As Christmas quickly approaches, I reflect on the many gifts that I have received throughout the year. You, my dear friend, are one who I consider being extra special. I would be remiss if I didn't take a moment to let you know just how wonderful you were to me, and I continue to thank you for hosting and producing such an amazing segment on deaf dogs. Because of you and the education that you brought to your audience, I truly believe that more animals with differences are being accepted, loved, and even adopted. 
Selected short fiction, nonfiction, poetry & prose from The Association of Rhode Island Authors: Lenore M. Rheaume, Regina Andrews, W. Gauvin Barber, David Boiani, Adele Bourne, Heather Caranci, Paul Caranci, A. Keith Carreiro, R.N. Chevalier, Kathy Clark, Jess M. Collette, K. Eric Crook, Kevin Duarte, Hank Ellis, Jill Fague, Leo C. Frisk, Jr., Hannah R. Goodman, Patricia Hinkley, L.A. Jacob, Sam Kafrissen, Deborah Katz, Donna Lomastro, Paul Magnan, Peter Mandel, Richard Maule, Joann Mead, Don J. Metivier, G.A. Miller, Yvette Nachmias-Baeu, Jack Nolan, Frances O'Donnell, Dusty Pembroke, Joanne Perella, D.R. Perry, Joni Pfeiffer-Moser, Thom Ring, Victor Rudowski, Bob Sherman, Alycia Marie Shillan, Angelina Singer, J. Michael Squatrito, Jr., Edward Taylor, Debbie Kaiman Tillinghast, Cheryl A. Voisinet, Barbara Ann Whitman, Deb Zannelli.
Since she was a young girl, Ava Dell has been told that her intuitive sixth sense is a special gift she shares with her mother. It is a gift she never takes seriously until she is forced to make a fresh start after her mother’s death. Real estate agent Charlotte Boyer welcomes Ava to Wicks Falls, South Carolina with a mystical pendulum, and a warning to use it carefully. Ava’s curiosity is piqued. She begins using the pendulum, relying on her intuition to guide her. Soon, customers are flocking to her newly opened coffee shop, The Tea Cozy, for Ava’s scones and her pendulum’s guidance. But when tragedy suddenly strikes, Ava, worried that she’ll be blamed, flees to her family’s cottage at Sully Shores. There she is forced to face the fact that some truths you can’t outrun, and to decide once and for all if her gift is truly worth the price.
A centuries old vampire, Gregor, kills to sate his hunger for blood but also for the pleasure of the kill. Abused by his parents, Gregor hates anyone who reminds him of the weak and fearful child he once was. Gregor also has a son, Marcus, whom he took years ago, and attempted to make him into a creature like himself. But Marcus is nothing like Gregor. Trapped, painfully tormented by what he’s been forced to become, Marcus clings to the humanity Gregor has tried to erase. He needs to feed on blood, but Marcus cannot find it in himself to attack innocent prey. Even on the night he was to make his first kill, Marcus rescues his intended victim. He saves the little girl, Maddy, and makes his escape. Years later the two encounter each other. Maddy recognizes Marcus as the face in the nightmares that haunted her since the attack. She knows Marcus is a vampire, but she understands his special nature - that of a tormented creature at war with his own demons. Knowing that, she comes to love him. But Gregor lurks. He returns to the New England town where his son Marcus escaped him. Still angry, wanting to punish all those who stand in his way, Gregor begins a killing spree and leaves a chain of bodies in his wake, The town’s citizens hide in terror behind bolted doors. Gregor’s murders spur Marcus who teams up with Maddy and her brother Judson. The three work with the local police and have a singular goal: stop Gregor before he kills again. The battle that begins brings all of them face to face with the best and worst mankind can offer.
n this entertaining and impressive debut collection of poems and other short works, author K. Eric Crook shares his honest and powerful journey of self-discovery as told through thought-provoking pieces that span different reflective and inspirational periods of his life.
