By Janet Niepris

Few writers capture the psychological texture of the artist’s life quite like Janet Neipris. Warm, wise, and unflinchingly honest, Creating Drama is more than a memoir; it is a deeply insightful investigation into the dynamics that steer and sustain the creative spirit: hunger, longing, self-doubt, grit, resilience, and that elusive spark we call magic. The founding force behind one of the most influential playwriting programs in the country, Neipris has shaped not only her own remarkable career but the creative lives of countless others. For any emerging artist or seasoned professional, this book is both a companion and a compass: a powerful reminder that storytelling can help us reclaim the parts of ourselves we thought were lost.

By Anne Mackay-Smith

Casualties of war – or murder? Virginia, 1861: Adair Stanford just wants to keep her children safe as the Civil War breaks out and her husband leaves to fight for the south. But when two dead men are found in the woods on her farm, she’s forced to act: she’s found hidden signs that they didn’t die in a shootout between enemies, but from murder. Isolated by her Abolitionist beliefs, Adair is alone in her search for the truth until a stranger, his identity cloaked in deception, invades her world. Is he an added danger, or an ally? And do the threats and violence menacing her family stem from the ugly killings, or a shameful secret from the past? Set at the crossroads of north and south, this mystery explores the fraught relations between men and women, the enslaved and the free, and the horror of murder – even in the midst of war.