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EDGE

FROM THE PUBLISHER

SBN: 978-0999066546 SBN: 978-0999066546

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TOPShelf

A Comprehensive Bookseller’s Guide to TopShelf Authors & Books!

™

table of contents

masthead

interviews

CEO & Publisher

5 7

Keith A. Katsikas Jr.

Humphrey Hawksley

keith@topshelfmagazine.net

Allen Leverone

E.V.P. & Director of Marketing Rebecca Katsikas

columns 9 11 13 15

Let’s Talk Shelf Talkers

Lead Editor

Conflicts vs. Stakes

editor@topshelfmagazine.net

Quick Books: How to Write Fast

Assistant Editor

The Cardinal Sins

reviews 17 17 17 21 21 21 23 23 23 25 25 25

becky@topshelfmagazine.net

A Letter for Hoot Daily Writing Resilience Dickenson Academy Hunting the Devil Love, Death, & Rare Books Moon Hunt The Bashkir Extraction The Devils Cradle

Kyle Magnus

Sharon Isbell

editor@topshelfmagazine.net

Contributors & Reviewers Mark Adduci Belle Ami J. H. Bográn Keith Katsikas Rebecca Katsikas Jon Land Kyle Magnus Michael Rowland Timothy Sunderland Micah Richards Mrs. Y Bobby Jo Calder Jenn Kraft Sharon Isbell

978-1795415927

The Lurking Collection The Robber of Youth The Worst First Day Where You Lead

editorial policy TopShelf Magazine is a bookseller-focused trade journal packed with the crème de la crème in indie and traditionally published authors and books. There’s no junk here!

subscriptions TopShelf Magazine is offered to bookstores and public libraries across the United States free of charge, and to any bookseller and library in the English speaking world for a

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SUMMER2019 3

Stephen Perkins Full Page Ad

"A c o be een he pe na al hocke of S e en King and he poli ical and co po a e in ig e of mode n ele i ion ho like S ce ion and Billion " VERIFIED AMAZON REVIEW

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8 16

You are a former foreign correspondent for the BBC and have reported on events and conflicts from all over the world. What inspired you to set the Rake Ozenna series in the Arctic North as opposed to anywhere else? Did you have any personal experiences of your own in the Arctic North that became determining factors for writing these high-octane novels in that setting? www.TopShelfMagazine.net

The main character of both MAN ON ICE and MAN ON EDGE in the Rake Ozenna series is, in fact, Major Rake Ozenna of the Alaska National Guard. We don’t often see American characters from such remote places like Alaska with lead roles in espionage and spy Thrillers.

What inspired you to write Rake Ozenna as a character so far removed—geographically and perhaps even socially —from the contiguous United States?

As soon as I arrived on Little Diomede and met that rugged, tough, generous community, I sensed I began to imagine a character who could stand out from the crowd. Anyone raised on the island had to survive extremes of weather and the challenges of a small, remote community.

They would also have grown up under the

MARCH2020

First, congratulations on your newest release, MAN ON EDGE, A Rake Ozenna Thriller. You’ve already received some phenomenal reviews for this book, hailing it as “A multilayered tale with plenty of fast-paced action [that] will hook thriller fans…” (Booklist) and “Reminiscent of the very best Cold War fiction, filled with double-dealing, and ingenious political intrigue.” (Nelson de Mille). Give us a little insight into what it’s been like for you to now have the second book in the Rake Ozenna series out after the first, Man on Ice, was so well-received.

It’s satisfying that the idea in creating an unusual character from a little-known setting is gaining traction. On this second book, Man on Edge, reviewers are beginning to talk about the role of Rake Ozenna as much as the story itself. It’s a crowded market out there, and I’m forever grateful to my publisher for seeing potential and the team of people from editors to publicists to booksellers to readers for helping grow the idea and keep it alive.

shadow of a hostile Russia which would give them an instinct for global politics.

Rake Ozenna joins the military and succeeds in breaking through to officer.

Very little phases him, and he applies the same situational awareness skills in dealing with the Army as he would with a sudden storm during a walrus hunt in the Bering Strait. Despite his success, he is always drawn back to his community.

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AN INTERVIEW WITH HUMPHREY HAWKSLEY

The Ukraine crisis in 2015, when Russia ended up annexing Crimea, ended up pitting the U.S. against Russia in a Cold War kind of way. I wanted to see exactly where these two global superpowers came face to face, so I went there for the BBC. The theater of conflict may be Europe, but the United States and Russia actually share a border across the Bering Strait. At their closest point they are less than three miles apart. Little Diomede, an Alaskan civilian village of fewer than 100 people lies across a narrow stretch of water from Big Diomede which is a Russian military base.

This border is known as the Ice Curtain, the little known direct U.S.-Russia frontier against the more famous European Iron Curtain. Once there, I learned how this region was becoming yet another flashpoint for global conflict. Melting ice was opening northern sea routes through the Arctic prompting a scramble for control

by Russia, China, the U.S and others. The Arctic was becoming the new, untested arena of great power strategy with similar repercussions as in the early 20th Century when the discovery of oil in the Middle East transformed that region into what it is today. I set Man on Ice on that border and for Man on Edge moved Rake Ozenna to Norway’s border with Russia which is also its border with NATO. I had an idea to write a chase across the border with huskies and sleds. I went to Norway’s Arctic and dog-sledded along the border to check how and if it would work.

TOPShelf

INTERVIEWS

In your opinion, what are the most important elements every espionage and spy Thriller needs in order to hit the mark like you’ve so successfully done with MAN ON ICE and MAN ON EDGE, as well as your other works in this genre?

That’s a tough one, a great one, too. I think they need to take the reader somewhere they haven’t been before and tie it in with a big issue that requires espionage. The narrative must be composed of unanswered questions that the reader knows will come together at the end, running the mystery and the contest in parallel until the very end. If you can, keep the solving of the mystery until the very last page. I tie myself in knots of indecision over when to hold back when to reveal. As a journalist, I am trained to tell what I know as soon as I know it. As a thriller writer, it is about concealing and drip-feeding information.

If you could have done anything differently while writing MAN ON EDGE, what would that be and why? If you wouldn’t change a thing, tell us about how you got to the place in your career as a Thriller author where that hypothetical time machine wouldn’t make a difference.

