Investing in Others
Bruce the Spruce follows a young tree who struggles to survive among his taller neighbors until Cedar offers the help she once needed herself. What was the inspiration for your story?
Growing up I’ve had so many positive influences in my life who helped me develop into who I am now: my parents and family, teachers and professors in school, coaches in sports growing up, and so many more. I think recognizing the importance of investing in and developing others, especially early in life, makes all the difference. It can be as simple as helping someone who is struggling to find their way or learn something new. It can be as nuanced as connecting with someone to find, or recreate a passion they may have lost. It can also be equally important for people who need help to ask for it, as shown early in Bruce and Cedar’s friendship.
How does Bruce change because of Cedar’s friendship, and what does their relationship suggest about the role patience can play in helping someone grow?
Cedar’s friendship and help not only allows Bruce to grow within the forest, but also helps him realize how important it is to help others in need. Cedar’s guidance and care for Bruce while Bruce is still growing clearly sticks with him and he, in turn, cares for CJ while she is in the same stages of early growth. Their relationship symbolizes that patience and helping others in need is an important part of the circle of life, as the lessons we learn from those before us become part of us, and are important for us to pass down when it becomes our time to do so.
Why was it important that Bruce eventually becomes the one responsible for helping another young tree, and what do you hope children understand about carrying someone’s kindness forward after that person is no longer with them?
Bruce becoming the one that helps Cedar Jr. is important because he is carrying on Cedar’s legacy. My aim for this book, and I hope the takeaway from it, is that paying forward patience, kindness, and the lessons we’ve learned from those before us is important, not only for individual growth, but establishing positive connections with each other and helping others succeed. This is such an integral part of why we’re here.
Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out, and what can your fans expect in the next story?
This is the first book in the series, another book is in the works and I’m hoping to have it complete early in 2027!
Author Links: Website
The Ocoda Chronicles Book 1: Paladin
Paladin by Daniel O’Connell is an action-packed military science fiction novel that combines an alien invasion, advanced technology, and a deeply personal story of survival. Set in the late 21st century, the book introduces a world suddenly facing an overwhelming extraterrestrial threat. Humanity’s future looks increasingly uncertain as a ruthless alien race known as the T-Challa launches a devastating assault on Earth. At the center of the story is Caleb Ocoda, a retired Navy commander and talented pilot whose hopes for a peaceful family life are shattered by the invasion. When Caleb encounters a mysterious alien intelligence, his life takes an extraordinary turn, placing him at the center of humanity’s fight for survival. O’Connell establishes the danger early, creating a sense of urgency that carries through the novel. It’s an ambitious opening to a science fiction series, with an enormous conflict that grows beyond Earth and into the wider universe.
One of the book’s most interesting elements is the relationship between Caleb and Paladin, the mysterious intelligence whose advanced capabilities could change the course of humanity’s future. Their connection gives the novel an intriguing blend of space opera, artificial intelligence, and military sci-fi. Caleb is a compelling central character because his extraordinary circumstances are grounded in recognizable human emotions. His grief, determination, loyalty, and occasionally stubborn personality influence the decisions he makes. He’s a capable military leader, but his relationships with the people around him give the story much of its personality. Supporting characters such as Valentine Arao, Colonel Andrew Jackson, and the various scientists and military personnel contribute to an ensemble that gradually develops into a close-knit crew. Their conversations bring humor, camaraderie, and occasional disagreements into situations involving enormous responsibility. These interactions help establish the personal stakes behind the battles and technological discoveries.
O’Connell clearly enjoys exploring the possibilities of futuristic military technology. The novel features sophisticated spacecraft, powerful weapons systems, artificial intelligence, alien civilizations, and elaborate space battles that will appeal to readers who enjoy detailed military science fiction. The transformation of a historic naval battleship into something extraordinary is an especially memorable concept, connecting traditional naval warfare with futuristic space combat. The action sequences frequently emphasize tactical decisions, ship capabilities, and the coordination required to survive encounters with a technologically superior enemy. There’s also considerable attention given to the larger political and scientific implications of humanity’s introduction to extraterrestrial life. The story moves through military briefings, discoveries, personal conversations, and large-scale confrontations, creating a cinematic atmosphere. Rio Villegas’s black-and-white illustrations complement that approach, giving readers visual representations of characters, spacecraft, and dramatic moments. The artwork adds a distinctive graphic-novel influence to the presentation while allowing the written narrative to carry the story.
