Within The Hearts And Minds
Morning of a Crescent Moon follows a young nurse-turned-teacher who arrives in an Illinois mining town on the brink of violence and discovers how ordinary lives, relationships, and quiet courage shape history. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration for the very beginning and for the aeronaut descending into the town of Virden was to bring the reader down from the twenty-first century into this town in 1898. It’s my metaphor for bridging the distance between what we know from the academic articles and newspaper accounts to what was really going on within the hearts and minds of the people who lived through this event. I recently posted a blog that explains why I chose to write the Battle of Virden as historical fiction. https://njschrock.com/2026/01/13/why-historical-fiction/
The reason I chose the character of Cate Merry and her arrival as the setup is that the reader learns about the town through her experiences rather than me, the author, adding exposition. As Cate learns about the brewing trouble and becomes emotionally entangled with the people and events, so does the reader.
At least a couple of the characters were inspired by my family members. Cate’s Aunt Alice had qualities of my grandmother Mary, a coal miner’s wife, and Harry was based on my father as a young boy.
Why was it important to tell the labor struggle through relationships and daily routines rather than focusing on the events themselves?
The events themselves can be understood by reading summaries and academic articles. But I wanted readers to really care about this event and these people. I wanted them to become invested in a labor struggle so that they might then empathize with the ongoing labor struggles today. I wanted this event to be experienced by readers.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The power of individuals is magnified by unity. If there is an injustice, the way for the populace to bring about change is to unify. Unity is the main way people who are not billionaires can bring about change. One way we do this is to vote. Other ways are to protest, to strike, to communicate. But all of these require people in numbers to be effective.
The interests of capital often are in conflict with the interests of its laborers. Businesses are under constant pressure to maximize profits, and if publicly held, maximize the return to shareholders. They are not obligated to maximize returns to stakeholders, such as employees, the communities in which they operate, or even the United States. I know this firsthand. I worked for twenty-five years at a large corporation and held a management role, serving on business and product development teams. The push by high-level management to acquire cheaper labor in China and India has parallels with the Virden mine operator’s plans to bring in Black workers from Alabama. I could see history repeating, and I felt there were lessons to be learned from the Battle of Virden. I wanted to broaden the public awareness of this historic event.
What do you hope modern readers take away from this period of labor history and its relevance today?
In Chapter 22, a coal miner and a leader in the 1897 strike, Alexander Bradley, gives a speech that I wrote based on the newspaper accounts of what he told the miners during the 1897 strike and what he says in his memoir. He clarifies for a Virden crowd what the stakes are in their fight: “The battle for workers’ rights, the right to exercise the only power we have, which is the right to organize, will be under threat—again—and again—and again. It’ll be fought in a thousand places: in coal fields, in factories, in railways, in dockyards, and anywhere workers are not paid the living wages they deserve for pouring the hours of their lives into their labors….”
I hope that readers will come to appreciate the sacrifices made by those who came before us and that in some industries, we still face many of the same challenges they faced in 1898. So, we have to “carry the torch,” and work to make this country a place where we want to live. That’s what these miners were fighting for.
Change can be brought about if enough people stand up for what they believe.
Author Links: GoodReads | Threads | Facebook | Website | X | Blue Sky
In Morning of a Crescent Moon, N. J. Schrock renders the tumult of the 1898 Battle of Virden with a storyteller’s grace, fusing historical truth with imagined lives.
Against the backdrop of labor unrest and the gathering storm of violence, Cate Merry-a young woman scarred by war and seeking renewal-steps into a town divided by strikes and shadows. There she encounters Noah McCall, a miner bound by duty to his siblings and by circumstance to the perils of the pit.
As Virden braces for conflict, their stories entwine with the fates of families, workers, and townsfolk caught in the crosscurrents of justice, sacrifice, and survival.
Both elegy and love story, the novel gives voice to the ordinary people whose courage and longing shaped one of America’s fiercest struggles for dignity.
I had time. I had anger. And I was bored.
Mortal Vengeance follows a group of wayward teens who come face-to-face with a horrifying reaper-like being while seeking revenge on a cruel teacher. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
It actually started in a very petty way. During my first month of ninth grade, I came home with a D+ in Spanish on my first report card. It was the first time I had ever received a grade like that, and my parents decided I was too distracted. Their solution was simple and brutal: they removed everything from my bedroom except the lightbulbs.
No TV. No Nintendo 64. No dial-up internet.
