Fritzie

One January day in 1923, a young boy came across the dead body of a twenty-year-old woman on a San Diego beach. When the police arrived on the scene, they found the woman’s calling card, which read simply, “I am Fritzie Mann.” Yet Fritzie’s identity, as revealed in this compelling history, was anything but simple, and her death—eventually ruled a homicide—captured public attention for months. In Fritzie, historian Amy Absher reveals how broader cultural forces, including gendered violence, sexual liberation, and evolving urban conditions in the American West, shaped the course of Mann’s life and contributed to her tragic death. Frieda “Fritizie” Mann had several identities during her brief life, and the mysterious circumstances of her death raise as many questions as they do answers. She was born in 1903 near the present border between Poland and Ukraine. She and her family were Jewish immigrants who traveled to San Diego to find security and prosperity. In the last year of her life, Mann became locally famous. She had reinvented herself as a flapper and “Oriental” dancer. She claimed to have friends in Hollywood and a movie contract. On the night of her murder, she said she was going to a party to meet her Hollywood friends; instead she traveled to an isolated roadside hotel where she met her death. An autopsy revealed that she was four and a half months pregnant. Absher guides the reader through the intricacies of this true crime story as it unfolded, from the initial flawed investigation to the sensationalized press coverage and the ultimate failure of the legal system to ensure justice on Mann’s behalf. Like other “new women” of her era, Fritzie Mann adopted roles that promised liberation from the control of men. In the end, her life and early death suggest the opposite: she became the victim of a culture that consumed women even as it purported to celebrate them.

Fritzie’s Perfect Picnic by Jeanne Bonham Fritzie the Ant longs to find the perfect picnic—one with fruit, fresh apple pie, and, most importantly, hot dogs! Being an independent ant at heart, she sets off on the journey alone and against the advice of her friends. What challenges await her along the way? Fritzie’s Perfect Picnic aims to instill thoughtfulness and politeness in the hearts of young people, while also encouraging them to trust in God for everything in their lives. As Fritzie discovers on her own adventure, children should learn to recognize the dangers in life, how important it is to allow those who love them, their family and loved ones, to protect them, and the safety there is in numbers.

For all of her life, Drucilla Hallmark has been battling to survive within a cruel world. Born into poverty and raised by heartless parents and jealous brothers and sisters, Drucilla thinks she has finally escaped her past when she marries. Unfortunately, she could not be more wrong. When she suspects her philanderer husband, Richard, may want her dead and that her resentful family may be helping him drive her to suicide, Drucilla makes an appointment with a Birmingham psychiatrist. As Dr. Skeet leads Drucilla back into her memories, she unsuccessfully attempts to convince the doctor that her life is in danger. But just as she is coming to grips with her reality, fate leads her to Tony Tortomasi, a handsome stranger who forces her to face the truth and makes her a tempting offer with the potential to change everything. Deceit Deserves Revenge is the suspense-filled tale of one woman’s emotional journey as she attempts to distinguish reality from fantasy and seeks revenge for all who have wronged her.

In every theatrical production, a single indispensable person is responsible for ensuring that scenery, lighting, actors, directors, sound artists are in sync. Stage Manager: the Professional Experience takes the reader through all aspects of the craft of stage management, from prompt books and laptops to relationships and people management. It offers an extensive discussion of what makes a good stage manager, and takes the reader through each phase of a production from getting hired, to auditions and rehearsals, to the run and closing of the show. Using interviews with other professional stage managers, the author provides a practical, experience-based guide for students and aspiring professionals alike. The stage manager's role in each phase of the production is covered in detail. Working relationships, organizational tools, plans, charts, lists and forms, running auditions, cueing, touring, and the stages of rehearsal are just some of the many topics covered. An overview of the stage manager's working week provides a clear view of the many details involved in the smooth running of a production. A comprehensive working vocabulary offers an excellent reference for anyone working or hoping to work in this field.

A major new collection by the author of Reckless and A Prelude to a Kiss.

One More River to Cross By: Allen Futsch This is a story about bullshit. Comedian George Carlin once said when you’re born into this world, you’re given a ticket to the freak show. If you’re born in America, you get a front row seat. Eddie Brandt sits in that seat, and we see the show through his eyes. It’s not a pretty picture. Eddie is born blessed, or cursed, with an internal bullshit meter; he encounters bullshit, the meter rings. The book follows him from childhood through old age, and the meter never stops ringing. Eddie’s story, like true life, does not flow smoothly. It’s episodic, a series of vignettes, tied together with the same unifying principle: Eddie dealing with bullshit. We see him dealing with it as a child, an adolescent, and an adult. It’s a story of a guy who doesn’t fit in. As an old man in his sixties, he gets the final ironic touch: the government diagnoses him as having Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and awards him 100% disability. It’s simple: if you can’t fit in, ipso facto, you are severely disabled. No, not a pretty picture. The saving grace is humor. Again, Carlin: “People who see life as anything more than pure entertainment are missing the point… It’s important if you don’t give a shit. It can help you a lot.” And the farm boy says to the city boy, “Don’t eat that, son, that’s bullshit.” That’s the message of this story and why people should read it: “Don’t eat that, son.”

Chet and Bernie—everybody’s favorite human-canine detective team—return in an e-original short story that gives Chet’s best friend Iggy his moment in the spotlight. Iggy is a dog who doesn’t get out much, so it’s big news when elderly Mr. Parsons knocks on Bernie’s door to say that Iggy has vanished. In the search for Iggy, Chet and Bernie find Mrs. Parsons unconscious on her bedroom floor, in need of urgent medical care. But it’s only when they arrive at the hospital that things get really interesting. With a jewel thief making short work of hospital patients’ valuables, it seems that Iggy is not alone in disappearing right out from under somebody’s nose. Suspects are plentiful and witnesses are few. But when little Iggy reappears, tail wagging, it turns out he holds the key to solving the entire affair. In addition to a clever caper and the return of much beloved characters, this gem of a short story is a testament to the enduring power of friendship in all its forms: neighbor to neighbor, man to dog, dog to dog. Here is a treat you’ll devour in one sitting—rather like Chet with a juicy steak that’s been momentarily left unattended!