Our lives tend to reflect the result of the challenges we've faced and the choices we make. In this thought-provoking read, author Matthew West-James recalls lessons he learned over the years and shares some of the wisdom and insight he gained from these moments. A...

The Aspirants by J. Loretta takes a look at a near-future where politics and reality TV have merged with the concept of assisted dying. The story starts right in the middle of a livestream called “That’s EnterAttainment!”, where terminally ill people—dubbed "Aspirants"—turn their final moments...

Yellow Boot Gets Stuck in the Mud by J. Loretta follows a bright yellow boot that comes off Right Foot during a rainy run along a muddy path. Right Boot is left behind while a little girl, pulled along by her dog, keeps running home...

Abducted by J.S. Ash follows sixteen-year-old Abigail Ashby, a teenager living in a small town in New Mexico, where strange occurrences are ignored. After sneaking out one night to support her best friend, Harris, whose parents vanished under mysterious circumstances, Abigail finds herself caught between...

Qarsoon by David C. Jeffrey, Space Unbound book four, is set in the 23rd century. Book one sees Earth’s decline, and a failed Martian settlement threatens humanity. The discovery of a living planet becomes central to human continuity through Aiden Macallan’s direct linkage. In book...

Wishes Gone Awry by M. Ainihi is a collection of short horror and dark fantasy stories. It focuses on people who wanted something, but their efforts in obtaining their desires ended in tragedy. In the first tale, Jimmy, a young man promised a share of...

Life can be exciting, challenging, or dull, but for Sandy Pearl, it was always eventful. She shares her story in Then the Phone Rang: My Journey from Hitchhiking Hippie to the Hollywood High Life. She begins by taking readers back to the family dinner table...

“I needed to get lost for a summer. Putting aside books and job interviews, I took a job working in the prettiest environment most people will never see.” I wouldn't say Bill Gerencer, the author of Working Waterfront, got lost; I'm sure he found himself...

And Then He Pressed Play: Track One by Robert Halliwell is the story of Arlo “A.J.” Walker, a shy yet musically gifted Canadian exchange student at Glenbridge Secondary in Ireland. The cultural differences are overwhelming for him, and in addition to his unique accent, he...

In The Iron Tithe by Robert W. Riley, we meet Knight Commander Cedrik Theramond, who serves as the King’s Shield and has the grueling charge of collecting mandatory grain levies. The crux is that these come from famine-struck villages to supply the King's army of...

The Drowned Queen by Elspeth Gregorsdóttir introduces us to Myr’Caenith, a woman who survives a century of captivity in the deathless realm of the Duskhold. She goes into the Whispering Sea, where her body dissolves and reforms with command over shadow and starlight. She crosses...

In Sicko, Avril Grady tells the story of Jamie Katz, a queer man working as a scriptwriter for an adult film studio. Jamie’s life is complicated—he’s still intertwined with Paul, his twice-ex-husband who is also his boss and secret lover, and their repeated breakups and...

Born and brought up in London’s East End in 1952, Steven James Foreman longed for adventure and headed for Africa in 1992 to follow his dream. He was to stay for 30 years, returning to the UK in 2024. He recounts his experiences in From...

Elizabeth Kellam's Chopin’s Last Manuscript begins in 1971, when a Polish craftsman renovating Eugène Delacroix’s Paris studio discovers a hidden leather portfolio beneath the floorboards. Inside are a manuscript signed by Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin and a diary that appears to chronicle his private account of...

Escape Gravestone Caverns by Melissa Costa begins in 1605, during the Nightlore Witch Trials, when sisters Cordelia and Dalia flee an angry mob and hide in a cavern that becomes their tomb. The story moves to 2025, where sixth grader Jenny Corine prepares for a...

A Strange Sound: Friendly’s Universe by Olive Green is a children’s story about a toad named Terry who is driving a truck full of berries. She is singing aloud in her truck when she hears a series of strange sounds along the way: whistles, squeals,...

On her first day at South Iris High, twelve-year-old Nina Allbright was an awkward auburn-haired girl with braces and two left feet. However, she has her two left feet to thank for an encounter that was about to shape the rest of her high school...

Upon opening Paul Kaplan's The Thingy That’s Stringy (and Other Ridiculous Poems), young readers enter a playful world of everyday moments and familiar objects that turn into ridiculously silly rhymes. This book is full of short poems that bounce quickly from deli counters selling laughs...

She Who Floats Above the Breeze by Jennifer Conklin is the third book in The Adventure Above series. It is a well-written book that takes young readers on an exciting adventure as two best friends embark on a journey of discovery. Anya and Breck embark...

Futureproofing Humanity by Robert M. Geraci examines how modern scientific discoveries changed the way people understand the fate of human civilization. After geology and evolutionary theory revealed that life emerged through natural processes across immense spans of time, the possibility that humanity might also disappear...