New England Books and Authors

290 pages; Published by William Morrow, ©2010 Mark Genevich , Massachusetts' favorite wise-cracking, narcoleptic private eye is back, and this time he has some friends. Well, he has group therapy. It wasn't his idea. It came from an ultimatum his mother gave him. Being a private eye means you can get work from the strangest of places. For Mark, his latest job comes from someone he meets in group therapy named Gus. Genevich drinks with a man named Gus and the result is a job. Easy or not, Genevich can't afford to turn down work. Life hasn't been easy for him. Business leads have been drying up, and he is facing a lawsuit. Not only that, but a Boston Police detective wants to talk to him about a nearby fire. His questions are almost accusatory. If you read "The Little Sleep" , you know how congenial and professional Genevich is with Detective Owolewa. It's not just Owolewa. There's also a bouncer Genevich rubs the wrong way and people who want to give th...

24 pages; Published by Matt Robinson and Jim Roldan ©2019 The Ivy League. Everyone is aware of the tradition and prestige that go with the eight schools located in the Northeastern United States. They are known for their competitive acceptance rates and rigorous academics that could intimidate some applicants, and even those who have already began studying at one of the campuses. Matt Robinson, an alumnus of The University of Pennsylvania (1996), pulls back the ivies to give readers an inside look at the eight schools that make up the storied league and some of the legends that surround them. With the help of illustrator Jim Roldan, Robinson has created "Lions, Tigers, and... Bulldogs? An unofficial guide to the legends and lor of the Ivy League" . The book begins by introducing the character "Ivy", a leaf that guides you through a brief history of the universities that have given us authors, inventors and Presidents of the United States . The first few pages prese...

236 pages; Published by Bauhan Publishing, LLC ©2020 The Seventies are entering the downturn, and a young woman is minding her own business at work in the college library. It's one of those days that start like any other, and the young, unassuming professional, the main character in "The Story so Far" by Jane Eklund , has no idea this day will change her life. This is the day she will meet "The Author"; an older, alluring woman who is known for writing, "the kind of book my friends and I mocked over pitchers of beer... Here, at the library, it wasn't even worthy of a catalog number." The books could be cheesy and preposterous, but they covered the bills and paid for the trips she frequently took. The attraction between the author and the main character is immediate and undeniable. Set over the course of twenty-five years, it follows the library assistant as she goes from work to The Author's home to her own home, a duplex she shares with a gay...

178 pages; Published by Harcourt, Incorporated ©2001 There are many things we use everyday that we take for granted. We don't think about how they came to be, who came up for the idea, or how people survived or accomplished their work before the invention/discovery. Amir D. Aczel's "The Riddle of the Compass" sheds light on an instrument that proved vital to trade, navigation, and other maritime duties. "Compass" begins in the Bronze Age and immediately challenges the long-held notion that ancient sailors and navigators never let the coast out of their sights for fear of becoming lost at sea. Instead, sailors ventured far from terra firma with the aid of large statues, lighthouses, and even hiring out local fishermen whose knowledge of the waters due to their daily work proved invaluable. As time went on, ships' captains were able to sail the seas on their own with help from a little gadget that helped in big ways. A simple device that today is a basic ...

263 pages; Published by Jean M. Roberts © 2018 I narrated the audiobook version of this work, so I get paid if you purchase it. Tales of arriving in a new land are numerous. History books tell students of all ages about people who left everything behind in order to make a better life for themselves and their family. The dangers they encountered were both exciting and harrowing. For people like Hugh Parsons, the dangers came from the wild of an untamed land and the very community he lived in. "Weave a Web of Witchcraft" by Jean M. Roberts details the struggles of a man who is forced to learn a trade despite wanting to farm and live off the land. After learning his trade, Parsons travels to the New World in hopes of better opportunities, only to find himself accused of witchcraft by his own family. Roberts' book begins in the 1630's. Parsons is working on his family's farm when his father informs him an apprenticeship has been arranged with a local brickmaker. Despi...

416 pages; Published by Simon & Schuster ©2014 Anyone who knows guitars knows Joe Perry . The slender, string-bending virtuoso who was born and raised in Massachusetts has stories to tell from his life on the road, in the studio and all the places in between. It's a safe bet to say the number of stories equals the number of songs written in and out of Aerosmith, his best known sample of work. Perry teamed up with writer David Ritz to write "Rocks: My Life in and out of Aerosmith". Perry's effort gives him a chance to tell his side of things alone, unlike 1997's "Walk this Way" which told of the band's history with input from all of the band's original members. The book's title takes its name from Aerosmith's fourth studio release, considered by many to be one of the best offerings from their catalogue, if not the best. Perry begins his tale in New Hampshire where a story takes the reader into the water. It's an episode he barely...