Author Archives: Literary Titan
Because of His Heart
Because of His Heart tells a twisting story of strained love, private wounds, and the strange ways people hide from themselves. The book moves between Charles Portland, a journalist who stumbles through heartbreak and confusion, and Erica Seames, a doctor whose inner world spills into journals, therapy sessions, and dream-like reflections. Their marriage trembles under jealousy, grief, illness, and the pull of outside influences. Around them swirl detectives, therapists, academics, and a host of observers who add tension and mystery. What begins as a domestic rift grows into a psychological maze that pushes everyone toward breaking points and revelations. The story feels intimate and huge at the same time, like a whisper that somehow shakes the walls.
I felt pulled in by the writing right away. The style is rich, sometimes thick with emotion, sometimes floating in quiet sadness. I caught myself slowing down just to feel the rhythm of a paragraph. At other times, I sped ahead because the tension swelled and I needed to know what someone would say or remember or confess. The voices of the characters shift often, and that creates a strange, almost musical pattern. I enjoyed that. It felt risky and bold. When the book turns inward, especially through Erica’s journal passages, I felt a kind of ache, something tender and unsettling. The language is lush, sometimes a little wild, but it fits the turbulence inside her.
The book probes marriage. It pokes at the pride and fear that sit quietly between two people who love each other but stop speaking honestly. It also wanders into questions about identity, longing, projection, and the blurry line between truth and imagination. Some sections confused me in a way that felt intentional, almost like the author wanted me to experience the disorientation the characters felt. At times, I wished for clearer edges, yet the fog added to the emotional weight. I admired how the book balanced real-world problems with almost mythic undertones. Charles and Erica felt fragile but also alive, and their pain carried a beauty.
I would recommend Because of His Heart to readers who enjoy psychological fiction that digs deep into relationships and the hidden storms beneath daily life. It is perfect for someone who likes character-driven stories that wander through memory, longing, and emotional tension. If you want a straightforward plot, this may feel heavy. If you love getting lost in voices, feelings, and messy human truths, this will be a fantastic book for you.
Pages: 555 | ASIN : B0FS5BF8GD
Careers By the People: Candid Career Advice from 101 Experienced Professionals
Careers By the People is a wide-reaching look at what real work feels like for real people. Mike Wysocki gathers 101 interviews that span everything from CEOs to beekeepers to teachers, and he lets each person speak plainly about what their days look like, what they enjoy, and what grinds them down. The book moves through these stories with an easy rhythm. It shows how career paths twist and turn. It also explains how personality, luck, stubbornness, and honest self-reflection shape a life more than any job posting ever could.
I liked how direct the voices were, since many career books wrap advice in buzzwords. This one does not bother with that. The interviews feel like short but candid coffee chats. I caught myself underlining certain lines because they hit close to home. The mix of pride, regret, humor, and grit reminded me how messy most careers really are, and that made the entire book comforting. I also appreciated how Wysocki frames the stories with his own reflections. He speaks openly about his missteps. His tone feels friendly, almost like a mentor who refuses to sugarcoat anything.
At times, the honesty stings. Some stories feel heavy, and a few made me anxious in the best way because they pushed me to think harder about my own choices. When several similar roles appeared in a row, the forward momentum slowed. Still, that repetition also proved the point that every job contains highs and lows. I found myself enjoying the unpredictable flow of opinions. Some workers adore their field. Others are blunt about their frustration. I liked that mix. It made the book feel alive.
I would gladly recommend Careers By the People to high school and college students, early career professionals, and anyone who feels stuck or restless at work. The book works well as a guide, but it also works as a reality check. It gives readers permission to explore, to question their assumptions, and to admit when something does not fit. If you want straight talk, human stories, and a push to think about what you actually want from forty years of work, this book will serve you well.