I had time. I had anger. And I was bored.
That frustration bled directly into the story. Mortal Vengeance opens with Marcos saying, “That old hag is going to pay,” which perfectly captured my headspace at the time. I was steeped in teenage resentment and heavily influenced by the slasher films of the late ’90s—Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer. With nothing else to do at night, writing became the only way to channel that anger somewhere safe.
What began as a rough slasher script was chaotic, but something interesting happened: people wanted more. I showed a few pages to a friend, and suddenly, classmates were demanding new chapters, threatening me if I showed up empty-handed. I didn’t know it then, but writing helped me process emotions I didn’t yet have the tools to understand. Over time, that raw revenge fantasy evolved into something intentional—a story about how small injustices spiral into something monstrous. What started as anger became craft.
Do you find yourself relating to your characters as you write?
Absolutely—but not in a one-to-one way.
In Mortal Vengeance, the boys were modeled after my friends, with some liberties taken. Alex, in particular, began as a partial self-portrait. His emotional intensity, his insecurity, and the way he uses humor or singing as a coping mechanism—that’s very much me.
Beyond that, I relate to my characters the way a parent relates to their children. You create them, but they are not you. They have their own histories and blind spots. My priority is to give them a reason to be flawed and human. Sometimes I’ll lend them one of my own experiences to ground them emotionally, but ultimately, they have to stand on their own.
What is the challenging aspect of writing a thriller? The most rewarding?
The biggest challenge is pacing—especially in a genre where suspension of disbelief is fragile. I love films like Scream, but I’ve always struggled with how quickly logic collapses once a killer is established. Why aren’t they hiding? Why are they splitting up? In Mortal Vengeance, once the Grim Cojuelo appears, the escalation is relentless by design so the characters don’t have time to question the logic.
The most rewarding part is earning the reader’s trust. When readers are willing to come along for the ride—through fear, grief, and chaos—you know the emotional connection is working. I find the “B-Roll” sections of my book especially meaningful because they offer a quiet intimacy. They give readers space to bond with the characters, so when the danger finally comes, it hits much harder.
Can we look forward to more work from you soon? What are you currently working on?
Yes—very much so. And sooner than you think.
Mortal Vengeance throws readers straight into action, but it only hints at how things reached that breaking point. Mortal Vengeance: A Grim Tale explores what came before: the systems, institutions, and personal failures that normalized cruelty long before the first act of revenge. It’s a different kind of horror—less spectacle, more psychological reckoning.
At the center of the prequel is Julián, a character briefly referenced in the main novel, here brought fully into focus. Through his perspective, the story examines how institutional pressure, moral compromise, and silence converge around a single student. Alongside him is Lucía, his closest friend and emotional anchor, whose loyalty is tested as the darkness deepens. Readers also meet younger versions of Marcos, Fernando, Alex, Enrique, Melissa, and Mónika—before identities harden and choices become irreversible.
The two books can be read in either order. Starting with Mortal Vengeance emphasizes mystery and shock; the prequel becomes an excavation. Starting with A Grim Tale emphasizes dread and inevitability; the main novel then lands as a consequence rather than a surprise.
I’m also finishing the first draft of the sequel, Mortal Vengeance II: To Reel or Not Too Real? It’s a major narrative risk and a necessary evolution for the series. If all goes well, readers can expect it toward the end of the year or early next. I’m excited—and a little terrified—which usually means I’m doing something right.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website
In the sun-drenched courtyards of a school in Santo Domingo, a group of friends seals an unbreakable promise: “One for all, and all for one.” With the innocence of youth, they swear to protect each other and stay united, no matter what. But life plays by its own rules, and an act of revenge—fueled by jealousy and old wounds—is about to shatter their world.
What starts as a plan to teach a feared teacher a lesson quickly spirals into uncontrollable terror. Unexplained deaths and brutal attacks begin to haunt their circle, while a shadowy figure known only as El Grim Cojuelo seems to claim victims one by one. Guilt eats away at the friends, paranoia takes hold, and loyalties blur, forcing them to face a reality warped by fear.
Trapped in a nightmare with no way out, the survivors are pushed to confront their own secrets—and the deadly consequences of their actions. With time running out and help far away, will they uncover the truth behind the hooded figure hunting them? Or will their childhood promise be the final thing to break, dragging them all into one last, bloody reckoning?
