Charles A. Ray | Author

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Charles A. Ray
Expert on leadership and management. Nonfiction Writer and Poet.

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"Brutally Honest"

Nov.15.2011

"Brutally Honest"

Here's what author, Virginia Phiri ("Highway Queen") has to say about "Die, Sinner," one of the latest offerings in the Al Pennyback mystery series: "I started reading "Die Sinner" last Thursday but I am already half way through. The book seems to be "brutally honest"!, I am enjoying it."

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PUBLISHED: Mar.03.2013

The White Dragons

The country of Dagastan is an insignificant, landlocked pimple surrounded by the Russians who ignore it because it has nothing of value to offer. When, however, something of value is found there, it turns out to be something worth killing for, placing the staff of the American Embassy in the capital, Kazbektun, in grave danger. Halfway around the world, in Washington...

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PUBLISHED: Feb.04.2013

Death From Unnatural Causes

Al Pennyback mystery series. Al is hired to investigate a suspicious death in a retirement community. His efforts are complicated by the fact that the deceased has been cremated, erasing all traces of the crime. Show more Show less

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PUBLISHED: Sep.16.2012

Buffalo Soldier: Incident at Cactus Junction

Ben Carter and his men are sent to the West Texas town of Cactus Junction in response to a plea for help. A gang of rustlers, led by the notorious outlaw, Black Jack, is stealing their cattle, putting them at risk of losing their land. Once there, though, Ben has to deal with the town's prejudice as much as he has to worry about the outlaws.

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PUBLISHED: Sep.03.2012

Grab the Brass Ring

A nonfiction work on the values of taking risks for people who want to be successful and fulfilled.

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PUBLISHED: Sep.12.2011

African Places

The author's photographic journey through Zimbabwe and southern Africa from 2009 to 2011, with photos of people, animals, and places that are unforgettable. The good, the bad, and the ugly are all included.

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PUBLISHED: Sep.12.2011

African Places

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PUBLISHED: Aug.10.2011

Wallace in Underland

Wallace in Underland is a contemporary urban fantasy; Wallace Johnson is a lonely, scared little boy whose life is changed the day he meets a talking rat who helps him escape from the clutches of the neighborhood bullies. Ralph the rat takes him to Underland, a strange place inhabited by talking animals, where a frog in king. The king sends Wallace on a quest, where he learns...

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PUBLISHED: Jun.30.2011

Die, Sinner: Another Al Pennyback Mystery

The Reverend Vincent Neville, head of the Church of Holy Redemption, was successful and admired. When he's found face down in his bath tub the police call it an accident, but his daughter disagrees and hires Al to investigate. He quickly finds himself knee deep in jealous husbands, ambitious assistants, and deadly rivals. He discovers that the victim had a secret life that could...

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PUBLISHED: Mar.01.2011

If I Should Die Before I Wake

DC private investigator Al Pennyback is hired to prove that the client of his friend Quincy Chang didn't shoot his wife, who is lying in a coma in a hospital bed. Trusting his friend, Al sets out to find who did the crime. He finds a long list of suspects, including the victim's self-indulgent daughter, but can't find a 'smoking gun' to be able to pin the deed on any of them. ...

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PUBLISHED: Feb.25.2011

A Good Day to Die

Al Pennyback and his friends were instrumental in apprehending Chinese gangster Li Wei and putting him behind bars. With the help of his brother, Li Jiu Long, he escapes and comes back to Washington, DC seeking revenge. Li and his brother go on a killing spree while Al races against the clock to track them down. When they bomb the home of his friend, DC cop Buster Mayweather,...

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PUBLISHED: Dec.07.2010

Child of the Flame

Child of the Flame is the story of Pip, a fosterling in Lands End, capitol of the Kingdom of Pandara. Neither he nor his foster parents know his origins. When he is taken hostage by Barbarians trying to force Queen Daphne of Pandara to marry their king, he is rescued by Vera and Tamara from the Land of Fire. While in their company, Pip learns the truth of his birth, and that he has...

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PUBLISHED: Nov.01.2010

The Day the Music Died

Al Pennyback is hired to be bodyguard for an up and coming singer, Cindy Caton. She's been receiving threatening emails, and her manager also asks Al to find out who sent them. He travels with her and her entourage to Colombia where he has to contend with a snake in the bed and an unfortunately Cindy look alike who gets a knife in the back. Back in the US, Al finds himself...

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PUBLISHED: Aug.25.2010

Dead, White, and Blue

Buster Mayweather and his wife Alma, while on vacation in West Virginia, witness what they think might be a murder. The militia who are involved, later kidnap Alma and Sandra Winter, Al Pennyback's girl friend, to keep Buster from exposing a plan more dastardly than mere murder. Al, who is wrestling with his developing relationship with Sandra, must race against the clock to...

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PUBLISHED: Jun.10.2010

Angel on His Shoulder

Winston Nesbitt is a 40-year-old loser. Overweight and beginning to grey at the temples, he’s stuck in a dead end job where his bosses abuse him, loves a coworker who he’s afraid to ask out on a date, and still lives in his parents’ house. Winston leads an unvarying, dull, but in many ways comfortable existence. He doesn’t like change because change requires making...

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PUBLISHED: Jun.09.2010

Memorial to the Dead

DC PI Al Pennyback is approached by an old man asking for help. He claims there is some kind of conspiracy and an old wrong that must be put right. Before he can tell Al what its all about, he's found dead in front of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. Al then finds himself in the middle of a federal investigation, dealing with rogue federal agents, and hunted down by Chinese...