Beyond its interstellar warfare, Paladin explores questions about leadership, sacrifice, technological power, and the responsibilities that accompany extraordinary abilities. The contrast between humanity’s often divided political interests and the necessity of working together against a common threat gives the story an engaging foundation. O’Connell also introduces different alien philosophies, particularly concerning violence, peace, and the consequences of intervention. These ideas provide interesting material alongside the military action and help expand the universe’s history and conflicts. The narrative is especially engaging when Caleb must balance his personal convictions with the expectations of military commanders and political leaders. His connection to Paladin also raises questions about identity, humanity, and the personal cost of becoming something extraordinary. Readers who enjoy alien invasion science fiction, military space opera, futuristic battleships, and character-driven adventures will find plenty to explore here. As the first installment of The OCODA Chronicles, Paladin establishes a vast fictional universe, an unconventional hero, and a continuing struggle with both personal and galactic consequences.
Pages: 416 | ASIN : B004E3XUIS
It’s Not Going to Happen
Henry R. Cox’s It’s Not Going to Happen is an expansive thriller that brings the entertainment industry, international espionage, and speculative biotechnology into a shared world of influence and deception. Its intersecting stories follow Julieta Winfield, a Kansas ranch girl whose talents carry her into acting and music; Otto Perdue, a former foster child with a strong instinct to intervene when someone’s in danger; and Santino Castillo, a Spanish researcher pursuing extraordinary medical possibilities through biologic nanotechnology. Their experiences give the novel a broad social range, from working households and hospital offices to film sets and secluded laboratories. Across these settings, Cox examines how ambition, vulnerability, and access to power shape the decisions people make.
I think the novel’s strongest emotional foundation lies in the histories its characters carry into adulthood. Family guidance, bereavement, financial insecurity, and the desire for recognition all have continuing consequences. Early in the book, Julieta’s mother observes, “People have their own stories.” That simple statement provides a useful lens for the cast, whose outward confidence frequently rests on private grief or uncertainty. Julieta’s practical intelligence and irreverent humor give her scenes energy, while Otto’s loyalty and discomfort with expressing affection make his quieter exchanges particularly engaging. The relationships surrounding them provide welcome warmth alongside the intrigue. Cox is especially attentive to mentorship, showing how encouragement and protection can coexist with expectations that become increasingly difficult to question.
The book’s central scientific premise gives its concerns about personal agency a disturbing physical dimension. Research intended to improve health opens questions about the control of emotions, perception, and behavior, extending the mother’s advice to “Be aware of your choices.” Cox develops these possibilities through substantial conversations about neuroscience, data, and electromagnetic signaling. The explanations make the imagined technology central to the story’s ethical concerns, although their length sometimes slows the narrative. His descriptive approach is similarly detailed: architecture, clothing, equipment, and travel routes receive close attention. The Spanish settings are particularly vivid, with their distinctive buildings and public spaces contributing to the atmosphere and choreography of the action. Readers who enjoy technical discussion and a strong sense of location will find plenty to absorb.
Cox balances this explanatory style with sudden confrontations, physical ingenuity, romantic exchanges, and a persistent interest in the distance between public image and private identity. The action often has a cinematic quality, supported by precise accounts of movement and improvised responses to danger. Its larger turns ask readers to accept considerable coincidence and exceptional abilities, making a willingness to embrace heightened thriller conventions valuable. The graphic treatment of violence and emphatic political commentary give the novel a forceful tone. The book connects those larger concerns to recognizable human needs: belonging, security, affection, and the freedom to decide for oneself. It’s an ambitious, eventful read whose distinctive appeal comes from the interplay of personal relationships, scientific possibility, and the management of appearances.
Pages: 375 | ASIN : B0HJ78DVF4
Cooking Up Magick: The Dell Chronicles Book One
HL Bernabe’s Cooking Up Magick, the first book in The Dell Chronicles, begins with a wonderfully understandable ambition: Paisley Dell wants to see the world and learn how to cook its food. A halfling chef who works at her aunt’s inn, she’s curious about the dishes that make travelers feel at home, and she’s ready to go looking for them herself. That appetite for experience carries her into a sprawling fantasy adventure full of dangerous journeys, ancient magick, political tensions, and unexpected companionship. Bernabe gives the story an inviting sense of everyday life, then lets the stakes grow around it. You get the pleasure of traveling with someone who’s eager to understand everyone she meets, even when the world gives her plenty of reasons to be frightened.
