Writings from Regional Authors

Lost Apples

The search for rare and heritage apples in the Pacific Northwest
By David Benscoter & Linda Hackbarth

Nonfiction, 288 pages
Hardbound 7.5″ x 10.5″, color
Retail $38.00

Coming mid September 2024!

Preorders made direct with the publisher by August 31st enjoy a 10% discount plus FREE shipping.

Please note you *MUST* use the code LOSTAPPLES at checkout to receive this limited time discount.

 

From the 1600s, when the first colonists brought apples from Europe, up through the early 1900s, an estimated 17,000 named varieties of apples were cultivated in North America. Most of those apples are lost and possibly extinct today.

This is the account of apple historians and enthusiasts who are canvassing old orchards and forgotten homesteads of the Inland Northwest in search of the rare and heritage apples that still survive. It’s a quest that combines diligent detective work with fascinating historical and horticultural research—and a passion for apples.

So far these apple detectives have tracked down and documented nearly 30 formerly lost apple cultivars, or varieties. Lost Apples dips deep into regional history and tells of the continuing search and the successes so far. It is beautifully illustrated with more than 50 classic color apple portraits painted by artists for the United States Department of Agriculture Division of Pomology from the late 1800s to early 1900s. It also includes an appendix of more than 1,600 known cultivars documented in historical records of the region.

The quest continues … discoveries await!

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Price: $38.00

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Pocket Guide to Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest

Including Their Medicinal Properties

By Dawn Trammell

Nonfiction, 152 pages
Softcover, Spiral Bound, 4.5″ x 3.5″, color photos

ISBN 979-9-218-38807-2

Pocket Guide to Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest is written for hikers, backpackers, survivalists, medical missionaries, or anyone curious about the edible and medicinal uses of the local plant life. It was designed to fit into a pocket or backpack so one could always carry it with them. 136 Plants covering the entire Pacific Northwest with full-color photos of each! Included are the medicinal properties of each plant and how to prepare them for use in salves, tinctures, and ointments. For instance, if you are camping and get burned, did you know that making a paste/poultice out of wild violets or wild clover will heal the burn? Valuable information at your fingertips! (April, 2024 Edition)

*Not available for retailer discount

Price: $18.00

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Upper Columbia Fur Men: The First Arrivals Onward

By Mike Reeb

History, 294 pages; 6″ x 9″
Softcover

ISBN:978-1-879628-82-3

In this sequel to his first book, “Inland Salish Journey: Fur Trade to Settlement,” author Mike Reeb delivers an authoritative account of the French-Canadian fur trade era, tracking the careers of the pioneer “fur men” in the primitive Northwest from 1800-1870.

With illustrations, maps, and rare photographs, Reeb documents the trappers’ quest for furs – an adventurous and risky enterprise that often resulted in accidents, disease, and violent deaths for the trappers, as well as both conflicts and harmony with the indigenous peoples of the frontier.

Included as a special section in the appendix is “The Upper Columbia Pioneer Trappers,” supplement, featuring the biographies of four men who were the first to rove the region for furs.

Author Mike Reeb has devoted more than two decades researching the history of the fur trade – as well as more than a half century as a trapper himself, following the footsteps of the mountain men. A resident of Ponderay, Idaho, the career forester – along with his wife, Joy – has revisited many key Northwest locations of the fur traders and indigenous peoples. For history buffs, Reeb’s passion and vast knowledge of the subject matter are now documented for all to enjoy.

Price: $19.50

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Inland Salish Journey: Fur Trade to Settlement

By Mike Reeb

History, 318 pages; 6″ x 9″
Softcover

ISBN: 978-1-879628-47-2

A grand history of the fascinating fur trade era and the Inland Salish Indians.

The years 1800 to 1877 brought the earliest fur traders, then the first white settlers to the Northern Rockies – the land of the Inland Salish Indians who shared a common language and customs. Drawn from source documents as well as journals, manuscripts and early published works, this book is the most comprehensive history yet of the fascinating fur trade era and the interactions between the Inland Salish and new arrivals.

