The Black Carousel

Night—the carnival grounds are empty … Or are they? Laughter and screams float faintly on the wind. Echoes of the day's fairgoers—or cries of the damned, rising form Hell? At the carnival's core is the black carousel, whirling to a special rhythm that is almost a heartbeat. Its creatures seem alive in the flickering lights as they spin hypnotically past. And those who dare to ride are forever … changed.

Bill Blazer is a hard-charging young guy with a quick head and a suspicious mind. He drops out of U.C.L.A. to develop his novel idea for a high-speed, supercomputer. With cunning, guile and little else, he puts together a start-up company. His competitors and a large Japanese conglomerate are snapping at his heels. He needs money to keep his company going. In a deal with the devil, he accepts financing from a New York banker who he believes is now double-crossing him. His girlfriend Jennie Silvers tells him he is paranoid, but he is convinced everyone is trying to steal his technology. He soon catches one of his employees red-handed. Federal agents move in. Then the whole thing takes an unexpected turn that even Bill Blazer's distrustful mind could not have anticipated.

The Fabulous Carousels is a historical novel based on a true story. You will love this book if you ever played in a garage band and dreamed of going on the road. Children of the ’60’s, JFK conspiracy theorist, historians, psychologists, and open-minded readers who enjoy a fast-moving picaresque novel with a good laugh and cry will also be rewarded. This edgy comedy/tragedy is spun by saint and sinner Rocky Strong, leader of the Carousels. Rocky chronicles youthful dreams, free love, easy drugs, the American Mafia, CIA black ops, JFK’s assassination, tectonic cultural shifts, and, finally, a path to self-actualization. Join the Fabulous Carousels, The Pride of Dixie, as they chase dreams of becoming celebrity heroes in the early ’60’s—struggling to keep time with changing times in America.

Margot Wright has led a deliberate life. At 18, she left her unusual and abusive family situation and never looked back, and then two years later she devoted herself wholly to Estelle Coté, her first and only love. But now, at 45, freshly retired from a career in antique firearms dealing, and settling into a new home with her wife, Margot finds herself feeling restless. Bored. She admits this to herself on the day she visits Le Galopant, a historic carousel that has become bafflingly meaningful to Estelle; and, as with anyone wishing to dodge a midlife crisis, Margot sets her feelings aside, intending to ignore them for as long as possible. At La Ronde, the amusement park where Le Galopant is showcased, Margot is accosted by a 17-year-old girl named Katherine de Wilde. Katy is hyper and unrefined, "rural," everything Margot cannot stand, yet she finds herself thinking more and more about the lisping girl in the Converse sneakers and "Meat is Murder" T-shirt as the days tread on. Even after Estelle discovers a massive secret she's been keeping for a decade, forces her into couples counseling and then on a road trip to confront this secret, Margot is unable to stop Katy from seeping into her thoughts. So when Katy phones her one morning with bad news, "They're taking down Le Galopant for good. It's broken!" Margot yields to impulse and pursues her interest in the girl. Set between Montreal, Quebec and various American cities, Carousel is a story about secrets--secret yearnings, lives, and losses--and the measures we take to protect our loved ones from the monsters we see ourselves to be.

HUNTING THROUGH THE PAST Black Oak Security is a crack team of private investigators led by brilliant, enigmatic Ethan Proctor. From everyday illegal activities to encounters of a more questionable kind, Proctor has seen it all. Now, summoned to England to investigate an ongoing missing person case, Proctor stumbles upon a legendary forest—and a specter who dwells there … HAUNTED IN THE PRESENT The hamlet of Pludbury, England, is a forgotten village, a farming community dating back to the War of the Roses. It was also the home of Sir Jarred Battle, am ambitious lord who was executed during England’s famous feud. His ghost is purported to roam the Battle Wood, granting favors to the townsfolk—in exchange for their souls. The people of Pludbury are rather protective of their spirit, and although he’d like nothing more than to forget the ghost tales, Proctor soon suspects Sir Jarred Battle may be the key to his case—or the very Devil himself …

WHEN YOU ELIMINATE THE IMPOSSIBLE … Black Oak Security is a crack team of private investigators led by brilliant, enigmatic Ethan Proctor. He takes on cases that range from the normal to the unaccountably bizarre. Now one of his people, Sloan Delaney, has disappeared during a weekend getaway in the Cumberland Mountains. The last message he left—on Proctor’s answering machine—was a tortured scream for help. THE ONLY THING LEFT IS THE TRUTH. Soon Proctor is heading into the Kentucky wilderness, following in Sloan’s footsteps to a secluded backwoods motel where a dreadful mystery is buried. But the truth behind Sloan’s disappearance is only the beginning. For whatever is roaming the hills has left an entire town cowering in fear. Something unspeakable … and too close to home.

The fiction and reportage included in The Last Carousel, one of the final collections published during Nelson Algren's lifetime, was written on ships and in ports of call around the world, and includes accounts of brothels in Vietnam and Mexico, stories of the boxing ring, and reminiscences of Algren's beloved Chicago White Sox, among other subjects. In this collection, not just Algren's intensity but his diversity are revealed and celebrated.

A remarkable memoir about achieving prosperity in the face of relentless prejudice In the Black traces B. Denham Jolly’s personal and professional struggle for a place in a country where Black Canadians have faced systematic discrimination. He arrived from Jamaica to attend university in the mid-1950s and worked as a high school teacher before going into the nursing and retirement-home business. Though he was ultimately successful in his business ventures, Jolly faced both overt and covert discrimination, which led him into social activism. The need for a stronger voice for the Black community fuelled Jolly’s 12-year battle to get a licence for a Black-owned radio station in Toronto. At its launch in 2001, Flow 93.5 became the model for urban music stations across the country, helping to launch the careers of artists like Drake. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Times; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} Jolly chronicles not only his own journey; he tells the story of a generation of activists who worked to reshape the country into a more open and just society. While celebrating these successes, In the Black also measures the distance Canada still has to travel before we reach our stated ideals of equality.