Rhode Island Authors

Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies established this young writer as one the most brilliant of her generation. Her stories are one of the very few debut works -- and only a handful of collections -- to have won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Among the many other awards and honors it received were the New Yorker Debut of the Year award, the PEN/Hemingway Award, and the highest critical praise for its grace, acuity, and compassion in detailing lives transported from India to America. In The Namesake, Lahiri enriches the themes that made her collection an international bestseller: the immigrant experience, the clash of cultures, the conflicts of assimilation, and, most poignantly, the tangled ties between generations. Here again Lahiri displays her deft touch for the perfect detail -- the fleeting moment, the turn of phrase -- that opens whole worlds of emotion.
The Namesake takes the Ganguli family from their tradition-bound life in Calcutta through their fraught transformation into Americans. On the heels of their arranged wedding, Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli settle together in Cambridge, Massachusetts. An engineer by training, Ashoke adapts far less warily than his wife, who resists all things American and pines for her family. When their son is born, the task of naming him betrays the vexed results of bringing old ways to the new world. Named for a Russian writer by his Indian parents in memory of a catastrophe years before, Gogol Ganguli knows only that he suffers the burden of his heritage as well as his odd, antic name. Lahiri brings great empathy to Gogol as he stumbles along the first-generation path, strewn with conflicting loyalties, comic detours, and wrenching love affairs. With penetrating insight, she reveals not only the defining power of the names and expectations bestowed upon us by our parents, but also the means by which we slowly, sometimes painfully, come to define ourselves. The New York Times has praised Lahiri as "a writer of uncommon elegance and poise." The Namesake is a fine-tuned, intimate, and deeply felt novel of identity.

You may have enjoyed her two books, Fiddling Through the Wilderness and Into the Spirit. Now into her 90's, she continues to write her inspiring stories, essays, and lessons to others. On and off the stage, her journey of faith, hope, gratitude, and joy defines a life well-lived.

What is the magnet that brings two people together? Often, they are diverse in personality and some time they have nothing in common. Love, however, prevails--as it often does. Here are a few love stories.

Odysseys: An unfulfilled woman finds romance in an unlikely place; a young female pioneer finds rescue and renewal in a Lakota Indian warrior; an insecure American-Italian girl finds a sense of identity in an Italian village; and a pampered woman mends a broken friendship.

On the Mend is a book about Living, Loving, Laughing, And all that comes in between. It's about Disappointment, Heartache, Heartbreak, Sadness, Loneliness, Accepting Learning, Growing, Strengthening, And moving forward. We all have our own version of the in-betweens, but our foundations are all the same. Some stories are longer, others are shorter. Some are more colorful, others are black and white. Some are filled with more living, living, and laughing, others more of the in-between. Know your story can change, turn the page, end the chapter, or begin a completely new book, but only after you take the time to learn what you want and need in this new journey filled with living, loving, and laughing.

What does a mother do when she is told her child will never be able to learn? Beverly assumes public school will provide everything her son Patrick needs to succeed; but he's been beaten down by the system, and failing and falling further behind as each year passes. At each turn, she is met with devastating system roadblocks, and told she doesn't have what it takes to help her child. In many respects, she feels the professionals may be right. Will she be able to discover the educational path he needs? Or, will she too, fail her child? OUT OF THE BOX LEARNING tells of the deep courage of one mother who realizes that only she has the power to turn around her son's education. It is both heartfelt story, and step-by-step guide to alternative learning through homeschooling. OUT OF THE BOX LEARNING will inspire readers to rethink the landscape and purpose of education, when we fully trust our kids as inherent learners.

Pangaea is being torn apart by magic, and an old evil is set to return. Its greatest champions are blinded by ambition, choked by politics, and crippled by pain. Brought together by fate, seven young heroes set out to save the world. But what can children do against living gods? This is the tale of an end of an Age. These are its tragic last days.

The Parent Trap Columns Volume I, is the first in a two-volume collection of humorous and insightful observations on contemporary teen parenting by Michael A. Battey, an East Greenwich, Rhode Island based doctor. Published in community newspapers within Rhode Island over several years, the columns reflect the author's personal experience along with commentary on parenting trends, and public education.

