King’s. The Tower of London. Glass. What do these have in common?
Each is a famous menagerie.
While this Menagerie doesn’t focus on exotic animals, it does contain a collection of stories that explore various trials people face and how their reactions shape their worlds.
Survivors of a haunted bridge. Women who wait while their husbands fight a war. Former partners reunited to solve a cold-case murder.
These are just three of the thirteen stories in this compendium, encompassing past and present, natural and supernatural, legend and reality. The genres and timelines are varied, but there’s a little something for everyone who enjoys reading about simpler times and small-town life.
Our Review
From the complex premise of A Moment in Time to the mystery of The Homecoming, this wonderful collection of short stories enchanted me.
Each is a masterpiece of description, setting and storytelling that left me wanting each story to go on forever.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading them all, and every story brought something new and unexpected to my reading experience.
If I had to choose a favourite, it would be between Ghost Bridge and Storm Rider. Both of these stories appealed to my love of ghostly mysteries.
Joan Hall has always enjoyed reading or listening to stories about inexplicable events, so it’s not surprising she writes mystery and romantic suspense. A lover of classic rock music, songs often serve as the inspiration for her books.
When she’s not writing, Joan likes to observe the night skies, explore old cemeteries, and learn about legends and folklore. She and her husband live in Texas with their two cats. Learn more about Joan at her website, http://JoanHall.net.
A coming-of-age novel about the pain of misconceptions and learning from them.
When life gives you lemons…
Izzy
Mom is barely in the grave and the prodigal child is here to pick the bones clean.
I don’t want her here. My sister’s defection is a wound that won’t heal, and her return simply rubs at the scabs covering my heart.
I’ve managed just fine without her. She can go back to her fancy college and forget about us- that’s what she does best anyway.
If only I didn’t need her help. Or miss her so much.
Renee
The day my dad committed suicide I ran. I’ve been running ever since.
Going home is supposed to be the answer. Instead, it makes me question every thoughtless decision I’ve made.
My sister hates me. My little brother barely knows me. And Simon… is engaged.
None of it matters- or so I tell myself. I’m here to make amends and face a past haunted by regret.
As long as I can convince myself to stay.
Letting Go is a young adult romance dealing with tragedy, restitution, and love in all its aspects. The story relates to sensitive topics that may be triggering for some readers.
Jacquie Biggar is a USA Today bestselling author of romance who loves to write about tough, alpha males and strong, contemporary women willing to show their men that true power comes from love. She lives on Vancouver Island with her husband and loves to hear from readers all over the world!
In her own words:
“My name is Jacquie Biggar. When I’m not acting like a total klutz, I am a wife, mother of one, grandmother, and a butler to my calico cat.
My guilty pleasure are reality tv shows like Amazing Race and The Voice. I can be found every Monday night in my armchair plastered to the television laughing at Blake’s shenanigans.
I love to hang at the beach with DH (darling hubby) taking pictures or reading romance novels (what else?).
I have a slight Tim Hortons obsession, enjoy gardening, everything pink and talking to my friends.”
As a sister myself, I wondered which character would get my sympathy. It was really interesting to see both sides of the story and know what either sister was thinking and feeling. I can think of times in my relationship when this would have been so helpful and enlightening.
I couldn’t put this book down. The fast-paced tension had me breathless as the wonderfully complex characters worked together to create one of the best emotionally charged and magical stories I have ever read!
An amazing start to the week as it is our turn to showcase The Last Drive, brilliantly written by our friend and fellow writer, John W Howell. Written as the sequel to Eternal Road, The Final Stop, The Last Drive takes us on another fascinating visit to the unknown.
Blurb
In the sequel to Eternal Road – The final stop, Sam and James are reunited to look for two souls, Ryan and Eddie. Ryan was killed in Afghanistan, trying to avoid a schoolyard with his crippled plane. Eddie Rickenbacker, Ryan’s hero, is to guide Ryan to his Eternal Home, and now both are missing.
