Macdougal Street Ghosts

From the author of the critically acclaimed memoir South Mountain Road comes a powerful story of one woman's emotional, intellectual, and sexual awakening. Following her success as an Academy Award-nominated screenplay writer (Children of a Lesser God) and highly praised memoirist, Hesper Anderson pens an evocative novel that reinforces her reputation as a compelling storyteller. Long divorced and her children grown, Callie Epstein is packing her house to move to Northern California. Uncovering a box of long-forgotten home movies, she sits back to watch her family's life unfold again before her eyes, reliving the best -- and the worst -- years of her life. In the center of Greenwich Village is an enclave of green called the MacDougal Gardens. A block long, it can only be reached by the sixteen houses that border it. Or, as some say, by the ghosts who once lived here and enjoy coming back to visit. It's the late sixties, and women like Callie are discovering The Feminine Mystique and The Sexual Response of the Human Female. Feeling trapped in a passionless marriage, Callie begins an affair with a neighbor that leads to a desired, but wrenching, separation from her husband. She soon finds herself struggling to support three children and grappling with her turbulent emotions. In an act of desperation, she accepts an invitation from her lover's unsuspecting wife to stay with them at the beach, hoping to win more than his affection with her presence. At the end of a summer filled with secrets, Callie faces a shocking revelation as the quiet community within the MacDougal Street Gardens implodes. Unable to remain in New York, emotionally or financially, Callie moves her family across the country to Los Angeles. Thus begins a journey of self-discovery and a search for real independence. In Callie, Hesper Anderson has created an unforgettable heroine who will resonate deeply with all women.

Tales of ghostly goings-on and otherworldly encounters in Greenwich Village Among New York City’s many treasures is Greenwich Village, a bohemian area filled with creativity and rebellion. Haunted Greenwich Village—a collection of stories of ghosts, mysteries, and paranormal happenings in Greenwich Village—will leave readers delightfully frightened. Meet a colorful cast of spirits and spectres, visit haunted hotels and houses, and experience the eerie and supernatural. Many of the locations are accessible to the public—and some are even open for overnight stays for the truly daring—including: Washington Square: This upper-class neighborhood is haunted bycelebrity apparitions, the spirits of those buried there, the ghosts of those executed at Hangman’s Elm—and even a phantom dog. Third Street: The spirit that haunts a block here sometimes parks his horse and carriage directly in front of NYU’s D’Agostino Residence Hall. This famous early American politician and his daughter, who disappeared at sea, have even disrupted a restaurant about four blocks away in the West Village.

JOE VENN, THE OMEGA DOG, RETURNS Two years after the explosive events of OMEGA DOG, Joe Venn, Marine and former Chicago police lieutenant, is heading up the New York Police Department’s elite Division of Special Projects. His job is to investigate crimes of a sensitive, political nature. While conducting a sting operation to bring down a corrupt landlord with council connections, Venn discovers all is not as it seems. Why has a drug dealer associated with the landlord been shot dead - moments after Venn learned of his existence? And why are Venn’s attempts to investigate the matter further being blocked from on high? Danny Clune is an amateur rock music historian from England, touring the United States for research purposes. He’s also a liar, a thief, and on the run from Diego Salazar, the most powerful drug baron in Mexico. And he’s in way over his head... Venn’s and Clune’s paths collide in New York, and after a series of violent encounters, Venn realizes that in order to get to the bottom of the conspiracy that’s unfolding, he and his sidekicks are going to have to go off the grid. Which means putting themselves beyond the reach of the law... and in the way of a narcotics cartel so ruthless, it will stop at nothing to achieve its goals. As events hurtle toward a terrifying climax in South Texas, Venn finds himself having to rely on his wits, on his desperate determination to see the mission through... and on the help of a kid he can never entirely trust. Tim Stevens is the author of the highly acclaimed thrillers RATCATCHER, DELIVERING CALIBAN, JOKERMAN, SEVERANCE KILL, ANNIHILATION MYTHS and TUNDRA. (Crime, thriller, pulp, police procedural, private detective, private investigator, espionage, spy, action, adventure, hard boiled, noir, conspiracy, suspense, medical, FBI, CIA, organized crime, mafia, mobster, assassin, assassination, hitman, revenge, vengeance, drug war)

In this charming fiction debut, a young woman moves to Manhattan in search of romance and excitement—only to find that her apartment is haunted by the ghost of a cantankerous Beat Generation writer in need of a rather huge favor. For Eve Weldon, moving to Greenwich Village is a dream come true. She’s following in the bohemian footsteps of her mother, who lived there during the early sixties among a lively community of Beat artists and writers. But when Eve arrives, the only scribe she meets is a grumpy ghost named Donald, and the only writing she manages to do is for chirpy segments on a morning news program, Smell the Coffee. The hypercompetitive network environment is a far cry from the genial camaraderie of her mother’s literary scene, and Eve begins to wonder if the world she sought has faded from existence. But as she struggles to balance her new job, demands from Donald to help him complete his life’s work, a budding friendship with a legendary fashion designer, and a search for clues to her mother’s past, Eve begins to realize that community comes in many forms—and that the true magic of the Village is very much alive, though it may reveal itself in surprising ways.

Dare if you will to accompany the Ghost Righter, Desmond St. John, his rational collaborator, Duff Cooper, and Ella Nostrova, their Belorussian trance medium, as they free the drear departed trapped in the Forever Purgatory of the Bardo realm. In five shocking encounters, The Ghost Righter rescues— ~ The groping ghost in the Lincroft Inn ~ Atheist ghosts who left this world while unblessing a road in Deland ~ A chain-smoking ghost who haunts the children of Dumberton ~ A narcissist ghost who, out of loyalty to the boss, topples a Mafia family ~ Moldy Girl, a vengeful ghost intent on slaying the men of Downer’s Grove Readers, be warned—“God’s other door” opens in both directions. The Cosmic Veil that separates this world from the otherworld is crossable. The afterlife is not Summerland. There is no joy in being dead. If the dead remain in the earth’s plane for too long, they become malevolent has-beings. Even the righteous dead turn into hateful things. Say your prayers. Confess your sins. Carry cloves of garlic. Clutch jars of Holy Water. Clutch the jars tightly. Keep the lights on when you encounter these ghosts. All the lights. All the time.

On this leg of the journey, readers will explore the scariest spots in the Big Apple. Author L'Aura Hladik visits more than 30 legendary haunted places, all of which are open to the public so visitors can test their own ghosthunting skills, if they dare. Join L'Aura as she visits each site, snooping around eerie rooms and dark corners, talking to people who swear to their paranormal experiences, and providing a firsthand account. Readers may enjoy Ghosthunting New York City from the safety of an armchair or by hitting the road and using the maps to find 50 more spooky sites and "ghostly resources." Take the A(HRT) Train to the spookiest subway ride of your life.