Our Books
The Hammer
Suffering from dysentery, the once glorious but now decrepit King Edward I of England has journeyed to Lanercost to gloat over his captive, Marjory Bruce, daughter of the Scottish freedom fighter. He has locked her in a cage. Instead of encountering a wild beast as he expected, he is met by a small but spunky eleven-year-old. A gifted storyteller who needs to reflect on his life, Edward visits Marjory day after day, recounting tales for her. These stories tell how he defeated the opportunistic tyrant Simon de Montfort in a bloody civil war.
Simon – a Frenchman who spoke no English – rose to power on a platform of ridding England of foreigners. Fomenting bigotry, he massacred half the Jewish population of England in one night, imprisoned the royal family, and ruled the kingdom for a year. After vanquishing this despot, Edward transformed from a reckless and impetuous youth to a valiant knight and devoted husband.
Why did the man who brought peace and prosperity to his kingdom – who built the Eleanor crosses as monuments of true love – become brutal and vindictive? Has the cruel Longshanks completely lost his heart and humanity? Will he relent and give Marjory her freedom?
And what should his legacy be?
the '36 combine
Fifteen year-old Billy Shelton dreams of being a football star like his older brother. But, he is a scrub, one of the boys who sits the bench in every game. It is 1936, the height of the Great Depression. Billy's team has no coach, no equipment, and no hope. His small town in West Virginia is in dire straits. Buildings are boarded up. Families are living in shanties without electricity or running water. Some kids are even eating blackboard chalk to make their stomachs feel full. Even worse, after years of crushing losses, no one has the will to do anything about it.
No one except Billy.
An unlikely ally arrives in town like the hero in an old Western. He is a soft-spoken coach who promises Billy and his rag-tag teammates that every boy will see playing time in every game and that the team will play for the district championship. To become champions, Billy's team will need to defeat Wolfsden, a team with unlimited resources, players who look like the German soldiers Billy is seeing in the news reels, and a devious coach who will stop at nothing.
With his father dying from black lung, Billy must be the man of the house. But, can he be a man on the field too? Can he stand up to the Wolfsden machine, help his team become winners, and restore hope to his town?
Short plays for community actors
This collection includes six short plays that can be produced royalty-free with a small cast and minimal budget. The plays were written to be presented by community actors. The topics of the plays are well suited for presentations in public libraries and other educational venues. All of the plays contain humorous elements.