New Books and News

New Documentary About Mark Twain in Buffalo

Produced with Rise Collaborative

Bonus Commentary

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In August 1869, thirty-three-year-old journalist Samuel Clemens—better known as Mark Twain—moved to Buffalo, New York. At the time, he had high hopes of establishing himself as a successful newspaper editor in the thriving metropolis at the western end of the Erie Canal. 

In this engaging portrait of the famous author at a formative and important juncture of his life, Twain scholar Thomas J. Reigstad details the domestic, social, and professional experiences of Mark Twain while he lived in Buffalo. Based on years of researching historical archives, combing through microfilm, and even interviewing descendants of Buffalonians who knew Twain, Reigstad has uncovered a wealth of fascinating information. 
The book draws a vivid portrait of Twain’s work environment at the Buffalo Morning Express. Colorful anecdotes about his colleagues and his quirky work habits, along with original Twain stories and illustrations not previously reprinted, give readers a new understanding of Twain’s commitment to full-time newspaper work.  

Full of fascinating vignettes from the illustrious writer’s life as well as rare photographs, Scribblin’ for a Livin’ is essential reading for Mark Twain enthusiasts, students and scholars of American literature, and anyone with an interest in the history of Western New York.

Scribblin' For A Livin':

Mark Twain’s Pivotal Period In Buffalo: Expanded Edition 

by Thomas J. Reigstad

Wrath  by Joshua Yox

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Dante's life was once a normal one, until the day he met his untimely demise. God chose him as his champion and empowered Dante to come back to the world as Wrath. His job is to cleanse the earth of evil. Once Samael (Satan) hears that God has broken their treaty to never directly interfere with mankind he sends his demon horde on the attack. Now only Wrath and a band of allies stand against the forces of Hell.

The Book of Origins:

Rude Tales from the Big Bang to the Big Now

by Lawrence Millman

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Lawrence Millman’s The Book of Origins is a rattle-your-brains collection of tales in the tradition of George Carlin, Jonathan Swift, and Italo Calvino, but not Jane Austen or Henry James. In its pages, you will learn about a highly moral man who refuses to marry his grandmother, God’s failure as a Supreme Being and his subsequent retirement, a man given a prison sentence for writing a novel, a U.S. president who decides to attack other countries because he’s horny, a barely educated Middle American who’s offered the Nobel Prize in Physics, and numerous other undocumented incidents in our planet’s history.

The Space Between Notes

by Sinead Tyrone

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Rusty Morgan remembered well the photo his bandmate and best friend Terry had taken on their trip to Ireland years earlier. The brokenness of the arch depicted in the photo had haunted him long after they’d returned home. He’d had no idea then that he and his Odysseus bandmates would one day face an irreparable brokenness of their own. Brokenness came in many ways in heavy metal music world. Substance abuse, failed marriages, and the loneliness of long months spent touring were common among their peers. Rusty, Steve, Dave, Rick, and Terry had won some of those battles, lost others, but always stayed connected, their brotherhood forged by the passion for music they shared and the inner battles they’d waged. One night in Cleveland shattered Odysseus’ bonds. Rusty and his Odysseus brothers now face their hardest challenge. Will they be able to regroup with one of them gone? Or will their music now be silent?

The Sleeper Street Gang

by Marshall Seddon

Tom Edwards and his cousin Neil are perplexed. They’re teenagers on a roving fishing and camping trip during the 1960s with their fathers, uncles and cousins. It’s the last fishing trip that the men and their boys will take together. The Henry Motors Automobile Factory is closing and all of the families are heading their separate ways. “All of the great fishing holes,” their Uncle Walter tells them. “We’ll fish for bass, trout, Walleye and Muskellunge. And we’ll camp at all of the best campgrounds any of us has ever heard of. It’ll be the trip of a lifetime. Just the men; the women don’t want to go.” The men, brothers and friends, grew up together on a small lane called Sleeper Street during the Depression. They went off to war and then returned to raise their families. They call themselves the Sleeper Street Gang. But Tom and Neil notice something strange: The men sit up together late at night, poring over a book by lantern light and whispering. The boys know what the book is: it’s their Grandfather’s journal. They’re determined to find out what’s in it. Tom sleeps in the back of his father’s Pontiac station wagon at night and the journal is kept in his Uncle Walter’s satchel, which he keeps on the front seat floor. Tom decides to read it.What he finds, reading by flashlight late at night, is the story of a coal miner who immigrated to America from Wales after fighting in World War I. But he’s not just a simple coal miner; he is a member of the infamous Blodwyns, a secret organization of Welsh miners who use sabotage and violence against the mining company on behalf of the miner’s union. He also finds that there was a robbery of the company bank that was never solved. Somewhere in the journal are clues to the robbery, and the answers to several dark family secrets.

