punishing America for its actions in the Middle East, Arielle must choose whether to sacrifice her dreams to survive or risk a frantic bid to escape. Torn between rival agendas, father and daughter must choose between family or country, love or fear.