Richard Diedrichs: 33 books

Kevin returns to his car after a high school forensics tournament to find a giant locust sitting on the dashboard. After attempts to extricate it, Kevin drives home and tells his father that he can't remove the bug. His father is not impressed by Kevin's cowardice. Irate, Kevin's father tosses out...

Hosting a family reunion of sorts, Lucas confronts his abusive Uncle Dimka and Aunt Rosa. Lucas, his priest brother, Alex, and Dimka and Rosa's son, Danilo, join in the fracas. The proceedings go off track when Danilo pulls a gun and orders Lucas and Alex to leave.

Ferris and his friend, Earl, hitch a ride outside of Mesquite, Nevada to Las Vegas. The driver, Tryg, and his girlfriend, Labelle, are looking for some fun on their way to L.A., and they choose Ferris and Earl. Ferris sits next to Labelle on the front seat and fantasizes while Tryg talks smack. On the Strip in Vegas, Ferris and Earl asked to be dropped off and that's where the fun begins.

Daughter of poet, Lord Byron, Ada Lovelace studied mathematics from age four. Ada's lineage and natural brilliance put her in the company of prominent scientists. She became a colleague of mathematician Charles Babbage, who developed a computer called the Analytical Engine. Ada provided an algorithm that is considered the first computer program. Ada is seen as the first computer programmer.

Sandy breaks a neighbor's window with a water balloon. He lies to his mother and tells her that he heard the neighborhood bully outside his window. The bully threatens to lie Sandy down like a dog. Friendly intervention saves Sandy, but not from his mother's chagrin and disappointment.

Michael goes with his friend, Danny, on a daybreak mission. They are going to pick up Danny's rifle from Phillip Pfeiffer. On their way back, Danny aims the gun at Michael but shoots himself in the foot instead. It is the start of Michael's decision to end the friendship and take his destiny into his own hands.

Egan lives by his own life axiom, which he calls Egan's Law. If he thinks or speaks disparagingly about a person he sees in public, he will find that person sharing his personal space. While attending a lecture by a renowned spiritual teacher, Egan spots a disheveled, surly man whom he dubs Ichabod. The reverberations of transgressing Egan's Law bring harrowing results.

Mary Shelley wrote the Gothic/Horror novel, Frankenstein, when she was nineteen. Although the book is one of the most famous novels ever published, Shelley long lived under the shadow of her famous poet husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley. Mary Shelley's life was filled with triumph, love, and horrible loss. She has emerged in modern times as a gifted writer and original genius in her own right.

Precocious teen, Julian, helps his mother retrieve a mysterious and possessed ancient Mayan mirror from the hands of his greedy estranged father.

Alan volunteers to attend to a mute old man with tongue cancer. Inspired by the loss of his sister to leukemia, Alan vows to give Picky Walker comfort and consolation. Discouraged by the bleakness of Picky's life and alarmed by the news that Picky is an ex-con, Alan struggles to find compassion. His ambivalence leads to devastating feelings of not being there for Picky.

Miranda drives to meet her deadbeat ex-husband after eight years of no word. She plans to tell him all that she has felt about his betrayal. When she faces him across the coffeeshop table, he stops her in her tracks by what he offers her.

Short, evocative poems celebrate the moon's magic in the truth of the present moment

Angela's strange cousin, Kurt, puts the trick in Trick or Treat by taking her to collect candy in July. As she goes from house to house, without disguise, she dances, hops and mugs her way into a bag of candy. When she wants to go home, Kurt refuses. He insists that she finish the block. When he abandons her, Angela finds her way home and discovers a new sense of self.

A woman leaves a message on Kurt's answer machine, sobbing that he pursued her on the phone, made a date to come over to her place for a drink, and took off the second he saw her.