The higher-ups believe that there has been some interference in Ryan and Eddie’s journey by Lucifer, so Sam and James have the task of finding Ryan and Eddie to get them back on the road despite the evil interference. Unfortunately, the machinations designed to prevent Ryan and Eddy from completing their journey takes the pair to horrifying testing grounds. The places visited represent the best work of the Devil. They are the trenches of World War I in France, gladiators at the Roman Coliseum, the sinking Titanic in 1912, Hiroshima 45 minutes before the bomb, and the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1943.
This book is for you if you like plenty of action, strong characters, time travel, and a touch of spiritual and historical fiction. So, join Sam and James as they try to find the missing souls while staying one step ahead of the Prince of Darkness, who is determined to destroy all that is good.
Buy Links
The Last Drive is available in paper and Kindle editions on Amazon. Here are the universal links. The Kindle edition is on sale for 99¢ through mid-February.
John is an award-winning author who after an extensive business career began writing full time in 2012. His specialty is thriller fiction novels, but John also writes poetry and short stories. He has written Six other books that are on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions.
John lives in Lakeway, Texas with his wife and their spoiled rescue pets.
The last drive, the sequel to Eternal Road, follows Sam and James on another mission to help the recently departed to get to their forever home. This time it involves Ryan Sanders, a pilot who died saving others.
Ryan has been assigned a guide to the Eternal Road, but when trouble intervenes in the shape of Lucifer, our heroes, Sam and James, are sent to sort things out.
What happens then goes from bad to awful as they are involved in visiting some awful situations, hoping they will break one of the rules.
This highly emotional story is brilliantly written. Sending Sam and James to these disastrous occasions is a ploy by Lucifer to make them break God’s rules so Ryan will be forced to forfeit his soul.
The major problem involves how easy it would be to warn people about these disasters, but of course, that would break the rules and cause chaos.
The ending was a surprise, and one of the best parts of this story for me were the chapters involving the Titanic. That has always resonated with me as one of the worst disasters. To go back there must have been emotionally debilitating and knowing they could not interfere must have been unbelievably tough…
A woman wronged. Her husband a cheat. Can she get her revenge without him realising he’s being punished?
Sharon Beesley, owner of Sharon’s Stores, discovers by chance the secret life her husband Eric is living, and once she begins to take her revenge, she finds she’s unable to stop. Meanwhile, their schoolgirl daughter Daisy follows the tempting trail of breadcrumbs left by a much older man. But when they meet, all is not what it seems. And no one knows where she is.
With Daisy in trouble and her parents distracted by their own problems, everyone is surprised when help comes from an unlikely place. As does retribution…
Shape of Revenge is a gripping domestic thriller. If you like character-driven action, suspenseful storytelling and unexpected twists then you’ll love this exciting novel.
Georgia Rose is a writer and the author of the romantic and suspenseful Grayson Trilogy books: A Single Step, Before the Dawn and Thicker than Water. Following completion of the trilogy she was asked for more and so wrote a short story, The Joker, which is based on a favourite character from the series and the eBook is available to download for free at the retailer of your choice.
Her fourth novel, Parallel Lies, encompasses crime along with Georgia’s usual blending of genre and its sequel, Loving Vengeance, has now completed The Ross Duology.
Georgia’s background in countryside living, riding, instructing and working with horses has provided the knowledge needed for some of her storylines; the others are a product of her passion for people watching and her overactive imagination.
She has also recently started running workshops and providing one-to-one support for those wishing to learn how to independently publish and you can find her, under her real name, at http://www.threeshirespublishing.com.
Following a long stint working in the law Georgia set up her own business providing administration services for other companies which she does to this day managing to entwine that work along with her writing.
Her busy life is set in a tranquil part of rural Cambridgeshire in the UK where she lives with her much neglected husband and dog.
Our Review
I remembered Sharon Beesley, the owner of the village shop, from the first book in the Shade Darker series. Here she is again, spreading her usual vitriol around the village like it was going out of fashion.
Someone is watching the shop from the shadows. Someone with an agenda, but who are they watching?
Eric Beesley, Sharon’s husband, has a secret, and I, for one, was happy for him.
