The Occupation of Joe, by Bill Baynes
Tokyo, 1945. A Japanese boy too old for his years, a survivor of the American firebombing, dares to cross the wasteland where he saw thousands burn to death, and approach the occupying forces to get food for his family. A young Navy lieutenant, proud of the Allied victory but appalled by the devastation he sees across the city, cares enough to help. As post-war pressures mount between the two cultures, he becomes entangled in the lives of the boy, his infant sister and his beautiful mother.
The Occupation of Joe is an emotionally powerful, gripping post-war tragedy from Top Hat Books, publisher of quality historical fiction.
Bunt! by Bill Baynes
What happens when a sharp-eyed kid develops such precise bat control that he can bunt a baseball just about anywhere he wants it? He can hop it. Stop it. Even spin a reverse English on it.
What happens is that one of the oldest skills in the game takes on a surprising new life. What happens is insane infielders, angry pitchers, hysterical chanting fans and a surprising breakout into a late season California League pennant race.
Bunt! is an inspiring tale that will tickle baseball fans of all ages. It captures the feel and smell, the strategy and lore of the game.
Bunt! is “inside baseball” at its grittiest best.
Christmas morning and Mrs. Spooner is on the lookout.
She dreamed she would meet someone special today. She could use a holiday treat. It’s freezing and she’s homeless. As she pushes her cart across San Francisco, she studies everyone she meets.
Is it the guy who missed his train to help her? The waitress who shouted at her? The coyote who sniffed at her squat?
What makes someone special? Maybe it’s one of the marks at the posh restaurant? Or the cops? Or the kitten she rescued? How can she tell?
Mrs. Spooner’s Special Day is a study of Christmas from an itinerant person’s perspective. It is a 21st Century update of Tolstoy’s Christmas classic, Papa Panov’s Special Day.
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