Author Archives: Literary Titan
Nurturing the Mystic Within
Nurturing the Mystic Within follows Catherine S. Tuggle’s journey to understand the message that arrived through a vivid dream. The dream delivered five simple words. Those words shook her ideas about God, fear, and love, and eventually inspired her to explore belief, trauma, and spiritual healing. Through autobiography, psychology, and a reinterpretation of the Genesis story, she builds a pathway that helps readers uncover the fears that shape their reality and block their ability to perceive life as Paradise. Much of the book focuses on the unconscious roots of fear, the formation of beliefs, and the personal exercises she developed to help dissolve the veil that hides unconditional love.
Tuggle’s writing blends intimate storytelling with big ideas; she writes plainly and openly. She doesn’t try to sound like a guru. Her willingness to expose painful memories gives the book a raw honesty that made me trust her voice. I found myself wincing at the childhood scenes. The moment Agnes threw the valentines on the floor, or the wrenching knife incident, forced me to stop for a breath. Those stories aren’t there for drama. They serve the purpose she claims for them. They show how beliefs take root long before we know the meaning of the word belief. I felt myself wishing she had lingered a little less on theory and more on lived moments, because her lived moments are where the book shines.
I also found myself moved by her interpretation of Genesis. I appreciated how she questions long-held assumptions without attacking them. The way she ties Adam and Eve’s fear to our own unconscious habits made the old story feel surprisingly fresh. The shifts between memoir, theology, and psychology come a little fast, but the blend mostly worked for me. I liked the sense of searching. I liked watching her move from confusion to clarity. The dream sequence she shares in the preface kept me thinking about the idea that love is all that exists. It sounds simple on the surface, almost too simple, and yet the book spends hundreds of pages showing just how hard it is to believe that in everyday life.
I would recommend Nurturing the Mystic Within to readers who enjoy spiritual memoirs, especially ones that grapple with fear, trauma, and the desire for inner peace. It would also suit people who like gentle psychological insight wrapped in a story rather than textbook-style instruction. Anyone who has ever felt trapped inside old beliefs or puzzled by the tension between the world’s harshness and the idea of a loving presence will find something worth holding onto here.
Pages: 216 | ASIN : B0G2DLBVHQ
The Book of Oded, Chapter 2
The Book of Oded, Chapter 2 tells the story of a young Israeli man whose life spins through love, identity, migration, and loss. It begins with Oded racing through Tel Aviv to share his green card news with his boyfriend, Gil, and then expands into a rich, heartfelt memoir about how their relationship began, how it grew, and how it changed when HIV entered their lives. The book follows Oded from his army days to his first years in Los Angeles, through joy, heartbreak, separation, friendship, and finally grief and spiritual acceptance. It becomes a story about love that keeps changing shape yet never quite disappears.
The writing feels relaxed and honest, like a friend sitting across from me telling me their story. I loved the humor tucked inside the pain. I laughed at the stories about Na’alei Kvasim slippers and the matching striped shirts at Shabbat dinner, little moments that make the book feel alive. Then the tone shifts and sinks when needed, especially in the phone call that delivers Gil’s diagnosis. I felt myself slow down as the story did, almost holding my breath at times. The simplicity of the writing makes the emotions stand out even more. There is no attempt to impress. It just speaks plainly, and that makes it powerful.
I also found myself moved by how the book tracks what love can become over the years. Oded does not hide the messy parts. He admits the silence, the drifting, the resentment, the guilt. That honesty made me trust him as a narrator. I could feel how love for Gil kept expanding even as their lives pulled apart, and how caring for someone can be both an anchor and a weight. The dream near the end, where Gil appears in white and disappears in a hug, was very emotional. It felt like closure that grew from feeling rather than logic, and I found myself sitting quietly after reading it.
This book feels perfect for anyone who likes real stories told without pretense. If you enjoy memoirs about love, identity, or resilience, you will probably connect with this one. It is also a meaningful read for anyone who has lost someone and is still figuring out what to do with the love that remains. I would happily recommend it.