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Price: $19.00

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A Shot in the Dark: The Mysterious death of Emma Langford McEwen

By Trish Gannon
Non-Fiction, 174 pages, 6″ x 9″
Softcover
Published in association with Keokee Co. Publishing, Inc.

On the night of April 8, 1886 a shot rang out in the darkness, followed by a cry. “It’s Emma! My wife’s been killed!”

It began as a story of a terrible tragedy: a gun misfires and a young wife and mother is dead. It turned into a two-year ordeal featuring three trials, and a community torn asunder as they tried to discover if this was an accidental death, the misdirected revenge of a “troublesome negro,” or a dark tale of a ruthless man and his illicit love for his wife’s younger sister.

This is a true story. Emma Langford McEwen was killed by a gunshot to the head. Her husband, Lafayette Burt McEwen, stood trial three times for the crime and was the subject of newspaper headlines calling him a wife murderer. Her young sister, Nannie Langford, endured the condemnation of her community for the “illicit affection” she and her brother-in-law felt for each other. The Trenton Massacred, where 16 black men were pulled from the county jail and at least five were murdered–lynching that made headlines throughout the country–happened as reported and that tragic event played a role in Emma’s story as well. And then there is Nannie’s suicide (or murder?) 30 years after these events.

What is the truth of the matter? A hundred and fifty years after the fact, only you can decide.

*Not available for retailer discount

Price: $11.95

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Choose to Heal

Overcome Viruses, Disease & Fatigue Through Nutrition & Lifestyle Choices

By Karen Kibbey

Nonfiction, 194 pages
Softcover
ISBN: 979-8-800806-64-9
Published in association with Keokee Co. Publishing, Inc.

Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Education is empowerment! In this guide to good health, master nutritionist Karen Kibbey instructs on ways to promote health and prevent disease through holistic nutrition and healthy lifestyle choices.

Among the topics covered inside are:

  • What is a Phytochemical?
  • What is a Free Radical?
  • What is the Healthiest Diet?
  • What is the R & R Factor?
  • What is Epigenetics?
  • How Can I Strengthen My Immune System?
  • How Can I Achieve a Healthy Weight?
  • What are Pseudo-Carbohydrates?
  • What Lifestyle Choices Promote Health?
  • What Are the ‘P’ Vitamins?

When it comes to your health … you do have a choice! “Choose to Heal” will help you discover how to achieve a healthy life by simply making the right choices.

Author Karen Kibbey holds a Master of Science degree in Holistic Nutrition and has taught community education courses, given presentations, and educated clients as a nutrition consultant for nearly a decade. Overcoming disease through the natural health approach is supported by case studies, contemporary scholarly research, personal experience, and a cross-country epidemiological study on the correlation between chronic fatigue syndrome and diets rich in phytochemicals found in whole plant-based foods.

*Not available for retailer discount

 

Price: $21.95

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Fish of a Lifetime

Memories and Reflections Spawned by a Life List of Fish

By Al Van Vooren

Nonfiction, 256 pages, 9″x 6″
Softcover

ISBN-10: 1074585496
ISBN-13: 978-1074585495

Join author and angler Al Van Vooren as he highlights and reflects on 70 years of fishing with friends and family – and describes how he caught more than 140 different kinds of fish in those seven decades. Through vignettes, short stories and photos, the reader can come along to the creeks, muddy rivers and lakes of the Midwest to the trout streams, whitewater rivers and mountain lakes of the far West; from the blue waters of Hawaii and Costa Rica to the brackish waters of the Everglades; and from the Alaskan tundra to the Amazon jungle. Anglers will find familiar experiences they can relate to, as well as new experiences which may appeal to their sense of adventure. The collected stories are likely to elicit personal reflections and bring some laughs … and maybe even a tear, for anglers and non-anglers alike.

