Books published by publisher Star Magnolia Publishing

In 200BC, frankincense was worth its weight in gold, making Arabia the envy of the world. But wealth comes at a cost: the precious resin had to be transported along the Frankincense Road, a dangerous route through rocky mountains and barren desert. Alia is a princess in a dwindling kingdom that lies on the Frankincense Road. Having grown up hearing tales of Bilqis, the Queen of Sheba, she dreams of finding a way to restore her kingdom's former might. When a caravan journeying to the mysterious incense lands stops to take on travelers, she sees her chance.She soon realizes, however, that her trust in the caravan leaders has been misguided. They are not mere incense merchants, but traitors and mercenaries. Alia's journey soon turns from dangerous to life-threatening.The Frankincense Trail is a story that transports the reader to a time and place reminiscent of the Arabian Nights tales.

Paul VanDerMere is looking forward to a summer of canoeing, swimming, and hanging out with his dad at their lakeside cabin in the woods. At first, the only thing getting in the way of his enjoyment is his stepbrother Jasper. But when Paul and Jasper are canoeing back from a small, uninhabited island on the lake, Paul glances back and sees a young girl staring back at him. He's not even sure if he saw her – was she real, or an apparition?He's soon drawn in to the unsettling mystery of a strange girl who randomly appears and disappears from the island. When he hears a local ghost story about a young girl just like her, he begins to wonder if he's dealing with a real person… or something entirely different.EXCERPTAs I pushed away from the island, I turned around to take one last look, and almost dropped the paddle.Sticking out from the thick foliage was a girl’s head and shoulders. She looked about eight or nine years old, with shoulder-length, brown hair pulled into braids at the sides of her head. Her eyes were dark and fierce, and they glared at me as she held her finger up to her lips. The message was clear: ‘Don’t tell.’And then she disappeared. My whole body jerked. I blinked a few times, letting the canoe drift around. “Hey, Paul?” Jasper asked. “Uh, I think we’re drifting...”My heart beating in staccato, I gave myself a shake and began to paddle again. Had I really just seen that? I looked back one more time. There was nothing there. But then, after a second or two, the face poked out once more, eyes still intense and glaring. This time, she pointed: you. Me, what?She disappeared again. Dumbly, I turned and paddled away, like I’d been ordered to leave and was obeying like a zombie. Well, a zombie with its heart going like a jackhammer. As I slid the paddle through the slippery water, the reason I gave myself for not going back to investigate was that then I’d have to explain it to Jasper, whereas the girl’s message had been clear: don’t tell. But really, I think the reason I paddled away so quickly was that I was completely spooked. The girl was creepy-looking, almost surreal. What had I just seen?

Every week or two, Terry wakes up in a different time. She’s been ‘switching’ ― that’s her word for time traveling ― for the past eight months, and she has no recollection of her life before then. She doesn’t know who she is, why she’s time traveling, how to get home, or even when home is. Then Terry meets some fellow travelers and finds out she’s not alone, and that there might be a way to get home. But the others have their own agendas, and Terry needs to be careful where she places her trust. She finds herself falling for one traveler, but a terrible secret bars his way home. Another traveler is growing desperate, and he doesn’t care who he uses in his attempt to get home… even if it puts them all in danger. Can Terry find a way home before he tries something dangerous? Or will he prevent her from getting home at all?