THE POUND A DAY DIET is an accelerated program designed to help dieters lose up to five pounds every five days-- without frustrating plateaus-- while enjoying all their favorite foods. It rewrites every carb/fat/calorie rule in the book! This delicious, easy-to-use, plan is specifically formulated as a Mediterranean-style diet that is carb and calorie corrected to turbocharge metabolism and weight loss. Complete with menus for 28 days (four five-day plans and four weekend plans), dieters first follow the five-day plan, switch over to the weekend plan, return to the five-day plan for the second week, and continue with the weekend plan-alternating like this right down to their goal weight. To help readers, Rocco has created 50 all-new lightning-quick 5 ingredient recipes, as well as ready-made suggestions for those who simply cannot find the time to cook; a primer on healthy and fast cooking techniques; calorie-calibrated menus and shopping lists; and a lifestyle plan for maintaining a lean, healthy body for life.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Stanton tells the incredible story of Buddy Cianci, America's most colorful mayor, in this classic story of wiseguys, feds, and politicians riding a carousel of crime and redemption.

Prophet's End is a compelling story which brings together characters that you will love and admire. Russell writes with wit and the passion of a romantic, creating a resonant work that will have you more fully appreciating the courageous heroes that surround us every day. Most of all, it presents us with two powerful gifts that many of us can use on an ongoing basis: inspiration and hope.

-Matthew J. Goldberg, author of Hot Ice Cream: Inspiring Life Lessons from Our Children

A great imaginative story with characters I really cared about. I finished this book with a lump in my throat, I love it. I absolutely love it. Prophet's End has tremendous imagination, tremendous heart and a story that really resonates.

-Bill Hall, author of McCallandia

Prophet's End is a tale for our times, bringing together two individuals with unusual powers, a young man who has the gift of seeing into the future, and the young woman who inhabited his dreams and holds his heart from the age of 6 years. That young woman has a power of her own, to take the world and all that it brings with an unbridled optimism. Mr. Russell's story has the heart of a modern day Chasidic tale, with a magical ending.

-Dr. Sandra Price, JD, PhD, School of Community Resources and Development, Arizona State University

Billy Farrell is a typical 1950s New York City kid. He loves the Brooklyn Dodgers and egg creams from the soda shop. He's an okay student. Then one day Billy begins having strange dreams--dreams that are anything but typical.

Prophet's End is a tale of hope and faith, even from the rubble of despair; a magical story which demonstrates that we cannot change what will be, let alone alter the here and now. Yet even against the odds, Billy's story offers hope for a better future, shining like a beacon just beyond the present.

About the Author

Scott D. Russell was born in the Bronx in the year 1945. He resides in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, with Peggy, his bride of 32 years, and their assorted felines. Scott is the author of Joey, a biography of Joey Giardello, a hero of his as well as the former middleweight champion of the world. Scott was a huge fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers in his youth and served as Bill "Spaceman" Lee's personal statistician during his successful playing career for both the Red Sox and Montreal Expos.

The author is of the belief that civil discourse is imperative if we are to survive as a society. At seventy-one years of age, he remains steadfast that there is hope for mankind.

Puny Pete wants to help his family "just like his brothers and sister," but they lovingly pat his head and tickle his tummy and tell him he's too little.
Puny leaves home to prove he is "Big." Oh, what dangers lurked everywhere he went!
Did he get hurt?
Who tried to eat him?
Did he ever find his brothers and sister again?

In nearly every town and city in 36 states across America stand monuments and memorials dedicated to a time when brothers fought brothers and fathers fought sons in the bloodiest war in our nation's history... The American Civil War. Most of these monuments and memorials have stood, silently, watching over their towns and cities while their true meanings have faded into obscurity. Though a significant number of these beautiful monuments and memorials, as well as incredible works of art, stand in full view of the public, few people even notice them simply because they have stood there for generations as other wars took our attention away. A larger portion of these monuments and memorials stand in cemeteries, where some have fallen into disarray. These are surrounded by markers, reminding all who see them, of the sacrifices made by a whole generation so that we, today, can enjoy living as we do. In writing this book, we are attempting to remind future generations of these sacrifices as well as to pay homage to, and show the talents of, the artists who created them. The facts included in this book are those not found in any other works. To the best of our knowledge, this book represents all of the Civil War monuments and memorials throughout Rhode Island, from the smallest to the largest.

