White Sun Press

Publisher info

White Sun Press is a new, independent press designed to publish fiction and nonfiction books.

Where to find White Sun Press online

Where to buy in print

Kirev's Door: A Quentin Black Prequel
Series: Quentin Black Mystery. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 34,360. Language: English. Published: April 28, 2015 by White Sun Press. Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Apocalyptic, Fiction » Alternative history
Kirev is a seer. Raised in an alternate version of our Earth where his people are enslaved under humans, Kirev joins a resistance army of rebel seers after spending most of his youth in work camps. He wants to help his people, but during his first mission with the rebels, Kirev faces a terrifying new future when a voice from his past intervenes and sends his life into a whole different direction.
On Individualism and Conformity: Borat, Wall Street and the Problem with Cults
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 9,090. Language: English. Published: February 12, 2013 by White Sun Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Philosophy » American philosophy, Nonfiction » Philosophy » Ethics & moral philosophy
This essay embarks on a discussion of the current conceptions of individualism and identity in the United States, and how this gets warped in such a way as to actually reinforce conformity and compliance. Part of The Brain Trust series, by Jules Okapi, a series of philosophical and political essays.
Maya Papaya
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 64,780. Language: English. Published: December 19, 2011 by White Sun Press. Categories: Fiction » Children’s books » Fiction, Fiction » Children’s books » Animals » Jungle animals (general)
(5.00 from 2 reviews)
11-year-old Maya Papaya has a tail. That’s right, a tail...and stranger still, it seems to have a mind of its own. Maya's tail is a big secret and she has to wear these itchy tail pants and can’t have sleepovers or go swimming like the other kids. She still lives a fairly normal life with Mr. Norbert, though...until a knock on the door puts events in motion that send her across the world.
Jack Dervish, Super Spy
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 69,180. Language: English. Published: November 11, 2011 by White Sun Press. Categories: Fiction » Children’s books » Fiction, Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Spies & espionage
(4.67 from 3 reviews)
Four-year-old Jack Dervish's super spy parents disappeared without a trace. Now, at twelve, and after years of living in his parents’ super-spy lair, training in every manner of super-spy skills, Jack decides to attend school. After all, how will he foil the international crime syndicate and fight global evil if he can’t even pass as a normal, youngish Londoner?
The Box: An Indian Tale
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 10,140. Language: English. Published: August 24, 2011 by White Sun Press. Categories: Fiction » Visionary & metaphysical, Fiction » Fantasy » Contemporary
Priscilla putters along in her usual life of bridge and gossip and coffee shops and shopping at the local markets in the small Indian town where she lives, until one morning, the mysterious man known only as the Pharsee gives her a box. The thing is filthy, twitchy and just plain wrong…but no matter what Priscilla tries, or how many cleaning boys she fires, she simply cannot get rid of it.
Elephant: An Indian Tale
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 12,760. Language: English. Published: August 3, 2011 by White Sun Press. Categories: Fiction » Visionary & metaphysical, Fiction » Fantasy » General
Didier lives life as a normal, largish elephant in Mumbai, India with his mother and the rest of the herd owned by Mr. Rahol. Discontent with his elephant life, Didier wonders if he’d prefer to be another animal, instead. His mother tells fantastic tales of the wild, before humans turned her into a domestic animal, but neither she nor the rest of Mr. Rahol’s herd understand Didier's need for more.
Marla the Lemur
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 12,980. Language: English. Published: July 31, 2011 by White Sun Press. Categories: Fiction » Visionary & metaphysical, Fiction » Women's fiction » General
Marla’s boyfriend, Billy, lives a little too much in a fantasy world. Then again, Marla sees lemurs in the apple tree outside and wonders if the little man screaming at her from Billy’s shoulder is really there. Insanity might be one way to get out of a bad relationship. Following your abusive boyfriend into his imaginary world to duke it out with him there might be another.
The Black Men and Steven Spielberg
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 9,970. Language: English. Published: July 30, 2011 by White Sun Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Biography » Personal memoir, Fiction » Visionary & metaphysical
Semi-autobiographical but mostly fantastical essay on growing up in the outdoors of California in the 1970s, and the importance of having family just as quirky and not-quirky as you are. A coming of age story not really about adolescence, but maybe about being an oddball among oddballs.
Monkey: An Indian Tale
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 13,770. Language: English. Published: July 10, 2011 by White Sun Press. Categories: Fiction » Literature » Literary, Fiction » Humor & comedy » General
(5.00 from 2 reviews)
Tugli lives happily in a metal box on a friendly street where vendors hawk wares and a Buddhist stupa sits at his back. Everything pretty much goes the same way for a long time, until one day, the pickle lady stops delivering the pickles. After that, a disgruntled monkey, a three-legged dog and a kindly old woman pretty much disrupt the course of Tugli’s life forever...
Dirt
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 6,360. Language: English. Published: January 13, 2011 by White Sun Press. Categories: Fiction » Humor & comedy » Black comedy, Fiction » Visionary & metaphysical
Due to an untimely mishap with a runaway piano, a thief and a homeless lady with a very pointy umbrella, Harold meets an unusual segment of the neighborhood, all of whom live inside a single tree planter box on a New York City Street.
New Girl
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 4,400. Language: English. Published: October 13, 2010 by White Sun Press. Categories: Fiction » Visionary & metaphysical, Fiction » Fantasy » Contemporary
Calling the new girl, Lucy, odd ends up more than a tad bit of understatement. In a short period of time, she frees Amber of her inhibitions, her prestigious corporate project, her teeth, her sense of style…and her sanity. A bizarre tale of corporate cannibalism…or a generous sacrifice for a fellow human being? All depends on your perspective.
A Letter to the Establishment: The Cautionary Tale of Hunter S. Thompson
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 3,940. Language: English. Published: July 18, 2010 by White Sun Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Biography » Literary biography
Drug-crazed, iconic, outrageous--Hunter S. Thompson’s own reputation as the rock star writer of the 1970s obscured the meaning behind much of his work, even for many of his fans. An essay on Hunter S. Thompson as a journalist, and the implications and intention behind his style of “gonzo journalism” on current day media…as well as what set him apart.
Journey Into Jung's Red Book: Liber Primus
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 6,520. Language: English. Published: July 17, 2010 by White Sun Press. Categories: Nonfiction » Philosophy » New age philosophy, Nonfiction » Biography » Philosopher biography
A personal and theoretical look at “Liber Primus,” the first of the collection of books written by psychologist Carl Jung that were collectively entitled “The Red Book.” Unpublished until October of 2009, “The Red Book” is considered by many, including Jung himself, to be the foundation of all of Jung’s groundbreaking theories and writings to follow.
The Program
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 3,070. Language: English. Published: July 12, 2010 by White Sun Press. Categories: Fiction » Humor & comedy » Black comedy, Fiction » Business
A successful, beige-wearing businesswoman makes an art of minding her own business, blending in, not making waves. But after hundreds of identical business motivational conventions, each with their own system for getting ahead, maximizing her potential, executing success, demonstrating excellence…she meets someone who offers to show her the evil pattern behind it all. Sort of.

