“The best way to inspire readers with perspectives on life and worldly events is to write a mesmerizing historical novel, as history often rhymes,” Raymond K. Li states.

The new book, published in early July, The Wheel, contains over one hundred interwoven vignettes that traverse the historical landscape from the Qín Dynasty in China, around 210 BCE, to the early years of the Hàn Dynasty, around 81 BCE. These stories are imbued with subtle yet potent messages, inviting the reader to reflect on various aspects of human experience such as morality, the meaning of life, joy and sorrow, fate and fortune, love and hatred, romance, ambitions, loyalty and treachery, war and peace, corruption, political ideology, governance, economic theory, and philosophy. This period of ancient Chinese history was chosen as the backdrop for the novel because many events from this time are relevant to the modern world.

While the major events in this fictional work are in line with historical accounts as documented in Shĭ Jì (The Book of Records) by Sīmă Qiān (circa 135 BCE–?), Hàn Shū (The Book of Hàn) by Bān Gù (circa 32 CE–92 CE), and Zī Zhì Tōng Jiàn (Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government) by Sīmă Guāng (circa 1019 CE–1086 CE), they are not intended to be a chronology of historical events. Rather, the actions, dialogues, thoughts, emotions, personalities, psyches, scenes, settings, and ancillary narratives are creatively introduced to bring the characters and events to life. Events and dialogues in this novel represent what they likely would have been given the historical context and are dramatized for the purpose of highlighting the gravity of the crises at that time and portraying the characters as living beings rather than mere historical figures.

The title The Wheel has been thoughtfully selected to encapsulate a recurring theme within these vignettes and a profound aspect of life itself. The full depth and relevance of this title will become evident to the reader upon the completion of the book.

When asked what he hopes readers will take away from the book, Li answers, “To cultivate the habit of thinking deeply about the meaning of life and events in the modern world.”

The Wheel

By Raymond K. Li

Softcover | 6 x 9 in | 536 pages | ISBN 9798987450352

E-Book | 533 pages | ISBN 9798987450369

Available at Amazon.

About the Author

Dr. Raymond K. Li, Ph.D., has earned advanced degrees in mathematics, economics, management, and finance. He has held senior management positions in a major 12 multinational bank and firms in the Wall Street for 32 years. For the past 20 years, his interest has been switched to Chinese classics, oriental philosophies, and religions. He has previously written four books: Confucius Analects, A New Translation with Annotations and Commentaries; Sun Tzu’s Military Principles, Applications to Business and Daily Life; Mencius In Modern Perspectives; The Life and Words of Confucius.

New York, NY — ADELAIDE BOOKS is proud to present the latest work by Susan L. Pollet: Disappearing From View: Short Stories

No matter when you live your life, you will experience, amidst ephemeral periods of joy and harmony, that the world is constantly changing, and what you once thought was solid and stable, disappeared from view, sometimes for the better, and other times not. This collection of short stories describes that phenomenon in different contexts, whether it is in the form of a person who purposely disappeared for a time; a mind which was stolen by Alzheimer’s disease; the vanishing of truth with a pathological liar; a cat which escaped; a person recollecting solitary confinement during the isolation of the coronavirus pandemic; the elimination of privacy in the time of technological advances; the loss of our planet and humans from climate change; the fading of morality; the disappearance of home from a fire; the absence of a lust for life; the evanescence of youth and purpose during the last phase of aging; and the cessation of kindness in our world. What we wish would disappear and what actually does creates an ever changing landscape which is often out of our control. How we make peace with that makes all the difference.

Susan L. Pollet lives in New York City, and has been an attorney for over forty years, primarily in the area of family law. She has published over sixty articles on varied legal topics, including family and criminal law. She is also a published author and artist. In 2019, her first novel LESSONS IN SURVIVAL: ALL ABOUT AMOS was published by Adelaide Books. She created the collage for the book cover. Three of her short stories were published by Adelaide Literary Magazine in 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively. In 2020, her second and third books, THROUGH WALTER’S LENS and WOMEN IN CRISIS: STORIES FROM THE EDGE, were published by Adelaide Books. Her fourth and fifth books, A GREY DIVORCE SUPPORT GROUP, and NOT SO SURPRISE ENDINGS, were published by Adelaide Books in 2021. Her sixth book WATCHING AND LETTING IT ALL GO was published by Adelaide Books in 2022. She created the images for the book covers for those books as well. Her first and second children’s books, entitled ON BECOMING JULIETTE ROSE, and WILLIAM WONDERED WHETHER WORRYING WAS WORTH IT, for which she created the text and illustrations, were published by Adelaide Books in the fall of 2020 and the fall of 2021, respectively.

Title: Disappearing From View: Short Stories
Author: Susan L. Pollet
Publisher: Adelaide Books
Publisher Website: https://adelaidebooks.org/
Publisher Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ISBN: 978-1958419250
Price: $19.60
Page Count: 148 pages
Format: Paperback

Description of the company: ADELAIDE BOOKS LLC is a New York based independent company dedicated to publishing literary fiction and creative nonfiction. It was founded in July 2017 as an imprint of the Adelaide Literary Magazine, with the aim to facilitate publishing of novels, memoirs, and collections of short stories, poems, and essays by contributing authors of our magazine and other qualified writers.

We believe that in doing so, we best fulfill the mission outlined in Adelaide Magazine - "to promote writers we publish, helping both new and emerging, and established authors reaching a wider literary audience."

