Who doesn't love Santa Claus? From award-winning photographer Ron Cooper comes a beautifully curated collection of fifty professional Santas from across the country. We Are Santa is a fascinating glimpse into the lives of those who slip into the red suit to spread Christmas cheer. Before and after portraits, behind-the-scenes stories of custom made costumes and specialized training, and surprising anecdotes of on-the-job encounters bring these Santas to life. Just as Humans of New York captures the lives of everyday people, We Are Santa celebrates the humanity of everyday Santas. From a third-generation Kris Kringle to an Orthodox Jew who has been playing Santa for fifty years, Cooper's portraits are a testament to the holiday spirit. When Santa Mike, a Navy veteran and aircraft mechanic, meets a six-year-old girl with a prosthetic hand just like his own, he says, "Her eyes got big, and she threw her arms around my neck. It was the highlight of my season. That's why I'm Santa."

"When Purvis Driggers, a South Carolina Low Country loser with little judgment and even less chance for a decent life beyond his parents' house, home town, and whatever part-time work he can scrounge up, seeks to rob an old man of the rumored millions hidden in his house and fails, he's drawn to the sound of music across the creek. There, he discovers a beautiful woman in a white gown being baptized in the water. Surely Martha, beautiful Martha, will give Purvis the escape he imagines. With the Martha boat come to his rescue, Purvis decides, he'll never have to worry about drowning. But Martha Umphlett is trapped, too. Made to take care of her obese mother and forced to participate in a baptism she has no interest in whatsoever, Martha, in her own way, is every bit as desperate as Purvis, but far more capable and a good deal more dangerous. As funny as it is sad, as beautiful as it is ugly, as authentic as it is shocking, and as powerful as anything you'll ever read, Ron Cooper's Purple Jesus is a mystery, a love story, a religious allegory, and, most importantly, a dark and comic descent into the lives and world views of these unbelievable and unforgettable characters. Purvis Driggers is a South Carolina Low Country loser. With little judgment and even less chance for a decent life beyond his parents' house, home town, and whatever part-time work he can scrounge up, he's sure he's figured a way out: Rob an old man of the rumored millions hidden in his house. But all he finds is the old man dead and the money, if there was any, already gone. Disappointed and defeated, Purvis is drawn to the sound of music across the creek. There, he discovers a beautiful woman in a white gown being baptized in the water. Surely Martha, beautiful Martha, will give Purvis the escape he imagines. With the Martha boat come to his rescue, Purvis decides, he'll never have to worry about drowning. But Martha Umphlett is trapped, too. Married and just as quickly divorced, Martha's been condemned to return to the home she'd once escaped. Made to take care of her obese mother and forced to participate in a baptism she has no interest in whatsoever, Martha, in her own way, is every bit as desperate as Purvis, but far more capable and a good deal more dangerous. Their paths cross with that of Brother Andrew, a monk at a nearby monastery whose call more and more is not to God, but to nature, and more importantly, to somewhere else. He wanders the swamp to watch birds, practice archery, and meditate, but it becomes clearer and clearer to him that the answers he seeks are not to be found in his monastery, his vow of silence, or the life he's thus far known. But maybe the answer is in the girl he, too, sees being baptized across the creek. Perhaps Martha will make Andrew happy. All three want and need something different in their lives, but the paths they'll take are neither clear nor pretty, and they will not end well. Infatuated with Martha, and certain she's the answer to his dreams, Purvis sets out to do whatever is necessary to prove his love, all the while terrified that the FBI will pin the old man's murder on him. Is he demented, or just crazy with love? Does Martha care for Purvis, or will she simply exploit him? Is Brother Andrew straying too far toward both of them and too far away from his faith? And just what is necessary for Purvis to prove himself to Martha? Told from the characters' alternating points of view, this darkly humorous story wends its way through a web of murder and dismemberment, a twisted love triangle, and a woodland monster known as the Hairy Man. As funny as it is sad, as beautiful as it is ugly, as authentic as it is shocking, and as powerful as..."

