Global Literature

What the World Needs Now is Poems Sweet Poems Anthology, by author Reneé Drummond-Brown and mutually respected writers from across the globe who pen philosophical writings saturated in worldviews relating to: culture, subculture, principles, language, struggle, freedom, equality, inequality and war and peace. It has been said that poetry imitates life, therefore this Anthology gives the reader something of old, something new, something borrowed and ‘sum sho-nuff poetic blues.

In the shadowed Velora Mountains, Elias Draggon uncovers the Codex of Ghor’Vahn, an ancient artifact pulsing with the Breath of the Dragon—a force to balance or shatter the universe. Hunted by Shadow Dragons, harbingers of chaos, Elias must master the Codex’s light and dark energies. Guided by cryptic mentors, his journey reveals the Matrix Heart, a cosmic nexus tied to a destiny beyond his world. But as victory dawns, a darker shadow whispers of a red planet’s rise.

This live recording could not be more fun! A seasoned storyteller who loves rhythm and song joins with a traditional musician playing instruments ranging from mountain dulcimer to a cardboard box drum to create multicultural magic. The stories come from Siberia, the Makah tradition of Alaska, Cajun Louisiana, Palestine, the British Isles, and the American South.

Brett and Alyssa have decided to tie the knot in a big way. They invite the whole gang out to spend the week leading up to Christmas on the beach. The emotional baggage their friends bring with them spills out, turning the rehearsal dinner into a disastrous Christmas Eve. To make matters worse, Brett and Alyssa find themselves in a predicament that has one of them wondering if they even want to say, “I do.”

In this Irish folktale, a young and powerful king has an embarrassing secret: he has horse’s ears! Then one day, the royal barber discovers this unusual trait. Can he keep the king’s long-held secret, or will the barber be banished from the kingdom for good?

Peter is thrilled to leave New York City to accompany his parents on an expedition to Greenland to study global warming. There he has visions of things that should be too far away for him to see. Generations ago, the people of Thea’s community were hunted for possessing unusual abilities, so they fled beneath the ice. Thea needs help that only Peter can give. Their meeting reveals secrets of both their pasts, and changes the future for them both forever.

Meet Blake and Jasmine. They have been friends since they were two years old. Nothing has ever been able to come between them, not even the difference in their skin color. Blake's young life is hit with opposition at the hands of his abusive father, Frank, at the mere age of nine. He still refuses to give up his friendship with Jasmine.

In this Hmong folktale, two brothers venture into a remote jungle, hunting food for their hungry family. But the jungle is full of dangerous wild animals. The older brother vows to keep his younger brother safe . . . or die trying.

Peaches Goes It Alone, Frederick Seidel’s newest collection of poems, begins with global warming and ends with Aphrodite. In between is everything. Peaches Goes It Alone presents the sexual and political themes that have long preoccupied Seidel - and thrilled and offended his audiences. Lyrical, grotesque, and elegiac, Peaches Goes It Alone adds new music and menace to Seidel’s masterful body of work.

Dan is back home to settle his affairs. Then, he is free. But when an innocent woman is abducted in broad daylight, Dan responds to her call for help. His actions leads him into the dangerous vortex of a global plot - a plot designed to cripple America, maybe for good. Deep under the blue waters of the Eastern Seaboard hides a deadly secret, and the enemy knows about it. They have arrived and will stop at nothing to unleash mayhem. Only Dan Roy, ex-Black Ops warrior, stands in their way.

Novelist Patrick Hamlin has come to Los Angeles to oversee the film adaptation of one of his books and try to impress his wife and daughter back home with this last-ditch attempt at professional success. But California is not as he imagined. Drought, wildfire, and corporate corruption are everywhere, and the company behind a mysterious new brand of synthetic water seems to be at the root of it all. Patrick finds an unlikely partner in Cassidy Carter—the cynical starlet of his film—and the two investigate the sun-scorched city.

In the 2050s, Earth has begun to empty. Those with the means and the privilege have departed the great cities of the United States for the more comfortable confines of space colonies. Those left behind salvage what they can from the collapsing infrastructure. As they eke out an existence, their neighborhoods are being cannibalized. Brick by brick, their houses are sent to the colonies, what was once a home now a quaint reminder for the colonists of the world that they wrecked.

Neal Stephenson’s sweeping, prescient new novel transports listeners to a near-future world where the greenhouse effect has inexorably resulted in a whirling-dervish troposphere of superstorms, rising sea levels, global flooding, merciless heat waves and virulent, deadly pandemics. One man has a Big Idea for reversing global warming, a master plan perhaps best described as 'elemental'. But will it work? And just as important, what are the consequences for the planet and all of humanity should it be applied?

Diagnosed by her physician husband with a “temporary nervous depression - a slight hysterical tendency” after the birth of her child, a woman is urged to rest for the summer in an old colonial mansion. Forbidden from doing work of any kind, she spends her days in the house’s former nursery, with its barred windows, scratched floor, and peeling yellow wallpaper. In a private journal, the woman records her growing obsession with the “horrid” wallpaper. Its strange pattern mutates in the moonlight, revealing what appears to be a human figure in the design.

En route to the National Prayer Breakfast, the US vice president’s motorcade is hit in a vicious, expertly planned attack that throws Washington, DC, into chaos. Everyone assumes it’s terrorists - everyone but young FBI agent Jennifer Lin. She is certain that the easy answers here are not the likely ones. Half a world away, former military contractor Tom Locke has his own doubts about what happened - and who did it. He suspects his former employer, Apollo Outcomes. But why would the global private military corporation orchestrate such a brutal strike on US soil?

Team up with Max Axiom to learn all about global warming and its effects on the Earth. From melting glaciers to wacky weather patterns, heating up our planet wreaks havoc on its resources and inhabitants.

In this Swedish folktale, a young boy longs for all the nice things other children have. An old woman tells the boy a secret for granting his wishes: sprinkling salt on a magpie’s tail. But, before the magpie will grant the boy’s wish, the bird has some strange requests of his own.

Rubi Whiting is a member of the Bounceback Generation. The first to be raised free of the troubles of the late 21st century. Now she works as a public defender to help troubled individuals with anti-social behavior. That’s how she met Luciano Pox. Luce is a firebrand and has made a name for himself as a naysayer. But there’s more to him than being a lightning rod for controversy. Rubi has to find out why the governments of the world want to bring Luce into custody, and why Luce is hell bent on stopping the recovery of the planet.

As remarkable as Columbus and the conquistador expeditions, the history of Portuguese exploration is now almost forgotten. But Portugal's navigators cracked the code of the Atlantic winds, launched the expedition of Vasco da Gama to India and beat the Spanish to the spice kingdoms of the East - then set about creating the first long-range maritime empire.

To my listeners who have patiently waited for the next books in the Divine Love Story Trilogy and the Chronicles of Warfare Series, I decided to drop an appetizer to whet your appetites and hold you over as you anticipate the main course.