Dante's Dance by Chris Meehan and Jackie Venegas ($15.99)

Kalamazoo River

Kalamazoo River is the third novel in Earl Morris' trilogy "Michigan: Water Wonderland." Thomas Morgan, a retired professor, along with his loyal helpers spent years of investigation of cold cases involving sexual abuse. One Wednesday morning, Simone Pike the mentally disturbed wife of an evangelical minister was abused, tortured, and abandoned on the banks of the river by a survivalist militia group. She had married into the family of an early pioneer in the village of Wabaunsea who had gained a huge fortune from a furniture factory, a mysterious gold mine, and other enterprises. The controversial distribution of the fortune that by 2010 was in the multi-millions serves as the backdrop behind the story. The denouement hinges on the discussion among Morgan and his associates why sexual abuse continues as the main focus of Morgan's post-retirement work. Morgan's revelation that he was abused as a child silences his associates.   

Lifetime Journey

Have you ever wished you had one place to keep track of life events and capture family history as it happens?  “Lifetime Journey – Your Family Story” is that place. This journal contains a unique month and day calendar for easy posting of past and present events.  Keep the book in a familiar place so you will use it often.  Write down your personal thoughts, prayers, and musings; journal the first steps of your child, your vacations, and your own life changes making note of the year they happened.  Birth, marriage, and medical records can be kept in one place. Someday you might win a bet on what year you took that cruise to the Bahamas or when grandma forgot the sugar in the sugar cookies.  As years go by, you can see all the things that happened on a certain day.  There is also a special place to write down the precious things your children and grandchildren say and do.  This is a great gift for brides, new mothers, as well as grandmothers.  It will become a lifetime family treasure.   

Great-Grandma's Trunk by Claudette Darling ($16.00)

It is 1869 and the Pequegnats are immigrating to America, leaving behind family and friends and the only home they have ever known in the small, French speaking village of Loveresse, Switzerland. The reader follows eight-year-old  Emma over the storm tossed Atlantic, and shares her fright and anxiety on her first day of school in Elgin, Illinois. More adventures follow when they travel in a covered wagon, pulled by oxen, to their new home in Michigan.

The Victorian period is colorfully described  through Emma as she finds romance, elopes with her handsome boyfriend, Fred Schultheiss, and they settle on a small farm near St.Louis, Michigan. 

Building a Community: From Isolation to Interdependence By Richard Frederick O'Dell, Jr. ($15.00)

It has become increasingly urgent, the increasing fragility of planetary life, that we recognize the importance of living interdependently. With this recognition, it is imperative that we come together to work in a spirit  of cooperation to protect not only our own lives but all planetary life.  If we all strive to do no harm, we will greatly reduce our reasons to be afraid, and if we all learn to live non-judgmentally and to share with those in need, we will greatly reduce our anger.

Someday, perhaps, we will become less afraid and more accepting of each other so that we will not harbor negative judgments, become defensive, or engage in unnecessary competition to satisfy our needs and wants. For the sake of all humanity, it is important that we build an interdependent community that strives to sustain life and increase happiness.

It is a community we so desperately need. 

Sassafras and Sumac. Collection of Poems Edited by Earl W. Morris ($12.00)

Sassafras and Sumac presents the poetry of members of Reflections of the Muse Poetry Society. We are a small group of poets trying to improve our work and to present it to the public. On November 5, 2011 members: Melanie Dunbar, Kizer the Poet, Teresa Myers, Ann Chestnut, and Earl W. Morris read from their work. We concluded we were proud enough to expose it to public scrutiny. It was well accepted by the small but appreciative audience. 

A True Phoenix by Michelle Reichartz (14.99)

Throughout the course of life; everyone encounters a great many things.  Most of them are dismissed as a passing experience; forgotten, never to be thought of again.  Then there are those things we encounter that change the course of our lives.  It may be as simple as a painting, a book, or a piece of music.

