Truthful Lies & Bent Realities

 

A Truly Believed Love Story 

Mystery, Thriller, Crime

Date Published: April 30, 2026




 


In a time when mythology as propaganda shapes the systems of society and government, two unlikely souls come together to question the reality of it all—what’s going wrong in the world, whether anything’s right, and their own perceptions of honesty, dishonesty, and who they are.

Chillee and Gordie meet in Big Town, where their connection flourishes despite the recognition that they could each be fatal to the identities they’ve created for themselves. Chillee is a realistic idealist, a problem solver who puts her faith in the truth. Gordie, too, is an idealist, but he thrives on uncertainty, posing as a criminal to bring justice to white-collar crimes. They vow to hold one another accountable, to push each other through the steps to being a better person—the best person they’re capable of being.

In Chillee’s neighboring hometown, a county commissioner’s election will determine the fate of the rural community—and unknowingly put relationships to the test. When her best friend Willi asks Chillee to help her run against her ex-husband, she returns to Colton Center with Gordie…who has his own motives in mind.

As the couple continues to work with and against each other, Chillee and Gordie begin to see the deepening cracks in the perceived rights and wrongs of their world. No matter the outcome of the election, life as they knew it may not be the life they continue to lead.

Truthful Lies and Bent Realities is a thought-provoking ride into learning to understand the self and challenge the mind to keep asking the existential questions: Who are we? Who do we think we are? Who do we want to be? And do those identities intersect in the right places?



About the Author


Stephen Foehr, author of 14 fiction and nonfiction books, began his career as a police reporter in Chicago. His nonfiction books examines the relationship between music and culture, autobiography of the blues Taj Mahal, and travel. His fiction deals with submission and how to resist.


Contact Links

Website

BookBuzz

 

Purchase Link

Amazon


RABT Book Tours & PR

Crows Calling

 

An Inspiring Journey into our Better Natures


Literary/Eco-Fiction

Date Published: 10-01-2025

Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press




Earth’s animals are fed up with humanity’s mindless damage to our common home. Will a young girl and her family heed their call?

Ten-year-old Luz sets out on an overnight camping trip, accompanied by her spiritual mentor. Peering through a canopy of California redwoods, Luz witnesses a council of animals confronting the menace of climate change. Led by a lustrous—and talkative—American Crow named Koro, the animals weigh their options. Some, like Koro, want to collaborate with humans. Others doubt humanity’s good intentions. The conversation compels young Luz, innately in tune with the natural world, to fight passionately in its defense.

At once a work of fact-based activism and a moving coming-of-age, Crows Calling immerses the reader in a richly-drawn family and community who, despite their differences, decide to dedicate their lives to the care of Grandmother Earth. They are not alone. Rather, they are accompanied by a colorful cast of savvy planimals—bears, coyotes, trees, and even chickens—with long memories and ancient ways of healing. However, some damage cannot be undone. Natural disasters, public apathy, and greed threaten everything that Luz and her friends are working for. Can the cross-species alliance find unity and resolve the climate crisis?


About the Author


Bruce McConnell is an agile and accomplished shapeshifter, having flourished as a poet, roofer, artist-blacksmith, mechanical engineer, tenor, business consultant, national security official, non-profit executive, and peacemaker. A collection of his poems, Living from Here, was published by Anvil Press (US). He recently moved to Ashland Oregon to feel closer to his relatives in the natural world. Crows Calling is his first novel. He is working on a second novel set in Southern Oregon.

A leading player on global peace and security issues at the intersection of governments, business and civil society for over thirty years, McConnell is the former President and CEO of the EastWest Institute. He serves on the board of The Stimson Center, in support of peace, security, justice, and prosperity for all living beings.

From 2009 to 2013, McConnell served in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he was Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity. He was a member of the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team. From 2000-2008, he created, built and sold two consultancies that provided strategic advice to clients in the technology, business and government sectors. In 1999-2000, McConnell led the International Y2K Cooperation Center, which was sponsored by the United Nations and the World Bank.

McConnell holds a Master of Public Administration from the Evans School for Public Policy at the University of Washington and a Bachelor of Sciences from Stanford University. He serves as a business advisor to various technology companies.


Contact Links

Website

Facebook

Goodreads

Instagram

LinkedIn


Purchase Links

https://mybook.to/CrowsCalling

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Bookshop



https://kingsumo.com/js/embed.js
RABT Book Tours & PR