My training as a journalist has imbedded a file and move on discipline. There is a temptation to look back and think I should have Rake do this and Carrie do that. Instead, I tend to think, “That could be interesting. Let’s test it in the next book.” Having said that, I wish I hadn’t written Man on Edge so long. Later drafts needed a lot of cutting. I’m trying to be tighter with the next one.

Read our full interview with Humphrey Hawksley at:

www.TopShelfMagazine.net

TOPShelf magazine

MARCH2020 5

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www.kellyoliverbooks.com

Allan Leverone is an air traffic controller and the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nearly twenty novels in the thriller and horror genres. He is a former Derringer Award winner for excellence in short mystery fiction, and his dark thriller, MR. MIDNIGHT, was featured in Suspense Magazine’s “Best of 2013” issue. Allan lives in Londonderry, NH with his wife, three grown children and two beautiful grandchildren. Learn more on Facebook, Twitter @AllanLeverone, or at AllanLeverone.com.

Please tell us a little about your latest Tracie Tanner thriller, The Bashkir Extraction.

Tracie Tanner has evolved over the course of six books from a traditional, if unconventional, CIA field operative to one of the blackest of black ops assets in the U.S. intelligence arsenal. Reporting directly to CIA Director Aaron Stallings, Tanner is given the most dangerous and risky assignments, where the stakes are the highest. She almost always operates alone, with little backup.

In The Bashkir Extraction, the U.S. intelligence services learn of a highly secret Soviet military base located deep inside the Ural Mountains, in the Soviet satellite state www.TopShelfMagazine.net

Even though the Tracie Tanner novels are action-packed, in my mind everything boils down to characterization. If the reader doesn’t care about Tracie, nothing about the dilemma she’s facing will matter.

With that as my guiding principle, it’s clear as you read through the six Tanner books that taking on the types of assignments Tracie is asked to complete would take a psychological toll on anyone.

She believes strongly in what she’s doing and in the rightness of freedom versus oppression, but still, she carries the weight of things she has done on her shoulders everywhere she goes.

The moral dilemma she faces in The Bashkir Extraction is an extension of the burden she carries. Life does not get any easier for Tracie in this book.

In your experience traveling from bookstore to bookstore, doing signings and other events, what have to discovered are some of the best ways to captivate readers and get people into your bookstore events?

Honestly, I rarely do bookstore events.

Unless your name is Lee Child or Steve Berry, as an author it’s hard to get people to

MARCH2020

AN INTERVIEW WITH ALLAN LEVERONE

You’ve had your character Tracie Tanner go through some pretty difficult situations in the past, but this time she definitely had to face the hardest choice of her career. Without giving away spoilers, why did you think it important for her to evolve down this path?

come out to an event when they’re not familiar with you or your work. Most of my interactions with readers take place on social media, where an author can have a reach far beyond what is possible through in-person appearances.

I did a “Noir at the Bar” reading a couple of years ago in Boston that was a lot of fun and very well received, but that’s definitely the exception for me and not the rule. I would certainly be receptive to a bookstore appearance if asked, but it’s not the sort of thing I typically pursue.

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of Bashkir. Tanner is dispatched to place the facility under surveillance, with instructions to then return to D.C. and brief intelligence specialists on what she has learned.

It should be a relatively easy assignment, but while in Bashkir, Tracie observes something so shocking and unexpected it changes the nature of her mission completely. She must now attempt to infiltrate this highly secure military facility, where if successful she will face a moral dilemma for which there is no acceptable solution.

TOPShelf

INTERVIEWS Have you come across any marketing strategies used by booksellers in your travels that have struck you as particularly impressive or effective?

Again, I’m far from an expert on this topic, but I think it’s common knowledge that booksellers need to develop a strategy to allow them to compete more effectively in an era of electronic books and bookselling. One of the ways they could do so is through aggressively promoting local/Indie authors to their core customer group. It surprises me that this doesn’t happen more than it does.

Is there anything that you could offer aspiring authors that you feel could be of substantial value in their quest to hit the bestseller list?

Hitting bestseller lists is a total crapshoot.

I only made it because I was fortunate enough to have my thriller, Final Vector, included in the Deadly Dozen collection along with books by a number of other authors, nearly all of whom was much higher-profile than myself. We sold over 100,000 copies and spent two weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and six weeks on USA Today’s list.

Read this and other interviews at:

www.TopShelfMagazine.net

TOPShelf magazine

MARCH2020 7

“ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS WE'VE READ THIS YEAR. A MASTERFULLY WRITTEN TIME TRAVEL ROMANCE… TREMENDOUSLY SATISFYING!” ~TopShelf Reviews

Grand Prize Winner Full Page Ad

ISBN: 978-0998309804

While her boyfriend Forrest searches for a job, quick-witted Annet works at the Keizer Manor, where the oils from 19th-century master painter Alexander Keizer are exhibited. After a fight, a very pregnant Annet and Forrest figure they'll take a stroll through the ocean dunes, but they become separated when dark clouds roll in, bringing with them a violent thunderstorm. Regaining consciousness in a monastery, Forrest nowhere to be found, Annet is convinced the nuns are playing a prank. The 1800's. Impossible! She must find her way home. But how will she ever get back to her own time?

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TOPSHELF MARKETING:

by Keith Katsikas (CEO & Publisher, TopShelf) Twitter/Facebook @TopShelfPub | TopShelfMagazine.net

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes.

What makes you want to buy something?

Did you decide to watch a movie because you liked the title? Or buy a car because the color enticed you? Most likely, not.

Customers make purchases based on research, need, and recommendations.

Sometimes if I can’t choose between two items, I’ll choose the one that was personally recommended to me or that has the most noted recommendations.

The same goes for books. A well-written shelf-talker inspires customers to investigate a book closer and greatly increases the odds that the book will sell. If you’re not using shelf-talkers then you could be making a very big mistake. It is a fact that many people will go to a bookstore just to wander or spend a lazy afternoon. These people are looking for something to jump out at them. They want to see which books are recommended by the staff or other customers.

These people want the shelves to talk to them!