Pages: 570 | ASIN : B0BPX59FT5
Riddles of the Ancestors
Riddles of the Ancestors is a mythic fantasy novel rooted in Arthurian legend and spiritual fiction. The story follows Merlin and his sister Ganieda across timelines, from a magical Foretime to modern-day London, as they protect the secrets of the Round Table and work to activate an ancient star-coded template called Logres. Along the way, druids, goddesses, healers, and everyday people are drawn into a larger unfolding meant to heal the Earth and usher in a new age of balance.
This book felt less like racing through a plot and more like being invited into a long, winding conversation with myth itself. Sullivan’s writing moves gently, often lingering on gardens, sacred landscapes, and quiet moments of recognition between characters. I found myself slowing down as I read. The author seems less interested in suspense than in atmosphere and meaning. At times, the story reads like a modern-day fairy tale layered with Celtic lore, astrology, and goddess wisdom. If you enjoy mythic fantasy that feels devotional rather than dramatic, this book leans into that space.
What stood out most to me was Sullivan’s choice to center Ganieda and other feminine figures alongside Merlin. The emphasis on healing, collaboration, and remembrance gives the book a softer pulse than traditional Arthurian retellings. Some scenes feel almost ceremonial, like stepping into a candlelit room where symbols matter as much as actions. Occasionally, I wished for sharper tension or more restraint with exposition, especially when spiritual concepts were explained directly rather than shown. Still, there is sincerity here. The book believes deeply in what it is saying, and that conviction carries it forward.
Riddles of the Ancestors will resonate most with readers who enjoy mythic fantasy, spiritual fiction, and reimagined Arthurian legends infused with goddess traditions and New Age themes. It is for readers who like to wander, reflect, and sit with big ideas about time, memory, and the living Earth. If you enjoy stories that feel like modern myths meant to be felt as much as understood, this book is worth your time.
Pages: 375 | ASIN : B0FW9G2ZVN
They’re not wizards. They’re not powerful.
The Hedgewitch’s Charm follows a struggling hedgewitch and a haunted duke as they confront a deadly, possibly deliberate plague, discovering that compassion and failure can be as powerful and as dangerous as magic itself. What inspired you to center the story on failure and helplessness?
I felt that this was an interesting starting point for the story. The idea of fighting against something so small, and so unknowable as a sickness, it’s something that’s universal and also something that everyone can identify with. So many heroes in stories profess to have all the answers, and all the power. It’s this attitude of “I’m Superman, of course I can save the day.” What happens if our heroes are small? What happens if they don’t know what to do? What happens if they’re so very human? For me, that was an interesting place to start the story. Ipsinki has been there from the beginning of the series, and he has known failure. He’s just a man, and Gwendolyn, the hedgewitch is just a woman. They’re not wizards. They’re not powerful. They’re just people who want to do some good; and there’s real power in that.
Gwendolyn’s magic feels intimate and exhausting. How did you shape her relationship with magic and its limits?
I write her as kind of the anti-Kralc. He’s this wizard who acts as if he knows all the answers, and he’s almost cocky, in a way, with his power. She’s someone whose affinity with the earth, and with this desire to heal, grants her these gifts. Her power is of a much more humble nature, and so, like anyone confronting a large scale problem, she has her limits, and she is acutely aware of them. Whatever magic she has is limited in scope by her calling. She has a true sense of what’s right, and what is necessary. It’s from this place that her power comes from, and she accepts her limits.
Ipsinki carries both political responsibility and personal grief. How did you balance those two sides of his character?
For me, it’s these traits that make him a good leader. He recognizes what’s at stake on a far more intimate level than many of the other characters in the book. Here is a man who, through his years as a soldier, and through his mother who owns an inn, has cultivated a real relationship with the people on an individual level. This is something that is truly lacking with the royal family, with the rest of the nobility. It’s this quality that makes all of this so painful for him, but also makes him the perfect person to help tackle this problem. With the others in charge, it’s sad, but the lives being lost are just numbers on a page. It’s all so abstract. With Ipsinki, it’s not that at all. It’s “Oh my god, you mean Sarah died? I just spoke with her yesterday.” It’s his desire to know the people, and his relationships that drive him, and make him good at his job.
