M ARCH 2019

Your guide to self-publishing

Fighting the Commoditization of Books •
Book Cover Redesign • Indie Scouting Report •
First Lines from BookLife Authors • 89 New Titles Listed

True
Romance
A self-published romance
author makes her
characters earn their
happy endings
BY MATIA BURNETT

D
uring the eight years Meghan March
worked as a corporate lawyer, handling
mergers and acquisitions, she sought
refuge in reading and writing romance. She’d
never thought seriously about becoming a
full-time author, but, while looking for a new
professional path, she told her career coach
that she was working on a book. Her coach
set her a deadline, and the challenge lit a fire.
“After that, I was hooked,” March says. “Story
ideas flowed constantly, and I knew that
becoming a full-time author was my new goal.”
About 18 months after March self-published
her first book, 2014’s Flash Bang—which her
media manager, Donna Soluri, describes as
“a postapocalyptic ménage romance”—she
 ® INDIE SUCCESS
© weston carls
Meghan March
quit her corporate job and, she
says, “never looked back.”
For March’s ravenous fans, it’s
a good thing she didn’t. She fol-
lowed Flash Bang with the first
book in her popular Beneath
series: Beneath the Mask (2014).
48 B O O K L I F E , M A R C H 2 5 , 2 0 1 9
I value each and every one of
my readers, because they’ve
made this journey possible.
To date, she has published more
than 30 titles and sold millions
of copies in multiple languages.
March wr ites acros s several
series, including the Beneath
and Dirty Girl books and the Dirty
Billionaire, Forge, Mount, Savage,
and Sin trilogies. She also has a
number of standalone novels.
March says her characters bring
the real spice to her storytelling
and are the ingredient that lies
at the heart of any great romance.
“A good portion of my characters
storm into my brain fully devel-
oped on impact,” she says. “Many
times, it feels like they’re already
real and have just been waiting
for the perfect moment to intro-
duce themselves to me so they
can start demanding I write their
story.”
Other characters first come to
March as questions. For example,
she says, “What if there was a
woman who wanted to run away
from her life?” From there, she
asks more and more questions,
until a character begins to emerge.
“I focus on creating intriguing,
multifaceted, and layered char-
acters. Readers find it easy to
connect with them because they’re
flawed and human. And then I
put them through hell.”
Though that may sound cruel,
March believes that her charac-
ters come alive through challenge
and perseverance. “No happy
ending can be as sweet as the
one two beloved characters must
fight to achieve,” she says. “The
more intense the struggle, the
more memorable the novel.”
March says that “writing the
absolute best books possible is
always my number-one strategy
for success,” but she adds that
she has learned, through some
intense trial and error, a few best
practices for promoting her books.
She focuses on making connec-
tions with readers through social
media and Amazon Marketing
Services ads, but feels that real-
world interactions with readers
and word-of-mouth advertising
are critical to her success.
March notes that she relies on
the support of “an awesome com-
munity of super fans” to spread
book-related news. In turn, she
listens to and nurtures her fan
base: “I value each and every one
of my readers, because they’ve
made this jour ney possible.”
Beyond smartly using available
marketing tools, she says she
finds that “my genuine excite-
ment about what I’m writing is
one of the best tools for promotion.”
March encourages writers who
are considering self-publishing
their work to tap into their busi-
ness savvy by putting on their
CEO hats and embarking on the
j o u r n ey w i t h a we l l - sto ck e d
arsenal of “grit and determina-
tion.” It’s not the right path for
ever yone, but, for March, the
sweetness of success is well
worth the fight. ■
COVER ART ®

Cover Redesign
This month, Michelle Argyle at Melissa Williams Design
reimagines the cover of Loathly, by indie author Erica
Forrest, who called the redesign “everything romantic and
elegant that I couldn’t ever produce with my own talents.”
To submit a book for a free cover redesign, email us at booklifeeditor@booklife.com. Original Cover

The original
Making the cover has good
author’s name balance, but the
dark purple colors feel off
helps draw the for the genre.
eye to the title. Making the girl’s
A lighter color dress and cape
would be too a dreamy purple
distracting. really makes
the cover pop.

It’s easy
to overdo
typography
on a cover.
The lettering
here is ornate The cover needs
and could to immediately
compete with convey a sense
the background of fairy tale
image, so I and fantasy. I
gave the colors accomplished
and textures a this with color
minimal silvery scheme, image,
appearance. and typography.

B O O K L I F E .C O M 49
 ® THE BUSINESS OF BOOKS
Fighting
Commoditization
Smart indie authors can combat the
devaluation of e-books caused by
Kindle Unlimited
BY MARK COKER
T
he mere thought is at once repulsive and
terrifying: books as commodities. After all,
a book is the original divine creation of its
author, right?
We typically think of commodities as undiffer-
entiated products such as corn or wheat. To a
consumer looking for flavor and nutrition, one
kernel of corn is the same as another. Though
higher-quality corn can command premium prices,
the price ceiling is ultimately determined by what
the market is willing to pay for a given product.
In this respect, books are similar to any other
commodity. Books are delivery vehicles for reading
pleasure. Although each book is unique, the primary
reason readers purchase books—reading pleasure—
can be measured and commoditized.
If we divide the hours of reading pleasure one
book offers by its price, we can create a simple
metric: cost per hour of reading pleasure. This
metric allows one book’s pleasure-delivery poten-
tial to be compared to another’s.
Readers are unlikely to consciously intellectual-
ize their cost per hour of reading pleasure. Yet this
metric guides consumer behavior much as gravity
guides water to flow downhill. In a marketplace of
interchangeable options for pleasure, consumers
will gravitate toward the best-quality option with
the lowest price, whether that quality is measured
by brand, average review, or word of mouth.
How low can prices go? With agricultural com-
modities, the price floor is ultimately determined
50 B O O K L I F E , M A R C H 2 5 , 2 0 1 9
Mark Coker
by the cost of production. If farmers can’t turn
profits at the given market rate for their products,
they stop producing those products. When farmers
stop growing, supply decreases. This then causes
prices to stabilize or increase to the point where
new growers are incentivized to enter the market.
For decades now, most writers—even traditionally
published writers—have maintained day jobs to
make ends meet. This means authors are person-
ally subsidizing the publishing industry by continu-
ing to write books that don’t pay the bills.
Would we expect farmers to work for free? Certainly
not. Yet many writers will continue writing even
if there’s no money in it. Though one writer may
write for the joy of writing and another to afford
groceries, both require readers. And price is often
the determining factor for finding readers.
Imagine two five-star e-books of equal length in
the same genre by authors of equal brand stature.
If one is priced at $4.99 and the other at $9.99,
most readers will gravitate toward the lower-priced
option. This is how indie e-book authors have
captured such sizable market share over the past
10 years: by offering high-quality books at low
prices. But now indies are learning the limits of
low prices.
In my example above, imagine that a third book
of equivalent quality and desirability is thrown
into the mix, except that it can be read for what
feels like free. And then imagine a single retailer
controls nearly 80% of the e-book market and
THE BUSINESS OF BOOKS
actively encourages its customers to read for free
rather than purchase copies.
Imagine no more. This is what’s happening with
Kindle Unlimited, Amazon’s e-book subscription
service. Kindle Unlimited users can read more
than one million books for free as part of their
monthly subscriptions. The ser vice is almost
entirely powered by indie authors who’ve made
their books exclusive to Amazon by enrolling in
KDP Select.
Kindle Unlimited causes significant
devaluation on two fronts:
1. Amazon is training the world’s largest community
of readers to expect five-star reading experiences
for what feels like free. This makes readers reluc-
tant to pay for books, which harms sales.
2. Because Kindle Unlimited decouples book price
from author compensation, it means that Amazon
has stripped authors of pricing power and can pay
them less.
Mark Coker is founder of Smashwords and host of the Smart Author podcast.
®
Here’s how indie authors can prevent
commoditization of their valuable intel-
lectual property:
1. Produce premium products. Quality and craft
matter. Elevate the true and perceived qualities of
a book through professional editing, beta readers,
and professional cover design. The greater the
quality, the higher the price the book can command.
2. Don’t underprice: readers will pay for quality.
The e-book sweet spots for quality bestselling
full-length indie fiction are typically $3.99 and
$4.99, and $7.99 to $9.99 are good prices for qual-
ity nonfiction.
3. Avoid exclusivity. When indie authors make their
books exclusive anywhere—even for a short time—
it undermines their ability to build readership at
other stores. Exclusivity makes the author vulner-
able to exploitation when a single retailer controls
the author’s access to readers. True independent
authors publish, price, and promote with complete
freedom. ■
 ® BOOKS TO WATCH

Scouting Report
In this month’s roundup of the best-reviewed BookLife
titles, we highlight a historical romance, a medical thriller,
a historical novel, a guide to monastic spiritual practices,
and more.

★ The Monk Within ★ Comes the

BEVERLY LANZETTA
Synopsis: Lanzetta delivers
a stimulating and encourag-
ing vision for new monastic
movements in this fine
book.
PW’s Takeaway: Written in
an engaging tone and
sprinkled with relatable
parables, Lanzetta’s book
will be indispensable for readers interested in
monastic spiritual practices.
Comparable Title: Yogi Cameron’s The Yogi Code
Sample Line: “I imagine that for many of you—as
it was for me—the call to be a monk, to seek silence
and solitude, was in your heart from early
childhood.”
Read the Review:
publishersweekly.com/9780984061655
Winter
SAMANTHA ST. CLAIRE
Synopsis: Lena and Evan are
both grieving when they
meet in 1886 Sawtooth City,
Idaho, in this pitch-perfect
historical.
PW’s Takeaway: Rich
descriptions and entertain-
ing... This cozy tale will
surely delight historical romance fans.
Comparable Title: Rosanne Bittner’s Capture My
Heart
Sample Line: ”The wagon lurched sideways as
the sour-faced, bewhiskered driver hit yet
another deep rut along the narrow mountain
road.”
Read the Review:
publishersweekly.com/9781973282006

★ The Not Quite 355

Private Life Dead
of Jane DAWN HARRIS
Maxwell SHERLING
JENN GOTT Synopsis: A first-
year intern must
Synopsis: The origin investigate the
story of comics writer turned circumstances surrounding her
superhero Jane Maxwell. boyfriend’s admission to the ICU.
PW’s Takeaway: Fans of superhero PW’s Takeaway: Sherling’s atten-
stories are sure to be tion to detail makes suspension
entertained. of disbelief easy.
Comparable Title: Perry Moore’s Comparable Title: Robin Cook’s
Hero Charlatans
Read the Review: publishers- Read the Review: publishers-
weekly.com/9780990891444 weekly.com/9780578400921
KIT SERGEANT
Synopsis:
Sergeant’s
enthralling series
launch highlights
the emotional
turmoil of American patriots
and British loyalists.
PW’s Takeaway: Sergeant’s rivet-
ing narrative will entice history
buffs and lay readers alike.
Comparable Title: Mary Calvi’s
Dear George, Dear Mary
Read the Review: publishers-
weekly.com/9781981196739

52 B O O K L I F E , M A R C H 2 5 , 2 0 1 9
FIRST LINES ®

First Lines
BOOKWOKS_HALF_V_0715_Layout 1 7/24/15 10:10 AM Page 1

Uncle and Ants

MARC JEDEL
“Be careful what you wish for when
Our monthly look at some of the best you’re ten years old because it just
might come true.”
first lines by BookLife authors
The Reclusive Writer & Reader
This month we’ve got ice cream, murder, of Bandra: Essays
and looks that kill. To submit a first line, FIZA PATHAN
email booklifeeditor@booklife.com. “My father didn’t want me because I
was a girl.”

