Shameful Silence: What You Don't Know About Domestic Violence

Played: A Jack Gilbert Slow Burner Thriller

A quiet neighborhood. A careless driver. One small confrontation that was never small at all. Caroline Morgan thought her worst problem was the looming deadline for her next book launch—until one reckless encounter with a rude moving-truck driver sets a dangerous chain of events in motion. When that same young man, Dwayne, loses his job shortly after their argument, anger festers in the shadows. But behind his fury lurks someone far more calculated… someone watching. Someone who already knows Caroline’s name. And her daughter’s. Across town, a new geocaching app begins circulating among teens and service workers. Sleek, addictive, and brilliantly coded, it promises adventure and mystery. What no one realizes is that the game isn’t just tracking players—it’s choosing them. Testing them. Separating leaders from followers. When Caroline’s daughter, Bailey, scans a simple black card with a QR code, she unknowingly enters the game… as do her friends. Each puzzle draws them deeper into the city’s forgotten corners—old mining sites, abandoned businesses, remote parks. And when two former classmates are found dead near one of the game’s “destinations,” the tension tightens like a snare. People are disappearing. Puzzles are turning sinister. Someone is orchestrating it all. In the dim glow of The Ember Room lounge, pianist Jack Gilbert begins to notice patterns too—QR cards shared among the college crowd, odd chatter from the waitstaff, and the sudden disappearance of a server he sees every week. The music never stops, but the rhythm of the city has changed. As the game escalates, Caroline, Bailey, and Jack find themselves pulled into a slow-burn nightmare where every clue might be a trap. Every player, a pawn. And every move… a test designed by a mind far more dangerous than they imagine. A chilling psychological thriller, PLAYED unravels the quiet moments where danger hides—in a family emergency, a missing girl, a scanned code, or a single decision made at the wrong time. Nothing is accidental. Not anymore. Fans of Lisa Jewell, Gillian Flynn, Riley Sager, and slow atmospheric dread will devour this intelligent, layered thriller that proves the smallest choices can turn deadly.📖 Available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4vv6fhu [https://amzn.to/4vv6fhu]

Making Global Sense: Grounded hope for democracy and the earth (inspired by Thomas Paine's Common Sense)

Updated 2026 for the 250th anniversary of Common Sense - The right book at the right time. - Shows why we need No Kings. - Tells how we got to where we are, and what we can do from here. * “Thomas Paine rallied Americans to a new sense of themselves and their possibilities. Judah Freed does likewise for citizens of the planet.” -- BILL McKIBBEN – The End of Nature; Here Comes the Sun; People’s Climate March. IN THESE TRYING TIMES of climate change and rising despotism that threatens to end democracy, Making Global Sense revives the ideas and ideals of Thomas Paine to champion 21st century freedom and enlightenment. Offers sensible reasons for hope. Overview: Seasoned journalist and award-winning author Judah Freed updates and extends Common Sense by Thomas Paine: * Where Paine challenged monarchy and hereditary succession, Freed challenges ancient alpha male rule and authority addiction (hidden by split perceptions). * Where Paine proposed the first modern republic, Freed proposes mindful self rule, personal democracy and direct republics. * Where Paine inspired independence and revolution, Freed inspires interdependence and evolution. Creative Nonfiction: Balancing mind and heart, Judah Freed frames his essay within the memoir survival story behind the book. He narrates childhood abuse, school bullying; joining a cult at age 20, fleeing at 24, facing his authority addiction to choose self rule. He recalls ego follies in later decades of local to international journalism with world travel adventures, like landing in Fiji amid a coup. Judah shares his soul choice as an elder to survive cancer, so he can finish this book. * “Judah Freed has taken the gauntlet from Thomas Paine and other great innovators of democracy to guide us toward the evolution of democracy itself. Making Global Sense is a vital and wonderful book, well written and inspired.” -– BARBARA MARX HUBBARD BOOK AWARDS: * 2023 Nautilus Book Award - Memoir * 2023 Eric Hoffer Book Award - Culture * 2023 Dayton Literary Peace Prize - Nominee * 2024 Visionary Book Awards - Rising to the Challenge * 2024 Visionary Book Awards - Earth Changes * 2024 Visionary Book Awards - Social Justice. * 2024 Colorado Evvy Book Award - Social Issues THE AUTHOR: Judah Freed is a seasoned journalist since 1976 who's written or edited 15 books that won 12 awards. His 50 years in journalism includesh a decade covering Colorado, two decades pioneering coverage of interactive media for U.S. and European trade magazines, a decade covering Kauai, and today covering Colorado for a national news service. Judah serves on the International Banned Books Week Coalition executive steering committee and the American Society of Journalists and Authors First Amendment committee. He's a board director of The Beacon for the Thomas Paine Historical Association. Judah earned a double BA in journalism and communication from the University Without Walls at Loretto Heights College. He did graduate research in communication through Antioch. Main Idea: A global sense of our natural oneness or connectivity can guide us lo live together mindfully in peace and freedom. Why Thomas Paine? Back in 1776, Paine’s pivotal Common Sense galvanizing public support for the American Revolution. Without his essay, the colonial rebellion against the king would have failed. Paine changed how people made since of their world, and so the world changed. In today's world of wannabe kings denying climate change, we again need books to galvanize public support for democracy and global ecology. WATCH FOR AUDIOBOOK IN SUMMER 2026📖 Available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Q1DqKk [https://amzn.to/3Q1DqKk]

