TopShelf January 2024 by TopShelf Magazine

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FEATURES

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THE UPSIDE OF CRANKY

STEVEN JOSEPH

Exclusive Interview Steven Joseph is an attorney, professional negotiator, marathon runner, comedian and zen master. He lives in Hoboken, New York, and is a proud father of a grown up daughter Vita. He is also the son of a Holocaust Survivor, and his writings lean on the concept of survival, which was ever present growing up as a child, and acknowledgment which he has learned through his zen practice. His book websites that continually explores themes of crankiness are www.StevenJosephAuthor.com and www.thelastsurvivingdinosaur.com. He explores the path to effective crankiness in "A Grownup Guide to Effective Crankiness: The CrankaTsuris Method." REMINDER: This is an interactive magazine. Click on book cover or link to follow.

Q1: WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO EXPLORE THE CONCEPT OF CRANKINESS AND WRITE “CRANKY SUPERPOWERS”? My first book “The Last Surviving Dinosaur: The TyrantoCrankaTsuris” was a story about how all humans evolved from the most dangerous dinosaur on the planet “the TyrantoCrankaTsuris.” After it came out, one reviewer commented that I did not deal enough with overcoming crankiness. The whole point of the book was to acknowledge and embrace our crankiness. After that, I started a blog. That turned into “A Grownup Guide to Effective Crankiness: The CrankaTsuris Method.” That was more instructive on how we can give each other space for our collective crankiness and approach it with empathy. “Cranky Superpowers” gave me the opportunity to create hilarious tales on how our crankiness can be opportunities for growth and allow us to find our own unique “superpower.” Q2: IN YOUR BOOK, YOU MENTION CRANKINESS AS A SUPERPOWER. HOW CAN EMBRACING CRANKINESS BE EMPOWERING IN OUR DAILY LIVES? In my book, I share a story about a Rabbi asking students about what we want to experience in life. The answer was “pleasure.” Then, the Rabbi corrected the students who said the opposite of pleasure is “pain.” Rather, the Rabbi said the answer really is “comfort.” If all we want is comfort, we may never get out of bed. Accepting the struggles we face, and finding that we can overcome them, even with a good dose of crankiness along the way, allows us to keep moving forward. If we become busy just trying to shut down the crankiness that comes with any struggle, we may find ourselves stuck and not moving forward. Crankiness can be the price of admission. But you know what? If you leave the field, you may be cranky even more but in a more negative way.

Q3: YOU TALK ABOUT THE “COMMON CRANKATSURIS.” WHY IS IT ESSENTIAL TO GIVE A NAME TO OUR CRANKINESS, AND HOW DOES IT HELP IN EMBRACING IT? In “A Grownup Guide to Effective Crankiness,” I talk about the parent who instructs his or her child to use their words. Imagine if the nine-year-old is very good saying “I am angry. I am angry.” I may be happy that he is using words to describe feelings, but after a while, I may think this boy is very angry. By making it “common” and more common than the common cold, the same kid is a sweet lovable kid, but is just experiencing what we all experience. He is not an angry kid, and he doesn’t feel that he is putting some label on himself. Q4: YOUR BOOK DELVES INTO THE IDEA THAT A “TIME IN” IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN A “TIME OUT.” COULD YOU ELABORATE ON THIS CONCEPT AND ITS APPLICATION IN DAILY LIFE? I jokingly describe my childhood as having many “time-ins.” Taking my mother to the beauty parlor was one of the “time-ins” I described. A “time-out” can be just an escape. I can go to my room and look at Tik-Tok on my phone. A “time-in” has to do with helping a family member/parent out... It becomes about having responsibility and taking care of people. There is no place to go and hide. Q5: HOW DOES HUMOR PLAY A ROLE IN YOUR EXPLORATION OF CRANKINESS? I think that humor can be the best teacher. You have a story that people can relate to. You add humor to it in a way that makes you think, it stays with you. One of the best examples is the story of Mr. Spock interviewing for the First Officer job with Captain Kirk. He tells about the

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story of what happens when everybody gives their word Q9: THE IDEA OF “HOPING FOR THE BEST CRANKATSURIS” on the planet Vulcan. When Vulcans kept giving their IS INTRIGUING. WHY DO YOU SUGGEST THAT PREPARING words till, they had no more words left to give, they were FOR THE BEST IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN SIMPLY HOPING? unable to communicate. The lesson was that it is more That is the lawyer who important to keep your word than give your word. manages other lawyers talking. I hear every Q6: YOU MENTION THE IMPORTANCE OF FINDING ONE’S day about hoping for VOICE AS A CRANKY SUPERPOWER. HOW DOES THIS CONTRIBUTE TO PERSONAL EMPOWERMENT? some result. We hope that a judge will agree... I retell the story of Cinderella. She gets a megaphone from we hope we will win the fairy godmother instead of a dress. She was finally our case. Lawyers, in heard, and that led to the happy ending. In the original general, spend too much story, Cinderella was really just only seen, and not heard. time just hoping for the If I had to pick which path, I would choose for personal best. I try to get them empowerment, I would pick “having a voice and being focused on preparing for the best. That way, heard” than having a dress to be seen. you may actually get the Q7: IN CHAPTER 6, YOU TALK ABOUT THE “GRAND best. REOPENING NEW AND IMPROVED CRANKATSURIS.” WHAT CAN READERS LEARN FROM EMBRACING CHANGE AND Q10: YOU TOUCH ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF COOKING AS SEEKING A NEW NORMAL? THE ULTIMATE SUPERPOWER. HOW DOES THIS MUNDANE ACTIVITY HOLD SUCH POWER IN YOUR PERSPECTIVE? Too many self-help books talk about developing good habits. I talk about new normal. A habit is something I compared We all have those frustrating days that nothing seems to a parking spot. You always end up moving the car. A to go right. But, if at the end of the day, you can create “normal” is like building a house. It is more permanent. You something healthy and delicious, and amazing, and get do not have a “Grand Reopening” if you just parked your car. tons of praise for your efforts. You also have a glass You can have that big housewarming party when you build of wine to accompany the meal. That frustrating day your new home. The synonym for “grand” is “magnificent.” I disappears. Not only that. You get juiced to make the next want people to strive for magnificent! day a good one. Q8: WHY DO YOU BELIEVE THAT POSITIVITY, THE HEALING OF OUR PLANET, AND CREATIVITY ARE INTERCONNECTED, AS MENTIONED IN YOUR BOOK? I grew up in the 60s and 70s. We were talking about going to the moon. It was about anything is possible. If you accept that anything is possible, you have to be positive. You have to be creative. You then can believe we have the power to heal our world and make it better.

Q11: YOUR INSIGHTS ON LISTENING AS A CRANKY SUPERPOWER ARE INTRIGUING. HOW CAN THE ABILITY TO TRULY LISTEN ENHANCE OUR RELATIONSHIPS AND UNDERSTANDING OF OTHERS? If you give your friends and close ones the experience of being heard, chances are that they will hear you as well. I teach negotiation, and I am busy negotiating in my daily life. I need to give parties with an opposing viewpoint

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that experience of being heard if I expect to make some Q14: IN “CRANKY SUPERPOWERS,” YOU DISCUSS THE INTRIGUING IDEA OF EMBRACING POSITIVITY FOR THE headway to getting heard myself. HEALING OF OUR PLANET. HOW DOES THE BOOK GUIDE READERS TO MERGE CRANKINESS WITH POSITIVITY, AND Q12: YOUR BOOK COVERS THE IMPORTANCE OF PATIENCE, WHAT TRANSFORMATIVE EFFECTS CAN THIS FUSION HAVE ESPECIALLY IN TOUGH TIMES. HOW CAN CULTIVATING ON BOTH INDIVIDUALS AND THE WORLD AT LARGE? PATIENCE BE A CRANKY SUPERPOWER IN TODAY’S FASTPACED WORLD?

There are a number of characters in my book that had to overcome obstacles. There is a story about two brothers, and one of them needed instant gratification. The other brother buckled in, and didn’t quit practicing, studying, and doing things that, at the time, he did not really know what it would lead to. Another story involves Harry Bagrier who had to go to the Institute for Severely Impatient People. It turns out really well for him in the end. We are tempted by our impatience, and if we succumb to that, we may not get the rewards we otherwise would get. Q13: YOUR BOOK EMPHASIZES THE CONCEPT OF FINDING ONE’S OWN VOICE AS A CRANKY SUPERPOWER. CAN YOU DELVE INTO HOW THIS THEME UNFOLDS IN THE BOOK AND SHARE AN EXAMPLE THAT ILLUSTRATES ITS IMPACT ON PERSONAL GROWTH AND UNDERSTANDING? My Cinderella is the best example. But sometimes, it is really about finding the strength inside of you that was already there. I rework The Wizard of Oz story, and the Lion gets to eat the Wizard. All the other characters shouted “Lion, you grew a pair!” The Lion blushed and said “Ain’t it the truth! Ain’t it the truth!”

