UC authors do it right
Though university folk are generally expected to produce scholarly works, UC alumni, faculty and staff also write novels, family histories, personal journeys, self-help books and works of spiritual guidance. The following are just some of the recently published general-interest books.

NET LOSSES
What She Left Behind
by C.M. (Cora Price) Miller, Eve ’84

Only brotherly love can compel Miller’s financial-planner heroine, Audrey Wilson, to put herself in mortal danger again. When Wilson’s basketball-pro sibling becomes a prime suspect in the death of his son’s mother, Audrey follows clues into Atlanta’s seedy underworld to try to prove his innocence. Along the way, she discovers evidence in the dead girl’s journal that a close friend of the Wilson family is involved with pornography and violent criminal activity. Could this trusted friend be a murderer, as well?

The third novel in the Audrey Wilson series continues to please fans of Miller’s savvy, down-to-earth heroine. With a mix of sassy dialogue and clever plotwork, the author creates likeable characters, a dash of danger and a pinch of romance.

Order information: Internet booksellers: IUniverse, Amazon and Barnes and Noble, or order at local bookstores.

POSTSCARD PEOPLE
DISCOVER AMERICA DIARIES:
50 STATES, 50 STATES OF MIND
Volume One: East Coat to West Coast
by Priscilla Rhodes, with photography/graphics by Ken Rhodes, DAAP ’76

Quit your job, buy an RV and hit the road to see America. An unlikely fantasy? Not for this dynamic couple who shared their three-year cross-country odyssey through original “postcards” e-mailed around the world to all who requested them.

Ken, a photographer and graphic designer, and Priscilla, a writer and former history teacher, created this book from the travel facts and digital photos -- many translated into electronic postcards -- collected during their travels. A candid description of the highs and lows of their 15-state journey from New England to Oregon, “Discover America Diaries” is the first in a planned series. Priscilla and Ken also have an award-winning Web site, Postcards From America, where viewers can sign up to be postcard recipients.

Order information: Internet booksellers Amazon and Barnes & Noble, or go to www.postcardcafe.com.

OUR TOWN
Cincinnati: From River City to Highway Metropolis
by David Stradling, assistant professor, history

Packed with juicy stories -- from the “chop chop” tempo of early meatpacking dis-assembly lines to worldwide applause for the new Contemporary Arts Center -- Stradling’s appealing book will please readers who want a concise, entertaining and easy-to-follow history of the Queen City. Cincinnati’s 215-year journey is told through its settlers and immigrants, soap-makers and carriage builders, labor leaders, athletes and scholars.

Adding to the charm of this book are 100 seldom-seen historic photographs from the University of Cincinnati Archives and the Cincinnati Historical Society Library.

Order information: Internet and local bookstores, UC bookstores, New World Bookstore.