Tigra II Calling allEmpire

Iras of the
R.J. LEAHY
“The albino was not happy.” Indie
“She Authors
LYNNE BERGERO
saw it with her eyes closed.”

What can BookWorks do

Mage’s Apprentice No Goodfor you:
Deed
SEAN FLETCHER JEANETTE A. FRATTO
“On the day her parents were mur- “If looks could kill, I’d be dead, and
dered, Aspen discovered ice cream.” ● HelpSelena
You Find Your
Carson Reader
would be arrested for
murder.”
● Post Excerpts from Your Book
Q&A SPONSORED for Peer Review
BookLife Talks with ● Get a Featured Author Cover
Maura O’Leary Medallion for Your Book
Angel messenger and new
author O’Leary debuts with a ● Chat With Our Experts
fun, inspirational novel about
● Showcase and Sell Your Books With
these divine emissaries. can BookWorks do
What Direct-to-Retailer for you:
Links
How did you come to write When Angels Play Poker?
More than five years ago, I traveled to Cape Elizabeth, ● Find
• Help you the
FindBest
Your Editors,
Reader Designers,
Maine, for a weekend. I brought a journal with me Illustrators, Marketers,
• Post Excerpts from Your Book for andPeer Review
with no intention of starting a novel. The first night Publicists in the Business
• Get a Featured Author Cover Medallion for
I was there, images and dialogue just came into my
Your Book
head. I realized that I was being divinely guided to
• Chat
And that’s just for starters
With Our Experts
write When Angels Play Poker. Let us help you Prepare, Publish and Promote
How do you imagine Heaven and Earth in When • Showcase and Sell
your books. Your Books
We show you how With
to make
Angels Play Poker? Direct-to-Retailer
I did not have this story in my head or these images
indie publishingLinks
easier and, yes it’s true —
• Find the Best how
Editors, Designers,
to make it fun. Illustrators,
and characters in my mind before I started writing.
They are purely my imagination, based on the visuals Marketers, and Publicists in the Business
I saw. They just came to me suddenly, almost like
automatic writing. One thing that was very clear,
though, is that angels are not bored in heaven. They
have a job to do: to protect, guide, and love us every JOIN NOW!
day. They are just waiting for us to ask for their help!
For the complete interview, visit booklife.com/oleary
bookworks.com

B O O K L I F E .C O M 53
 ® WRITING ADVICE
Ask
the
Editer
A veteran editor
answers your writing
questions
BY BETTY KELLY SARGENT
Dear Editor:
P eople tell me my novels are
too complex. What should I
do? —Fred S.
O mit needless words, for
starters. That’s what Strunk
and White suggest for all prose,
and few would disagree. Lose
54 B O O K L I F E , M A R C H 2 5 , 2 0 1 9
the adverbs, simplify your
descriptions, and then take
out all sentences, paragraphs,
scenes, chapters, and, yes,
even characters that are not
absolutely essential.
Do you have too many sub-
plots? Can you eliminate one
or two without weakening
your plot? Go ahead and see
what happens.
And ask yourself why the
story got so complicated in the
first place. Are you trying to
include too much of what you
learned in your research? Did
you just become so intrigued
with the ex-husband of the pro-
tagonist that you let his story
dominate too much of the plot?
You might take another look at
your outline and do some revis-
ing. Leaving things out is hard,
and learning what to leave out
is even harder. But once you get
the hang of it, you’ll be amazed
at how much more effective
your novel can be.
Tracy Kidder and Richard Todd
put it this way, in Good Prose:
“Of the things we have learned
in revising, perhaps the most
important is the concept of
sacrifice. Sometimes passages,
even chapters, characters, or
themes, that are perfectly good
in themselves must go for the
good of the whole.”
Betty Kelly Sargent is the
founder and CEO of BookWorks.
If you have a question for the
editor, please email Betty Sargent
at booklifeeditor@booklife.com.
 PAID LISTINGS

PW SELECT LISTINGS ®

New Titles from

Self-Publishers
Booksellers, publishers, librarians, and agents are encouraged to look at the 89
self-published titles below. Each appears with a list of retailers that are selling the
book and a description provided by its author. Some of these writers are waiting to
be discovered; others have track records and followings and are doing it on their
own. If you are a self-published author interested in listing titles in this section,
please visit publishersweekly.com/pw-select for more information.
Fiction B07KBH28JB to blame for the breakup.
Alternative Facts Amazon, Baker & Taylor, BN.com, BookBaby,
Publius Valerius Poplicola. U.N.I.T. Books-a-Million, Ingram, Powell’s La Jolla Shores
Publications. $15 paper Retired billionaire Martin Mueller believes Murders: A Bishop
(219p), ISBN 978-1- the prison he’s an inmate of is in the Bone Mystery
71988-073-2 basement of his country estate and that Robert Rogers. Robert G.
Alternativefacts-book. his mission in life is to alter the course of Rogers. $9.86 paper
com, Amazon human evolution. (422p), ISBN 978-1-
Set in a dystopian soci- 983070-16-7
ety that parallels our The Interview Amazon, BN.com
own, this novel bears Roger Spielmann. Joshua A party in a wealthy enclave north of San
witness to its downward spiral from the Tree Publishing. $19.95 Diego ends with a murdered hostess.
present day through 2052 via slice-of- paper (255p), ISBN 978- Bishop Bone takes the case at the request
life vignettes. 1-941049-90-7 of ex-client who is being blackmailed.
Amazon, BN.com, Indigo
Death and Other Things: Stories What would you do if Little Girl Leaving:
Kimberly LaRocca. Kimberly LaRocca. $6.99 you had the chance to A Novel Based on a
paper (88p), ISBN 978-1- hang out with Jesus Christ for 24 hours True Story
79425-245-5 in the present day? Lisa Blume. Illumine. $16
Amazon paper (362p), ISBN 978-
In this collection of In the Doghouse: A Couple’s Breakup 0-692-10406-4
short stories, the many from Their Dog’s Point of View Amazon, BN.com
facades of death are Teri Case. Teri Case. $26 hardcover (350p), Based on a true story
examined, occasionally ISBN 978-0-9997015-2-2; $15.99 paper and told from the first-person, present-
with a wry and back- (392p), ISBN 978-0-9997015-3-9 tense perspective of the child, this novel
ward glance and occasionally through Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com, Kobo presents various forms of child abuse and
gut-wrenching horror. Skip is a rescue dog who loves living how children are forced to confront them.
with John and Lucy. But
Inside the Mind of when John leaves Lucy, No Ordinary Man:
Martin Mueller Skip’s world is turned Obsession Defined
EA Luetkemeyer. upside down. Skip is This Soldier’s Secret
BookBaby. $14.99 paper determined to guide Double Life
(150p), ISBN 978-1- Lucy through her iden- Nicky Webber. Media
5439-5040-3; $2.99 tity crisis, but he’s Publishers. $15.99 paper
e-book, ASIN guarding a secret: he’s (306p), ISBN 978-0-

B O O K L I F E .C O M 55
 PAID LISTINGS

® PW SELECT LISTINGS
9582314-1-1 ISBN 978-0-595- Mystery/Thriller
Amazon 44996-5 Betrayed
Mick’s secret double life throughout Amazon Eve DeLange. Xlibris. $19.99 paper (126p),
WWII continued after he returned home During a hike in the ISBN 978-1-984559-
in 1945. This true story explores this mountains, Lauren 37-1; $3.99 e-book,
courageous ANZAC soldier’s fight for runs into John, an ISBN 978-1-984559-
survival. engaging fellow with a 41-8
disarming smile who Amazon
A Place, a Warrior, a Boy, and the claims to have been sent to answer all of FBI agents Ragetti
Atlantic Charter his questions—about life and anything and Smitty set out to
G.W. Canning. else. piece together clues
AuthorHouse. $20.99 that lead them to solving two cases at
paper (262p), ISBN 978- Poetry one time.
1-5462-4588-9; $3.99 In the Cradle of Silence: Inner and
e-book, ISBN 978-1- Outer Journeys Through Beauty, Pain, The Case of Billy’s Missing Gun
5462-4589-6 Laughter, Reverie and the Infinite S.J. Slagle. S.J. Slagle. $9.99 paper (143p),
Amazon Gary Siegel. Epigraph ISBN 978-0-463-90055-0; $2.99 e-book,
The worlds of two young men on Books. $17.95 paper ASIN B07NL87J6T
opposing sides of WWII collide as (168p), ISBN 978-1- Amazon, Apple iBooks,
British and American leaders meet in 948796-52-1 BN.com, Kobo
Newfoundland, desperately searching Amazon, BN.com Supersleuth Lucy
for peace. A poetic journey James is hired to find
through inner and the Colt pistol that
Remove This Cup: But Not My Will outer aspects of life. may have belonged to
H.L. Grey. Dorrance Publishing. $16 paper Each chapter is a self-contained flow of Billy the Kid. Be care-
(198p), ISBN 978-1-4809-9116-3 differing material. ful what you wish for—a smoking gun
Dorrancebookstore.com conceals the truth. The Kid is back.
The Studebaker family Poems and Other
of Houston confronts Nonsense Chaos at Crescent City Medical Center:
the right and wrong Dexter Satterwhite. The Alexandra Destephano Medical
in today’s issues of Xlibris. $19.99 paper Thriller Series, Book One
gender, race, religion, (168p), ISBN 978-1- Judith Lucci. Bluestone Valley Publishing.
and politics. Are they 984511-91-1; $3.99 $15.99 paper (373p), ISBN 978-1-5122-
permanently divided, e-book, ISBN 978-1- 7163-8; $4.99 e-book, ASIN B00AU2KHPG
or can they find common ground? 984511-92-8 Amazon
Amazon A New Orleans attor-
The Surgion’s Mate Satterwhite’s view of life and the human ney’s Mardi Gras takes
Gerald Stulc. First Edition Design Publishing. experience written in poetic verse and a bloody turn when the
$24.95 hardcover (318p), ISBN 978-1- lines. wife of Louisiana’s
5066-0957-7 governor is discovered
Thesurgionsmate.com, What Luck unconscious and cov-
Amazon Suzanne O’Connell, illus. by Jeffrey O’Connell. ered with blood.
A historical fiction Garden Oak Press. $16.95 paper (137p),
drama of adventure, ISBN 978-1-73237-532-1 Death at Crooked Creek
romance, intrigue, and Amazon, BN.com, Powell’s Mary Ann Cherry. Mary Ann Cherry. $14.99
medicine during the A collection of con- paper (399p), ISBN 978-
Napoleonic Wars, trasts: 85 poems, some 1-72459-299-6
involving a young man’s ambition and erotic, some gritty, each Amazon, BN.com
quest for his family. mining the eccen- A tractor draped with
tricities of small an advertising banner
A Walk with John: moments and making struck Jessie
The Power of Love and Hate the commonplace O’Bourne as a fun way
Lauren Ball. iUniverse. $10.95 paper (116p), memorable. to promote Montana’s