It goes back to what the Rabbi talked about. We may have to get uncomfortable to experience what we want to get in this world. I wrote in the beginning about a person close to me who passed away after battling ALS. She died on the third day of Passover. I mention that when you think about the holiday of being freed from slavery, it is not just about “freedom from,” but it is more about “freedom to.” That is what my friend was about, and it is the “freedom to” that is what is really transformative. Q15: AS AN AUTHOR OF CHILDREN’S BOOKS AND THE MIND BEHIND THE “SNOODLES SERIES,” HOW DO THE LESSONS FROM “CRANKY SUPERPOWERS” TRANSLATE INTO YOUR APPROACH TO CRAFTING STORIES FOR YOUNGER AUDIENCES? CAN YOU SHARE AN ANECDOTE FROM YOUR CHILDREN’S BOOKS THAT ALIGNS WITH THE CRANKY, YET POSITIVE FEELING EXPLORED IN “CRANKY SUPERPOWERS”? In my second book “Snoodles in Space,” the Planet Zoodle was left without any brain surgeons or rocket scientists. It was people would have their accomplishments poo pooed. “You know, it isn’t rocket science.” “You know, it isn’t brain surgery.” Can you imagine how many times a kid may be told that when they do not make their bed the right way. If I failed doing this simple thing, why bother with the hard stuff. The kids were able to do the hard stuff, and they saved the planet from being completely and utterly noodleless. That would have been quite a disaster. Q16: CAN YOU SHARE AN EXAMPLE FROM ONE OF THE SNOODLES BOOKS WHERE A CHARACTER NAVIGATES A CRANKY MOMENT WITH A POSITIVE OUTCOME, AND HOW DO YOU BELIEVE SUCH STORIES CONTRIBUTE TO A CHILD’S EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT?

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In the next Snoodles book, “Snoodles in Space, Episode Two: The Zoodles Strike Back,” I take Charlie and the Chocolate Factory story, and turn it upside down, making the kids who didn’t follow instructions with unfortunate consequences into heroes at the end. The brother and sister who may a bad decision then make a good decision later in the book. They had to overcome adversity and a lot of bad publicity. Q17: WE’VE ENJOYED THE DELIGHTFUL ADVENTURES IN THE SNOODLES SERIES. CAN YOU GIVE US A SNEAK PEEK INTO WHAT READERS CAN EXPECT FROM THE UPCOMING SNOODLES BOOK SCHEDULED FOR RELEASE IN 2024? Just told you. I am very excited about that because the illustrations are wackadoodle. We have Chunky Chocadoodle, the Schloompadoodles, Principle Properdoodle, and it would not be a Snoodle book without a poodle. So, of course, there is Droodle the Poodle!!

ABOUT STEVEN JOSEPH Steven Joseph is a first-generation American, veteran attorney, negotiator, prolific speaker, and a modern humorist. He’s a real New Yorker. A fully cured overweight person, Steven is a five times Boston Marathon runner and 16 times NYC Marathon runner – balancing it all perfectly through the art of Zen. Yet Steven believes he is smart enough to know that he hasn’t figured everything out, except for crankiness. Learn more about Steven Joseph through his blogs. Website: stevenjosephauthor.com

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READ FURIOUSLY WHO WE ARE Read Furiously is a family-owned, New Jersey based traditional publishing house who believes in the sustainable reading journey. Through our published titles and community efforts, our goal is to cultivate a reading relationship with fellow “Furious Readers,” those that believe that reading can be both a leisure activity and a form of literary activism. We aim to be inclusive in both our authors and the subjects we publish. We focus on creative nonfiction, fiction, graphic novels, and poetry. This focus is also on display in our New Jersey anthologies and our One 'n Done series which features stand alone stories that can be read in one sitting or a weekend. With every title we publish, Read Furiously donates 5% of our net proceeds to various literacy programs and book-related charities, and we also invite our talented creators to do the same. We also work with Little Free Libraries and book donation programs throughout NJ. We understand that reading can be a form of activism and we take this responsibility very seriously. Through our published titles and community efforts, our goal is to cultivate a reading relationship with fellow “Furious Readers,” those that believe that reading can be both a leisure activity and a form of literary activism.

Read Furiously is a proud member of the Independent Book Publisher's Association and Community of Literary Magazines and Presses.

SAMANTHA ATZENI S.Atzeni(she/they)is a writer of prose, comics, and academic scholarship. They are the co-author of The MOTHER Principle graphic novel series and has contributed the titles The Legend of Dave Bradley and W(h)ine and Chese to the One ‘n Done series. S. Atzeni is the co-founder and editorial director of Read Furiously Publishing and holds a Masters of Arts from the Colege of New Jersey.

ANDY CHANG Andy Chang is an independent comic artist– based in New jersey. He has made several children-friendly/all-age comics-such as Add-Zero and

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Adventures of Sniffy – prior to the creation of Northwood Meadows. His style of art was inspired by a mixture of Japanese Manga and the Sunday comics – whimsical and simplisticbut the stories he creates references a funny take on the reality of the everchanging daily life. Andy lives with his wife and three daughters, who all provides unlimited resource of inspiration and aspiration for Northwood Meadows’ future comic art.

from Rutgers University. Margaret teaches Effective Speaking to college students and presents multimedia talks to community audiences around the southeastern Pennsylvania and central New Jersey region. Her creative nonfiction has been published in The Bangalore Review, Clever Magazine, Dragon Poet Review, Pink Pangea, Flying South, and other fine periodicals and anthologies. Her collection of travel essays, Nerd Traveler was released in July 2021 by Read Furiously.

BILL HEMMIG

ELIZABETH TEETS

Bill Hemmig is the author of Americana: Stories and Brethren Hollow, both published by Read Furiously. His short stories appear in Read Furiously’s Life in the Garden State anthologies, The World Takes and Stay Salty, and in the Toho Publishing anthology, The Best Short Stories of Philadelphia, 2021. He has had stories published in the journals The Madison Review, Philadelphia Stories, and Children, Churches and Daddies (cc&d), and he is a three-time finalist in the New Millennium Writing Awards. By day he is Dean, Learning Resources & Online Learning at Bucks County Community College in Pennsylvania.

MARGARET MONTET Margaret Montet is a college librarian and professor who writes and speaks about music, blending in elements of memoir, travel, art, and literature. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the Pan-European Program at Cedar Crest College, and a Master’s in Music Theory from Temple University. Inbetween, she earned a Master of Library Science degree

Elizabeth Teets is an Oregon born writer, comedian, screenwriter, and fashionista. Her work has appeared in Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Repeller, Catapult, Reductress, and more. She lives in Los Angeles where she is waiting for her group chat to respond.

ITUA UDUEBO Itua was born in Lagos, Nigeria, graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in International Politics, and resides in New York, NY. He is currently working in the financial technology industry. His writing journey began in his college years and to date he has several essays, articles, freeform poems, and short stories published online and in print. His focuses are new adult fiction, urban literature, science fiction, thrillers, politics, racial justice, culture, and global affairs. Currently working on his second novel manuscript and always looking to take on new creative challenges.

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Quick & Easy

DR. DAVID SCHEIN QUICK INTERVIEW 12

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Q: WHEN WORKING ON A NEW BOOK IDEA, HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH TOPICS LIKE THE ONE FOR BAD DEAL FOR AMERICA?

produce right away. However, assembling professional actors to present the direct quotes by the politicians took time. Then, the production with a professional studio required coordination and direction. After the initial production, I discovered that the format was not exactly what was required to put it online as an audiobook. So, that took more time and coordination. The whole process took about nine months. I also have a great producer in Rachel Harrison, Vice President of my consulting firm, Claremont Management Group.

I am thinking about new book and article ideas on a continuous basis. I have so many ideas that I set up files for them on my computer so that I do not forget them. I had the idea for Bad Deal for America, to provide commentary in an interesting fashion about the US legislative system, shortly after the release of my first book, Decline of America: 100 Years of Leadership Failures. That book, provided commentary on the US presidency from Q: WHAT IDEAS ARE COVERED IN THIS BOOK? Wilson through Obama. I call the subject area “Political Management.” I have more books in mind for this series. ThemainpointofthebookisthatAmerica’selectedpoliticians I am really not sure when I thought about formatting Bad of both parties are not responsive to the electorate. Deal for America with a set of playing cards. In fact, I did They go to the rare air of Washington, D.C. and most are not own a set of cards and had to buy a couple packs to corrupted by the review the suites. Once I had that idea, the concept had power and the kind of a mind of its own and I just followed through. money, staying there well past Q: HOW MUCH RESEARCH GOES INTO WRITING A their respective NONFICTION BOOK ESPECIALLY FOR YOUR AUDIOBOOK, BAD expiration dates. DEAL FOR AMERICA? The book begins and ends with The key to success for non-fiction books is indeed a discussion research. I want everything to be correct. With both of my of the money current books, I have not had anyone contact me with a provided to the correction. That does not mean that I did not get feedback, elected member of course. As a college professor, I find many students of the House are looking for part-time work, and that has helped me and the Senate. find some great researchers. Not all of the researchers They often claim are students, and not all come from my university. I being underpaid, emphasize attention to detail and accuracy over speed. but that is not Part of my approach is that everything that appears on true. It is their the page is my writing. The researchers find material, choice to stay in but they do not write. I also consult the original source of expensive Washington, D.C. every piece of material before I use it. This insures that I Finding funny, absurd or just plain stupid statements do not build in any errors while writing. My first book took by politicians was relatively easy. Editing the quotes into five years. The second book took over two years, just in a useable format was the challenge. Some politicians research and writing. went from being featured, to being “Chips,” because I The audiobook was something that I wanted to found a politician who was even more worthy of being REMINDER: This is an interactive magazine. Click on book cover or link to follow.

