If Only People Were Like Horses
“Something about the outside of a horse makes me feel better on the inside.” Left unsaid by Steven Ricci is that he has no use for fellow humans. He steps on them as he ascends to become the top thoroughbred horse trainer in the country. His disregard for others, however, makes him vulnerable to a family secret involving the death of his father.
While twisting and untwisting bed sheets in his jail cell, a despondent Steven hears the voice of his daughter who helped put him in jail. “Daddy don’t be so angry at the world.”
A redemptive Steven again rises to the top of the racehorse world. His “Do Unto Others” mantra includes thanking those who helped him succeed this time. This spirit is tested when he confronts a sex trafficking ring run by rich horse owners no longer just excited by winning races. They will use Steven’s family secret to try to destroy him.
From Conflict to Cooperation
“Have a disagreement with a family member? Involved in a squabble at work? Are you in the midst of court litigation? You can find no better advice than Steve Rocco’s four “R”s – Restructure the Interpersonal Momentum, Read the Conflict, Redefine the Conflict, and make Reasoned not Regretful Decisions – presented in his book, “Moving from Conflict to Cooperation.” Steve’s writing style is approachable and full of helpful examples. His strategies can be applied to a wide variety of types of conflicts. His book is built on common sense, wisdom, and broad experience and is written by an author who obviously is gifted with a keen sense of human nature.”
–Hon. John M. Smoot (Ret.), Boston Area Mediation
“In my practice areas, as a Parenting Coordinator, I negotiate co-parenting disputes and try to educate parents on ways to engage in self-determined conflict resolution. In that regard, “Conflict to Cooperation” is a perfect fit as a reference in my own practice and as a resource that I would recommend to my clients as a road map to guide them along their journey.”
–Anne Cremonini, LICSW
The Ecstasy of Pupusas, Filled with Love
A fateful decision by those around them tests the love of two women. One is Chelsea, the lonely daughter of a wealthy physician. The other is the family’s beloved housekeeper, Maria. They bond over Maria’s succulent pupusas, sharing feelings, dreams and secrets with one another.
Their lives are irrevocably altered by a terrible act – a molestation. The repercussions from keeping it a secret plummet both families into new lives of pain. Maria’s family is exiled to her homeland of El Salvador, where walking on the wrong side of the street can mean death. With blood of denial on their hands, leading to their son’s murder, Chelsea’s family sits in their mansion barely able to look at one another .
Until Chelsea decides to correct her family’s wrongs. Strengthened by her love for her friend, she cajoles immigration attorneys, exposes crooked private investigators and confronts her brother’s murderer.
Ultimately this is a book about love and forgiveness – and a search for the truth wherever it might lead – as painstakingly crafted as one of Maria’s pupusas.
The Girl Who Woke Up in the Morgue
Greed in the form of benign pink pills found in Springdale’s medicine cabinets is poisoning its young people. Unfortunately, it is 2001 and the infancy of Big Pharma’s false marketing campaign. These new class of synthetic drugs – known as opiates – free people from pain while being “safe and non-addictive.”
Beyond the grieving families burying loved ones, someone in Springdale realizes his community is being poisoned. He is funeral director Sonny Fiorentino. His life is changed when another young opiate victim, Kelsey Jordan, awakens in his morgue.
With a second chance at life, Kelsey and Sonny awaken Springdale to this new drug scourge.
The conspirators responsible for putting thousands of pills on Springdale’s streets think otherwise. These doctors , pharmacists and street dealers will kill anyone in their greedy paths. Will Kelsey survive this battle? Will America survive this new drug war?
The Mystery in the Mausoleum
Casey Conley, a one-legged detective, is charged with solving the most sensational crime to occur in the town of Ridgewood. Someone has stolen nine bodies from their final entombment in the Cemetery’s Mausoleum. Casey’s investigation lacerates wounds to his psyche, similar to the one his leg suffered in Iraq, where Casey was part of an Army Special Forces Unit.
His dark emotions, which he thought he left in the desert, resurface as Casey’s investigation deepens. He is consumed with why someone would take these bodies, as much as where they might be.
Casey’s investigation points to a suspect who would not appear to be attracted to dead bodies. No, this predator abuses sad, living souls, unfortunate enough to be drawn into his evil orbit. One such victim, her life tragically ended by a bomb, has special significance for the amputee, this crime fueling his relentless passion to apprehend the predator.
A confession is not the only thing on Casey’s mind when he finally confronts the accused. The detective needs to exorcise demons that have been resurrected by this strange crime. The accused, a perfect sociopath, recognizes this need. The two men’s epic confrontation – a dance between good and evil – is a discourse on human pain. One suffers from survivor guilt so strong that he does not feel worthy to be among the living. The other, consumed with survival, discards victims when they no longer fulfill his needs.
Only one of these men will depart this desperate encounter intact.