The Death and Resurrection of Baseball: Echoes from a Distant Past by William R Douglas

A gentler than typical entry in the post-apocalyptic canon, Douglas’ novel opens with a classic cinematic set-up. It’s one straight out of Spielberg’s oeuvre, or else something by Stephen King. Two boys from small-town Illinois, Joe and Teddy, explore a desolate woodland, a former battlefield, doing so very much without adult permission. The battlefield in question, once riddled with unexploded mines, evokes a chilling, not entirely impossible future. The novel’s U.S. fractures into sec... [Read More...]

Happiness is Seldom a Passive Act

A lyrical paean to feminine power, Karen Martin’s The Bringer of Happiness is part myth, part revisionist history and part time-slip adventure. It’s also the second title in Martin’s Women Unveiled series. It opens with the birth of Sara, the ‘bringer’ of the title, both literal and figurative. An important point the novel is at pains to make early: happiness is seldom a passive act or sensation. As such, Sara brings with her an endearing determination as well as an intimidating linea... [Read More...]

Love and dating in Atlanta

Tulipe Pascere‘s Urban Marriage Volume 8 delves into the world of love and dating for those who are nervous. Unlike other volumes in the series that follow the lives of lesbian Katie, her wife Della, and her daughter, this installment focuses on Aubrey, an anxious “Atlanta Girl,” as she navigates the challenges of online and offline dating. With guidance from her more experienced friends Charlee and Sherri, Aubrey faces male expectations, societal beliefs, and the realities of... [Read More...]

How to Acknowledge and Own the Dark Parts of Yourself

What could be a more daunting endeavour than delving into your ‘dark side’ with the goal of transforming your life? It’s unnerving just to think about uncovering, acknowledging, and facing the parts of our personality that we don’t like. For many of us, our dark side consists of fears, untoward desires, secrets, or things we have good reason to keep repressed. If we don’t acknowledge and embrace these parts of ourself, they will speak and act for us. Julie Hoyle’s books a... [Read More...]

Lesbian Marriage Stress Test

Urban Marriage 5: A Lesbian Marriage Stress Test is a glitzy-yet-gritty relationship saga that follows Katie, a successful realtor busy with a new venture. She’s also a woman whose journey of self-discovery after divorce leads to unexpected romance and marriage, to the strident, self-assured Della. In previous volumes, Della begins as tough career coach and friend to Katie, before their relationship progresses to more. Urban Marriage 5, the fifth installment in the Urban Marriage series, sees... [Read More...]

Your Words…Poetry

Your Words, a three-volume collection from Canadian poet and photographer Louise Belanger, offers a shutter-click moment of restorative calm and reflection, a glimpse into a personal relationship with spirituality, as well as a (gentle) interrogation of self and wider world. From its effusive dedication and opening poem , Belanger’s first collection, Your Words, sets out its stall early as one of the many lockdown projects to flourish during the pandemic, “I will again…” a declarati... [Read More...]

West From Here – Historical Fiction

The first in a series of historical adventures by debut novelist William H. Brown, West From Here follows a boy’s efforts to restore a lost family heirloom and, perhaps more importantly, his father’s battered sense of self-worth. The boy, Elias James, hatches a plan with his cousins to recover the heirloom from the Creek Indians and ride home as a hero. But like all great adventure stories, things don’t quite work out as planned. Set in 1800s Georgia, the opening chapters commence a front... [Read More...]

Home to Clare Harbor Series

Looking for clean women’s fiction with a kick of suspense and mystery? Look no further than the 10-book Home to Clare Harbor series by author Jacie Middlemann. Middlemann’s saga begins with a diverse range of characters preparing for a devastating storm that threatens their homes and their lives. Each book dives deeper into the personal tragedies, struggles, and triumphs of each character to keep readers hooked. If you love thrillers and contemporary family dramas, keep reading to get a snea... [Read More...]

Illuminating Chakra-Inspired Poetry by Maria Kitsios

According to ancient Indian writings contained in the Vedas, our bodies are made up of seven key energy centers known as chakras. Each chakra is associated with a particular color, element, sound, major organ, mantra, and location within the body. The Vedas theorizes that each of the seven chakras are situated along the spine, from the pelvis to the top of the head as shown in the image below: Author and licensed massage therapist (LCT) Maria Kitsios is currently working on a poetry series insp... [Read More...]

African-American Short Fiction by Lauren Wilson

Afro-Bougie Blues by Lauren Wilson is a collection of vignette stories that detail the activities of African American characters with real-life challenges and lived experiences. The stories are emotionally moving and thought-provoking as they are written in a way that sounds to the reader’s mind as pure thought and conversations from one person to another. The book opens with Mourning Angela the story of Alexis a woman that has suffered loss by way of miscarriages, betrayal of a first love... [Read More...]