featured. Remembering that being “featured” in this book is not a compliment! Statements by one politician in the book were so offensive that I decided not to include the quotes in the book, even though he does have a playing card, meaning he was featured. I attached lower playing card numbers to routine politicians, and awarded the face cards to the higher profile ones, like Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi. There are 26 featured Democrats, with blue being used instead of the usual color of black for Clubs and Spades. The Republicans are the 26 red cards, for Diamonds and Hearts. I did this due to the current media approach of using red and blue to describe the two main political parties. The book ends with a strong pitch for term limits. Q: DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A PLOTTER OR A PANSTER WHEN IT COMES TO WRITING? The discipline of non-fiction largely requires that I approach it as a plotter. Since I write in my head, and then hit the keyboard, a lot of the panster approach happens in my mind. But when writing, it is all on the general outline and key concepts list. In fact, I was using my memory and other keys for my current book in process, A Cheap Education. I found that after a certain point, I had to have a much more detailed outline in order to produce the quality and depth of writing that I intended. Q: WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE A POLITICAL NONFICTION BOOK SUCH AS YOUR LATEST AUDIOBOOK? I am concerned for the future of America for my children, grandchildren and future generations. It is my hope that my books on political management will encourage a rethinking of how we approach the structure of government and the political system. This is a lofty goal, and I am certainly not the only person with such an ambitious approach. The audiobook is deliberately entertaining, even though it covers a very serious topic. Through this process, my intent is to have more people listen to the audiobook, on top of those who are or will read it. 14

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Q: TELL US READERS ABOUT YOUR PODCASTS, SAVING AMERICA & BUSINESS LAW 101? I like being a university professor. I like teaching people. From my early days, I was a speaker and communicator. This is a continuation of that orientation converted into the current system of communication. Saving America was originally developed to promote my first book. From there, it took on a life of its own. It is the blending of politics and business. I also want to credit my producer, Rachel Harrison, who keeps me on track. She also does a great production job, which makes the content more accessible. Business Law 101 was Rachel’s idea. I have recorded hours and hours of business law videos. She is extracting parts of the videos and presenting them in bite-size topics. This is an easy and digestible way to learn key business law concepts. The audience for both podcasts is expanding rapidly at this time, and that is very emotionally rewarding for me. Due to overhead costs, I am hoping to find sponsors for both podcasts. Q: ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON ANY NEW WRITING PROJECTS? Yes, I recently finished work on my first music project, a musical revue called “Novel-T.” It is an entertaining collection of popular novelty songs from the 1950s to 1970s. I hope to find a theater to do a premiere of Novel-T for next theater season. As mentioned above, my current book project is A Cheap Education. This is a coming-of-age story from the time of “Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll.” This is fiction

based-on-fact, with the lead character who comes from the wrong side of the tracks, but earns an Ivy League scholarship. Things do not go quite as intended, as this pre-med student transitions to being a business student. He ends up with a weekly, one-hour arts and entertainment program on public radio and running an arts management agency. The lead character finds that the education on the streets was better than at the university. For political management, I will be rewriting Decline of America, since we have had presidents Trump and Biden since the book was published. The revised and renamed book will not be released until after the 2024 election is settled. I will also be writing parallel books on the US Supreme Court, as yet unnamed, and the runaway bureaucracy in the United States, simply titled Failure! Q: WHERE CAN READERS FIND YOU AND YOUR BOOKS ONLINE? https://www.amazon.com/stores/David%20D.%20 Schein/author/B07BVVM7WG

ABOUT DR. DAVID SCHEIN Dr. David D. Schein is an author, professor, consultant and public speaker. He is a tenured Professor, the Director of Graduate Programs and the Endowed Chair of Management and Marketing at the University of St. Thomas' Cameron School of Business. He is also the President and General Counsel of Claremont Management Group, a Human Resources consulting firm in Houston, TX. He often speaks on employment and consumer matters.

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AUDIO BOOK REVIEW THIEF OF SILVER AND SOULS EVA CHASE

by Pelican Freak

FUN, EPIC WORLD-BUILDING.

Audio:

The narration was great, and overall sound quality This one definitely hooked me from the start thanks was perfect—5 stars. to fun world-building and a very likable character, in an interesting predicament—not that you could ever go wrong with Chase! I mean, who doesn’t love a good female lead thief / street-rat? Imagine a lost soul just sort of … accidentally latches onto you can your life is no longer your own? Well, you don’t have to, you could just read this! This was a fun read that provoked thought and explored the boundaries of friendship, tested loyalties, treated the reader to magic and packed lots of adventure.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Q U I ICNKT IENRTVEI RE V WI E W Quick & Easy

ZACHARY HAGEN

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Q: WHAT LED YOU TO THE IDEA FOR YOUR LATEST CHRISTIAN SAGA NOVEL, ETERNITY’S EDGE? A: Its a continuation of the Eternal Chronicles series. I knew that it would be part of the story as soon as I determined how long the series would be. It’s based on the current state of the world and the promise of Jesus’s soon return. Q: HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WRITING ETERNITY’S EDGE? A: It took me around six months to write. Q: WHAT THEMES WILL READERS FIND IN YOUR NOVEL?

since the first book, and he’s growing into a leader and someone to admire. His relationships with Nereza, Nyx, and Opal help to ground him. Nereza is brilliant and has a thirst for life, Opal is the protective mama bear of the group, and Nyx is the wise optimist, always believing the best.

Q: WHAT THEMES WILL READERS FIND INSIDE OF YOUR A: Readera will see struggles with faith, rising to BOOK? new challenges, and the loss of sanity in the various characters and motifs present in the book. I think it A: similar question to above. See answer there. takes the characters and helps to grow them, and the audience, up a little. Q: HOW MANY BOOKS DO YOU HAVE PLANNED FOR THIS SERIES? Q: WHY CHOOSE YA FANTASY AS YOUR GENRE CHOICE? A: I have five planned. Eternity’s End, coming in A: I have found that YA novels have the broadest summer 2025, will be the last in the series. popularity. Teens like reading them, but so do Q: ETERNITY›S EDGE DISCUSSES A THEME OF adults. The themes and SURVIVAL. TELL US WHAT THE CHARACTERS ARE style of the YA book is STRUGGLING AGAINST. one that reaches a lot of people, and when A: War, an existential threat in Taariq, the main villain, written right, feel and a host of new threats as well. Life has never been harder in Lux Terra, and the readers will find it a world timeless. on the edge of political collapse. Q: TELL US ABOUT THE MAIN PROTAGONISTS IN Q: WERE YOU ALWAYS INTO WRITING STORIES AND EDITING? YOUR BOOK. A: Elior has grown a lot

A: If there was a time I wasn’t enthralled with the

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written word, I don’t remember it. I suppose an infant must have a difficult time grasping the concept of reading, so at some point in my life, I suppose I wasn’t interested, but as far back as I can remember, books have been a solace I have always returned to wether reading, writing, or repairing. Q: WHAT OTHER BOOKS HAVE YOU WRITTEN? A: As of now, the Eternal Chronicles are my only novels, but I have many more novels planned for the future, both Christian and secular. Readers should be excited for what comes after Eternity’s End next year. Q: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR WRITING STYLE? A: I would say it’s modern but detailed. I take some cues from JRR Tolkien, but just as many from CS Lewis and Christopher Paolini and Rebecca Myers.

writing his next book or working with an editing client, you can often find him walking around his neighborhood or hiking. From a young age he was enthralled with the world of story. From the stories his parents read to him from his blue bedtime story books (if you know, you know) to the first two series that he read, The Chronicles of Narnia and A Series of Unfortunate Events, Zachary's tastes continued to develop throughout his years of reading. The influences for his first series, The Eternal Chronicles, include Christopher Paolini, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and others.

Q: WHERE CAN READERS FIND YOU AND YOUR BOOKS ONLINE? A: My Amazon author page, zacharyhagenwrites.com, and goodreads are the best ways to find me and my books. Social media links are on my website, too.

ABOUT ZACHARY HAGEN Zachary Hagen is a Minnesota based fantasy author and editor. He lives there with his wife, Claudia, and their dog, Flynn. When he isn't busy

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INTERVIEW Upclose & Personal

SCOTT OVERTON 22

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Q: WHAT LED YOU TO THE IDEA FOR YOUR LATEST SCI-FI NOVEL, INDIGENT EARTH?

form. The divide between rich and poor has been with us for a long time, yet instead of trying to bring more equality to the world, we’re allowing the gap between the uber-wealthy and the rest of us to grow to obscene proportions. According to some studies, the world’s eight richest men own more wealth than the poorest half of the planet’s population. How is that right? Or smart? Because most of us are on the wrong side of that divide, and it’s getting worse.

