Books published by Whitlock Publishing

Published originally as biweekly columns, the fifty essays in this collection bring the age-old practice of Zen to bear upon contemporary life. Whether their immediate subject be shoveling snow or baking bread, the "virtues of solitude" or the emotional dimension of social media, these lucid, graceful essays explore the manifold ways by which we might take the "backward step," shifting our orientation from ego-centered thinking to selfless awareness. "Wise and true," writes Roshi Joan Halifax of The Backward Step, "this wonderful book transmits the essence of practice realization."

From the nuclear devastation of Chernobyl to the haunted shores of Bali, traversing the globe has never been such a nightmare. Travel with ghost hunters as they explore the ruins of Auschwitz, or join a man whose past literally haunts him. Take a cruise on a haunted ship, or descend into madness in the American South. This chilling journey to the world's most haunted places will make you think twice before reaching for your passport. Our Haunted World includes new ghost stories by Donna Burgess, Stephen Gaskell, Eliza Granville, Sarah Islam, Jeff Kozzi, Christine Lucas, Kevin McClintock, C. Dennis Moore, Dan O'Brien, Mark Lee Pearson, Shawn Proctor, Jamie K. Schmidt, Michael Sebastian, Dave Siddall, Melissa L. Webb and Neil Williams.

Ellen Wood's supernatural 1871 best-seller follows three generations of the Clanwaring family, their sprawling estate, Beechhurst Dene, and the cursed road it resides on, the haunted Dene Hollow. Her tale is a rich tapestry of Victorian characters from wealthy estate owners in their pampered parlors, to the servants whispering secrets below the stairs. Inn keepers and thieves, landowners and liars, Generals and drunks, cross class lovers and a ghost-seeing servant--all who travel through the dark glen of Dene Hollow will find their lives forever changed. Before there was J.K. Rowling, before there was Anne Rice, there was Mrs. Henry Wood, the queen of Victorian best-sellers. Between 1860 and 1887, Ellen Wood wrote over forty full-length novels which made her one of the most successful and talked about writers of the Victorian era. Her novels of mystery, suspense and the supernatural kept thousands of Victorians reading far into the night and thankfully, her novels are once again available for insomniacs, book addicts and academics alike. Curt Herr, Ph.D., teaches Victorian Sensation fiction at Kutztown University. He specializes in overlooked, best-selling Victorian novelists and has written critical editions of the works of Mrs. Henry Wood, Marie Corelli, and Elizabeth Bonhote.

Part memoir, part almanac, and part primer on meditation, Entering Zen is addressed to anyone who might wish to take up the practice of meditation, or deepen an existing practice, or explore the nuances and complexities of the Zen tradition. The seventy-five essays in this collection first appeared as columns in the Alfred Sun, the community newspaper of Alfred, New York. Ben Howard is Emeritus Professor of English at Alfred University and a longtime practitioner of Zen and Vipassana meditation. His previous books include Leaf, Sunlight, Asphalt and the verse novella Midcentury.