Mortal Vengeance is a dark, psychological thriller that explores the limits of friendship, the fallout of betrayal, and the razor-thin line between justice and madness. Prepare for a gripping journey packed with tension, shocking revelations, and unexpected twists that will keep you turning pages until the very last chilling breath.
Perfect for fans of psychological thrillers and dark dramas with a Caribbean twist.
If you like:
Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Euphoria, Elite —
you’ll love Mortal Vengeance.
On the Brink—Chaos and Mayhem at the Office
On the Brink is a coming-of-age business novel that follows Dave Powers from a sharp, restless childhood into the pressure cooker of adult ambition. The book traces how early trauma, raw intelligence, and a hunger to succeed push Dave toward entrepreneurship, first in scrappy childhood schemes and later into the unforgiving world of advertising and office politics. It is a story about momentum. How one choice leads to another. How talent can open doors, but character decides what happens once you step through them.
What struck me first was how readable this novel is. Sisti’s writing moves fast and clean, especially in the early chapters. Scenes from Dave’s youth feel grounded and vivid without trying too hard to impress. The fireworks episode, in particular, does a lot of heavy lifting. It is funny, tense, and quietly revealing. You see Dave’s instincts for business forming alongside his blind spots. Sisti has a knack for showing lessons instead of announcing them. When authority figures step in, especially Dave’s father, the moments feel earned rather than preachy. That balance is not easy to pull off.
As the book shifts into adulthood, the tone darkens in a natural way. The office becomes its own kind of wilderness. Less predictable than the woods and far more punishing. I appreciated how author Michael Sisti portrays work culture as something that can shape you or slowly grind you down, depending on how aware you are. There is humor here, but it is the kind that comes from recognition rather than jokes. If you have ever watched a smart person underestimate the emotional cost of ambition, this will feel familiar.
On the Brink feels like a blend of business fiction and a classic coming-of-age story, with a strong autobiographical pulse running underneath. I closed the book feeling like I had spent time with someone who wanted to tell the truth about success, not just celebrate it. I would recommend this novel to readers who enjoy character-driven stories about work, ambition, and personal growth. I think it is especially well-suited for aspiring entrepreneurs, young professionals, or anyone curious about how early life shapes the way we move through the adult world.
Pages: 307 | ASIN : B0DM2V1WBD
Going to Live with Auntie
Andria Williams’ Going to Live with Auntie centers on a young girl facing a profound transition. She leaves the familiar comfort of her home to live with her aunt. The story traces her early days in this new space, shaped by unfamiliar routines and surroundings. Emotions surface quickly. Sadness. Uncertainty. A quiet longing for her parents. Over time, small moments of comfort begin to emerge. The new home slowly feels less distant, offering reassurance as she learns how to live with separation.
One of the book’s greatest strengths lies in its gentle treatment of a delicate subject. Difficult feelings are never dismissed. Sadness, confusion, and yearning are presented honestly and with care. The emotional tone feels sincere and accessible, making the story easy for children to recognize themselves within it. Williams reinforces an important message throughout. Big changes bring big emotions. Those emotions are valid. Sharing them matters.
A particularly thoughtful element appears at the end of the book. A series of conversation prompts invites children and caregivers to reflect together. These questions open space for dialogue. They encourage emotional expression and mutual understanding. What could feel overwhelming becomes manageable. The story extends beyond the page, offering adults practical support as children navigate unfamiliar experiences.
Ponyo Nguyen’s illustrations complement the narrative beautifully. Soft color palettes create a calm atmosphere. Expressive characters communicate feeling without excess. Each image adds emotional clarity, helping young readers grasp the girl’s internal journey. Subtle details reward close observation and deepen engagement. The visuals gently mirror her growing sense of acceptance and safety.
Going to Live with Auntie is a comforting and purposeful book. It suits classrooms, homes, and caregiving spaces alike. For children facing relocation or any meaningful life change, this story provides reassurance. Change can be difficult. It can also bring care, connection, and hope.
Pages: 29 | ASIN : B0DYBNSVMP
Two Connected Souls
Two Connected Souls follows Derrick, his wife Susan, and their young son Ricky as their cozy New England life shatters when a tragedy occurs that leaves Derrick unresponsive and left in a coma. While his body lies in the hospital, his consciousness slips into a bright, unknown dimension where a silent robed figure guides him through scenes from his life and towards a final destination. Back on earth, Ricky feels every shift in his father’s condition and starts to sense that their connection runs deeper than ordinary love. They realized his cell phone that father and son once used as a simple safety net turn into a strange bridge between worlds, allowing Derrick to call home from that other plane and later letting Ricky call his father back from the edge of a darker place. Their bond solidifies into something almost physical, a shared soul connection that lets them touch, travel, and finally find their way back to the family, with the promise of another soul waiting to join them in the future.
