Bernadette Gage’s A Beautiful Sunrise begins in rural Ipole, Nigeria. Young Abi attends school because her father, Pa Okoh, refuses to accept the customs that reserve education for boys. His decision sends her away from home while she is still a child, places her in...

“Always have papers in your hand, walk fast, and look worried. Fewer people bother you.” Interestingly and funnily enough, I experienced this at a job I once had, though we used a clipboard, not papers. Even funnier is the whimsical nonsense in Average Civil Employee:...

At twenty-one, Alice had left college behind and was working at a restaurant, trying to make sense of her life. Her father, John, has accepted her choices, but he worried that she was never going to be an independent and responsible young adult. Alice was...

A Brief History of Wasting Time by Gary C McAuley follows Cyrus, a man who decides that doing as little as possible will govern his days after finishing a long-postponed physics book. He stays indoors, organizes his hours around television, minor contests, and talk, then...

When Emperor Chengdi of the Han dynasty orders an envoy to travel to Rome to establish a trade agreement between the two dominions, a young couple, Prince Liu Qian and Princess Huang Hua, are picked for the task. Forced into her position and marriage to...

A Sweet Scheme by Sasha Preston is a delightful short story that celebrates the bonds of friendship, the thrill of adventure, and the sweetness of shared moments. At the heart of the story is Martha, a vibrant woman whose warmth and openness draw people together....

A Tuscan Interlude: Book 2 Alternate Realm Trilogy by Celeste Johnson sweeps readers into a sultry summer in Florence, where a blockbuster film production and a viral journalistic rivalry stir the passions of locals and visitors alike. Against the breathtaking backdrop of Tuscany’s hills and...

A Bollywood Romance by Anu Koduri is a deeply moving story of love, sacrifice, and self-discovery set against the backdrop of cultural expectations and societal traditions. Paru is a successful gynecologist in Chicago and has spent over twenty years trapped in an unfulfilling marriage after...

Alive and Beating by Rebecca Wolf is a powerful exposition of how one family’s pain and suffering can bring new hope and life to many others. When a young Jewish girl from America traveled to Israel to train as an intern at the Israeli Guide...

Anne Black: Seed of Scotland by Rosanne Vaughan is a magical fantasy romance that blends love, fate, and old Scottish myths into something truly enchanting. The story unfolds in a beautifully described Scotland, full of misty hills and ancient stones, where Anne, an immortal Goddess...