Excerpts From the Books  Continuin' On I was sitting on the balcony of my hotel penthouse, smoking a Filipino deluxe cigar, and watching the sea birds dipping and diving in the ocean for a mid-day meal. It was another one of those typical gorgeous days in paradise. The big, white fluffy clouds were billowing and bouncing off the horizon. I was supervising the beach. I am very dedicated to my job. Saipan is a wonderful place to live and relax...read more.  Hawaiian Paniolo Cowboy It was the summer of 1865 and Union Sergeant Roy Stearns rode west, like so many disillusioned veterans from the Civil War, looking for a fresh start. He was tired of blood and gore, and people screaming in pain. He had been with Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer, the “Boy General,” on many of his swift, cavalry raids at Gettysburg, Yellow Tavern, Fisher’s Hill and Five Forks, and too many quick skirmishes to count. They had experienced victory, but the loss of life and good horseflesh was abominable. The General had asked some of the lads to stay on after Appomattox, and ride with him in protecting the trains and the settlers from outlaws and marauding Indians in Kansas and beyond...read more.  Sitting on a Goldmine Josephine “Josie” Gonzales grew up on a farm in rural Vigan, in the Republic of the Philippines. She was fourth in line of a family of nine brothers and sisters. Her parents were faithful church goers, and did wala or knew nothing of birth control. Each new baby put them further in debt, and took away any chance for the older ones to go to school or abroad for well-paying jobs. Josie was bright and beautiful, already knew English and Espanol, and showed all the signs of being a successful adult within the economic restrictions. It even appeared that she might be a lucky one that would bust out of the lingering cycle of poverty...read more.