Megan Gordon tells me in one of the poignant short stories in her anthology, You Can't Get There From Here, that I am “the cure and the sickness, the cause and the remedy.” Of course, she didn’t aim that at me directly, but story after...

Popina and Slumberina is a work of fiction in the picture book, social issues, and childcare subgenres. It is intended for bedtime reading for youngsters. Penned by author Irit Tal with illustrations by artist Anat Davis, this delightful picture book takes young readers on a...

Maggie Lynch's The Power of S.A.D. is a poignant and powerful exploration of family, resilience, and self-discovery, woven into the fabric of an engaging Upper Middle Grade/YA novel. Set against the backdrop of foster care and familial upheaval, the book follows 11-year-old Akna Sales, who...

Cherry Blossom Blues by Virlana Kardash is a captivating tale that expertly blends romance, mystery, and legal suspense elements. Set against the politically charged backdrop of Washington, D.C., the novel introduces us to Susanna Bailey, a strong yet vulnerable court reporter. What begins as a...

Space Cadet Richard: The Final Countdown by Russell Vance McFall begins as Captain Joshua Morgan takes command of the patrol cruiser Viper 1 on a mission to the Frontier, joined by Admiral Jack Taylor’s fifteen-year-old son, Richard, and fellow cadet Dooley Lewis. What begins as...

Josie Sutherland is a journalist with a background in computers. She dreams of writing a major story. But all they ever send her to cover is mediocre conferences. On a stopover in Hong Kong she finally gets her chance to write that big story, if...

Jenny Spark fell in love with ballet after her grandparents sent her a DVD of Swan Lake. Even though she had never seen a live ballet or met a dancer she longed to be a part of that world. She convinces her mother to allow...

I would hate to get into a verbal altercation with Wanda Morrow Clevenger because I think that her knife-sharp wit would kill me. Her last name amuses me because she is indeed a clever Clevenger. Sure, you can start reading this book the old fashioned...

"Too Clever IV: Jeanie’s Most Prized Possession" was written and illustrated by Julia E. Antoine. Antoine is the administrator of a vocational school and a prolific author. This is her sixth children’s book. Jeanie loved to play the violin. It is her dream to own...

"The Other Alexander: Book One of The Bow of Heaven" was written by Andrew Levkoff. This is a historical novel with a touch of romance, mystery, suspense and intrigue. The setting is 20BCE, Siphnos, Greece. Alexander was taken captive and given to Crassus. Alexander faces...

Too Clever by Dr. Julia E. Antoine is a collection of short stories designed to appeal to young readers. These stories feature inquisitive, bright kids with inquiring minds, who have their own ideas, sometimes getting fixated on a plan, and most often coming up with...

Too Clever II: A Tropical Christmas Story by Dr. Julia E. Antoine is a very unusual kind of Christmas story, and one that will fascinate young readers who are used to a traditional holiday celebration. This is a very sweet and enjoyable story about a...

Curious Mary and Esme the Bunny by Dr. Julia E. Antoine is the third book in the very entertaining Too Clever book series. This story revolves around a young girl called Mary whom readers will have met in Too Clever book 1. Mary is a...

Author Tinky Weisblat's mother Jan, better known as Taffy, died at age 93 in December of 2011. Bright, active Taffy suffered from dementia in her last months on earth. Born in 1918, Taffy graduated from Mount Holyoke College. "She was very much in the world...

"A Mixture of Madness" by Andrew Levkoff is the second book in this series, taking us to Alexandros, a man who at 19 was chained to the tail of a victorious Roman army that was on the march home. He was just one more slave...

"Streetwise: Mafia Memoirs" by Russell A. Vassallo is a memoir of a kid raised in a world that feared the Mafia. It was a tough life where even saving the life of a friend could mean your own life was at risk. The story tells...

H.Y. Hanna has delivered, in Big Honey Dog Mysteries #1: Curse of the Scarab, an animal story, an otherworldly fantasy, and a mystery (complete with hieroglyphics) all wrapped in one, that is sure to please young readers. When Honey, the Great Dane, is left home...

The Mayonnaise Murders, written by the talented and creative Keith A. Owens, is a fantasy fiction story with a mix of intrigue, humor, and mystery. Johnny Beardy is dead, and problem-solving alien Vid is on the trail of whoever killed him. How did he die,...

WANTED DEAD: The Legend of Henry Berry Lowrie by Warren R. Reichel introduces us to Henry Berry Lowrie, a very wily blue-eyed Indian. In the final days of the Civil War, when the entire South sat on the brink of starvation, Henry Berry and his...

Take a step back in time to a world when dragons flew the skies, travelers arrived on horse or foot, and trading caravans of horse carriages still existed. Branin is one of a rare breed, a dragon shifter or dragshi, that can change form from...