I Start With A Cover
As The World Burns follows a 15-year-old boy who is confined seventy-five miles underground after a catastrophic experiment links his body to the planet’s destruction. What inspired you to write a science fiction thriller around a teenager whose very existence threatens the survival of Earth?
As with most of my novels, I’m inspired by a title that I see – or a wordplay on a familiar line – and then I get inspiration visually for a cover. I know I’m a bit of an anomaly in that regard (book cover first) but I’m very visually inspired, so I design an alluring cover and title first, and then that greatly motivates me to sculpt an alluring story to match it. I let the visuals tell me what the story is about. And then, in true pantser fashion, I plunge in having no idea where I’m going to go with it other than a basic premise. I let the chips fall where they may, let the characters bumble around and knock their heads against walls, and then finally, before I know it, I’m typing the words “The End.” And oh what an adventure it always is. 🙂
How did you develop Cooper’s personality, particularly his combination of sarcasm, intelligence, vulnerability, and longing for a normal teenage life?
I think I wanted someone who was worthy of rising above the doldrums of a life lived in captivity. His existence transcends his fate. I myself am fascinated with words, though I’m no verbal raconteur (OK, based on that, maybe I am, ha!) but I wanted a good dose of smarts, cynicism, optimism, frustration, longing, and growth. I don’t know anybody who embodies that better than someone going through one of the most vulnerable stages of their life, the teenage years.
How does the conflict between Cooper and Xandrius reflect the challenges of communication, trust, and protection within ordinary parent-child relationships?
I’m very fond of father-son relationships (I have two boys, 10 and 7) and I really enjoy exploring that dynamic. They aren’t altogether different, but their sameness sort of repels them at times, and they have to work through that. Xandrius carries guilt; Cooper carries angst. Xandrius carries a huge burden as the President of the United Countries of America amidst a global crisis, and he knows, deep down in his core, that deep down in the core of the Earth sits his son, whose predicament is Xandrius’ own fault. There’s tremendous guilt there. And there are demands and expectations placed upon him by the entire planet once they find out that his own son is tied to the Earth’s fate. He has to reconcile balancing their needs with his son’s. In the end, I think I wanted him to really rise to the challenge, shoulder the blame, and sacrifice himself (spoiler, sort of) in order to ensure that his son’s name could be cleared. Sort of making himself the bigger target. That reveals to Cooper his father’s incredible love and honor.
What do you hope readers, particularly those who enjoy Christian speculative fiction, take away from the novel?
A father’s relationship with his son is tremendously powerful. It’s either polarizing, or affirming beyond belief. Also, the notion that grief and regret can be swallowed up in redemption. In a way, As The World Burns mirrors the greatest story ever told: a father sacrificing his son so that humanity could survive. I desperately wanted that parallel to be evident in my novel, because it’s the most beautiful story ever told as well.
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A father. A dying planet. A sacrifice that mirrors the greatest story ever told. As The World Burns weaves faith, prayer, and biblical allegory into a gripping sci-fi catastrophe.
In 2557, 15-year-old Cooper Calloway lives 75 miles underground in a sealed plastic habitat because metal clings to his irradiated skin. Every heartbeat steals momentum from the planet, shortening the days and setting continents on fire. It is a lean, emotionally-direct Christian dystopia: an android guard named Valente, a girl who whispers Cooper’s name across a lava gulf, a first love written clean. In the end, what will one father give out of love?
For readers who want their theology embedded in genuine human stakes, this one delivers. Fans of Away by Megan E. Freeman and The Choosing by Rachelle Dekker will devour this book!
Cats Cats Everywhere Cats
Cats Cats Everywhere Cats by Melanie Burgess is a charming little picture book that cat lovers of all ages will undoubtedly enjoy. Written in playful, lively rhymes, this delightful read celebrates cats of every kind. From their distinctive appearances and quirky personalities to their amusing antics, each page captures the irresistible charm of our feline friends. The rhythmic verses add an extra layer of fun, making the story especially entertaining to read aloud to young children.
I particularly appreciated the book’s simple yet endearing approach to celebrating cats and their many differences. Young readers who already adore cats will delight in recognizing familiar feline behaviors and amusing quirks. Meanwhile, those less familiar with these lovable creatures will discover the wonderful variety of cats and their unique characteristics. The book’s short length, cheerful tone, and lighthearted theme make it an excellent choice for a cozy bedtime story or a quick, enjoyable read-along.
