Books

This page contains the resources that I have found useful in my personal and professional life. Admittedly, it is an eclectic list. It contains everything from quotes and books that I like to podcasts, videos, and slideshows.

If you don’t want to scroll through the entire list, you can click on one of the links below and filter the resources by specific category.

I will update this list as I discover new resources. If you have a resource you think I should add, please email me.

The Day The World Sneezed by Eddie Jones (Raleigh, NC: Dry Bones Publishing, 2020)

Elmer made a mental note of the date and day the man from the Bureau of Land Management came to his farm: March 12, 2020.

“I’m Mr. Ricks with the Bureau of Land Management. Got a minute to talk?”

” ‘Bout what?”

“I heard you’re stockpiling cleaning disinfectant. Thought we should talk about that.”

It was a day and visit Elmer would come to regret for the rest of his life. Over the next few weeks Elmer would witness an unprecedented economic collapse, the shocking news that world leaders had fallen ill to the deadly coronavirus, the implosion of the billion dollar industry known as “amateur athletics,” professional sports teams sidelined and forgotten, (all but the Tampa Bay Rays who actually experienced an increase in attendance at Tropicana Field,) and martial law enforced in major cities as neighbors fought over the basic needs for survival. Amidst the chaos and panic, Lysol would become the liquid gold that saves a nation.

And Elmer had warehouses full of Lysol.

The Day The World Sneezed is Whimsical Almost-End-Times Satire

ISBN: 9781938499364
Paperback version releases April 28, 2020

Rumor of a Werewolf by Eddie Jones (Illuminate YA, 2019)

★ Shortlisted as a Selah Winner for Middle Grade Fiction ★

Can a person be turned into a werewolf? Nick is certain the Wolfman myth is Hollywood fiction, but then his dad hands him a newspaper clipping from The Daily Crawler.

In a chilling discovery, law enforcement officials investigating the gruesome death of Candee Brenneman claim that a wolf or some other large animal may have attacked the victim. An employee of R.I.P.’s Restaurant found the 32-year-old avid jogger and fitness instructor under a bridge in Rockefeller State Park. Her throat was savagely ripped apart, and large misshapen paw prints were found around the body. There were also bite marks on her hands and arms. Some have wondered if her death, occurring during a full moon, suggests a werewolf may be running loose in Sleepy Hollow. The investigation is ongoing.

While his parents and sister drive a moving truck from Kansas to their new home in Savannah, Georgia, Nick takes a train to Sleepy Hollow to visit his grandfather. At the Headless Horseman Inn, Nick meets a girl his age who goes by the name Nancy Drew. Together they dig into the case and discover hints that suggest part of the werewolf legend may be true. Racing against time and the’70s Detectives — a quirky group of amateur sleuths, inspired by classic detective shows — the pair uncover the curse of Silas Long. Is this Scooby Doo character the key to solving the case?

As the last large moon of the month rises over Sleepy Hollow, Nick is about to discover that some monsters are real. And the worst monster is the one you never see coming.

Available at:

AUDIOBOOK

Mystery of the Eyewitness Ghost by Eddie Jones (Dry Bones Publishing, 2022)

Selah Award Winner – Purple Dragonfly Book Award Honorable Mention

“A whip-smart mystery series with a touch of paranormal and much-needed humor, realistic crime-scene drama plays out in each book, including this latest, when a girl goes missing and her brother is wrongfully imprisoned. Only this time, Nick’s brilliant wit and sleuthing skills are seriously tested when he is brought into a world of spiritualists, mediums, and ghosts coming back from the dead. In the spirit of Scooby Doo, ‘Is it a ghost or not,’ and ‘those meddling kids,‘ I highly recommend this series, especially for boys and reluctant readers.” — Kim Childress, Book Editor, Girls’ Life Magazine

Nick Caden is no stranger to supernatural mysteries and paranormal phenomena. He and his buddies have been TV crime fans for years, which led to Nick solving his first murder case during an Old West ghost town family vacation when it seemed there wasn’t “a ghost of a chance” of catching the killer.

His success landed Nick a job as a reporter for The Cool Ghoul Gazette, where he debunks all kinds of crazy, so-called paranormal murders. From uncovering the killer of a vampire to catching zombies and werewolves, Nick relies on truth, facts, and watching cop and detective shows to solve cases.

