Winner of multiple literary awards! Monique, the daughter of San Diego Charger's football great Earl Faison, married her high school sweetheart soon after she discovered she was pregnant with his child. Her relationship with Chris was shaky from the start, but turned tumultuous as he became verbally and physically abusive. When she could no longer put up with the abuse, she left him with their children. That was when the stalking and genuine … [Read more...]
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LEGION RISING: A Soldier’s Story
Not everyone has pulled shards of another man's skull from the palm of their hand. Not everyone has stood over the bodies of friends whose lives were lost in an instant. Not everyone has struggled to face their own reflection for years on end. But anyone who has experienced trauma or adversity will appreciate LEGION RISING, the unflinchingly honest account of an army officer's journey through combat in the Iraq War and rising beyond the scars … [Read more...]
Monique Faison Ross
Monique Faison Ross was born in San Francisco and grew up as an only child in San Diego. She was raised primarily by her mom, Barbara, an industrial engineer. Her father, William Earl (Earle) Faison, was a four-time all-star defensive end for the San Diego Chargers. Monique has worked as a program manager for a Connecticut educational non-profit since 2004. She has also served in various volunteer roles—from being a board of trustee member … [Read more...]
GABACHO: Drugs Landed Me In Mexican Prison, Theater Saved Me
Gabacho is the true tale of youthful angst, crime, misunderstandings, love, friendship and redemption. Over Christmas break of his senior year, a University of Utah theatre student disenchanted with his conservative Mormon upbringing, took off for Mexico with a college friend seeking a wild adventure. If the adventure hadn’t included smuggling drugs it might have been another college road trip. But after a disastrous encounter with a drug … [Read more...]
Captain Jeff Morris
I am an accomplished leader and speaker who is incredibly passionate about making a difference in the lives of others. Currently, I am employed as a senior leader with the McKesson Corporation, a Fortune 6 company. I am also a highly recognized and decorated former United States Army Infantry Officer with an impeccable record of leadership in the most demanding of environments. I served our great country in the United States Army … [Read more...]
THE GANGSTER’S COUSIN: Growing Up In The Luciano Family
Born in 1942, Salvatore "Sal" Lucania was not only raised but educated by the streets of East Harlem. Dropping out of his Catholic high school at 15 after punching out a priest, a formal education was not Sal's future. As such, it would have been easy to fall into the trappings of "made man" status in the mafia, like his cousin Charles "Lucky" Luciano. But Sal had a different vision of the future, if he could just escape the confines of his … [Read more...]
Salvatore Lucania
Growing up in the streets of Harlem in the 1940s and 50s, Sal Lucania survived by outwitting neighborhood bullies, the abusive priests who ran his school, local gangsters, and even some distant mafia relatives. He was born into a Sicilian family in 1942 and was named for his cousin Salvador Charles “Lucky” Luciano. As a Sicilian, he took on the philosophy of his culture: “No authority higher than our own.” As a relative of … [Read more...]
Richard Jewkes
Like a lot of young boys of almost any decade since the 60’s, I wanted to be a rock musician. I started playing in bands in junior high school and taught myself guitar and piano listening to the Beatles and Bob Dylan. I tried over and over to writes songs like they were writing to no avail. Years later I came to the realization that successful musicians weren’t trying to emulate or copy other artists, they were writing music that they liked; … [Read more...]
Larry Sells On The Murder Trial And The “Fire In My Belly”
The trial was decades ago, but when I even try to speak of it, I find myself rising to my full height, pacing like a lion, ready to roar. Outsiders often view trial lawyers as eggheads who spend their time researching obscure points of law so that they can outwit their opponent in the courtroom. That image makes for great tension on television, but in real life, trials, especially trials for violent and deadly crimes, are about people. I mean … [Read more...]