You may be thinking, what the heck is a shelf-talker? Well, simply put, a shelf-talker is a small sign that attaches to a retail shelf or display. Aside from actually talking with your customers (which you absolutely should do) this is the best way to communicate with potential buyers.

Effective shelf-talkers have big clear fonts so customers can read them quickly,.

They are creative and informative. It’s important that shelf-talkers are kept neat.

The last thing you want is for a shelfwww.TopShelfMagazine.net

Who decides which books get a shelftalker? I personally feel that any book that someone (employee or customer) is passionate about is worthy of a shelf-talker.

You could have a small table with blank shelf-talkers; there are several templates available online, and pens and markers. You could create a Committee of Shelf-Talkers (employees and customers) that gets together once a month to write them.

If you currently hold a Book Club, you could ask them to write shelf-talkers.

MARCH2020

LET’S TALK SHELF-TALKERS

Who writes the review on the shelftalker? Anyone. Both employees and customers should be encouraged to create them. Have a contest and use the most creative designs and messaging.

IN CLOSING Marketing is in my blood. There’s not a day that goes by where I’m not thinking about how to improve commercialization of the companies I work with or patronize on a daily basis. I guess that’s just the curse of a marketing professional.

Look, if anyone ever tries to sell you a magic marketing bullet for your problems, run away... fast! Truth be told, no single marketing idea will

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talker to look like it’s been hanging since the dawn of time. They typically have a 50 word or less review of the book they are located under.

TOPShelf

COLUMNS

ever work for everyone. Everything we do carries with it risk. However, there is one thing I can assure you––something I can and will promise. The worst thing you can do in this life is nothing at all.

Remember, do what you love, and love what you do, and the world will eventually follow.

More Articles at: TopShelfMagazine.net

TOPShelf magazine

MARCH2020 9

"This highly readable, triumphant tale deserves a place on any music lover's and book lover's shelf."

Hillar Daninhirsch, Foreword Reviews

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by Paul Hollis (TopShelf Columnist)

Twitter @HollowManSeries | TheHollowManSeries.com

No matter what kind of novel you’re writing, no matter the genre, your story will not be memorable without trouble. Even love stories and kids' books have conflict. And every great story begins with some level of conflict.

While a novel doesn’t necessarily have to include conflict on the first page, it doesn’t hurt. It’s one of many techniques to immediately involve readers in a story, pique their interest, begin to ask themselves questions and make them want to read more. Yep, even in romances – look at Grease. In the beginning, the summer has ended, and Sandy and Danny will never see each other again. That is a tragedy when you are seventeen.

Conflict can be big and noisy like a fistfight or it can be quiet like a person who wants two opposing things and can’t decide, but make sure it’s there. Conflict must exist in every scene. And generally, but not always, conflicts are short-lived like the two examples here.

Stakes, on the other hand, are more primal and long-lasting. Stakes are weaved through the fabric of a novel. A plot that hinges on primal drives like survival, hunger, sex, protection of a loved one, love itself, fear of death, revenge, etc., will connect with readers at a fundamental level because everyone “gets” those things.

Stakes have to matter, but by the end of a novel, they have to matter more than anything else in the world.

An audience has to know the stakes, and they have to know them sooner rather than later. The longer readers go without knowing the stakes, the more lost they feel in terms of understanding the story and the characters’ www.TopShelfMagazine.net

PERSONAL STAKES - A protagonist’s stakes are not just what motivates him or her.

Personal stakes illustrate the reasons why this goal must be achieved, or that action must be performed to end matters in a positive, profound, and personal sense.

ULTIMATE STAKES - When life tests humans to the utmost, our motives grow exponentially greater. Our most profound convictions rise close to the surface.

We care even more. We become more determined than ever to make a difference, to persist, to overcome all problems and obstacles. The hero of a novel will also be tested to the limit of his or her convictions. If not, ask yourself, are there enough obstacles in the way of this character?

PUBLIC STAKES - Public stakes not only affect the main character but the community, the nation, the world! Things can go wrong in so many different ways. That’s the essence of raising the outward, or public, stakes–– making matters worse for people or the

MARCH2020

CONFLICTS VS. STAKES

populace in general, showing readers that there is more to lose than just one’s self, promising even bigger disasters will happen if the hero doesn’t make matters come out okay. The train will derail, and hundreds of people will die. The Government Embassy will burn. The universe will collapse on itself.

Raising the public stakes is easy in thrillers, mysteries, action-adventure, and science fiction/fantasy novels. The action in such stories usually has significance for more than just the characters involved. Public safety and security are issues. But what about the stakes in other types of novels like sagas, coming-of-age stories, romances, and family dramas? It’s the same. Coming of age novels can deal with racism, sexual situations, and so on. In Romance, throw a third person

magazine

A NOVEL APPROACH

motivations. It’s crucial the reader knows what is to be gained or lost in the battle or during the journey or in the love affair.

Whether a red marble or the universe is at risk, the stakes are crucial and supply the motivational drive to achieve a goal.

Characters are the engine that drives a story, and if the stakes are not high enough–– or worse, not there at all––the story becomes artificial. Both conflicts and stakes must be personal and internal. And as a result, remember, conflicts and stakes also may be specific and different for each character.

Stakes mean more to us as an audience when the stakes mean more to the characters.

There are three kinds of stakes for characters:

TOPShelf

COLUMNS

into the mix. In the end, someone must lose love. Family drama may deal with the death of a relative and its effect on members of the family.

To summarize, a novel can have personal stakes where the main character struggles with his sanity as in Dostoyevsky’s Notes from the Underground. The main character may be tested to the limit of his existence as in Jack London’s To Build A Fire. And worlds may be jeopardized as in Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. And of course, a novel can also have a combination of these stakes.

More Articles at: TopShelfMagazine.net

TOPShelf magazine

MARCH2020 11

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by Sarah Noffke (TopShelf Columnist) Twitter @RealSarahNoffke | SarahNoffke.com

Currently, for my publisher, I produce a book every two weeks. No, these aren’t fivehundred page doorstopper novels. They are fantasy and science fiction written for a specific audience. They are novels none the less and churning them out quickly has gotten me attention. Mostly, writers and readers ask me about the “how”. Writing a book is supposed to be a great undertaking, akin to birthing a child. And I’m not going to detract from that. It’s difficult, no matter how short the timeline is. I’ve just figured out how to hack my schedule in order to be as efficient as possible and keep production high.