Shame his wife already knew about it, though and was getting her own back in some secretive and diabolical ways. The toothbrush incident really turned my stomach!
I cannot say that I enjoyed reading Shape of Revenge, as that is entirely the wrong word for this riveting page-turner. Wonderfully written, it had me on the edge of my seat, praying Sharon would get her comeuppance!
People with a nervous disposition might want to think twice before opening this emotion-shredding book!
Annie’s life in Virginia at the turn of the century was perfect until she discovers a nasty family secret. Something her parents have been doing for years.
Now she knows, she cannot continue to live like this, but her protests fall on deaf ears. How can she hope to change what has become a way of life for her family?
Her struggle to change everything only makes her life so much worse, forcing her to try to escape. How far must she run to escape the truth?
Can Annie make a new life for herself, or will they hunt her down and bring her back?
The writing of Bad Moon
(An informal interview with Anita Dawes)
Today I have dragged Anita away from her writing desk and forced her to sit and talk to me about my favourite book (and I suspect, hers too)
Good morning Anita, make yourself comfortable and tell us how you came to write Bad Moon?
Hello Jaye, this is all a bit strange for me. I haven’t done anything like this before. I began to write when I couldn’t stand all the voices in my head. They would not let me rest until I told their story, and once I started, I couldn’t stop!
I just love the people from West Virginia in America, their philosophy and their way of thinking.
What decided the plot of Bad Moon? Was it just your imagination, or did something trigger it?
I was in a bad place at that time in my life, and I think escaping into another world, even one that was not sweetness and light, helped me a lot. There was a song that caught my interest, from Credence Clearwater Revival, about a ‘Bad Moon Rising’. You could say that that was my inspiration right there. I think song lyrics are very emotive. You can usually come up with a good story to go with them. My book turned out to be the usual story of good and evil; you cannot get away from it in nature or human beings. Maybe knowing what I was writing was not real helped me. It is possible.
Is Annie a biographical character? Did you see yourself in her at all?
No, I don’t think so. She turned out to be stronger than I could ever be.
She seems a lot like you, somehow.
Does she? It was not intentional. My mother inspired the creation of Annie’s mother, and Annie’s father reminds me of one of my stepfathers. A long-suffering doormat. And Annie’s relatives remind me of crows at a funeral.
But in the book, Annie’s father seems like a nice chap?
Yes, but he is weak, and unable to control his wife or her relatives.
Why did the title lose the word ‘rising’? And where did the idea for Pa’s grotesque carvings come from? They do sound fascinating…
I had to change the title because there were just too many books with the same title. The idea for the carvings came from my imagination, although I loved the film ‘The Guardian’ with Jenny Agutter. There was an interesting tree in the storyline that could have sparked something.
I have always loved the macabre, like the ‘Tooth Fairy’ in The Silence of The Lambs. Making things out of human skin is fascinatingly disgusting, but people have been doing it for centuries.
Despite all her good intentions, Annie has an incestuous relationship with her brother Nathan before she falls in love with Josh. Did the thought of writing about incest bother you?
No, there is more of that going on than most of us realise. It can be a natural occurrence, as your love for someone – brother or not – can become so strong and overwhelming. It is possible to love more than one person, too. We do it all the time.
Your next book, ‘Simple’, is very similar to ‘Bad Moon’. Is that what you intended?
Yes, because I feel it is a part of who I am, and I love writing them.
Will you ever write another story like these two?
Maybe, although I cannot rule it out as I may not be able to stop myself!
If anyone has any questions or comments, we would be pleased to hear from you!
