Category: Featured Book

Featured Book: The Earthquake Doll

The Earthquake Doll by Candace WilliamsThe Earthquake Doll
by Candace Williams
Genre: Historical Fiction
Available at Amazon.com and Amazon UK.

Miyoko Takahashi struggles between the dictates of an ancient family covenant and the desire of her secret heart during Japan’s greatest cultural upheaval. Ordered to fulfill her family’s duty under the covenant, if Miyoko disobeys, she will dishonor the memory of her father and bring hardship upon her family.

Book Excerpt:

October 1952

Miyoko peered through the bus’s foggy window and followed a raindrop’s frantic zigzag journey down the pane. Tears stung her eyes. It was strange to think of Middle Sister as a grown woman, a wife and mother. It was strange to think of her childhood friend as dead, never to be seen again. She turned away from the window.

“Mother, why were we not invited to Toshiko’s wedding last year?”

Mother sat beside her, glasses perched on her nose as she sewed. “I suppose Taro-sama’s family was very busy then.”

“Too busy to invite us to his daughter’s wedding?”

Mother hesitated before answering. “It was harvest time. It is a hardship to have out-of-town family coming.”

“It is harvest time now, too.”

“It is our duty to honor the dead, Miyoko-chan.”

Mother’s voice had the tone of finality. It was always like this when she tried to ask anything about Father’s side of the family.

What others are saying:

“I became so entrenched in this book that I could not stop reading it.”
– Rhonda Taylor, Amazon Reviewer

Featured Book: Tears for a World

Tears for a World by Alexander FernandezTears for a World
by Alexander Fernandez
Genres: Fantasy
Available at Amazon.com and Amazon UK.

A bloody vein is the key to releasing the Creator from her 1,000 year incarceration. Bonded to the vein and hunted by a powerful sorceress, Marisylia must decide if the Creator has truly repented. The fate of the entire world rests in Marisylia’s hands.

Book Excerpt:

One woman caught Marisylia and carefully steadied her. She peered into the woman’s eyes, one friendly person amid the riled swarm. The lady smiled softly, then suddenly spit into Marisylia’s face.

When the saliva splattered her cheek, Marisylia stopped caring why the citizens acted like this. Whether due to fear of the religious power, worry that it would infest Three Fingers, or simply senseless anger, none of it mattered anymore since the time to quit had arrived.

All of her determination to succeed had been ripped to shreds by the crowd. Each hand that shoved, every object that struck, drained her enthusiasm. Her devotion to the religion had drowned in the woman’s spit. It was all too much. Marisylia didn’t have Milick’s iron skin or Shri Lilyn’s boldness. She had nothing, only the desire to run away and forget everything.

What others are saying:

“With solid writing and a plot that will blow the reader away, the author has set out a great start to a brand new fantasy series.” – InD’tale Magazine

Featured Book: She’s Not Herself

She's Not Herself by Linda Appleman ShapiroShe’s Not Herself
by Linda Appleman Shapiro
Genres: memoir
Available at Amazon.com and Amazon UK.

Young Linda grew up with a mother who was “not herself.” Years later, as a psychotherapist, Linda Shapiro looks back on her childhood in an effort to understand her mother’s mental illness and make sense of the effects of multi-generational traumas. The result is a memoir of love, loss, loyalty, and healing.

Book Excerpt:

As a twelve-year-old, I understood little about Mother’s illness and didn’t have words to describe her state of mind or condition. All I knew was that I had no control over it and no choice—I had to deal with it. The weight of its burden was heavier than ever.

I was also at war with myself. The part that loved my mother was in conflict with the part that was repulsed by her inability to defend herself from her demons. I looked in the mirror and told the person I saw there that whatever happened in life, I would never lose my self-control. I would never surrender and become a victim.

From that time on, I trusted in my intellect. I refused to acknowledge sadness, anxiety, or loneliness, and never spoke about anything personal. I walked with my head high and was determined never to appear vulnerable.

What others are saying:

“She’s Not Herself is a beautiful coming-of-age story that has the immediacy of a child’s perspective and the wisdom of an adult’s.” – Amy Merrick, Amazon Reader Review

Featured Book: Dead Girls Don’t Blog

Dead Girls Don't BlogDead Girls Don’t Blog
by Pamela Frost Dennis
Genres: mystery, amateur sleuth
Available at Amazon.com and Amazon UK.

What would you do if your friend’s murderer might get paroled?
After learning that the man who brutally raped and murdered her high school friend has an upcoming parole hearing, Katy McKenna sets out to make sure this doesn’t happen, not realizing she might die trying.

Book Excerpt:

“Well look who’s back.”

Lifting my head to the voice shot piercing darts of pain through my head. A woman was kneeling in front of me, and there was a seeping, bloody gash across her cheek. It took a moment to connect the dots, and when I did, my terror ratcheted up several notches.

“What are you doing here?” I swallowed my ramping panic and spoke as softly as possible to avoid jarring my scrambled brain.

She pulled a chair up to me and sat. “You’ve been a naughty girl and I’m here to punish you.” My skin crawled as she carefully looped the pink scarf around my neck. “There, now don’t you look pretty?” She tilted her head and flashed a smile that didn’t extend to her glassy, off-kilter eyes.

Was she going to strangle me again, only this time, finish the job?

What others are saying:

“Here’s a toast to Pamela Frost Dennis for a delightful mystery read that left me with a smile on my face.” – Claire, Amazon reviewer