Structure is the key to staying on deadlines. I treat my schedule with a holy reverence. I work every single day. Everysingle-day. Somedays I work thirty minutes and the next, I’ll work ten hours.

That’s the best way to carve the sculpture, aka the novel. One chip at a time. Each book is written one word at a time.

There are tons of hacks that I employ to ensure that I stay on schedule. I’m happy to share all of them, but honestly the biggest thing is to sit in the chair and write until it’s done. I love what Stephen King says in On Writing about this: “When you sit down to write, write. Don’t do anything else except go to the bathroom, and only do that if it absolutely cannot be put off.”

Facebook and other social media are the biggest culprits when it comes to sabotaging productivity. Chris Fox, the author of 5,000 Words Per Hour, disables his Wi-Fi during writing times. There are www.TopShelfMagazine.net

we’ll remember the books we completed, not the time we spent surfing the web.

Writing a book in two weeks is possible for me because I keep things as predictable and balanced as I can for the most part. I have a schedule, and although it invariably gets upset from time to time, it usually remains intact. If a is wrench

waiting to be birthed. You can write it in a week, two weeks or a year. But nothing is going to happen if we don’t commit. To use another Stephen King quote, “You have to stay faithful to what you’re working on.”

More Articles at: TopShelfMagazine.net

TOPShelf magazine

MARCH2020 13

MARCH2020

QUICK BOOKS: HOW TO WRITE FAST

thrown in my schedule then I shrug and rework the calendar. I had a few schedule snafus with my last book, preventing me from writing for a couple of days. I ended up writing ten thousand words in one day to complete the book on time. I lost sleep. It was no big deal. The next day, I bounced back.

And then I started another book.

I love what I do, but if I didn’t then I’d find churning out a book to be a chore. It isn’t. With every single book, I’m hungry to find out how characters are going to reveal themselves. I might fall victim to distraction, but having a system in place is key to staying focused.

I believe we all have a book inside us,

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THE INSIDE SCOOP

applications that can do that for writers, as well as programs that delete words if there isn’t consistent production. Imagine zoning out and looking back at your screen to find you’ve lost all your words for the day! Flowstate is one of those programs and some authors I know swear by the sadistic software. This just proves that focus is the biggest culprit to any author achieving their word count goals.

The key is to set up a structure, stay focused and minimize distractions. None of us are perfect, but working when we’ve set aside time is key. I track my word counts and if I’m not clocking a thousand words per hour then I give myself a little talking to. When we look back on our life,

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COLUMNS

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Twitter @JHBogran | jhbogran@gmail.com

The Cardinal Sins is a beautiful novel published in the early 80’s by Andrew M. Greeley. The plot is about two lifelong friends, rich Kevin Brennan and poor Patrick Donahue who decide to enter the seminar, but the family status is only the first difference between them. For Kevin, becoming a priest was a conscious wellthought decision. However, by the end of high school, Patrick wasn’t sure about what to do with his life. The idea of following his friend’s path came to him as an epiphany, as he described it, while he was lying on his back with his girlfriend near a lake and looking at the sky.

Seminar proved hard for both young men, and that’s where the institution of the church started to separate the weed from the wheat. Kevin Brennan had his faith and his books and became a scholar. On the other hand, Patrick Donahue seemed to have a score to settle with life, and his ambition lead his maneuvering raising the ladder until finally becoming the next Cardinal in Chicago.

For a plot about two priests, you’d be surprised to discover each of them had a sweetheart in high school, and later in life, they played critical roles in the plot. Patrick hooked up with Kevin’s cousin Maureen Cunningham. Kevin didn’t think much of Ellen Foley when she was assigned to him as the date by his cousin, but she proved a www.TopShelfMagazine.net

recent history when he was found dead merely months after taking the high office of Shepard of the Church.

Andrew M. Greeley was born on February 5, 1928, and ordained as a priest in 1952. He passed away in 2013 after a life as a scholar, an advocate for child’s rights

MARCH2020

by J. H. Bográn (TopShelf Columnist)

and consummate author of over 120 books, both fiction and nonfiction. He also had papers published about theology.

He lived his life battling for the things he believed were right. Writing gave him a voice that he used for good, even donating the proceedings from his work to charity, including Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP. In 2008, he had an accident with a taxi as it pulled away and he ended with a fractured skull.

His health diminished in the years following until his death in 2013 at the age of 85. His family confirmed he had died in his sleep and his body found the next morning.

The Cardinal Sins was Father Greeley’s third novel and the first one to achieve commercial success. The title serves as a double entendre since the Seven Deadly Sins as observed by the Roman Catholic Church, are known as Cardinal Sins, and the story deals with the sins of Cardinal Patrick Donahue.

magazine

FORGOTTEN TOMES THE CARDINAL SINS

smart and touting young lady. She stole a piece of his heart, the rest of it, belonged to the Catholic Church.

The book combines elements of drama, action sequences, plenty of suspense, all interlaced with some real-life historical events that rocked the world, particularly those at the end of the 70’s. The action starts in 1948 but covers thirty years, all the way to the election of Pope John Paul the First. As some may remember, John Paul the First had a very short papacy, the shortest in

TOPShelf

COLUMNS

J. H. Bográn, born and raised in Honduras, is the son of a journalist; however, he ironically prefers to write fiction. José’s genre of choice is thrillers, but he enjoys to throw in a twist of romance on occasion. He has published three acclaimed novels and is a member of The Crime Writers Association, the Short Fiction Writers Guild, and the International Thriller Writers where he also serves as the Thriller Roundtable Coordinator and contributor editor for their official e-zine The Big Thrill.

