In Ira’s first published book Haunted Graveyard of the Pacific (2021), he focused on history and folklore at the mouth of the Columbia River, where the river meets the Pacific Ocean. Some believe the term 'Graveyard of the Pacific' applies only to the confluence of the Pacific Ocean and the Columbia River. In fact, the Graveyard stretches along the Pacific Northwest coast, from Tillamook Bay in Oregon, past the treacherous Columbia Bar (the world’s most dangerous entrance to a commercial waterway) near Astoria, Oregon, up the Washington coast, the Juan de Fuca Strait separating Canada from the United States and up the western coast of Vancouver Island. Further, the Graveyard includes the waterways and the coasts that hug those waters. Over 2,000 ships and countless lives have been lost to the Graveyard of the Pacific. This book proved successful, was named a 'recommended read' by several magazines, and his American publisher (Arcadia Publishing/The History Press) adapted it into a children’s book, The Ghostly Tales of the Pacific Northwest (2022).

In Ira’s second published book on Pacific Northwest history and folklore, Spirits Along the Columbia River (2022), he focused on the second largest river after the Mississippi by volume in the United States, that unites all parts of the Pacific Northwest. Historically, the river garnered much interest on the part of explorers of many nations, including Spain, Great Britain, and the United States. These countries struggled over possession of the river as they sought the legendary (but imaginary) Northwest Passage. Their hope, unfulfilled, was to find a direct water route to the Pacific Ocean from the Mississippi River. This is what led to President Thomas Jefferson commissioning the 1805-1806 Lewis and Clark expedition (The Corps of Discovery). This competition between nations, as well as the settling of the region, led to much pathos, conflict, opportunity, and achievement. Frontiersmen, adventurers, soldiers, boatmen, early settlers, Natives, and others suffered tragedies and death resulting in numerous haunted tales.

In Ira’s third published book on Pacific Northwest history and folklore, entitled Haunted Puget Sound (2024), he focused on Washington’s Puget Sound area which is an inlet of the Pacific Ocean and interconnected waterways and basins connected to the Pacific and the coastal areas that bound them. It extends from the city of Olympia in the south, to the colorfully named Deception Pass in the northern part of the Sound, with the cities of Tacoma, Seattle, Everett, Bellingham, and others in between. Puget Sound is the second-largest estuary (a partially enclosed coastal body of salt-fresh mixed or brackish water) in the United States, after Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and Virginia. Ira’s American publisher adapted it into a children’s book, The Ghostly Tales of Puget Sound (2025).

In Ira’s fourth published book on Pacific Northwest history and folklore, Pacific Northwest Legends and Lore (2024), Ira focused on stories and tales of mysterious cryptids ('imaginary creatures'), legendary curses, and folklore ('lore'). These stories were often a mix of truth, exaggeration, fear, humor, and wishful thinking. The more interesting of these stories took on a life of their own and were passed from one generation to the next. Sometimes these folkloric tales continued in their original form, and other times they were embellished or altered. Some stories captured the public’s attention by being reported on by newspapers and other media, and serving as the focus of investigations, university studies, books, television programs, and movies.

Ira’s second published book (unrelated to the Pacific Northwest) was Monsters and Miracles: Horror, Heroes and the Holocaust (June 2022). That book was centered in a very different world than America: it occurs primarily in the Nazi-occupied Europe of World War II. In that book he wrote about his father Al Kitmacher, a Holocaust survivor who led his family to temporary safety, and through miracles survived the Warsaw Ghetto and Nazi Death camps, and his mother Pearl Harris, a World War II U.S. Navy veteran, who through her military service helped those suffering at the hands of the Nazis. He interwove their stories with World War II and Holocaust history, legends, and lore. This included the Nazis’ and their victims’ underlying folklore (the Nazis believed they were descended from werewolves, and their enemies were vampires), horror, hero, and superhero stories, beliefs in monsters, angels, and the supernatural.

Ghost stories from the Graveyard of the Pacific have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery! The haunted history of the Pacific Northwest’s coast comes to life―even when the main players are dead. Keep your eye out for the spirits of long-lost sailors along the Columbia Bar. Or visit the White Eagle Saloon and Hotel to catch a glimpse of the spirits who checked in but never checked out. Dive into this spooky chapter book for suspenseful tales of bumps in the night, paranormal investigations, and the unexplained; just be sure to keep the light on.

Welcome to the spooky shores of Puget Sound! Stay Alert! Ghosts lurk around every corner. Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms. Did you know that ghostly shipwrecks and phantom sailors lurk beneath the waves of Puget Sound? Or that restless pioneers lost on the Oregon Trail haunt Olympia's Sylvester Park? Can you believe a long-dead brown bear takes evening strolls through the streets of Tacoma? Pulled right from history, these ghostly tales will change the way you see Puget Sound forever, and have you sleeping with the lights on!

King Solomon’s wisdom has been available for over 3,000 years, do not wait another minute before you successfully apply it in your life! Each of us has conflicts in our life. An argument with a co-worker, a disagreement with a loved one, and other difficult situations. How each of us handles the conflicts in our life has a significant impact on our happiness, success and well-being. But, what steps can each of us take to change, resolve these conflicts and build stronger relationships? Ancient, Biblical wisdom provides answers to this question. I conducted extensive research and wrote a book entitled Solomon's Steps. The book unlocks the ancient, Biblical wisdom of King Solomon and others, integrates it with modern-day techniques and provides you with a road map for changing situations and resolving everyday conflicts. Through Solomon’s Steps, you will learn how to build bridges to others, build trust, defuse difficult situations, make peace, negotiate successfully, collaborate, and know from whom you can seek additional help.