*Not available for retailer discount

Price: $13.95

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Wingshooting the Palouse

Pursuing American Upland Tradition from Eastern Washington

by Bradly A. Trumbo
Non-fiction, 180 pages, 6″ x 9″, softcover

Wingshooting the Palouse is a heartfelt collection of essays on upland bird hunting with Llewellin setters running the grasslands of Eastern Washington and beyond. From covey birds on the sage-steppe to forest grouse, Trumbo presents grand vistas, high-tailed points, and the explosive flush of some of America’s most sought-after upland game birds in ornate detail. Passionate upland pursuits place the reader in the scene to experience the colors of the landscape, the giddy anticipation of the flush, and the heart-stopping rush of wingbeats. Building the hunter/canine partnership, tasting wingshooting perfection, enjoying mystifying mistakes, and embracing cultural history make up a fraction of the ground covered among the pages of this collection that is sure to resonate with any upland hunter.

Brad Trumbo is a professional fish and wildlife biologist, award-winning author, and an active member with Pheasants Forever (Life Member), the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, and the Northwest Outdoor Writers Association. From his Waitsburg, Washington home, he contributes the Palouse Outdoors column to The Waitsburg Times, the Upland Pursuits column to the East Oregonian, Baker City Herald, and La Grande Observer, and to the occasional magazine and Harvesting Nature.

To read more, visit bradtrumbo.com.

*Not available for retailer discount

Price: $14.00

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Stardust and the Bitter Moon

by Dominic Cvitanich
Fiction, 366 pages, softcover, 5.5″ x 8.5″

Now out in paperback after its initial ebook-only release, this is the story of one man’s dance with the culture of the ’60s.

Rock and roll, hedonism and deception all play an outsized role in Anton’s life. He has been generous with others, but has also taken without worry. A successful father of three girls, but a failed husband, he is a child of the ’60s still trying to grow up. Forced to recognize his generation’s role in changing the nation’s cultural face and own his laid-back acquiescence, he now wonders if he and the ’60s were simply a side trip into smoke-filled self-indulgence; a mixed bag at best.

In search of truth and peace, he embarks on a different kind of trip in his iconic Volkswagen van in a quest for absolution.

Author Dominic “Dick” Cvitanich is a retired educator and the former superintendent of schools for the Lake Pend Oreille School District. He terms himself a “once hippie” who marched in protest on the streets of Seattle, argued politics with friends into the night, partied at rock festivals, and let his “freak flag fly” to the disconcertment of his parents. He lives in Sandpoint, Idaho, where he continues to argue politics, volunteers to support the needs of children and families, and tries to do the right thing.

*Not available for retailer discount

Price: $13.95

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Let the Haole Do the Hula

By Brooks Tessier
Fiction, 92 pages, 5.5″ x 8.5″
Softcover
Published in association with Keokee Co. Publishing, Inc.

Drawing from his own life experiences to craft these stories of whimsy and intrigue, in this collection Sandpoint-based author Brooks Tessier captures the essence of the islands as he tells of colorful characters in interesting circumstances.

This newest title joins his previously published collections, “The Mysterious Journey of Captain Hart” and “The Girls From St. Barts,” providing an expansive set of eclectic tales of life and characters ranging from the islands of Hawaii and the Caribbean and Hawaii to the mountains of Colorado and Idaho … and other places, real and imagined.

*Not available for retailer discount

Price: $15.00

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BE NOT CONTENT: a subterranean journal

50th Anniversary Edition

By William J. Craddock • Foreword by Jay Shore
Fiction, 414 pages softcover

Be Not Content is a defining account of the San Francisco Psychedelic Revolution in the 1960s that critics have compared to other contemporaneous era-defining works by such literary luminaries as Jack Kerouac, Ken Kesey and Hunter Thompson. Written by the late William J. Craddock and originally published by Doubleday in 1970, this 50th Anniversary Edition contains a new foreword by his literary executor and friend, Jay Shore, and an introduction by his sister, Diane Craddock, as well as a selection of photos, drawings and other writings by Craddock. It was published in association with Sandpoint’s Keokee Books through personal ties by Craddock and Shore.

