The central figure, Katharina, a retired physician and recent widow, learns to work through the grief of losing her husband, while her daughter is managing a stormy time in her marriage. One of the friends makes a splash in the art world, another faces cancer and a third defies her family, ignores general expectations, and marries again at the end of her sixth decade. Their friendship is deep, supportive and laced with humor. These warm, intelligent women show that the quality of life does not necessarily depend on the age factor, and that the word 'friendship' is not a cliché void of all meaning.

During a lonely walk mother and daughter encounter a strange, spiritual man, who speaks about the purpose and the meaning in life and reassures them of the immortality of the soul. He does this in a factual, placid manner, and so makes his ideas easily acceptable to these modern and sophisticated women. He gently shows them how to resolve some of their conflicts.

New humorist writer, Brian Eden, extracts the absurd from the accepted and the strange from the ordinary in story after story of comic reflection about the world in general and American society in particular.

Relating some of his more bizarre experiences with a mixture of admitted philosophical dribble, obtuse political thinking, some worldly strangeness and a sampling of his peculiar outside the box analysis of what's socially correct and what's not... and you have this book, over 75 stories to keep the reader entertained.

Eden's whimsical take on society and human nature will keep you chuckling.

Treat yourself to Brian Eden's philosophical thoughts, suggestions, experiences, observations, satire, musings, speculations and absurdities about society and our place in the cosmos.

Sample Stories

Garage Art, Get Even Portfolio, When is a Bargain a Bargain?, Instant America, The Case for More Mulligans, Is a Googly a Knuckler?, Life at 500, What if Everyone was Honest?, Pro-Forma Merit Reviews, The Christmas Card List, Gun Rack Social Register, and Asteroid Coming - plus much more in wit and wisdom.

Reader Reviews:

"This book is the perfect companion when you have only a few minutes to read."

"It kept me laughing."

"With life getting so serious, this book is a welcome change."

"Very creative."

"Wow, what a take on life!"

Struggle, sweat, bleed, fall . . . then rise stronger than before.

Attending a single sex boarding school in Virginia, Lee Mills is a student with powerful charisma. Going to a school where the boys are happy, but the sheep walk funny, Lee and his friends have their share of good times and mischief until a conflict between Lee and his English professor, Dr. Gilder, draws a line between teacher and student, casting the two into an ideological war.

Antaeus is a humorous story of the importance of life lived according to principles, and a demonstration of how even through a seemingly crushing defeat, there is victory for one who remains true to himself.

Coke on the Rocks is a powerful drama set in sunny Spain, about a group of expatriates struggling to live a normal life on the Costa del Sol. But it seems impossible for them not to get drawn into the insidious underworld of criminal activity.

This book has terrific pace and is a wonderful example of fiction enhanced by fact. It is written in a way as to entertain as well as inform, and is very funny in parts due to the colourful characters whose lives we follow as they evolve and grow.

Drug smuggling is on the increase, and the cocaine consumption in Spain is higher than anywhere else in Europe. Prostitution and promiscuity are two more examples of the darker side of life, hidden behind the seductive high life that is advertised in the brochures and the media.

Some of the scenes in this novel will shock and may seem unbelievable - but trust me - there is far more fact than fiction in Coke on the Rocks.

This book is not only a must for all expatriates but also a warning to anyone in the U.K. who is thinking about moving to Spain.

The Costa is a fabulous place to live - but only if you are aware of the pitfalls.

Before you buy your dream villa you really must read Coke on the Rocks.

Feargal MacIntosh McGregor is the greatest exercise in positive PR that the police force have had in years. Son of Sir Robert McGregor, Britain's most famous policeman who, as the celebrated head of Scotland Yard, ran the Met with an iron hand and efficiency not achieved either before or after his time. Feargal is feted as the bright new hope for law and order by everyone from the Prime Minister down. An Oxford graduate with honours in fine art history and psychology he is also tall, blond, improbably handsome and totally unsuited to the police force.

