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Philosophy and Fun, that was the idea behind this book of two modern Athenian philosophers, the Athens in Georgia, not that lesser Greek one. Neither Bowen nor Kelly knew that the world would go crazy in the middle of their talks. These two philosophers opine on human nature, religion, politics, lies, big lies, and even bigger lies, nature, hate, music and love.

From the beginning of time until, oh, let's say about a hundred years ago, a boy became a man when he reached the age of somewhere around twelve or thirteen. This transition usually coincided with puberty and was proudly displayed to the community through circumcision rituals, some light warfare, some heavy warfare, the first appearance of facial hair (which, even then, looked dumb on its first attempt), a father-son bonding trip to the local brothel, and/or maybe moving out of his childhood home. At first, the boy had to be literally yanked away from his mother by the collected men of the village. Later this process became ritualized and there were faint, largely-false protests by the mother. "No, please, don't take away the dirty, smelly kid who never helps me with the chores and won't stop masturbating." Adolescence is a new idea, a twentieth century American invention, like Silly Putty or wheely shoes. Like those two equally-pointless ideas, American adolescence has grown more and more expensive, has gotten longer and longer and is about as useful and important as Go-Gurt, the world's only yogurt that comes in a squeeze tube. Nowadays, we're stretching adolescence to the point of absurdity. If you really need proof, I wore cargo shorts, tube socks and tennis shoes to work today and I'm almost forty. Perry Duncan is a product of his age. He's twenty-eight years old. He works as a part-time school teacher and writes for an alternative weekly newspaper in his hometown of Alba, Georgia. Alba's a small town, but as the outward expansion of Atlanta continues unchecked like the waistline of a Mississippi carnie at a fried Oreo booth, it's on the verge of becoming a suburb. Alba's in that strange in between stage where it's clinging to its small-town identity, but trying not to show its fear of becoming as cookie-cutter dull and predictable as every suburb in American history while simultaneously rushing toward its suburban future with abandon. It's 2004. Perry's friend, Teddy Ruxpin, a magnetic wanderer who ventures out into the world and occasionally returns to Alba to visit his hobo father and regale his friends with exotic tales of the outside world, has just come home. After leaving his job as a security guard at a landfill outside of Savannah to come back to Alba, Teddy's sense of adventure knocks Perry and his friends off the normal course of their sad, Peter Pannish everyday existence. They accidentally stumble onto a clue or two which leads them to the path of discovery about who really ran the town of Alba in the past, and who might still run it to this day. The hubris of youth is a wonderful thing. Without it, we wouldn't have extreme sports, extreme sports drinks, and poorly-made, cheap, ridiculous-looking apparel endorsed by extreme sports "stars" (who, in previous eras we would have been called by their proper name, losers), but we also wouldn't have most of the great music we have and the only cell phone app that would exist would be an alarm telling you that cell phone apps are a waste of money. Follow Perry, Teddy and their friends as they dig up mysteries, get drunk, hit on inappropriate women and maybe, just maybe, discover a timeless truth or two on top of which our civilization is built. ______________________________________________________________________ Bowen Craig is the author of Keeping Away from the Joneses and A Look to the Future Through the Eyes of an Eighty-Year Old Pirate. He lives somewhere with his something and enjoys doing stuff.

An American success story, a story of food, immigration, family lore, business ethics, and love...lots of love.

“[An] enjoyable series of interest to western crime readers, especially those favoring Montana authors C. J. Box, Craig Johnson, and Keith McCafferty as well as fans of the Hillermans” (Booklist). The news is bad: five young women—so far—raped, tortured, and left in the Montana wilderness to be devoured by coyotes. It’s not long before Gabriel Du Pré, Métis Indian cattle inspector and occasional deputy, gets the call from Sheriff Benny Klein, summoning him to yet another grisly crime scene—this time in his own backyard. Not far from the victim, he finds two more murdered women, their bodies arranged over each other in a cross. A message from the killer? But what does it mean? Working alongside a Blackfoot FBI agent and his feisty female partner, Du Pré, a father and grandfather with two daughters of his own, gives his all to the manhunt. But as more victims are found, and a young woman he cares about disappears, he will come to the grim realization that he must learn to think like this monster in order to catch him. “Like the most memorable creations in detective fiction, [Du Pré’s] moral center is unshakeable” (Booklist). Notches is the 4th book in The Montana Mysteries Featuring Gabriel Du Pré series, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

From the bestselling author of Church Folk and Second Sunday comes a hilarious and affecting novel about a god-loving, 40-something woman's quest for love. Theresa Elaine Hopson, 46, owner of Miss Thang's Holy Ghost Corner and Church Women's Boutique is puzzled. She can't, for the life of her, figure out why even Baby Doll Henderson, despite her false teeth and her navy-blue-socks-with-yellow-jelly-sandals-wearing self, can find a man and she, Theresa, can't. Theresa's been looking all of her life, and it seems like the only thing she finds are things that need to say lost. Like, for example, her on and off "friend" and sometime escort, the sneaky businessman, Reverend Parvell Sikes. So, when church mother Queen-Esther Green reacquaints Theresa with the older woman's backslidden player nephew, Lamont Green, it seems like the same old story. But this time, Theresa decides to listen to God and what she hears soon brings a smile to her face with the realization that the Holy Ghost has been in her love corner all along.

A half-Indian, half-French deputy with “a shrewd mind and wry sense of humor” investigates a case of homicide on the range (The New York Times Book Review). Two men have been cutting fences at the ranches of Toussaint, Montana, loosing thousands of dollars’ worth of cattle to use as target practice for their .22 rifles. Are they thieves? Pranksters? Local cattle inspector and sometime deputy Gabriel Du Pré guesses they’re environmentalists, agitating for the reintroduction of native wolves to Montana’s high plains. Du Pré knows the perpetrators are trying to send a message to the ranchers of eastern Montana—he also has a hunch they’re already dead. When the activists are indeed found shot to death, Du Pré must figure out who used them for target practice. The FBI descends, but their agents are as clueless in this territory as the hapless victims were. Clearly, one of Toussaint’s citizens committed this crime, killing to protect the traditional way of ranching life, a loyalty Du Pré shares. But if anyone’s going to arrest his people, it will be the cattle inspector himself . . . Wolf, No Wolf is the third in “a wonderfully eclectic and enjoyable series of interest to western crime readers, especially those favoring Montana authors C. J. Box, Craig Johnson, and Keith McCafferty as well as fans of the Hillermans” (Booklist). Wolf, No Wolf is the 3rd book in The Montana Mysteries Featuring Gabriel Du Pré series, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Lady Georgiana Rannoch, thirty-fifth in line for the British throne, knows how to play the part of an almost royal - but now she's off to Hollywood, where she must reprise her role as sleuth or risk starring in an all-too-convincing death scene . . . My mother, the glamorous and much-married actress, is hearing wedding bells once again - which is why she must hop across the pond for a quickie divorce in Reno. To offer my moral support, and since all expenses are paid by her new hubby-to-be, Max, I agree to make the voyage with her. Crossing the Atlantic, with adventure in the air and wealthy men aboard, Mother all but forgets about Max and matrimony - especially when movie mogul Cy Goldman insists on casting her in his next picture. Meanwhile, I find myself caught up in the secret investigation of a suspected jewel thief. Lucky for me, the lead investigator happens to be my dashing beau, Darcy! Mother's movie and Darcy's larceny lead everyone to Cy's Hollywood home, where the likes of Charlie Chaplin are hanging about and there's enough romantic intrigue to fill a double feature. But we hardly get a chance to work out the sleeping arrangements before Cy turns up dead - as if there wasn't enough drama already . . .