Talon Come Fly With Me

Talon: Come Fly With Me, is about the life of nine-year-old girl, Matica. Matica lives in a remote village on a dry plateau in the Andes of Peru. She moved here with her Australian missionary and schoolteacher parents when she was five years old. Ever since Matica could remember, she faced cruel rejection because of a growth handicap that traps her in a body a two-year-old. Because of her appearance, the local Indians wouldn't accept her into their community or allow her to play with their children. Under the watchful eyes of her parents, lonely Matica explores the plateau of the Andes. She found a pair of condors soaring near the mountains and with patience and a sense of adventure she befriended them. She named the condors Tamo and Tima and a strong bond and love developed between them. The adventure of this book begins two years later, as Matica helplessly witnessed poachers stealing the condors' egg from their nest. After a dramatic fight between Tamo and the poachers, the poachers abandoned the egg leaving it far from its nest. Being unable to bring it back to the nest, Tamo and Tima sent signals to Matica to take care of their egg. Later on, during Matica's tenth birthday, the condor egg hatches. The hatchling is called Talon and this story focuses on the self journey of Matica, as she teaches the little hatchling to fly. This experience changes her life completely and enables her to see a positive side to her handicap.

Humanity tamed the solar system and their bodies using powerful nanomachines. Now, Oya Valette and a group of colonist are looking for a fresh start on an extrasolar planet. Soon they discover that their new home is already populated by hostile, extravagant creatures that share a tragic history, not only with the human race, but Oya herself. If Oya can’t set aside her own prejudices and reconcile these two warring factions, both will become extinct.

What Matica has dreamed of ever since she first befriended the condors has actually happened in the last chapter of the previous book, Talon, Come Fly With Me. Now the adventure continues. Finally accepting Matica into their community with that incredible event, the Indians of Peru love seeing her together with Talon and his parents, Tamo and Tima. Now she has to tell all of her adventures with her condors in class. Only her mother wasn't very impressed with that event, but she finally is turning around as well and loves seeing them together in that intimate way. Her mother first saw danger in it but after Matica showed her how safe she is with Talon, her mother gave her the go ahead.

2020 Space Hipsters Prize for Best Book in Astronomy, Space Exploration, or Space History Come Fly with Us is the story of an elite group of space travelers who flew as members of many space shuttle crews from pre-Challenger days to Columbia in 2003. Not part of the regular NASA astronaut corps, these professionals known as “payload specialists” came from a wide variety of backgrounds and were chosen for an equally wide variety of scientific, political, and national security reasons. Melvin Croft and John Youskauskas focus on this special fraternity of spacefarers and their individual reflections on living and working in space. Relatively unknown to the public and often flying only single missions, these payload specialists give the reader an unusual perspective on the experience of human spaceflight. The authors also bring to light NASA’s struggle to integrate the wide-ranging personalities and professions of these men and women into the professional astronaut ranks. While Come Fly with Us relates the experiences of the payload specialists up to and including the Challenger tragedy, the authors also detail the later high-profile flights of a select few, including Barbara Morgan, John Glenn (who returned to space at the age of seventy-seven), and Ilan Ramon of Israel aboard Columbia on its final, fatal flight, STS-107. Purchase the audio edition.

Amaris, the Moon Child is a sequel to the author's first book, Happenstance. This Christmas tale begins with the solitary life of Amaris, the twin brother of St. Nick-aka, Santa Claus. Amaris lives with his mean stepmother, the witch, on top of Mount Hermon by the Sea of Galilee. When Amaris was twelve years old, he grew feathers. This rather odd condition allows him to fly! Since he needs to molt to grow new feathers, he must live in a very cold climate. Mount Hermon's chilly mountain air is the perfect environment and allows Amaris a place to fly in isolation from the rest of the world. Amaris fears humans as the witch convinced him all human contact is dangerous, and if he were caught, he would be eaten! After the witch's death, Amaris discovers a handwritten note scribbled by the witch explaining how, through trickery, she stole him at birth from his natural parents and that he actually has a twin brother! Alone, abandoned, and isolated, Amaris decides to take a chance and seek his brother, hoping a reunion will bring a sense of belonging. This story takes the reader on a wild journey through the perilous desert, where Amaris encounters desert creatures and a little girl named Ruth. Ruth teaches Amaris not all humans are harmful and even gives him a clue on his twin brother's whereabouts. The story is about redemption. The reader will learn through Amari's trials that although our past does affect us, it does not have to define us. We can rise above our current circumstances and find fulfillment and a place of belonging. Amaris teaches us a brighter tomorrow awaits us if we will let go of our inner fears. We just have to believe.

After more than twenty years of Great Wars, devastation, and broken borders within North America, the continent of Nambitus is created. Out of the ashes from Nambitus, the most powerful city on the planet arises, followed by smaller cities surrounded by walls for protection. Kaya Lewis, the teenage daughter of a CEO, has grown up sheltered within Axis, the once-great center of her fathers empire. She has been able to socialize freely within the Axis walls, including with her best friend, Matthew Larkin. Unfortunately all of that changes when her fathers nemesis, Rebecca Dean, returns to buy the family company. The only good thing about Rebeccas return is her son, Talon, Kayas long-lost friend and potential love interest. When Kaya decides to venture outside the Axis walls, she notices missing person posters lining the streets and hears whispers of a revolution. Kaya has uncovered a dark secret with evidence powerful enough to end the world. But as undead begin to fill the once-great city, Kaya realizes it is up to her to stop Rebeccabefore it is too late for all of them. Decimation shares the tale of a teenagers dangerous quest to save her planet and mankind from a scientist determined to carry out an evil plan.