Books published by publisher City Point Press

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.The landlords are killing the town. 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-young-people-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.

Frustrations and tensions fly amid adversaries turned partners in this fun and sweet romance.When the high school’s float explodes five days before the National Farmer’s Day parade, Principal Calvin Finkenbinder sees his chance at the promotion to Superintendent disintegrate. Unless he enlists the help of Ellie Bright, the most annoying, disorganized and kissable woman he knows.Standing in Principal Fink’s office, again, for driving her daughter to school late, again, Ellie is given two odious choices. Either her straight A daughter receives detention for another tardy that’s not her fault, or Ellie uses her artistic skills and helps the uptight, stringent principal build a new float.As they scramble to construct the float in time, Ellie’s chaotic life collides with Fink’s methodical plans. A tangle of arguments and decorations leads to a stolen kiss. Underneath their long established animosity is an unexpected passion that threatens to ruin more than just a school float."An author I can always count upon to engage my mind and warm my heart." - Ramla Zareen Ahmad, Author of Light-Hearted Romance.AUTHOR INTERVIEWQ: Why do you write?A: I was not on the school newspaper team, but because my mother was the advisor for it, when someone didn't turn in their assigned article, I often got selected as a volunteer to fill that spot. The school administrators liked to see articles about the aquaculture project the district had gotten a grant for, but everyone hated writing about the boring, smelly fish. One February, the assigned student went AWOL and I sat in my last period study hall trying to figure out how I could combine tilapia and Valentine's day into an article that would make my mother happy. The resulting article, which started off with a line that included, "Could there be love lurking beneath the murky depths?" won an award from the county paper, and ran on the front page of the school newspaper. I sat in the school cafeteria and watched people read my article and laugh. It was a great feeling, not winning the award or having my article lead, but because I had made people smile. That's why I write.Q: What books do you write?A: I write clean and wholesome contemporary romance with humor set in small towns and rural areas. I'm back on the straight and narrow from my wild high school days; no more fish erotica. The reading order for my series follows below.SWEET HAVEN FARMHARVEST MOON HOMECOMING (novella)BETTER TOGETHER (book 1)JUST RIGHT (book 2)Q: Why should readers pick up your books?A: You'll get all the feel-good tingles of a great love story with no graphic sex, swearing or violence. You'll laugh along with relatable heroines and hunky heroes as they weather life's storms and fall in love. I enjoy throwing in some fun science, history and local, rural trivia (Did you know that you can hold an egg in the palm of your hand and squeeze as hard as you can and it won't crack?) so you might learn something. I hope my books are uplifting and encouraging. You'll laugh, maybe cry, but you'll finish the book with a great feeling of satisfaction. To quote St. Paul, "Love never fails."Be sure to scroll up and hit that BUY NOW button to be swept away into a world of love, laughs, and of course, romance!

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.

This 2nd Edition includes a new annotated bibliography by William Harmless, S.J. The Confessions of Saint Augustine is considered the all time number one Christian classic. Augustine undertook his greatest piece of writing with the conviction that God wanted him to make this confession. The Confessions are, in fact, an extended poetic, passionate, intimate prayer. Augustine was probably forty-three when he began this endeavor. He had been a baptized Catholic for ten years, a priest for six, and a bishop for only two. His pre-baptismal life raised questions in the community. Was his conversion genuine? The first hearers were captivated, as many millions have been over the following sixteen centuries. His experience of God speaks to us across time with little need of transpositions. This new translation masterfully captures his experience.

The day is like any other day until it becomes The Day. At 4:05 pm the United States is attacked with an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapon. A 20-megaton nuclear warhead is detonated high in the atmosphere above Kansas, blanketing most of the contiguous United States and parts of Canada and Mexico with an electromagnetic pulse that damages nearly all microprocessors and electronic controls beyond repair. Nearly every system that depends on computers and electronics has ceased to work. The electrical grid goes down. The water system goes down. The sewer system goes down. The phone system goes down. The cellular system goes down. Cars stop. Tractors stop. Radio and TV stations go dark. The Internet is no more. No more ambulance services. No more emergency services. No more government services. No more 911. In the twinkle of an eye, America is sent back deep into the 19th century. Jill Barnes, a single mom, finds herself stranded on the side of Interstate 459 near Birmingham, Alabama. Jack Chance, a bank vice president, is stranded on Interstate 85 near Montgomery, Alabama. John Carter, a contractor, finds himself stranded near Leeds, Alabama. Each has a different mind-set and level of preparedness. Follow them as they make their decisions and journey home to Clarke County in rural Southwest Alabama. Author's note: This is a new performance of the revised version of book one. It has been revised to reflect a first-person point of view for each chapter's main character. Take note of which character leads in the chapter title. This is not a book on religion or religious ideology; however, two of the main characters are Christian. They pray often and acknowledge God's influence upon the events taking place. If you find praying, acknowledging God, or seeing Jesus' name used in a positive context offensive, then I suggest you do not listen to this book.