Disease and fear play a role in the story. Were there real-world anxieties or experiences that influenced how you portrayed the plague?
In a way, yes. I believe that all writers draw on their lives to some degree when they write. Funnily enough, I came up with this idea before the pandemic. It’s something that I came up with with my friend, An Tran, when we were working Bath Salts. The idea of a disease used as a weapon was something so scary to me. Add some magic to it, and we have The Hedgewitch’s Charm. There’s something so intrinsically tense that comes from a spreading disease. How does one fight against germs? It’s an invisible enemy that you can’t really confront. Writing it was interesting, as the disease almost became a character in itself.
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A strange illness is sweeping through the kingdom of Colonodona bringing death and pain wherever it hits. Gwendolyn, a young hedge witch has made the startling discovery that the illness is one that has been created out of magic. Leaving her home, she makes the trip to the capitol to see the King. There, she is teamed up with the Duke Ipsinki and sent out to find the wizard responsible. As this is happening, the disease strike the capitol infecting Ipsinki’s mother, Aud, and Sitnalta. It is now a race against the clock. Along the way, Gwendolyn realizes that Ipsinki is unlike any other man she has met, while the Duke sees that there is more to life than paperwork and duty. Regaining his love for adventure, he sees that he has more of a choice in front of him than he first realized.
The Romanov Legacy: Ahead of the Storm
The Romanov Legacy II: Ahead of the Storm by Fred G. Baker is a sweeping work of historical fiction that imagines the escape of two Romanov children in the final days of Imperial Russia. The story follows Alexei and Anastasia after their flight from captivity near Yekaterinburg, guided by loyalists of the White Army as civil war erupts around them. Baker blends real events with imagined rescue efforts, focusing on danger, secrecy, and survival during the collapse of the old order. The book moves through military action, quiet hiding, and emotional aftermath as the children face loss, fear, and an uncertain future.
I enjoyed the pacing and clarity of the writing. Baker writes in a clean, steady style that keeps things moving without confusion. I never felt lost in the geography or the politics. The scenes feel grounded and physical. Cold barns. Dark rivers. Mud, hunger, and fear. I felt the tension early. Some descriptions were a bit longer than needed, but I did not mind. They helped me settle into the world. The dialogue feels natural most of the time, and the emotional beats land with honesty. I felt real dread during the execution revelations and real relief during moments of safety.
I liked the ideas behind the story even more than the action. This book is clearly about loyalty, moral duty, and the cost of history on children who never chose their fate. I felt angry reading parts of it. I also felt grief. Baker does not soften the cruelty of the era, but he does offer a sense of human decency through characters like Tupolev and Anna. I appreciated that balance. The book does not feel preachy. It feels mournful and stubborn and hopeful all at once. I liked that the Romanovs are treated as people first and symbols second.
I found this book to be emotional and thoughtful. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy historical fiction with emotional weight and alternative history angles. It is a good fit for anyone interested in the Russian Revolution, lost possibilities, or stories about protecting the vulnerable during chaos. When I think about this book next to other popular Romanov novels, it feels more grounded and more urgent. Books like I Was Anastasia or The Lost Roses spend more time on mystery, romance, and shifting timelines, while this one stays locked on danger and survival. It reminds me more of a wartime escape story than a court drama. The scope is narrower, but the tension is stronger. I felt closer to the characters here than I often do in historical epics, and that made the story hit harder for me.
Pages: 292 | ASIN : B0G1JDFZ7B
It Was So Different And Refined
Most Glorious follows a gifted young architect as he navigates shifting empires, secret intrigues, and looming wars to discover how quiet courage can reshape the world. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The period described in the book is set during the era known as the Dark Ages. What inspired me to write it was that I found that period to be, in fact, very enriching in multiple ways. Building the largest building in the world, Hagia Sophia, was a great example of that, because it was so different and refined from all the large buildings constructed earlier. Another inspiration was that the writings and films about the fall of Rome in 476 made it seem that it was the end of the Roman Empire. The Roman capital was transferred to Constantinople in 330; it had a long and prosperous life until it fell in 1453, almost a 1000 years after the city of Rome fell.
