Mr. Wiz and The Dragon by Alex Stears tells the story of Mr. Wiz, a wizard who lives in the land of Moo, nestled within Windy Wood. Mr. Wiz is an unconventional and caring wizard. However, he is not particularly skilled, as his spells often...

The Madness by W.W. Hennemann starts with Devon-7. He had read the ancient books and knew about love, sex, and marriage – reserved only for the Reproductive Caste – and the knowledge was driving him mad with released desire. He considered resuming his daily Morning...

Following the murder of Kestra, a member of the Nabukko camp, Eff is put behind bars on suspicion of the murder and two other prior murders. Her fate remains uncertain until Merula summons her and makes a shocking announcement. She offers Eff a science officer...

Time Did Not Forget by Kim Carter is the fourth book in the Clara and Iris Mystery series. Widows Clara Samples and Iris Hadley, both in their mid-seventies, are private investigators based in Atlanta, Georgia. Their latest case takes them to Biloxi, where they agree...

Letters to Evelyn by John Selman is a prolific odyssey of love and redemption, a tale that takes readers on a journey through the author’s life — both illuminating and unsettling at times. The memoir is written for Evelyn Tuskegee, and the author invites readers...

Hedgehog's Halloween by Sara Louise Kelany is a lovely children's picture book about a grumpy hedgehog who is ready for his long winter retreat. It's late autumn, and Harry Hedgehog is about to hibernate. Yet what he doesn't know is that it's also time for Halloween. Thus,...

The Other Lotus Girl by Daniel A. Riddle is about an Asian girl who was trafficked to pay off her parents’ debt. Vân and her sister were promised jobs at a nail salon, but instead were forced into sexual exploitation. For nearly two years, Vân...

The passing of her husband makes Kreya begin to feel the inevitability of death creeping up on her. As she prepares Davaj, her great-grandson and successor for his inevitable assumption of the role of shaman to their people, she reminisces about the arduous journey she...

A Flash of Fire by A.L. Wyss follows Vivian Carmine, an ordinary teen whose life is turned upside down when she discovers she has superpowers. Her powers are destructive because the first time she uses them, she almost burns down the school gym during a...

Exit Tickets by Kenneth Chanko follows Martin Jordanowski, a new writing teacher at a middle school on the Upper East Side, as his wish to reach students centers on Kandra McKissick, an eighth grader who turns his classroom into a refuge. Her visits grow longer....

I'll Try Anything Twice: Misadventures of a Self-Medicated Life follows author Carly Schwartz as she feels disconnected from her life, career, and relationships, despite outward success. In her efforts to find answers to the discontent she was experiencing in life, she embarked on a quest...

Queer as Folk Tales by James Penha has interconnected and standalone stories that rewrite global folk tales, myths, and original narratives through a queer lens. Spanning Indonesia, China, Norse mythology, and European fairy tales, the book follows characters who move between everyday life and magic...

Sharp Turns Ahead: Ventures Beyond the Beaten Path by Daniel P. Douglas is a curated collection of short fiction spanning speculative futures, quiet human moments, moral puzzles, and imaginative what-ifs. Organized into four sections, the book guides readers through stories that range from science fiction...

In Hello Humans by Momoko Uno, for decades, Earth has been under quiet surveillance by offworld governments who believe the planet is nearing collapse. Princess Cupcake, sovereign of the Feline Federation, launches a program that embeds cats into human society to steer behavior at close...

Marie Turcios's memoir, Hakuna Shida: Memories of a Guatemalan Family in Africa, traces how her family came to live in Africa. She recounts the 2007 move to Kenya after her husband accepted work with an international agricultural firm. The family settles in Thika for several...

Therein Lies the Pearl by Catherine Hughes is one of those historical novels that I devour with great pleasure. Set in Normandy and England in the eleventh century, in the years leading up to the Norman Conquest in 1066, it focuses not so much on...

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...

In the enchanting children’s fantasy, Fire & Ice (Dragon Island Legends) by Gregory S. Slomba, the Silver Dragon of the North attacks the villages in the islands and abducts the children to work in its mines and fields. Fifteen-year-old Benchu and Mai-Lin were saved by...

Author Aaron Ryan concludes the epic Talisman saga with its final installment, Halcyon. Liam "Foxy" Mayfield, the last Iskander, Onyx Sleater, the powerful Nexus, and Arion Peridifyca, the Zorander, are united in their fight against the dreaded Asterium Axis. With 743 scattered souls all over...

Where Our Stories Meet by Alizae Kurtzig and Thando Maluleke tells the story of two children living on opposite sides of the world whose lives gradually connect through curiosity and friendship. Daisy lives in San Francisco, where rainy mornings, school experiments, and time with family...