Canada’s treatment of our indigenous peoples has finally become prominent in our national consciousness. I tried to think of a way to explore that in a science fiction context that would resonate with non-indigenous readers. It really is a universal wrong that’s been experienced by conquered populations throughout human history, and I don’t think we’ve seen the last of such painful stories. So, in Indigent Earth the wealthy and powerful have abandoned the Earth Q: WHY CHOOSE SCIENCE FICTION AS YOUR GENRE five hundred years earlier to go live in space colonies and CHOICE? have now chosen to return. What’s their agenda, and what will it mean for the survivors on Earth? Science fiction is my first love as a reader, and just seems to be the most Q: HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN natural form to express the issues WRITING INDIGENT EARTH? I want to explore. Most of the best science fiction is metaphorical—it I wrote the first drafts of the novel holds up a mirror to our own society about seven years ago, and following using imaginative scenarios and my usual process, I let it sit for a year settings to shine a spotlight on the and more so I could approach it again serious problems of our own time and with fresh eyes. Then I cleaned it up, the consequences that could result recruited some beta readers and did from them. I wrote Indigent Earth revisions based on their input, and because we don’t seem able or willing finally worked through it with my longto respond to the growing wealth time editor Robin Carson during 2023. gap we see in news reports, or keep I think quality works of fiction need billionaires from blocking efforts to time, and I’m willing to invest that. stop climate change. So, let’s push that issue to the extreme in a story and see Q: WHAT THEMES WILL READERS FIND what happens if the wealthy become able to abandon a IN YOUR NOVEL? horribly damaged Earth and leave the rest of us to fend The driving themes are definitely colonialism and economic for ourselves. inequality, but climate change and other environmental issues are also key elements. I always start with a concept Q: TELL US ABOUT THE MAIN PROTAGONISTS IN YOUR and main theme I want to explore, and then choose the BOOK. characters, setting, and plot that will most effectively bring it to light. With Indigent Earth I wanted to show that Killian Morningcloud is a young Earth man raised in a colonialism is not over—the colonialism of the future will stifling community known as an Allocation (similar to be from the ultra-wealthy class we’re now permitting to an indigenous reservation) who has dreamed of the day REMINDER: This is an interactive magazine. Click on book cover or link to follow.

the colonists will return, hoping they will raise him out of his dead-end life and take him to the stars. Natira Celestia is an aristocrat and celebrity broadcaster in the colonies who believes the Earth must be populated with “noble savages” full of wisdom whom she’s eager to meet. They’re both completely wrong, and about as opposite as it’s possible for two people to be, but circumstances force them together in the pursuit of dark secrets. Q: YOUR TOPIC ABOUT THE WEALTHY AND POOR AND ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE IS STRONGLY PASSIONATE. WHAT ARE SOME IDEAS THAT YOU HAVE AS TO FIX THE HUGE WEALTH GAP? HOW DO YOU PROPOSE WE FIX THE CLIMATE?

the emissions of those industries with technology. Q: EVEN IF MONEY WAS EVENLY DISTRIBUTED HOW DO YOU MOTIVATE INDIVIDUALS TO WORK? HOW WOULD WE PREVENT SOCIETY FROM GOING LIKE IT IS NOW TO THE DICTATING SOCIETY WE SEE IN 1984?

A big part of how the wealthy become so rich is because Dictatorships are they can hide their money and avoid paying taxes. Our about power and privilege, even if monetary wealth is society absolutely has to close those loopholes so that (theoretically) shared equally. Stories like Star Trek and everyone contributes fairly to the services we all need. the 1880s novel Looking Backward offer societies that are But governments never do that because big money has a meritocracy—people earn privileges through exceptional far too much influence in politics. At some point we’ll have achievement for the greater good. A nice idea but, like to plug all the ways that the wealthy influence elections true communism, probably never practical because it just and pay for the political decisions they want, or things will doesn’t reflect human nature. But I do think that some never change. blend of physical rewards along with enhanced societal As far as the climate is concerned, we’re likely past the status could be motivational. The danger lies in allowing point that simply reducing our bad habits will be enough— higher status to equate to power, and letting powerful some impressive anti- people become entrenched in their positions. A partial carbon technologies will solution might be to ensure that people rotate through be needed to rehabilitate positions of authority, with limited terms of service. Some the atmosphere, and might say that this wastes valuable leadership experience, we’re good at that kind but I think with the assistance of artificial intelligence, of thing but the financial most people could serve quite effectively. backing has to be there. Plus, of course, we really do need to drastically cut Q: HOW DID YOU GO FROM BEING A MORNING RADIO HOST our burning of fossil fuels TO AN AUTHOR? WHY THE SUDDEN CHANGE? and our consumption of meat and dairy (which I enjoyed working in radio, but it was just a way of getting have horrible methane a steady paycheque. Being an author was always my first emission footprints) or at choice. I’ve been driven to write since I was a kid, and the very least remediate I did write whenever my radio career allowed the time 24

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(not often). So, when the radio station I worked for was sold, I was paid off and took the opportunity to pursue writing seriously. I’ve been writing full-time for eight or nine years. Q: TELL US ABOUT YOUR DEBUT NOVEL, DEAD AIR.

from now when computerized brain augments become the must-have consumer item, and corporations and governments are eager to take full (and insidious) advantage. I’ve also put out a collection of SFF short stories called Beyond in a paperback format and several e-anthologies.

Following the old adage “write what you know”, Dead Air Q: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR WRITING STYLE? is a mystery-thriller about a morning radio host whose life and career are already on shaky grounds when he While all my writing involves strong themes, I’m not finds a death threat in his workplace. He has no idea why interested in hitting the reader over the head with my someone would want to kill him, or who it is, but it’s real. “message”. Above all, the stories are engaging, exciting, So, he’s an ordinary guy in an unthinkable situation. The and entertaining, and the characters are as real as I novel also has a lot of inside information about the private can make them. I don’t believe that just because I’m radio industry, and it’s set in my home city of Sudbury, writing “genre fiction” I have to sacrifice the qualities of Ontario, so it still sells very well there after 11 years. good literary fiction, either. Whether you call it science fiction or speculative fiction, the best SF can hold its Q: WHAT OTHER BOOKS HAVE YOU WRITTEN? own among any forms of literature. My own writing is very approachable and relatable. The science is never My first science fiction novel The Primus Labyrinth takes a too dense (but I try hard to make it credible). And from nano-submersible through the bloodstream of a VIP close what readers tell me, it’s a lot like Michael Crichton’s work to the American president to thwart an extortion plot. influenced by Robert J. Sawyer. Naïda tells the story of a man whose body is infiltrated by a symbiotic alien being that provides him with special Q: WHERE CAN READERS FIND YOU AND YOUR BOOKS abilities, but he fears ONLINE? he may have triggered an alien invasion. My books are available as paperbacks, ebooks, and a The Dispossession of couple in audiobook form pretty well everywhere you buy Dylan Knox describes books online. The best place to start looking is my website a woman’s dilemma www.scottoverton.ca which has lots of information about when she realizes that all the books, sample chapters, book trailers, and links her high-school flame for where to buy them. Also, this Universal Book Link will seems to have been help you get directly to my book pages at many different displaced by multiple retailers: https://books2read.com/ScottOverton . I’m on personalities with Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ScottOverton. an explanation that author and Twitter (aka X) @SFtruenorth . beggars belief. And Augment Nation is a classic cautionary SF tale that explores a society twenty years REMINDER: This is an interactive magazine. Click on book cover or link to follow.

QUICK INTERVIEW Quick & Easy

MATTHEW HUGHES

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Q: WHY CHOOSE TO WRITE SPECULATIVE FICTION?

FICTION AND FANTASY BEGIN?

Actually, it sought of chose me. Around the turn of I wanted to be a science fiction writer in my teens the century, I was on my way to a career as a crime (fantasy was just emerging from the wings back then). writer -- had got a novel published, stories in Alfred By the time I got around to it, in the nineties, I was Hitchcock’s and Blue Murder, won an award -- when more drawn toward crime fiction of the kind Donald E. a fantasy book I’d Westlake, Lawrence Block, and Elmore Leonard were written years before writing. but that failed to get anywhere suddenly Q: HOW MANY NOVELS HAVE YOU WRITTEN THUS FAR? clicked with Betsy Mitchell at Warner Around thirty, but that’s not counting several I wrote Aspect. She bought originally as series of novelettes sold to magazines the book, Fools Errant, and anthologies that I later put together and sold as and commissioned a episodic novels. Plus I’ve ghosted some others and sequel, Fool Me Twice. book-doctored a number of others for publishers. That was as far as it went, except Q: WHERE DID YOU GET THE IDEA FOR YOUR LATEST NOVEL, A GOD IN HIDING? David Hartwell at Tor said he’d like one, so A combination of two factors: first, I enjoy extrapolating I wrote Black Brillion. and extending Jack Vance’s wonderful Dying Earth While I was waiting for it to come out, I thought I’d setting. Somehow it really suits my temperament better raise my profile by writing short stories for The to write stories about anti-heroes, the kind of Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. So I wrote one characters that are minor players in other authors’ set in the same world as BB and the Fools books, and epic fantasies: henchmen and underlings who have sent it in. Gordon van Gelder said it was the first to solve problems set for them by their more powerful thing he›d read in two years that made him laugh out betters -- dukes and wizards, often. That appeals to loud, so I did several more about the same character me largely because I spent my adult life mostly as -- Henghis Hapthorn -- and he bought them. a henchman -- a speechwriter and confidant -- to Next thing I knew, Night Shade Books wanted to do politcians and CEOs of large corporations. I know the a short story collection, then they wanted three novels field, so to speak. about Hapthorn. By then, I was pretty much identified The other factor was that I noticed that my 2019 as a science fiction and fantasy author, largely writing novel, A God in Chains, was the most often rated and the kind of stuff Jack Vance pioneered in his space reviewed of my books on Amazon. If the readers liked operas and Dying Earth fantasies. After that, I just kept it, why not do some more? But I didn’t want to put that plugging along. book’s main character back in action, because he’d completed his arc, so I took a very minor character Q: WHEN DID YOUR INTERESTS IN WRITING SCIENCE REMINDER: This is an interactive magazine. Click on book cover or link to follow.

