Jim's words stung Sam like a swarm of mad hornets. " Sarah's been dead for eight months now. For crying out loud, Sam, get a grip It's time for you to snap out of it before you get one of us killed. You have to get over it and get your mind back on your work." Forced to take time off from his successful construction business to recover from his wife, Sarah's death, Sam encountered six foster kids in a remote desert oasis that gives him a whole new awareness of the struggles and challenges of unwanted kids. This is especially true with a seven year old philosopher and theologian named Aaron,...

This 90,000 word novel involves the life of a fifty-something black woman who, following a short-lived and devastating marriage, finds work in the King County system, ultimately as Court Stenographer. She encounters belligerent youth, judges like Horatio Morgan and inept defense attorneys who challenge her ethical and moral values. A convicted felon escapes custody, then terrorizes and threatens the life of everyone related to his conviction, including the court stenographer. Having previously worked with aggressive youth in the King County Juvenile Service Center, Shirley decided to find...

Runaways come in all sizes, shapes and ages. Some are people who are tired of the humdrum life in which they find themselves, so they run away to places of imagined excitement. Others run away because they find themselves in trouble with family members or the local police force or school officials. Still others run away for reasons totally unknown to them or anyone who knows them. There just seems to be something within them that causes them to pack their clothes in some kind of bag and then strike out on foot or bicycle or in a car, for places unknown. Lee Edwards was an eighteen year old...