Pages: 61 | ASIN : B0FVD1N895
Where The Pecan Trees Grow
Where The Pecan Trees Grow, by Thomas Gates, follows Miguel, a Mexican father who leaves his drought-stricken home in Michoacán to cross the border and search for work in the United States. His journey is dangerous and exhausting, filled with tense nights in the desert, smugglers who mix threat with necessity, and close calls with patrols. Eventually, he finds work on a pecan farm in California, where the quiet rhythm of trees and soil gives him a fragile sense of hope. The story moves between struggle and calm, fear and stubborn faith. It is about survival, family, and the long, slow work of building a life from almost nothing. It is also about promise, the kind that sits heavily on the heart.
I found myself swept up in the raw honesty of the story. The writing feels simple in the best way. It opens a clear window into Miguel’s thoughts and fears. I kept pausing when the story talked about soil or trees. Something in those passages felt grounding. I could feel the heat from the fields, smell the dust, and hear the quiet talk between workers. The tense scenes, like the border chase and the near discovery in the truck, hit hard. They left me holding my breath and maybe gripping the page a little too tight. The gentle moments hit just as hard. The letters Miguel writes but cannot send, his quiet walks through the rows at night, and the way he treats the orchard like something alive and listening. These parts warmed me more than I expected.
There were moments when the book made me ache a little. The prejudice he meets in town feels eerily familiar. Still, the story never falls into hopelessness. It keeps lifting itself up, often because of the farm, the trees, and the quiet steadiness of Big Jim. I liked how the book painted Jim as tough but fair. No speeches. No miracles. Just a man who sees effort and decides it is worth backing. The pacing surprised me at times. Some chapters rush with danger while others slow into a gentle hum. I liked that. Life isn’t even. It jumps and stumbles, and the story captures that feeling well.
By the end, I felt proud of Miguel in this strange way, like I had watched him build himself again layer by layer. I would recommend Where The Pecan Trees Grow to readers who enjoy character-driven stories, especially ones rooted in real emotional stakes. Anyone who likes tales about migration, perseverance, and the quiet strength of ordinary people will find something meaningful here. It is a great choice for book clubs, too. There is a lot to talk about, and even more to feel.
Pages: 163 | ASIN : B0G5M3CDRX
The Chip
The Chip follows Phillip Novak, a brilliant and driven CEO who secretly implants an advanced A.I. microchip into his brain. The surgery turns him into a kind of superhuman thinker, and the world quickly bends around his newfound power. Governments scramble, cultures fracture, and everyday people start asking whether they should become “enhanced” too. It begins as a story about invention and ambition, then widens into a global clash over identity, freedom, and who we become when we let technology crawl into our minds.
The writing often moves at a quick clip, and I liked that. It gave the story a sense of momentum, almost like the world itself was speeding up the moment Phillip woke from surgery. Some scenes felt larger than life. His fleets of look-alikes, his secret mountain compound, his perfect confidence. I kept thinking how bold it was to paint a character with so much certainty. I would have liked more space to breathe with Phillip and understand him as a man rather than a symbol. Even so, I enjoyed how the book made big ideas feel close and personal. I kept turning pages because I wanted to see how far this technology would push him.
The book plays with power in a way that made me uncomfortable in the best sense. Watching governments rush to control the Chip felt scarily real. The split between “Enhanced Persons” and everyone else gave me a knot in my stomach. I caught myself thinking about how easily people trade freedom for convenience and how quickly leaders twist “safety” into something else entirely. Some of the social changes came fast, but the emotional weight landed. I found myself wondering what I would do. Would I let someone drill a device into my skull if it promised to make me brilliant? The book never answers that for you. It just sits with you and pokes at your thoughts.
The Chip is a cautionary tale, a thriller, and a tech fantasy all at once. I think this book is a strong fit for readers who enjoy fast pacing, high-concept ideas, and stories that make them question where our world is heading. If you like fiction that blends science with moral tension and if you enjoy thinking about the consequences of our inventions long after you close the book, then The Chip will be right up your alley.