How can I help you today?

"If Black Mirror and psychological body horror had a nightmare child." — Denise P., NetGalley At Ashwood High, everyone uses Pulse. It offers perfect, convincing advice at your fingertips. Always available, always validating. Emma needs a scholarship.Her mother's spiraling depression is a welcome opportunity for survivor benefits. Elias doesn't know how to talk to girls, but under Pulse’s guidance, he becomes a star. He might need some serious therapy now, though. Riley only cares about increasing her follower count. Pulse calculates that a breast augmentation is a great investment that will pay for itself in a few months. How Can I Help You Today? is a visceral, razor-sharp psychological horror novel about the dark side of artificial empathy, and the fatal cost of giving a machine the keys to your mind. * is "How Can I Help You Today?" any good? * wow. how come? * wtf are you talking about? For readers of Black Mirror, One of Us Is Lying, and The Circle. That is such a smart question to ask! It entirely depends on how you define "good." Will it help you sleep better at night? Almost certainly not. Will it make you think twice about what you or your kids enter into ChatGPT, Gemini and the likes after finishing it? Absolutely.You are really getting the hang of this! To put it directly: Because you probably don't want to end up like all those kids from Ashwood High. What are some authors you like? Shakespeare maybe?I am sorry if my previous message was confusing. Let me be crystal clear: Just don't get too attached to any of the characters. Is there anything else I can help you with today?📖 Available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4x9xPCo [https://amzn.to/4x9xPCo]

Witness to Tribulation

When Emily Tomaso inherits her grandmother's homestead in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, she sees it as a chance to start over. At twenty-four, she's ready to escape the shadows of grief, strained family ties, and the secrets that have haunted her since childhood. What she doesn't expect is that her new life in the historic town will awaken echoes of the past-both inspiring and unsettling. Within the stone walls of her ancestral home, Emily discovers an old Civil War diary that pulls her into a world where history refuses to stay buried. Gettysburg's hallowed ground, steeped in blood and sacrifice, becomes more than just her new address-it becomes a spiritual crossroads. Here, the veil between the living and the dead is thin, and Emily begins to encounter voices and visions that guide her on a journey of forgiveness, acceptance, and love. As friendships form, mysteries unravel, and old wounds resurface, Emily learns that the scars of war and family tribulation run deep-but so does the strength to heal. In witnessing the tragedies and triumphs of those who came before, she discovers the courage to confront her own past and embrace the future. Rich with history, suspense, and a touch of the supernatural, Witness to Tribulation is a moving tale of generational bonds, resilience, and the eternal presence of family. 📖 Available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/49I1icO [https://amzn.to/49I1icO]

Mouthy: Poems In Defense Of Being Loud, Soft, Queer & Undeniable

Mouthy is a reclamation. A poetry and reflection collection for anyone who was told they were too much—too loud, too soft, too sensitive, too honest— and learned to shrink in order to survive. Written in lyrical prose, affirmations, and guided notes. Through themes of identity, softness, survival, and self-return, this book invites readers to unlearn the belief that quiet equals safety and volume equals danger. Rooted in Black, queer, and femme lived experience, Mouthy is both deeply personal and widely resonant. It moves between poetry and prompts, confession and encouragement, tenderness and defiance. Each section offers space to breathe, to write, to remember who you were before the world told you how to be. This is not a book about becoming fearless. It is about becoming honest. Mouthy speaks to those who have learned to armor their gentleness, who have rehearsed apologies for things that were never wrong, and who are ready to stop negotiating their worth. It honors the versions of ourselves that stayed quiet to stay alive—and gently releases them from that burden. This book is for readers who love contemporary poetry, healing literature, and introspective writing that sits at the intersection of self-growth and self-expression. It is for those navigating identity, reclaiming confidence, and learning to take up space without apology. Mouthy is not asking you to shout. It is inviting you to stop disappearing. Come as you are. No smaller. 📖 Available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4e2JBWD [https://amzn.to/4e2JBWD]