Recent releases, award winners, and more!
Phoebe Douse: Secret Society for Special Abilities and Artefacts
By L. Samuels
“The author rounds out her tale with increasing suspense…. a delightful fantasy with a likable and powerful young heroine.” ~ Kirkus Reviews
“Samuels delivers a YA novel that expertly weaves themes of troubled friendships, identity, and family changes with an evocative paranormal mystery.” – Publishers Weekly, The BookLife Prize
Grandmother Naan’s superstitious stories seem too peculiar and childish to Phoebe Douse. But when surprising and unfortunate circumstances in Texas lead her to accept a timely invitation to attend a remote boarding school, thousands of miles away in Scotland, Phoebe finds that everything is not what she made herself believe. Unwittingly, Phoebe is thrown onto the stage of power and danger as events unfold that reveal the extent of her abilities and Naan’s connection to the school. There, Phoebe is introduced to the clandestine world of S3A2 and is forced to decide between her new friends and the promises of power and S3A2 status from the welcoming but strangely mysterious Headmaster Duff. In this first installment of a YA trilogy (for ages 12 and up), Phoebe Douse: S3A2 presents an adventure-filled, coming-of-age novel, with mystery and a touch of the paranormal. There are also themes of self- discovery, valuing culture and diversity, and building trust and friendship.
Where to Buy: Amazon | Authors Website
About the Author
L. Samuels is a Jamaican-American author and illustrator, born and raised in Texas. Along with writing, L. operates a global education company and loves to travel, spend time with her family, hike, and dance.
Thieves, Beasts, & Men
By Shan Leah
This stunning debut uses the irresistible scenario of a hermit living in near-complete self-sufficiency in the wilderness, and asks the universally relevant question: what is the value of existing within a civilization when it is fraught with evil? Adelaide has lived a long, solitary existence in the Blue Ridge Mountains. On the verge of ending it all, she discovers two feral children raiding her garden and rescues them in a misguided attempt at a new life. Now she must find a way to care for children who are more beast than human. They only communicate with chirps and grunts, and they pine for their feral mother. When dangerous men and a wild woman emerge from the darkness in pursuit, Adelaide faces a grueling choice. She can release the children back to the wild, saving her own life but losing everything she has grown to love, or fight to defend her new family, risking the death she no longer seeks.
Shan Leah is an award-winning fine artist, freelance photographer, and lover/writer of dark literary fiction. She was inspired to write Thieves, Beasts & Men, her debut novel, because like her protagonist, she has a tendency to romanticize a life of solitude spent deep in the woods. And though not a feral child herself, Shan was born and raised in the Florida Keys, and with more mangroves than streetlights, it was pretty damn close.
About the Author
Carrigan Richards is the author of critically acclaimed Pieces of Me, a young adult contemporary romance, and the Elemental Enchanters Series, a young adult paranormal romance series. She earned her BA in English at Kennesaw State University and is currently seeking her Master’s in Professional Writing. As a volunteer with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, most of her work deals with mental health in the hopes of spreading awareness. She is an author of several young adult novels, writing about psychological topics in many genres. When she’s not writing (which is rare), she’s spending time with her family and friends, listening to music, playing with her furdog, or cheering on her Atlanta Braves
Winter of the Wolf
By Martha Hunt Handler
A tragic mystery blending sleuthing and spirituality. An exploration in grief, suicide, spiritualism, and Inuit culture, Winter of the Wolf follows Bean, an empathic and spiritually evolved fifteen-year-old, who is determined to unravel the mystery of her brother Sam’s death. Though all evidence points to a suicide, her heart and intuition compel her to dig deeper. With help from her friend Julie, they retrace Sam’s steps, delve into his Inuit beliefs, and reconnect with their spiritual beliefs to uncover clues beyond material understanding.
Both tragic and heartwarming, this twisting novel draws you into Bean’s world as she struggles with grief, navigates high school dramas, and learns to open her heart in order to see the true nature of the people around her. Winter of the Wolf is about seeking the truth–no matter how painful–in order to see the full picture.
About the Author
Martha Hunt Handler grew up dreaming of wolves and has always understood that her role in this lifetime is to tell stories and be a voice for nature. She has been an environmental consultant, a magazine columnist, an actress, and a polar explorer, among other occupations. When she and her four children relocated from Los Angeles to New York more than twenty years ago she began to literally hear the howls of wolves. This marked the beginning of her work advocating on behalf of wolves at the Wolf Conservation Center (nywolf.org). Winter of the Wolf is Martha’s debut novel.