Paisley makes an appealing traveling companion. She’s cheerful, stubborn, sometimes impulsive, and deeply invested in other people’s comfort. Her enthusiasm has texture because Bernabe makes room for the grief and uncertainty she carries alongside it. You can understand why she’d want an adventure and why she’d sometimes ache for the safety of home. The companions around her bring their own personalities and pressures: Buckley’s scholarly enthusiasm, Torin’s blunt confidence, Idari’s reserve, and Gunur’s mixture of strength and tenderness all create lively exchanges. Then there’s Whipclaw, a cat whose attitude deserves its own place at the table. The group’s affection grows through teasing, awkward conversations, practical help, and the gradual discovery that someone else might understand you. Romantic feeling adds another layer of vulnerability to those relationships.
The food earns its place throughout the novel. Bernabe pays attention to ingredients, preparation, and the satisfaction of making something another person loves. The cooking scenes have enough sensory detail to make you hungry, but their emotional value is just as appealing. A familiar dish can carry family history; sharing a recipe can open a conversation between cultures. Paisley’s skills give her a way to connect with people whose lives and values differ enormously from her own. That attention to care also shapes the book’s more serious questions about duty, prejudice, belonging, and the responsibility that comes with power. Its humor is earthy and frequently bawdy, and its violence is graphic. Grief and the cost of conflict receive sustained attention, giving the warmth between these characters real weight.
Bernabe’s prose is direct and expressive, with kitchen comparisons woven into Paisley’s view of the world. The short chapters and shifting viewpoints let you spend time with several characters, including people whose intentions create a very different kind of tension. The storytelling has a spacious rhythm, lingering over meals, conversations, and the practical work of traveling and learning. Some emotional exchanges revisit familiar ground, but that close attention also makes the friendships feel lived in. As a series opener, the book gives you a substantial introduction to Erdea and a cast whose company is a major part of the appeal. What stays with me is Paisley’s insistence that caring for people matters, even when caring becomes difficult. Cooking Up Magick gives kindness the force of a battle cry and puts a cook’s heart at the center of an epic.
Pages: 427 | ASIN : B0HC7QPB6K
Warrior of the Red Desert: Wanderer Book 2 (The Wanderer)
Avery Christy’s Warrior of the Red Desert, the second book in The Wanderer series, is a fantasy adventure with the dust and daily grind of a Western. Its central figure, Thurgan Stonebrow, is a mercenary whose strength and reputation travel ahead of him, even when he’d prefer to get on with his own business. His journey draws him into the reach of wealthy families, imperial interests, and people with urgent reasons to fight back. What makes the setup engaging is how quickly grand schemes become somebody’s immediate problem. Political power shows up through wages, trade routes, armed guards, and the freedom to decide where you’ll go next.
Thurgan is stubborn, dangerous, generous, and sometimes impressively slow to recognize the trouble he’s walking toward. His code of honor matters to him, but putting it into practice gets complicated when anger takes over. I liked the friction between his certainty about keeping his word and his uneasiness about the choices that follow. Christy also lets him be tired, hungry, bruised, and emotionally distracted, which makes his physical presence feel more convincing. Raymar provides a good conversational partner, with a dry humor that can turn sharp when the stakes become personal. Ten Dogs brings knowledge of horses and the country that gives the group’s relationships a practical foundation. These men spend enough time eating, working, and questioning each other for their alliances to feel like something they have to build.
This book reminded me of David Gemmell’s Legend, particularly its seasoned warrior and emphasis on courage under overwhelming pressure. Both books invite you to care about the obligations a fighting man accepts and what those obligations cost him. Christy gives that familiar heroic territory a distinctive frontier setting. Mule trains, patched saloons, rough farms, and stretches of sagebrush country shape the experience as much as swords and castles do. There’s real pleasure in watching practical knowledge matter: how animals behave, where water might be found, what terrain conceals, and how a building’s construction affects its defenses. The travel passages ask you to slow down and inhabit the route. By the time danger arrives, you’ve usually got a clear sense of the ground beneath everyone’s feet.
