“Driving In Traffic,” Samuel Costello's agreeable and poignant autobiography, especially shines
in its diverting and intriguing detours on Shakespeare and the theater.
…  Ward Morehouse III, author of Discovering the Hudson - New York's Landmark Theater

"Filled with wisdom, courage and understanding, Mr. Costello tells his story as if he is playing a finally tuned Stradivarius while pulling at our heartstrings.” … Patricia Sullivan, Director of Music Mercyhurst College North East

Samuel Costello, the musician, in this book takes us through a very original 71 year journey that moves from childhood through the ups and downs and adventures of his creative life. The never ending involvement of his fertile mind with music, his computer career, family, friends, theater, writing, teaching, a study of the Elizabethan period and even the Shakespeare authorship debate, along with travel, engage you in this unusual autobiography.
       Costello says, “In spite of the difficulties I have had with my health since I left my computer career,  my diverse interests have made Parkinson’s not as important in my life, so  I smile frequently and continue to enjoy my life and extended family.

“…His stories…can take you…from your everyday mind to a universe of meditative contemplation, a higher plane. These stories, like his paintings have about them a quality of mystery, of “extraordinary imagination”…as if his talented eyes see so much more than what our normal eyes can see. The stories grab the reader, compel the viewer, do not let you go. …Mervyn Rothstein, writer, The New York Times.

Here are 24 short stories in the book FABLES OF LOVE AND ART by Vladimir Aituganov. They are contemporary tales about love, art and artists, alternately, filled with pathos, humor, romance, sexuality, high adventure and echoes of political oppression.    Some of these stories take you through what it was like to be an artist in   Russia during the days of the iron curtain. There are many surprises. The first story Beast, is set in New York City   and is both sophisticated and heart wrenching.  Aituganov’s imagination also takes us to visit some of the great artists of the past, like Leonardo D’Vinci and Pagannini, as he spins the tales with original twists about their art and romantic aspirations.  Aituganov is a superb story teller. These stories will give you unusually   penetrating and rare insights into the heart, soul and mind of an artist which    ranges from macho to sublime tenderness.  These tales are sure to find their place in the annals of classic world literature.

"Kareena Maxwell's novel STANLEY is steadily arresting and parts of it are imbued with the same kind of indefinable beauty of Fitzgerald's or Faulkner's lyrical prose."
- Ward Morehouse III, author, playright

This new novel STANLEY, written in fine poetic prose, was inspired by the dedicated work of Stanley Ann Dunham Soetoro in the last year of her life, and who died before her son Barack Obama became President of the United States of America. In real life, Stanley’s father had wished for a boy. When she was born, he surprisingly named her Stanley. In her life, the admirable and legendary Stanley Ann Dunham Soetoro became an American Economic Anthropologist who worked diligently and with great compassion in helping the peasants of Kajar, Indonesia. Maxwell has written this novel by creating a family of villagers and friends around a woman named Stanley. We are privy to Stanley’s inner most thoughts as she explores the depth of love and friendship while in search of her own identity as she is working to obtain microfinance loans to help the Indonesian cottage industries.

In this novel, Maxwell has woven a story around a loving Indonesian family, with Rachman, the village blacksmith, his wife Ndari and their children Bintang and Melati. A charming, handsome and wealthy Englishman, Kermit, as a photographer, is an important part of Stanley’s documentation and soon becomes a close friend.

One chapter called The Life of a Metal tells us how with wondrous skills and craftsmanship and family pride, these dedicated peasants turn scrap metal into useful tools for agriculture in Jakarta. Stanley follows the traditions, dreams and conflicts of the family members, each with their own goals while she arranges with the foundation for recognition and financing.