56 B O O K L I F E , M A R C H 2 5 , 2 0 1 9
 PAID LISTINGS

PW SELECT LISTINGS ®

Crooked Creek Art Expo, until she saw small, isolated, and backward town in a Jim is a simple man with a simple plan—
the bullet holes in the back window. Communist totalitarian state, amid hos- until fate takes him on a journey to another
tility, discrimination, injustice, and poverty. place and time. His logs tell of a danger-
The Desire Card ous serial killer. As of today, Jim is still
Lee Matthew Goldberg. The Last missing.
Fahrenheit Press. $13.99 Chance Lawyer:
paper (309p), ISBN 978-1- A Daniel Pike Novel Venice Beach: A Novel
912526-35-2 William Bernhardt. Emily Gallo. CreateSpace.
Fahrenheit-press.com, Babylon Books. $14.99 $12.95 paper (344p), ISBN
Amazon paper (344p), ISBN 978- 978-1-5054-5621-9
Any wish fulfilled for the 1-948263-36-8 Abebooks, Alibris, Amazon,
right price: that’s the promise the card Amazon BN.com
gives to its elite clients. But the price may Lawyer Daniel Pike agrees to handle a Finn, a hard-drinking
be more menacing than they could ever simple adoption but soon discovers con- and cantankerous Irish
imagine. nections to a much larger conspiracy writer, is in the midst of a downward spi-
involving Florida gangs, Salvadoran ral. After his wife’s death, he finds him-
The Destiny Relic cartels, politics—and murder. self penniless and is forced to move in
Ed Mitchell. California Coast Publishing. with his daughter.
$15.95 paper (312p), ISBN 978-0- A Mutual Addiction
9668447-1-9; $9.99 e-book, ISBN 978-0- Mary Widdicks. Outmanned Publishing. SF/Fantasy/Horror
9668447-8-8 $14.99 paper (316p), The 21st Centuryon
Amazon, Apple iBooks, ISBN 978-1-73297- Clay Moor. AuthorHouse. $13.95 paper
Baker & Taylor, BN.com, 620-7; $4.99 e-book, (392p), ISBN 978-1-
Kobo, OverDrive ISBN 978-1-73297- 58721-955-9; $4.95
Hank Cameron is the 621-4 e-book, ISBN 978-1-
most hated and most Amazon, Apple iBooks, 5246-5480-1
hunted man in the BN.com, Kobo Amazon
Middle East. He’s For Cressida Dunhill, Moor’s tale tells why,
been framed for stealing a religious relic dreamless sleep is like dying every night. in the author’s view,
that could end or inflame warfare around Then she meets Vee and realizes a America is a jumble of
the world. mutual addiction might save her dreams. overlapping neuroses culminating in
But at what cost? herd psychosis. It also mirrors the
Fat Chance events of the society from years ago.
R.J. Leahy. R.J. Leahy. The Scribe’s Deceit
$2.99 e-book, Michael Berens. Cognition
ASIN B00B3DROPW MJBerens Research. Jacques St-Malo. Ballista
Amazon $2.99 e-book, ISBN Press. $15.29 paper
Wisecracking New 978-1-73204-052-6 (342p), ISBN 978-0-
York City PI Sean Amazon, Apple iBooks, 578-44629-5; $5.14
McDermott is coerced BN.com, Ingram, Kobo e-book, ASIN
into helping solve a missing persons The sudden death of B07M6V9Y21
case in rural New Mexico. an old priest and the discovery of a mys- Amazon
terious ancient fragment send a young World powers compete to control the
The Jew: Novel Based on a True Story woman and her mother on a life-chang- genetics of intellect, and a man’s DNA
Dominik Poleski. Xlibris. $15.99 paper ing adventure in the Judaean desert. holds a key piece of the puzzle.
(252p), ISBN 978-1-
5245-8308-8; $3.99 The Toy Maker’s Key Darkness on the
e-book, ISBN 978-1- (Every Now and Then) Horizon
5245-8309-5 J. Monroe McCoy. Christopher Renna.
Amazon Dorrance Publishing. Christopher Renna.
This is a survival story $21 paper (338p), ISBN $10.99 paper (295p),
of a Jewish teenager 978-1-4809-9283-2 ISBN 978-0-578-
and his mother in a Dorrancebookstore.com 44403-1

B O O K L I F E .C O M 57
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Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com, Scribd as no more than ani- Amazon, BN.com
Two friends offer Morgan the love he mals under the law. Lady Catherine, ban-
doesn’t receive at home. Soon he learns Kalin Taylor has never ished to the country-
their dark secret. Because of his love for questioned this, until side as a useless girl
them, it’s a secret he promises to keep. one day he ends up on with a lame leg, inher-
the other side of that its a secret family title.
Kairos (Quest for a New World #2) fence. But one reckless deci-
Donald Morgan Edwards. Xlibris. $19.99 sion from the past may
paper (238p), ISBN 978- Prophecy of a Planet: The Meeting ruin her chance at happiness.
1-984530-12-7; $3.99 Anthony B. Smellie. Xlibris. $15.99 paper
e-book, ISBN 978-1- (88p), ISBN 978-1- Rock Hard (Chord Brothers #1)
984530-11-0 984571-67-0; $3.99 M.J. Roberts. Eminent Press. $4.99 e-book,
Amazon e-book, ISBN 978-1- ISBN 978-0-463-58395-1
Edwards is back with 984571-66-3 Amazon, Smashwords
a story of survival as Amazon, BN.com, Books- Drummer Ryder Chord
eight individuals and a-Million, Powell’s has avoided feelings
their children struggle to establish a Matoca makes an since the tragedy.
human colony on a distant planet. agreement with the Now Lexi tests his
Dark One to take control of Icka. Four clans reserve and sanity.
NanoMorphosis find out and get together to stop him. Rule #1 of bands: you
Marla L. Anderson. Wolfheart Press. $18.99 never sleep with your
paper (432p), ISBN 978-0-9963249-2-2; Retrospect friend’s sister when they’re both in the
$3.99 e-book, ASIN Bryan DeMinico. Balboa band.
B07C74RTJR Press. $22.99 paper
Amazon, BN.com (362p), ISBN 978-1- Nonfiction
Daniel Walker’s ambi- 982220-18-1 640 Acres and Dirt Poor
tion to colonize a new Amazon, Apple iBooks, Janet Godwin Meyer. AuthorHouse. $28.99
world risks the life of BN.com paper (590p), ISBN 978-1-5462-0555-5;
the woman he loves In the year 3421, $3.99 e-book, ISBN
and turns an unscru- human, novus, and alien races coexist. 978-1-5462-0554-8
pulous nanotechnologist into a deter- The Galactic Interpol Society sends Amazon
mined foe. Agent Jonah to investigate stolen codes In her memoir, Meyer
capable of crippling an artificial Earth- argues that working
P.I.N.T.S. (Perpetrators Initiating like planet. hard has its great
Natural Tolerance Selection): The Blood advantages, especially
Books, Vol. 1 Romance/Erotica when the same values
T. Harris. Theresa M. Harris. $19.99 paper Double Wow are passed and practiced from one gen-
(376p), ISBN 978-0- Shellie Green-Baker. Xlibris. $19.99 paper eration to another.
692-09446-4 (174p), ISBN 978-1-
Amazon 984509-36-9; $3.99 An Affair with Beauty—The Mystique of
Twice-convicted felon e-book, ISBN 978-1- Howard Chandler Christy: Romantic
Jane enters the 984509-37-6 Illusions
Absolution Program to Amazon James Philip Head. North Loop Books. $46
gain a new life. But A young woman fights hardcover (478p), ISBN
Jane may find out the to get away from her 978-1-5456-3527-8
verdict regarding forgiveness has abductor only to have Amazon, BN.com
already been passed. him abduct her again. Painter Howard
Chandler Christy
Project Tau The Portrait returns to life through
Jude Austin. KDP. $3.13 e-book, ASIN Cassandra Austen. Apollo Grannus Books. the eyes of his wife
B01MF6X57D $14.99 paper (337p), ISBN 978-1-73251- and former model
Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com, Kobo 580-2; $4.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-73251- Nancy, who inspires him to create his
Clones (known as Projects) are viewed 581-9 vision of beauty, the “Christy Girl.”

58 B O O K L I F E , M A R C H 2 5 , 2 0 1 9
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Always My Hero: The Road to Hope & Death to Life: From Liberty to Magnolia: In Search of
Healing Following My Brother’s Death Memoirs of Wendy the American Dream
in Afghanistan Adams Janice S. Ellis. Christian Faith Publishing.
Renee Nickell. Lifewise Books. $29.99 hard- Wendy Adams. Balboa $37.95 hardcover
cover (288p), ISBN 978-1-947279-70-4; Press. $17.99 paper (428p), ISBN 978-1-
$18.99 paper, ISBN (260p), ISBN 978-1- 64114-753-8; $22.95
978-1-947279-69-8 5043-0725-3 paper (428p), ISBN 978-
Amazon, BN.com, Amazon 1-64114-751-4
Books-a-Million This memoir shares one woman’s jour- Amazon, BN.com, Books-
When a Marine was ney from a troubled life to becoming a a-Million
killed in action, his warrior for God. Ellis recounts the jour-
sister realized that ney of an African-American woman over-
siblings are often A Dream for Peace coming racism and sexism in America.
forgotten, fighting through PTSD with Ghoulem Berrah. Ghoulem Berrah
no support. She exchanged sorrow for Foundation. $29.99 paper (644p), ISBN 978- God Must Think I’m
strength to find hope. 0-578-46076-5 A Bad Ass
Amazon, Apple iBooks, Essence Unique.
Battles of Texas BN.com, Google Play Essence Unique. $8.22
Joseph P. Regan. Xlibris. $19.99 paper Freedom fighter for e-book, ASIN
(306p), ISBN 978-1- the Independence of B07GTB76VN
5434-4456-8; $3.99 Algeria, man of sci- Amazon
e-book, ISBN 978-1- ence, and lecturer at A 20-year-old is
5434-4457-5 the Yale School of stricken with an incurable brain disorder.
Amazon Medicine, Berrah describes his efforts to She endures nine brain surgeries, and
This book is an anthol- bring about world peace in this memoir. her life is turned upside down. But she
ogy of battles fought prevails and brings light to others.
in Texas from 1758 to Endless Days
1874 and is for readers with an interest Jayne McGregor. Xlibris. I’m Alive: A Near
in Texas or military history. $19.99 paper (114p), Death Encounter, an
ISBN 978-1-984555- Out of Body
The Book of Enlightenment 46-5; $3.99 e-book, Experience
Don. Dorrance Publishing. $9 paper (32p), ISBN 978-1-984555- Jeannette Foltz. Dorrance
ISBN 978-1-4809- 83-0 Publishing. $10 paper
6040-4 Amazon (42p), ISBN 978-1-
Dorrancebookstore.com A single mother falls blindly in love with 4809-4860-0
The author breaks a handsome, fun-loving surgeon, but Dorrancebookstore.com
down the different after moving in with him, she learns dis- In this account of her out-of-body
components of doubt, turbing details about his past. Then his experience, Foltz argues that there is
both theoretically and ex-wife cooks up a scheme that lands something beyond this world.
mathematically, with the woman in jail.
the aim of helping readers overcome Inviting Muslims to
doubts and evolve to enlightenment. Family Terror Christ: Including
Networks Quotations and
Creating Stories Dean C. Alexander. Commentary from
Hank Quense. Strange BookBaby. $14.99 paper the Bible and Quran
Worlds Publishing. (264p), ISBN 978-1- Randall Ireland. Middle
$4.49 e-book, 5439-5323-7 East Religious Studies
ASIN B01MZ6E3EM Amazon Foundation. $15 paper
Amazon, Apple iBooks, This book analyzes the (254p), ISBN 978-0-692-81648-6; $3
BN.com, Kobo emerging and troubling facets of family e-book, ISBN 978-0-692-81650-9
This book covers in terror networks. Amazon, Barns and Noble, Ingram Publishing
depth both story design and story- A message to Muslim believers that
telling. encourages them to compare the Bible

