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
Where The Winds Blow
Where The Winds Blow blends political satire, global intrigue, and adrenaline-soaked storm chasing into a single, fast-moving narrative. The book follows the rise of Path Finder, a grassroots movement born from grief and idealism, while powerful governments, criminal networks, and ordinary people collide around it. At the same time, the story weaves in a parallel thread of storm chasers barreling across Texas, where tempests both real and emotional hit with little warning. The plot swings from Irish funerals to boathouse diplomacy to desert border tensions, always nudged forward by colorful characters who often stumble into history by accident.
Reading it, I found myself laughing at moments I didn’t expect to laugh at and bracing during scenes that came out of nowhere, like the chaotic barbecue rescue early on or the tense debates inside the gilded halls of Peace Castle. The writing has a kind of cheeky confidence. The author slips from humor to sincerity in seconds, and somehow it works. I liked how the “science guides” at the castle go from bickering like rivals to forming a unified plan after being nudged by drinks, blunt truth, and a locked door. Those small human quirks make the big themes feel grounded. And the storm chasing chapters surprised me. The imagery of dirt clouds swallowing the vans and lightning cracking overhead felt alive. Moments like Simon dragging a stubborn tourist away from his dramatic self-sacrifice scene stuck with me because they were messy and relatable and oddly sweet.
The book plays with many threads. I enjoyed each storyline on its own, but sometimes the pace jumped so fast that I had to remind myself where we were and who was scheming or storm chasing or hiding from cartel lookouts. The Path Finder political satire is sharp and funny, especially scenes in Washington where we watch powerful people try to bend the movement to their will. The storm chasing plot, though, has this raw emotional pulse that could carry a book by itself. When the two worlds finally echo each other thematically, it lands.
I closed the book feeling satisfied. Where The Winds Blow is a good pick for readers who like stories with heart and humor mixed into real-world chaos, who enjoy political send-ups, or who don’t mind a chase through a thunderstorm or a bureaucratic maze. It’s lively. It’s warm. It’s playful. And it’s perfect for anyone who wants a story that reminds them that even the biggest changes in the world often start with a handful of imperfect people trying to do the right thing.
Pages: 313 | ASIN : B0G1KKJLYR
In the Wake of Golgotha
In the Wake of Golgotha braids the crucifixion story with a dark, present day New York crime narrative. Judas and Pilate walk the earth again as Jude Issachar, a social worker and literature instructor with a secret habit of controlled self-hanging, and Peter Pheiffer, a corporate lawyer drifting into a death penalty case that begins to wake an old guilt he cannot name. Around them moves Balthazar Bedrossian, an MRI tech who turns into a crucifixion-obsessed serial killer and leaves three men nailed to crosses in a Chinatown basement, with a bloody message that echoes words spoken on Calvary. The book moves between Golgotha, courtrooms, shelters, subways, and art museums. It treats time like a loop rather than a line. The result is a theological thriller about responsibility, addiction, justice, and the long reach of one moment on a hill.
The prose is lush and sensory, full of heat, dust, blood, and cramped city air, then suddenly snaps into something clipped and almost conversational. I liked that swing. It kept me slightly off balance, in a good way, and it fit a story where characters feel unmoored from their own lives. At times, the sentences pile up, and the metaphors jostle for space, and I caught myself rereading a passage not because I missed a plot point, but because the language had become thick and crowded. When the book slows down and lets a simple image stand alone, like the quiet of a homeless shelter after breakfast or the tap of a condemned man’s bare feet, it lands very hard.
The ideas in this novel gave me a lot to think about. The reincarnation of Judas, fully aware of his past betrayal, turns guilt into a chronic condition rather than a single act, and I felt the weight of that on Jude’s shoulders every time he touched his neck. Peter’s arc hit me in a different way. He walks around convinced he is an ordinary guy who chose corporate comfort, then finds himself face to face with a killer who recreates crucifixion while a hidden past claws its way into the light. That mix of legal procedure, spiritual dread, and moral confusion made the courtroom scenes genuinely tense for me, even before any supernatural hints came in. The book obsesses over punishment and mercy, over how a single choice repeats through history, and it keeps asking whether anyone can ever really start fresh. I finished sections feeling uneasy, but also weirdly moved, like I had been invited into a long argument between God, the devil, and everybody who ever stood between them.
