The other night, out to dinner with a couple fiction-writer friends, I learned a new-to-me genre word: howdunit. The friend who shared the term said it describes a detective story in which the focus of the narrative is not the person who committed the crime (that would be a whodunit) but, rather, how the crime […]
William by Mason Coile on September 10, 2024 Genres: Fiction / Horror, Fiction / Science Fiction / General, Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological Pages: 224 Format: ARC Buy on Amazon Goodreads Henry is a brilliant engineer who, after untold hours spent in his home lab, has achieved the breakthrough of his career, he’s created an […]
ShadowBane by Cal Logan Genre: Fantasy / Action ISBN: 9798990237902 Print Length: 609 pages Buy from Amazon Reviewed by Kathy L. Brown An epic, high-stakes fantasy, ShadowBane delivers nuanced characters and gripping action. In a feudal-Japan-like setting, ShadowBane, the first book of the Schism of Souls series, introduces demon-slaying twins Shura and Jin. Demons are […]
An Otherwise Healthy Person by Ron Jansen Genre: Memoir / War ISBN: 9781625862730 Print Length: 328 pages Publisher: Credo House Publishers Buy from Amazon Buy from Bookshop Reviewed by Joelene Pynnonen A deeply personal, powerfully vulnerable memoir of a Marine squad leader’s experiences in Fallujah, Iraq and the aftermath In the wake of the 9/11 […]
Students sometimes ask what the themes are in my book, to which I usually laugh and reply, “That sounds like a test question.” Then, turning serious, I go on to explain that I don’t think about themes when tackling a story. Rather, I find myself spending time with my characters, and wondering how they will […]
‘Tis the Damn Season by Fiona Gibson on September 11, 2024 Genres: FICTION / Family Life / Marriage & Divorce, Fiction / Family Life / Siblings, Fiction / Friendship, Fiction / General, Fiction / Mashups, Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / Holiday, Fiction / Romance / International, Fiction / Romance / Later […]
The Booker Prize Longlist 2024 has just been announced. The longlist of 13 books – the ‘Booker Dozen’ – has been chosen by the 2024 judging panel and features novels by Tommy Orange, Percival Everett and Rita Bullwinkel. (updated for Shortlist at the end) This post may contain affiliate links that earn us a commission […]
Life Is Chaos and All Is Well by Steve Huff Genre: Nonfiction / Self-Help ISBN: 9798991254106 Print Length: 164 pages Buy from Amazon Buy from Bookshop Reviewed by Toni Woodruff Surf on the chaos, thrive in your world. Do you live inside a tornado? Or does it feel like it? Things are happening all the […]
Deep Fried by Mark Doyon Genre: Literary Fiction ISBN: 9798985035360 Print Length: 252 pages Buy from Amazon Buy from Bookshop Reviewed by Frankie Martinez A cheery, immigrant businessman puts all his hopes into an atypical food truck in this clever, character-rich novel. When a new vendor called “Bollywood Eggrolls” appears at the food truck park […]
Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross on December 26, 2023 Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Romance, Young Adult Fiction / Magical Realism, Young Adult Fiction / War & Military Pages: 448 Format: Hardcover Buy on Amazon Goodreads “Should I be surprised that I was falling in love with you a second time? Should I […]