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and Koran, presented in a narrative of struggled with a physical disability, 1-4809-8701-2
mutual respect for each faith. which covers surgical procedures and Dorrancebookstore.com
hospital shortfalls. His experiences The Hammonds present focused medi-
The Irreducible Primary: A Dialogue on within the hospital initiated changes. tations on God’s love and purpose for
Nature, Spirituality, and the Human humankind. They encourage readers to
Condition Let’s Make a Contract: Getting Your discover God in their own lives and how
Rob Taylor. Rob Taylor. Teen Through Substance Abuse to rise up and be an overcomer.
$2.99 e-book, Ann Schiebert. Andrew
ASIN B07JQLCFK6 Benzie Books. $16.95 Memories of a Devil:
Amazon paper (280p), ISBN My Life as a Jesuit in
An unapologetic chal- 978-1-941713-84-6 Dachau
lenge to perspectives Amazon, BN.com Chester Fabisiak. Danuta
on spirituality and how This book provides B. Fabisiak. $18.99
they are applied to the constructs of step-by-step, up-to- paper (452p), ISBN 978-
human conduct. date techniques to 1-73211-700-6
help parents lead their teen out of the Amazon
Just a Thought drug abyss. Fabisiak’s memoir of his imprisonment
Richard Byrd. AuthorHouse. $22.99 paper at the hands of the Gestapo during
(106p), ISBN Lost Without Him WWII is a valuable reminder of the
978-1-5462- Carol Scutt. Xlibris. depths of humanity’s depravity—and
5228-3; $3.99 $19.99 paper (190p), of its grace.
e-book, ISBN ISBN 978-1-984562-
978-1-5462- 11-1; $3.99 e-book, Mike Honeycutt’s World of Hunting
5229-0 ISBN 978-1-984562- and Fishing
Amazon 10-4 Mike Honeycutt. Trafford. $13.99 paper
Each thought Amazon (138p), ISBN 978-1-
in this book is intended to elevate indi- Scutt shares the journey of two teenag- 4907-8804-3; $3.99
viduals into their own unique directions. ers’ love based on commitment and e-book, ISBN 978-1-
determination. Their love for each other 4907-8809-8
A Layperson’s Guide to Legal Research and Christ drew them together during all Amazon
and Self-Help Law Books the difficult times. This travel book
Kendall F. Svengalis. shares a collection of
New England Law Loving Difficult narratives about the
Press. $99.95 hard- People at Difficult author’s hunting and fishing experiences
cover (400p), ISBN Times: A Path in remote areas of the world.
978-0-9963524-9-9 Towards
Nelawpress.com, Enlightenment The Mystery of Life: What’s It All About?
Amazon C.E. Herman. Balboa Discovering the Truth in a Skeptical
A legal research and Press. $14.99 paper World
bibliographical guide to self-help legal (218p), ISBN 978-1- David E. Peeples. Xlibris.
literature with reviews of 800 titles in 85 4525-8315-0; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1- $18.99 paper (466p),
legal specialties. 4525-8316-7 ISBN 978-1-984510-
Amazon 59-4; $3.99 e-book,
Leigh: He Carried His Disability with Herman attempts to lead readers to an in- ISBN 978-1-984510-
Grace and Dignity depth understanding of unconditional love. 60-0
Charlene McIver. Amazon
Charlene McIver. $25 Making Sense of God This book challenges the standard
paper (170p), ISBN 978- in This Chaotic World Western worldview while exploring the
0-648-41780-4 (No Plan B) questions of origin, meaning, morality,
Amazon, BN.com, James Hammond and and destiny.
Booktopia, Kobo Joseph Hammond.
A biography of the Dorrance Publishing. $9
author’s son, who paper (34p), ISBN 978-

60 B O O K L I F E , M A R C H 2 5 , 2 0 1 9
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Power to Pray: God’s Immense (114p), ISBN 978-1-5320-
Purposes for Our Simple Prayers 4623-0; $3.99 e-book,
Don Andreson. WestBow Press. $13.95 paper ISBN 978-1-5320-4624-7
(168p), ISBN 978-1- Amazon
4497-4818-0 Skaarup aims to help read-
Amazon ers learn how to achieve
The Bible is filled with any goal and create suc-
stories of people who cess in any career field.
prayed and saw amaz-
ing results. The aim of This Day’s Joy
this book is to increase Gina Prosch. Lohman Hills
faith in everyone, so that God can act on Creative. $14.99 paper
Earth as in heaven. (386p), ISBN 978-1-
984130-73-0
A Professor and CEO: True Story Amazon, Apple iBooks,
Richard T. Cheng. Xlibris. $25.99 paper BN.com, Kobo
(704p), ISBN 978-1- This micro-memoir, culled
5434-8132-7; $3.99 from Prosch’s Facebook page, works as
e-book, ISBN 978-1- a prescription for a more joyful life.
5434-8131-0
Amazon Unadorned in Love, in Bed, or Bedding:
The book covers over Wisdom Confucius Could
60 years. It describes Have Shared but Didn’t
the author enduring Yang Hanlun. Partridge
two wars and how he became the Publishing. $10.14 paper
$240 million professor. (64p), ISBN 978-1-5437-
4854-3
Resilience Amazon, BN.com
Tricia Morrison. Tricia This book is a collection
Morrison. $9.99 e-book, of sayings wise ancients like Confucius—
ASIN B07NF5VW68 if they were still around today—would
Amazon share with us on love, sex, marriage,
This book introduces and passion, in and out of the bedroom.
readers to the life skill
of resilience and brings We Dwell in Possibilities:
a fresh perspective on navigating life in What American Women
this tumultuous and complex world. Think About Practically
Everything!
Revolutionary Carlotta G. Holton.
Powercycles: The Dorrance Publishing.
Science of Sweat $16 paper (202p), ISBN
Giacomo Fasano. 978-1-4809-9158-3
Bookwhip Company. Dorrancebookstore.com
$17.99 paper (718p), A journalist and author examines how
ISBN 978-1-948801-97-3 American women have progressed and
Amazon what’s next. Based on Holton’s intensive
This book offers a program of exercise study of original research, interviews,
intended to help readers sweat out and analysis.
harmful lead in the body.
Woven:
Success Philosophy: Standing on the Removing Masks, Reclaiming Identity,
Shoulders of Sleeping Giants Restoring Relationships, Reinventing
Daniel J. Skaarup. iUniverse. $13.99 paper Leadership, Reaching the World

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Cynthia K. Stiverson. iUni-
verse. $20.99 paper
(312p), ISBN 978-1-
5320-4126-6; $3.99
e-book, ISBN 978-1-
5320-4125-9
Amazon
Stiverson shares the
story of Woven Women, a sisterhood of
love that helps women find support
through a ministry with Christ.
Children’s/YA
Ace Carroway and the Great War
Guy Worthey. CreateSpace. $7.99 paper (112p),
ISBN 978-1-976482-39-7
Amazon, Apple iBooks,
BN.com
Pilot Cecilia “Ace”
Carroway is shot down
behind enemy lines.
She and her ragtag
fellow prisoners must
escape to freedom, but Ace won’t go
without inflicting some damage first.
The Adventures of Vince the Cat: Vince
Discovers the Golden Triangle
Heidi Bryant. Ipsum
Agency. $11.58 hard-
cover (55p), ISBN 978-1-
9993312-3-8; $6.42
e-book, ISBN 978-1-
9993312-4-5
www.catnapstories.com
Vince, Heidi, and Jon
journey to India, where they visit beautiful
sites, experience a Hindu festival, sample
the delicious cuisine, and eventually dis-
cover the Golden Triangle.
Aki & Paris (A True Story)
Mimi Chester. AuthorHouse. $20.99 paper
(38p), ISBN 978-1-
5462-4134-8; $3.99
e-book, ISBN 978-1-
5462-4133-1
Amazon
This is the real story
of an American fam-
ily of a mom, a dad,
an adopted white
puppy, and a rescued Maine coon kitten.
62 B O O K L I F E , M A R C H 2 5 , 2 0 1 9
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A Circle of Sharks: The Secret List Hello, My Name Is Bunny! London
Kelly Tully. Filiorum Publishing. $7.99 paper Matt Bloom, illus. by Pippa Mayell. Matt
(112p), ISBN 978-0-9994315-7-3; $4.99 Bloom. $21.95 hard-
e-book, ISBN 978-0-9994315-8-0 cover (80p), ISBN
Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com, Ingram, Kobo 978-0-9976425-1-3
A secret list of fears Hellobunny-
has come to life for bloom.com, Amazon
10-year-old Ren Foxes in peril? No
Singerson, and he will problem. Bunny
have to find the cour- Bloom to the res-
age to save himself cue. This is the tale
and the creatures that of a small kitty with a big heart who’s
scare him the most. finally found her fur-ever home and is
paying forward her good fortune.
Exile of the Sky God
P. Anastasia. Jackal Moon Kennedy and Her Bink/
Press. $16.95 hardcover Kennedy y su chupeta: Book 1
(282p), ISBN 978-0-
9974485-7-3; $14.95
paper, ISBN 978-0-
9974485-8-0
Amazon, BN.com
An adaptation of the lore behind the sky
god Horus, one of the most powerful gods
in ancient history. He embarks on a jour-
ney of self-discovery with extraordinary Maureen Sky, illus. by Maricella Obando Moya.
revelations. Xlibris. $15.99 paper (24p), ISBN 978-1-
5434-7677-4; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-5434-
Farmer’s Son, Military Career 7678-1
Clarence Vold. Page Amazon
Publishing. $17.95 paper Kennedy loves her bink—her pacifier—
(334p), ISBN 978-1- and brings it everywhere. However, as
63417-861-7 she grows, Kennedy knows that she
Amazon must part with her bink and substitute it
Vold sought life beyond for a soft blanket.
what he knew. Answering
the call, he serves 30 Not Gonna
years with honor in the U.S. Air Force and Write Poems:
achieves the distinguished rank of chief A Poetry Book for
master sergeant. All the Non Poets
Michael A. Lee, illus. by
Gularian Islands Michael and Jessica
Tracey C. Ayres. Balboa Lee. Lulu. $27.98
Press. $10.64 paper hardcover (124p),
(196p), ISBN 978-1- ISBN 978-1-4834-
50431330-8 9712-9; $11.97 paper, ISBN 978-1-4834-
Amazon, Booktopia 9565-1
A holiday ends in a Apple iBooks, BN.com
plane crash on a A collection of whimsical poetry and
remote island where strange things are drawings for children and adults of all
happening. ages.
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Olyvianna: The Incontinent Octopus
Cindy Graves, illus. by Mark Ruben
Abacajan. Xlibris. $21.99 paper (30p),
ISBN 978-1-5434-6368-2; $3.99
e-book, ISBN 978-1-5434-6369-9
Amazon
A young octopus learns to control
her ink by releasing it, thus gaining
control by expression, rather than repression.

Sassie’s New Home

Erin Albright, illus. by Alexandra Hombs. Albright Creative. $22.95 hard-
cover (20p), ISBN 978-0-578-45681-2;
$14.95 paper (20p), ISBN 978-0-578-
44332-4
Amazon, BN.com
This story helps children deal with pet
loss. Lanie’s beloved dog, Sassie, dies.
Lanie’s mom explains what heaven is
like for dogs and Sassie’s important
new job in heaven.