In the Wake of Golgotha is not a casual beach read. It leans into graphic violence, addiction, death row procedure, and heavy spiritual questions, and it rarely lets the reader off the hook. I would recommend it to people who like literary crime fiction that has a strong theological spine, to readers who enjoy novels that play with myth and scripture, and to anyone willing to sit with messy questions about blame and forgiveness. If you are up for a dark, ambitious story that blends ancient sorrow with modern city grit, I think it is worth your time.
Pages: 354 | ASIN: B0FY3WCZWR
The Arkencrest Chronicles: Battle for Crossroads
The Arkencrest Chronicles: Battle for Crossroads is an epic fantasy that lays out a vast world shaped from the bones of a fallen god, threaded with nations, factions, magical histories, and a young man’s coming-of-age journey. The book opens with myth, maps, and lore, then shifts into the story of Bourdain, an eighteen-year-old raised in the scholarly city of Ikvia, who carries the weight of his parents’ mysterious deaths and the quiet push toward a larger fate. His decision to leave home and join a caravan heading into the wider world feels like the real spark of the narrative. The story blends high fantasy worldbuilding with a classic hero-sets-out structure, and it’s clear from the very first chapters that the stakes will eventually reach the scale of kingdoms and maybe even gods.
I kept noticing how much care the author put into the setting. Whole sections read almost like ancient chronicles, especially the creation myths and the detailed accounts of elves, dwarves, orcs, and other races. Sometimes those lore chapters felt dense, but in a way that reminded me of leafing through the appendices of a much-loved fantasy series. I found myself slowing down to appreciate the small touches, like the smell of ink and seawater in Ikvia or the way the elven forest seems to breathe around its people. When the story shifts back to Bourdain, the tone changes just enough to feel more grounded. His scenes have a quiet emotional center, especially his conversations with Kael and his uncle, which helped balance the heavier mythic material.
I also appreciated the author’s willingness to give readers a wide view of the world right away. You can feel that this is a story about more than one kingdom or one hero. The factions, the ancient seals, the threat of the Devourer, the politics of Sovar, there are a lot of threads, and the book asks you to trust that they’ll matter later. Sometimes I caught myself wishing the pace would sit a little longer with Bourdain before expanding outward, but I was also genuinely curious about each new layer. It felt like walking into a bustling market: overwhelming for a moment, then strangely energizing once you settle into the rhythm.
By the time I finished the opening arc, I felt invested. Bourdain is easy to root for. The world feels lived in. And the writing has a steady confidence, switching between poetic and straightforward without calling too much attention to itself. It’s the sort of fantasy that invites you in slowly, giving you the sense that you’re only glimpsing the start of something much larger.
If you love epic fantasy with rich lore, detailed cultures, and a world that feels ancient and complicated beneath the surface, this book will land well for you. Readers who prefer fast, plot-driven fantasy might find the early chapters a bit methodical, but anyone who enjoys settling into a world and watching a young hero take his first real steps into danger will find plenty to appreciate here. I’d recommend it especially to fans of expansive, map-filled adventures who like to feel the weight of history behind every choice.
Pages: 383 | ASIN : B0FYHW5ZLY
The Shattered Ones
The Shattered Ones follows Ace, a worn-down former protector living in a world swallowed by endless darkness. The sun has vanished. Cities crumble. People lose themselves. Ace tries to drink away what he used to be until a terrified man shows up with news that sparks a search for others like Ace. The story turns into a fight against a brutal gang, a ruthless corporation, and a rising evil while Ace pieces together a strange calling and a fragile hope. By the end, the light finally returns, and the survivors stand in a new world trying to understand what comes next .