Parents… school… friends… bullies… fourteen years old is a tough age to be. Especially if your name is Gooby.Like most teenagers, Jay Gooby is convinced he has it worse than anyone else. His parents don’t fit the normal mold, and he has endured a lifetime of merciless teasing ― especially at the hands of his lifelong enemy, Mike Thornley. But Jay has to take on more than just school and hockey when two major events take place: his parents adopt a special needs child, and a freak accident occurs at the hockey rink. Life sure can get a lot more complicated… and at the same time, a lot simpler.EXCERPTLet’s face it, if you come into this world with a name like Gooby, you’re pretty much done for. I can’t believe that after decades (centuries, maybe!) of kids getting pummeled in playgrounds, the world hasn’t figured this one out by now. Hey, attention parents ― newsflash! This just in! Don’t land your kid with a stupid name!Jeez, you’d think they’d have done studies on it or something, proven what a nightmare effect it has on a kid’s formative years. Not that anyone really needs to do a study. I mean, take a look around you at school, and you have your answer. How easy a time is a kid going to have if his name is, I don’t know, Dilbert or something? Not exactly a name that screams “leadership!” But maybe if some brainiac were to write it up in a scientific journal, parents would actually take notice. I could write the whole thing myself, but even if I wrote in letters ten feet high, my parents still probably wouldn’t get it.“Hey Goober!” a voice calls out.Nickname number one. Takes a real genius to come up with that one. I don’t even turn around; I already know the genius in question is Mike Thornley. It’s the hey-world-look-at-me, I’m MIKE THORNLEY in his voice that gives it away. Oh, that and the fact he’s been calling me names for nine straight years now. I could probably pick his voice out of a screaming crowd of a thousand people. While wearing headphones.“Goobs!”Nickname number two.There’s Gooby, Goobs, Goober, Goobster, and then my personal favourite: Booger. That one doesn’t even make sense. Whack. Ow. Textbook. Head.I swing around, ready to nail Thornley with my backpack, but he’s already jumped out of the way. He’s always hitting me with books or tripping me up or slamming me against lockers.Nine years is a long time. I should know; I’m fourteen.“So Goob-Goob!” (Oh, did I forget to mention that one?) “You going to practice tomorrow?”I turn to look at him. He’s smiling. He’d actually look friendly if it weren’t for all the years of nicknames, jokes, punches, wedgies, and general roughhousing on his slate. “Yeah, I’m goin’.”“Great! ‘Cause my team really needs you, man.”This would sound nice if I weren’t on a different team.

This award winning biography has received the following awards:•The Governor Thomas Worthington Award, OGS book award (2017)•Honorable Mention, Saddlebag Selection Competition (2015)•3rd place, books by a non-professional/family history, TxSGS Book Award (2016)Stangeland was inspired in 2010 to research and write about the life and ministry of her great-great-great grandfather, Rev. Adam Poe, who was a Methodist pioneer evangelist and circuit rider in Ohio prior to the Civil War. Readers will be drawn into the stories of Adam Poe from his humble beginning in 1804 on the Ohio frontier in a log cabin with 11 siblings, his circuit riding days, camp meetings and revivals, an Indian attack on settlers, cholera outbreaks, migration of the Poe family from Maryland to Pennsylvania to Ohio, being snow-bound on the Kansas plains by railway, steamboat excursions, and the Wyandot Indian Mission. This book covers the many travels of Poe throughout Ohio and the United States by horseback, steamboat and railway.Rev. Adam Poe’s life spanned until 1868 so the book discusses Underground Railroad activity, the Civil War, and his post-Civil War activity. Adam Poe faced trials in his life, as we all do, but he didn’t quit even in the midst of his failed health and pain. Poe’s dedication was extraordinary while he suffered physically. BOOK REVIEWS“Melissa . . . she has done a terrific job of documenting the inner workings of Poe’s mind, his relationships with other clergy and family members . . . Given the stature and contributions of this wonderful man, it is strange that such a work was never written or published before now.What is clear from Melissa’s biography is that Poe’s vision and perseverance were pivotal in many other enterprises throughout his life. Using diaries, letters, and early newspapers, Melissa shows us via primary sources what an amazing man Rev. Poe was. We learn that he was man of large stature (6 ft. 3), a terrific story teller and conversationalist, a marvelous preacher, a stoic survivor of several health problems (lung issues and necrosis of the thigh), a man who loved learning and saw the importance of books and newspapers in the development of Christian faith, a man who hated slavery and worked alongside abolitionists (including Levi Coffin) in Cincinnati, and a man heavily involved in the formation of the Western Freedmen’s Aid Commission and the Methodist Episcopal Freedman’s Aid Society.There were other themes that stood out for me, including . . . the influence [of] Poe’s wife Eliza on his ministry (total and complete dedication), and the sense of calling which kept Poe going in the midst of great discomfort and pain. Though Melissa does not claim to be a scholar, she has produced an accurate, well sourced biography of her great grandfather. Her endnotes are meticulously constructed, as is her bibliography.”- Carol Holliger, ArchivistArchives of Ohio United Methodism, Ohio Wesleyan University“My compliments on your writing. It’s very interesting & good. It goes from one thing to another and you don’t want to put it down. Your book is inspiring!”- Joy (a recent reader)“A historically well researched biography. [This] book should make any 21st Century American Christian uneasy & troubled by our lack of connection to hardship and sacrifice for Jesus Christ’s sake.”- Anonymous“Your book looks so good, inside and out! I really like the cover and the pictures in the book. This book was challenging!”- Pam (a recent reader)“Your book in a word was excellent. Most impressive. You have done an incredible job with original source materials and analysis of timeframes. It is safe to say that few, if any, Methodist Episcopal Church circuit riders have been so completely documented ‘from cradle to grave’”. – Fran (a recent reader)Appendices included.