Smeagull the Seagull: A True Story

Mark Seth Lender, illus. by Valerie Elaine Pettis.
Seahouse Press. $25 hardcover (56p), ISBN
978-1-7321929-0-4
Smeagulltheseagull.com, Amazon
This is the true story of a wild herring gull
who knocks on the door to be fed. When
Smeagull disappears, it makes clear what an
important family member he has become.

Sophia and Leo Save the Day

S.M. Scarlet. S.M. Scarlet. $9.99 paper
(32p), ISBN 978-1-79525-591-2
Amazon, BN.com
Sophia and Leo couldn’t wait to start
their winter adventures together.
When they find out the animal rescue
shelter will close down in a few days,
they know they have to help save it.

Timothy Mean and the Time Machine

William A.E. Ford, illus. by Marcelo Simonetti.
William Ford. $9.99 paper (26p), ISBN 978-1-
73075-807-2
Amazon, BN.com
Timothy goes on a magical rhyming
adventure as he skips through time and
pranks with pirates, gets daring with
dragons, and even teases a T. rex. ■

B O O K L I F E .C O M 63
REVIEWS
Fiction
Alex
Adam Nicolai. Lone Road, $3.99 e-book
(304p) ISBN 978-0-9849264-1-1
At first blush a tense psychological
drama, this debut comes undone with a lack
of suspense. Grieving father Ian Colmes
tries to come to terms with his five-year-old
son Alex’s death, which is not easy to do as
Alex has been haunting him for the six
months since he was murdered. The
haunting plagues Ian, spilling over into the
rest of his life and further straining the rela-
tionship between him and his estranged
wife. As Alex’s presence grows more insis-
tent, there is no doubt in Ian’s mind that his
son’s phantom is trying to tell him some-
thing, and it may be linked to the disap-
pearance of another man’s child. While
Nicolai paints a moving portrait of a grief-
stricken family, the eventual buildup of
suspense is overwrought. Although Ian
wrestles with the idea that seeing his dead
son may be all in his head, it is established
too early that ghosts dictate the course of
the plot. Readers will appreciate Nicolai’s
atmospheric writing, but may be let down
by the predictable twists.
American Asshole
(Bachelor International, Book 1)
Tara Sue Me. After Six, $3.99 e-book (236p)
ASIN B07FDNNJJB
Erotic romance fans will swoon for Me’s
sizzling enemies-to-friends tale of two
dating agency bosses who find love with
each other. After Dee Matthews dies in a car
crash, her daughter, Mia, co-owner of Cross
My Heart, a Boston-based boutique dating
agency, finds out that Dee had taken out a
$250,000 loan—from Tenor Butler, owner
of Cross My Heart’s biggest competitor,
Bachelor International. As Mia is unable to
repay Tenor, he says he’ll forgive the loan if
she closes Cross My Heart and goes to work
for him. Reluctantly, she agrees, taking the
opportunity to investigate why Dee needed
all that money. Tenor has long had feelings
for Mia, but has a strict policy of not getting
involved with employees. On a business trip
to Atlanta, Mia runs into an old acquain-
tance, who tries to sexually assault her, and
Tenor comes to the rescue. The two fall hard
for each other, and Tenor breaks his cardinal
rule for her. But after an ex of Mia’s tries to
make Tenor believe she’s not genuine in her
feelings for him, his fixer steps in and
intimidates her into agreeing to stay away
from him—until Tenor finds out. Me (The
Mentor and the Master) carefully and sympa-
thetically handles the attempted sexual
assault, although some readers might find
the vivid scene distressing. Scorching sex,
well-developed characters, occasional
bursts of humor, and skillful plotting make
Me’s series launch a must-read.
Broken
Nicola Haken. Nicola Haken, $3.49 e-book
(344p) ASIN B01CEUZT40
Haken’s sympathetic romance builds a
relationship between Theodore Davenport,
a new employee of Manchester’s Holden
House publishing company, and his myste-
rious boss, James Holden, who inherited the
company from his father three months
before. Upon first meeting at a gay club, the
two men enjoy anonymous, drunken sex in
the bathroom. However, once Theo realizes
who James is, he takes umbrage at his boss’s
arrogant and patronizing attitude. James
woos Theo, who refuses to have sex with him
again until they know each other better.
They eventually give in to their desires,
becoming quite intimate and falling in love.
Then James reveals that he has bipolar dis-
order and a history of cutting and suicide
attempts, and Theo has to figure out how to
be in a relationship with someone so mercu-
rial and self-destructive. In chapters alter-
nating Theo and James’s perspectives, Haken
balances the love and tenderness with epi-
sodes of James’s pain. The depiction of
mental illness, including a situation that
lands James in the hospital, is nicely handled,
and readers will have no trouble believing
that love will win out in the end. This is a
sensitive and thoughtful story of love taking
root and flourishing against the odds.
Cerridwen’s Tears
Sharilyn Skye. Dark Horse Publishing, $4.99
e-book. (323p) ISBN 978-0-9600159-0-0
Skye’s debut novel suffers from a few mis-
steps but ultimately builds a fun world with
clear plans for a series. Lara Hennessey is a
nurse and widow living outside of
Baltimore. She thinks she’s a perfectly ordi-
®
nary person, until her new neighbor, Aedan,
a vampire, changes her entire world. This
narrative is standard paranormal romance
fare: a special woman falls for a brooding,
handsome, and otherworldly man while
learning secrets about her heritage and
trying to stop a killer. The unique element
is the worldbuilding, which dives into
faerie lore—Lara is of the Daoine Sidhe
faerie lineage—while complicating vam-
pire lore. Lara and Aedan are both stock
characters, and in order to justify him being
possessive and overprotective, the story
alternates between playing up her consider-
able powers and making her conveniently
weak. There is also a very unpleasant rape
scene that will put some readers off. Fans of
paranormal romance who like the comfort
of familiarity will enjoy this series opener.
★ Comes the Winter
(Sawtooth Range #3)
Samantha St. Claire. River’s End, $9.95 trade
paper (308p) ISBN 978-1-973282-00-6
Lena Sommer and Evan Hartmann are
both grieving lost loved ones when they
meet in 1886 Sawtooth City, Idaho, in this
pitch-perfect third Sawtooth Range his-
torical (after High Valley Promise). Mail-
order bride Lena hopes to leave tragedy
behind when she travels west, but when she
arrives in Sawtooth City, she learns that her
hoped-for husband, Mr. Nash, has died.
When Lena decides to stay and run Nash’s
boarding house, his boarders—including
fellow mail-order bride Jessie Leach, whom
Lena befriends—agree to help her. Only
quiet loner Evan disagrees, and he warns
Lena that she should leave soon, before
winter arrives. The two butt heads, but Lena
is determined to learn the ways of life in
Sawtooth and find a connection with Evan,
who intrigues her even as he pushes her
away. Where loss has driven Lena to fierce,
near reckless independence, it leads Evan to
caution. Rich descriptions and entertaining
characters bring to life the beauty and
struggle of life in the 19th-century West.
This cozy tale grounded in the everyday will
surely delight historical romance fans.
The Darkest Hour (Surrender #4)
Lauren Smith. Lauren Smith, $4.99 e-book
(262p) ISBN 978-1-947206-53-3
Fossil smuggling, BDSM, and heart-
B O O K L I F E .C O M 63a
 ® REVIEWS
stopping run-ins with the Russian mob
power Smith’s taut, well-characterized
fourth Surrender novel (after The Gilded
Chain). Teaching assistant MacKenzie
Martin is grading papers for her sexy
mentor and boss, paleontologist Dr. Royce
Devereaux, at Long Island’s Hampstead
University when thugs break into the office.
They threaten her, hoping to use her as
leverage to force Royce to authenticate a
valuable velociraptor fossil. After Kenzie
makes a daring escape, Royce directs her to
meet him at the BDSM club where he
spends his Saturday nights. He whisks her
first to his mansion and then to Russia to
keep her safe from the thugs’ boss, soulless
human trafficker and fossil smuggler
Vadym Andreikiv. In between bouts of
great, kinky sex, mayhem ensues, making
long-term survival somewhat unlikely. But
when all seems lost, Smith cleverly brings
in the cavalry. Although some scenes of
graphic violence are unpleasant to read,
they make it clear that Andreikiv is thor-
oughly evil, making it easy for readers to
cheer for his downfall. At the end, Smith
tantalizingly whets the reader’s appetite for
the next book, which promises to be every
bit as gripping as this satisfying
installment.
Division of the Marked
March McCarron. March McCarron, $2.99
e-book (362p) ASIN B00E2QYVLM
McCarron manages to successfully bridge
modern ideals and an ancient world in this
coming-of-age tale. On the day of Da Un
Marcu, 50 teenagers receive marks on their
necks and are forced to leave their homes
and family to become part of the Chisanta,
people with supernatural abilities. At first,
Yarrow Lamhart and Bray Marron struggle
to understand what it means to shoulder the
responsibilities of becoming Chisanta.
Years later, when the number of marked
children begins to dwindle, it is up to
Yarrow and Bray to unravel the conspiracy
behind the disappearances. Unfortunately,
the passing of years has driven a wedge
between the two, and what was once an ami-
cable friendship has turned into hostility,
aided by the split of the Chisanta into two
rival groups. Though the pacing and char-
acter development can get awkward at
times, especially with the large time jump,
63b B O O K L I F E , M A R C H 2 5 , 2 0 1 9
McCarron does a fine job of keeping up with
the events surrounding the disappearances
and Yarrow and Bray’s inner challenges as
they grapple with the past and what needs
to be done for the future. There’s plenty here
for fans of character-focused fantasy quests.
Foresight (and Other Stories)
Brant von Goble. Loosey Goosey, $4.95 trade
paper (135p) ISBN 978-0-9820991-8-6
All the stories in von Goble’s neat collec-
tion feature characters who are desperate to
make a connection in an inhumane world.
“They Don’t Call It Love Anymore” chron-
icles the loves of migrants who enter
America long after Trump has built a wall
on the border with Mexico. Von Goble’s nod
to Lovecraft in his reference to the U.S. gov-
ernment as the “Yuge Ones” is equal parts
horrifying and delightful. “Foresight”
relates a supercomputer’s misguided
attempts at understanding humanity.
“Glorious Ukrainian Bride Wants YOU!”
is the pinnacle of the collection, describing
the long con of an American man in his
quest to find a romantic partner on the other
side of the globe. This tale best exhibits von
Goble’s dry wit and unflinching examina-
tion of the possible futures of Western
society. Relationships are bungled, feelings
and intent are misconstrued, and absurdity
and profundity mingle. These dystopian
visions will unsettle even the most jaded
reader.
Four Nails
G.J. Berger. G.J. Berger Publishing, $16.95
trade paper (398p) ISBN 978-0-9883982-4-5
Berger’s well-researched and richly imag-
ined historical opens in 227 BCE India and
follows the life of Ashoka, a young elephant
trainer sold into slavery by his family and
sent to Carthage to fight in war. Ashoka is
the younger of two sons in a warrior caste
family that runs an elephant camp in central
India; he’s sent with Syrian traders on a long
journey westward. On the way, they stop at
the town of Exhandahar where Ashoka
trains and then sets free the supposedly mad
elephant that he names Four Nails. From
Carthage, after years of slavery working in
the elephant camp of Senator Mintho,
Ashoka is sent to New Carthage in Iberia.
There, he is reunited with Four Nails,
whom Hannibal himself names Surus.
Ashoka leads Hannibal’s elephant corps
through skirmishes and trials over the Alps
and into Italy during the Second Punic War
(218–201 BCE). Once the elephants die,
brought down by wounds or disease,
Hannibal releases and rewards Ashoka, who
eventually makes his way home. Berger
describes each location with care, from its
natural environment to the customs of its
people, giving his tale a certain vibrancy.
Readers interested in the ancient world, and
specifically ancient warfare, will find much
to savor here.
Going Over the Falls
Amy Waeschle. Aviva, $19.95 trade paper
(346p) ISBN 978-1-944335-72-4
Waeschle’s novel sustains a heady level of
tension with its story of a young doctor who
has a passion for surfing and a guilty con-
science. While on a surfing trip in Fiji,
Lorna Jacobs receives a call from a resident
who works with her in the ER of the
University of Washington Medical Center.
Lorna’s mother, Alex Morneau, whom Lorna
hasn’t seen in the years since completing her
degree, has arrived in the Seattle ER with a
mysterious illness. Before Lorna can decide
whether to return to Seattle, Alex leaves the
hospital, disappearing from Lorna’s life
once again, and Lorna continues her vaca-
tion. She struggles against the bitterness
she has long felt toward her absent mother
despite their shared love of surfing,
insisting that she’s “through chasing her
down.” Nevertheless, curiosity compels her
to start hunting for clues to where Alex may
have gone, and the subsequent adventures
are filled with troubles, epiphanies, and
romance. An unfortunate number of clichés
is offset by what is otherwise engaging
prose, and the fast pace of the story and
beguiling surfing descriptions will keep
readers turning the pages. It isn’t necessary
to be a surfer to stay submerged in this tale,
and the ending is as satisfying as the tanta-
lizing ride.
Improbable Botany
Edited by Gary Dalkin. Wayward, $8.99 e-
book (263p) ISBN 978-1-99977-151-5
Commissioned by the Wayward design
collective to explore “what excites and
intrigues us about the future—the limitless
potential of the biophilic city,” this unfo-
REVIEWS
cused anthology clings to outmoded science
fiction and horror formulas without real-
izing that mission. Nine U.K. authors and
one American offer broadly plant-themed
but rarely futurist short fiction. The
stronger stories are rich with atmosphere:
Ken MacLeod’s “The Bicycle-Frame Tree
Plantation Manager’s Redundancy” exudes
melancholy dignity; Stephen Palmer’s irre-
pressible “You Bringers of Oxygen” grafts
revolutionary politics and predatory archi-
tecture onto a shimmering version of
London; Tricia Sullivan’s poetic “Who
Lived in a Tree” measures aging slowly in a
fast world sincerely and seriously. Weaker
entries merely plug plants into standard
technological narratives—Justina Robson’s
woman-shaped fruits in “Strange Fruit” are
undifferentiated from sexbots—or lapse
into characters explaining the story idea, as
in Simon Morden’s “Shine” and Eric
Brown’s Lovecraftian “The Ice Garden.”
The lineup, meanwhile, shows only cursory
efforts at diversity: the near parity of gender
only highlights the similarities of the many
white perspectives. These futures break
little new ground but will appeal to readers
who enjoy riffs more than paradigm shifts.
The Interloper
Dave Zeltserman. CreateSpace, $15 trade pa-
per (332p) ISBN 978-1-4992-1614-1
Ex-soldier and unemployed former
liquor salesman Dan Willis, the hero of this
action-packed, darkly witty thriller from
Zeltserman (Husk), joins a newly created
government department of Homeland
Protection known as the Factory, which has
“extraordinary powers to deal with the
insidious and imminent threat to the coun-
try’s survival.” After three months of
training, his superiors dispatch him to the
Boston area to carry out his job as an
assassin. After a score of hits, Willis begins
