Thought provoking tales are told in the short story collection, The After, by L.L. Sanders. The collection tells three very different stories, all relating to the mysteries of the afterlife. In "The After," we meet the mature and thoughtful Wilshire, as he guides his young...

First Kiss by Barbara Alfaro is a warm and majestic breeze. There is a message of love lost and love gained that was present from the light-hearted "Carnival Music" to the fervor of "First Kiss." There are such beautiful metaphors in the poem "Heart," making...

The Ollie Dog Quartet, by Victor Alfaro, is a good children’s book. The author is able to capture the sense and feel of the main character, a dog named Ollie. Ollie tastes freedom when a human cutting the grass leaves the yard gate open. Ollie...

The Little Green Astronaut by Victor Alfaro is a children’s story illustrated by Christopher Alfaro. The story centers around a young lizard named Green who stows away on a NASA truck, which in turns takes him inside a rocket ready for launch. Green tags along...

Summertime Dream is the story of Margie and Chris. She is a Falk’s Bend local who has recently recovered from a serious health problem, while he is in town to take care of an inheritance. They meet during a holiday picnic and hit it off,...

Nate and Kay hook up every summer for a two-week camping trip at Lake Mohave and the sparks fly in Clear As Day by Babette James. Nate is a traveling photographer, but has decided he's done with his gypsy ways and wants to settle down....

Why?: A Courtroom Drama of Self-Discovery is a legal thriller written by R.H. King, Jr. Dan Jackson is a visiting professor in Comparative Literature at Dartmouth College, his alma mater. He was up late the night before preparing a mid-term exam for his freshman class,...

Risk Factors is the story of Viv and Connor. Dr. Vivian Dane is a veterinarian with world famous wildlife parents who will never let her forget that she is just a “pet doctor” and a disappointment to them. Connor McKay is a handsome but gruff...

The synopsis for A Hero’s Curse, by P.S. Broaddus, intrigued me. To find a fantasy story for young readers with a blind protagonist conjured up all sorts of thoughts and ideas and Broaddus did not fail to deliver. The story is written from the perspective...

School of Deaths by Christopher Mannino has a plot that is quite different from your typical YA novel. Suzie, a teenage girl, suddenly finds herself in the world of deaths where she is supposed to be trained to become a death herself. Deaths are the...

Breath of the Titans: Little Black Stormcloud by Riley A. Westbrook and Sara L. Westbrook is a story that centers around a half elf, half dragon boy who just turned 16, named Lovonian. The story begins with Lov and his uncle Nord taking their annual...

Having a second chance at life is always a great opportunity, especially if it means coming back from the dead! That’s what happens to Maxine Logan in Death Benefits by Sharon Saracino. Max is at a fairly low point in her life when she slips...

Max Logan McCoy is permanently back from the dead, but her contact with ‘the other side’ is not yet over. In Life After Death by Sharon Saracino, a rude awakening by Alicia, the Superintendent of Spiritual Impediment who has returned from her maternity leave, drags...

Double Z: Day of the Mantid by Ann McCallum is a delightful chapter book for early-to-intermediate readers. Zachary Zinsky, aka “Double Z”, has just entered 4th Grade at Granite Elementary School. The trouble is, he was now the new kid at school. Both his parents...

B.V. Lawson beautifully portrays a perfect storm in Played to Death, where the reader hopes to make it through the story in one piece. The story starts with Scott Drayco, FBI agent turned private consultant of sorts, inheriting something quite unusual from a former client...

“Oooh,” I thought as delicious chills ran down my spine. “A book about vampire-zombies…what could be better?” That was my thinking as I picked up The Journal of Vincent du Maurier, the short novel by author K.P. Ambroziak. And my initial thinking certainly wasn’t off-base....

In A Perpetual Mimicry by K.P. Ambroziak, Ani, a Fire Angel, is banished to earth where he must inhabit a mortal body. Gone are his beautiful wings and the star he called home. Upon arriving unceremoniously on earth and into a decaying body, Ani is...

When Everyone Shines But You by Kelly Martin is not just another self-help book lining the shelf, telling you to think positive or obey the laws of attraction to get anything you want. This book shows you how being human is not only okay, but...

The Seven Steps to Closure is a chick-lit contemporary novel written by Donna Joy Usher. Tara's still getting over her breakup with her ex, Jake, and she's just survived hitting the big 30. Her mom keeps bringing her psychologically damaged pets from the animal shelter,...

Brenda Whiteside has written a home run with The Art of Love and Murder. More than a simple romance, she interweaves an intriguing plot around the mystery of Lacy Dahl's mother. Whiteside takes it even a step further and leads you to wonder just...