Kelly Ames for the Stars

The Nine Lives of Tito d’Amelia By Ettore Farrattini Pojani Italian Literature / Historical Fiction Publisher: Bayou City Press Pages: 326 Publication Date: October 11, 2024 SYNOPSIS This is the first (and only) English-language version of an award-winning Italian novel, The Nine Lives of Tito d’Amelia . Nine Lives is a love story about a cat, a family, and an Italian town.  Mixing fiction with fact, Nine Lives tells the story of the town of Amelia, Italy, throughout the 32 centuries of its history. In fact, Amelia is considered the first organized city of central Italy, being four centuries older than Rome. The author uses the multiple lives of a cat named Tito as the way to span the centuries.  Author Ettore Farrattini Pojani is the heir of the Farrattini dynasty, a centuries-old family in Umbria whose family palazzo is in Amelia, north of Rome. Tito’s first life occurs in pre-historic Umbria, and his ninth is in the future. Tito’s mission though all nine of his lives is t...

TOUGH TRAIL HOME By Marie W. Watts Women’s Literary / Small Town & Rural / Contemporary Women’s Fiction Publisher: Black Rose Writing Pages: 253 Publication Date: March 27, 2024 SYNOPSIS “ Tough Trail Home is a delightful read about a family coming to terms with each other and their new lives.” –Pamela Stockwell, author of A Boundless Place The Dunwhitty family is flying high until their carefully choreographed life falls apart during the 2008 Great Recession. Lisa's firm goes belly-up while Michael's shuts down after selling faulty heart valves. Desperate, Lisa insists they regroup by seeking refuge in rural Central Texas on land she inherits from a distant relative she barely knows. It's not the ranch Lisa remembers, but a ramshackle money pit. Michael and their teenage son, Andrew, despise the place. Only their young daughter, Jessica, is happy. After a bitter argument, Michael moves to the city. As his job search drags on, Lisa begins to plant roots; friendships de...

THE BORDER BETWEEN US By Rudy Ruiz Literary Fiction Publisher: Blackstone Publishing Pages: 256 Publication Date: August 27, 2024 SYNOPSIS The Border Between Us is a poignant coming-of-age novel from one of the most exciting voices in fiction. Ramón López was born along the US–Mexico border but is determined to get out and embrace the American dream—and he’s not sure whether his complicated family is a help or a hindrance. As the son of immigrants, as Ramón grows, his admiration for his entrepreneurial father sours as he watches his dad’s dreams of success wither on the vine. Ramón’s mother is constantly preoccupied with his younger brother, who struggles with intellectual disabilities. And the outside world is rife with danger and temptations threatening to distract Ramón from his dreams of making it to New York and succeeding as an artist. As dreams clash with reality and values conflict with desires, Ramón finds the American dream within his reach—but will it demand too big a sacri...

  Shrimping West Texas By Bart Reid Texana / Science / Aquaculture Publisher: Texas Tech University Press Pages: 256 Publication Date: May 21, 2024 SYNOPSIS When you think of a marine environment, what do you picture? Wetlands, possibly; coastal shores, perhaps. When you think of a shrimp farm, what do you picture? Some folks who know a thing or two about aquaculture m ight say any marine or freshwater environment will do. Bart Reid, one of the founders of the Permian Sea Shrimp company, is here to tell you otherwise.  Shrimping West Texas is the story of that business and the history of the harebrained notion that farming shrimp is possible in the West Texas desert. Spanning twenty years of successes and failures, Reid captures the quintessential West Texas entrepreneurial spirit, tallies the unique environmental factors that made this possible, and depicts the motley crew of business folks, scientists, and schemers who were part of the tale. CLICK TO PURCHASE: Texas Tech U ...

  THE ART OF FARMING: A NOVEL by T.D. MOTLEY Fiction / Agriculture / Nature / Stewardship Publisher: Stoney Creek Publishing Pages: 144 Publication Date: August 26, 2024 SYNOPSIS Sam Bartlett’s formidable antagonist has four legs. Sol, a miniature donkey, schemes daily to outwit his kindly caretaker. This delightful rural drama regales a symbiosis of plants, humans, dogs, and livestock, with wild creatures observing from secluded, weedy perimeters.    Retired from teaching, artist Sam farms thirty acres. His popular paintings of vast prairies at sunset are selling well. He plans to market organic herbs and produce, hiring local after-school teens. Begrudgingly raised on a farm, he once swore that when he grew up, he’d never go back. Time and age break promises.   Elysia boasts a pretty town square, complete with a handsome county courthouse. Sam’s girlfriend, Annie, is a food writer who travels a lot. Bartlett Farm is her sanctuary.   The Art of Farm...

  IN THE MAD MOUNTAINS By Joe R. Lansdale Fiction / Horror Publisher: Tachyon Publications Pages: 256 Publication Date: October 15, 2024 SYNOPSIS “Joe Lansdale squares up to the Great Old Ones―and taps into rich veins of awe and wit, with always a backbeat thrum of cosmic terror.” ―Kim Newman, author of the Anno Dracula series Eleven-time Bram Stoker Award-winner Joe R. Lansdale ( Bubba Ho-tep ) returns with this wicked short story collection of his irreverent Lovecraftian tributes. Lansdale is terrifyingly down-home while merging his classic gonzo stylings with the eldritch horrors of H. P. Lovecraft. Knowingly skewering Lovecraft’s paranoid mythos, Lansdale embarks upon haunting yet sly explorations of the unknown, capturing the essence of cosmic dread. A sinister blues recording pressed on vinyl in blood conjures lethal shadows with its unearthly wails. In order to rescue Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn traverses the shifting horrors of the aptly named Dread Island. In the weird Wil...