Fiction Books

Scientist and atheist Dr. Lydia Cheyenne Wagner thinks she's the only survivor of an asteroid strike she predicted until she discovers Father Jules, a devout priest who has "miraculously" survived. Their beliefs and personalities clash as they try to find a way to peacefully coexist in a post-apocalyptic world. Everything changes when they encounter a fanatical teenage cult that has made a Hemingway novel their Bible. The erratic cult leader, known as the Captain, wages war against any unbelievers, causing Dr. Lydia and Father Jules to choose sides in a life and death battle over what is faith, what is fact, and what is fiction.

The Hemingway Bible is a provocative, engaging post-apocalyptic story about the dangers of religious extremism and the urgent need to come together across the ideologies that divide us.

"Don't starve the monster, lest ye all should perish!"

You are about to enter into the world of the peculiar and the bizarre. Strange Fire is a collection of 15 stand-alone short stories by Shawn Casselberry that will grip your heart and keep you guessing to the end. Monsters are on the loose in Hollow Town and no child is safe who has the Mark. A social media influencer must learn to shed more than her apathy in Skin. A 15-year-old from the South Side of Chicago discovers he has special powers when he protects his best friend from police brutality in The Windy City Wizard. Writer Arthur G. Blum is ready to end it all when his fictional subjects stage an intervention in Characters. Strange Fire will transport you to unusual worlds and will transform you so you'll never be the same.

Rogue Priest is a progressive fiction book by author Shawn Casselberry about a priest who does wrong for all the right reasons. Father James Wright, a fiery justice-minded priest, causes trouble with city, church, and gang leaders as he attempts to be an ally for his community. While coming up against forces of violence and corruption, he must also confront his broken past, including family baggage and a former love interest. Through a series of unexpected events, Father Wright's world is turned upside down and he must reconcile his faith with the reality of human tragedy. The book tackles topics of faith and doubt, race and power, justice and hope with the city of Chicago as the backdrop. This exciting and unconventional story of heartache and hope, compels the reader to wrestle with deep questions and feel the full range of human emotions.

Poetry Books

"Man is a danger to others because he is a stranger to himself."

The Wound Man was a surgical diagram that first appeared in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. While the image illustrates the numerous physical scars and bodily injuries man may experience, what is missing are the emotional wounds and internal traumas that exist under the surface. In a time when society is recognizing the impacts of patriarchy, male privilege, and toxic masculinity, it may seem unpopular, or even inappropriate, to highlight the inner wounds of man. However, as this collection of poems suggest, it might be more dangerous for society to ignore them.

Wound Man is a poetry chapbook exploring the wounded mind, body, and soul of so-called man

in lonesome darkness is a poetry chapbook about the gifts of forced isolation. Sometimes we find ourselves in places where we feel stuck, abandoned, exiled, even from ourselves.

The darkness can feel scary like a prison, but it can also be a place and a space for revelation and change. When we befriend the darkness, we find more than we expected, we find a companion for the journey, we find our self.

It is in this crucible we discover that some of the deepest transformation happens in lonesome darkness.

Prophets of Dust is a collection of poems about loss, grief, and unexpected endings. Part autobiographical, part speculative, this book of poetry by Shawn Casselberry lays bare sacred scars in an honest search for healing and life after death. There are also poems about the end of the world (figurative and literal), heaven and hell, growing up as a pastor's kid, forgiving the sins of Martin Luther King, Jr., a love poem for a Chicago neighborhood, and a lot of other personal reflections on grief. To get a free e-copy, simply sign up for Shawn's newsletter.