and made her the center of the new story. It also appealed to me to create a female henchman for a change. Q: TELL US WHAT THEMES WILL READERS FIND IN YOUR NOVEL, A GOD IN HIDING. I’m not big on themes, but as I noted above, my stories often center around people who don’t have a lot of agency but work for those who do. So the stories are often about a person of modest talents who gets pulled into the schemes and machinations of more powerful figures, and then has to figure out how to survive and prevail. Often, it takes luck, imagination, and a talent for improvisation. Other than that, my Dying Earth-set books are about a world in which people are cynical and out for themselves -- probably comes from too much exposure in my life to corporate life and politics. There are not too many really good guys in my stories; mostly, they’re about people having to deal with a universe that requires struggle. In fact, now that I come to it, “struggle” is probably my dominant theme. I wouldn’t want to be one of my characters. Q: WHO ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN YOUR LATEST BOOK? Lieve Reder is a riverboat captain who works for the widow of a prominent merchant who came to grief in A God in Chains. The widow sends her on a quest to recover an item her husband ordered but never received. It turns out to be a separated part of a powerful entity -- one of the sentient tools left behind by the demiurge after the work of creating Phenomenality was completed. But there are others interested in that part, and especially in the third part of the entity, now become 28

a kind of god, that is hidden away in the far north and wants to be left alone. So there’s a second quest and things soon get out of hand. Her companion is Dai, who had only a number in the first book: an artificial human created by one of the half-mad thaumaturges of Olliphract, who fashioned armies of vat-bred soulless soldiers to fight their little wars. The two of them form an odd couple. Q: WHY DID YOU WAIT MORE THAN 40-YEARS TO WRITE YOUR NOVEL, WHAT THE WIND BRINGS? I came across the actual historical incident -- African slaves shipwrecked on the jungle coast of Ecuador after the Spanish had conquered and destroyed the Inca Empire -- in a footnote to a university text back in 1971. I thought it would make a great historical novel, which had been one of my dreams as a teenager. But it was hard to research, because all of the scholarship seemed to be in Spanish academic journals, and my Spanish was not good enough. But then, as this century rolled forward, I found that English-language research about the times and evens wase becoming increasingly available. The Africans had been “discovered” by North American professors. However, I knew that the heyday of historical novels had passed -- the brilliant Cecelia Holland was having to inject a fantasy element to keep on getting published -- so I had doubts about the sellability of 150,000 words of historical fiction.

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I applied, therefore, for a grant from the Canada several times. One, as noted above, was for What the Council for the Arts, who gave me CAD$25,000, and Wind Brings, a literary novel; the other was for Breaking that allowed me to set aside a year and write four Trail, and “as-told-to” memoir I wrote with my old drafts of the novel, which is two drafts more than I boss, the late Len Marchand, first “status Indian” to usually do. I put a lot into the book and I consider it be elected to the Canadian parliament, who became my magnum opus, the best work I’ve done. Minister of the Environment and, later, a senator. I was right about the sellability, though. I could But any author can apply. Those with only a not interest any agent or a publisher in the ms, so couple of books or a few short stories or poems to I eventually placed it with some friends who had their names, compete in a separate tier from those been buying short stories form me for their start-up who have a more substantial body of work. magazine, Pulp Literature, and were getting into book Right now, I’m waiting to hear if the CC and the publishing. They brought it out in a beautiful edition, BC Arts Council will grants me funds to write another and it went on to be the first Canadian title to win the historical novel set in the Mediterranean during the cross-border Endeavour Award in that prize›s twenty- aftermath of Alexander the Great’s death. I’ll know in odd year history. February. I have now recovered the rights from my kind friends and the book is in the hands of a US agent Q: HOW HAS YOUR TRAVELS INFLUENCED YOUR OWN who is looking to see if any larger publishers want it. WRITING? Through the kindness of George R.R. Martin, who is a fan of my Vancean work, I’ve been able to pitch it Not all that much. Most of my stuff comes out of to the people who produced Game of Thrones, so a my life experience as a son of the working poor and deal with a big publisher may open the door to some my sojourns in the world of the great and good, as the English say. Before I took up world-wandering, I Hollywood options. already knew what it was to be a stranger in a strange land: I came to Canada as a small boy from Liverpool to Q: HOW TOUGH IS IT TO RECEIVE A GRANT live in a town largely populated by German-Canadians, FOR WRITING? WHY including many who came as immigrants after World SHOULD AUTHORS War II. APPLY FOR SUCH And then, at 13, my father yanked me out of that GRANTS? CAN ANY milieu and dumped me 2500 miles away in Vancouver, AUTHOR APPLY FOR A WRITING GRANT? which was another different culture from KitchenerWaterloo. Then, as a teenager, I joined the Company of For a genre author, it Young Canadians and spent several months living in a is very tough. I have log cabin in a Métis settlement in northern Alberta. Oil received two from lamps, outhouses, and water hauled in barrels from the Canada Council a lake full of little things you wouldn’t want to find a in twenty-five years, home in your intestines. though I’ve applied Then, to cap it off, I spent two weeks fighting the REMINDER: This is an interactive magazine. Click on book cover or link to follow.

largest forest fire to that date in Alberta’s history. In the middle of a plains grizzly preserve. Q: HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE NOMINATED FOR MULTIPLE AWARDS AND TO BE IN THE HALL OF FAME FOR YOUR GENRE?

an olive-growing fattoria just down the slope from La Foresta Umbra, Italy’s “forest of shadows,” which is a last survivor of the original beech and oak forest that grew up after the ice age but was cut down for timber, firewood, ship-building, and charcoal burning from the middle ages on. A strange and eerie place.

It’s nice, of course. Hasn’t changed my numbers, though. So the bean counters at big publishers are Q: HOW DID YOU GET INTO HOUSE SITTING? not interested in me. However, I’ve now made enough progress that I can bypass small presses and self- I needed a way to live on what I could make writing publish in ebooks and paperbacks on Amazon and fiction -- far less than I made as a speechwriter -Kobo and downstream markets. and I heaard about services in England that hired So, no complaints. people to look after houses and pets while the owners were away. It worked out all right for a while, but the Q: YOUR SHORT STORIES HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN life was really for people who had a place to live and JUST ABOUT EVERY KNOWN MAGAZINE. WHICH OF YOUR SHORT STORIES WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE FOR wanted to go somewhere else for a couple of weeks. YOU, AS A WRITER? Butr then, as often happens in my life, I fluked into a five-month gig in Saskatchewan which led to three I suppose it was “Mastermindless,” the first Henghis months in another town. Then I found sites on the Hapthorn story. I sold it to F&S, as noted above, and internet that connected housesitters with homereceived a cheque a week after I sent it in. I didn’t owners, and that was that. realize then how highly unlikely that was. I went on to I’m now past sixteen years as a homeless drifter be a regular in F&SF (forty-odd appearances) and I sold but it looks like I’ll be giving it up. I’m too old to be to Asimov’s, Lightspeed, Interzone, Neo-Opsis, and Pulp walking energetic dogs and my wife has opted to Literature. Hapthorn became the subject of nine short stay close to our only grandchild: the beautiful little stories and three novels. girl she always wanted but had to settle for three big Although they’re twenty years old now, this year I hulking boys. sold over three hundred copies of Hapthorn books. I guess people like the character and the world of Old Q: WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO BOTH ACADEMICS WANTING TO WRITE THE NEXT BEST STORY Earth. AND TO THOSE WRITING EVERYDAY HOPING TO BETTER CRAFT THEIR WORK? Q: WHAT PROJECTS ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT? Don’t know about academics. I’m a genre fiction I’m writing a story, on spec, for an anthology about author. But the best advice I can give to fictioneers people who go to places that turn out to be strange is: character is everything. You think it’s your story and otherwordly. I’m basing it on the year we spent on because y’oure writing it, but it’s really the characters’ story and you’re ust writing it for them. 30

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The simple truth: story comes out of character, after which plot comes out of story. Q: WHERE CAN READERS FIND YOU AND YOUR WORK ONLINE? My web page is dormant, but a wonderful fellow named George Bell has made my Wikipedia page a goldmine of information. Just google “Matt Hughes (writer).” And my books are on Amazon and Kobo, Smashwords and Barnes and Noble. I think I’m also on Apple Books, but I never see any reports. For folks who are interested, I send out a monthly emailed newsletter. It’s my main way of communicating with my readers about what I’m writing and my unusual life in general. Anyone who signs up gets a free ebook, 9 Tales of Henghis Hapthorn, including all the Hapthorn stories I sold to F&SF, plus more.