From acclaimed thriller-suspense novelists Heather Graham and Jon Land comes a story of action, mystery, and the endurance of young love in The Rising.

Twenty-four hours. That's all it takes for the lives of two young people to be changed forever.

Alex Chin has the world on a plate. A football hero and homecoming king with plenty of scholarship offers, his future looks bright. His tutor, Samantha Dixon, is preparing to graduate high school at the top of her class. She plans to turn her NASA internship into a career.

When a football accident lands Alex in the hospital, his world is turned upside down. His doctor is murdered. Then, his parents. Death seems to follow him wherever he goes, and now it's after him.

Alex flees. He tells Samantha not to follow, but she became involved the moment she walked through his door and found Mr. and Mrs. Chin as they lay dying in their home. She cannot abandon the young man she loves. The two race desperately to stay ahead of Alex's attackers long enough to figure out why they are hunting him in the first place. The answer lies with a secret buried deep in his past, a secret his parents died to protect. Alex always knew he was adopted, but he never knew the real reason his birth parents abandoned him. He never knew where he truly came from. Until now.

Barbara Ann Gordon was dead and buried, never to be heard from again. The last few months had been a nightmare. With the help of the U.S. Marshals she was on her way to a new home with a new identity. And now as Emily Gail Henshaw, she looked out the window of her new little house in Crab Apple Creek and saw the same guy she had met on the road earlier that day. Oh my God! The Hunk! He had made her feel things she hadn't felt in a long time. He was gorgeous! And he was her builder. It was promising to be an interesting meeting, and a long "hot" summer. The first time Emily saw the meadow where she would build her new home, the air seemed to shimmer. She saw visions of Native Spirits, felt the Magic from the mountain, and knew this was the right place. Her builder, Ethan, seemed to sense something paranormal, too. Might he have The Gift like her? Emily and Ethan's worlds were about to collide in the middle of an eruption of dance between good and evil. It seemed the Universe had plans for both of them that neither would be able to control.

Brian Beneduce has always known there was something wrong with him -- very wrong. Even at a young age when his friends were enjoying activities as harmless as sleepovers, he would hyperventilate, sweat and tremble at the mere thought. He never told a soul. As he got older his condition worsened. Open spaces, crowds, bridges, tunnels, elevators, planes and traffic all sent him into spells of debilitating fear and panic, but never more than when he would be trapped somewhere alone with his own thoughts, and would be convinced that "The Thing," as he named it, would someday kill him. Yet somehow, perhaps for the sake of his wife, children, or his business he vowed that he would find the willpower he needed to beat it -- or would die trying. Scared to Death.... Do It Anyway is one man's inspirational and tumultuous journey told through the thoughts, feelings and secrets of an acute agoraphobic. It not only chronicles three decades of severe panic and anxiety attacks, but it also reveals the healing thought process of self-realization that helped him defeat "The Thing," build a multi-million dollar business, and discover a life of true happiness.

As Algy Temple, the deft pool player, sleuth and Ivy League university lawyer, investigates the suspicious death of a retired professor, it coincides with his involvement in a high stakes pool tournament in Providence, where old world shadows hang heavily in the air. Unexpectedly, he finds himself on a path that leads him to Rome and the Boot of Italy where he confronts the dreaded 'Ndrangheta crime family and discovers a past haunted by vendetta and conspiracy. Mobsters and shylocks, a Ponzi scheme, an outraged Italo-American community locked in a culture war with the University, a pool hustler's last gambit for recognition, and his fiancé's, the sassy and beautiful Nadie Winokur, focus on their upcoming wedding add complexity to the suspenseful tension. Algy picks his way through dark alleys of moral corruption and the murky world of big time pool where the match becomes a wager of life and death.

Leaving family and home for a new life as a successful author, there's nothing Pashmina can't do except outrun her past. Accused of plagiarism by her editor, Amelia, she must choose between avenging her former lover or protecting herself. Does Amelia's boyfriend Tim somehow hold the key to unlocking the truth? Three lives tightly entwined soon find themselves each wishing for a second chance.