Series

Quentin Black Mystery
QUENTIN BLACK MYSTERY is a dark, gritty paranormal romance and mystery series starring brilliant and mysterious antihero Quentin R. Black, along with his partner, psychic forensic psychologist Miram Fox. For fans of Sherlock Holmes and paranormal romance, the series spans continents and dimensions as Black tries to redeem himself by making the world safe for his kind.

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Smashwords book reviews by White Sun Press

  • Crow's Nest on Jan. 30, 2011

    Irene Watts' writing always seems to transport me into a mythical world, with odd and neurotic creatures somehow endearing in their vulnerabilities and inherent humanity. Fragments of a whole, her Appetite and Sentiment in the Crow's Nest seem to make up the primary characters of a single being lurching through the vast ocean of a wider consciousness, occasionally boarded by a blind and malicious being like Montag, or watched carefully by the more compassionate birds. I find her work charming...and the visual accompaniment only lends to the poetry.
  • To Inhabit on Feb. 06, 2011

    Irene Watts' writing is more like entering a state of mind, an existential moment. There is an element of being lost inside a deconstructive haze. And, if you're anything like me, there's humor there, in the dark corners. Kind of Edward Goreyish, "To Inhabit" is like the Doubtful Guest only with the protagonist as her own suspicious intruder.
  • The Bizarre Tongue on Feb. 06, 2011

    Irene Watts' "The Bizarre Tongue" takes the reader on a journey through the birth, cycles of life and discovery and realization (or ideation) of a consciousness to a form of enlightenment...but it seems to me that is not the crux of the story. Instead, it is how the world responds to different forms of beauty, missing the core of experience living inside that transformation as they try to make it manageable, marketable, attainable, material...classifiable. Written as a bird-filled poem, rich with imagery and quirks of humor covering over a deeper sadness at the blind groping of most "seekers" and marketers of seeking, this story stays with you, poignant and haunting.
  • The Sun Shone on Feb. 06, 2011