But for Lexi Matthews, that event was something far more tragic.  Something she would much rather forget.  For as long as she can remember; her life has been nothing but struggles, each one seemingly more painful than the last.  As she bounces from painful moment to painful moment, the only constants present in her life to cushion their blows are her best friend Zander, her job, and her favorite band; Phoenix Rising.  Her day to day life had become defined by her routine; a never ending vicious cycle, and a constant search for the peace missing in her life.

Then one day the tragic moment she never saw coming finally came.  Lexi is brutally raped by her boss.  In the midst of this Earth-shattering series of events, she finds herself thrown from the world she knows and into the presence of Phoenix Rising.  Thrown from her world and into theirs, Lexi would be forced to examine each and every piece of who she thinks she is or what she thinks is her life.  During their time together; she would transcend the boundary set in place by the stage and discover each band member’s own similarly painful and tragic moment.  With their help she would be forced to confront not only this moment, but also the deepest and darkest of her secrets.  With hers, three friends in turmoil would find friendship again.  Together they would unite against their darkest demons and discover the path to true happiness.

About the author
Michelle Reichartz is a woman of many interests. Born in West Allis, WI; she has always had a fascination with Mystery, Science Fiction, and the extraordinary; especially when they are fused together. With a passion for the bullied and abused, she writes with the belief that words can make miracles happen when you least expect it.   

Out of Stieglitz Park by Andrew Jefchak ($14.95)

This group of interconnected stories looks at a small community in Northwest Indiana before and after it is severely damaged by an explosion and fire at the refinery which virtually surrounds it.  The lives of all the residents of Stieglitz Park change after they’re forced to move out, but some of them carry psychological baggage away from the place which surfaces occasionally, affecting isolated moments of pain and pleasure. For the beautiful, self-absorbed Geraldine Stillman, Stieglitz is a crude slum where her father was murdered. She is obsessively pursued by Richie Bowman, for whom Stieglitz is home turf where he can dominate, much to the dismay of  Chet Puntillo, a local cop who acts bravely in the explosion’s  aftermath. 

Out of Stieglitz Park reflects stretches of life during four different decades (1949-1971), ultimately focusing on an aspiring young actor named Lou Fronczek, who remembers a rough neighborhood which was nonetheless fun to grow up in. In some ways, Lou brings the spirit of that lost community into his love for Maggie Conroy, a girl from the other side of town whom he marries just before he gets seriously wounded in Vietnam. Their passionate relationship is threatened when Lou reconnects with Geraldine, who was once his babysitter in Stieglitz Park.  
While it lives, and even long after it dies, the locale is itself a character in these stories, touching each of its inhabitants, a catalyst for some of them to dream big.   

The Book of Explosions by the Grand Rapids Creative Youth Center  ($6.95)

Brought to you by the Grand Rapids Creative Youth Center, The CYC Book of Explosions is a collection of stories and poems from 2010 - 2011 written by young authors (ages 6-16) living in Grand Rapids, MI. The Grand Rapids Creative Youth Center’s mission is to inspire Grand Rapids’ youth to find, develop, and share their voices; empowering them with the creative skills necessary to express themselves through creative and expository writing, leading to their success as adults.

Asylum Lake by R.A. Evans ($15.00)

In 1917, the state's second largest psychiatric hospital opened on six hundred wooded acres overlooking a small lake near Bedlam Falls, Michigan. Through its doors came the weak and the weary, the disabled and the discarded, the frail and the forgotten. But an open door is an invitation, and some visitors, once invited, are loath to leave. The hospital abruptly closed in 1958 under a cloud of mystery. It has remained empty and silent, save for the memories trapped both within its walls and far below the surface of the nearby lake that bears its name. At the bottom of Asylum Lake, the unremembered are growing restless.

Brady Tanner is trying to outrun memories of his own. After the sudden death of his wife, Brady retreats to the small town where he spent the summers of his youth. But he soon learns small towns can be stained by memories... and secrets, too. As Brady is drawn into unearthing these secrets, as he discovers a new love in an old friend, he is also drawn into the mystery of Asylum Lake and the evil that lies submerged beneath its sparkling surface. What is the source of this evil - and what does it want with Brady Tanner?

