On a hot southern night, Will Aston, vice president of sales for Steven Lamps can't sleep. Somewhere a tap drips and it's driving him nuts.

What Will doesn't know a cunning killer plots to remove him from his job permanently.

A tale where the cure for insomnia is deadly.

When Uno Kellogg, corporate explorer, is awakened by his AI after the starship Destiny arrives at Pegasi IV Uno and the AI begin the greatest adventure in human history. Pegasi IV contains life -- intelligent life.

But it's a one way trip for Kellogg and the AI has evolved beyond it's programming.Will the mission succeed?

Ever wonder how in the novel Attack of the Lushites, Trixie Pug and her ex-husband, Herman became so embittered toward each other?

This story will illustrate how payback is a dish best served greasy.

A science fiction satire set in the far future where giant fast food corporations control the galaxy and he who's the fattest wins.

Following a lead involving an ancient shipwreck found in the remote Queen Charlotte Islands, Section N agent Nick Sparta discovers a legendary magic sword. The mysterious and powerful sword has fallen into the hands of The Brotherhood, an evil organization bent on world domination.

Nick must retrieve the sword or the world as we know it will fall under a cloud of evil for all time.

A strange, alternate world sits on the edge of environmental collapse and someone murders notorious criminal, The Penguin.

Private detective, Frank Yellow and Bird (aka FYI) are called in to investigate. They discover the stakes are higher than first suspected, and very personal.

An unusual tale of murder where the world has become an unfamiliar and unfriendly place.

Star pilot Arnie Halstron and his co-pilot, Vince, are assigned what at first seems a deep space mission. Their assignment: to deliver supplies and a team of scientists to a the newly discovered planet called Lexicon.

As events spiral into danger Arnie realizes a hidden enemy is conspiring to murder him and his cargo before they can succeed.

Will Arnie survive to become the hero he always dreamed of being or will he fail and possibly die.

In 1944 France, Lieutenant Gus Aimes must decide which of his remaining men will defuse a deadly bomb or die trying.

The slippery climb of Trixie Aioli up the corporate ladder continues.

When we last left Trixie she and Cherry Bomb were developing a scheme to stop the wedding of Herman Pug to her greatest rival.

She and Cherry time travel into the past only to be confronted with an even greater obstacle to her ambition. She may even be fired!

Two respected police detectives are faced with a seemingly impossible murder case when two women confess to a murder and the evidence suggests they are both guilty.

Will they solve the mystery of who killed Percival Butters?

Does it take two to kill?

What if Romeo and Juliet took place in Texas in 1875? That's what Sheriff Will Spear soon discovers when a range war erupts between two former civil war colonels in Lunden Texas.

A tale of love interrupted by two families bent on destroying each other, and two lovers eager to test the forbidden fruit.

Two stories for one low price!

What's a girl to do when she's transported to another universe? Why take over, naturally.

When Blossom Queen finds herself transported to a barbarian universe she decides to take over. Can a girl from the 21st century wield a sword and conquer another world, or will she die trying?

A tale where surprises are around every bloodthirsty corner.

Meet Leland Bicks, recently released from Oregon State Prison after serving twenty years for a double murder. A man with no future. Today, Mr. Bicks finds himself in Pimm's, a curio shop filled with a eclectic mix of magic and the occult where he meets Skip Pimm who offers Bicks a new life free from his past.

A tale that asks the question, "Does every man deserve a second chance?"

Hanson Allen commands an interstellar vessel, a position of great responsibility and authority. In deep space discipline is the greatest foe to master.

A secret surfaces that makes him think he's lost control of his ship and his crew. He must get to the bottom of this mystery before he loses his command, and possibly his ship.

A story where loyalty is put to the ultimate test.

In an alternate universe a metawave has struck the Earth creating super heroes and super villains, but not all heroes and villains are created equal.

They are soon divided in classes. A being the top teir heroes with the broadest range of powers to the D class heroes and villains who have limited powers.

Sidekicks tells the story of the sidekick, Kick Boy and Captain Incredible, both D class heroes and their most recent contract (missions are contracted) to stop Dr. Crisis and his sidekick, Calamity Cain (D class villians) and their plot to poison water supplies to extract a hefty ransom for the antidote.

A tale of danger, action where super heroes confront the forces of evil bent on world domination (or at least to be paid for non-domination).

Union Army General William Tecumseh Sherman once said, “War is hell.” yet he is viewed by many historians as an advocate for total war. Total war is war not only against an enemy army but also includes a civilian population as a military target. The idea is to crush morale and support for the war being fought so the enemy army will capitulate thus saving lives.

Of course such tactics have never met with much success, at least that I can see. Think about the London blitz or the German assault of Leningrad during the early days of World War Two, these actions didn’t encourage surrender in fact they stiffened resolve.

A less known quote from General Sherman reveals how he truly felt about total war. “I confess, without shame, that I am sick and tired of fighting — its glory is all moonshine; even success the most brilliant is over dead and mangled bodies…” General Sherman understood the impact of total war on people.

The five stories in this collection are about ordinary people who have suffered during war or who experience small victories magnified by the bloody conflicts they are asked to face head on.

I hope you enjoy these stories and that they make you think about war and the people who fought them.

The adventures of Trixie Aioli continues in Part 5.

In this installment her problems pile up like the next big burger special at your local fast food franchise.

What started a simple mission to seize power and stop the rounding up of the customers bill, to a quest for a power marriage to time travel, has now escalated to unimaginable danger and possible death for Trixie and Cherry Bomb.