to suspect that some of his targets aren’t
terrorists, and when he investigates them
more fully, he realizes he’s been duped and
must stop the Factory’s mission. Willis slips
into the underworld of crime to bring in
money, using the subversive skills gleaned
from his training and some of the Factory’s
electronic tracking devices. Things seldom
proceed as planned, and chaos erupts when
an “interloper” gets one of Willis’s criminal
colleagues in his sights. Zeltserman creates
characters who, while at times amusing,
still maintain their terrifying aura of
unleashed fury.
In Pain and Blood:
A Spellster Novel
Aldrea Alien. Thardrandian, $5.99 e-book
(720p) ASIN B076PTBTMC
Uncovering one’s identity, confronting
bigotry, and forging intimacy are issues at
the heart of this impassioned fantasy
romance series launch from Alien (Golden
Dawn). In the kingdom of Demarn, spell-
ster (magic user) Dylan joins the king’s
army to see the world beyond the oppressive
tower where he grew up. Military service
comes with the price of having his magic
controlled by a handler via a special collar.
On Dylan’s first outing with the army, he is
ambushed and breaks his collar; this leaves
him at the mercy of the Hounds, an elite
task force who apprehend uncollared spell-
sters. Tracker, the Hound who finds Dylan,
brings him back to the tower only to find
its inhabitants slaughtered. The pair race to
warn the capital city about the attack; along
the way, Dylan uncovers shocking informa-
tion about himself and his kingdom, and he
and Tracker begin to forge a romance
despite the many social and practical obsta-
cles. A well-crafted narrative about self-
acceptance is tucked away inside of a grand
adventure with lots of well-executed bat-
tles, though the endeavor is bogged down
somewhat by excessive sex scenes and a
wandering plot.
Leah’s Choice
Patricia M. Jackson. Patricia M. Jackson,
$4.55 e-book (255p) ASIN B07H6QN2TP
Romance, secrets, and corporate sabotage
combine in this heartwarming story about
keeping things in the family. When Leah
Loven’s grandfather Morty dies, she’s
shocked by the terms of his will, disclosed
in a video that his lawyer shows only to her.
In order to inherit Morty’s Jewish bakery in
Philadelphia, Leah is required to serve as
CEO for 12 months, turn a profit, and be
happily married before that year is up—ide-
ally, Morty suggests, to operations officer
Ben Stratton, who is conveniently hand-
some and kind. Leah is also required to keep
these terms secret from everyone, including
Ben. If she refuses (which her grandfather,
®
unabashedly guilt-tripping, refers to as
“throwing away [her] heritage”) or fails, the
bakery will be sold and closed, with pro-
ceeds going to charity rather than Leah’s
beloved grandmother. Ben helps Leah with
the company, unaware that Morty is trying
to matchmake from beyond the grave.
Enhancing a touching portrayal of grieving,
Jackson smoothly includes details of Jewish
rituals and traditions around death. Many
side characters lack development or consis-
tency, but there are enough plot twists and
sexual tension to keep the narrative moving.
The dynamics among Leah, her mother, and
her Italian mobster stepfather are clichéd
but effectively portray the complications in
blended families. This is an enticing story
about love, family, and tradition.
Not Quite Dead
Dawn Harris Sherling. Dawn Harris Sherling,
$12.99 trade paper (297p) ISBN 978-0-578-
40092-1
Autumn Johnson, the heroine of
Sherling’s impressive first novel, endures
long hours in the ICU at Boston Memorial
Hospital as a first-year intern. Her onerous
duties leave her little time to spend with her
new boyfriend, Jay Abrams, a medical stu-
dent involved in diabetes research. The pro-
fessional and personal intersect after a seri-
ously ill patient with heart problems who’s
brought into intensive care while Autumn
is on duty proves to be Jay. Despite the
heroic efforts of a senior resident, Jay, whose
ailment is undiagnosed, remains near death.
Autumn’s relationship with him leads the
hospital to give her some time off, which she
spends trying to track down what caused his
condition. A prologue suggests the answer
with its introduction of an unscrupulous
doctor who falsifies his studies of the effects
of a new weight loss drug to conform with
the requirements of the pharmaceutical
company funding his work. Sherling’s atten-
tion to detail makes any suspension of dis-
belief easy. Robin Cook fans will enjoy this
intelligent medical thriller.
Only the Good: A Jack Hart Mystery
Rosemary Reeve. Rosemary Reeve, $12.99
trade paper (285p) ISBN 978-1-982989-21-7
Reeve’s enjoyable third whodunit fea-
turing Seattle attorney Jack Hart (after No
Good Deed) finds Jack handling a lawsuit
B O O K L I F E .C O M 63c
 ® REVIEWS
against insurance company American
Fidelity. A paper mill owned by one of that
company’s clients, Squalicum Paper
Products, was leaking processing chemicals
into Bellingham Bay, which Washington
State ordered the paper company to clean
up. After American Fidelity refused to pay
for the cleanup, because SPP had knowingly
polluted the bay, SPP sued. Jack’s defense
case appears in good shape after an SPP
employee concedes having been aware of the
ongoing pollution. That changes when he
learns that the SPP mill burned down the
night following his deposition, that its
owner was killed in the fire, and that the
dead man, coincidentally, was Jack’s
estranged father, who abandoned Jack when
he was five. Jack becomes a suspect in the
murder—and in a subsequent attempted
murder that occurs after he meets his
father’s other family, which includes four
half-sisters. Reeve admirably balances char-
acter development and tense plotting.
★ The Private Life of Jane
Maxwell
Jenn Gott. Jennifer Gott, $3.99 e-book (348p)
ISBN 978-0-9908914-4-4
Gott (The Lady of Souls) kicks off her
superpowered Hopefuls series with the
exhilarating origin story of comics writer
turned superhero Jane Maxwell, aka
Captain Lumen. Jane is recently widowed
and has just been fired from her dream job
at Quantum Zero Comics. Her old friend
Cal introduces her to a group of costumed
heroes shockingly similar to those in her
comic Hopefuls, which she based on games
played by her childhood friends. Fleeing
from a surprise attack by mutant raptors,
Jane is transported to a parallel world
almost identical to her own, save for two
vital facts: her friends (and parallel Jane) are
the superheroes they pretended to be as
kids, and her late wife is alive. Original Jane
has been recruited by this universe to fill in
for her missing counterpart in the battle
against a deadly supervillain. But she
doesn’t have an ounce of power to her
name—or so she thinks. Gott aims true in
this action-packed, emotionally resonant
series opener about hope and heroism in the
face of overwhelming loss. Fans of superhero
stories are sure to be entertained.
63d B O O K L I F E , M A R C H 2 5 , 2 0 1 9
A Recipe for Love:
A Lesbian Culinary Romance
Lucy J. Madison. Labrador, $16.95 trade pa-
per (234p) ISBN 978-0-9998796-4-1
In this tender late-in-life romance from
Madison (Personal Foul), two women must
trust their hearts to each other after giving
up on love. Retiree Danika lost her partner
to cancer; shortly after, her beloved father
also died. Pulling herself out of grief,
Danika decides that 55 years old is a good
age for reshaping her life, and she begins by
expanding on her love of cooking by taking
a culinary class. There she meets Finn, a
woman for whom she instantly feels an
attraction she thought was no longer pos-
sible. Shortly after their first night together,
Finn abruptly leaves and cuts off commu-
nication completely. Danika moves on with
building her new life while struggling with
the loss, not knowing what is happening in
Finn’s life or the pain that Finn is trying to
protect her from. This setup makes it hard
to believe that Danika and Finn have had
the opportunity to fall truly in love, but
mouthwatering descriptions of food (with
recipes included) compensate for the snags
in the plot. Readers will wish they could sit
in Danika’s kitchen and will hope for her
and Finn to find joy together.
Rewritten (Bound #7)
Bronwyn Green. Bronwyn Green, $3.99 e-book
(271p) ASIN B075QX9C77
The seventh Bound BSDM-themed
erotic romance (after Safeword Protected),
continuing a series that Green cowrites
with Jessica Jarman, is a gut-wrenching tale
of love and redemption between two dam-
aged souls who manage to make each other
whole. Reserved assistant editor Eliza
Burrows is assigned to mind bestselling yet
moody sci-fi writer Angus Domhnull,
whose books kept her going during a very
dark period in her life. While grappling
with writer’s block and the pressures of
fame, Angus quickly begins to be intrigued
by, and then attracted to, the emotionally
fragile Eliza. What Angus doesn’t know at
first is that Eliza’s fragility is directly
related to her mistreatment by sadistic,
abusive jerk Nigel, an old schoolmate of his.
When he finds out, he’s determined to make
Nigel pay—and to help Eliza rediscover the
joys of sexual submission, which she swore
off after Nigel’s betrayal. Green masterfully
illustrates Eliza’s deep, unwarranted shame
and heartbreakingly portrays the unforgiv-
able but common sneering often doled out
to sexual assault victims. Angus, a gruff
hero with a heart of gold, will ensnare
readers. Blistering explicit sex peppers this
tale, but it’s the emotion that will stick with
readers long after the final page is turned.
Russian Treasures
Elvira Baryakina. Elka Palka Production,
$14.90 trade paper (470p) ISBN 978-1-73258-
400-6
With its cloak-and-dagger intrigue, this
first book of the Russian Treasures series
reveals the woes of bourgeois lovers who are
thrust into poverty, chaos, and despair
during the Bolshevik revolution in 1917
Russia. Klim Rogov, 29, an Argentinian
journalist and scion of a Russian noble
family, returns home to claim his inheri-
tance. He intends to return to Buenos Aires
and avoid the political unrest between Tsar
Nicholas II and the Bolsheviks—until he
falls in love with the young, captivating
widow Countess Nina Odintzova. The civil
war brings turmoil; Klim and Nina face
violence and a constant struggle for food,
shelter, and safety. Amid fighting between
the White Army and the Red Army, a
typhoid outbreak, crumbling social con-
ventions, and betrayal, Klim and Nina sur-
vive: Klim as an interpreter and gambler
and Nina as a flax mill owner, until private
property is banned. They live for a while in
the home of Klim’s controlling cousin,
Lubochva, and her Bolshevik lover, until
Klim and Nina attempt a daring escape to
China. Fans of historical fiction, particu-
larly that set amid the Russian Revolution,
will be rewarded with highly dramatic
prose and excellent period details.
Baryakina provides surprising twists and
turns and a cliffhanger that will leave
readers eager for the next book.
★ The Shadows of Stormclyffe
Hall
Lauren Smith. Lauren Smith, $3.99 e-book
(268p) ASIN B07B4QYZBN
Smith’s first Dark Seductions novel is an
alluring and haunting gothic romance
about the secrets and ghosts of a cursed
English noble family. In the present day,
REVIEWS
American Jane Seyton, studying for her his-
tory PhD, goes to Weymouth, England, to
research the tragic events that occurred at
the legendary Stormclyffe Castle. She is not
prepared for the supernatural elements that
possess both her and handsome Bastian
Carlisle, Earl of Weymouth. Rich and evoc-
ative descriptions of the castle create an
eerie backdrop for the collision of past and
present lives as Bastian and Jane experience
the visions and emotions of Richard and
Isabelle, an earlier Earl and Countess of
Weymouth, who died under suspicious cir-
cumstances in 1811. The connection
between Jane and Bastian is conveyed with
sensuality that is at once seductive and
chilling, further capturing the sense of omi-
nous, unearthly matters within the walls of
the ancestral manor that threaten the pro-
tagonists’ lives. The mystery behind
Richard and Isabelle’s deaths, the haunt-
ings, and Jane and Bastian’s own struggles
to survive are cleverly explored, making for
an enthralling plot. This unusual and spell-
binding mix of Regency and contemporary
romance will satisfy a wide range of readers.
Specter (Circuit #1)
Lacey Dailey. Lacey Dailey, $0.99 e-book
(286p) ASIN B07GC481JN
Dailey (Creating Chaos) kicks off her
Circuit series with an emotionally rich
romance that pairs an introverted computer
whiz with a woman he helped to rescue.
Wren Wilder spends his days working tech
support, but by night, he is Specter, a
member of a group of “hacktivists” known
as Circuit, who “[take] down scumbags for
fun” both online and off. When a package
arrives at his door addressed to his alias,
Wren is terrified that his identity has been
compromised by his enemies. The package,
however, is a thank-you gift from Sage
Maddison, who was rescued from a drug
dealing ring by Circuit after 18 months in
captivity. Sage is struggling with her dark
memories and guilt, but she is determined
to thank her saviors. When she and Wren
finally meet, a deep friendship blossoms
that helps Sage begin to heal. Then Sage’s
whereabouts are leaked to her kidnapper,
and Sage refuses to hide behind Wren,
instead taking on the drug dealers herself.
Though some shifts in emotional tone can
be jarring, there is a lot to enjoy in this
thoughtful, moving series opener, which
thoroughly develops its characters to create
undeniable appeal.
Shadows, Shells, and Spain
John Meyer. Summer Nomad Publications,
$13.95 trade paper (312p) ISBN 978-0-
9876703-9-7
Meyer’s redemptive tale combines ele-
ments of travelogue, epistolary novel,
romance, and mystery, and follows Canadian
Jamie Draper in Mallorca, Spain, as he
searches for his wife, Pam, who left him
months before. A letter reveals that she left
to walk Spain’s medieval pilgrim trail, the
Camino de Santiago, and that Jamie must
too, if he wants to find more letters that
she’s left him along the trail. Readers are
treated to Jamie’s preparations in Pamplona,
his observations of scenery and thoughts on
chores of the trail, like finding food and
lodging. He also shares asides on the fig-
ures, events, and folklore attached to his-
toric sites, from assorted kings to miracle
chickens. Jamie is stunned to learn that
Pam left not just because of their lackluster
marriage but also because she was diag-
nosed with cancer and wanted to face it
alone. Brie Bletcher, a Londoner walking
the trail to leave behind her life with her
abusive ex-husband, proves to be a great
support to Jamie. Ultimately, her friend-
ship, Jamie’s own reflections, and the miles
of the Camino provide a way forward. Meyer
has successfully melded ruminations on one
of Europe’s most famous pilgrimages with
a tender story of loss and healing, creating
a lovely tale.
An Unpresentable Glory
Ellie Gustafson. Ambassador International,
$16.99 trade paper (365p) ISBN 978-1-62020-
842-7
This uplifting but underdeveloped
romance from Gustafson (Dynamo) over-
flows with faith and an admirable message
of redemption. In Westchester, N.Y., Linda
Jensen lives a peaceful life devoted almost
entirely to tending to her garden. But after
church one Sunday, she comes across an
unfamiliar and gravely ill man near her
house. Agreeing to his request that she not
call 911 or the hospital, she instead takes
the stranger into her home and nurses him
back to health over the following week.
®
After a reporter turns up at the house, Linda
learns the man she knows as “Jay” is actually
Lawrie Crofter, the Republican candidate