Augustine undertook his greatest piece of writing with the conviction that God wanted him to make this confession. The book in fact is an extended poetic, passionate and intimate prayer.The Confessions is considered to be the greatest Christian classic. Augustine's notorious life before his baptism raised questions about the genuineness of his conversion. It is his honest struggle with the faith which has given The Confessions such timeless appeal over the last sixteen centuries."Augustine's Confessions has been much translated: but it is no exaggeration to say that Sister Maria Boulding's version is of different level of excellence from practically anything else on the market." (Rowan Williams - Archbishop of Canterbury)

On a chilly Monday morning in 1935, a young maid opened the garage door of a Southern California seaside villa onto a grim scene. Her employer, a popular motion picture comedienne, lay dead in the front seat of her expensive automobile. Within hours, the news of Thelma Todd’s death was making headlines throughout the nation. Was it murder, suicide, or accident?Cast against the background of Hollywood and Los Angeles, the film industry and the growing metropolis, her death baffled both the public and the investigating authorities. After numerous attempts to solve the mystery over the last eighty years, a powerful mythology remains, obscuring the facts of the case as well as the character of Thelma herself.For the first time, however, the mystery of Thelma Todd’s death will unfold as it originally did in 1935. Not only does Testimony of a Death narrate the events of that December but it also explores the forces and personalities central to the tragedy.The book examines the various contexts of Todd’s death, including the motion picture business in its Golden Age and the city of Los Angeles hovering on the verge of its greatness. It looks beyond the legends and distortions to the darker reality that lies beneath the myths.

Authors note:This is a Revised Version of the original book. It has been revised to reflect a 1st person point of view for each chapter's main character. Take note of which character leads the chapter title. This will help make the flow of thoughts smooth. This is not a book on religion or religious ideology, however, two of the main characters are Christian. They pray often and acknowledge God's influence upon the events taking place. If you find praying, acknowledging God, or seeing Jesus' name used in a positive context offensive, then I suggest you do not read this book. These are strong characters, who I think many can relate to. I hope you enjoy the book.The DayThe day was like any other day—until it became “The Day.” At 4:05 p.m. the United States was attacked with an Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP) weapon. A 20 mega-ton nuclear warhead was detonated high in the atmosphere above Kansas, blanketing most of the contiguous United States and parts of Canada and Mexico with an electro-magnetic pulse that damaged nearly all microprocessors and electronic controls beyond repair. Nearly every system that depends on computers and electronics has ceased to work. The electrical grid goes down. The water system goes down. The sewer system goes down. The phone system goes down. The cellular system goes down. Cars stop. Tractors stop. Radio and TV stations go dark. The internet is no more. No more ambulance services. No more emergency services. No more government services. No more 911. In the twinkle of an eye America is sent back deep into the 19th century. Jill Barnes, a single mom, finds herself stranded on the side of Interstate 459 near Birmingham, Alabama. Jack Chance, a bank vice-president, is stranded on Interstate 85 near Montgomery, Alabama. John Carter, a contractor, finds himself stranded near Leeds, Alabama. Each must travel home to Clarke County in rural southwest Alabama. Follow them as they each make their decisions and journey home while the fabric of American society is torn asunder and criminals run amok. The story is exciting and enlightening, compelling and fast moving, infuriating and redemptive, heart-rending and heart-warming. Keep some tissue close to hand, just in case . . . .

What is free speech and why is it so special? Your Voice is Your Superpower tells you why your voice matters and how you can use it and also why we must protect everyone’s right to free speech."The First Amendment gives us superpowers! What a terrific way to help kids understand why they are free to say and write what they think. This engaging story is perfect for young readers and maybe a few parents, too." --Kathleen Carroll, Chair of the Board of the Committee to Protect Journalists Everyone loves superheroes. Who doesn't? They're super! Some of them can fly. Some are strong. Some can become invisible. And some wear capes. But the thing that really makes them super is that they help people and change the world. And guess what? You have a superpower inside you. Your VOICE is your superpower. And because of a thing called freedom of speech, with that voice, you can express yourself, you can help people and you can change the world. Children get their values and learn what is important from their parents. Freedom of expression is one of those values – one that is perhaps more important than ever before. Free speech is necessary to maintain a democracy. Without it, people may be afraid to say what they think and believe, and will be unable to share their thoughts and beliefs with other people and the government. Freedom of expression also requires willing listeners, even to speech we may not want to hear. If we do not teach our children these basic values, and they neither speak nor listen to other points of view, and shout down those with whom they disagree, what will happen to our Republic? So we decided to write this book to help parents get their children started down the path to believing in the free and open exchange of ideas, thoughts and beliefs. A portion of proceeds will be donated to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

What is free speech and why is it so special? Your Voice is Your Superpower tells you why your voice matters and how you can use it and also why we must protect everyone’s right to free speech.Everyone loves superheroes. Who doesn't? They're super! Some of them can fly. Some are strong. Some can become invisible. And some wear capes. But the thing that really makes them super is that they help people and change the world. And guess what? You have a superpower inside you. Your VOICE is your superpower. And because of a thing called freedom of speech, with that voice, you can express yourself, you can help people, and you can change the world. Now, more than ever, teaching children the value of free speech is essential to raising smart, engaged citizens. Knowing the value of free speech allows children to courageously share what they think and believe, whether it’s with their family, friends, or their elected officials. Learning about the value of free speech also teaches children the importance of being good listeners, even if it means listening to points of view that differ from their own. In Your Voice is Your Superpower, father-daughter duo Jessica and Sandy Bohrer team up to teach children the importance of free speech and why it is essential for maintaining a functioning democracy. Your Voice is Your Superpower provides the perfect stepping-stone for parents looking to teach their children more about their First Amendment rights in an easy, appealing way. This fun, colorful book proves that the first step to raising engaged, courageous children–and in turn, raising a new generation of superheroes–starts at home. A portion of proceeds will be donated to the Committee to Protect Journalists. "The First Amendment gives us superpowers! What a terrific way to help kids understand why they are free to say and write what they think. This engaging story is perfect for young readers and maybe a few parents, too." --Kathleen Carroll, Chair of the Board of the Committee to Protect Journalists