W. D. Smart

Jihadi: Path to Heaven is a novel describing the life of Zabiullah Omarkhel who was born in Afghanistan just prior to the Soviet/Afghan War. The book begins with his birth in the small village of Koh-e Dalan Sang nestled in the Panjshir Valley, and tells the story of his childhood and early schooling in the village's maktab (primary school). It continues with his education at a madrassa (secondary school) in the province's capital city, Bazarak, where he is introduced to the teachings and ideology of an ultra-conservative version of Sunni Islam that will eventually give rise to the Taliban. The continuing excesses and horrors of the Soviet occupation subsequently drive him into the hands of an even more radical group of mujahideen, the Soldiers of the Levant. Eventually, he ends up at an al-Qaeda training camp in Herat, Afghanistan, and from there is persuaded to engage in Holy Jihad against the cursed infidels who continue to defile his land and threaten Islam itself.

Jihadi: Path to Heaven is a novel describing the life of Imam Zabiullah Omarkhel who was born in Afghanistan just prior to the Soviet/Afghan War. The book begins with his birth in the small village of Koh-e Dalan Sang nestled in the Panjshir Valley, and tells the story of his childhood and early schooling in the village's maktab (primary school). It continues with his education at a madrassa (secondary school) in the province's capital city, Bazarak, where he is introduced to the teachings and ideology of an ultra-conservative version of Sunni Islam that will eventually give rise to the Taliban. The continuing excesses and horrors of the Soviet occupation subsequently drive him into the hands of an even more radical group of mujahideen, the Soldiers of the Levant. Eventually, he ends up at an al-Qaeda training camp in Herat, Afghanistan, and from there is persuaded to engage in Holy Jihad against the infidels who continue to defile his land and threaten Islam itself. While telling this tale the book explores the teachings of Islam, both traditional and radical, and examines the roots of the current conflict in the Middle East. In the end, for Imam Zabiullah there is only One Truth: There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God; and there is only One Path: The Path to Heaven.

Human life on Earth was entering its death throes. The Earth itself, having long suffered the abuse of human pollution, seemed to have given up. The ozone layer was all but gone, weather patterns around the globe were erratic and extreme, oceans expelled tons of dead and dying sea life on beaches every day, ground water was drying up, crops failed regularly and earthquakes were becoming more and more frequent. It was as if the Earth itself was trying to slough off a malignant growth. Humans seemed to ignore all these signs and continued to concentrate their efforts on waging their wars against each other, most of which were fought to gain control over the rapidly dwindling resources, but many still were waged under the banner of supremacy of one God's love over all others'.Kepler-438b tells the story of one of mankind's last efforts to save his species. It records the voyage and mission of one of the three final spaceships launched before the final fall of Earth whose mission was to establish a viable, self-sufficient, self-perpetuating colony on an exoplanet almost five-hundred light-years from Earth's solar system: Kepler-438b.

Neal Burgess, a semi-retired, middle-aged computer analyst from California, had just cashed in from a start-up company he helped bring to life. He bought the sailboat of his dreams and was enjoying his new live-a-board lifestyle in a small marina in southern Alabama intending to just kick back, relax, do some writing and focus on his zen practice. Life there was idyllic and blissfully uneventful until the day he met Cap'n Billy, a prototypical, down home good ol' boy who operated a small shrimping trawler along the inland waterways that lined the Gulf. Before he knew it he was spending almost every night shrimping with Cap'n Billy, literally learning the ropes as he went, and enjoying the never-ending yarns Cap'n Billy spun as they trawled.However, all was not well in paradise. Cap'n Billy's boat was in sore need of some basic maintenance and major repairs, and his license was under threat from the marine police. On top of that, the sleepy little marina where Neal lived on his boat suddenly rose up in arms to challenge the rejection of a seemingly trivial building permit which was denied on the grounds it threatened the mysterious Perdido Key Beach mouse with imminent extinction. Cap'n Billy is presented in a lively, colorful, first-person narrative which weaves seemingly disparate but curiously related threads from Southern culture, single-handed shrimping, predictive data analysis, zen practice, and conservationism to create a rich and engaging tapestry depicting life on the southern U.S. Gulf coast.You may leave comments, ask questions or join in discussions about CAP'N BILLY at: Facebook: https: //www.facebook.com/novelcapnbillyEmail: [email protected]