    A quirky, odd, disjointed tale, "The Sun Shone" features homicidal yet sympathetic bulls, back braces, snot, gods and goddesses, vitamin packs, angry pharmacists, Jesus and GI Joe. The images are difficult and visceral. The humor jabs out of nowhere, at times making me laugh aloud. Makes Woody Allen's tales of neurosis in New York seem tame in comparison.
  • Cold Comfort on Feb. 06, 2011

    Interesting story, more about the changing of consciousness and its vessel, combined with an almost humorous view of the randomness of coincidence than about cryogenics per se. Some interesting ideas in here (the image of robots "cavorting in caves" will stick with me for some time), and moves quickly, almost Asminov-fashion in terms of style and sparse, dialog-heavy style. A very good read.
  • Dead Letters on Feb. 06, 2011

    A dark, twisted tale of death, office fires and spam from beyond the grave. Eerie tone, well-written. Brilliant.
  • After on Feb. 07, 2011

    A sweet, well-written pondering around death from the perspective of an artist and free spirit.
  • Firebug on Feb. 07, 2011

    Great story - very well written with a visual, in the moment style, believable dialogue and characters. It's also extremely creepy (in a good way). Has a bit of the Butcher Boy vibe to me, only with a great twist at the end. Definitely worth a read!
  • The Taste of Shrimp on July 04, 2011

    Very sweet short story, with a lot of heart like all of Laura Ware's work. I'll read pretty much anything by her, because there's always such a sincerity to her characters and situations. This is about the compromises one has to sometimes make to keep a marriage intact.
  • The Bikini Wedding on July 04, 2011

    I don't normally read a lot of Christian fiction, but I enjoyed this. It's a sweet story and the characters and situation were well drawn and touching, with a quirky yet uplifting ending.
  • Fires of Alexandria on Aug. 10, 2011

    Really fantastic alternate history/historical novel with an excellent lead character in the form of Heron, a mathematician and "miracle inventor" in the time of the Roman occupation of Alexandria. Heron, a real historical figure, is portrayed with a twist in Carpenter's book as a woman (the twin brother to the male Heron, who takes his identity when he dies, as she is the real mastermind of the pair, as portrayed in this novel). The main premise surrounds the mystery surrounding the cause of the fires that burned down the Library of Alexandria...but the novel takes us through numerous other political intrigues happening at the time, as well as other historical figures Heron interacts with. There is also an interesting (fictional) character in the form of "the barbarian" from the North, who hires Heron to fashion for him a mechanical army from her "miracle" technologies, and in the process she prematurely invents the steam engine. Speaking of steam, in terms of the miracles themselves, there's a bit of a steampunk flavor the book at times, even without the actual steam power. Overall, a huge recommend for strong characters, a believable alternate history (and interpretation of real history) that is completely fascinating and compelling. Add to that strong action, mystery and intrigue throughout the course of the novel, and it's a tough one to put down.
  • Nate Rocks the World on Jan. 22, 2012

    A cute middle grade story about a boy named Nate who lives in his own world, at least part of the time. He struggles with school, a bratty older sister, and the daughter of his mom's best friend, who rats him out on everything and takes credit for their partnered projects at school...and ends on a sweet note where a lot of those struggles are (mostly) resolved. A cute, light read, fun for kids...it almost reminded more of books that were around when I was a kid, without a lot of modern bite to it at all.
  • Gamers on Jan. 25, 2012

    I loved this book...to me it was one of those books where you think it's going to be about the premise (which was cool in and of itself), but it really ends up being so much more than that, not only in terms of plot but in the people. The characters really got under my skin and felt very realistic to me, which isn't always the case in books of this kind. In terms of the premise, Gabby's world is pretty much of the logical extension of where we are heading now. It's a virtual reality type landscape, where instead of attending school the way children do now, they essentially are playing one giant video game in order to earn point thresholds that might allow them to make it into university. Carpenter does a great job setting up the world in the first part of the book, and establishing the main character, Gabby, as one of the ambitious overachievers in her class...yet also hinting she's not above a little hacking and game manipulation to help out her friends...especially those who struggle to maintain the high scores that come so easily to her, due to her high thoughts per second (TPS) scores. But then the story goes into a totally different direction, with a mystery thrown Gabby's way about the true purpose of the game, and what's really at stake for those who don't make it to "university." Wrapped into all of this is a lot of action and quirky characters, especially the frags who live outside the society, and the surprising depth behind one of the "mean girl" characters who seems totally different when you first meet her in the book. A really great read, and I'll definitely be looking for the sequel. There is still so much I want to know about the world. While it resolved well for a book one, a ton of mysteries remain as to who really runs the world and what will happen with the frags and the other kids who don't make it into university (and those who do). There are also a lot of great villains and potential villains...one character in particular who could go either way...so really left on a highly suspenseful note.
  • Blind Veil on Jan. 29, 2012

