A collection of stories about life -- and death -- and life forever. Includes: -The Little Books That Ran Away- -- a story for children about what happens to books that are not appreciated -A Walk in the Evening Fog- -- about a man blinded in an automobile accident many years before -An Untitled Life- -- about the secret family history a grandmother reveals to her grandson -Reflections in a Broken Mirror- -- which takes place in the last second of the life of a man who has just cut open a vein in his arm -... for her Convenience- -- about a woman's birthday party and the surprise guest...

Set against a worldwide canvas that includes New York, Paris and Germany -News on the Home Front- tells the story of two women who have been friends since their childhood in West Lake, Maryland. The world war has torn apart their lives leaving each trying to find a way to put it back together. It's been a difficult few years with rationing and shortages starting to take their toll. Carole's boyfriend, Philip, is off to fly for the Army; and Irene has taken a job at the near-by aircraft factory. Carole promised Philip that she would wait for his return from the war -- but circumstances begin...

James Murray is a young man with a dream -- he wants to be a writer just like his idol, Dashiell Hammett -- but there's a Depression on, and he's the only one in his family with a job. Even though it's a good job -- clerking in the Junior Boy's department at the swankest new department store in downtown Los Angeles: Eastern Columbia, Broadway at Ninth -- it's not writing. At the end of one typical day at work, there's a scream. James rushes toward the sound and finds his best friend -- co-worker Elizabeth -Bess- Flowers -- apparently shot and lying dead in the Better Furniture department. He...

James Murray is a young man with a dream -- he wants to be a writer just like his idol, Dashiell Hammett. While working as a clerk at a swank downtown department store, James pens a novel that turns out to be a surprise success. Now, he's the junior screenwriter at a major Hollywood studio. During his time there, productions at the studio have been plagued by a series of mysterious accidents including fires, damage to costumes, theft of miniatures used for trick shots -- and the worst: theft of an important scene from the studio's big picture, "King Kong." Not wanting to attract too much...

You've probably heard that cats have nine lives; but do you know what happens after? Where cats go after they die, and what they do there, is told in Mama Cat, the first children's book by writer Christopher Geoffrey McPherson and illustrator Matt Hinrichs. The main character in Mama Cat is Eames -- a real-life cat wise beyond his years, talented and precocious -- who tells the story. "Eames never ceased to amaze us," Christopher says. "One day he'd be installing a new mouse on the computer, the next he'd be re-writing Tennessee Williams to create an all-feline version of Cat on a Hot Tin...

The Butterfly Effect is the theory that a single occurrence, no matter how small, can change the course of the universe forever. "22: The Biography of a Gun" follows the path a gun takes when it moves in and out of the lives of various people. Characters ponder how their lives might change with a gun; but, of course, things don't always work out the way they might expect. Actions have consequences; and some actions have unintended consequences. In a world where guns are heavily regulated, is this gun the answer one person is looking for? A way out? A way to make some extra money? A way to end...