At age ten, Benedict carries massive chips on both shoulders. Having passed from bad foster homes to worse, he dreads the uncertainty of new surroundings and new rules. When he arrives at The Sunshine Ranch, he doubts the sincerity of his new foster parents, David and Martha Credence and […]
Turning in Circles, by Michelle Buckman
Within a sleepy farm community along the South Carolina coast, two families coexist. The Thaines and their neighbors enjoy hard work, hospitality, horseback riding, pie, ice tea, kittens, and each other. The Darlingtons favor extortion, white privilege, domination, abuse, dog fights, and freedom from the consequences of their nefarious activities. […]
CWG Book Blast: Ornamental Graces, by Carolyn Astfalk
This month, the Catholic Writers’ Guild is touring Guildie Carolyn Astfalk’s book, Ornamental Graces. It is a CWG Seal of Approval winner. Teaser: After his duplicitous girlfriend left, Dan Malone spent six months in a tailspin of despair and destruction: emotional, physical, and spiritual. Just when his life seems to […]
The Perfect Blindside, by Leslea Wahl
At sixteen, Jake Taylor is an Olympic medalist, a snowboarding prodigy, and a big fish transplanted to a small pond. He annoys Sophie Metcalf with his arrogance. She plans to expose him for the thoughtless egotist she thinks he is, but she discovers Jake’s considerate and haunted side. A warm […]
Rightfully Ours, by Carolyn Astfalk
Rightfully Ours tells of buried gold, but more importantly, it reveals something far more precious in rural, North Central Pennsylvania. The treasure hunters, Rachel Mueller and Paul Porter, find themselves in the Mueller’s kitchen early in the school year, flummoxed by their improbable and unforeseen encounter. Blame it on Ron […]
Moriarty Meets His Match: A Professor and Mrs. Moriarty Mystery (Book 1), by Anna Castle
When writers strain their brains for new ideas, they might consider revisiting an old idea. For instance, Gregory Maguire applied the rules of “alternative fiction,” in his retelling Frank Baum’s classic 1900 story the Wizard of Oz. Forget Dorothy, Maguire wrote from the point of view of the Wicked Witch […]
6 Dates to Disaster, by Cynthia T. Toney
Life can be horribly unfair, especially if you are a teen. Or so you may think. Sometimes parents can be right, but not all adult decisions seem just and reasonable. Unfortunately, adults usually have the last word. In her third book in the Bird Face series, 6 Dates to Disaster, […]
8 Notes to a Nobody, by Cynthia T. Toney
Ten years in the writing, 8 Notes to a Nobody is required reading for any family with adolescents. Cynthia T. Toney packs her pages with humor, realism, and insight. She also deserves an MS degree as a Master of the Simile for this stylistic labor of love. Wendy Robichaud is enjoying eighth […]
Ornamental Graces, by Carolyn Astfalk
If you enjoy emotional rollercoasters, Ornamental Graces by Carolyn Astfalk is your book. Among the author’s many gifts is her ability to conjure up fictional characters in many shades of human decency. Imagine, if you will, Dan Malone. He has let himself go; his business teeters on the brink of […]
Specter, By John Desjarlais
Specter mixes the flavors of Romero, Ghostbusters, and The Terminator with generous glops of sour cream and salsa. John Desjarlais embroils his favorite DEA agent, Selena De La Cruz in a fictional parallel to the 1993 assassination of a Cardinal at the Guadalajara airport. She unearths the stench of corruption […]