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PUBLISHED: Apr.19.2010

Deadline

DC PI Al Pennyback is asked to investigate a century old murder-suicide. As he digs into the case, he finds a more recent murder, a major scam of unwitting women in the Washington area, and a ghost protecting a horde of gold coins.

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PUBLISHED: Feb.13.2010

Color Me Dead

Al Pennyback is a PI working in Washington, DC, mainly doing research for a law firm. An elderly lady in the neighborhood where he has his office asks him to prove that her murdered grandson was not involved in any criminal activity, or that his killing was part of a gang ritual. As Al and his assistant Heather Bunche dig into the case, they begin to encounter more than they...

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PUBLISHED: Mar.31.2009

Taking Charge: Effective Leadership for the Twenty-First Century

In the turbulent twenty-first century, we need enlightened leadership more than ever before. We need leaders who are focused on getting the job done. In Taking Charge, Charles Ray offers some principles and techniques of effective leadership based on his twenty years of military service and over twenty hears as a civilian government official. Combined with the commonsense,...

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PUBLISHED: Jun.01.2008

Things I Learned From My Grandmother About Leadership and Life (How to Light a Fire under People Without Burning Them Out)

There are thousands of books in print that discuss leadership, but Charles Ray, a successful leader of government organizations (military and civilian) for over forty years, believes that there was need for one that addresses leadership from a practitioner’s viewpoint. Things I Learned from My Grandmother About Leadership and Life is that book. This small book gives the nuts and...

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PUBLISHED:

Contemporary poetry by Charles Ray

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PUBLISHED:

The Fifth Dementia

Link at http://www.poets2000.com/charlesray/default.htm

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PUBLISHED: May.01.2013

Buffalo Soldier: Renegade

Sergeant Ben Carter is given what seems like an impossible mission: track down a band of renegade Apache and return them to the reservation - but, he's assigned a group of untrained recruits to do it because his men are almost all absent on leave after their last mission. Ben also has to cope with the settlers who have no love for the Buffalo Soldiers of the Ninth Cavalry. Another...

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PUBLISHED: Dec.14.2012

Dead Men Don't Anwser

Another Al Pennyback mystery. Al is asked by a young woman to find out why her fiance, supposedly dead for six months, answered his phone. As he investigates, a ghost from his past - a military operation gone terribly wrong - comes back looking for revenge. To make matters worse, he discovers that the dead man might actually be alive, and a murderer. The clock is ticking for...

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PUBLISHED: Oct.17.2012

Dead Man's Cove

Al, Sandra, and Quincy are invited to a secluded island for a weekend of fun. When one of their fellow revelers ends up dead, and a storm makes it impossible for the police to come to their aid, Al must find the killer before more people end up dead.

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Charles's Latest Blogs

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May.03.2013 - 5:27 am

Get "Buffalo Soldier: Renegade" free For a Limited Time Only!

Henry Johnson, United States Army buffalo soldier and Medal of Honor recipient for actions in the Indian Wars. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) My latest YA history novel...

Feb.06.2013 - 8:55 pm

It's No Mystery - It's Free!

Looking for something interesting to do this weekend? How about a free mystery novel to jumpstart your own creative juices? The latest Al Pennyback mystery, Death From Unnatural...

Jan.21.2013 - 5:26 pm

Taking the Plunge and Writing for Young Adults

A blog post I wrote recently for Indies Unlimited on my foray into writing for young adult readers might just be of interest to some of my Red Room colleagues. Check it out at...

Oct.26.2012 - 6:03 am

Paris: City of Light and Dark

Paris, the city of love and lights; the place where authors like James Baldwin, along with other black artists, writers, and performers, found welcome and a home when they...

Comments from Charles

Dec.23.2010 - 9:43 am

In response to: My Grandfather's Holiday Honey-baked Ham: How Sweet it Was!

Thanks Sue, . . .

I plan to do this recipe with a half ham (from the store) for this Christmas. I miss old granddad, even if he didn't...

Jul.27.2010 - 8:10 am

In response to: Writers Classifieds

This is a web site for

This is a web site for people who are interested in promoting their writing more extensively.

May.24.2010 - 1:47 am

In response to: A Rainy Night in Georgia kept me sane

Unfortunately . . .

The station in Del Rio went off the air long ago. Sleep? What's that? When I was a kid - and well into my 20s, I got...

May.16.2010 - 12:39 pm

In response to: The importance of core values

Thanks...

I am what my grandmother made me.

Apr.22.2010 - 1:31 pm

In response to: Why Do You Write Fiction?

Fiction lets you explore all frontiers

There are lots of issues; bigotry, ignorance, bureaucracy, that if dealt with in nonfiction requires too much verbiage...

Writing

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Article: How to have hasslefree travel

Article: The Economics of Modern Day Piracy

Article: The importance of integrity to leadership

Published Reviews

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Apr.26.2012

Buffalo Soldier: Trial by Fire

Published by Provided by Email

Reading this book is like being face to face with (a) Buffalo Soldier. Many stories have been told, songs sung about Buffalo Soldiers, but this time it is different. This well...

Audio & Video

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Video: Dead Man's Cove

Video: Video Trailer for "The White Dragon"

Video: Buffalo Soldier: Incident at Cactus Junction

Follow Charles’s tweets

US diplomats bike ride across borders to support tourism, sustainable development and wildlife conse http://t.co/CPlP5iMMVB — 18 hours 6 min ago

The writer must write what he has to say, not speak it.”

—Ernest Hemingway

About Charles

A native of East Texas, I have been involved in leading organizations (particularly those in trouble) for over 40 years. I have written a number of articles on history, culture and leadership, and have written three books on leadership in addition to my...

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