Cats Cats Everywhere Cats is an entertaining children’s book and a heartwarming tribute to everything that makes cats so special. It is a wonderful choice for animal lovers, young children, and anyone seeking a lighthearted read brimming with kitty charm. Although the story is simple, its playful rhymes, adorable subject matter, and joyful celebration of feline individuality make it a delightful addition to any bookshelf. A sweet, engaging read that is sure to bring smiles to cat enthusiasts everywhere!
ASIN: B0HJYC3MWZ
A Good Place To End
The Romanov Legacy III: Return of the Tsar reimagines the survival of Alexei and Anastasia Romanov as they navigate exile, forbidden identities, Soviet assassins, and the dangerous possibility of restoring Russia’s fallen monarchy. How did your vision for The Romanov Legacy evolve as you developed the story across three books?
I had the general concept in mind from the beginning when I wrote the first draft as a single novel that served as the basis for this work. I had to imagine how such a scenario would unfold. One of the mysteries of the historical accounts of the assassination of the family left them in Yekaterinburg, all dead, but in reality, not all the bodies were found after the assassination. One of the obstacles for the Romanov followers was that if they rescued the family, how would they get them out of the country given the location of their final days? My research showed that the final order by Lenin to execute them happened because the White Army was approaching Yekaterinburg from the west and would soon overrun the city. The Bolsheviks couldn’t risk them falling into the hands of the white Army. So there was an opportunity for a rescue. I had to come up with a reasonable alternative to the historical end. But then where would they go? It turned out historically that a few of them could be extracted and then find safety with the White Army nearby.
How has Alexei’s character evolved throughout the trilogy, particularly as he prepares for the possibility of becoming Tsar?
Alexei was quite young at the beginning of the story, but he had to grow up quickly due to his circumstances. I attempt to show how he would mature rapidly under such conditions. Across the three volumes, I attempt to show how he would grow into the role of a young leader, gaining skills and insight as he traveled east. He had to overcome great odds which gave him impetus to become the leader he is by the end of the story.
How does the novel explore the relationship between inherited authority and the responsibility to earn the trust of others?
As he grew up he had the chance to observe how his father failed during the end of WWI and the capture of the family. He learned from his father’s mistakes to rely on others for advice and to learn from people in all walks of life. He was not brought up in the same aloof and isolated life his father experienced, in which he did not mix with his people. He learned to listen to others and learn from their counsel.
Now that The Romanov Legacy trilogy is complete, are there other historical events or alternate-history possibilities you would like to explore in future writing?
Of course. I considered whether to continue the series with further exploits of the tsar and his family but decided this was a good place to end the tale. But I had several other projects to work on. On another historical fiction story I’ve been working on since then, also set in Russia in the 1970s, is Lena’s Secret War, a thriller of another kind.
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The dark shadow of the Bolsheviks stretches across Europe. The Cheka—reborn as the ruthless NKVD—dispatches assassins to hunt down every last remnant of the old Russia. Maxim Petrov, guardian of the Tsar’s legacy, uncovers a chilling threat: the “Kremlin List,” a secret roster of enemies the Soviet state is determined to erase.
Amid the darkness, a spark of hope emerges. Alexei learns that Katya, his long-lost love, believed lost to war, is alive in Paris. With her survival comes renewed belief that one day he may reclaim his birthright—and rise as the new Tsar of All Russia.
Book 3 of 3. All are available now.
Her Family’s Journey
American Destiny is a heartfelt family memoir about cultural roots, generational bonds, and the experiences that connect us to home. What inspired you to preserve the story of your family’s 1948 journey to Italy?
Marcella was inspired to preserve the story of her family’s journey in 1948 to Italy as an homage to her family and the many ancestral generations that came before them. The story is especially a love story to Marcella’s sister, Lilly, my mother. They were extremely close their entire lives until Lilly passed away in 2020.
My aunt, Marcella Luiso Flanagan, is a historically conscious person, but also a visionary for the future. Many tease her and call her “the talking history book.” Yet she is also a visionary in how she sees the story, which she hopes could one day become a movie seen worldwide! Even at 92, she still has this vision and believes that it is important for the family history to be preserved.
The main reasons for writing the story were to bring awareness and honor to southern Italians, who are often portrayed in a stereotypical way as poor and uneducated. Marcella became extremely proud of her great-grandfather Giacomo, who was educated by Jesuits. Her grandfather Andre was an educated lawyer and a landowner.
