Mysterious Distance is a story of cycles: the cycle of romance, of death, of dreams … & of corn. Updating an old Aztec agricultural mythology to suit the meaning of our times—a time of mistrust and rebellion in the ways we consume, as well as the ways we relate to one another—Beres holds up a mirror and invites us to examine our own cycles. In the end, it is a tale we can all relate to: that of love and love lost, that of life and death, and that of the mysterious distance between the romance of who we are and the life we want to live, and the life that presents itself before us. It is a reminder that as far as we run from our patterns, we cannot run from ourselves, and, more importantly, that there is no reason to: the ritual of life is a rite of celebration, even when times seem darkest.

Mysterious Distance is Beres's fifth book and first novel. Inspired by the mythological undertones of John Steinbeck's East of Eden, the author set out to capture the state of agriculture in America today, one dominated by factory farming, useless subsidies, and patented seeds with large lawsuits against independent farmers. Yet he never intended to write a book that merely repeated statistics. Instead, Beres chose to tell the human side of the story, and not revolve the entire tale around farm life. Indeed, most of the book takes place in and around Manhattan in 2006, and spends most of its time discussing the relationships between people. For more info click here. Click here to read a sample from Mysterious Distance

The first Outside the Box Publishing anthology has arrived!!! It all began with one not-so-simple question put forth by Outside the Box Publishing founders Derek Beres & Dax-Devlon Ross to friends and associates: What do you believe? This collection is comprised of 29 answers in forms ranging from long and critical essays to haikus and emails. That such a seemingly basic question could provide such a wide range of possibilities is proof of the power of questioning. It is impossible to read this book and not pose the very same question to yourself, and with any luck, witness just how much the nature of belief informs you, and how meaningful a question it truly is. For more info click here.