In the sequel to Flowers and Stone, Luke and Darlina find their love severely tested as they struggle to overcome enormous odds. When Texas veteran musician, Luke Stone, finds himself behind bars with a seventy-five year sentence, he is filled with hate, anger and rebelliousness. He's lost everything that he treasures, including the woman who holds his heart. How has it come down to this? He's spent his entire life writing songs and making music, filling dancehalls and bars from Texas to California. But, when he refuses to tell the FBI what he knows about certain bank robberies that he possesses knowledge of, they make sure he pays dearly. Broken and alone, in a prison of her own, Darlina Flowers struggles to find a way to live without the man she loves so completely. Over the next fifteen years, Luke and Darlina each search for ways to somehow survive the fate life has hurled them into. In an effort to dull the pain of living with only half a heart, Darlina gets involved in drugs, then follows a guru and tries different relationships, but nothing fills the void. Several years pass before Luke makes up his mind that prison will not break him. He crawls up from the bottom one tiny step at a time, determined to be and do something worthwhile and discovers artistic talents he never realized he had. The Convict and the Rose inspires hope and shows how anyone can turn a negative dark situation into a positive one. But more importantly, the story portrays a love that goes beyond earthly confines and proves how persistence and faith come with their own sweet reward. Join Luke and Darlina as they continue their epic journey with love as their constant North Star and freedom as the driving force.

Join us on an epic journey older than civilization itself
Dr. Pip Lipkin has lived for 12,000 years, incarnated many times as man, woman, and even as species beyond our world and senses. But he's here for a reason: to pay restitution for an ancient crime by working to save humanity from certain destruction. "Ascending Spiral" is a book that will take the reader to many different places and times, showing, ultimately, that our differences and divisions, even at their most devastating, are less important than our similarities.
Reviewers' Acclaim: "Bob Rich powerfully evokes the wounded healer archetype in "Ascending Spiral," taking readers on Pip's painful and insightful journey through lifetimes that serve as a shining example of how to turn misery into virtue."
--Diane Wing, author, Coven: Scrolls of the Four Winds
"Dr. Bob Rich's "Ascending Spiral" is a true genre-buster, incorporating elements of historical fiction, literary fiction, science fiction, and even a hint of nonfiction to create an entertaining novel with an important message."
Magdalena Ball, CompulsiveReader.com
"The way of karma rings true for many people, and this book is a very well written and thoughtful explanation of its message. It is also an exciting, historically accurate series of linked stories that will hold the reader in his chair for a single sitting. Highly recommended."
Frances Burke, author of Endless Time
From Marvelous Spirit Press www.MarvelousSpirit.com
"Books that maximize empowerment of mind and spirit"

Book of the Year Bronze Award 2010 (travel essays category), ForeWord Magazine

After hiking some of the world's great trails, Brandon Wilson was excited to hear about the Via Alpina, paths running across eight countries on the backbone of the Alps. Besides promising immersion into Alpine life and wilderness, it was the ultimate adventure. It meant climbing 3000 feet from valley to mountain hut each day 1200 miles for months. Optimistically, Wilson envisioned it as a European Appalachian Trail, only with better food and wine.

Faster than you can say "schnitzel," he coaxed his desk-jockey wife into joining him. Unlike their trek across Tibet, the couple wouldn't dodge bullets. Who knew ice fields, relentless rain, winds, lethal ticks and cow patties could be more dangerous? Then again, the beauty, weird situations and bizarre characters they'd meet would help put peril into perspective.

It's all here, the daily triumphs and agony of de feet, captured in Wilson's witty, gritty, award-winning style. "Over the Top & Back Again" sweeps you along for an inspiring, yet slightly crazed look at the peerless Alps and at an everyday couple who dare to follow their gonzo dream.

Written by Brandon Wilson, a Lowell Thomas Award-winning author, it is fourth in his series of true travel adventures. This first Via Alpina travelog published in English includes 53 photos, maps and illustrations by Ken Plumb.

Reviews: "This is my favorite kind of adventure tale: Against all odds, in the face of health, weather, interpersonal, navigational and culinary issues, Brandon Wilson and his somewhat reluctant wife hike it because it's there or, it's supposed to be. I laughed, I winced, and then I started checking to see when I was next scheduled to be anywhere near the Via Alpina." Kyle Wagner, travel editor, Denver Post

"This lighthearted hiking narrative reflects the positives of such an experience: overcoming hardship, laughing at their inability to find trail blazes, Europe's apparent fear of switchbacks on trails ascending 1000-plus meters per col, and the bond and struggle with your trail partner.. Recommended for armchair travelers and anyone interested in hiking the Alps." Library Journal

"Informative, entertaining, and original a pioneer in a groundbreaking genre of travel writing." Midwest Book Review

"Wilson brings his considerable intellect and wry sense of humor to this epic adventure, and the result is brilliantly accessible and wonderfully subversive." Richard Bangs, author of Quest for the Sublime and PEAKS

"Marvelous account of a long hike told with a fine eye for detail and a keen sense of humor." Royal Robbins, legendary rock climber

"For outdoor enthusiasts, this book will awaken the travel bug within and inspire adventure. For others, it's a worthwhile armchair journey through beautiful country with friendly guides." ForeWord Magazine

""Over the Top & Back Again" suggests that maybe a little madness isn't too crazy after all." WEND Magazine

"It's great fun trekking through the Alps with the Wilsons They do all the hard work and we get all the pleasures rendered with warmth, insight and humor in Brandon's inimitable style." Maui News