Garbio by Larry Vanderleest ($13.95)

New Lower Price!

Cowboys of the Old West, hoboes on the rails, sailors in the open seas, and miners burrowing deep underground have had their legends told and heroes held high. Now it is the garbageman's turn. Learn of the tales, tribulations, and culture in one of the lowlier, yet necessary occupations in American society. For reasons explained in the book, the Dutch cornered the market in the Chicago area in the mid-1900s. The author labored in that setting as a young man; now, years after the aches and calluses have gone, he brings out the urban settings few people see.

Cupid's Got A Gun by She'Marie ($15.00)

For Noelle Knight, growing up with a drug addicted mother and no father in the slums of Saginaw, Michigan was anything but normal. Yet with sheer determination and a passion for music, she got out with stars in her eyes as big as saucers. Instead of college she followed her heart to pursue her dream of singing into the music industry. But unbeknownst to her Cupid had other plans for her heart, which lead her into two relationships with totally opposite men. With her heart being pulled in three different directions: singing, Tyrese and Andrew. Will Noelle make the right choice? Or will Cupid shoot a bullet through her heart and make the decision for her? 

101 Ways to Celebrate the Ordinary by Diane Reed Loew ($10.00)

Theaters of Trauma by Richard Raubolt PhD. ($20.00)

Flames of Redemption

The King of all vampires was born to bring evil to the world. Rayus is now baffled by an angel that had walked into his club. Her pureness draws him, and he can't wait to get his hands on her. But will her goodness be too much for him?
Santana rushes in once more to save her sister. A dark club, and a mysterious voice, throws her for a loop. When she finally meets the man behind the voice, her life gets thrown into the flames. Can she survive The Flames of Redemption?

Journey's End by Bill Jack ($14.95)

This first novel combines murder and mayhem with a friendship between two men that lasted decades. Will Bennett and Sam Greenberg had had each other's back for longer than they cared to talk about. When Greenberg goes missing, it is up to Will and his spouse, the Honorable Alexandra Kennedy, to find him, a journey that takes them from the high desert of New Mexico to the shores of Lake Michigan to the crowded streets of Northern Virginia. This novel is about friendship and the ties that bind.

Living On Air by R.A. "Mac" McBride ($15.00)

Swimming the Everglades by Alice Stevens (13.00)

Swimming the Everglades uses straightforward description to delve into the multiple layers of people's private feelings. Alice Stevens has a special gift for expressing the grittiness of relationships and their transcendent qualities. In complex well crafted, yet accessible language, she is able to illuminate the poignancy of everyday life.

Alice has been writing poetry since 1970. She received her MA from the University of Illinois at Chicago and now lives in the South Loop neighborhood with her husband Richard.

Connections to the Heartland by Dick Parker ($15.95)

There is, in art, as in life, a cadence, a rhythm, a thread of universality that runs through each and every one of us. Few are those who can express it in such a way as to strike a chordal response within those few who can't... hence, the difference between artists and critics.

And, as it has been observed, we children of Sol, have managed to find our own way here sans character sets and/or operating instructions... so too, have my "children" arrived. Some few will understand... most won't.

I do not throw paint at the canvas of life, nor do I write down to others, nor myself. I do not feel I have to... I've lived my entire life keeping my own counsel, while paying whatever price I've had to for my own mistakes... and with my own sweat...

So should we all.

When Basil D Morris bailed out of his flaming B-24 Bomber over Austria he had no idea the people watching his descent to the snow covered ground would forever impact his life. He would also learn their flight was part of a secret mission not revealed in the preflight briefing. Only years later was the sobering truth actually revealed.

Espial: Noticings and Spottings by Mary VK Peterson $15.00

Honest, heartfelt and high-spirited, this book offers a collection of poems, questions and other thoughts triggered by spending a year noticing, in nature, the presence of God.

Contains 120 noticings and spottings. Roughly 200 pages.