After reading the book’s blurb, I picked Bad Moon by Anita Dawes. The part that got me was. “Young Annie’s life was perfect until she uncovers a nasty family secret, something her parents have been doing for years.” I was intrigued by the idea of a story about someone coming of age in a family with some dark secrets. I expected maybe some unusual sexual activities or maybe abuse. These would be bad enough, but it turned out undoubtedly mild compared to what Annie had to discover and overcome. The story is told in the first person by Annie herself. Although not unique in point of view, the author crafts the narrative so the reader not only sees the world from Annie’s perspective but identifies with the struggles Annie must overcome. Even when Annie is at her worst, I was always rooting that she would find her way to happiness. Although the setting is the backcountry, the emotional turmoil and the depth of character development give the reader the feeling that this story could have taken place anywhere. This fact is where the quality of the author’s storytelling skills shines. Using the backcountry setting as an excuse for what transpires in the plot would be easy. However, that would be a disservice to the story since the action gets down to fundamental human issues and predispositions that are not necessarily only the purview of uneducated backcountry folks. There are examples that I would like to cite, but each would be a spoiler. So I guess I will leave it at this. Once you start reading Bad Moon, you won’t be able to stop. The story is well-crafted and moves at just the right pace. If you like well-written human drama stories with a lot of action, this one is for you.
In this second book in the Fairies, Myths, & Magic series, step into a world where dark fairies and other magical beings converge in a collection of poetry and short stories inspired by winter and the celebration of the winter solstice.
From autumn’s scary fairies to the forgotten female characters of Yule, prepare to embrace the magical winter solstice myths from around the world. Meet Frau Holle in the Wild Hunt, Befana—the Christmas Witch of Italy, and the Japanese goddess Ameratasu who controls the springtime. Prepare to embrace the Scottish trows, the Irish Goddess of Winter—the Cailleach Béara, and Snegurochka—the Snow Girl.
Learn how to make Yuletide rituals part of your celebration by embracing the symbols of Yule by decorating with evergreens and crystals.
Colleen M. Chesebro is a Michigan Poet who loves crafting syllabic poetry, flash fiction, and creative fiction and nonfiction. Colleen sponsors a weekly poetry challenge, called Tanka Tuesday, on wordcraftpoetry.com where participants learn how to write traditional and current forms of syllabic poetry.
Along with JulesPaige, Colleen is also a co-editor of “Word Weaving, a Word Craft Journal of Syllabic Verse,” at wordweavingpoetryjournal.com. The debut issue of this journal will publish in October 2021.
Colleen’s syllabic poetry has appeared in various other online publications. Recently, she created the Double Ennead, a 99-syllable poetry form for Carrot Ranch. Colleen’s poetry has poetry in various anthologies and journals including “Hedgerow-a journal of small poems,” and “Poetry Treasures,” and Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships.
Colleen published “Word Craft: Prose & Poetry, The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry,” which illustrates how to write various syllabic poetry forms used in her Tanka Tuesday challenges; and a collection of poetry, flash fiction, and short stories called, “Fairies, Myths & Magic: A Summer Celebration,” dedicated to the Summer Solstice. She contributed a short story called “The Changeling,” in the “Ghostly Rites Anthology 2020,” published by Plaisted Publishing House.
Find Colleen at Word Craft Poetry at wordcraftpoetry.com, or her author blog at colleenmchesebro.com.
Our Review
The second book in the Fairies, Myths & Magic Series is a beautiful presentation from start to finish, full of fascinating information about Pagan mythology and the winter solstice.
Autumn and winter are my favourite seasons, making this lovely collection of poems and stories a joy to read.
Memories of those long months of illness and lockdown faded as I melted into the magical faerie world.
As with the first book in this series, I will purchase the paperback edition for my bookshelf, as I will be reading this enchanting book again…
A family massacred. A village in mourning. Can anyone sleep safely while a killer is on the loose?
Laura Percival, owner of The Stables, notices something wrong at her friend’s house when out on her morning ride. Further investigation reveals scenes she’ll never forget.
While the police are quick to accuse, Laura is less so, defending those around her as she struggles to make sense of the deaths. And all the time she wonders if she really knew her friends at all.
A chance encounter opens up a line of investigation that uncovers a secret life. One that Laura is much closer to than she ever realised.
A Killer Strikes is a gripping domestic thriller. If you like character-driven action, suspenseful storytelling and dark revelations then you’ll love this exciting novel.
Georgia Rose is a writer and the author of the romantic and suspenseful Grayson Trilogy books: A Single Step, Before the Dawn and Thicker than Water. Following completion of the trilogy she was asked for more and so wrote a short story, The Joker, which is based on a favourite character from the series and the eBook is available to download for free at the retailer of your choice.
