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Never in the history of modern major league professional sports has a team captured the world’s imagination like the Vegas Golden Knights did in 2017-18. The NHL expansion team, self-nicknamed the “Golden Misfits,” set records for wins, points, won their division and conference and made it to the Stanley Cup Final in its inaugural season. It was a group of players that was systematically put together, quickly bonded and were expertly coached. They also served an important role for Las Vegas after the shooting tragedy of October 1, 2017 when 58 concert-goers were murdered by a crazed gunman. They helped a community heal and provided a source of escape, and, eventually, a source of love for millions. “Vegas Born” captures the Knights story from its embryonic stages all the way through the team’s amazing Stanley Cup run. The story is not just on the ice however. The team’s successful marketing run made it the envy of many pro sports teams, mixing in over-the-top Vegas sensibilities with traditional ideas to provide a first-class entertainment experience for those who visited T-Mobile Arena on game nights. They were the first major league pro sports team in the city and the Golden Knights set the bar high for other Las Vegas-based sports teams when it came to marketing their product. Of course, the product on the ice had a lot to do with it. Whether it was three-time Stanley Cup champion goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury performing heroically or young centers William Karlsson and Erik Haula having career seasons or veterans Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, James Neal, Deryk Engelland and David Perron coming through with big, or in some cases, their best-ever years, the Golden Knights were a team which exceeded beyond anyone’s wildest imagination.

Princess Aila (Eye-la) is the first princess of Scotland. This 10-year-old princess has a special gift. She has the ability to communicate with animals. She lives in the age of the unicorn and longs for the day that she can go off into the forest and meet these magical creatures. Her father, King Fergus, would never let her venture into the forest alone. But an opportunity presents itself when King Fergus must travel to another kingdom. Aila has a month to find unicorns and learn to speak their language. This is an enchanting tale full of excitement, bravery, and love. Princess Aila finds herself in a very difficult situation. She must risk her own life and make choices that test the strength of her character.

This book is for those who had a dream and lost it, or never had it, to begin with. For those who feel left out, forgotten or not enough… and for me. Like them, I was born and raised with big dreams and high expectations, until the age of thirty when they came all crashing down. It took me years to rediscover myself, to rebuild, to be able to soar again. During this process, I came across everyday hardworking people who didn’t dream about greatness, fortune, or fame. Still, they lived happy, fulfilling lives.In a world where celebrities parade their opulent lives across our screens, many of us feel left out we are not successful in an extraordinary way. Meanwhile, we love and suffer, laugh and cry, fall and get up again to go back to work, to provide a better future for ourselves and our families. I started collecting these stories, and this book was born.Thanksgiving 2010. A traffic accident in one of Los Angeles busiest freeways sends a young truck-driver to the hospital in a coma. In the hospital, Mr. Z, a centennial Middle Eastern man, in an attempt to pull off a miracle, starts telling the coma patient stories about brave people who ventured into the unknown. Tales about love and betrayal, braves and murderers, kidnappers and heroes, that spans across three continents and more than eighty years.The centennial storyteller, the young Mexican truck driver and Meshone, a middle-aged African American nurse single mother of two, will forge an unlikely friendship that will heal each other of long-festering wounds, in a journey from brokenness to freedom.

Spring Shadows, the third book in the Grace Restored Series, follows the life of Katie MacKenna. With the Rossi Family dismantled, the only thing left for Katie to do is to graduate and hopefully move on to the police force before going to Quantico and a career in the FBI. But, had she tied up all her lose ends? A new boss is in town – one who has a score to settle with Katie. With threats against her on all sides, Katie doesn’t know who to trust.Song of Solomon 2:11-12For behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.Proverbs 3:5-6Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.

Award winning artists and authors Keith Svagerko and Sydney Svagerko traveled to Milan, Italy to capture the city's old world charm and modern day fashion scene in a travel guide created from a kid's view. This kid's guide prepares children for Milan travel, with tips for grown-ups, too. Filled with descriptions, photographs, drawings and activities, this guide will educate and engage children while building anticipation for the trip. Sydney says, "This is Milan for kids!"