In this paranormal “ghost” mystery, an all-star basketball player goes missing, her brother has been implicated in a murder, and “Sistah Séance,” a Gullah woman on Georgia’s Sea islands, claims to “bring up the dead. Nick suspects this psychic-spiritualist is somehow involved, but his efforts to uncover the truth is hampered when local police insist he keep his distance from the case.

Preferring to work alone, Nick becomes annoyed when Officer Crowder demands he work with Jaz, Crowder’s teen relative, who has a “spiritual gift” that allows her “to know things about the dead.” As the pair race against time to find the ghost’s real killer, the two teens find themselves entangled in a dark world where every clue leads to new dangers and uncovers the haunting truth that awaits them.

When the only eyewitness to a murder is a ghost, who do you believe?

This time, Nick doesn’t have all the answers. But he does ask the right questions. And what he learns is worse than any lies a fake fortuneteller might pass off as truth.

Amazon customer reviews

62 global ratings

Phantom Gunslinger by Eddie Jones (Dry Bones Publishing, 2021)

Someone is coming for Nick—and maybe his sister and all the girls who ever helped him solve a mystery. In an abandoned theme park atop a Georgia mountain on New Year’s night, a phantom gunslinger steps from the shadows and calls Nick into Main Street for a showdown. Why does the Man In Black want Nick to leave Old West World in a pine box? Nick counts the cases he’s solved and realizes he’s made lots of enemies, any number of whom might want him gone. Nick is about to learn that loose ends from past cases may leave him tied to a train trestle with the Black Beauty’s cowcatcher bearing down. In Old West World, doing the right thing at the right time for the right reasons may leave you on the wrong end of a tombstone.

Complete the “Official Criminal Inquiry” to see if you have the makings of a homicide detective. With questions at the back of the book, you can fill in the answers while you read. When finished, your book report should be thorough enough to catch a crook! Parents can trust the Caden Chronicles. There is no sexual dialogue or situations, violence, or strong language, only a wee bit of humor. 🙂

★ Shortlisted as a Selah Award Winner for Middle Grade Fiction ★

Available at:

AUDIOBOOK

Dead Low Tide by Eddie Jones (Illuminate YA, 2019)

★ Shortlisted as a Selah Winner for Teen Fiction ★ First published by Zonderkidz

On vacation with his parents in Savannah, Georgia, Nick Caden is eager to investigate the mystery surrounding Heidi May Laveau, a girl who supposedly died years ago but whose body just washed up on the shore. Once again, Nick’s curiosity gets the better of him, only this time he brings his sister, Wendy, along to investigate—and she’s taken by what appears to be a zombie of the dead girl!

Of course, no one believes Nick when he claims a member of the living dead pulled his sister away in a canoe, even after she proves impossible to find. But this kidnapper has messages for Nick from “beyond the grave,” and he faces the difficult task of sorting fact from fiction before his worst fears come true. It’s a race against the clock to discover where the true danger lies—because the answer might be right under Nick’s nose.

Who knows what horrors will be found when the tide recedes?

AUDIOBOOK

Amazon customer reviews

72 global ratings

Skull Creek Stakeout vampire running loose

Skull Creek Stakeout by Eddie Jones (2018)

★ Purple Dragonfly Award Winner for Middle Grade Fiction ★ First published by Zonderkidz

The good news is, vampires aren’t real. The bad news is…you can’t believe the news.

Nick Caden is a normal fourteen-year-old kid with a “supernatural” knack for finding trouble, ghosts, vampires, and all sorts of undead—or so it seems.

After solving the ghost story murder at Deadwood Canyon, Nick lands a job as a roving reporter for The Cool Ghoul Gazette, a website on paranormal or supernatural disturbances. When the editor sends Nick to investigate a murder in Transylvania, North Carolina, the young super sleuth finds a corpse with fangs, bite marks and a stake driven through the heart. If Nick proves vampires are real, his job as an investigative journalist is set for life! But once he begins to peel back the clues Nick finds his new job is not only scary and dangerous but about to suck the life out of him.

The Caden Chronicles—award-winning fiction for boys.

AUDIOBOOK