Feargal's problem is that he is accident prone, gullible and far too amiable to be an efficient policeman. He is eventually shipped off to Scotland; to Glenoag, a remote Highland village in a remote Highland glen that hasn't seen a policeman for 30 years (or much of anyone else). A new laird has just inherited the estate that occupies the glen and has been having trouble with poachers. Feargal's instructions are to put a stop to it. However it isn't poachers but a missing Van Gogh that Feargal is faced with on his first week on the job. He also meets Mary, a beautiful farmer's daughter, a couple of Glasgow heavies bent on revenge, a cunning pub keeper and several other characters who manage to cause a maximum of confusion along with plenty of laughs.

Haley Ann Lethridge is a new history teacher at a high school ruled by domineering Gina Echols. As principal, Echols presides with an iron fist and an acerbic tongue. One of her favorite pastimes is to criticize those around her and take all the praise for herself. But when the abrasive principal goes too far, the high school is the scene for sudden murder. Circumstantial evidence points to a student who has already been in trouble, but Haley thinks there is much more to the shooting than the police suspect. While her parents decide to give her a surprise visit, Haley has to scramble to find out what really happened. Now she and her enterprising canines are back in the middle of a murder mystery with too many suspects and not very much time.

The second in the Canine Capers series, The Case of the Posturing Principal features cats determined to outwit humans and dogs intent on getting the most from the dinner table. While Haley tries to narrow the list of likely killers with her best friend Pam, Pam's cats concentrate on getting their saucers filled with cream. Meanwhile, Haley's dogs approve of the new man in her life, Robert Lawson, who shares food from his dinner plate and takes them on walks. For anyone who loves animals and murder mysteries, this book is full of feline friskiness and canine cleverness.

This book is a translation of an ancient text found by my friend in the most Ancient Egypt. He died for his troubles shortly after the Madness took over his soul. And beware - for this book is a possesser of men and a destroyer of sanity. If you doubt your own being then venture not into the pages herein, for they shall surely consume you in a burning blister of Redness.

The pages here give information about the Roids and their Kingdom. There are rituals given within for the calling and the cleansing of these unholy daemons. Take strength of heart and will, for it is the brave that offer redemption against this evil. Prepare well.

Fear ye all, for Heme is coming.

The Misadventures of Jack the Builder traces several episodes in the hapless life of an ordinary, working class struggler. Set in a contemporary Australian city, the story follows Jack as he swears, squirms, weasels, begs, hustles and charms his way through the accidental exigencies of his feckless life. Characters spring to life in vivid technicolor -- Trev, Fergus, Wazza, Tom and others -- a panoply of real life 'sorts' dealing in their own inimitable way with life's challenges. An amusing story that endears and entertains, painting a picture of suburban life in shades of alternating pathos and repulsion -- like following a fumbling, flatulent funambulist on a foggy day.

How often do these 'deals' fail to be properly understood by both parties?

How often are we let down or unwittingly disappoint the expectation of the other person in our 'deal'?

All the time? Or just most of the time?

Against the backdrop of the perfectly and explicitly defined commercial contract, transacted during the technology boom of the year 2000, the full gamut of personal deals implode.

A husband seeks to regain the trust of his wife, the love of his life. The others involved at the fringes of the deal discover that their casual affairs are not all that they seem and are anything but casual.

The perfect manipulative weapon is sex.

Filled with anecdotally funny insights into the business world including the much sought after 'takeover'... the personal 'deals' are over the place.

How often do these 'deals' fail to be properly understood by both parties?

How often are we let down or unwittingly disappoint the expectation of the other person in our 'deal'?

All the time? Or just most of the time?

Against the backdrop of the perfectly and explicitly defined commercial contract, transacted during the technology boom of the year 2000, the full gamut of personal deals implode.

A husband seeks to regain the trust of his wife, the love of his life. The others involved at the fringes of the deal discover that their casual affairs are not all that they seem and are anything but casual.

The perfect manipulative weapon is sex.

Filled with anecdotally funny insights into the business world including the much sought after 'takeover'... the personal 'deals' are over the place.

Her hands lay limply in her lap and if Joyce looked closely she could see the small broken pieces of skin and minuscule areas of scar tissue, which were the remnants of Melissa's habit of biting at her fingers around the nails when she was anxious, nervous or excited. Her legs swayed very slightly in the space between the high hospital bed and the floor below. Then very slowly, her voice almost inaudible like a whisper from the past, she began to speak and as she did so Joyce took her hand and stroked it affirming an unspoken trust that now seemed to exist between them.