Barely adequate philosophy professor Legare Hume has a mind-body problem. No matter how far he goes, no matter how hard he thinks, he can't escape the world he lives in. On the run from his wife Tally, Legare joins brilliant but exceptionally awkward colleague Saul Grossman to attend the American Philosophical Association's Charleston, SC conference. Legare's mission is simple enough: put up with the conference, read a paper he never thought anyone would want to hear, receive the tenure he isn't sure he wants, and return, or not, to the wife who nearly killed him before he left. But his plans are hijacked by a botched hotel reservation and the all-too-convenient presence of the Southern family Legare has worked very hard all his adult life to avoid. Circumstances -- namely the inconvenient death of a mentally challenged uncle -- bring the whole family together. Meanwhile, wrestlers in the guise of religious figures enact the Apocalypse. And through it all, there's Lucian, Legare's late brother, who killed himself years ago. What does his death mean? What's the family secret Legare has been hiding from? What's there to learn from this rapid-fire collision of worlds, where all kinds of people and all kinds of views are inherently and bizarrely connected? And what will it take for Legare to be both in and of the world?

An ancient legend says that Jesus had a twin brother, Thomas. An extra-Biblical text that dates from perhaps as early as the late first century CE (which would make it the same age as the Biblical Gospels) claims to be the secret teachings of Jesus as recorded by Judas Didymos Thomas. The Greek word Didymos and the Aramaic word Thomas both mean twin. While only several Greek fragments of this manuscript, dating to the early second century CE, actually exist, a manuscript written in Coptic from the fourth century was discovered in 1945. This Gospel of Thomas contains 114 purported sayings of Jesus, many of which resemble passages in the New Testament. Drawing upon years of extensive research in early Jewish and Christian history and recent work on the historical Jesus, acclaimed novelist Ron Cooper focuses on Thomas of Nazareth, old and bitter after years of self-imposed exile from his homeland, who returns to Jerusalem to write a book about his identical twin brother Jesus. Disgusted by how others have perverted his brothers message, Thomas wants to set the record straight. But in doing so, he must try to unravel the enigma that was Jesus. Provocative, inventive, and sure to be controversial, The Gospel of the Twin draws upon scriptural and ancient, non-Biblical sources to present an imaginative version of the founding of Christianity through scenes of violence, tenderness, and mistaken identity that will change the way the world thinks about Jesus. For fans of such books as Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan, Killing Jesus by Bill OReilly, and even such Dan Brown novels as The Da Vinci Code, Coopers The Gospel of the Twin will also appeal to readers of such sophisticated Bible scholars as Bart Erhman, Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, and Elaine Pagels, all of whom have written academic works as well as books more accessible to the general reader. With The Gospel of the Twin, Cooper provides a potentially controversial, compellingly human, and thoroughly readable page-turner-his own brilliant version of what many call the greatest story ever told.

When Purvis Driggers, a South Carolina Low Country loser with little judgement and even less chance for a decent life beyond his parents' house, home town, and whatever part-time work he can scrounge up, seeks to rob an old man of the rumoured millions hidden in his house and fails, he's drawn to the sound of music across the creek. There, he discovers a beautiful woman in a white gown being baptised in the water. Surely Martha, beautiful Martha, will give Purvis the escape he imagines. With the Martha boat come to his rescue, Purvis decides, he'll never have to worry about drowning. But Martha Umphlett is trapped, too. Made to take care of her obese mother and forced to participate in a baptism she has no interest in whatsoever, Martha, in her own way, is every bit as desperate as Purvis, but far more capable and a good deal more dangerous. As funny as it is sad, as beautiful as it is ugly, as authentic as it is shocking, and as powerful as anything you will ever read, Ron Cooper's Purple Jesus is a mystery, a love story, a religious allegory, and, most importantly, a dark and comic descent into the lives and world views of these unbelievable and unforgettable characters.