More Articles at: TopShelfMagazine.net

TOPShelf magazine

MARCH2020 15

AWARD-WINNING TRILOGY “Yates is a master of historical fiction.” ~Scott Skipper, Bestselling Author of the Star Trails Tetralogy Series

“Exclamations all OVER the place about this wonderful trilogy!” ~Heidi Mastrogiovanni, Screenwriter & Author of Lala Pettibone’s Act Two

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TOPShelf magazine

REVIEWS

MARCH2020

Mystery

Paperback

$12.95

Self-Help

Paperback

$19.99

Teen & YA

Paperback

16.99

LEAVES A NOTEWORTHY MARK ON BELONGS ON THE DESK OF THE CLASSIC WHODUNNIT GENRE! EVERY AUTHOR!

MYSTERIOUS, WELL-WRITTEN CAPTIVATED ME THE BEGINNING!

The murder of one of Cab Station’s own had rocked town residents, but the case ultimately went cold, forgotten for decades. That is until the identity of the victim gets uncovered by Nicholas Tucker Tyson—NT, for short—and his friend Daisy, who launch their own investigation. Along the way, they befriend Hoot, who unknowingly holds the key to solving the mystery. In between golf practice, basketball challenges, and trips to the ice cream parlor, NT and Daisy relentlessly search for the truth––a shocking revelation that will rock an already devastated town to its core.

We couldn’t find a single reviewer on our staff who was a fan of golf. However, after just a few minutes of reading this book, it became evident that loving the game of golf is by no means a requirement for loving this book. With obvious inspiration from such masters as Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie, literary newcomer, Holly Spofford leaves a noteworthy mark on the classic whodunnit genre, beloved by millions. We eagerly await her next installment.

Whether you are a young adult or not, this book has just the right amount of fantasy to make it fun to read. This mysterious, well-written story captivated me from the beginning, and I was hooked! This story follows Autumn Mattison as she enters a private boarding school in the mountains near Seattle, and her experiences as she uncovers the school’s secrets. This author does a great job of character development, along with the descriptions and narrative. I highly recommend this book to parents for a good start into young adult fiction, and I can see teenage girls relating to it, especially if they attended a boarding school. Well done!

Bryan Robinson speaks candidly about the challenges that authors face, and how to have resilience––better yet, perseverance, in spite of those challenges. With a full year's worth of meditations and inspirations, a plethora of practical know-how awaits every page. Starting every morning off with a page of this book will feel as if you have your own personal life coach, who has walked in your shoes, and is now cheering you on. Whether sitting down to write for the first time, a seasoned pro, or somewhere in between, these daily doses of pick-me-up speaks to authors of all levels. Daily Writing Resilience is, without a doubt, a book that belongs on the desk of every author, every day. ~TopShelf Reviews

~Michael Rowland, TopShelf Reviews

~TopShelf Reviews

www.TopShelfMagazine.net

TOPShelf magazine

MARCH2020 17

Narrated b Jeff Lemucchi

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REVIEWS

MARCH2020

Thriller

Paperback

$16.95

PAGE-TURNING STORY OF SURVIVAL AND REVENGE A bold, brash, and unforgettable story of a black American doctor who finds herself thrust into the war in Rwanda. In 1994 over eight-hundredthousand Tutsis were slaughtered by Hutu extremists during one of the worst genocides in history. Schafer has given voice to the atrocities in this page-turning story of survival and revenge.

Doctor Jessica Hemmings thought her life was perfect until the day she walked in and found her fiancé in bed with another woman. Picking up the pieces of her life, she decides to volunteer in Africa for Doctors Without Borders. She doesn’t expect to find prejudice and hatred far worse than any she experienced at home in the States. The tide of hate is rising in Rwanda, and genocide begins with Hutu’s brutally slaying any Tutsi they can lay their hands on. Jess must face the destruction of everything dear to her. She’ll escape from Gatera’s clutches with just the clothes on her back and flee to Tanzania with two-hundred-thousand refugees.

The next decade of her life will be spent awakening the world to what happened in Rwanda. ~Belle Ami, TopShelf Reviews

www.TopShelfMagazine.net

Urban Life

Hardcover

Pre-Order

Historical

Hardcover

$26.99

WHAT I LOOK FOR IN A VIVID TONES & EXPERTLY BOOK…PROVOKES EMOTION CRAFTED DETAIL MAKE THIS MAGICALLY COME TO LIFE! Gabe Johnson grew up surrounded by books. His father and grandfather own a rare books store that has been successful for many years. After graduating from college, Gabe's father is eager to marry him off and pushes him in the direction of the store's clerk, Olivia. Their relationship ends when Olivia decides to move away to college.

The Johnsons are reluctant to embrace the newest technology - the internet. Their reluctance to have a website and online purchases drive down their sales. After the death of his father, Gabe closes the store and buys a house in a small town off the shore of Lake Michigan. The town mayor eventually persuades him to open a book store. This book was an exciting look into what rare booksellers and collectors go through to develop their own personal collections. I got invested in this book and the lives of the characters. I wanted to shake them and tell them to snap out of it! This is what I look for in a book - something that provokes emotion.

Few authors have ever been able to lay claim to a genre. But Kathleen and Michael Gear have taken historical fiction and made it all their own, as clearly displayed in Moon Hunt, the third in their Native American, Morning Star series. All the staples of the Gears’ brilliant, richly drawn tapestries are firmly on display here, once again featuring the Cahokia tribe, the oldest on record on the North American continent. This time out, the story follows a pair of intrepid heroes, Night Shadow Star and Fire Cat, setting off on a quest to find the tribe’s missing god from which they draw their power. That means a desperate trek down into a cave that holds its own deadly secrets. The Gears have reconstructed Moon Hunt’s ancient world with such vivid tones and expertly crafted detail that it magically comes to life in the tradition of James Michener. But they’re much better storytellers, and the result is a tale certain to generate broad appeal, whether you’re a history buff or not.

~Jenn Kraft, TopShelf Review

~Jon Land, TopShelf Review

TOPShelf magazine

MARCH2020 21

featuredspotlights

…a world of untapped indie and traditionally published books!

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TOPShelf magazine This is a coming-of-age story, a love story, replete with milestones, tangled emotions, and adventures that are the embodiments of first love. Not just for the young, but for the young at heart.

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A Step-by-Step Master Class on Starting & Completing Dream Projects, from a 3-Time Inc. 500™ CEO with Three Decades of Experience in Silicon Valley.