Our motto is: We don't publish classics, we make classics.

New York, NY - ADELAIDE BOOKS is proud to present the latest work by Gemma Whelan: Painting Through the Dark

Travis Augustus Brandt has spent 75 years fighting the good fight against the nefarious legion of malcontents, confederates, Christians, and quislings. From the dawn of the nuclear age to the despotism of Republicans and their belief in white supremacy, Brandt, the self-anointed Conscience of America, has taken on the responsibility of convincing Democrats, liberals, cynics, and academia to confront the wicked right-wing rabble. A Boatload of Godless Apples describes one's man's attempts to keep the nation from returning to when white men ruled, women remained silent, and minorities accepted the station and mission offered to them by a duplicitous, autocratic and anti-science breed. Brandt is a forceful and lionized leader of radical disciples who look to protect and preserve American Democracy. Discouragingly, Travis Brandt has failed at achieving equal justice and autonomy for all citizens. He wants to affirm the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. So far, however, Brandt and his outsized ego have, at best, seen fascism whittle away at the framework of the three linchpins of government – legislative, executive, and judicial. Why, despite Brandt's efforts, has his philosophy receded during the nation's most trying time? Could it be because of his difficult and wayward youth? Could it be because of Brandt's inherent self-indulgence or age? Or, is it because of his lack of respect for women? A Boatload of Godless Apples is a timeless story where good intentions are not enough when the USA possesses so much hate.

Terry Scott Boykie has served as an administrator, fundraiser, and program director at international, national, and regional nonprofits helping them raise $25,000,000. He is the author of The Forthcoming Jilt and Autumn for a Day-old Toad.

Mr. Boykie's website: terrysboykie.wixsite.com provides examples of his poetry and photographs. He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter. Mr. Boykie, a native of New Jersey, has resided in Washington, DC, for the past 30 years. Most important, Mr. Boykie has seen Bruce Springsteen in concert 199 times since 1970.

Title: A Boatload of Godless Apples: The Exploits and Psyche of Travis Augustus Brandt
Author: Terry Scott Boykie
Publisher: Adelaide Books
Publisher Website: https://adelaidebooks.org/
Publisher Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ISBN: 978-1958419182
Price: $22.30
Page Count: 350 pages
Format: Paperback

Description of the company: ADELAIDE BOOKS LLC is a New York based independent company dedicated to publishing literary fiction and creative nonfiction. It was founded in July 2017 as an imprint of the Adelaide Literary Magazine, with the aim to facilitate publishing of novels, memoirs, and collections of short stories, poems, and essays by contributing authors of our magazine and other qualified writers.

We believe that in doing so, we best fulfill the mission outlined in Adelaide Magazine - "to promote writers we publish, helping both new and emerging, and established authors reaching a wider literary audience."

Our motto is: We don't publish classics, we make classics.

New York, NY – ADELAIDE BOOKS is proud to present the latest work by Gregory J. Wolos: Kika Kong vs. the Dead White Males

What’s worth sacrificing in pursuit of fame and fortune? Our children? Our reputations? How deep might the damage run, whether direct or collateral? And who or what is responsible for the shape of our dreams and desires? The long shadows of our patriarchs, or the invisible, resistless forces of biological imperatives?

Kika Kong vs. the Dead White Males presents the decades-long saga of two families, the Kleins and the Walchuks, whose intersecting destinies orbit the career of Amabel Hadley, child actor turned celebrity disaster. Raymond Walchuk, filmmaker patriarch of the first family, rises above the B grade horror films he’s known for by directing a family adventure blockbuster, Kong’s Daughter. But his subsequent foray into serious independent filmmaking ends scandalously after his on-set mistreatment of ten-year-old Amabel.

Gregory Wolos has published more than one hundred stories in journals and anthologies like Glimmer Train, Georgia Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, descant, Florida Review, The Pinch, Post Road, Baltimore Review, Los Angeles Review, PANK, Superstition Review, Tahoma Literary Review, and Southern Humanities Review. His work has won awards sponsored by descant, Solstice, the Rubery Book Awards, Gulf Stream, New South, and Emrys Journal. Gregory has published four story collections: Women of Consequence (Regal House Publishing, 2019), Dear Everyone, (Duck Lake Books, 2020), The Thing About Men, (Cervena Barva Press, 2021) and The Green Ray and Other Stories, (Scantic Books, forthcoming, 2022). For full lists of Gregory’s publications and commendations, visit www.gregorywolos.com.

Title: Kika Kong vs. the Dead White Males
Author: Gregory J. Wolos
Publisher: Adelaide Books
Publisher Website: https://adelaidebooks.org/
Publisher Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ISBN: 978-1958419076
Price: $22.30
Page Count: 364 pages
Format: Paperback

Description of the company: ADELAIDE BOOKS LLC is a New York based independent company dedicated to publishing literary fiction and creative nonfiction. It was founded in July 2017 as an imprint of the Adelaide Literary Magazine, with the aim to facilitate publishing of novels, memoirs, and collections of short stories, poems, and essays by contributing authors of our magazine and other qualified writers.

We believe that in doing so, we best fulfill the mission outlined in Adelaide Magazine – “to promote writers we publish, helping both new and emerging, and established authors reaching a wider literary audience.”

Our motto is: We don’t publish classics, we make classics.