Free (Against My) Will

by Michael Lauer

Each of us has a choice to make. One that we are never told that we have to make, but one we must make regardless.At some point, we are all required to grow up. Become adults. For most people, this is a gradual process that one learns along the way.Others, like Matt Christopher, ignore this mandate. Resist it. Until it is simply demanded of you. Unannounced and unwanted. Against your will.When things don’t work out the way you planned. Time, people, places. Gone. And the Future still awaits. A murky character to guide you. Where is up to you.That’s when you must make a choice. That’s when your principles are tested. And when those turn out to be false? When you choose wrong? Well…This is a story of discovery that takes place in the depths of a soul. Of a life. Constructed from dreams, tragedy, and consequences. From real life and elsewhere.A clash of the Future and the Past. Of dreams and memories. Of a husband and wife, a son and a mother, and a man and his purpose.The truth is painful sometimes, especially when you think you know better. When you choose wrong. When your will is truly free.

The Grate (Great) Book of Homophones

by Kathleen Mancuso

Illustrated by Isabella Krawczyk

The Grate/Great Book of Homophones has whimsical, colorful illustrations. The author’s fun play on words will delight young readers while educating them at the same time.

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“The bright, colorful illustrations and fun play on words will delight young readers while educating them at the same time.”- Laura S. Attendance office.

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“Isabella’s illustrations are whimsical and fun. Kathleen, with her years of experience working with elementary students, has a knack for writing children’s books.” - Maureen H. school nurse

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“The words of the author and the pictures of the illustrator of this wonderfully fun and educational book compliment each other perfectly.”- Sue K., First Grade Teacher

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“A fun way to learn about homophones! I’m happy to weigh in!”- Marilyn, Pre-K Teacher

The Nun and the Priest:

Love, Celibacy & Passion

by Evelyn McLean Brady 

Now, when celibacy for Roman Catholic priests is being questioned as never before,Evelyn McLean Brady shares a memoir of her own lived experience. Based on her journals andFather Hugh Brady’s love letters written from 1965-1970, Evelyn intimately chronicles theinterior conflict between her desire to become a Catholic nun to “live only for God to serveothers” and the unexpected attraction she feels for the handsome, charismatic Father Brady.When this novice and priest finally confess their feelings for each other, the mystery of humanlove unfolds, as do tests and trials they could not have imagined. The tension between Evelynand her mother also adds unexpected turns and detours to the tale. In the tradition of Abelard andHeloise and St. Francis and St. Clare, this is a love story of two celibates who desire to followthe ways of God yet are lured by the pull of the human heart.

       Watch the Documentary about

           Jimmy Slattery

     Produced by Rise Collaborative

Running With Buffalo

by Michael Farrell

Joseph P. Cahan doesn't want much. The recent college grad wants to see his first published story en route to a writing career. He wants to pursue this path in his New York hometown, aside his Irish family and life-long friends who live for football, stout and the Stones. He wants to move on from a tumultuous Dylan-soundtracked romance that had to end. It's not much—but he wants it all. Unfortunately, in the nine months following his 2001 graduation, Cahan finds these seemingly simplistic desires not so easy to realize. Told through the voice of an idealistic Cahan, Running with Buffalo is about understanding a present that longs for the past, while perpetually trying to figure out an uncertain and frightening future. It’s a humorous and heartfelt testimonial about life's fearsome complexities, unanticipated changes, and the simple truths that could quell the intensity of it all. It’s about the uneven journey to find a place to call home. And for Cahan, it's about running with Buffalo.