Books

Catherine Ritch,
Author, Composer, Comedienne, Entertainer, Inspirational Speaker, Teacher, Musician and Missionary, but her favorite way to be acknowledged is "friend".

Napoleon Bonaparte once stated, "The secret of war lies in the communications." Few, if any, secrets were hidden from the Japanese during the Pacific Theater of WWII, at least in the realm of communications. But through a civilian's suggestion, a secret – years later to be declassified and revealed as the Navajo Code Talkers of the United States Marine Corps – was soon in the making. When a group of 29 men were transported to California's Camp Pendleton in the middle of the night, they had no idea of the task that lay before them. Especially when, after boot camp, they were taken to Camp Elliott, left in a room, and charged with coming up with a plan for a secret code - all within 30 minutes or the idea would be disbanded. Stranger still, they were to use their native language, which had been strictly forbidden and brought punishment in boarding school. What transpired over the next several weeks was a vocabulary of 211 coded words, all memorized, which grew to over 400 words and approximately 420 men by the war's end. The entry of the Navajo Code Talkers into the Pacific Theater helped make it possible for the Allies to not only gain ground, but win World War II. Because the use of their unwritten language claimed an unprecedented place in history for the Navajo Code Talkers, much of the story in these pages is told through their own voices. . . voices of victory.

When Mabel, Miz Eudora's "blamed ole sister-in-law" for whom she has little use, announces she's taking over as Director of Music at First Church, Smackass, Miz Eudora stops at nearly nothing―including "jukin', jivin', movin', groovin', shakin', rattlin', rollin', reelin' and jiggin'" and being a centerfold―to stop Mabel. In the popular spirit of "goin' green," Miz Eudora heads to Savannah to call on the spirit of Saint Patrick, John Wesley and anyone else she can find, notwithstanding a host of the city's most colorful characters and two busloads of those red-and-purple clad ladies from seven states, in her quest to "dispose of Mabel," who is "nothin' but a snake in the grass." As if that isn't enough, the pair treks to St. Olaf College in Minnesota to get the Lutherans to teach Mabel to sing. From "rollin' in the aisles" to finding themselves "in a pickle," there's no lack for laughter where these two are concerned.

And beware: there's nothing "in" about Miz Eudora's "tongue-in-cheek" comments. She lays them out there for everyone to enjoy. Sit back, read, relax and enjoy―with a glass of "green" tea, of course―as you join Miz Eudora on this latest journey in "The Winsome Ways of Miz Eudora Rumph." Oh, and for added enjoyment, you may want to have a fan handy.

Many people have heard of Vietnam and the fall of Saigon that happened on April 30, 1975. Many people have not heard of the neighboring country of Cambodia falling into the hands of a communist government under the barbaric leadership of Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge regime only thirteen days prior to that date on April 17, 1975. In the shadow of the larger picture in the scope of the Vietnam War, that bit of history failed to make the same headlines or create the same stir. Maybe that is because Cambodia, like Thailand, was to remain neutral territory during the Southeast Asian turmoil.

However, Cambodia was so small it found itself caught up in the midst of the war while both American and North Vietnamese soldiers―"secretly" at the time―crossed the Cambodian border to make their assaults on each other, with the Americans also fighting the Viet Cong guerillas of South Vietnam. With no way to protect itself in the process, and strong opposing forces of its political leaders, Cambodia wound up in its own civil war. During the period of time from 1975 - 1979, it is estimated that over 27% of the country’s population of seven million were killed, either as a result of ruthless murders or a combination of overwork, starvation and consequential diseases.

Talitha Slagle, who's made a career of inveztigative journalism, is literally handed the opportunity to follow her dream as a freelance writer. She finds her Mecca when she wanders upon a tiny church in a hidden mountain community and learns that she;s spent her life asking all the wrong questions.

A contemporary Easter story, is the first volume of author Catherine Ritch Guess's Sandman Series.

To Celia, it was simply another Christmas concert at the private school. It was the first year in their new facility, and reporters were to be on hand. so maybe it would prove to be a special evening.

Because of a recent and strange friendship with the most unlikely of soul mates, Christina Cache dares to take the necessary leap to follow her calling.

On his way to Daytona for the first race of the season, NASCAR great Dale Jarrett saves the life of a young homeless boy, Issac, whose mother is killed. A beautiful depiction of the impact of a lowly child on the world.

When Miz Eudora decides to give her "highfalutin'" sister-in-law, Mabel Toast Jarvis, a nice gesture for Christmas, it turns out to be a horrible present for Mabel but the best present possible for her little hometown of Smackass Gap, NC. Through her pure, simplistic childlike faith, she brings the entire town and all her many friends to realize the "real" meaning of Christmas in the midst of all the commercialism to which she is unaccustomed.

Miz Eudora Rumph takes you on her very first official "road trip" - better described as an indescribable adventure - when she wins the International Quilt Contest in Paducah, KY. Her winning entry, Precious Memories, brings Miz Eudora a new array of adoring fans and launches a new business venture as a fashion designer of her own collection, "Smack from the Gap."

From there, it's a non-stop roller-coaster of zany hilarity with her comic sidekick sister-in-law, Mabel Toast Jarvis.

This book is the perfect dose of medicine for those who take life and themselves too seriously, for everyone who loves to laugh, for Red Hatters - basically, for everyone!