I kept feeling this push and pull between grit and heart. The writing dives hard into bleak moments, and sometimes it hit me hard. The city felt alive in a sad way, full of broken people stumbling through pitch-black days. But the author slips in these quiet emotional beats that land with surprising force. Ace’s exhaustion felt real. His shaky hope felt real, too. Those shifts kept me leaning in. I found myself rooting for him even when he was trying his best not to care.
Then the book swings into big action scenes and wild turns. At first, I thought the scale jump might drown the human parts, but it actually worked for me. The chaos made the tender moments brighter. One scene near the end, when the group finally sees the first glow of returning sunlight, honestly caught me off guard with how moving it felt. The writing eases up and lets that warmth sit for a moment.
By the time the epilogue rolled in, the hopeful tone felt earned. The world is far from fixed, but the people are trying, and that small spark of rebuilding hit me in the gut. Seeing Ace in a park months later, watching kids laugh while the city comes back to life, made the whole journey feel worth it. It showed how much he lost and how much he still carries.
I’d recommend The Shattered Ones to readers who like dark worlds but need a thread of light to hold on to. Anyone who enjoys character-driven dystopian stories, rough-edged heroes, or tales about finding purpose in a broken place will get something out of this. It’s heavy at times, sure, but it leaves you with a feeling that you’ll remember.
Pages: 338 | ASIN : B0DBZX1FWS
The Magic Circle
The Magic Circle follows the life of Mary Armstrong, the daughter of a powerful senator whose secret history of incest, trauma, and metaphysical obsession comes to light through her diary. The narrator, Mary’s childhood friend, takes that diary and retells the story as a blend of memory, confession, myth, linguistics, erotic mysticism, and psychological unraveling. The book moves through Mary’s childhood abuse, her attempts to understand it through religion and philosophy, her fixation on the Magi, and her belief that orgasm and God are the same force. As the narrative unfolds, it spirals into ideas about guilt, family collapse, incest as cosmic metaphor, cultural history, race, violence, and the long shadow of forbidden desire.
Reading this book felt wild, stirring, and at times emotionally overwhelming. The writing swings between sharp humor, painful honesty, and surreal insight. Sometimes I felt pulled along by the narrator’s voice, which is chatty and almost confessional. Other times, I felt pinned down by the weight of Mary’s thoughts as she tries to decode her past through religion, linguistics, anthropology, and mythology. I caught myself reacting with both shock and strange admiration. The author does not flinch. She leans into discomfort, and the effect is gripping. There are scenes that left me uneasy, others that made me strangely moved. The mix of intellectual curiosity and emotional rawness kept me on edge in a way that felt honest. The book refuses to tidy anything, and I actually liked that. It mirrors the chaos Mary lived in.
What struck me most was how the story keeps circling back to the idea that forbidden intimacy shapes a life, long after the act itself. The narrator shows us how Mary interprets that childhood violation as something magical, terrifying, and foundational. Her thinking is messy and bold. It is full of leaps that made me raise my eyebrows and then reread the lines just to sit with them. I kept feeling that the book wanted me to see how trauma bends a person’s sense of God, morality, memory, and even language itself. The voice is emotional, angry, tender, and sometimes darkly funny. I felt pulled between sympathy and disbelief. It is rare to read something that so openly stirs up confusion and still feels intentional.
The Magic Circle left me feeling unsettled in a way I appreciated. It is not a light read. It is intense, clever, sometimes messy, and often surprising. I would recommend this book to readers who like psychological depth, taboo subjects, and stories that blend intellect with raw emotion.
Pages: 288 | ASIN : B0G45N7LFH
Do You Have Any Fairies?
Faery Academy of QuillSnap follows Tansy WaterSprite, a “Little” in the Human Realm, being held by her evil guardian, when a mysterious visitor shows up at the toadstool house with an invitation to attend the Faery Academy. She will first have to get there, where she will have to find her inner strength and courage and uncover answers to family and faery secrets.