Silk: Caroline’s Story
By Sophia Alexander
Headless dolls, horse races, and arson the tools of passion. It’s 1899, and Caroline Corbett is ready for the twentieth century. She’s excited to find work and meet new people-but gets more than expected when a rough-hewn Low country farmer and a small town doctor both engage her affections. The broad-shouldered, genial farmer is clear about his desires, and he’s there for her. The doctor is sophisticated, educated, and obviously the right choice-but sees no reason to dwell on certain realities. In trying to decide between them, Caroline fails to consider the girl Jessie. A young sociopath bent on her own way, Jessie Bell sees very good reasons to dredge up unpleasant realities-and to create new ones. Before long, this South Carolina landscape is riddled with the detritus of her intense jealousies, which have set astonishing and horrifying events into motion.
About the Author
Sophia Alexander writes character-driven historical fiction that grips readers’ emotions and surprises them with unexpected twists. A Low country native, she is the author of the Silk Trilogy. Her writing is inspired by historical fact, genealogical investigations, intuitive guesswork, and fanciful romanticizations. Sophia is a graduate of the College of Charleston and lives with her family in Savannah, GA.
Essential Guide to Treat Diabetes and to Lower Cholesterol
By Howard T. Joe, M.S., PH.D.
Verified & confirmed by >20 clinical trials of correct books’ methods from the facts that soluble fiber lowers blood glucose, A1C, & cholesterol and magnesium reduces blood glucose & A1C for Dr. Howard Joe’s 1st & 2nd edition books “Essential Guide to Treat Diabetes and to Lower Cholesterol”, Dr. Joe has lowered his fasting pre-diabetic A1C to 5.7 and his fasting total cholesterol from 210s to 151 all by using common food containing soluble fiber and magnesium. For diabetes, Metformin ER and/or other medication are used in combination with common food containing soluble fiber and magnesium to lower fasting blood glucose from 170 to 100s/110s. With >200 million pre-diabetes, diabetes, & people with high cholesterol in the U. S., Dr. Joe’s books are a natural, verified, healthy, helpful, & easy way to get in good
About the Author
Howard T. Jow has an M.S. degree in Biochemistry from the University of California, Riverside, and a Ph D. degree in Biochemistry from the University of Houston. He is married and his hobby is reading health-related publications.
The Girl in the Triangle
By Joyana Peters
When your dreams finally seem to be coming true, it’s hard to trust them. It’s been four years since seventeen-year-old Ruth set eyes on her fiance. After surviving near-starvation, revolution and a long trip across the stormy ocean, she can’t help but wonder: Will Abraham still love her? Or has America changed him? Nowhere’s as full of change as 1909 New York. From moving pictures to daring clothes to the ultra-modern Triangle Shirtwaist Factory where she gets a job, everything exhilarates Ruth. When the New World even seems to rejuvenate her bond with Abraham, she is filled with hope for their prospects and the future of their war-torn families. But when she makes friends and joins the labor movement-fighting for rights of the mostly female workers against the powerful factory owners-something happens she never expected. She realizes she might be the one America is changing. And she just might be leaving Abraham behind.
About the Author
JOYANA PETERS grew up in New York and loves exploring—this led to her discovery of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire and the stories it holds. She got her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of New Orleans. She currently lives in the DC area and continues to write narratives that shine a light on empowering women and moments in history.
Tell Me You Love Me
By Joyana Peters
In 1965 April Toulane’s life is turned upside down on her fifth birthday when her mother marries a man she’s known for only two weeks. The life she’d known is forever changed with the addition of a stepfather and a five-year-old stepbrother who terrorizes her on a daily basis. After a family tragedy the young siblings are thrust into the Hollywood spotlight, surrounded by people whose very foundation is based on secrets and lies. Struggling to grow up and find their way in a world where child stars are forever manipulated and exploited, the siblings form an unbreakable bond vowing to always protect each other when the adults entrusted to take care of them fail at every turn. “Tell Me You Love Me” is the story of April and Auggie Fairbanks, the most sought after faces in show business throughout the sixties and seventies, maneuvering their way through the lies and corruption to learn the truth about their parents and searching for the love and acceptance they so desperately crave.
About the Author
Kathleen has been a freelance writer since 1999 and now writes full time. Her work has appeared in Doll World Magazine, Apolloslyre.com, The Lake County Journals, Trails.com; USA Today (travel), Livestrong.com (lifestyle), Essortment, eHow, Answerbag, Examiner.com, Suite101 and YahooVoices. She is the author of the award-winning novels Tell Me You Love Me and Whispers On A String, and the Head Case Rock Novel Series (Head Case, Whiplash and Haven). She also has short stories published in the Secrets: Fact or Fiction I & II anthologies.
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Article originally Published in the February / March 2022 Issue: New & Upcoming.