Mostly autobiographical, Be Not Content begins with the 16-year-old Craddock riding his beloved Harley Davidson with the Hells Angels, the outlaw motorcycle club, and getting into brawls and being chased by the cops. It’s an unexpected anomaly for this bright, middle-class kid from Los Gatos, California. Craddock then takes us through his college days publishing an underground newspaper, attending poetry readings with Alan Ginsberg, tripping at one of the first acid tests, and taking for days on end the strongest, most pure doses of LSD – all of it done in Craddock’s quest to understand the meaning of life.

Barely 21 when he finished writing it, Doubleday bought the book in 1968 but held up publication until 1970. The first edition sold out with collectors prizing the few copies available, and copies now selling for as much as $950 in the classic book trade. Be Not Content is a powerful literary coming-of-age narrative that millions of Americans can personally identify with, capturing an unforgettable time in the cultural and sociological history of America.

 

PRAISE FOR BE NOT CONTENT

“Superb in the tradition of Kerouac’s On The Road, with overtones of Ken Kesey and Hunter Thompson’s Hell’s Angels, but Craddock’s style is all his own.”
— Robert Kirsch, 1970 • Los Angeles Times

“The definitive book of the acid-freak movement. A psychedelic pilgrim’s progress of beauty, intelligence, sensitivity.”
— Joseph Haas, 1970 • Chicago Daily News

“An astounding book, so good it defies praise. The writing is superb. Craddock is a born writer with an iceberg of talent.”
— Shane Stevens, 1970 • Chicago Sun Times

“Willam J. Craddock’s masterpiece, legendary to those in the know, is as exhilarating now as ever.”
— Elizabeth McKenzie, 2020. Author of The Portable Veblen, long listed for the 2016 National Book Award

 

*Not available for retailer discount

Price: $19.95

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Sandpoint’s Early History

A story of how pioneers carved this city out of a wilderness
By Gary L. Pietsch

Nonfiction, 165 pages, 8 1/2 x 11
Softcover
ISBN: 978-1697677539

Aptly titled, “Sandpoint’s Early History” begins at the beginning, with the ice age floods of Glacial Lake Missoula, which had their genesis with the giant ice dam that formed at the mouth of the Clark Fork River at current-day Lake Pend Oreille more than 10,000 years ago.

The story quickly progresses to the history of the native peoples and the first white explorer and surveyor David Thompson in 1809. The bulk of the book is devoted to the varied stories of ensuing waves of settlement sparked by miners and ferryboat operators in the early 1800s, steamboat lines in the 1860s, the completion of the first railroad line through here in 1883, platting the original Sandpoint townsite, “stump farmers” and loggers of the early 1900s, up to the blossoming of community with the construction of the City Beach park in the 1950s.

It’s a wide sweep of Sandpoint’s history and – surprisingly – the first book to tell the town history. Author Gary Pietsch is well qualified to tell the story. Former editor and publisher of the Sandpoint News Bulletin, he subsequently was the proprietor of Selkirk Press and now retired. When he isn’t playing golf, he volunteers his time helping at the Bonner County Historical Museum.

Proceeds from the sale of “Sandpoint’s Early History” benefit the museum and historical society.

*Not available for retailer discount

Price: $19.95

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Girls From St. Barts and other tales

By Brooks Tessier
Fiction, 100 pages, softcover

Collected from experiences and places near and far, these stories tell of journeys large and small:

… A homeless man called Plastics.
… Wisdom on molecular motion, from a wizard in Park City.
… The synchronicity of a young surfer’s first wave.
… The reckless speed of a ski racer.
… A lost wallet.
… And those girls from St. Barts.