Another reason to write the story was to bring economic prosperity to the region of Apulia. Marcella felt that many people visit Rome, Venice, and Florence but are not well aware of the beautiful and historically rich region of Bari, Apulia. Marcella believes that people will love learning about the history of the region of Apulia, seeing the endless roads of almond and olive trees, and especially the Trulli, the conical-shaped round stone huts that are seen throughout the region.
It was in 2003 when Marcella first wrote the story as a short story. One night, she read it to her sister Lilly during a daily phone call. Lilly was the one who planted the seed when she said, “It sounds like a movie!”
With the seed planted for the idea of a movie, Marcella signed up for adult classes at New York University in Manhattan for screenwriters, and she wrote the entire script for a movie. Marcella was then about 70 years old.
But after that, Marcella took on the role of caretaker for her aging parents, my grandparents, Angela and Felipo, until they both passed. A few more years passed, and the project was left abandoned, however, not forgotten!
It wasn’t until 2012 that Marcie asked me to paint a movie poster for the script. She described the painting that she wanted. It would feature a fashionably dressed young woman walking through the streets of Manhattan with great energy, the Empire State Building in the background, and many American flags. The woman symbolizes young Marcella as a fashion designer.
I was an absolutely broke single mother, raising three sons single-handedly and teaching in a high school, and would do almost anything for a few bucks. I gladly took on the job of painting the movie poster for her. It is a very large painting done in acrylics, about four feet high by three feet wide.
Fast-forward another 10 years or so. After Marcella’s husband Edward, Lilly, and her husband Eugene had passed away, and I had retired from teaching, my Aunt Marcie reminded me that we must turn her script into a movie.
We didn’t know where to begin, so we copyrighted the movie script. Then our lawyer suggested that we write the book. The movie poster that I had painted in 2012 became the cover of the book.
I became extremely engaged in learning about the family history that Aunt Marcie wanted to preserve. And so I became her proud partner in this endeavor.
How did visiting your family’s ancestral homeland influence your understanding of what it meant to be Italian American?
Marcella became extremely proud of her Italian heritage after visiting Italy in 1948 for five months and meeting her grandparents and seeing the towns where her great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents had lived. This history meant so much to her.
She honors the rulers and ancestors who came before her as well. She often speaks of Charlemagne and how he united much of western and central Europe, promoting Christian reform in the 800s.
And then there’s the Castel del Monte, built in the year 1240 by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. Frederick Hohenstaufen was also known as Stupor Mundi. Hardly a day goes by when Marcella does not speak of him, as if he still lives in her soul!
How did preparing and sharing meals help strengthen relationships between different generations of your family?
In terms of meal preparation in Italy, harvesting the food or buying it at a local market, then preparing the meals together and eating as a family, this was everything for the families from Apulia!
We chose seven recipes to be featured in the book that are still eaten today in Apulia: focaccia, limoncello, almond biscotti, taralli, amaretti, orecchiette, and carteddate with vin cotto.
All of these recipes are staples in our family and were important for holding on to the traditions, smells, and tastes of the old world in Italy.
By eating the foods and enjoying them together as a family, the Italian pride would really shine through! And through the foods, the memories of the ancestors who prepared them, and all that they did to pave the way for future generations, are remembered when eating the foods.
Looking back, how did the journey influence the choices you made and the person you eventually became?
Marcella also felt so honored to have such an incredible career as a fashion designer and manufacturer, and especially her role in helping promote women through her advocacy for women in business in the 1970s.
By writing this book, we are able to remind people of the work that Marcella had done to pave the way for future women. And we are extremely proud of her and her efforts.
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Shadow World Series: Private Interview, Book #1
Kevin Murphy’s Private Interview, the opening book in his Shadow World series, gives vampire romance a loud, crowded Southern California social life. Set largely in Burbank, it follows Stephen Todd, a young man trying to find his footing among demanding relatives, unreliable friends, and feelings that won’t stay conveniently sorted. His connection with Austin Ryan brings attraction and uncertainty into that already tangled mix. Murphy surrounds them with school dances, restaurant meals, parties, and the constant business of watching who’s talking to whom. It’s a world where a dismissive glance can spoil an evening and an unexpected kindness can change how someone sees himself. That intimacy gives the supernatural premise its emotional foothold.
Stephen’s longing to feel valued is the book’s strongest thread. He’s generous with his attention, sometimes painfully eager to receive it, and caught in relationships where affection comes tangled up with expectations. Murphy spends time on the small exchanges that reveal those arrangements: a conversation cut short, a favor taken for granted, a gesture someone remembers long after the moment has passed. When Austin offers Stephen his attention, you understand why it matters. Their chemistry grows through teasing, shared interests, and the pleasure of being noticed. The romance has room for awkwardness and bruised feelings, too, which gives the attraction something substantial to work against. Trust becomes a daily, personal concern, with real consequences for the people trying to build it.