Pages: 171 | ASIN : B0DJMJHRC4
Slickrock
Slickrock blends a fast kidnapping thriller with a rugged, sun-bleached wilderness adventure. The story kicks off when Relic, a loner and moonshiner who haunts Utah canyon country, discovers a body in a fake granary. At the same time, college student Malia is yanked from a nightclub and dragged into a scheme run by a revenge-hungry crew. Sheriff Leavitt and Deputy Dawson try to track down a missing ranch hand, but their investigation collides with the kidnappers’ plans. The book jumps between these threads until everything crashes together in Slickrock Canyon, where desert storms, gunfights, and raw survival force each character to show who they really are.
The pacing moves fast, like the book can’t wait to shove you around the next corner. I really liked the way the author paints the canyon. It feels hot and harsh and alive in a way that made me thirsty just sitting on my couch. Relic ended up being my favorite part of the book. His quiet grit sneaks up on you, and the way he tries to help Malia even though the whole mess has nothing to do with him makes him feel grounded and real. I also liked how the author lets scenes breathe just long enough before snapping into chaos. It kept me on my toes, and I didn’t mind that one bit.
The villains are nasty, but a few of their scenes felt over-the-top. Malia’s storyline pulled me in, especially the terror and confusion she feels early on, but I sometimes wanted more space inside her head instead of being rushed along. Still, when the story drops her into the wilderness with Relic, everything tightens up again. Their scramble through canyon forks and flash floods has a wild, sweaty energy. The writing hits hardest when it sticks to people running for their lives under a huge sky.
The book is punchy and dramatic. If you like thrillers that sprint rather than stroll, or if you enjoy survival stories set in wide open desert country, this one will probably scratch the itch. It’s especially good for readers who love a mix of crime, action, and a little rough humor. And if you’re the type who likes rooting for the stubborn, dusty outsider who’d rather avoid everyone but still ends up saving the day, Relic alone makes the journey worth it.
Pages: 300 | ASIN : B0G1CD2S61
In the Face of the Foe
In the Face of the Foe brings together three wartime tales that follow British prisoners of war and the strange mix of fear, grit, and shaky hope that shapes their survival. The story opens inside Stalag XXA, where boredom and danger sit side by side. Men spar, argue, dream, and stumble into choices that could kill them or free them, sometimes on the same night. The early chapters move from camp politics to tense missions beyond the wire, and the book keeps piling on moral knots that force each character to decide what they are willing to risk and who they want to be.
As I moved through the book, I felt myself leaning in, drawn by the rough humor and the raw strain between the men. The writing feels direct and sharp. It never hides the ugliness of fear. It also never forgets that soldiers can be petty and foolish and brave all at once. I liked how the author gives room for small moments that say more than the big ones. A quiet exchange over stolen cherries, the sting of a bad joke, the uneasy pause when a guard appears in the dark. These details felt honest, and they gave me a sense of standing right there in the mud with them. The dialogue sometimes slips into playful banter, and I found that mix of light and dark strangely comforting. It felt real in a way that polished war stories often miss.
The book kept raising questions without preaching. What does loyalty look like when every man is starving? What does courage mean when the cost falls on someone else? Some choices hit hard. One scene with a child had me holding my breath because the moment felt too close to the edge. The tension built slowly, then snapped tight. The writing does not tidy up the mess afterward, and I appreciated that honesty.
It is a story for readers who enjoy wartime fiction that focuses more on people than battlefields. Anyone who likes character-driven plots, moral puzzles, and a close look at the fragile ties that hold people together will find a lot here. I would recommend it to readers who want grit without glamor and heart without sentiment.