In this collection of short stories, Sandpoint- and Hawaii-based author Brooks Tessier captures the colorful places, personalities and moments of lives lived outside the normal conventions… and where readers themselves may find they want to venture.

*Not available for retailer discount

Price: $15.00

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Finding the Light Within

My Journey of Healing After the Holocaust

By Mary Friedmann Berges

Autobiography, 162 pages, 6″ x 9″
Softcover

ISBN 9781090532152

Mary Friedmann Berges, a resident of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, shares her story of loss and love in her new memoir, “Finding the Light Within: My Journey of Healing After the Holocaust.”

Mary’s story begins in Belgium, where she was born in 1935. She recalls an early childhood filled with love and laughter in a Jewish family that included her older brother, mother, and father. Then, during World War II in the 1940s, millions of people were sent to concentration camps and killed as part of the German policy to eradicate all European Jews. Thousands of Jewish children survived the carnage, however, because they were hidden by their parents with friends and relatives, or in Catholic orphanages. Mary was one of those children.

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Price: $13.95

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Archer MacClehan & The Hungry Now

Sandy Compton
Fiction, 181 pages, 5.5″ x 8.5″ softcover
Published by Blue Mobius Books

ISBN 1-886591-06-7

Idaho-and-Montana author Sandy Compton puts his ample storytelling talents to play in his novel Archer MacClehan & The Hungry Now, a page-turning tale populated by a cast of colorful characters who find themselves at odds in the wilderness – and pulling together for their very survival.

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Price: $14.00

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Driving Past

Tours of Historical Sites in Bonner County, Idaho

By Nancy Renk

Nonfiction, 380 pages plus photos, 6″ x 9″
Softcover

ISBN: 978-0-9850554-2-4

Hit the road and travel back into Bonner County’s rich and colorful past!

Explore Bonner Country’s history from the comfort of your car (or your armchair) with his handy, easy-to-follow guidebook. Packed with information, Driving Past helps you discover gems of local lore while enjoying spectacular vistas along each route. Each tour has been meticulously researched and includes maps, directions, distances, stories, and photos about the places, people, and events that shaped Bonner County. Whether you’re a long-time resident or just visiting the area for a day or two, Driving past will deepen your appreciation fo the region and its roots.

Proceeds from the sale of Driving Past benefit the museum and historical society.

*Not available for retailer discount

Price: $19.95

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The Mysterious Journey of Captain Hart and Other Tales

Written by Brooks Tessier

Fiction, 101 pages, 5.5″ x 8.5″, softcover
Produced in association with Keokee Co. Publishing, Inc

ISBN-13: 978-1688098954

A collection of stories for sailors … and others. From the first tale, featuring the title character Captain Hart set amid the islands of the Caribbean and South Pacific, to the Rocky Mountains to adventures in the stock market, these stories comprise an eclectic collection of colorful characters, locales, and subjects.

*Not available for retailer discount

 

Price: $15.00

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Cowboy Boots and Other Stories

John Sater
Nonfiction, 128 pages, 6″ x 9″ softcover

ISBN 1-879628-03-1

Northwest native and Bonners Ferry resident John Sater takes readers “back to the present” in rural America in this collection of 44 short essays telling stories from a generation whose mothers went from washboards to washers and whose fathers swore by, and sometimes at, Model A Fords. Cowboy Boots and Other Stories explores common experiences from cleaning chimneys and growing gardens, catching mice and raising pigs, to outsmarting ornery chickens.

Price: $8.95

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Through the Lens of History

The Life Journey of a Cinematographer
By Erik Daarstad
Nonfiction, 588 pages, 6.25″ x 9.25″ hardcover

ISBN: 978-1-879628-49-6

The author writes: “As I approached retirement after a long career as a cinematographer I thought I would try to put down on paper what my life and work had been like and tell about some of the people I had met during my journey.

