In The Meaning of Myth, Neel Burton (psychiatrist, philosopher, wine expert) brilliantly discusses and exhibits the meaning of myth. First, he defines it as “a piece of lore” and then separates it from legend, fable, fairytale, parable, religion, ritual, magic, and science. He presents a...

It was spring and there were signs of new growth everywhere. Down the road, a small shoot of green stretched upward to feel the sunshine on its leaves. She wondered what type of flower she would be, and wished to be a rose. The little...

Jealousy can breathe evil, quite literally. That’s what happened in the Kingdom of Quails. King Teddy and Queen Giggles loved their people and traveled amongst them, sharing their stories. When a dragon appears and starts spreading more stories of hope and prosperity, the Kingdom welcomes...

The Hunting Rookie is a refreshing personal journey related by Bert Rico of his first experiences as a new hunter and his discovery of nature. Growing from being a rookie in the field and on until he becomes a mentor to another new hunter, Rico...

It’s rule number 5 that gets Kiwi: “Stay in your yard.” Kiwi is a mini-Aussie puppy, full of energy and curiosity. The list of rules is posted on her doghouse. She agrees with them all, only she has a short memory like most puppies (and...

Dead to Life is another installment of the Sara Mason Mysteries by Mary Deal. On a tour of Vietnam searching for missing persons, Sara Mason and her partner, Huxley Keane, stumble upon a long-lost key belonging to Huxley's older brother, Rocky, who went MIA in...

If you think poetry collections are all the same and that it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to find an innovative one, you will have to reconsider your opinion. I had one of the most pleasant surprises myself when I found Vashti Stopher Klein's The Soprano,...

Libertas by Danuta Pfeiffer is the first book in the epic Pocketful of Seeds trilogy. It follows the journey of Fredericka, a young mixed-race uneducated slave raised on a plantation in antebellum South Carolina, and Horace, an emancipated well-educated young black man raised from childhood...

The Surge by Monica Abbott begins in 2003 in Baghdad, Iraq. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Major George Hahn leads a group of U.S. Special Forces to the Babylon Museum. There they find a large heavy crate. From within the crate, two slender gray figures rise...

Anneliese Möwis’s story, captured in A Living Nightmare, is both haunting and profoundly moving. This memoir chronicles her harrowing experiences as a child displaced by the chaos and devastation of World War II. Ghislaine Raymond, Laurette Leblond, and Anneliese Pitt have woven a powerful narrative...

More than a collection of poems, Black Forest Dreams by Joseph Kuhn Carey is a travelogue of a poignant journey through Germany. The trip is to introduce the land of their ancestors to his young family. His grandparents and his great-uncle courageously left their wooded...

“The devastation of my mom’s death split my universe into two time periods: before she died and after.” In The Reckoning (A Time Travel Thriller) by D.M. Taylor, physicist Taden Barrett and her team successfully find a way to time travel. Leaders of the Patriot...

Milo and Cat are ready for bed, but sleep won’t come easily. Miro Tartan has authored Right Before Sleep, a delightful little book about going to sleep, and it is the story of the various things Milo and Cat try so they can get to...

Tiny Explorers: Into the Wild by Miro Tartan is a wonderful introduction to the natural world, filled with a plethora of activities. Tartan starts by explaining how important it is for kids to connect with nature and shares some of her own experiences. The thirty-three...

Dare Not Tell by Elaine Schroller is a beautifully written and psychologically engaging historical novel that follows a couple as they deal with trauma from war. It has been two decades since Joe Parker, an Australian war hero, left the trenches of war, and while...

No Secrets Allowed by Kana Wu is a sweet romance novel involving two main characters from vastly different backgrounds. Based in Boston, Aurorette “Rory” Arrington maintains a long-distance relationship with her British boyfriend, Peter, who is based in California. When the company she works for...

What's Not True: A Novel by Valerie Taylor is an enthralling, character-driven story that will appeal irresistibly to fans of women’s fiction. Kassie O’Callaghan is an intelligent fifty-four-year-old career woman who decides to divorce Mike Ricci, her emotionally abusive husband she has been married to...

Emily: Courage Amid Shadows of the Confederacy by Ken DeHaven follows sixteen-year-old Emily Harmon who moves with her family to Missouri from Illinois. It is in the period following the Civil War and the effects of the war are still deeply felt, notably with the...

A collection of short stories by Matthew C. Woodruff, 26 Absurdities of Tragic Proportions explores the characters displayed in the illustrations by Edward Gorey. The chapters delve into the backstory behind each of the characters portrayed in The Gashlycrumb Tinies. Maria and her daughter move...

The Third Side of Murder by Joseph LeValley is the latest novel in the Tony Harrington Series and may be the best one yet. It works as a standalone thriller as well. The story begins off the Amalfi coast of southwest Italy. Tony must attend...