The supporting cast brings plenty of noise and personality. Candace, Austin’s fiercely involved sister, is especially memorable, charging into conversations with a plan, an opinion, and very little patience for hesitation. Her banter with Austin gives the book some of its liveliest exchanges, while her relationship with Leah adds warmth to its portrait of a chosen family. Elsewhere, vanity, jealousy, and the hunger for social approval fuel rivalries with the gusto of a soap opera. Murphy’s narrator joins in freely, nudging the reader with asides and making his sympathies clear. Detailed descriptions of clothes, rooms, and food give scenes an expansive, sometimes leisurely rhythm. The effect is theatrical and companionable, as though someone’s telling you the whole story across a table and enjoying every raised eyebrow.
What gives all that drama weight is the book’s concern with the lives people feel entitled to choose for each other. Family loyalty, romantic commitment, and friendship all become places where characters negotiate how much of themselves they’re willing to surrender. Queer desire belongs throughout this world, alongside the practical and emotional complications of growing up and imagining a future. Murphy writes those desires with an openness that suits his outspoken cast. Readers drawn to messy relationships, profane humor, and romance with a strong current of self-discovery will find plenty to engage with here. Private Interview gives the hunger for love a voice that’s tender, furious, and impossible to hush.
Pages: 383 | ASIN: B0H4BNV9DC
Last Alive
David B. Seaburn’s Last Alive understands how much of a marriage lives in the smallest routines: coffee poured in a particular order, a familiar breakfast, the easy assumption that there’ll be someone to tell about your day. That attention makes Leon Miltenson’s loss feel immediate and personal. After more than fifty years with his wife, Emma, he’s left trying to understand a world that can carry on so casually without her. A roadside memorial becomes the center of his days and the meeting point for several lives. Set in a Pennsylvania town of diners, aging houses, and familiar faces, this is an intimate novel about grief and the sometimes awkward business of caring for people whose pain we can’t fix.
Leon gives the story its center, and the people around him give it breadth. His daughter, Janene, brings the exhaustion of a nurse who’s spent years caring for others while struggling to care for herself. Their conversations are especially affecting because affection and frustration keep getting tangled together. His longtime friend Griffin carries regrets that complicate his efforts to offer support. Calvin, who makes memorial crosses, has his own understanding of what remembrance demands. And young Kendall brings a child’s fierce concern with responsibility to a situation the adults can barely manage themselves. Seaburn moves among these perspectives with a patient curiosity about what each person knows, assumes, and keeps hidden. You can understand why someone behaves a certain way and still feel the damage that behavior does.
There’s a welcome streak of humor running through all this sorrow. Old friends needle each other over pool, holiday traditions take wonderfully ridiculous forms, and children approach enormous questions with the confidence of people who’ve only recently learned the vocabulary. Those moments give the characters texture. They’re capable of being funny, exasperating, tender, and self-absorbed within the same conversation. Seaburn’s direct prose suits them, and his eye for household clutter, convenience-store coffee, and winter roads keeps the story close to daily life. He also gives conversations room to stumble. People interrupt, retreat into practical details, and offer advice when listening would serve them better. These exchanges make the book’s questions about faith, forgiveness, and the meaning of a life feel rooted in recognizable relationships.
What I appreciate most about Last Alive is its attention to the effort love requires. Caring can mean staying close, finding the nerve to speak honestly, or recognizing that another person needs room to make a choice. Seaburn understands the strain of those decisions, especially when loneliness and fear are doing much of the talking. The novel asks for emotional attention, and its close observation rewards that attention with moments of recognition that can catch you off guard. Readers drawn to family stories and complicated friendships will find plenty to care about here. There’s warmth in the way Seaburn regards these people, along with a clear sense of how much they stand to lose when they stop reaching for one another. Last Alive honors the dead by paying extraordinary attention to the living.
Pages: 278 | ASIN : B0HDRP1YJV
Reston Place: Are You Ever Too Old to Slay Vampires?
There’s something especially unsettling about a place built around comfort becoming a place where people feel unsafe. Reston Place uses that tension well. The novel follows Phil Persto, a seventy-eight-year-old widower and retired librarian who moves from Iowa to a Florida retirement community after losing his wife, Annie. His attempt to build a new daily life draws him into friendships, troubling questions, and a mystery with a supernatural edge. The setting does a lot of the work. Poolside conversations, shared meals, and walks through the grounds establish a recognizable social world, so the growing unease feels personal. You understand what these residents stand to lose because you’ve spent time watching them enjoy it.