    I really enjoyed this book, and it is a fast read. It starts out with a very likeable character, Emmett, an older, African-American man who owns a farm in a time and a place where that didn't happen very often. When a crime is committed on his land, he is forced to cover it up because of who and what he is to the other ranchers, but it haunts him until the day he dies, and pretty much tears his family apart. The story starts there, but then fast-forwards about forty-odd years to his nephew, who is a NYC beat cop and a lot more affected by those past events than he knows. What follows from there is one of the most intriguing plot lines I've read in a long time...it reminded me of "They Live," a movie I really loved when I was younger, only without the dark humor of that movie. Instead it carries a far more serious tone, one somewhere between the X-Files and a police procedural. Simms, the main character, has a pretty normal life for a cop, until one day he is kidnapped by a bizarre and seemingly scientist who tells him a fantastical story about a conspiracy threatening to annihilate the human race. In the process of his kidnapping, the scientist shoots Simms up with a substance that he claims will allow him to see the "truth." After that, Simms' life is never the same...as a reader you're put through the wringer with him as he starts seeing things he can't explain, ends up in a mental institution and then on the run, all the while caught up in a conspiracy whose players he can only guess at, some of whom appear to be friends he's known and trusted for years. If I had any gripe at all (and it's a small one), it was only that it ended a little abruptly, and I would have liked more regarding the final payoff where the reader finally learns the true extent of what's going on and Simms' connection to all of it. But I really hope Lorde is planning a sequel, because I definitely want to read that book! Strong recommend.
  • The Very Thought of Him on March 01, 2012

    A fun, erotic short story about an older businesswoman and a tryst she has with a younger man she meets online. Better written than most in this genre, with a lot of hot scenes and an interesting glimpse into the character's motivations more at the end. Well worth it if you like short erotic fiction.
  • The Goat and the Heathen, 2nd ed. on March 01, 2012

    I really liked this story...really well-rounded characters, and I liked the relationship between the two college roommates as much as I did the relationship between the main character, Aja, and Hayden, the boy with whom her roommate arranges the tryst. Kind of a sweet romance meets erotica, which I wish there was more of, frankly. Well written and hot, sensual scenes. Well worth the read!
  • Family Care, 4th ed. on March 01, 2012

    While this is a story premise I've seen a lot of, I thought the author did a really good job of making it fresh, mainly by giving the characters and the situations more depth. It's as much a coming of age story as it is erotica, and while there are definitely lots of steamy sex scenes, there's also an ending that makes it feel a lot more about how all three of the main characters figure out what's missing in their lives. The main character is really likable, and the couple she babysits for is really sympathetic too...you really want their marriage to work, which to me, added a lot to the overall story. Well written and executed, and actually almost a novellette, rather than a short story.
  • Jeremiah Quick on March 04, 2014

    Wow. What to say about this novel. It's...intense. I highly doubt people will have a "neutral" reaction to this book. Personally, I loved it. It felt real on a deep level, even if that reality was in part symbolic. It also totally resonated with relationships I had in my own high school years, in particular with a very close friend who struggled with a lot of the same issues, in terms of feeling forever out of step with the world, and needing an intensity of feeling and connection with others to counteract that in some way, or maybe just to bear it. Flirting with the dark but loving and being drawn to the light was a component in our relationship, as well. I don't want to say too much about the plot itself, because 1) I don't want to spoil it, and 2) more than anything, it served for me as a psychological journey and deconstruction. Primarily among the latter, it was like witnessing the systematic removal of all of the social "niceties" to reveal a kernel of raw truth underneath. Or, it was a highly skilled exercise in brainwashing by an incredibly brilliant and manipulative sociopath...you decide. Of course, I'm somewhat biased because I absolutely love this writer, and pretty much love everything of hers that I read. She captures spaces with her words like no other writer I know, and makes her characters so real I feel almost like I know them. Moreover, she has that gift of making sympathetic those situations and people who, on their face, might seem like they shouldn't be...which is a particular weakness of mine anyway. Not for the faint of heart, however...or for those who like their morality in neat, succinct, black and white boxes where some things are always "good" and some people are always "bad" regardless of their life situations and the depth of feeling inside their hearts.