Reading it, I felt like I was inside a heartfelt family story first and a spiritual thriller second. The writing leans warm and earnest, full of sensory detail about seasons, snow, and the quiet routines that makes life feel safe. Sometimes the prose stretches a scene, yet that same intensity gives the big emotional beats real weight. I liked how the cell phone, a very ordinary object, becomes a lifeline across dimensions, even if the device occasionally feels a little on the nose. The dialogue often spells things out in plain terms. Sometimes I wanted more subtext, but the hospital scenes, the accident, and Ricky’s panic and hope held my attention and felt vivid.
What stayed with me most was the way the book talks about love, faith, and choice in very simple language. The story treats the bond between parent and child as something literally cosmic, not just emotional, and I found that oddly comforting. I liked the idea that even “bad” or empty souls still crave warmth and that Derrick’s refusal to give in matters, not just his beliefs or his prayers. The visits to the misty realm, the angels, the hint of hell, and the robed creator figure are pretty straightforward. For me, it felt like listening to someone tell a very personal near-death story. I could feel the wish behind it. The wish that love really does reach across every barrier, and that a child’s trust and a parent’s promise are stronger than fear.
Two Connected Souls is heartfelt, clear, and determined to reassure you that death is a doorway, not a wall. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy inspirational or spiritual fiction, to parents who like stories about fierce parent–child bonds, and to anyone who finds comfort in vivid pictures of heaven, angels, and divine presence. If you want a straight-from-the-heart story about love that refuses to let go, I think this book will be very enjoyable for you.
Pages: 91 | ASIN: B0GDVLW9GG
Belonging to the World
Belonging to the World follows Barry Hoffner’s journey from the sudden loss of his wife, Jackie, to an unexpected path of healing as he travels to every country on earth. The book opens with the shattering grief of Jackie’s death and the dark, disorienting months that follow, then widens into a story about connection, curiosity, and the raw power of human kindness. Hoffner moves through deserts in Oman, chaos and beauty in Afghanistan, warmth in Syria, wonder in Bhutan, and countless small moments of humanity that tell him he still belongs to the world, even when he feels unmoored from it. It is both a memoir of loss and a chronicle of awe, written with honesty and a clear desire to understand people wherever he goes.
As I read, I felt pulled into his emotional rhythm. Sometimes he writes with a quiet weight, almost like he is whispering because the grief is still too close. Other times, he throws himself into a scene with bright energy, like he is hungry to feel alive again. I found that mix moving. It mirrors how grief actually behaves. It hits hard, then softens, then surprises you all over again. The travel stories aren’t just pretty postcard moments. They are the places where he bumps into his own pain and also where he finds these tiny sparks of connection. I loved how often strangers show up at the perfect time. It made me think about how people everywhere have this instinct to reach toward someone who hurts.
I also appreciated the simplicity of the writing. He doesn’t try to sound wise or polished, and I liked that. It feels like someone telling you the truth as they live it. The chapters unfold quickly, each country arriving like a new test or a new chance. I sometimes wished he lingered longer, especially in the places that clearly changed him. But the pace also reflects his state of mind. After loss, standing still can feel dangerous. Moving forward feels like survival. And the way he carries Jackie with him in every experience made me ache. It never felt sentimental. It felt real.
By the end, I had this sense that the world he traveled through became less a map and more a mirror. Every landscape, every border crossing, every shared meal made him a little braver and a little softer. I didn’t finish the book thinking about travel as a checklist. I finished it thinking about how connection works. How people can stitch you back together without even knowing they’re doing it. How a life can shift from broken to open if you let yourself keep going, one unfamiliar place at a time.
I would recommend Belonging to the World to anyone traveling through grief, anyone who loves travel stories with heart, and anyone who wants to see the world as more generous than the headlines make it seem. It’s especially good for readers who don’t need tidy lessons and who are comfortable walking beside someone still figuring it all out. The book feels like a companion for anyone trying to rebuild after life comes apart.