Genre Coming of Age Price $15.99 ISBN 978-1941251898

The stories told around the campfire taught us of legends— tales of demons and heroes. I thought they were only stories, but I was wrong. They were warnings.My name is Pamoon and until recently I lived a normal life.

Well, as normal as it could be growing up on a Cree reservation.

My birth mom left me on the steps of the reservation medical center when I was just an infant. Being Cree is all I’ve ever known and all I ever wanted to be.My life changed the night my friends disappeared.

They vanished while reciting a ritual they didn’t understand…

Genre Fantasy Price $12.99 ISBN 978-1704622828

A tense and twisting espionage thriller involving state secrets, lethal assassins and the threat of a new Cold War.

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Genre Political Thriller Price $25.99 ISBN 978-0727889140

TOPShelf magazine

REVIEWS

MARCH2020

Thriller

Paperback

$15.95

BRINGS BACK THE INTERNATIONAL INTRIGUE OF THE COLD WAR IN A THRILLING NEW WAY! It is late January 1988 and CIA agent Tracie Tanner is still reeling from the Moscow mission where she barely escaped with her life. Her boss, CIA Director Aaron Stallings, has received intel that there is a secret Soviet military base in the Ural Mountains. Stallings gives Tracie what appears to be a simple mission: travel to Bashkir, extract as much information as she can about the base and return home in four days. But once Tracie gets to the location she sees something that changes her mission entirely. Ryan Smith, the CIA agent that saved her life during the Moscow mission, has been captured and is being held prisoner in this secret military base in Bashkir. Tracie vows to save his life as he did hers or die trying. Ever smart and cunning, Tracie Tanner, faces a moral dilemma in this one that will eternally haunt her. Taut with tension and packed with bonechilling scenes that leap off the pages, The Bashkir Extraction brings back the international intrigue of the cold war in a thrilling new way. ~TopShelf Review

www.TopShelfMagazine.net

Children’s

Paperback

$9.99

KEPT ME READING LONG INTO THE NIGHT!!!

Darcy Daniel’s award-winning thriller THE DEVILS' CRADLE reminded me of the first time I read Sandra Brown. From the opening page to the last, the novel is fraught with tension, suspense, and pathos and kept me reading long into the night. Here is a writer destined for great things.

Horror

Paperback

$9.99

SHORT HORROR STORIES WITH A SURPRISE ENDING Incredibly engaging, quick short stories with surprise endings because there was always a twist. The first story actually made me say "what the heck" out loud as the final twist was revealed. The main character made you feel sorry for her situation. Then when the twist was revealed, I had a "you go girl" moment. In the second story, I had a feeling of what the guys were up to. I did not expect a multigenerational event nor the twist at the end as she tried to getaway. The third story had a whodone-it vibe to it, and although it felt like it was really down between two characters, I never would have guessed the killer's motivation. I enjoyed this collection of short stories. ~Jenn Kraft, TopShelf Review

~James Rollins, New York Times Bestselling Author

TOPShelf magazine

MARCH2020 23

featuredspotlights

…a world of untapped indie and traditionally published books!

TOPShelf magazine The nightmares began in Jinny’s childhood.

Years later, a handsome, young therapist, Dr. Conall McCrae, offers to take Jinny to the source of her dreams.

But the doctor’s methods, including past-life regression, lead Jinny on an unexpected journey from Las Vegas to the Isle of Skye, where remembering a forgotten love might be the only cure for her nightmares.

Genre New Age Price $11.99 ISBN B07KR8JB59

24

Tequila Rose may have met the man of her dreams.

Unfortunately, she wakes up suffering from alcoholic amnesia and doesn’t remember anything about the night before. Tall, dark, and Jack may be the cure her jaded heart desperately needs, but Tequila’s wary as friends warn her that Jack hangs out with the local drug dealer. Thrust together at a Speed Dating event, their chemistry sizzles, but is Jack after a different kind of fix?

He blends in. He is successful, intelligent and methodical.

There are no clues. There are no leads. The only thing the FBI and local police have to go on is the method of death: two bullets to the face- gruesome and meant to send a message. But it’s difficult to understand any message coming from a dark and damaged mind. Two adopted boys, struggling in their own world, have no idea they are the next targets.

Neither does their family. And neither does local law enforcement.

Genre Romantic Comedy Price $9.99 ISBN 978-0473237028

Genre Serial Killer Thriller Price $21.95 ISBN 978-1684332090

What can one Little girl and her four handsome Daddy-Doms do to keep warm during cold, Alaskan nights in Denali National Park? Jennifer Hudson lives in a world that has no place for her other than being the ‘reward’ given to her owners’ clients. She’s beautiful, smart, and sexy, but years of pain and fear have left her emotions and desires caged and without a key. She knows that she won’t survive much longer in her present circumstance and needs to decide…

It's spring, 1988, and Tracie Tanner is about to discover that the lifeand-death choices she makes while operating clandestinely may have devastating consequences that reach far beyond anything she can imagine. Last winter, while on a mission to root out and eliminate the driving force behind a Soviet program targeting American operatives for death via poisoning, she captured and tortured a KGB operative in order to extract the intelligence needed to complete her mission. In a fateful decision, Tracie spared the Soviet operative's life…

Genre Multicultural Romance Price $15.00 ISBN 978-1731280824

Genre Political Thriller Price $16.95 ISBN 978-0998416199

TOPShelf magazine

REVIEWS

MARCH2020

Sleuth

Paperback

$14.99

IMPOSSIBLE TO PUT DOWN! A heartbreaking story of 15-year-old, Rosealetta who witnesses the deaths of her older brother and the only friend she ever had. Rosealetta’s mother, unable to deal with the grief, kicks her out of the only home she’s ever known, and she ends up in the foster system. Like most foster children, Rosealetta feels alone––abandoned. Case Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Melanie Cox is appointed by the juvenile court to secure Rosealetta’s best interests which are made difficult due to the child’s tragic past. Rosealetta continues to sink into darkness until an attractive, compassionate man enters her world and convinces her that she’d be happier on her own. It is a decision that forces Rosealetta to endure things no person should ever have to. Keith Julius describes what is needed and leaves the rest to the imagination. However, this may not be a good book for youth readers. Tragic, doleful, and impossible to put down, The Robber of Youth draws from Julius’s experience as a CASA representative, making it feel more like nonfiction rather than the thought-provoking work of fiction that it is. ~Rebecca Katsikas, TopShelf Review

