In the year, 1307 The Knights Templar was an organization that provided safety for the various pilgrimages to Jerusalem. As time went on, they became very powerful and wealthy. They had houses, buildings and created a banking system that competed with rich monarchies in Europe, South America, and Africa. However, it was because they were so successful that those leaders were now envious of their success. Slowly they were hunted down and killed. A few of them were able to escape with some of the treasures they had accumulated over the years. The ones that were left went into seclusion. The Vatican had heard about the vast treasures they supposedly had collected. They wanted to know where it was located. There were a few of the Templar’s still living, and manuscripts were found. However, there was no roadmap to where they had traveled and where their treasure might be located. They gave this task to an abbey that they felt could piece together their rich history and possibly tell them where they might look for it. The monks created fifteen volumes of the history of the Knights Templar and gave them to the Vatican. A year later, four weary Templar’s were seeking sanctuary at the Vatican. Their job was to create a roadmap of their life and hopefully tell where the treasure might be hidden. The four Templar Knights were concerned, so each of them took one of the volumes and rode in different directions to hide the book. Through a series of unusual vents, one of the four volumes turns up, in present day and Walter is asked to sell it.

An incident happened over 30 years ago that involved Fred when he was just starting out at his new job as a forensic accountant. The company that hired him was very generous by paying off his student loan and giving him a six-figure income. Things were going along well, until the three principal officers of the company did not show up for work anymore. Within a week, the FBI and local police arrested Fred on charges of embezzlement. Fred had no idea what was going on and it went to trial. Walter heard about it, got him a lawyer, and was freed on a technicality. Walter, along with Fred, Ernie, and Rick and their wives were all invited to Paris for a grand opening of Victor Chen's newest casino, The Champs-Élysées Casino, and Resort. This was also an opportunity to meet the main members of the Li Chan Group. It was supposed to be a very festive week for all. However, Walter was getting worried because Rick and Fred had not checked into the hotel yet. He tried in vain to call them, but nobody answered. "Steve, I'm a little worried about Rick, Fred and their family," said Walter. "Can you do a search using your "chip finder" and find out where they are?" 'I'll do that right away, hold on," said Steve. "It looks like they are in Paris, and in the Hall of Justice building." "That doesn't make any sense," Walter said. "I'll try and find out what's going with her. Thanks, Steve." Walter called Victor Chen and asked him if he knew anybody at the Justice Building? "Yes, I do," Victor replied, and they left along with Ernie and Del.

This book is the culmination of all of Walter’s dreams and that is to have a five-star hotel and casino in Vienna. It took over five years to purchase and refurbish the castle which was built in the mid-1800s. it was a very painstaking process because there were so many roadblocks thrown in his was way to complete his dream. Several years ago, on one of his earlier trips, he was actually kidnapped and held by the last surviving member of the Von Kleinemann dynasty and was asked to create counterfeit music sheets that were originally created at the time of the great European musicians, like Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart just to name a few. Walter’s cadre of specialists found him and rescued him. However, while he was at the Kleinemann castle, he observed how beautiful it had was. It was like stepping back into time. Even as he was trying to finalize the completion for a grand open at Christmas time, he was fighting people who wanted to slow down his renovation and beat him to their own re-grand opening. But Walter was persistent and was driven to complete the last great task before he retired and enjoyed all of his accomplishments.

Book One in the Dragon Singer Series With the adoption of a somewhat unlikely pair of rescue pets, ten-year-old Deryth Taylor discovers her strong desire to be a singer may be directly linked to a mysterious family legend that seems to involve dragons, fairies--and cats.

Ghost stories from America's Valley of the Sun have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery! Welcome to the spooky streets of Phoenix, Arizona! Stay alert! Ghosts lurk around every corner. Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms.  Did you know that the booming, modern metropolis of Phoenix is a city filled with ghosts? Like the spirits who haunt the Smurthwaite House, which sits on the grounds of Phoenix's oldest cemetery? Or the restless souls who linger within the walls of Phoenix's Mystery Castle, old train depots, and eerie historic mansions? Can you believe the mysterious Hohokam tribe, whose people once inhabited the Pueblo Grande Ruins and later vanished, may not have vanished after all?  Pulled right from history, these ghostly tales will change the way you see Phoenix forever, and have you sleeping with the lights on!

25th Anniversary Anthology Inland Empire Branch of the California Writers Club Welcome to the 2024 25th Anniversary Anthology of the Inland Empire Branch of the California Writers Club, which was founded in 1999 (The parent California Writers Club was founded in 1909). This collection includes short stories, poetry, memoir, nonfiction, memoir, original drawings and photographs, and one novelette entitled Murder in Huckleberry Heights. This anthology contains the varietal work of eighteen members of the Inland Empire Branch with several genres being represented. The eighteen members who contributed to this anthology are: Ben Alirez, Elisabeth Maria Anghel, Ann Casas, Constance Cassinelli, Robert Louis Covington, Dan Delehant, ML Fogg, Abigail Handojo, Judy Kohnen, Larry Lauritzen, Denise Nichols, Samuel Thomas Nichols, Shirley Petro-Timura, Vicki Peyton, Jackie Phillips, Scott Skipper, Assunta Maria Vickers, and Sharon White.

