“The Leaving” Earns 5 Star Review

Congratulations to indie author Gabriella West on the 5 star review of her novel The Leaving.

At 15, Cathy Quinn is an intelligent misfit living in 1980s Dublin. Over her last two years of school, Cathy struggles with her dysfunctional family, coming to terms with her powerful attraction to her best friend Jeanette, and leaving Ireland. The Leaving is a realistic, yet lyrical, look at adolescence and first love.

Above all, the novel explores the intersecting lives of two emotionally close siblings growing up in the hostile and homophobic Dublin of the 1980s, when homosexuality was still taboo, and being different was not tolerated.

Author/reviewer Shannon Yarbrough says, “And I cannot imagine my life now without having experienced this beautiful novel. Despite the plea in all of us to grow up, wishing our young lives away unbeknownst to what awaits us, I promise you will not want the journey The Leaving takes you on to ever end.”

Read the whole review here.

Valerie Douglas on the Importance of Research

Author Valerie Douglas

I suppose you could say that I’ve been doing research all my life – as any writer should. After all, the essential, endless curiosity that drives us to ask ‘what if’ and then ‘what happens next’ has to start somewhere. It starts in those questions, but it’s based in what we’ve learned and know.

Part of every child’s education is spent exploring ancient gods and goddesses, particularly the Greek and Roman. They fascinated me just as they fascinate most children, especially their excesses – Percy Jackson’s popularity is no coincidence. Continue reading “Valerie Douglas on the Importance of Research”

Sneak Peek: The Edge of Extinction

Today, author Kristen Stone shares a sneak-peek at her book, The Edge of Extinction.

Why were his people dying? This was a question Kianda Mala needed to answer. Considered a god because he had a tail, accepted as a leader, Kianda emerges from the jungle to confront the modern world. What he discovers is a world beyond his comprehension where his people are deemed worthless and big business rules.

Kristen’s book is available from Amazon and Smashwords. Continue reading “Sneak Peek: The Edge of Extinction”

Meet the Author: Greta Burroughs

Author Greta Burroughs

Greta Burroughs’ latest release is a book entitled Heartaches and Miracles. It is a nonfiction narrative of her own experiences with an autoimmune disorder called immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP).

“It’s not a dry medical text but a personal account of the roller-coaster ride I was on while trying to stabilize my blood platelet count. The book explains to the reader what ITP is and the treatments I went through. There are also short excerpts from other ITPers; together we try to give words of encouragement to those newly diagnosed as well as educate the rest of the world who have never heard of ITP,” she says. Continue reading “Meet the Author: Greta Burroughs”