Pages: 405 | ASIN : B0FZNNDF5L
Lunches with Ed (A Dementia Journey of Love)
Lunches with Ed tells the story of a woman caring for her husband as dementia slowly changes every corner of their shared life. The book follows Judy Collier’s journey from the first troubling signs to the caregiving years at home, the painful decision to move Ed to long-term care, the strange mix of heartbreak and sweetness in her daily visits, and finally the peaceful end of his life. She lays out the memories through stories, journal entries, and reflections that show love staying steady even as everything else slips away.
The writing feels simple at first, almost like someone talking to a friend over coffee, yet that is exactly what makes it so strong. The plainness pulls you in. You start to feel the fear she tries to hide and the way she keeps moving anyway. There were moments that made me laugh because they felt so human and odd, like Ed grouping his grapes into sets of four or insisting his license was locked in the doctor’s desk. Then I’d turn a page and feel my chest tighten when he wandered outside in the middle of the night or when she held window visits during the long months of Covid. The emotional swings felt real. They felt like life. I found myself pausing often just to sit with it.
What stayed with me most was how she writes about devotion. Not as some grand thing but as a series of small acts that never stop. Holding his hand while he sleeps. Feeding him when he forgets how. Talking to shadows in the corner because it eased his fear. None of it feels dramatic. It feels steady and warm and a little exhausting and also brave in a quiet way. The journal entries hit me especially hard. They show the rhythm of her days shifting between hope and dread. They show how love keeps showing up even when the person you love is drifting somewhere you cannot follow. I felt myself rooting for both of them and sometimes whispering a little prayer under my breath because the truth of it all was so heavy.
I closed the book with a mix of sadness and gratitude. Sadness because the story is real, and loss is real. Gratitude because the author chose to share something so personal and because her honesty might make someone else feel less alone. I would recommend Lunches with Ed to caregivers, family members walking through dementia, readers drawn to memoir, and anyone who wants a reminder that tenderness still matters in hard seasons.
Pages: 82
The Stanton Falls Mysteries – Promotion to Peril
Susan Reed-Flores’s The Stanton Falls Mysteries: Promotion to Peril explores the destructive forces of greed and envy, which drive the chilling crimes in the small town of Stanton Falls. As newly appointed Police Chief Dan Ross, along with Detective Scalari and rookie Detective Reed, navigate the murky waters of corruption and injustice, they find themselves embroiled in a deeply personal and dangerous investigation. The team embarks on a thrilling journey as they piece together clues, unravel crimes, and bring wrongdoers to justice. The discovery of corruption within their own ranks adds a compelling twist to their mission, emphasizing the importance of integrity in their pursuit to protect Stanton Falls. Despite the dangers, their unwavering commitment to justice shines through, making for an engaging and suspenseful read.
The writing is engaging and accessible, with Reed-Flores’s clear narrative style allowing the story to flow smoothly. The pacing is well-handled, especially as each short story builds upon the last, creating a cohesive and satisfying reading experience. However, I found that while the plot twists were compelling, some of the dialogue could have used a bit more polish to make the characters’ interactions feel more natural. For instance, certain conversations between Ross and his fellow detectives felt a bit stiff, which slightly detracted from the immersion. One of the strengths of this book is its ability to balance the tension of the crime-solving aspects with the personal lives of the characters. Reed-Flores does an excellent job of weaving in moments of vulnerability, particularly in the scenes involving Ross and his family, which add emotional depth to the narrative. The interplay between the professional and personal stakes keeps the reader invested in both the outcomes of the cases and the well-being of the characters. The structure of the book, with its three interconnected short stories, allows for a variety of cases and character developments, which keeps the reader engaged. The mysteries themselves are well-crafted, with clues that are thoughtfully placed and pay off in satisfying resolutions. The final story, which ties together elements from the previous ones, is particularly strong and serves as a fitting conclusion to the trilogy’s middle entry. That said, some of the secondary characters could have been developed further, as they sometimes felt like they were there more to serve the plot than to add richness to the story’s world.
The Stanton Falls Mysteries: Promotion to Peril is an enjoyable read, particularly for fans of cozy mysteries who appreciate a blend of suspense and character-driven storytelling. Reed-Flores’s ability to create a sense of place and community within Stanton Falls makes the town feel like a character in its own right, adding to the overall charm of the book. I would recommend this book to readers who are looking for a light yet engaging mystery that delves into both the personal and professional lives of its characters, with just the right amount of intrigue to keep you turning the pages.
Pages: 209 | ASIN : B0DH2QKQBC
LITERARY TITAN 