Our numbers dwindled. We can no longer protect ourselves.The Commonwealth has suffered a staggering defeat against the Mimic onslaught. All that remains is Earth, an epic fall from a civilization of 10,000 colonies spanning the entire breadth of the galaxy. Humanity resorts to its last gambit, the Guardians.Somehow, through the chaos of battle, Captains Jonas Barick and Meomi Hana find their way to each other. Together, they must first solve the mysteries of their past and slay the demons that haunt their sleep. Along the way, new allies and old enemies bring new truths and old deceits, as the war against Mimics reaches its crescendo. Symphonies of Valor concludes the first trilogy of the thrilling Entrent Saga book series.

Something is out there. It wants to destroy us all.The Commonwealth government refuses to acknowledge it. Propaganda and lies fill the media, dispelling all rumors of the invasion. Anyone who dares reveal the truth finds themselves in prison. Their minds erased by Entrents -- genetically engineered telepaths.There are no heroes here. Only people and aliens trying to survive. This is not a story about the end. We are only at the beginning.Action-packed and intense, Echoes of Guardians is the introductory novel to the Entrent Saga adventures -- a first-rate, thrilling new space opera centered around telepathic humans-hybrids combining themes of military science fiction, exploration, colonization, first contact, and galactic empire with the fantasy of impossible monsters and ancient mysteries.This series is perfect for fans of grand space operas like Star Wars, morality-themed stories like Star Trek, and video game inspired plots like Destiny and Prey. Entrent SagaBook 1: Echoes of GuardiansBook 2: Cries of the WolfBook 3: Symphonies of ValorBook 4: Voices of the Lost

The invasion is here.Thousands of Mimic Sphereships head for Earth. All abled ships are called to join the Commonwealth’s last defense force, the 5th Navy. Tension and uncertainty arise as a mysterious man — Mathias Klopp, an outsider to the Admiralty — is appointed Fleet Marshall. Meanwhile, on the ice planet Nocia, Captain Meomi Hana, hunts down the most dangerous type of criminal — a traitorous captain responsible for the death of his crew. She tracks him to the edge of an abyss before losing his signal. What she finds next will reveal a surprising truth about her past and could possibly be the key to saving humanity.Cries of the Wolf extends the universe of the Entrent Saga. Its story runs parallel to Echoes of Guardians, taking place simultaneously as the first book in the series but in a different part of the galaxy.

Journey into a world that shouldn't exist, where illusion teeters on the edge of reality. Deep down you always knew magic was real.16-year-old Kayla Odachi is trying to survive the foster system. Junior year of high school shows promise when she befriends the popular, rich girl and when her foster brother becomes less brother and more love interest.But that's when things start going wrong. In an instant, her reality vanishes, replaced with a new world where dragons, ice spiders, sea serpents, and samurais exist at the whims of mysterious strangers. They offer her an unfortunate truth about herself and her mother in return for her unique, emerging "talents." Can Kayla trust them? Will she ever make it back to her previous life?Eden Wakes is the introductory novel of the Eden Factions series, a tightly-paced, suspenseful, fantasy adventure set in a world where the boundaries of magic do not exist.Pick up Eden Wakes today to begin your adventure.

2025. Earth is ascending. The purification process, what humans call extreme weather, is preparing the planet and its inhabitants for Earth's new position in the fifth dimension. To increase the chances of evolved human survival during this major evolutionary shift, a star organization known as Galactic Council (GC), is intervening, actively recruiting high vibration young people known through the galaxy as New Earth Star Seeds to join and advance mission N.E.A.R. New Earth Advanced Re-Calibration. Fifteen-year old Lena, an intuitive young actress from North Carolina, is one of them. Star Seed Nation takes the reader through extreme weather, into the core of inner Earth, behind the scenes at Galactic Council, all the while whispering secrets of ancient ancestral knowledge, elemental ritual, astrology, evolution and ascension in your inner ear. Full of astro humor and social insight, is Star Seed Nation fantasy or reality? Let the reader decide.

Learn how to access your intuition with confidence and accuracy! Your intuition is an incredible resource for making decisions, moving towards your goals, and discovering your life purpose. "Unlock Your Intuition" will teach you how to take ownership of your intuitive potential. Discover a practical, down-to-earth system to access the wisdom and guidance of your Higher Self and Spirit Guides. Using simple divination as a starting point, Andrea Hess presents a step-by-step process to guide you towards an intimate relationship with the still, small voice of your intuition. Learn how to receive the knowledge and insight you most need for your life, when you most need it.