"Wilson walks the way Forrest Gump runs. He's driven to it As for the connection between the outer journey and the inner journey, Wilson never pushes it. You get it in small bits, as he does, because that's the way it comes. It has a lot to do with savoring the simple pleasures of life that surround us every day. Wilson's books point the way toward this happy state of mind: just be bold and endure a few vicissitudes." GoNOMAD.com

"Makes you want to grab your walking stick, step into your hiking boots and climb a mountain." Christopher Elliott, syndicated travel writer

2009 Best Travel Book (Lowell Thomas Gold Award), Society of American Travel Writers

Book of the Year Award Finalist (adventure), "ForeWord Reviews"

It was an idea born while hiking the famed Camino de Santiago across Spain. Two men shared a dream of trekking from Europe to the Middle East on the ultimate road trip. It just happened to be a path walked by thousands of Crusaders, pilgrims and merchants during the Middle Ages, a time when wars, unforgiving weather, wild dogs, and an ever changing cast of weird characters tested even the toughest traveler.

As they say, The more things change, the more they stay the same. Two modern-day travelers discover the truth when they take on that same ultimate challenge to hike the Templar Trail across 11 countries and 2,600 miles to Jerusalem. Throwing themselves out into the universe with bad maps, blisters, but plenty of optimism, they face identical challenges in search of adventure, life s meaning and lasting peace. Proving that even today, there s nothing like a little war to shake your strongest resolve.

With 44 photos, maps and illustrations

Simply one of the most remarkable adventure stories of our time... Richard Bangs, legendary adventurer, co-founder Mountain Travel Sobek

More than the mere adventure of two brave men, it is a grand and noble quest for peace... Combines a marvelous sense of Zen with good humor, and his personal style makes you feel as if you were there taking part in it all... Mayra Calvani, "Midwest Book Review"

A travel lodestone a magical quest, a warts-and-all journey This is a special book hovering above its obvious travel-shelf slot into a spot of its own. Marilis Hornidge, "Courier-Gazette," Maine

Strictly fast-forward... Wilson's remarkably attractive account will galvanize couch potatoes..." "ForeWord Reviews"

The vivid prose and passion for adventure makes this book an exciting read You can live vicariously, although I must say I am more inspired than ever to walk each day. (5 stars) "The Rebecca Review," Amazon Top 10 Reviewer

Fast-moving and inspiring Readers of Brandon s other books will be snapping this up. Great, touching and hugely interesting. Jessica Roberts, BookPleasures.com

What does it take to follow your dream? Quite a bit, if your dream involves crossing Africa. That's what one couple discovers when they set off on a seven-month overland journey from London to Cape Town.

As dedicated independent travelers, they'd already traveled around the world. But was a trans-African odyssey too much for even them? Who do you "cadeau?" How do you create tantalizing dishes from grubs? Or avoid having a spear tossed through your camera?

With trepidation, they join an English do-it-yourself overland safari. Flung into the midst of twenty odd companions, they're shocked to discover that many of them have never even camped before. And the "guides" know Africa as well as the dark side of the moon. After their dream turns into a nightmare, they eventually set off across Africa-alone.

DEAD MEN DON'T LEAVE TIPS is a captivating tale filled with a passion for travel, spontaneity and unbridled adventure. It is often funny, sometimes anguished, yet always real. Nothing is held back or glossed-over. Wilson takes you onto the crazed roads of Africa, through the everyday ups and downs, and into the lives and hearts of its people. He shows us once again that the real joy of travel is the thrill of getting there.

From the Lowell Thomas gold award-winning author of Over the Top & Back Again, Along the Templar Trail, and Yak Butter Blues.

Reviews: "Journeys of body and soul in every sense of the word... Interlaced with this honesty and detail are Wilson's beautiful prose, obvious passion for adventure and a deep inquisitiveness about other cultures, making this book a pleasure to read. Highly recommended." Midwest Book Review

"A masterful crossroads of characters, exotic places, history and human drama in a rig that never stalls, and allows the devil to drive his own ill-behaved backyard..." Richard Bangs, legendary adventurer, author of "Mystery of the Nile"

"Entertaining and a monument to those who would take on the challenge of land travel across one of the most dangerous, unhealthy continents in the world." Heartland Reviews

"Honest, gritty and insightful...it makes the world's most exciting continent read just like that." John Heminway, author of "No Man's Land: A Personal Journey into Africa"

"I was swept away by the drama and storytelling...Wilson is never a tourist. He travels heart-first with both feet solidly on the ground and his curiosity always in high gear. He is exactly the right person to be writing travel books for the rest of us." Joseph W. Bean, Maui Weekly

"Travel writing at its most sublime, a paean to Africa in all her contradictory beauty, and a tribute to the resiliency of those who travel beyond boundaries not only in search of meaning, but also of understanding." C.W. Gortner, author of The Secret Lion

"One of the most engaging travel books we have read." RealTravelAdventures.com

"Powerful and gripping story...Fascinating, informative, humorous, poignant, surprising...a terrific read from first page to last-would make a popular addition to any personal or community library Travel section." Midwest Book Review, Travel Shelf

"Aficionados of travel books will delight in "Dead Men Don't Leave Tips..".a hybrid of Paul Theroux and Tom Robbins, combining the raw frankness and keen observation of Theroux with the intelligent humor & playful language of Robbins...Readers who have a penchant for traveling will happily devour this book and be sorry it ended. I was " A. Buklarewicz, Reviewer, Amazon.com