Books published by MindStir Media

Puddles has made her favorite sugar cookies for Santa. It is Christmas Eve night, so she has left some cookies and milk for Santa on a table in the living room. On her way to bed, she goes by the table in the living room and notices only cookie crumbs are left on the plate, but the glass of milk is still full. Someone has eaten the cookies she has left for Santa. Who would have done this? So, she goes in search to find out who ate Santa's cookies.

Dumplin' Can Play originated as a way of helping the Vreeland's son, William, cope with the loss of their beloved adopted English bulldog, Rufus. It's a story of individualism, acceptance and the importance of the love and support of family.

Broken in Boston takes place in Boston, Massachusetts in the early 1900's, a time when the city was embroiled in major political and social changes. Founded by fundamentalist Puritans and later guardedly run by old-money, so-called 'Brahmins', Boston was always considered a very staid, buttoned-down city. But now, the large influx of Irish immigrants discovered the ballot box, and under the banner of the Democratic Party, began to shake old 'Beantown' to its core by winning elections in this staunchly Republican city. Appalled, the well-established Brahmins were not about to give up their position of power without a fight, however, and the era of rough and tumble Boston politics had begun. Broken in Boston is the story of Hope Davis, a woman who possessed extraordinary beauty and was blessed with two children, yet was unhappy with herself and the direction her life was heading. Hope, too, was about to undergo a major change. She decided to make a gut-wrenching choice, one considered incomprehensible by most women. Broken in Boston weaves Hope's story with a backdrop of the rise of political power by the Boston Irish, wealth, prejudice, the influence of the Catholic Church in Boston, a violin-playing nun, drug abuse, mental illness, a brutal double homicide, a couple of dogged detectives and eventually the power of perseverance that leads to redemption and triumph. People may have found themselves broken in Boston, but learned they didn't have to stay that way.

It's been said to pay yourself first. To save at least 10% of your earnings, but why stop at 10%? Why not 20%, 30%, and so on? The problem is that most people may not be able to set aside 10% of their earnings, let alone 20%-30%. My plan begins with 2 steps and teaches you how to save money more easily and better.

MONARCH BUDDIES Munch-A-Bunch of Milkweed is a dynamic educational tool and children's story that delivers full color photos, scientific facts and the complete monarch life cycle. Milkweed is NOT just another weed - it is the host plant for the "munching machine" monarch caterpillars! The story celebrates the caterpillar antics of "buddies" Max and Maisy, inspired by their mentor, Montgomery, as they share friendship and life cycle change. Soon they will have WINGS ... Beautiful WINGS! They GLIDE and SOAR to the skies, but the ending leaves them with a lasting impression of man's effect upon the environment. Hopefully, this story will be a constant reminder of the importance of Milkweed. The monarch's future is in our hands!

Alex is a kindergarten student that looks different to the other students in his class. Children make fun of him and he feels sad. Even when he attempts to change his appearance the children still make fun of him. Irianna teaches him it's okay to be different. She reminds Alex no matter what you do or say someone will always have something mean to say. It is important to always be yourself. Everyone was created different for a reason.

The magic word is not a book of magic and spells but a story everyone must tell. Whether you are young or old, tall or small; the word itself is a must for all. Leanne Wright-Phillips was born in London, England and moved to the USA recently. Leanne graduated with a joint honors bachelors degree in Dance, Film and Television. Leanne has always had a strong love for storytelling, animation, film, and musical theatre. She now has two children who are featured in this very book. She explains that they are every bit the double act and could not be more entertaining if they tried. Her two children Riley and Ryan are the very reason she started writing children's stories, or as she explains true stories.

This book is loosely based on actual life stories of my childhood spending summers in Canyon, TX at my grandparent's house. I took some liberties in the story telling to make it a little more entertaining but the events that took place are fairly actual. The two main characters are L.D. (myself) and Jaime (my cousin and best friend in life). It takes place during the early 1960's when kids could roam around a small town on their own without fear of any wrong doing by anyone else. It was a wonderful time to be a kid. We both got into our own mischief and predicaments but all usually ended in a life lesson learned. This is about a time gone by, when kids did not have computers or cell phones and played outside all day and went fishing and such for entertainment. I truly enjoyed writing these little short stories and reliving those wonderful memories. I hope the readers can immerse themselves into the stories and experience the memories as I did.

Join Abuelo (and his wild imagination) on his boyhood explorations around the world and beyond. From doing somersaults on the moon to racing cheetahs in the Serengeti, he has had his share of fun, but none of them compare to his grandest adventure of all.