How did you approach balancing historical accuracy with the emotional intimacy of John’s personal journey?
To me, any story needs to have credibility. Accordingly, ensuring the accuracy of historic events was a very important concern when working on the manuscript. Furthermore, John was a young man; he had to grow, learn, and take on more responsibility in changing times. He was technically well-trained not only to consider challenges in construction but also in the beauty of the project. Facing complex architectural issues, an unpredictable emperor, a jealous court, and secret spies, was more than enough for someone who just wanted to build a perfect building.
John’s personal journey was aided by university training, a strong relationship with his companion and mentor, the quiet and surprising love of some family members, and a great confidence in his own skills. Besides the various challenges, John understood that any mistake in the construction of the largest building would be the last error of his career.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
As I planned this book, it became obvious that several interwoven themes needed to be explored. These include John’s personal journey, court intrigues, war and conquest, spying, and the construction of an architectural marvel. Without them, the story would not be complete.
The world feels authentic, from Miletos’ shoreline to the Persian court. Which location was the most challenging to bring to life?
Miletos was the most difficult to describe, as its geographical location changed over time. Miletos was a city that likely had several small ports; now, the few remaining ruins of that city are located a considerable distance from the shore. To gain a sense of how the city appeared many centuries ago, I relied on past writings and maps of the city ruins, although knowledge of the history of climate change and Mediterranean terrain was also very helpful.
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However, his journey is not limited to stone and mortar. As John navigates the court intrigues of Constantinople, he finds himself entangled in political power struggles, the chariot-racing factions of the Blues and Greens, and the empire’s ongoing conflict with the Persians. Alongside figures such as the historian Prokopius and the great general Belisarius, John experiences firsthand the ambitions, betrayals, and heroism that shape history.
Blending real historical events with a gripping narrative, Most Glorious brings to life the grandeur and peril of the Byzantine world, showcasing the resilience of those who built its most enduring legacies.
Zombies and Butterflies
I went into Zombies & Butterflies expecting a self-help book, and that is largely what it is, but it reads more like a long, earnest conversation about what it means to be alive instead of just functioning. The book explores the idea that many of us move through life emotionally numb, the “zombies,” while real growth comes from becoming aware, compassionate, and fully engaged, the “butterflies.” Through personal stories, philosophical reflection, and moral exhortation, the author argues that healing starts with caring, self-honesty, and conscious choice, and that inner change ripples outward into relationships and communities.
What struck me first was the intensity of the writing. The author does not ease you in. The author opens with vivid, sometimes brutal imagery and then pivots quickly to emotional and spiritual terrain. It can feel overwhelming, but that seems intentional. This is a book that wants to shake you awake. The voice is passionate, almost preacher-like at times, yet rooted in lived experience rather than theory. I found myself alternating between nodding along and needing to pause because the emotional weight was heavy. The war metaphor, in particular, is thoughtful. It turns internal pain into something physical and hard to ignore, like a constant low-grade thunder in the background of everyday life.
As I kept reading, I noticed how much the book relies on stories and analogies rather than instructions. There are no neat lists or tidy frameworks here. Instead, the author circles the same core ideas again and again: caring matters, kindness matters, attention matters. This repetition feels comforting, like returning to a familiar trail. There is sincerity in that insistence. This is not a polished productivity guide or a detached philosophy text. It sits firmly in the spiritual self-help genre, blending memoir, moral reflection, and motivational writing. You can feel how personal these ideas are to the author, how much of the book is a kind of testimony rather than an argument.
Zombies & Butterflies is best suited for readers who are already asking big questions about purpose, kindness, and emotional healing, especially those who feel disconnected or worn down by life. If you enjoy reflective, spiritually inclined self-help books that value feeling over efficiency and meaning over minimalism, this book will likely resonate with you.
Pages: 93 | ISBN : 979-8-9934353-2-9
LITERARY TITAN 