From being born and growing up in Norway during World War II, it had spanned 80 years of parts of two centuries. From a young age I loved movies, the process of moviemaking and helping to tell stories. Doing mainly documentaries gave me the wonderful opportunity to travel and meet and work with many different walks of life, from presidents and celebrities to fishermen and farmers. I also wanted to share something about my wife and our children and our life together during the last few decades of the 20th Century.

Because so many things happened during the period that I was part of, I decided to weave many historical events and personalities into the story to give a sense of what the last part of the 20th Century and the beginning of the 21st Century had been like and the changes that had happened – for better of for worse. All of it had been very much part of my life.”

*Not available for retailer discount

Price: $39.95

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The Adventures of a Helicopter Pilot

Flying the H-34 Helicopter in Vietnam for the United States Marine Corps

By Bill Collier
Nonfiction, 234 pages, 9″ x 6″

ISBN 978-1-500936-13-6

This is a spellbinding, firsthand account of what it was like to pilot a Marine Corps H-34 helicopter in combat during “The Helicopter War” in Vietnam. As a brand-new United States Naval Aviator with a mere 187.5 hours of helicopter flight experience, Second Lieutenant Bill Collier had many exciting adventures. Many were just a bit too exciting, some were horrific and a few were terrifying! Some were humorous. This is the true story of his experiences during his 13 months in the war. Bill watched friends die violently and stood many times 
eye-to-eye and toe-to-toe with Death himself. Each time, Death flinched.

 

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Price: $19.00

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Snowboard Wisdom

100 reflections on life and riding
By Nick Appl
Nonfiction, 140 pages paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1518630613

What can snowboarding teach us about life? A lot, actually. Life can be unpredictable, bumpy and harsh. Same goes for snowboarding, but it also has the potential for experiencing the highest of highs. In this small but elegantly stated volume, author and rider Nick Appl explores snowboarding as an analogy for all the discoveries, emotions, values and lessons that everyday life can offer. As anyone who rides a snowboard – or yearns to learn – can attest, the act is perfectly suited to teach us about what happiness means and how to find more of it.

*Not available for retailer discount

Price: $12.95

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Lessons with Love: Tales of teaching and learning in a small-town high school

Marianne Love
Nonfiction, 288 pages, 6″ x 9″ softcover

ISBN 978-1-879628-28-1

For anyone who’s ever gone to school — as student or teacher — Marianne Love’s warm and humorous stories from 33 years teaching at Sandpoint High School in rural northern Idaho, Lessons with Love, will kindle both memories and laughs.

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Price: $16.00

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CIA Super Pilot Spills the Beans

Flying Helicopters in Laos for Air America
By Captain Bill Collier

Non-fiction, 6″ x 9″

Publication date: June 2017

From his first-person perspective, retired U.S. Marine Corps pilot Bill Collier tells about the CIA’s secret battle in Laos during the Vietnam War.

Collier’s service with Air America, the CIA’s secretly owned airline, was part of the largest paramilitary operation ever undertaken by the agency, and he tells the story of a close-knit group of young men and their adventures in Long Tieng, Thailand, and Hong Kong.

This is the second book from Bill Collier, who previously authored his first-hand account of flying in combat during the Vietnam War in “The Adventures of a Helicopter Pilot,” also available here through Keokee Books.

Go to The Adventures of a Helicopter Pilot»

*Not available for retailer discount

Price: $20.00

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Call Me Crazy: Adventures of a Psychic

ISBN/EAN13: 1532782373 / 9781532782374
Non-fiction paperback, 224 pages; 6″ x 9″

Marsha has been a psychic with integrity for 35 years. She has traveled all over the world lecturing and speaks three languages. She has appeared on ABC, NBC and CBS as well as several radio shows during her spiritual quest. Her accuracy rate is over 80% and she specializes in timelines of when events will occur in your readings.

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Price: $15.95

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