Her fourth novel, Parallel Lies, encompasses crime along with Georgia’s usual blending of genre and its sequel, Loving Vengeance, has now completed The Ross Duology.
Georgia’s background in countryside living, riding, instructing and working with horses has provided the knowledge needed for some of her storylines; the others are a product of her passion for people watching and her overactive imagination.
She has also recently started running workshops and providing one-to-one support for those wishing to learn how to independently publish and you can find her, under her real name, at http://www.threeshirespublishing.com.
Following a long stint working in the law Georgia set up her own business providing administration services for other companies which she does to this day managing to entwine that work along with her writing.
Her busy life is set in a tranquil part of rural Cambridgeshire in the UK where she lives with her much neglected husband and dog.
Our Review
The first chapter sets the mood and asks all the right questions but doesn’t quite prepare you for what is to come.
Unusually, the main protagonist is not a detective, and it was interesting to see the case from a layman’s point of view. I loved the chapter headings too!
One by one, every character in the story comes under suspicion, but I never figured it out, and the ending was really surprising. I have often wondered how I would cope if the same situation happened to me.
A Killer Strikes is the author’s first brilliant foray into the world of the psychological thriller, and I am really looking forward to reading Shape of Revenge, the next story in the Shade Darker Series…
Nothing quite like the unexpected review to brighten our days and remind us why write…
Lately, we have needed a break from the constant struggle to stay cheerful, what with our health problems and the terrible weather.
Miserable grey skies do little to cheer us up, so when something unexpected happens, it is very welcome.
This wonderful review from D L Finn really brought the sunshine back!
“Scarlet Ribbon” is a story that made me wonder about the afterlife and what is in between. Maggie was out with her husband when she was run down by a car. She ended up in a coma for two long years, but her time became relative as she found herself in a strange place. Her body was in the hospital, but her mind or soul was experiencing a different reality. While she was under, she could see what her husband was doing and was taken to other worlds and the past. She wanted to help, especially a young girl. There was cruelty and a blissful existence that coincided in the different places. As she seeks answers to her dilemma, she finds out more than she wanted to about how sheltered a life she had and people’s true side. I have always wondered what goes on when people are in a coma, and this was a fascinating idea of what could happen. There never seems to be one simple answer or outcome to Maggie’s desires. I love her determination to do what is right, but within her new world, I felt her confusion as she bounced from one situation to another. I was rooting for the person she connected with on the other side. The story picked up the pace when she emerged from the coma, and work began for her to heal and try to remember. The ending was a surprise but didn’t feel done just yet. I hope there are more versions of her life to come and I will be reading them.
Thank you so much, Denise!
Excerpt from The Scarlet Ribbon
I had no idea how long I lay there in the darkness, talking to myself, half hoping that someone or something would hear me and show me the way out. I felt like a defence lawyer, pleading my case before an invisible judge, promising all sorts of things for a second chance. I’d be more patient, and more caring and help all those who needed it. After all, thirty wasn’t a good age to die. That was my final plea. I’d be as good as anyone could be if they’d let me live out the rest of my life with Jack.
But who were ‘they’? Who the hell was I talking to? There didn’t seem to be anyone with me in that dark, empty void.
That’s when I realised I hadn’t left even a small part of myself behind. No children. For the first time, I felt regret. Jack and I had decided that we didn’t need children; we were enough for each other and didn’t want to share our lives with smaller versions of ourselves.
During our second year together, we had allowed one small invasion of our privacy in the form of a tiny black kitten. She’d been dumped in the rain in a brown paper carrier bag like unwanted garbage. It was soaking wet, skinny, and hardly able to walk. I remember taking her home and the look on Jack’s face when I took her out from inside my coat, her dark, spiky fur almost dry from the heat of my body.
It was love at first sight, and we took turns that night feeding her baby milk and comforting her. The following day Jack said he couldn’t stand the smell any longer.
‘She’s got to have a bath, Maggie. She’s a sorry state.’