A little boy named Brad looks forward to his birthday with wonder and excitement. He loves planning his birthday party, picking out his cake, the fun he will have with his friends and family, and the gifts he will receive. This year, he really wants a special gift - a talking teddy bear. His mommy tells him he will receive a very special gift this year, but doesn't promise the teddy. The morning of his birthday, all Brad can think about is what that very special gift will be that his mommy promised. He thinks through all the things that might be that very special gift, and looks forward to the start of his party. There is fun anticipation as the story unfolds to reveal what the treasured gift is that Brad receives. Even he is surprised as the very special gift is finally opened. If you could give your child a tangible expression of your love, would you? In The Very Special Birthday Gift, a mother shows her son just how much he will always mean to her, with an endearing tale based on a true story of a mother's gift of love.

Jiggs was borne into a litter of kittens in 1927, at the Pigeon Point lighthouse along the central California coastline. He immediately endeared himself to the Lighthouse operator’s son, 6-year-old George Henderson by his unusual personality. In 1930, the Henderson’s moved to the Point Lomas Lighthouse where Jiggs continued to gain recognition from his crazy antics. Jiggs died an untimely death in 1936, and was interred in a crypt on the Lighthouse grounds. When the Henderson’s moved again, they couldn’t bear to leave their beloved Jiggs behind. So they dug up the crypt and established a new burial site at Point Pinos Lighthouse, in Pacific Grove California. The gravesite head stone has been viewed by thousands of visitors ever since. Point Pinos Lighthouse was established in the 1850’s by act of congress after this land was ceded to US by Mexico. It is currently the longest continuous operating lighthouse on the West Coast. If you should ever visit this area, the Lighthouse is a must see side trip. Be sure to ask the docents about their story of Jiggs. A Lesson For Jiggs, is a phantom story about Jiggs, a real life cat. The real Jiggs was by anyones definition a character, and like most cats lived by the rules written only for cats when time began. The Jiggs that exists in the mind of the author may be exaggerated but should not be unfamiliar to cat lovers. The personification of Jiggs, for purposes of a child's story, attempts to show that his traits are not as well tolerated in human kind. An attempt is made to have the young mind question Jiggs prejudgement of occurrences as how it effects him and his life and not the potential benefit to others. The Black Crow is a messenger existing in the mind of Jiggs, more commonly called a conscience as we know it. The correct choices in life, be they ever so small, help establish a foundation for the young mind to flourish as adults. The author is particularly fond of the work of Jonathon Wilson. Jonathon's portrayal of the characters are evidence of his talent and his desire to share this talent with you, the reader.

Lily Easter has spent eleven of her twelve years at the Edgewood Foster Home. She has abandoned any hope of being adopted and becoming part of a real family. When five-year-old abused Angela is placed at the same Foster Home, the two girls develop a strong bond, and with the help of Lily's friend Ace, they share many dangers and adventures especially when their past meets up with their present. Lily's favorite teacher Rose Boston provides the girls with the love and direction they need and proves that "Finding Hope" is more than an expression, but a destination.

With brilliant and moving imagery, the author draws on fifty summers of soaking up the rural Maritime experience to tell stories set in free verse and ballad lyrics. The reader is invited to take a "virtual road trip" from New England to the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Canada, staying a while to enjoy what the little village of Scots Bay and several other tidal bay areas offer to delight the careful observer.While "visiting," tour an early homestead and trace history in an old graveyard. Expect to talk to Red-tailed Hawks, Deer, and Coyotes, especially if the poetry is read aloud. Hear a Bald Eagle urge his youngsters to "fly high."Fog will play a big part in one's impressions of Fundy Bay. On foggy days, the author takes the reader to the beach for rock hunting and other treasurers, or paints a picture of loons or crows or gulls emerging from the mist. However, it is when the fog lifts that the beauty of "the Head of the Bay" is revealed as the highest tides in the world make their impact on daily life. Surviving Nor'easters and major hurricanes is only part of the excitement.