Book Four in the Dragon Singer Series In this fourth and concluding book of the series, Deryth Taylor will make some difficult choices on her journey to becoming a true Dragon Singer. Through it all, her mentor, Hyssstryona, is present to guide and strengthen her--until their bond is threatened by a startling revelation.

In the Throes explores the awakening of intelligence and the coming into awareness of an evolutionary mishap on a forbidding apocalyptic planet. The story follows eponymic Gruff, the first linguistic/metaphysical awakener of his species, as he navigates identity, mentation, and ontology in relation to the Gruff's natural prey: humankind. Combining the writings of Freud and the spiritual truths of Krishnamurti, author Mathias B. Freese depicts the Gruff as an evolutionary dark creature—disfigured, maimed, instinct-driven, and grotesque—until he attains self-awareness and transforms into a self of artistic expression and wisdom. As the title suggests, the reader identifies with self-struggle as it surges toward awakening and is moved by the apotheosis that closes the book. The nuanced theme: each one of us is an artist if only we take our selves in hand and construct a life of artistic expression. The closing chapters sing to us of Isak Dinesen's observation that an artist is never poor. A metaphor of the evolutionary self, In the Throes is a time-processed journey into awareness—our destiny as a species.

The Phoenix Monastery takes place around the year 1300 in Kufstein, Austria but mainly in Germany and Austria. The Baron decided he would have some monks start collecting information on anything worth archiving. These monks were noted for being fantastic scribes. In finding information for his people, he also takes a small fee for his services. Along the way, he finds some soldiers to help keep his castle and all the information safe. They happened to be some of the Knights Templar's that the King of France and the Pope persecuted.

Attorney Sabre Brown advocates for children every day in court, but when her young neighbor says she’s terrified because she overhead her parents talking about murder, Sabre has no idea how to help her. As a favor to an old friend, she also agrees to defend a teenage boy accused of killing his stepmother. When she discovers her client was having an affair with the victim, Sabre begins to think he’s guilty. Or is he being framed by his own dad? With the help of her investigator, JP, and his hacker associate, Lana, they uncover a web of dark secrets and hidden motives, and they realize that events of the past are resurfacing to endanger people in the present. Racing against time, Sabre and her team must put together the pieces of this deadly puzzle before it's too late. Can they unearth the crucial link needed to save both children?

Attorney Sabre Brown faces her most puzzling case yet when her young client, Maverick, insists he witnessed a brutal murder—despite the absence of a body and any evidence at the crime scene. While the police dismiss Maverick's claims, Sabre takes him seriously, until he reports seeing the same crime again. Worried about the boy’s mental health, Sabre and her investigator, JP Torn, question friends, family, and neighbors— and are stunned to learn that thirty years earlier a woman disappeared from the exact same place Maverick witnessed the phantom murders. When security footage reveals mysterious lights and ghostly images in that location, they dig even deeper into the powerful Callahan family connected to the missing woman. But when the threats begin, and their sole witness is murdered, it’s clear someone is determined to keep their dark past hidden. With the case growing more treacherous and JP encountering dead-ends, Sabre faces the daunting task of clearing Maverick's name as he is charged with making false police reports. Just when hope seems lost, shocking new evidence surfaces. But can they uncover all the buried secrets in time to protect their new witness and save a young boy from wrongful conviction?

When an Earth woman agrees to an interstellar matchmaking service and gets more than she bargained for. Stunned, Iona finds herself the life-mate of the King Xander Xian. King of an alien dragon-shifting race. Struggling to raise her orphaned niece on a post-apocalyptic Earth, she takes a chance that changes everything. Whisked away to the planet Xandavier, she discovers can transform into a dragon. As Iona adapts to life as an alien queen, she faces assassination attempts, political intrigue, and the challenge of uniting two vastly different peoples. Her growing bond with Xander gives her strength, but enemies lurk both within the palace and beyond the stars. When the conflict threatens their new family, Iona must embrace her hidden power to protect all she holds dear. King Xander Xian, searching for his long-lost brother, discovers his life-mate through a matchmaking service. His bride, Iona, comes with more than he bargained for: an adopted daughter who is his niece, and the key to unlocking forgotten dragon abilities in their people. As Xander and Iona's passionate bond grows, so do the threats against them. Filled with pulse-pounding action, steamy romance, and the wonder of alien worlds, this series explores themes of found family, overcoming cultural differences, and the transformative power of love. Can Iona and Xander overcome centuries of conflict to create a better future for both their peoples? Or will enemies from within and without tear apart everything they've fought to build? Join Iona and Xander on an epic journey of discovery, danger and destiny as they fight to forge a new future for their world and unlock the long-hidden powers of the Xian people.