for vice president. Their week together is
idyllic and platonic as Lawrie recovers from
his mysterious illness out of the public
eye—but when their “affair” becomes
national news, it threatens to destroy both
of their lives. Though Christian grace is the
foundation upon which the plot is built, the
story suffers from lack of character develop-
ment, particularly for Lawrie, whose moti-
vations remain a mystery. Gustafson’s story
of healing works best when it focuses on
themes of faith, and it will appeal to inspi-
rational romance fans who can look past
weak characters and an implausible plot.
Why Was Rachel Murdered?
Bill Prentice. Echo Road, $13.99 trade paper
(300p) ISBN 978-1-7753337-0-8
Prentice’s taut debut draws the reader
into the world of Ponzi schemes, money
laundering, political corruption, and greed.
When a killer snaps the neck of financial
consultant Rachel Lisgar, who’s also a pro-
fessor of advanced mathematics, on her
return home to Toronto from New York
City, where she uncovered some troubling
information about a Manhattan-based
investment firm, the client who sent her to
New York, Janos Pach, hires PI Neil Walker
to investigate. Neil, a former Mountie who
specialized in financial crimes, is soon at
odds with the victim’s powerful and wealthy
family, particularly her aunt, Isabelle
Lisgar, “Canada’s pre-eminent female entre-
preneur” and “a fierce backroom power
broker in the Conservative Party.” When an
American, with whom Rachel spoke the day
of her murder, is killed, the FBI and the
U.K.’s National Crime Agency enter the
picture, as do a Russian oligarch, a Chinese
arms dealer, and a shady Spanish busi-
nessman. Prentice’s complicated but enjoy-
able thriller provides some insight into
current real-life headlines about interna-
tional criminal activity.
Wicked Whiskey Love
Melissa Foster. World Literary, $4.99 e-book
(300p) ASIN B078TNV8M6
Foster’s low-key third Whiskey stand-
alone (after Driving Whiskey Wild) is tame
and tender compared to the earlier novels.
B O O K L I F E .C O M 63e
 ® REVIEWS
Sarah Beckley; her long-lost brother, Scott;
and her two young children, Lila and
Bradley, were in a car crash that badly
injured Scott and Lila. The Whiskey
brothers, gruff bikers with hearts of gold,
stepped up to help them. Wayne “Bones”
Whiskey, a respected oncologist, finds him-
self drawn to Sarah and her two children.
He’s never been attracted to a pregnant
woman before, but Sarah being six months
along—a condition stemming from being
raped by her ex, Lewis—doesn’t faze him.
Sarah, cautious from her previous experi-
ences with men, is reluctant to let Bones in;
he’s persistent, but doesn’t rush her. As they
grow closer, it’s clear that Bones is the
partner and father figure that Sarah and her
kids need, but they fear that Lewis will
track Sarah down and demand custody of
the children. The unusual choice of a preg-
nant heroine with young children bolsters
this slow-paced contemporary, showing
that love is always possible no matter the
circumstances. Bones and Sarah’s story is
fitting for Bones’s personality: contempla-
tive, careful, and measured. Though series
fans may be surprised at the relative absence
of romantic urgency, they’ll still love this
sweet and relaxing tale.
355: The Women of Washington’s
Spy Ring
Kit Sergeant. CreateSpace, $12.99 trade pa-
per (330p) ISBN 978-1-981196-73-9
Sergeant’s enthralling series launch,
about three women who became part of
George Washington’s Culper Spy Ring,
highlights the emotional turmoil of
American Patriots and British Loyalists
during the battle for New York City in
1776. After Meg Moncrieffe’s tip to the
British Army endangers her love interest,
Maj. Aaron Burr—an American Patriot—
and she is forced into a loveless marriage,
the disillusioned 17-year-old abandons her
British loyalty and becomes an American
sympathizer. Twenty-something mother
and wife Elizabeth Burgin and her husband,
who has enlisted as a Continental Army
soldier, have opposing loyalties. But after
Elizabeth discovers her husband has been
captured by the British and mistreated on
a prison ship, she aligns herself with the
Patriots in an attempt to free other pris-
oners from a similar fate. Eighteen-year-old
63f BOOKLIFE, MARCH 25, 2019
Patriot Sally Townsend gathers information
from unsuspecting British soldiers when
her family becomes host to a Loyalist militia
group. This fast-paced and suspenseful
novel effectively conveys the irony of how
society’s disregard for a woman’s relevance
beyond marriage and family set them up to
be successful clandestine operatives.
Sergeant’s riveting narrative will entice his-
tory buffs and lay readers alike.
Nonfiction
Basically Bipolar: Laughing Mani-
acally Through the Dark Delirium
of a Polar Winter... or Two
Rex Nelson. The Anglers Unwilling, $14.99
trade paper (294p) ISBN 978-1-7328272-0-2
Engineer Nelson recounts in journal
entries the year and three summers (between
2008 and 2012) he spent at Summit Station
“on the apex of the Greenland ice cap” to
“maintain scientific instruments, launch
weather balloons, perform snow accumula-
tion surveys, maintain meteorological
suites, and troubleshoot any problems.” But
his story is much more than relaying the
scientific data he collected; he recounts life
at the polar ice station, including his first
days at the Summit, where it was -70 °F (“I
expected it to be cold here, but I didn’t
expect it to be that cold”), and the fatigue
he and his five coworkers experienced—“an
eerie mind-numbing quality to life” where
“brains are malfunctioning.... Words are
fleeting, memory short, train of thought
easily derailed.” Along the way, he describes
the rugged environment (“the monochro-
maticity of a frosty-white world lends extra
brilliance to what color there is”), bouts of
insomnia, and breaking up a long-distance
relationship. This is a fascinating and per-
ceptive look at what it means to live and
work in extreme conditions.
Buzz: The Ultimate Guide to
Book Marketing
Dara Beevas and Roseanne Cheng. Wise Ink,
$20 trade paper (204p) ISBN 978-1-63489-168-
4 raphy Benjamin Franklin. Foster finds Van
Book marketers Beevas (The Indie Author
Revolution) and Cheng (Edge the Bare Garden)
present an exceedingly straightforward,
easy-to-use handbook that demystifies their
profession for the benefit of independently
published authors. Chock-full of charts,
tables, and worksheets, this useful resource
gently guides authors through the various
steps of marketing their book. Beevas and
Cheng encourage authors to overcome any
reluctance they might feel toward self-
promotion by keeping a healthy sense of
humor about the process and observing how
authors they admire market themselves.
The authors cover hiring an independent
publicist (“maybe”), the pros and cons of
having an audiobook (“You absolutely don’t
need [one]”), wooing booksellers (“Learn
how they operate”), and anticipating what
to do when sales start to taper off (“first
things first: relax”). Included is a very useful
sample marketing calendar to help deter-
mine activities leading up the book launch,
alongside a helpful summary list of “101
Ways to Market Your Book” (“Create a mar-
keting plan”; “Create an Amazon Author
Central account”). Every author, whether
indie or not, will find this guide encour-
aging and instructive.
Carl Van Doren: A Man of Ideas
Robin K. Foster. Armillary, $16.99 trade paper
(337p) ISBN 978-0-692-18921-4
In this admiring and enthusiastic biog-
raphy, historian Foster (The Age of Sail in the
Age of Aquarius) examines the life and work
of critic Carl Van Doren (1885–1950). She
carefully traces Van Doren’s Illinois
upbringing and his early desire to move to
New York City, where he would go on to
study, and later teach, at Columbia
University. Drawing deeply on Van Doren’s
correspondence with writers including
Mary Hunter Austin, Theodore Dreiser,
and Sinclair Lewis, Foster reveals his intense
engagement with the literary culture of
early and mid-20th-century America.
These contributions included a steady
stream of essays and book reviews for peri-
odicals such as Century, the Nation, and the
Saturday Review of Literature; presiding
over selections for one of the first monthly
book clubs, the Literary Guild of America;
and writing the Pulitzer-winning biog-
Doren “at his most brilliant” as a critic in
his introductory essay for Carl Van Doren:
The Viking Portable Library, which con-
tained the ringing declaration that
REVIEWS
“American literature is the only important
literature in the world that is younger than
the art of printing.” Foster’s in-depth study
of Van Doren as an exemplar of an “era when
the Man of Ideas was itself a calling” should
stand for many years to come.
Choosing Happy: 44 Proven
Hacks to Defeat Sadness and
Embrace a Joy-Filled Life
Heidi Farrelly. How 2 Without, $14.99 trade
paper (448p) ISBN 978-0-9945171-6-6
Finance writer Farrelly (Mortgage Free)
turns her keen eye to happiness “hacks” for
those who struggle with anxiety and depres-
sion in this cheery book of advice. Farrelly
writes of the onset of bouts of depression
and how her husband issued an ultimatum
to “be happier or talk to someone,” which
led her to dig into the science of mental
health. Farrelly found ways to work through
her depression by focusing on her responses
and reactions to feeling negative emotions.
In one pivotal moment, she lost 10 pages of
a book she was writing and became upset—
but then realized that focusing on the posi-
tive that could come of the missing pages
(a second, clearer draft) transformed her
anger into determination. Eventually, she
developed “hacks” to help her during rough
spots, among them setting goals, avoiding
the morning news, and focusing on good
posture and breathing. Farrelly’s tips are
fairly practical, and she reminds readers
she’s not a licensed mental health profes-
sional and repeatedly urges those with
depression and other mood disorders to seek
clinical help. Readers looking to bring a
little more brightness into their days may
well pick up a helpful tip or two here.
Just One Question:
A Road Trip Memoir
Tyler Sassaman. MCP Books, $16.95 trade
paper (274p) ISBN 978-1-5456-0137-2
Sassaman’s entertaining memoir traces a
road trip from Boston to Burning Man, in
Nevada, and back, all the while asking
strangers: if you could ask everyone you met
just one question, what would you ask?
Sassaman uses this conceit to navigate
beyond his comfort zone into conversations
with strangers, including a felon hitch-
hiker, a tattoo artist, and a wild bull, who
retreats after Sassaman pops his question.
Answers range from moral dilemmas (“what
criteria do you use to differentiate between
right and wrong?”) to cocktail party con-
versation (“is a chicken wing light meat or
dark meat?”). Intended questions to celeb-
rities frame each chapter, featuring the likes
of poet laureate Ted Kooser (“Do you know
a way to slow the passage of time?”) and
humorist Dave Barry (“Do you mind if I ask
you one question?”). Along the way
Sassaman wrestles with his own problems,
most notably his need for his father’s
approval. The book doesn’t necessarily hold
the meaning of life, but it will leave readers
asking themselves questions both
thoughtful and silly.
Mississippi and the Great
Depression
Richelle Putnam. The History Press, $21.99
trade paper (160p) ISBN 978-1-4671-1876-7
In this worthy illustrated history,
Putnam (The Inspiring Life of Eudora Welty)
narrates the hardscrabble Great Depression
years in Mississippi, beginning with the
Great Flood of 1927 and ending with
WWII, accompanied by a trove of photo-
graphs recording daily life and special
events. As Putnam recounts, the white,
black, Choctaw, and Chinese people who
lived in the Deep Southern state experi-
enced significant hardship on top of pre-
existing natural disasters (such as flooding,
multiyear droughts) and manmade crises
(extensive deforestation). She excerpts the
pleading letters Mississippians of all eco-
nomic classes wrote to their congressman,
William H. Colmer, about the extreme lack
of education and jobs. Putnam shows that
the state proved ripe for Roosevelt’s then-
controversial New Deal programs; the
Tennessee Valley Authority, Civilian
Conservation Corps, and National
Industrial Recovery Association kept resi-
dents from starving. The photos reveal not
only deprivation but also a rich culture
i n f l u e n c e d b y t h e s t a t e ’s G r e a t
Depression-era writers Eudora Welty,
William Faulkner, and Walker Percy and
legendary musician Robert Johnson. Ideal
for readers fascinated by the idea of the New
South, Putnam’s spare account of a difficult
era provides insight into modern
Mississippi’s struggle to overcome an
impoverished past with grit and a remark-
®
able cultural legacy.
★ The Monk Within:
Embracing a Sacred Way of Life
Beverly Lanzetta. Blue Sapphire, $19 trade
paper (402p) ISBN 978-0-98406-165-5
Lanzetta (Nine Jewels of Night), former
professor of theology at Villanova
University, delivers a stimulating and
encouraging vision for new monastic move-
ments in this fine book. Adapting ancient
monastic tenets, Lanzetta details how these
long-known practices can help to integrate
“all aspects of contemporary life—work,
family, friendship, and sexuality—into the
sacred dimension of being.” Lanzetta’s most
useful advice is on how to cast aside worldly
distractions to concentrate on “the perma-
nence of silence, love, and truth.” While she
provides some practical meditation tips, her
wide-ranging volume’s most lively sections
are her introductions to the spiritual jour-
neys of devoted ascetics St. Augustine,
Gandhi, and Thomas Merton. Through
their examples, Lanzetta urges those who
wish to embark on a life of spiritual solitude
to commit themselves to gratitude, obedi-
ence, and poverty (which is not just giving
away money, but includes divesting oneself
of “superiority” and “willfulness”). Finally,
she recommends readers take vows of advo-
cacy for current movements toward nonvio-
lence and social justice. Written in an
engaging tone and sprinkled with relatable
parables, Lanzetta’s book of wonder, con-
templation, and selflessness will be indis-
pensable for readers interested in monastic
spiritual practices.
Porcelain Travels: Humor, Horror
and Revelation in, on and Around
Toilets, Tubs and Showers
Matthew Felix. Solificatio, $14.99 trade paper
(240p) ISBN 978-0-9977619-2-4
Travel writer Felix (With Open Arms: Short
Stories of Misadventures in Morocco) returns
with an offbeat yet funny collection of sto-
ries of his travels abroad—mainly in Spain,
France, and Turkey—united by a common
theme: his misadventures with the toilets
and showers he encountered on the road.
Felix presents a panoply of disastrous bath-
room experiences: he begins with a descrip-
tion of having to deal with a Moroccan toilet
and “the unspeakable secrets hidden in its
B O O K L I F E .C O M 63g
 ® REVIEWS
depths” and includes his experience in an
Eastern European youth hostel with “a wall
of urinals that no one had bothered to con-
nect to the plumbing,” which he noticed
before using one and felt guilty about after-
wards (“I knew I should tell the front desk
attendant what I had done”). His bathroom
misadventures are often part of longer sto-
ries, such as his time spent in the French
countryside—“the atmosphere had a novel,
celebratory feel”—while having to deal
with a compost toilet at a “Creativity
Refuge” (an old farm where the owner
rented rooms to artists and writers in
exchange for labor). It’s a one-note book,
but Felix nevertheless manages to
entertain.

