Carrick Publishing presents EFD1: Starship Goodwords, the first in our series of cross-genre anthologies featuring a diverse selection of stories and poems. Edited by Donna and Alex Carrick, this collection includes: Mystery, Crime, Flash Fiction, Poetry, Literary, Paranormal, Science Fiction and Humor. There's something for every reader in this exceptional sampling of today's authors. Contributors by Genre: Foreword, Donna Carrick Crime Fiction, Catherine Astolfo, Family Recipe Crime Fiction, Donna Carrick, Corner Store Crime Fiction, Alexander Galant, Remember Me Crime Fiction, Joan, O'Callaghan, Stooping to Conquer Flash Fiction/Crime, M.H. Callway, Incompetence Kills Flash Fiction/Crime, Sylvia Maultash Warsh, Family Values Flash Fiction/Literary, Kathleen Bjoran, Giving Thanks Flash Fiction/Literary/Humor, Melodie Campbell, The Battle of Beavercoat Poetry, A.C. Cargill, Treasures in the Attic Poetry, Rosalind Croucher, Dance Poetry, Sheila Jeffries, Finding Calm Poetry, Michael C. Slater, Murmur Persuasive Article, Paulissa Kipp, Fostering Humanity Manifesto Literary Fiction, Melanie Robertson-King, Cole's Notes Literary Fiction, Tracy L. Ward, Running Parallel Paranormal/Fantasy, Susan M. Botich, The Minstrel's Spell Paranormal/Horror, Dayna Leigh Cheser, The Legend of Corkscrew Swamp Paranormal/Horror, Troy Lambert, The Mighty Pen Paranormal/Science Fiction/Humour, Ira Nayman, The Predator's Prerogative Humor/Fiction, Alex Carrick, My Wife and I Argue over our Travel Plans (Hey, I'm not Cheap but...) Humor/Anecdote, John Thompson, "Oh, Okay, and the Good Soldier Schweik"

"Five Scoops" Is An Addiction is a collection of 16 shorter and longer stories. It's the fourth in The "Scoops" series and combines the best elements of its forerunners. Alex Carrick has twice received Honorable Mention recognition (2010 and 2011) in the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition for literary excellence. He likes to explore in an amusing and often touching way the dilemnas we all face in this modern, fast-paced life. He'll play with structure and time to present his unique vision. In his fiction, he's not afraid to tackle such diverse genres as paranormal, ghost stories, science fiction, fantasy, murder mystery and even romance. He likes to joke that he's especially adept at the latter. In mid-May 2012, Mr. Carrick's site (www.alexcarrick.com) was chosen "Blog of the Week" by Writer's Digest. The accompanying description said, "Alex Carrick's blog is clean, crisp and entertaining. His stories range from humorous to thought-provoking, making it a fun read."

Following the themes established in "Two Scoops" Is Just Right, this sequel contains stories about the family and the modern work environment. It also branches off into somewhat longer fictional pieces. These tales wander through time and space or consist of made-up conversations that take amusing, ironic or unexpected turns.These entertaining, original short stories first appeared on the website: www.alexcarrick.com. Mr. Carrick has been a leading economist in the North American construction industry for over 30 years.

"Four Scoops" Is Over The Top is a collection of 36 original, entertaining short stories and poems. It's the third in the "Scoops" series and combines the best elements of its forerunners, "Two Scoops" Is Just Right and "Three Scoops" Is A Blast These tales, which deal with relationships and all of the quirks and oddities that bind humanity together, skip around in time and location and even verge into elements of fantasy and the make-believe. The intent is to be entertaining in every paragraph and deliver pure enjoyment and surprises to the reader.

This book contains more than just stories about the family. Some entries are dappled impressions of modern life. Some are comedy bits, with the odd gem of a punch line. Others are lighter than air and rise up like whimsy. Others still have a slightly more serious intent, with surprising twists. These funny, short original stories first appeared on the website: www.alexcarrick.com. Mr. Carrick has been a leading economist in the North American construction industry for over 30 years. In early 2008, he was asked by his employer to put together an economics blog. He approached this with a good deal of trepidation, worrying about whether he would have enough material and if he could do it justice. He quickly found he enjoyed the experience. So much, in fact, that he began to branch out with humorous lifestyle blogs he was composing on the weekends and at night, just for fun. It is these entries he would like to share with you.