So that’s what we called her, Sorry. And that’s exactly how I feel now, sorry that we didn’t have a child, someone to remember us, to talk about us when we were gone. But it wasn’t too late; I wasn’t too old, and there was still time…
A string of gruesome murders rocks the small town of Alexandria, New Hampshire, with all the victims staged to resemble dead angels, and strange red and pink balloons appearing out of nowhere.
All the clues point to the Romeo Killer’s return. Except one: he died eight years ago.
Paranoid and on edge, Sage’s theory makes no sense. Dead serial killers don’t rise from the grave. Yet she swears he’s here, hungering for the only angel to slip through his grasp—Sage.
With only hours left to live, how can Sage convince her Sheriff husband before the sand in her hourglass runs out?
Sue Coletta is an award-winning crime writer and an active member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. Feedspot and Expertido.org named her Murder Blog as “Best 100 Crime Blogs on the Net.” She also blogs at the Kill Zone (Writer’s Digest “101 Best Websites for Writers”) and Writers Helping Writers.
Sue lives with her husband in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire and writes two psychological thriller series, Mayhem Series and Grafton County Series (Tirgearr Publishing) and is the true crime/narrative nonfiction author of PRETTY EVIL NEW ENGLAND: True Stories of Violent Vixens and Murderous Matriarchs (Rowman & Littlefield Group). Sue teaches a virtual course about serial killers for EdAdvance in CT and a condensed version for her fellow Sisters In Crime. She’s appeared on the Emmy award-winning true crime series, Storm of Suspicion. In October 2022, she’s filming three episodes of Homicide: Hours to Kill for Cineflix. Learn more about Sue and her books at https://suecoletta.com
Our Review
The mysterious red balloon that suddenly turns up in Sage Quintano’s bedroom triggers panic, setting the scene for a promisingly terrifying story.
Years might have passed, but the fear and the awful memories have not.
I have always loved the relationship between Sage and her husband, Niko, but this time, life might just give them more than either of them can handle. Worrying about them will keep you on the edge of your seat!
The tension in this story never ceases; reading it is like running a nightmare marathon. But I loved every word!
Haloed is one of the best thrillers I have read this year…
Do you wish you could write like your favorite authors? Do you want to improve your writing? If you want to power up your stories, write with your readers in mind, and deliver what the market wants, this book is for you.
In The Anatomy of a Best Seller, you’ll discover:
A step-by-step guide to deconstructing your favorite books so you can utilize the tools of winning authors.
Tips and tricks for breaking down everything from sentence level prose to plot, pacing, characters, story arcs, and more.
A comprehensive guide to understanding your market and what readers want.
Tactics for turning the lessons and tools you find into practical prose and stories.
The Anatomy of a Best Seller is a comprehensive guide that will help you break down the best books in your genre, understand how and why they work, and then learn how to do it yourself.
By the end of the book, you’ll be armed with the methods you need to deconstruct best sellers, understand the tools those authors are using, and how to implement them in your own work.
If you like dark humor and learning through examples, then you’ll love Sacha Black’s guide to deconstructing winning books. Read The Anatomy of a Best Seller today and start writing your best seller.
Our Review
I have always wanted to know why some books become best sellers and some don’t. So when I saw The Anatomy of a Best Seller by my friend and excellent writer, Sacha Blake, I knew I was about to find out.
Sacha is a wonderful writer, and her helpful, well-written books for writers everywhere should be gold-plated, as I have always found them easy to understand, totally absorbing and exceedingly helpful.
I have learned so much from Anatomy of a Best Seller, and I am convinced it will help me to get further up the ladder!
Amazon Review
“If you’ve ever wondered what catapults a title to bestseller status, then this book is for you. The Anatomy of a Bestseller had me both laughing out loud and tearfully wishing it had existed sooner. With her trademark humour, let Sacha Black take you through her step-by-step process for identifying what makes a book truly sing. A must-read for all authors who are serious about success and shaping their work into list-worthy stories from the get-go.” Helen Scheuerer, bestselling fantasy author.
Anita Dawes and Jaye Marie 