Kristie Gatto, MA, CCC-SLP, COM is a certified speech-language pathologist and certified orofacial myologist. She is currently the owner of The Speech and Language Connection, which has two offices in the greater Houston area and employs 21 speech-language pathologists with various specialties. For the past ten years, she has focused her clinical skills on treating patients with issues in feeding, dysphagia, deglutition, oral sensory aversion, orofacial myology, and swallowing-related disorders, as well as articulation, phonological processing, apraxia, and early intervention. Her teaching experiences include instruction to graduate students on the orofacial complex, externship and clinical fellow supervision for the past 10 years, and publishing/presenting information on the orofacial complex. Ms. Gatto is the author of Understanding the Orofacial Complex: Muscle Manual (Outskirts Publishing, 2014).

Of Ducks, Dogs and Children is a delightful story of three small children who want their father to get them a dog. He has resisted the children's efforts for various practical reasons, but to put a temporary stop to their constant "Can't we get a dog?" pleas, he offers to take them to the county fair. The trip to the fair begins the story of how the children got their wish for a dog. It involves three orphan ducks, a vicious dog fight, a snowstorm, and finally, a happy ending. This is a story that will entertain adults and children alike.

The Bravest Polar Bear continues the journey of Athena, the littlest polar bear from Northern Alaska. Along with her family and friend, Snickers, she travels throughout the United States and encounters strange weather events that test her courage. This book is second in the series following The Littlest Polar Bear.

The secret of the Austine Locke is revealed to four children on Cisco Beach, Nantucket when they meet Octo and Fish and are asked to make a wish.

Although Susie is sick in the hospital with a serious illness, the furry snuggles and slobbery kisses provide the most important cure of all...unconditional love.

Through Talen's Eyes: "Grandma, What is Prayer?" is a profound yet practical story that explains the spiritual discipline of prayer. This book, the second in the Talen series, introduces readers to another grandson, Wade who joins Talen and his grandmother for a day of discovery. As in "A Visit to Grandma's House," the boys enjoy ongoing, rich conversation and fun with their grandmother. When the question of prayer arises, Grandma explains in terms that children and adults can understand and quickly put into practice. The book contains rich illustrations and a reading comprehension section which encourage children to engage multiple senses. Children will listen intently, spy out the special features in the illustrations and enjoy conversation with the adult reader, just as Talen and Wade share with their grandmother, who is blind. This book will quickly become a favorite for children of all ages.

Buzz the housefly always dreamed about being a firefly. He thought the way in which the fireflies' lights lit up the darkness was really awesome. Buzz becomes a different kind of "firefly" when he saves a family from a fire in their home.

In Leading with Vision, Paul Blanco shares specific strategies that enabled him to grow a nine-person office to an award-winning firm with more than 300 advisors in 30 offices across five states. He also shares scenarios that didn't work out so you can learn from his hard-earned wisdom without making those costly mistakes yourself. Paul believes vision drives success and serves as the foundation of leadership. As soon as you reach your vision, you must define a new vision to strive for. Paul's current vision is for Barnum Financial Group to be a $250 million firm. The following is just a small sampling of the valuable wisdom you'll learn from this book: - How having an "open-door, high-touch" firm or agency enhances trust, team building, and communication - A wide variety of marketing campaigns that enable advisors to reach more prospects - The importance of community service in establishing your firm as a trusted resource - Why it's critical to groom a "bench" of leaders before you need them - How a division whose sole purpose is to share intellectual capital with advisors can attract top talent to your firm and enable advisors to see more prospects and clients - Steps for making team selling a formal initiative that can help you surpass your vision - Thee stages of evolution that Barnum's call center went through to become the thriving production center it is today

JOIN SCOTT AND HIS MOTHER ON A JOURNEY around the countryside on an educational adventure! Follow as they gather the ingredients for dinner, and learn about the entire process of where our food comes from! Perfect for kids of all ages!

Puddles the Skunk has a new case to solve. Someone has left a stinky smell around the house, which she considers to be an act of bad manners. So, she is on a mission to find out what skinks and who did it.

This is the story of my dad's ugly chair, and how much it really bothered my mom. Mom tried everything she could think of to try and get rid of this chair, and then one day, she was very successful. Oh, the fun we had with her wonderful idea. Wait until you read about my mom's plan to get rid of Dad's ugly chair.

What would you do if you found a magical birdcage, while walking on the beach one day? Would you wish for diamonds? Maybe you would like to travel to the moon or a distant country. Maybe you would give all of your money to someone else to make their life easier. Let's see how three different people use their magical birdcage, and what effect it has on their lives. It is a special gift, but you must be very, very careful for what you wish.