Upright Bass: The Musical Life

and Legacy of Jamil Nasser
Muneer Nasser. Vertical Visions, $25 trade pa-
per (252p) ISBN 978-0-692-89598-6
In this informative as-told-to memoir,
Nasser highlights the musical career of his
father, jazz bassist Jamil Nasser (1932­–
2010). Nasser spent nearly seven years
interviewing his father and many of his
fellow musicians and friends, and he weaves
those conversations into a narrative dotted
with articles and music reviews of the time.
Born George Joyner in Memphis, Jamil
began playing bass at age 16, then attended
Arkansas State, where he performed with
various bands. After college, he played for
two years in B.B. King’s band in Memphis
then moved to New York City with jazz
pianist Phineas Newborn and his brother,
guitarist Calvin Newborn. Jamil fondly
recalls his relationships with many fellow
musicians, including pianist Oscar
Dennard, trumpeter Idrees Sulieman (who
introduced Nasser to Islam), and, with
more complex feelings, Charles Mingus (the
volatile musician “shared valuable insights
about arco and pizzicato technique” with
Jamil, yet often flew into a rage toward
him). An outspoken advocate of music edu-
cation and the preservation of jazz, Nasser
helped form the Jazz Foundation of America
in 1982 to provide medical, legal, and
financial assistance to jazz musicians. This
is a celebratory and worthy tribute to a jazz
great.

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