Book excerpt: Twists and Turns: An Eclectic Collection of Stories is the final product of requests from my readers. The stories contained within these pages are a compilation of stories and novelettes that have been written over the past ten years by the same author. Most of the stories in this book have been published electronically, but this is the first time they are available in print. ""Captive,"" a novelette, has never been published before. The genres include political satires, conspiracy theories, psychological thrillers, and controversial themes such as same-sex relationships and religious satire. Some of the stories deal with tests of faith and others are pure fantasy. These stores are intended not only to entertain, but to cause the reader to think in ways they may not be used to. To many, some of the stories will seem opened ended. That is the intention, so the reader can ponder different possibile solutions to various social issues.