www.TopShelfMagazine.net

Memoir

Paperback

19.99

Teen & YA

Paperback

$18.99

CANNOT REMEMBER A BOOK AN ENJOYING, CAPTIVATING THAT MOVED ME SO MUCH! READ, HIGHLY RECOMMEND! I cannot remember reading a book that moved me so much, evoking so many emotions, from anger to disbelief, which made me stop and think about my own approach to life. To read about the experiences the black community was going through in the 1950s from someone's perspective, living through the bullying, intimidation, and fearing for their lives, put's one's life in view. The segregation was unbelievable, and the visceral hatred and violence and injustice incredible. Yet despite the many injustices the black students faced, they continued to hold their heads up high and with dignity. This book is written from the voices of the authors, just before the reforms initiated by the protests of Rosa Parks in 1955 and Martin Luther King's "I have a dream', speech in 1963. Thank you, Mrs. Eckford and Ms. Stanley, for such a great read. I admire your reserve and dedication in having to relive the horrors and showing that your beliefs can overcome the adversities you came across is a true testament to your character and legacy.

Where you Lead is an incredible story based on the faith between two teenagers who find each other through one girls vision. A vision so real it makes her believe its reality and searches for the man she sees in them. The main characters realization that the little things we do in faith matter as much as the big things God calls us to do. And the whole mystery of missing civil war gold, not to mention the romance between the two. Leslea Wahl, has done an incredible job targeting the teen audience and leading them into so many faith based lessons through an enjoyable, captivating read. Once you get into the book it’s nearly impossible to put down. Highly recommend! ~Micah Richards, TopShelf Reviews

~Michael Rowland, TopShelf Review

TOPShelf magazine

MARCH2020 25

featuredspotlights

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…a world of untapped indie and traditionally published books!

TOPShelf magazine

Inspired by actual events from Mexico’s cartel wars, Death’s White Horses is Marc Rainer’s third book featuring federal prosecutor Jeff Trask.

While showcasing the challenges faced by law enforcement on both sides of the border, it also highlights the deadly consequences seen on either end of the USMexico drug trade.

What starts off as a missing person case turns into a hunt for a serial killer who uses exotic poisonous animals to dispatch his victims. Painfully aware he can’t go it alone, Knox joins forces with an over-the-hill journalist and an unfriendly police detective as he navigates the dark streets and seedy bars in search of his prey.

Genre Thriller & Suspense Price $11.99 ISBN 978-1495322334

Genre Thriller & Suspense Price $3.99 ISBN B07ZDP9QRK

Young Kutius and his parents move to the small town of Gabbruss in the State of Burstal, a place very different from the open farmlands he grew up on. Upset and angry, the youngster hates his new hometown, and hates new classmate, Murkuria of Clan Darius. She stows aboard her Clan’s starship, disappearing from his life…

Genre Science Fiction Price $14.99 ISBN 978-1500459796

26

When a popular computer game inspires a virtual crime wave of murderous proportions, a female police psychiatrist enlists the help of a former police detective to help her cross the edge between game and reality.

# 1 A M A ZO N B E S T S E L L E R MULTIPLE AWARDWINNING NOVEL

Genre Thriller & Suspense Price $6.91 ISBN 978-0515120127

Genre Thriller & Suspense Price $16.95 ISBN 978-1457520419

A terrorist’s plot, the assassination of a prime minister, holds the key to an apocalyptic plot to destroy Europe’s economy. It’s impossible to stop, but one man doesn’t know enough to think the world can’t be saved. He’s no hero; not clever or capable, talented or tested. The Hollow Man is just trying to survive in an uncertain climate where terrorism is changing the rules of how we live.

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. d is cl e ar an Th e p ro se d th e an , g n ti n h au e so m e ti m e s re ad e rs th st o ry g iv e s n o ti p m e o f re d p o ss ib il it y a g n ri ve li w it h o u t d e Th is is co n cl u si o n h sa cc ar in e t u b g ak in a h e ar tb re o ry st c ti is al ll y re au th e n ti ca at ve l th A g ri tt y n o e p ic ts th e d ly g in u n fl in ch ru d g ab u se ra va g e s o f ~Ki k

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Keith Julius is a gifted writer and I enjoyed the beautiful prose, evocative and filled with compassion, a writing style that allows the humanity of the characters to come out beautifully B n f Ad e i features a powerful conflict and characters that are well written and real

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simultane ously gut wrenching heart brea , king, shock ing, yet ultimately inspiring The characters are well d eveloped, and memo rable, the story is current, re levant, and startling in its authen tic realism This is a fiercely ca ptivating b ook that you ll neve r forget H ighly recommen ded!

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Emily thought her college scholarship was a step forward...

But it turned out to be a step backward... IN TIME Follow Emily's unexpected journey, where journal entries to her deceased aunt and the powerful secrets they contain, become her only link to the life she once knew and the future she must choose to follow

Genre Romance Price $14.99 ISBN 978-1543024968

28

TOPShelf magazine Only a few dragon riders exist.

Only five dragon eggs are left in the world.

After they are gone, dragons and riders will be gone forever.

Unless one woman can change everything. The only problem is that Sophia Beaufont doesn’t know what to do.

Magitech is seeking to ruin the world.

Genre Science Fiction Price $19.99 ISBN 978-1642027150

According to the Wall Street Journal, teachers are leaving their positions in greater numbers than ever before.

Truth: educators do not commit their passion to teach believing untold wealth awaits them. The purposely concealed story: national teacher shortage is due to a dominating hostile work environment, created by the people educators serve…

Genre Non-Fiction Price $19.99 ISBN 978-0578480442

Art historian Angela Renatus knows she’s different. She can see into the past—into the lives of the greatest artists of all time—but are her visions a gift or a curse?