A broken guitar string takes JoAnn on a journey into fascinating world of creativity and artistry. In pursuit of repairs for her guitar, JoAnn enters Mr. Gustov’s violin shop. She is immediately captivated by the beauty of the instruments on display and is stunned to learn that they are all handcrafted. She feels connected with the wood and begins to wonder if she could ever create something so special. Mr. Gustov lends JoAnn a book about becoming a luthier and offers her a job to help pay for the repairs. Having never assembled a birdhouse or even built a box, JoAnn is plagued with doubts about her abilities. Gustov soon realizes that JoAnn has a keen eye for detail, and he teaches her to stain furniture and, eventually, to refinish her own guitar. Within weeks, JoAnn’s thoughts are occupied by everything she experiences in crafting instruments, though she doesn’t mention this fascination to most of her friends at school. JoAnn struggles to balance her sophomore year course load, performances with her band, and her work at the violin shop. Playing with the band provides a reliable escape from daily pressures and support from her bandmates as JoAnn investigates her new interests. An industrial arts class not only exposes JoAnn to the benefits and inadequacies of machine crafting, it opens a door to cultivate an old friendship. Meanwhile, at Mr. Gustov’s shop, she is faced with mistakes in precision and tests to her patience while learning the use of hand tools in the instrument building process. She discovers that every tiny movement is monumental to the process, and Mr. Gustov reminds her time after time that the ultimate test for a finished instrument is in its sound. An old music teacher encourages JoAnn to repair a student violin, and word of her skill begins to circulate. JoAnn perseveres to master each step and eventually acknowledges a rare talent that makes her take a new look at her future. THE LUTHIERS: JoAnn and Mr. Gustov provides insight to the detailed, time-consuming process of building instruments through the eyes of a teenage girl. The story unveils relationships between friends and family members as the teen girl unveils her unique abilities and alters their expectations. This exceptional literary piece takes you on a tour of the instrument crafting process, through the picturesque trees and their resulting products, and ultimately to witness a prolific partnership between young JoAnn and master luthier Mr. Gustov.

In the early to mid-1800s, Jackson County was home to two branches of the Underground Railroad, a secret network that funneled fugitives from slavery in the South to freedom in the North. Many Jacksonians participated in this network, risking their lives to feed, lodge and transport fugitives passing through their county to Canada, where slavery was outlawed. Local agents included a preacher who was almost lynched, an editor whose office was fire bombed and a farmer whose property was raided by an armed posse. Where did these brave residents live and work? What were their secret methods of operation? What were their motives? MICHIGAN’S CROSSROADS TO FREEDOM will answer those questions and open a window into the personal lives of those profiled, enlivened by first-person accounts. It also will describe the diversity of agents within the local system and identify landmarks connected to the anti-slavery movement. While the exact identities of all the enslaved Americans who stepped foot on Jackson’s soil will never be known, this book pays tribute to them, as well. These ingenious men and women successfully evaded slave catchers, braved the elements, persevered through hunger and thirst and exhibited great courage under fire. Not only do they serve as inspiration, they are a powerful reminder that Underground Railroad agents only assisted what resourceful African Americans instigated. While most fugitives passed through Jackson County on their way to Detroit and Canada, a few chose to remain here. Their identities also will be discussed.MICHIGAN’S CROSSROADS TO FREEDOM describes other local milestones as well, including the 1854 anti-slavery convention that gave rise to a national political party; the origin of Michigan’s first anti-slavery newspaper, American Freeman; and the strategic importance of Jackson’s train station, originally built in 1841. This book is not intended to present a comprehensive list of all the agents within Jackson County; but to offer a sampling of the diverse agents within its network and to shed light on their personalities and motivations. Their sacrifices point to a higher moral ground that lifts humanity above the shifting sands of culture, time and passing fads. Their stories are a potent reminder of how men and women of all color can come together for a cause bigger than the sum of their differences.No story illustrates this more than that of Rev. William Sullivan and the fugitive who sought refuge in his Jackson home, Lewis Hill. Hill, enslaved as “Joseph Mallory,” had no idea that the details of his 1,000 mile trek from Augusta, Ga., would be immortalized in notes kept by another conductor who corresponded with Rev. Sullivan. In fact, when the enslaved American slipped off the Augusta farm under the cover of darkness in 1838, he wasn’t even sure if he would survive. His story is told in Chapter One.