The pacing follows that interest in process, alternating patient stretches of travel and preparation with sudden, closely described violence. The fights are easy to picture because Christy pays attention to distance, movement, and the limits of the available weapons. The combination of campfire humor, physical hardship, and uneasy loyalty kept me interested. As a sequel, it carries a substantial history into its conversations and leaves room for the larger journey to continue. Warrior of the Red Desert will appeal to readers who enjoy capable, fallible warriors, conspiracies that interfere with ordinary lives, and adventures where a hot meal and a dependable horse deserve their share of attention.
Pages: 192 | ASIN : B0H2DTVZXZ
The Romanov Legacy III: Return of the Tsar
Fred G. Baker’s The Romanov Legacy III: Return of the Tsar imagines a future for Alexei and Anastasia Romanov in the unsettled years following the Russian Revolution. Living under assumed identities, they’re trying to establish lives in England while people around them keep the possibility of a restored monarchy alive. It’s an alternate history novel that combines Russian historical fiction, an espionage thriller, and a family saga, with each strand influencing the others. London and Paris provide a lively setting of banks, university life, social gatherings, and émigré communities. Beneath those comfortable surroundings, security is a constant concern. Even a friendly introduction or an evening out can involve calculations about trust, and that tension gives the book its particular appeal.
Alexei’s development is especially interesting because Baker spends time on the practical education of a potential ruler. Banking, negotiation, and responsibility become part of his daily life alongside friendships and romantic attachments. He’s earnest, sometimes impatient, and capable of letting his emotions get ahead of his judgment, which gives his royal position a human dimension. Anastasia, often called Annie, brings intelligence and ambition to her own career and relationships. The people supporting them matter just as much. Kasimir’s protective instincts and Anna’s compassion help create a household with genuine affection, while Maxim Petrov’s combination of financial expertise, strategic thinking, and personal devotion makes him a particularly engaging presence. Their shared meals, teasing conversations, and concern for one another give the larger political story an emotional foundation.
The espionage fiction element grows from the difficulty of protecting that household in a world of informants, covert organizations, and competing loyalties. Baker takes an interest in how intelligence networks operate: who knows what, how information travels, and how a small discovery can change a security plan. Those details make the historical thriller feel rooted in preparation and coordination. The action is forceful and frequently brutal, giving the characters’ fears a physical urgency. Extended briefings and explanations lend some sections a measured pace, and readers who enjoy the mechanics of clandestine operations will have plenty to consider. The narration also has a firmly royalist viewpoint, with deep sympathy for the exiles and fierce hostility toward the Bolshevik regime. That perspective shapes both the story’s emotional intensity and its clear divisions between allies and enemies.
As the third installment in the series, The Romanov Legacy III: Return of the Tsar carries the weight of a long shared history. References to earlier experiences explain why these characters trust one another so deeply, and the book rewards an interest in their continuing lives. The everyday details are a substantial part of the experience, from learning a profession to navigating courtship and finding ways to help displaced countrymen. I found the connection between those personal concerns and the demands of leadership especially appealing. Baker gives the idea of a royal legacy a practical meaning through money, service, education, and loyalty. For readers drawn to alternate history fiction with sustained relationships, political intrigue, and an extended family’s hopes for its homeland, this is an absorbing continuation with a strong sense of purpose.
Pages: 269 | ASIN : B0HJ6LK39T
The Town I Crow About: East Millstone Stories from the Heart of Raymond Hills
Donna Hills Patrick’s The Town I Crow About brings together family memoir and local history through the recollections of her father, Raymond Hills, a lifelong resident of East Millstone, New Jersey. Written in his first-person voice, the book follows the people, places, and routines that shaped his attachment to this small canal town. Raymond explains their collaboration plainly: “She does the writing and I provide the memories.” That arrangement gives the narrative its distinctive character, combining a father’s pleasure in remembering with a daughter’s attention to historical context. Organized around subjects including school, commerce, faith, Scouting, and family traditions, the book builds a portrait of belonging through the accumulated experiences of an ordinary life.
The narrative’s strongest quality is Raymond’s conversational presence. He’s curious, mechanically inventive, proud of his hometown, and willing to laugh at himself. Patrick preserves that personality through direct speech, playful observations, and details that make everyday activities easy to picture. “I was cool before cool was cool!” he declares while recalling the accessories he bought for his bicycle. His humor gives the affectionate tone energy, especially in passages about childhood ambitions, sibling dynamics, and the practical ingenuity encouraged by his father. Descriptions of potatoes baking on a classroom stove, clothes sewn from feed bags, and equipment assembled from spare parts also show how resourcefulness shaped family life. These objects carry emotional weight because they’re connected to effort, pleasure, and the people who made things possible.
