Susan Peek invites her readers to meet Saint Magnus, one of her friends in high places. Although he lived 950 years ago, he speaks, through his heroic example, to modern readers on the most fundamental of current problems. Standard definitions tell us that Vikings were pirates, plunderers, and raiders known […]
Something More: The Professional’s Pursuit of a Meaningful Life, by Randy Hain
Busy? Full time job + writing projects + volunteering + home schooling + committees, oh yes, there’s the family and faith to squeeze in there somewhere while trying to remain sane and healthy. Randy Hain’s been there and found “something more.” Early on, he recognized that we humans can’t […]
The Dead Key, by D. M. Pulley
The author, trained as a structural and forensic engineer, designed her young structural engineer protagonist, Iris, in her likeness. Iris’ boss at Cleveland-based WRE, asked Iris to map the inside of a mothballed 15-story bank building, an edifice with a complex and dark history. Lonely, scared and vulnerable, Iris was […]
The Breen and Tozer Mystery Series, Volumes 1 & 2, by William Shaw
Volume 1: She’s Leaving Home If “a book is a ship that takes you to distant lands,” then the Breen and Tozer series welds together a tour bus, a “Tube” carriage and a time machine. The Anglophile – with online maps and satellite views – becomes an accidental tourist, […]
Two by Alan Bradley
As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust, by Alan Bradley I would not spill too many beans were I to say that in volume 007, Flaiva is older (12), wiser (IQ = 134) and exiled to the frozen tundra (Toronto.) Sad and virtually alone, Flavia, nevertheless, quickly returns to her […]
The Rosie Effect, by Graeme Simsion
Don Tillman’s loyalty, self-sacrifice, and problem solving genius, make him welcome as a friend. We first met Don in “The Rosie Project,” (see warning below) the story of a high functioning Asperger’s individual in search of a “mate.” Don exhibits marvelous STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) skills, a […]
Christmas Hope, by Leslie Lynch
Leslie Lynch creates such amazingly REAL characters, as we see again in Christmas Hope. Fortunately, she took time after the story to explain how she went into the real world to find her fictional protagonists among the heroes and victims of our crazy times. Fans of the Appalachian Foothills series […]
Your Faith Has Made You Well, by Barbara Hosbach
Thank you Barbara Hosbach for writing, exclusively for me, “Your Faith Has Made You Well.” I’m amazed at how you know me so thoroughly, and I realize that you must have spent hours or even days meditating on each of these scriptures in order to develop such marvelous insights and […]
In the Midst of Wolves, by Karen Kelly Boyce
William Shakespeare fans will see “In the Midst of Wolves” a modern extension of his tragedies. After Karen Kelly Boyce leaves you raw with the cruel machinations of Queen Regina, she soothes her readers with her spiritual insights and wisdom. This FIVE STAR novel will grip both adults and young […]
The Catholic Fiction Critique Group
“I remember the trembling, nausea, and inability to focus that hit me when I first submitted a chapter to a critique group. That was many years ago. Those symptoms persisted for several years. Despite the agony, I continued to submit chapters and to give critiques on others’ work, because I […]