Cultivating a Sense of Place: Poetry by West Michigan Youth selected and edited by Rodney Torreson, Grand Rapids Poet Laureate  $14.00

A collection of poems written by West Michigan students, originally published online by The Grand Rapids Area Council for the Humanities "Through the Third Eye" yout poetry website www.throughthe3rdeye.com.

Cultivating a Sense of Place is the first book published by Schuler Books and the Chapbook Press, using print on demand technology with the Espresso Book Machine.

Site and Insight: The Seen and Unseen by Earl W. Morris $13.00

This collection of short stories includes tales written since the author’s retirement. A recurring theme is the occurrence of missed opportunities. About people who observe the passing scene but don’t quite participate because they cannot. About people who crave but are unable to establish satisfying connections with others. The stories occur in far flung places and in surprising surroundings. Most of these stories arose from actual or imagined sojourns back into times when, as a much younger traveler in social and cultural milieus, I didn’t quite appreciate the experiences as I do now.

Some People Have Eyes: Fifty or so Poems by Earl W. Morris $12.00

Fifty some poems are presented arising from the travels of a now retired university professor. The keystone poem is one about the effect on a callow youth of the mysterious eyes of a girl who came with her parents to visit the author's childhood home. Those eyes haunted him the rest of his not yet ended life. Some of them speak of rejection, others of joy and love.

Swan Creek: Friday Afternoon by Earl W. Morris $18.00

Number 1 in the  Michigan Water Wonderland Trilogy

One Friday afternoon in October 1949, five young men cajole a female high school student into their car and drive out to the State Game Area where they gang rape her, mistakenly convinced she was hungry for sex. The driver of the car did not participate.

Tom Morgan, a member of the same class as the rapists hears about the event from the man who drove the car. Tom resolves to convince the victim that it was a crime and the rapists should be punished. But he is unable to do so in part because of fear. He broods for fifty years until his retirement as a professor at Michigan State University. Soon after retirement he gathers a group of friends to help him in his quest to identify the rapists and get them punished.

Tom and his friends learn someone has been murdering the perpetrators. Only one now remains.. A member of a militia group calling itself The Lord’s Vigilant Mission seems to be connected somehow. An important but mysterious contributor to the solution is a strange man named Harry Hall who had helped the rape victim through the aftermath.

Eagle Lake: Sunday Evening by Earl W. Morris $15.00

In a demon ridden southwestern Michigan township a rural preacher disappears in 1905. In 2000, Professor Tom Morgan tries with little success to find how and why. Meanwhile a mysterious man named Gerardo Salas solves the mystery. The teacher fearing arrest for a murder she did not commit escapes to the west. The apparent intervention of troublesome water demons caused hers and a string of other murders. Sharing information, Tom and Gerardo explain how and why. 

Rhetoric and Representation in Nonfiction Film by Carl R. Plantinga

Normal Price $22.95 Schuler Price $18.75

Rhetoric and Representation in Nonfiction Film provides a clear and compelling introduction to the basic theoretical issues that ground any in-depth study of documentary film and video. Exploring the legitimacy of the distinction between fiction and nonfiction, Carl Plantinga characterizes the documentary in a new way. He examines the uses of moving photographic images and recorded sounds in documentary communication, and describes the implications of various structural and stylistic choices. He explores the notion of voice, the overall nature and functions of objectivity, reflexivity and truth-telling. Rhetoric and Representation in Nonfiction Film offers a "critical realist" perspective on these issues and thus offers an alternative to post-modernist and post-structuralist theories of the documentary.

Thanks to the Espresso Book Machine, Schuler Books can help you save and print valuable family documents (old letters, memoirs, recipes, etc.)

A customer brought us photocopies of his great-grandmother's collection of recipes. The recipes had been written in ink and pencil on an old ledger book over many years (from the mid 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century). The original pages of the ledger book had come loose and were very brittle. We scanned the photocopies, created a pdf file for them and created a cover. We were then able to print several copies of the recipe collection that our customer gave to members of his family as Christmas gifts.