Pages: 508 | ASIN : B0G1K6GG7F
Letters from the Sand
Letters from the Sand is a reflective military memoir that follows a soldier’s deployment to Iraq, told in vivid, sensory detail. The book moves from arrival in the desert, through the daily rituals of patrols, barracks life, cultural encounters, and the emotional weight of service. It reads like a series of lived moments stitched together: the heat, the dust, the camaraderie, the fear, the boredom, and the quiet resilience that keeps people going in a place where everything is stripped down to necessity. As a nonfiction war memoir, it captures both the grind and the humanity inside a deployment.
The writing is descriptive in a way that pulls you straight into the environment. Sometimes the detail is intense, but that felt honest. Deployment is overwhelming. I appreciated how the author didn’t rush through anything. He let the boredom breathe. He let the fear sit. Even the small rituals, like cleaning a rifle or sorting gear, were given space to matter. Those choices made the narrative feel grounded rather than dramatized.
What struck me most was how genuinely the book handled relationships. The people aren’t flattened into stereotypes. They’re messy, thoughtful, funny, irritating, and necessary. Watching those early, awkward introductions shift into something like family reminded me how much of military life is built on small gestures. I also liked how the author showed the mental shifts that happen over time, the way vigilance becomes second nature, and how the desert environment presses into everything, even your dreams. Some passages feel almost meditative, others blunt and raw. The mix worked for me. It felt like someone telling the truth without trying to polish it.
By the end, I found myself thinking less about the missions and more about the emotional residue of the experience. The book doesn’t preach. It doesn’t try to define service in grand terms. It just lets you live inside it for a while, long enough to understand why leaving is almost as disorienting as arriving. For readers who appreciate military memoirs that focus on lived experience more than strategy, this will resonate deeply. I’d recommend it to anyone curious about the human side of deployment, especially those who value slow, reflective storytelling that feels personal and unfiltered.
Pages: 201 | ASIN: B0G2335VNQ
Serial Obsession
Serial Obsession is a romantic suspense novel set around the Lake of the Ozarks, and it opens with a chilling hook. A serial killer named Shane Simpson hunts a young woman, Kelcee Meyer, and frames an innocent man, Ross Paine. When journalist turned cold-case investigator Camille Hargrove stumbles onto new information, she heads into the small Midwestern “map dot” towns to uncover the truth. The story weaves between a murder mystery, a wrongful accusation, and a slow-building connection between Camille and Ross, all against the backdrop of a community shaken by fear and rumor.
I felt pulled in by how grounded the world was. The lake towns feel authentic. People work long shifts, drive beaten-up cars, and deal with messy families. The author leans heavily into the genre’s blend of romantic suspense, giving us both danger and desire, and she doesn’t shy away from intensity in either direction. Sometimes the scenes get gritty, sometimes tender, and sometimes downright chaotic, but that unevenness actually made it feel more like real life. I liked that Camille isn’t a perfect detective. She’s passionate, stubborn, and occasionally a hot mess, and that combination kept her relatable.
The book moves quickly from plot to plot: murder, investigation, flirtation, danger, repeat. I realized the speed mirrors Camille’s own momentum. She throws herself into things whether she’s ready or not, and the narrative matches her energy. Ross, meanwhile, is written with this quiet heaviness that lingers. You feel the injustice hanging over him. The contrast between his guarded calm and Camille’s spark gives their scenes a natural tension. Even the villain gets space to be more than a shadow. We see the twisted logic behind his actions, which made the thriller element feel more unsettling.
By the end, what stayed with me wasn’t only the mystery but the themes simmering under it: how communities rush to judgment, how a rumor can ruin a life, and how hard it is to rebuild trust once it’s been shattered. The romance adds warmth, and the suspense keeps the pages turning, but there’s also this thread of “fairness” running through the story that gives it more weight than your typical thriller.
If you like romantic suspense that leans into both sides of the genre, with small-town atmosphere and characters who feel bruised but determined, I think you’ll enjoy Serial Obsession. Readers who want a gritty mystery wrapped in a relationship-driven plot will probably get the most out of it.
Pages: 356 | ISBN : 978-1968542061
LITERARY TITAN 