Just follow the link: http://eepurl.com/cyNSA9 ABOUT MATT HUGHES Matt Hughes writes crime fiction. His crime novels are Downshift (Doubleday Canada, 1997, and Five Rivers, 2012) and Old Growth (Five Rivers, 2013), and One More Kill (PS Publishing, 2018). His short fiction has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s, Blue Murder, Storyteller, and a number of bestselling anthologies, including Rogues, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. He has won the Arthur Ellis Award from the Crime Writers of Canada and has been short-listed for the Derringer Award. Before turning to fiction, he was a journalist and freelance speechwriter in British Columbia and is the only person ever to have been both an assistant to the Canadian Minister of Justice and a teenage burglar.

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HUNTLY PLANTZ A RISING STAR In the realm of performing arts, stories of young

actors who defy age boundaries and captivate audiences with their talent are rare. One such tale unfolds in the life of Huntly Plantz. At the age of 11, Huntly embarked on a journey that would not only reshape his own destiny but also leave an indelible mark on the hearts of those who 32

witnessed his performances. Huntly’s foray into acting began as a mere whim, a chance opportunity that beckoned him to be an extra. Born to a family with no acting background or contacts, Huntly exhibited a natural flair that surpassed his years, as out of several extras, he was selected. It was this innate ability that caught the eye of the director. With minimal training but an abundance of raw talent, Huntly found himself cast in a principal role in his first tv production. Over the last 3 years, word of Huntly’s talent has spread, and he is now fielding offers from reputable production companies and casting directors. Despite his age, Huntly’s dedication to his craft became evident as he juggled maintaining straight A’s in school with his acting career. He has not been content to rest on the laurels of his early success; instead, he sought out successful

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mentors within the industry to refine his skills and broaden his understanding of the art of acting. While Huntly’s ascent in the acting world seemed meteoric, it was not without its challenges. The skepticism surrounding his age and the inevitable comparisons to more experienced actors tested his resilience. However, Huntly’s passion for acting fueled his determination to prove that age was merely a number when talent and dedication were the driving forces. Huntly’s ability to memorize lines quickly and portray characters capturing human emotion with a remarkable versatility is his strongest skill set. He has played whimsical comedic roles and serious dramatic roles and transitioned between genres. His ability to convey a depth of emotion and connect with the audience resonates with

theatergoers of all ages, earning him a reputation as a versatile performer who works well with other actors, takes direction, and appreciates all the hard work that goes into a production. Huntly Plantz’s journey as a 14-year-old actor stands as a testament to the transformative power of unwavering dedication, hard work, and an unyielding passion for one’s craft. His story is more than just a captivating tale; it is a reminder that age and lack of industry contacts should never be a barrier to pursuing one’s dreams. As the curtain falls on each of Huntly’s performances, it rises again to reveal a young actor who, against all odds, is becoming a success. Huntly Plantz is not just a rising star; he is a beacon of inspiration for aspiring actors of all ages.

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INTERVIEW Upclose & Personal

TAMARA DAVIS

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Tamara loved school as a student in Michigan, and she enjoys it as an educator in California, hence the setting of this novel. She has worked as a substitute teacher (in private, charter, and public schools, grades ranging from Pre-K to 12th), taught English as a Second Language (ESL) to international students at summer camps, and tutored juniorhigh to college-aged learners.

1- WHAT’S THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? The last book I read was We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates.

for everything you do and don’t do in life. Sometimes, the trade-offs are worth it, so choose wisely, and try to learn from regrets. Make the most of your choices.

6- WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE THIS BOOK? As a substitute teacher (and parent), I saw the consequences of students using cell phones in class and at school. I wrote (and write) from a place of curiosity, compassion, and concern.

7 - DO YOU HEAR FROM YOUR READERS MUCH?

2- WHAT’S THE BOOK THAT CHANGED YOUR LIFE?

Yes, I hear from my readers through reviews and sometimes in person. Most say that the creative invitation to consider how we use tech is important and timely. Readers appreciate the colorful story and realistic characters in addition to the digital wellness thinking points. Many, like me, grew up before the advent of smartphones, so they enjoy the reflective and nostalgic nature of the contemporary novel.

A book that changed my life is The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.

3 - WHAT WAS THE BOOK THAT MADE YOU WANT TO BECOME AN AUTHOR? A book that made me want to become an author is Big Magic, Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert.

4- WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT BEING A WRITER?

8- AS A CHILD, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO DO WHEN YOU GROW UP? As a child, I wanted to be a pediatrician, a mom, a singer, and then a Coast Guard public affairs officer.

My favorite thing about being a writer is making meaningful connections with members of the larger community (local 9- WHAT MOTIVATES YOU? and literary).

5- WHAT WOULD YOU TELL YOUR YOUNGER SELF?

I am motivated to stretch myself intellectually, educationally, professionally, spiritually, and culturally.

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10 - WHAT’S THE FIRST STEP TO BECOMING MORE SELF-AWARE? A step to becoming more self-aware is journaling for clarity and understanding by acknowledging struggles and trying to find new paths to peace.

11- WHERE DO YOU DREAM OF TRAVELING AND WHY? I dream of traveling to see my family members more often. My parents live in Michigan, my brother lives in North Carolina, and my 92-year-old Grandma lives in Florida. I have cousins I would like to see in the States, too. It would be a dream to go places together or for them to visit me in California. This is difficult because my mom is a heart transplant recipient on dialysis with a leg amputation.

12- WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING IN YOUR SPARE TIME? In my spare time, I enjoy reading, rollerblading, downhill skiing, boogie boarding, biking, kayaking, walking my dog, listening to podcasts, going to concerts, supporting causes, and finding common ground with a variety of people.

13- STATE A RANDOM FACT ABOUT YOURSELF THAT WOULD SURPRISE OUR READERS. It might surprise readers to find out that I served in the U.S. Coast Guard as a boat crew member and marine radio dispatcher for a search and rescue unit that would venture out into high seas in a re-rightable 47-foot motor lifeboat. 14- What is the reason for your success? The reason for my “success” is that I put my heart into learning and applying what I learn about the literary industry. Also, I reciprocate interest in what others are

doing to follow their artistic pursuits. By showing support, I often see support. Gratitude can go a long way. By jotting down thinking points, I generate new ideas for journal entries that sometimes make their way into articles, poems, longer pieces, or creative posts. My main character, Gabby Oliver, is a teacher, and the lesson I would want readers to take away from the story is that we can each decide how we want to use tech. Not all screen use is the same. We can make conscious choices. For example, people don’t HAVE to subscribe to every social media platform or be “on call” (reachable) at all times. We don’t normally need to sleep near our devices either. We can take breaks from electronics to enjoy a sense of balance. Individuals should examine their intentions when going online and keep privacy in mind. As parents, we can model restraint, set limits, check age recommendations, speak up for our values, and have structure for our children when it comes to their screen use. Visit:https://www.despitethebuzz.com/

ABOUT TAMARA DAVIS TAMARA MILLER DAVIS is a married mother of two, dance enthusiast, and U.S. Coast Guard veteran from Michigan. She has worked as a substitute teacher, taught English as a Second Language (ESL), and tutored students in California. A lifelong writer, Tamara has published articles, participated in poetry readings, won a countywide inspirational essay contest, presented penned pieces at dance exhibits, and performed on stage via USA Today’s Storytellers Project. Email: tamaramillerdavis@despitethebuzz.com Website: www.despitethebuzz.com/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/despitethebuzz/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/tamaramillerdavis/

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WRITING WITH YOUR MUSE: A GUIDE TO CREATIVE INSPIRATION Writing with your Muse offers techniques, strategies, tools, tips, and stories to help you tap into creative inspiration. You don’t have to be psychic to be successful with these techniques, although that natural ability exists in all of us, and these techniques will help you develop your sixth sense. There’s even science to back it up. This book will help you if you hear words or see images but find it difficult to get the text on the page, you’ve written and published but are searching for something fresh and different, you have ideas but don’t know how or where to begin, you want to write but have no ideas, or you’re suffering from a bad case of writer's block.

W. L. HAWKIN

Her urban fantasy series, the Hollystone Mysteries, features a coven of Vancouver witches who solve murders using their wits, ritual magic, and a little help from the gods. To Charm a Killer, To Sleep with Stones, To Render a Raven, To Kill a King, and To Dance with Destiny, follow stage magician and Wicca high priest, Estrada, as he endeavors to save his friends while working through his own personal issues. Her standalone novel, Lure: Jesse & Hawk (2022) won a National Indie Excellence Award, a Gold Reader's Choice award from Connections E-magazine, a Crowned Heart Review from InD’tale Magazine, and placed as a finalist in The UK Wishing Shelf Book Awards. Lure is a small-town romantic suspense story set on a Chippewa Reservation in the American Midwest near the fictional town of Lure River.