What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
One afternoon with my 4-year-old granddaughter on my farm in the Enchanted Land of Iowa, where I live, is in a forest. I took her to see the forest that had just been trimmed of dead branches and brush, which now looks like a true Enchanted Forest.
She said, “I love your Enchanted Forest, Mimi, but do you have any fairies?”
Thinking quickly, I responded, “Of course I do. Over here is where they live, and over here is where they go to school, because they are not born a fairy; they have to go to school to be a fairy.”
She was deep in thought as she considered this information. She was getting ready to go to preschool and didn’t think it was a good idea, since she already knew everything; however, if fairies had to go to school too…
At night, she preferred fairy stories instead of reading a book. Kids are really smart and remember if you repeat part of the story, and I would quickly be told, “Mimi, you already told us that!” I had to start writing it down, and today it is the Faery Academy of QuillSnap: Night of the Purple Moon.
There is a lot of time and care spent on descriptions and building the setting and tone of the story. Was this out of necessity to develop the depth of the story, or was it something that happened naturally as you were writing?
This came naturally as I was telling my granddaughter the story that was inspired by our afternoon in the Enchanted Forest that sparked the story.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Adversity builds character, I think I can becomes I know I can, Girls and women can do anything.
Will this novel be the start of a series, or are you working on a different story?
I am currently working on the sequel, hoping to go to editing by the first of the year.
Author Links: GoodReads | X | Facebook | Facebook- author| Website
US Review of Books RECOMMENDED
International Impact Award Winner
Readers’ Favorite 5-Star Award
Finalist Independent Author Award
Finalist for Global Book Awards
In a world invisible to human eyes, the enchanting Faery Realm exists. Entering a secret portal from the mundane to the magical begins Tansy WaterSprite’s adventure of sparkling danger. Her evil guardian is stalking her with a different, dark agenda. Only “littles” who have been monitored since birth and passed secret tests are invited to attend the Faery Academy of QuillSnap, but not everyone gets to stay. Those who overcome the dangerous obstacles during the Night of the Purple Moon will determine who stays. Hidden family secrets shape Tansy’s destiny as she uncovers her inner strength and resilience, forging a new path guided by newfound courage—a new kind of faery tale for all ages.
Humans Amaze Me
I, Robot Alien follows Scoots, a robot created by transcendent alien beings and sent to a devastated Earth to guide humanity back from devolution, while avoiding involvement in any significant event.
What are some things that you find interesting about the human condition that you think make for great fiction?
I am constantly amazed at the vast gulf between the highest qualities, skills, and positive attributes of human beings and their propensity for depravity, ignorance, and violence. Due to the apparently infinite reservoir of possibilities, there is no dearth of material for great fiction.
I find that, while writing, you sometimes ask questions and have the characters answer them. Do you find that to be true? What questions did you ask yourself while writing this story?
Yes, that’s true, because every character has an individual answer to every question, thus revealing much about themselves through their answers. My personal questions have much more to do with maintaining credibility, continuity, consistency, and clarity—a whole lot of ‘Cs’ to keep in mind.
I hope the series continues in other books. If so, where will the story take readers?
There will be 2 more books in the series. I am currently writing I, Robot Tessa, about a female robot, which will be published on August 10, 2026. The fourth book, I, Robot Human, promises to be darker and less optimistic than the first three.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | X (Twitter) | Website | Amazon
I was created by beings who couldn’t touch this world … only watch it crumble.
Every twenty years, a new tribe … a new hope … a new failure.
I was told, “Do not interfere.”
But watching them die … again … again …
I wasn’t meant to change history … only guide it.
Silently.
Humanity had a second chance … I was left to make sure they didn’t waste it.
But I broke Directive Three.
Can they survive a second collapse … can I?
LITERARY TITAN 