Do you have a neighbor who likes to put on wonderful shows? Is this neighbor different from anyone else on your street? Are they always coming up with a new and wonderful idea for fun? Well, this neighborhood has the wonderful Ms. Sapphire Rose, and she is a lot of fun to have for a neighbor. Please come along and enjoy the wonderful imaginative shows that Ms. Sapphire Rose loves to put on for her neighbors and friends.

Grandma's Brown Chair is a delightful story of life around my Grandmother's brown chair. The chair actually existed and was the focal point when family was around. I'm sure people will relate to the characters and situations around their own chairs.

This is a story about six Christmas ornaments who felt they had been forgotten, left alone in the attic for years in a box. It is a story of how each ornament wanted to be back on the family tree and a magical trip they took to the North Pole to see Santa and his workshop elves. Rejoice in this holiday adventure at Pratham Farm, with determined ornaments and Santa magic that all happens just in time for a happy Christmas. The story and illustrations will delight every young child.

Juju just learns that his baby brother is coming home. Excited, Juju imagines all the fun things to do with his little brother. But there awaits a big surprise for Juju. What could it be? Juju's big surprise is a heartwarming story with fun illustrations and a character that children can relate to.

The Legend and Adventures of Bob Wire is a collection of stories passed down from generations of ranchers, oilfield roughnecks, and boot and saddle makers. These stories along with a vivid imagination have been rolled into a Western legend of epic proportions. A story of transition, grit, and heroics, The Legend and Adventures of Bob Wire chronicles a way of life that is still ongoing today. The lessons learned here will last a lifetime. Enjoy!

The author's early life was a twisted path of physical, sexual and verbal abuse so she anesthetized herself with alcohol and drugs to hide the pain. Later in life, she learned to forgive those who abused her only to discover her own body was her worst enemy as she endured 34 surgeries, often praying to die. Read her inspirational story of the strength she acquired to stay alive through it all as she shares her deepest secrets with you.

AUTHOR X boldly presents a story of a group of new age scientists that has found a way to use Cutting-edge technology to resurrect Jesus Christ, or at least somebody similar. Only one man (Dr. Samuel John) that is the voice of reason for the entire world, will have to decide if he should or shouldn't help make this a reality. Is this real life or is it fantasy? How will Christians react? How will the world react? How will you react when the Only Begotten Son has returned?

Murdock Nolan was a fine young man living and working in the small Ohio town of Stone Harbour, which is nestled just south of Lake Erie's western shoreline. Stone Harbour and its residents were special to Murdock as he had grown up just outside of the town on a farm with his father, mother, and brother. The country's 200th year anniversary was fast approaching and he felt in his heart that the events he was planning could lift the spirits of the town's people. It was his plan but the community would have to come together and support it or his plan would be doomed to fail. He took a deep breath, exhaled, and told himself, here we go....

Akin to Thomas Hardy stories of the Dorset countryside - timely to his place and ours - Thomas Morgan's Indiana stories synchronize a sense of country place apposite and applicable to our time... "Tom Morgan displays venerable literary skills; attentiveness to detail, alertness to context and a hunger for larger meaning" "The literary equivalent of preternatural bat-like sonar that senses how to address readers in a voice possessing both immediacy and retrospective wisdom" "...an unrepentant 1960s revolutionary sympathetic to Trotsky and Castro, yet genuinely religious" [making "A Conservative Case for Communism" p. 548] "...Astonishingly well-read, he structures his reminiscences and meditations as a series of vignettes that add up to taut scenes from a Mid-westerner's life in the mid-20th and early 21st centuries - some occurring in Europe, Mexico and California." "The job of Morgan's writing is not to act as a reflecting mirror of his experience, but as a lens through which we catch views of an alternately baffling, exasperating and mesmerizing search for some fixity by which to oppose the chaos of daily living. What remains instead is the spiritually intense presence of the author. Morgan has become the kind of character you think about long after you finish this book." Alan M. Wald: Chandler Davis Professor of Literature, University of Michigan. Author of trilogy, Exiles from a Future Time, Trinity of Passion and American Night... Rare is the writing that defies categorization - rarer still when it presses readers to reconsider nearly every way they are led by the shifting sway of media to believe is politically correct and incorrect. Tom Morgan shoots through clichés and quick sound bites about liberal and conservative, left and right and offers instead a fresh, honest and provocative account of a life that has turned both socialist commitments and animal husbandry into a daily practice of caring. John Maraldo, Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, University of North Florida.