W. L. Hawkin writes adventurous cross-genre fiction charged with "myth, magic, and mayhem" from her home in the Pacific Northwest.

IT CAME FROM THE TREES Tree planters on the run from parasitic insects. A physicist who has become the target of a murderous airline. Teenagers trapped in a museum with an eldritch horror. An escaped pit fighter thrust into a desperate stand at a sagging mountain fortress. And a luckless cowboy sailing across a sea of grass to the bloody resurrection of an elder god. Welcome to Joel McKay's It Came from the Trees and Other Violent Aberrations, a collection of five pageturners as strange, disparate and bloody as their titles suggest. So, grab a stiff drink, turn the lights down low, settle into your favorite reading nook and enjoy this brief but memorable collection of tales from one of the newest voices in Canadian pulp fiction.

JOEL MCKAY

B.C. home, where he lives with his wife and two daughters. Wolf at the Door is his first novella, which won the 2022 Global Book Award gold medal for horror. His most recent published fiction was the short story Number Hunnerd in Tyche Books’ anthology Water: Selkies, Sirens and Sea Monsters, and the splatterpunk western short story Hands, which was published in Brigids Gate Press' anthology Blood in the Soil, Terror on the Wind. The inspiration for his fiction is drawn from the landscapes and people of British Columbia, particularly the province's vast, untamed and often misunderstood north. It's the small towns and the people who call them home that inspired the good ol' boys featured in Number Hunnerd, or the cool, crisp evenings and early sunsets of October that planted the idea for werewolves at a Thanksgiving feast.

Joel McKay is an award-winning writer. He calls Prince George, REMINDER: This is an interactive magazine. Click on book cover or link to follow.

at last to destroy the entire machinery of the Galactic Empire . . .

THE GOOD SOLDIER The Imperial Navy has long been at war. It is a well-oiled machine, a mighty galactic power in which nothing can go wrong. Enter Pre-Private Joseph Fux, selfproclaimed Idiot, Second Class. When Fux arrives on board the light frigate UPS Spitz, things immediately begin to go wrong. It’s not Fux’s fault. It never is. Accidents just happen when he’s around, despite the best intentions. And as the always-cheerful Fux bungles his way through one job after another, he throws the whole ship and its orderly crew into chaos. No one is left unscathed: not the responsible and lonely Lt. Lipton, grieving for his lost love; not the mercilessly logical Doctor Nightingale, who may or may not be Lipton’s current romantic interest; not the overzealous Ensign Berseker, or the pompous political officer, Commander Kapust. Not even the hidden, monstrous Captain. Knowingly or not, Fux is an agent of resistance, his blind stupidity the only sane response to the insanity of war. Something’s gotta give, and the tiny spanner-in-the-works that is Fux threatens

Nir Yaniv is an Israeli-born multidisciplinary artist living in Los Angeles. He's an author, a musician, an illustrator, and a filmmaker. He founded Israel's first online science fiction magazine and served as its chief editor for ten years, after which he moved on to editing a printed genre magazine. He collaborated with World Fantasy Award-winning author Lavie Tidhar on two novels, including the "deranged scifi extravaganza" (per The Jewish Quarterly) The Tel Aviv Dossier, and his English-language collection he Love Machine & Other Contraptions was published by Infinity Plus in 2012. His most recent Hebrew novel, King of Jerusalem, was published in Israel in 2019. His short stories have appeared in Weird Tales, Apex, and ChiZine, among others. Nir's musical career includes soundtracks for film, dance shows, and theater. His most recent work is the voice-and-drums animated album The Voice Remains (LifeArt Music, 2021). Nir has also directed several short films and music videos, both live-action and animated. glamour in pink. Cult cinema and film criticism will never be the same..

ISN'T SHE GREAT: WRITERS ON WOMEN LED COMEDIES FROM 9 TO 5 TO BOOKSMART

ELIZABETH TEETS

Based on Elizabeth Teets's program series called "Isn't She Great" at the Hollywood Theater, this anthology is a collection of the most beloved female-centric comedies and the audiences who adore them. From 9 to 5 to Romy and Michelle to the iconic Elle Woods, the essays in this collection build on our devotion to these films and continue the conversation around funny women and how these characters have shaped so many talented writers. As Elizabeth Teets reminds us, there is a specific power in a funny woman. A woman who dares to laugh at the world and at herself. These movies made us strong and smart and sexy (and bend and snap a lot). At the end of the day, we remind ourselves when the world only tries to let us have a little, a little money, a little confidence, a little joy to go out and get the whole enchilada. Isn't She Great is for anyone who loves movies and feels the

NIR YANIV

Elizabeth Teets is a Portland Based writer, fashionista, and comedian. She is the host of Queens of Hollywood on X-Ray Fm and the producer of the Hollywood Theater program Isn’t She Great. Her writings can be found at Catapult, Reductress, The Hard Times, and more. She has been featured in the Cream City Comedy Festival, All Jane Comedy Festival and the TBS National Comedy Competition.

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Daddies (cc&d), and he is a three-time finalist in the New Millennium Writing Awards. By day he is Dean, Learning Resources & Online Learning at Bucks County Community College in Pennsylvania.

AMERICANA: STORIES The many faces of curiosity. Which one do you see? Welcome to Bill Hemmig's Americana, a collection of snapshots that capture the everyday American experience. From filling the bird feeder to a realtor conference (behind) the happiest place on Earth to the picturesque canals of Venice, each story celebrates the eccentricities hidden inside the fabric of an ordinary life.

BILL HEMMIG Bill Hemmig is the author of Americana: Stories and Brethren Hollow, both published by Read Furiously. His short stories appear in Read Furiously’s Life in the Garden State anthologies, The World Takes and Stay Salty, and in the Toho Publishing anthology, The Best Short Stories of Philadelphia, 2021. He has had stories published in the journals The Madison Review, Philadelphia Stories, and Children, Churches and pursuit of happiness. Kola's voice is a welcome addition to the literary canon and his story will stay with you long after the last page is finished.

PARADE OF STREETLIGHTS Life is lived between the checklists Parade of Streetlights is a captivating exploration of the millennial experience. Following a significant incident from his youth in Lagos, Kolawole Idowu always had a haunting desire to return to Nigeria and commit his time to making a difference. Within the course of a year, Kola explores his adopted home of New York City and all aspects of his world with candor and humor. Kola is both self-conscious and observant as he encounters people on the streets of NYC and constantly struggles with the idea of what it means to be himself. A quarterlife manifesto for the modern malaise Parade of Streetlights is a deeply personal and introspective debut novel from author Itua Uduebo told in vignettes and featuring characters who are working through many personal absurdities. This is a novel about the choices we make, the ways we restrict ourselves needlessly, and the freedom of embracing the authentic

ITUA UDUEBO I was born in Lagos, Nigeria, reside in New York, NY, and graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in International Politics. I’m currently working in the financial technology industry. My writing journey began in 2016 and to date I’ve had several essays, articles, freeform poems, and short stories published online and in print. Partnered with Read Furiously Publishing on the release of my debut novel, A Parade of Streetlights. My focuses are new adult fiction, urban literature, science fiction, thrillers, politics, racial justice, culture, and global affairs. Currently working on my second novel manuscript and always looking to take on new creative challenges.

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SAVAGE ANGELS

KATHLEEN KELLY

Nothing good ever comes easy. The Savage Angels have been at peace for a long time. All of us will be tested when the Abruzzi Crime Family tries to seize what we’ve built. For years, we’ve worked hard to keep clean and move away from running drugs, guns, and all manner of illicit activities. But they forget we are still savage men, and if you go after one of us, our president no less, you will not win. Salvatore Agostino will need to choose sides. He’d best choose wisely, for although he’s connected to us by blood, we protect the club at all costs. The Savage Angels are teetering on the brink, ready to carve their legacy with wings bathed in light or blood.

RENNER Do younger men really make better lovers? Renner Simmons, has only one interest when he travels to Parson’s Ridge, Georgia—to get a proposed boutique hotel development approved by the town manager. This little slice of mountain heaven has resort potential written all over it, and Renner and his business partner want to get in on the ground floor. From all communications, he expects it to be a done deal. What he doesn’t expect is to find his plan to make a quick getaway back home to come screeching to a halt when he meets the town manager’s beautiful administrative assistant, Magdalena. But she’s wearing another man’s ring. Magdalena Bateman was widowed three years ago. Since then, dating just hasn’t been a priority. Besides, if she has any needs, there’s always her Harley—and no, not the motorcycle. But Renner stirs something inside her she hadn’t expected to feel. The only problem is, she’s old enough to be his… Well, his older sister. When 40

Kathleen Kelly is a USA Today Best Selling Author and was born in Penrith, NSW, Australia. She married her childhood sweetheart and they live in Toowoomba, Queensland with their fur baby, Freya. Kathleen enjoys writing contemporary, romance novels with a HEA... for now. She draws her inspiration from family, friends & the people around her. She can often be found in cafes writing and observing the locals. Kathleen loves to be contacted by those who love her books.

it becomes evident Renner wants her too, she’s not sure she's ready to move on—especially with a man twelve years her junior. Renner’s determined Magdalena will take off her ring, but her former brother-in-law might have intentions toward Magdalena of his own.