Patrick gives those personal memories a substantial historical setting. The Delaware and Raritan Canal, the railroad, local factories, churches, and businesses emerge as forces that influenced how residents worked, traveled, worshipped, and spent their leisure time. Photographs, maps, and captions add useful visual context, connecting remembered experiences with the village’s changing appearance. The extended accounts of property ownership and institutional development give portions of the book a measured, documentary pace. Readers interested in community history will find value in that level of detail, particularly as familiar buildings acquire successive purposes across generations. The book’s affection also accommodates difficult material, including economic insecurity, hazardous industrial labor, racial prejudice, and unequal expectations for women and men. Those acknowledgments give the celebratory perspective greater depth and show how individual happiness could exist alongside wider social pressures.
The book’s emotional strength comes from its attention to relationships and the ways knowledge passes between generations. Parents, grandparents, teachers, neighbors, and fellow Scouts contribute to Raymond’s understanding of responsibility, adventure, and service. His sister, Joan, is an especially important presence, bringing companionship and a perspective that helps readers recognize the different experiences children can have within the same household. Across its loosely chronological chapters, the memoir returns to the work involved in sustaining a community: teaching a skill, maintaining a gathering place, volunteering time, or keeping a tradition alive. Patrick’s care for her father’s voice makes that work feel personal and tangible. The Town I Crow About will appeal to readers of family memoirs and regional history, offering an engaging account of how a particular landscape and its people can shape a life.
Pages: 194 | ISBN : 1578692393
Unemployable! The Psychological Toll of Proving Your Worth
Leslie Barber’s Unemployable! is a candid career memoir that combines personal storytelling, workplace commentary, and practical guidance for navigating the emotional demands of finding work. Drawing on decades of employment, self-employment, caregiving, and volunteering, Barber examines what happens when a capable person’s experience is difficult to fit into the categories employers use. Her opening statement, “All I ever wanted was to change the world by doing good work,” establishes the conviction running through the book. Meaningful work matters to her, as do financial security, useful relationships, and the freedom to have a life outside a job. Those overlapping needs give her account a recognizable human scale.
Barber’s voice is the book’s strongest asset. She writes with conversational ease, using exaggeration, pointed asides, and self-deprecating humor to convey the strain of repeatedly presenting herself for evaluation. “I save rejection letters the way other people save love letters,” she observes, capturing both her comic sensibility and the lasting emotional weight of those exchanges. Her extended comparisons between job hunting and dating are especially effective at describing the leap from early encouragement to imagined commitment, followed by anxious waiting. She’s also candid about her own habits, including overcommitting, idealizing opportunities, and interpreting a friendly interview as a promise. That willingness to examine her contribution to the cycle gives the narrative texture and makes its frustration more persuasive.
The book’s most substantial contribution is its attention to experience that a conventional résumé can struggle to communicate. Parenting, caring for a disabled family member, organizing community events, coaching, and running a small business all demand judgment, adaptability, and responsibility. Barber gives those activities the consideration they deserve and asks readers to recognize the skills developed during apparent employment gaps. Short chapters, reflection questions, checklists, and visual summaries make the material approachable, while discussions of references, networking, interview preparation, and professional boundaries provide practical direction. Her advice consistently emphasizes relationships: maintaining contact, asking useful questions, and understanding how an opportunity fits one’s circumstances. For readers whose working lives have involved interruptions or changes of direction, this emphasis offers a useful language for describing their experience with greater confidence.
Barber also addresses the people making hiring decisions, arguing for accurate job descriptions, clear timelines, and considerate communication. These requests gain force from the book’s close attention to the time, money, and hope applicants invest. Its recurring accounts of silence and rejection create a cumulative, occasionally repetitive rhythm, and its observations carry the conviction of a deeply personal perspective. The writing is most effective when a specific encounter reveals how professional procedures affect someone’s daily life and sense of worth. Across its varied episodes, Unemployable! sustains a clear concern for dignity, mutual respect, and the value of a broadly lived life. It’s an engaging, often funny read for career changers, returning caregivers, experienced generalists, and hiring professionals willing to consider the person behind an application.
Pages: 224 | ASIN : B0GY54C1ND