Autumn, 1971 - what will Melissa reveal to the midwife, Joyce, about the three years preceding the birth of this baby girl she seems determined to reject? Will she reveal who the father is? More importantly will she be able to share with Joyce the most awful secret of all?

Spring, 1969 - Melissa is 15 and her world changes forever when she meets the artist and teacher - Jonathan. He tells her she looks uncannily like Lizzy Siddal the artist's model who married Rossetti and died so tragically. When Melissa models for Jonathan secretly can they develop a friendship that is purely platonic when both of them want more?

This is a story of the pain and pleasure of first love, of friendship and unconditional loyalty, of sexual awakening and discovery, of unbearable choices and ultimately of hope - without which there is no future.

From Lancashire and London in England to Toledo and Barcelona in Spain we touch on the lives of many characters most of whom harbour their own secrets. Often hilarious and at times heartbreaking this powerful and evocative novel contains a devastating twist that is totally unpredictable.

The story opens with Jerry Barry explaining that he has bitten off some guy's penis. His explanation turns into a narration of his failed attempts to become a United States Marine. Several flashbacks reveal the cause of his present mental state. He is the product of an abusive father and a tormented childhood. He was sexually abused by an aunt, beaten routinely by his father, manipulated by his schoolmates and forced to witness his best friend, a dog named Sparky, killed right before his eyes. None of this seems to be out of the ordinary to him.

When he is kicked out of high school he joins the Marine Corps. The discipline proves too much for him to handle so he does what he always does: He blames everyone but himself. He is unable to do the required three pull-ups on the Physical Fitness Test, so he devises a scheme to cheat on the test. He just "...can't understand why a Marine would need to do goddamn pull-ups."

He is given numerous opportunities to get his act together, but his attitude always gets in the way. He claims not to be a racist though his speech is full of racial slurs. He blames his insistent cursing on an imagined disease he calls "Tourette's."

Throughout his story he berates the very thoughts he harbors. His sexual orientation is held under a defensive cloud in his mind.

Jerry Barry is a person we just can't bring ourselves to hate. We all wish people like him didn't exist, but they do. Perhaps understanding why they are that way will help us to help them.

For more information, please visit the author's website.

The novel is set in the quaint little village of Kilcree in the heartland of scenic West Cork, Ireland. Here in intimate detail we witness the raw passions, love-lives, schemes, tragedies, foibles and sorrows of the characters, as the author allows them reveal their true selves throughout this saga of love, laughter, fears and tears. Peering into the innermost thoughts of some of the key characters, the author allows us eavesdrop as they admit their transgressions ... in the confessional ... and much, much more.

The essence of the book was written - on location in breathtakingly scenic Glengarriff, Co. Cork, Ireland - while staying at the hauntingly beautiful Eccles Hotel which was formerly frequented by noted writers including Shaw, Thackeray and Yeats.

"Sex, Drugs, Booze, Rock and Roll, Suicide, Murder and .......... Hockey"

Brian, stuck in his hometown of Mourning, Ontario, slipping down the wrong side of thirty, can never win. Not as a hockey player or a coach. Not at his career. Not at anything.
Then, he meets Kyle Clark, a hockey prodigy, who joins his team. And life in Mourning begins to change. Kyle is good at everything. He can't lose.
As they grow closer and their lives entwine, Brian hopes that some of Kyle's magic will rub off on him.
But tragedy follows Kyle around, threatening to ruin the best laid plans. This time, however, Brian is not going to stand to the side and watch his dreams melt away.

"Michael Markus' East of Mourning is a superbly crafted dark comedy about the Great Canadian Dream gone bad for a frustrated hockey coach and the young, talented hockey payer upon whom he pins the last of his bitter deams. Sex, Drugs, rock & roll, suicide, murder, and of course, hockey all lurk within the eerily inviting pages of this dynamic and sharply framed literary tableau. Aptly written in a literary style as fast-moving as the sport of hockey itself, East of Mourning captures the imagination and holds the reader's interest in its shadowy and wryly malefic way. Highly recommended."

from the Wisconsin Bookwatch, The Midwest Book Review, December, 2001

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