SANDRA DANIELS 'USA Today Bestselling Author Sandra Daniels is a small business owner, mother of three grown sons, and the wife of a Sheriff’s Deputy. She also just so happens to lead a double life as a writer of the kinds of books she loves to read—stories with relatable characters, humor, angst, hot sex, and just enough mayhem thrown in to make things interesting. And she manages to do it all with just a touch of southern flair. When she’s not writing, she loves reading, watching SEC football, lunching with her friends, and spending time with her family—that is when she’s not chasing after the family’s chocolate lab, Rosco, who generally has one of her shoes.

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REVIEWED BY ROXB

In Good Talk…Good Talk, Author Ginny Andrews shares her Louis Sauvain continues weaving a tapestry of the lives of four emerging sorcerers whose education continues at the Collegium Sorcerorum. Thaddeus, the first young man Master Silvestrus recruits for the college, is destined for unequaled magical powers. Thaddeus and the Daemon tie young Thaddeus’s life experiences since joining the master together in various tests of power and compassion. He learns to trust his instincts and leverage his empathy without regard to personal gain. The world-building set in the Dark Ages is a stunning work of creativity by Mr. Sauvain. The interactions with the magical beings, such as the fairies, ghostly soldiers, Goblin Army, despicable Daemon Hordes, and more boldly test Thaddeus and his brothers in magic, Anders, Rolland, and Zoarr to their limits. Each character is developed to complement the others, ideally without wasted exchanges. Perditus, one of the Masters the four are learning from, has an evil goal that threatens the world. Readers can readily pick favorites to root for and pray fervently that the enemies will get destroyed. Each young man is fortunate to discover their soulmate from Ludia’s girls’ school of Sorcery. These complex relationships seem formed with bonds that will withstand the tests of time with work from both sides. The relationships of the four young apprentices with others, including my favorite Asullus provide a foundation for driving the maturation of their hearts and magic to hopefully overcome the demanding maliciousness of the evil they may face. Read the complete review on the Rox's site. https://roxburkey.com/thaddeus-and-the-daemon/

Ms. Sikes builds a story with a romantic getaway destined to become memorable. Brandon is smitten with Angela and will do everything to convince her to marry him. Angela escaped a marriage to a man who mistreated her and vowed not to repeat the same mistake. Brandon is innovative, successful, and wealthy, but he needs Angela to complete his life. Angela works for his attorney, but he’s willing to support her photography dreams. Brandon takes her to a romantic but haunted venue on the edge of the Pacific Ocean near a lighthouse. She wants to capture the ghosts on film, while he wants to make her his wife. Their arrival at the Inn is highlighted by an injured guest whom the owners suggest slipped on the rocky, slippery pathway. Perhaps it’s not just the pathway that poses the threats. Brandon’s plans for a proposal are disrupted when Angela gets brutally attacked, and Brandon fears the worst. Ms. Sikes masterfully increases the tension and mystery page-by-page with characters who bear watching. Brandon’s plans for a proposal are disrupted. Angela gets brutally attacked, and Brandon fears the worst. Fans of romantic suspense will enjoy this stand-alone page-turner until the remarkable ending they will never see coming. The Edge of Too Late and the Harbor Pointe Series will keep you entertained by the fireside through the cold winter months, but one hot toddy may not be enough to relax the reader’s fears. You decide.

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REVIEWED BY PELICANFREAK

Upon finishing book 1 in this series, while it didn’t leave me hanging at all, continuing deeper into the series was NOT optional. I just needed more of this brilliantly built world, Hades, and everything else to do with this book. It packs many tropes and fun elements and I’m sure I won’t even manage to list half of them, but to name a few, we have: * Mythology. * Hades / Persephone re-telling. * ‘Workplace’ romance (IYKYN) * Second-chance romance. * Delicious ‘Underworld’ setting. * Demons and other ‘H3ll’ creatures. * Royalty. * Rags-to-riches heroine. * So much adventure. * Lots of fun/hilarious pop-culture references. * Incredible world-building. * Very innocent (V!rg!n in book 1) heroine. * Grumpy / Sunshine. * Dead people / afterlife, etc. It can be thought-provoking at times. Despite having some seemingly dark themes, it does ultimately manage to be very sweet and there were even laughout-loud moments. Both leads are very strong characters which actively grow with their world / as they explore their relationship and deal with what their world throws at them. … Read the complete review on the PelicanFreak's GR. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6065849029

Set in Florida and packs fresh-start vibes, this was cute, mostly. I liked the female lead, I liked the setting—I’d have liked to read more, or seen more of a HFN than such an abrupt declaration of love. (I’ve nothing against instalove but this was even more ‘instant’ than that!) Had a lot going for it though, and not a bad way to spend a half hour or so at all.

3 stars. ️ ️ ️

⭐⭐⭐

Audio: Awful—thank goodness this was a short read, as the narration was awful. It’s completely devoid of any emotion, and the volume sorta dips up and down, just slightly enough that it sounds robotic. If I enjoyed AI-narration, I could just buy eBooks and have Siri read them to me, I’d have no need for true audiobooks. (The narrator does have a great voice and varies it slightly for different characters—if she opted to perform the piece, instead of robotically dictating it, she’d be an amazing narrator, I suspect.) If you’re picky about narrators, be sure to check the sample before committing to this one in audio format. Truly awful—if this story were any longer, I’d have missed out to it, unable to tolerate this noise. 1 star on this front, only because the overall sound quality is clear and crisp, otherwise it’d be zero for the awful narration. 1 star ️

⭐

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REVIEWED BY DEENA RAE

LINCOLN LAWYER BOOK 1

DEADWOOD BOOK 11

I think everyone has head of Lincoln Lawyer. Its been a movie starring Matthew McConaughey and there is a series based on the book series showing on Netflix. Its been years since I watched the movie and I haven't yet streamed the series...BUT, I as soon as I finish all the books in the series I do plan on watching both the movie (again) and the series, so I can see how they match up. Mickey Haller Jr. is a lawyer in LA, and fans of Michael Connelly's Bosch series already know that he is Harry's half brother - they share the same father. Mickey pursued a career as a defense attorney like his father while Harry fulfilled the other side of the coin, as a law enforcement officer. This story was super-fast paced, rapid fire timing and the plot was thrilling. I blazed through the book, wondering what bombshell would drop next.

Once again Vi and the gang of metaphysical heathens are up against the monsters of the realm. With the help of her friends and even unexpected help from the other side, Vi is hoping to catch the lidérc to wipe the debt to Masterson off the books and save her aunt from becoming his love slave. With some spooky events and one eye opening tea time with the resident executioner ghost Prudence and Vi's band of merry men the action will keep you laughing while reading the action. Great read, a real page turning series.

Recommend I recommend this to people who like smart and surprising reads as well as series and like to see the characters grow and mature. Disclaimer I received via the OverDrive/Libby app from the Harris County or Houston Public Library system. It was read as a Kindle eBook.

Disclaimer Disclosure of Material Connection: I was asked to review this book from the author's publicist, but I received the digital book via the OverDrive/Libby app from the Harris County or Houston Public Library system. It was read as a Kindle Book. I was not required to write a positive review. All of the opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

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REVIEWED BY DEENA RAE

THE MAN WHO FORGETS NOTHING IS BACK!

GREAT STARTING POINT

Amos Decker has a new job in a new civilian/agent department of the FBI that examines cold cases. However, on the way to Quantico for the new job on New Year's he hears a news report about Melvin Mars who is awaiting execution for two murders 20 years earlier. In a curious coincidence Decker played against Mars in a college football game. Hundreds of miles away from Texas death row, a man in another state is awaiting execution for another crime, when he confesses to the murder Mars was convicted of. With criminal cases going back 40 years, Mars, Decker and the FBI team search for a the truth as well as a team member who was kidnapped while trying to figure out the truth. Multiple storylines interconnect while Mars must use all his abilites to find out about the racist killers from the 60s and the killer of Mars parents. Unraveling family mysteries, horrific crimes as well as the kidnapping, the team is in a race against time, the Texas courts and members in the highest reaches of the government. Fantastic story with amazing characters that come to life on the page. I absolutely love the character of Decker, he is fleshed out and realistic.

Great starting point Changing something as simple as your shower routine actually is a good way to take control back of your life. The simple step of showering, centering mindfulness and the blast of cold water really does set you up to achieve more and get unstuck. Disclaimer I received via the Kindle Unlimited from Amazon. It was read as a Kindle ebook.

Disclaimer I received via the OverDrive/Libby app from the Harris County Library system. It was read as a Kindle Book.Disclaimer

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MEET THE TEAM!

Mickey Mikkelson

Aimee Ravichandran

Co-Publisher

Deena Rae

Danielle

RoxB

PelicanFreak

Design, Writer, Reviewer

Interviewer & Reviewer

Writer, Reviewer

Reviewer

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