Phil’s friendship with his neighbor Emmaline Howard gives the story much of its energy. Her background in law enforcement and his experience working with information make them an appealing investigative pair, and their conversations have an affectionate, teasing quality. Emmaline’s determination comes from caring about particular people, which gives the investigation a believable emotional drive. Lamar Eos, a gifted hacker whose enthusiasm extends to impressively large meals, adds a welcome streak of mischief. Their accumulated skills matter, and so do their aching backs, interrupted sleep, and worries about being dismissed because of their age. I liked how comfortably the book allows competence and vulnerability to share the same space. These characters can be frightened and still decide they have a responsibility to act.
This book reminded me of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club. Both books find pleasure in watching older people use professional experience, social connections, and other people’s low expectations to investigate trouble close to home. Reston Place brings supernatural horror into that appealing setup, giving the everyday routines an increasingly uneasy atmosphere. Its attention to grief also gives the story emotional weight. Phil carries his love for Annie into his new surroundings, and the book treats companionship as something that can grow alongside that continuing attachment. Questions about care and the value of someone’s remaining time run through the mystery. In a community where residents regularly face loss, those questions have immediate meaning, and they give the danger a sharper personal significance.
The prose is straightforward, the chapters are short, and the humor makes the cast easy to spend time with. The pacing does get bogged down in repeated discussions of evidence and plans. Several conversations restate conclusions we’ve already followed, and some explanations of research or equipment could be shorter. I occasionally wanted the characters to move ahead while the tension was still fresh. Even so, the small domestic details often earn their space: remembering someone’s preferred toast or making room for a friend tells us how trust develops. That warmth is the book’s strongest quality. Reston Place will particularly suit readers who enjoy an ensemble mystery, a dose of horror, and characters whose curiosity and capacity for affection stay active well into retirement.
Pages: 220 | ASIN: B0H559ZRK2
The Watersmith
Yance Wyatt’s The Watersmith is a Southern Gothic novel with a restless imagination and a sharp ear for the stories families tell about themselves. Set in and around Show Low, Tennessee, it follows Jack Calloway, an aspiring inventor whose drinking, marriage, and relationship with his son are tangled up in a much older family history. Jack wants to make something meaningful, but understanding the people closest to him proves a tougher assignment. Wyatt builds this literary fiction around grief, memory, and the wish to keep love within reach. The book’s strange possibilities grow from recognizably human impulses, giving its darker moments an intimacy that makes them especially unsettling.
Jack’s voice does much of the work. He’s funny, observant, defensive, and capable of revealing more about himself than he seems to realize. You can feel his affection for his wife, Jolene, and his son, JJ, even when his explanations expose the damage his pride can do. The conversations between father and son are especially convincing, full of teasing, missed signals, and small openings that either man might close without meaning to. Jolene brings practicality, wit, and desires of her own to the marriage, which gives the family drama its emotional substance. Wyatt also makes room for abrasive relatives and unexpected friendships. Their exchanges have the awkwardness of people who share plenty of history and very little practice saying what matters.
The landscape is just as closely observed. Heat, birdsong, rough timber, roadside diners, and changing currents give this Southern literary fiction a physical presence. Smell becomes a particularly effective link between memory and the present, carrying emotional associations that a straightforward recollection couldn’t quite capture. Water runs through the novel’s language and structure, gathering meaning as Jack’s understanding of his life shifts. Wyatt clearly enjoys a surprising comparison, and many of them are wonderfully precise. The prose is most affecting when a gesture, an everyday object, or a brief exchange gets enough space to carry the feeling.
What gives The Watersmith its staying power for me is the uncomfortable closeness of devotion and control. Jack’s desire to care for his family sits alongside his difficulty hearing them, and Wyatt gives that tension sustained attention. The town’s inherited divisions add another layer: family names, money, religion, and the stories preserved as local history all shape what people believe they’re entitled to. That wider perspective helps the novel’s private sorrows feel rooted in a community with its own selective memory. As Southern Gothic fiction and a literary family drama, the book offers dark humor, disturbing imagery, and considerable tenderness. I found its quieter moments of human contact especially persuasive. They give the novel’s bigger ideas weight, leaving you thinking about how love is expressed, how blame travels through families, and what it takes to listen.
Pages: 273 | ASIN : B0FPQSPYXX