Angela and her fiancé, Alex Caine —a former Navy Seal turned private detective—recover precious works of art for private collectors, museums, and galleries. Enlisted by the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Angela and Alex investigate one of the greatest art heists in history—the theft of Caravaggio’s NATIVITY. Genre Time Travel Romance Price $14.95 ISBN 978-1732207134

The Sec d N e i F ed Mi e a Vi a T i g f Medi a i M de Fa i Life "Fred Misurella writes in the clearest, precise prose, and has as his special strength the joining of shining intelligence with deep emotion."

A "standout ... rendered vividl . What emerges is a moving account of necessar compromises people make in their lives."

Kirkus Reviews

Kent Haruf

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30

TOPShelf magazine DASHING & CLEVER, private eye Armand Arnolfini confronts a dazzling array of wily thieves, brilliant forgers, and ruthless murderers in this riveting series of art crimes.

Each case is a stand-alone episode, yet are arranged chronologically, thereby creating a harmonious and sweeping narrative from Armand’s first intriguing case to his last.

Genre Mystery Anthology Price $11.99 ISBN 978-1950052042

The Vatican has been infiltrated by the most lethal terror organization in the world and only one man can stop it.

Ever since witnessing an avalanche devour his parents at age twelve, Michael DiBianco has had an odd obsession with the divine. Today, a renowned physicist, Harvard Divinity professor, and bestselling author, DiBianco has devoted his life to uncovering the secrets of the Bible.

Genre Thriller & Suspense Price $15.99 ISBN 978-0981761954

with A Tell ALL series of essays on Motherhood, Childhood and EVERYTHING in between. It brings humor and love together while honestly sharing the often UNSPOKEN experiences in raising children and the CrAzY balancing act and understanding heart it requires!

It’s guaranteed to make you laugh and shed a few tears!

Luke St. Clair, Earl of Mayfield, has tired of his empty, carefree life and seeks to find a spouse he can love and cherish, much as his brother and sister have done. Ridding himself of his mistress and lover, he commits to entering the upcoming Season with an open mind.

Before the Season can even begin, though, Luke meets an independent beauty who does more than interest him…

Genre Non-Fiction Price $9.99 ISBN 978-0692412459

Genre Regency Romance Price $12.99 ISBN 978-1093529319

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FR E E O N A MA ZO N MA RC H 3 RD - 6TH What if you were born with an addiction to magic? What if your pleasure meant their pain? Ian Troy is one of the Shinree, a fallen race born with an addiction to magic.

Enslaved and drugged to suppress their deadly desires, the Shinree live to serve their masters. After years of forced combat in Rella’s long, brutal war, Ian is desperate for peace.

TOPShelf magazine A lady with a dark secret refuses to marry the man of her dreams in order to protect him... but will he let her?After returning to London from his Grand Tour, serious-minded Jeremy St. Clair, the Marquess of Sather, attends a ball and meets a luminescent beauty who draws him out of his shell.

They share a searing kiss—her first—and though he never planned to wed, Jeremy desires to make this young woman his…

Genre Dark Fantasy Price $15.99 ISBN 978-1492829065

Genre Regency Romance Price $11.99 ISBN 978-1092602433

Abandoned and left at a local shelter, a Maine Coon kitten awaits an uncertain fate. During his stay, Khan befriends a wise old tomcat, who speaks about his experiences of life on the streets, bringing comfort to the frightened kitten. Four days later, to Khan's horror, the shelter workers take his friend away to the Big Sleep, as the tomcat called it, leaving Khan scared and alone. Just before Khan's time is up, a man enters the shelter and adopts Khan, bringing him to a new home…

A step-by-step roadmap for anyone interested in learning how to rise above emotional or physical pain. Combining the best of both eastern- and western-insights with the latest neuropsychological research, Dr. Bushman provides several, easy-to-remember steps that summarize information so people can live richer, morebalanced lives. Whether you experience depression, anxiety, chronic illness, emotional trauma, relationship problems, or addictive behaviors, pain doesn’t have to define you.

Genre Pet & Animal Price $10.99 ISBN 978-1502582515

Genre Non-Fiction Price $11.95 ISBN 978-0692078259

If James Patterson and Janet Evanovich had a love child... Meet Jessica James!

Donors to the new world class Chicago museum of Russian art are dropping like flies, and Jessica is at the center of the carnage. Can she track down the killer before she falls into his trap?

Genre Suspense Thriller Price $19.99 ISBN 978-0997583687

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ISBN: 978-1950282968

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…a world of untapped indie and traditionally published books!

Without expecting praise from the man who trained him to survive this centuries-old, malignant war against the inhuman followers of an invincible lord.

Does your child have ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)?

Genre Science Fiction Price $16.95 ISBN 978-0994495600

Genre Children’s Price $12.28 ISBN 978-1950860432

Fifty years ago this year, six friends and I were determined to get away from the predictable, miserable summer weather in Great Britain. We wanted to venture further afield for our holidays, traveling to a country where we were guaranteed blue sky, endless sunny days, warm nights, golden sand, Azure crystal waters, bikini clad bronze bodies, and ice-cold beers…

Can love heal a wounded army officer who doesn’t believe it exists?

Genre Price ISBN

Memoir $7.80 978-1094665757

Can one cat detective bring peace and harmony to a family divided within the Korean peninsula?Inca the Siberian Kitty and her globetrotting furry family are off to South Korea with their human Mom. Mom has just created a fabulous new cheese and she has been invited by the famous French cookery school, Cordon Bleu Cookery to not only present her new cheese but also be the judge of a cookery competition between South and North Korean chefs…

Genre Children’s Price $8.99 ISBN 978-0998429199

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TOPShelf magazine David discovers ways to cope with his hyperactive brain, while learning how to calm and soothe his ADHD. Solutions include setting daily schedules and following simple rules that regulate behavior…

Lady Rachel St. Clair has witnessed how powerful love can be, thanks to the example her brother and wife set, and she won’t settle for anything less. At a house party, Rachel meets an officer returning from the Peninsular War and believes she may have found love, thanks to their clandestine midnight lessons in kissing…

Genre Romance Price $11.99 ISBN 978-1093255515

A Secret Society of the World’s Elite A Hidden Gift She Never Knew She Had A Sunken Treasure Guarded Throughout the Ages

Genre Teen & YA Price $14.99 ISBN 979-8606282920

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