Magical Adventures
Mari-chan and Roboto Bunny follow a fearless six-year-old who, after her father goes missing in an avalanche, sets out on an adventure with her magical stuffed bunny to rescue her father. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
When my daughter was a baby, a friend gave her a white bunny stuffie with a blue tummy that lights up and plays music when you press it. The bunny was her favorite stuffie. I used to imagine them going on magical adventures together.
I rock climb as a hobby, not seriously like the dad in the book. But I thought, what if a rock climbing dad got trapped in an avalanche and it was up to his baby daughter and her stuffie to rescue him? I had to write the story to find out.
Mari-chan has to turn into a baby to get through the secret passage so she can find her father. This is a unique setup for a valuable lesson in bravery and perseverance. What were the morals you were trying to capture while creating your characters?
Six-year-olds tend to be very active. This is when a lot of kids start trying sports, like climbing, gymnastics, and swimming. Their confidence can become linked to that skill. But what if they can’t do gymnastics anymore? What if they lose the ability to do the thing they think makes them special? Would their confidence crumble? It’s important to realize that bravery isn’t just about physical ability. It’s a lesson that both the daughter and the dad have to learn.
What were some educational aspects that were important for you to include in this children’s book?
The most important thing for me was to write a story that my daughter would want to read because I think reading is very important, especially for young children. My daughter complained that a lot of books I tried to get her to read were boring, so I made up my own story with things she likes: cute animals, adventure, songs, and riddles. By the way, parents who read this to their kids need to sing the songs.
Education wasn’t my primary goal with Mari-chan and Roboto Bunny, but to tell an interesting story, I had to introduce words and concepts, like avalanche and ferry, which are new to many six-year-olds. Whenever my daughter asked what something meant, I would explain and then move on with the story. This approach helped integrate the educational aspects into the story naturally.
I think it worked. I would read Mari-chan and Roboto Bunny to my daughter from my phone at bedtime, and she sometimes got so into the story that she took my phone and read it herself. She said it was the bestest story ever.
What is the next story that you’re writing, and when will it be published?
Mari-chan and Roboto Bunny was loosely based on Dante’s Inferno. I’m planning a sequel that will loosely follow Purgatorio (the next book in Dante’s The Divine Comedy), which I plan to publish before Christmas. I’d like to do a full trilogy, but I’ll see how it goes.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Amazon
On their journey, baby Mari-chan and Roboto Bunny must outwit hungry animals, alligator bridges, three-headed “beasts,” silly thieves, grumpy talking trees, a Bunny Kingdom gate test, and a wise owl tribunal. Along the way, Mari-chan discovers that even in a tiny body, her courage, creativity, and kindness are bigger than she ever imagined. But will her bravery and wits help rescue her dad, before it’s too late? It’s up to Mari-chan and Roboto Bunny to find out.
This heartwarming and imaginative allegory, reminiscent of Dante’s Inferno, shares that a difficult journey often has the best destination.
Gifts and Talents
Cutler’s Wonderful Creations follows a spoon, fork, and knife who are gifted to a young girl and struggle with understanding their purpose while waiting to be useful. I think this original idea is intriguing. How did you come up with this idea and develop it into a story?
I’ve actually been sharing this story with my kids for years lol! It was a simple way for me to get them to appreciate that they were intentionally designed with a special purpose and identity from God. I shared this story with a college friend a couple of years ago, and he suggested that I turn it into a children’s book. I never expected it to be so impactful, but it has been.
What were some educational aspects that were important for you to include in this children’s book?
First, it is my belief that we all have a God-given purpose that ultimately leads to our greatest source of joy and fulfillment. No one understands the purpose of the creation quite like the Creator. Just as Mr. Cutler was uniquely qualified to share the ultimate purpose of the utensils, our Heavenly Father is uniquely qualified to help us unravel our purpose as well, since he is our Creator. Secondly, none of us is “broken.” Finding out what you aren’t created for is almost as important as finding out what you were created for. Lastly is to celebrate the gifts and talents of others while recognizing the value that you have as well. Comparison is a very real struggle that many children (and adults) face in our society today. My hope is that they (as well as their parents) gain their identity from the one who designed it in the first place, to know that they are enough as they are.
What experience in your life has had the most significant impact on your writing?
It honestly stems from a desire to pass down my lessons learned to my kids and grandkids so that they can avoid some of my miscues from a poor self-identity. The earlier that they can realize and walk into their God-given identity, the sooner they will approach life with intention in all that they do. I know how frustrating it can be to feel as if you were meant for more while seemingly wandering about life searching for it. If I can help an adult or child recognize their value through connecting with their Creator sooner rather than later, then mission accomplished.
What story are you currently in the middle of writing?
I actually have two other books ready for publishing now lol! Both are children’s books. One is regarding service, and the other is about growth and the importance of good environments to grow in. All of my stories come from things that I experienced, so I have plenty of material!
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Amazon
Everyone Deserves a Home
Baer Charlton’s historical fiction novel, Everyone Deserves a Home, traces the intertwined lives of Walter Humphrey, Leatha, Betsy Turner, and eventually Hannah Mariah Rose Humphrey. It begins in the American South of the mid-1800s, moves through New Orleans, crosses the ocean to England, and follows a family shaped by secrets of race, identity, and survival. From the first chapters, the story lays out a complicated inheritance: hidden parentage, passing as white, the legacy of enslavement, and the formation of a chosen family built not by blood but by loyalty. Even early on, you see how Hannah’s future as a surgeon grows out of this unconventional household where medicine, language, theater, and resilience are all part of daily life.
The writing moves with an intimate, memoir-like rhythm, especially in the prologue, where adult children recount their mother’s hidden Black heritage and how she “became white” at five years old. That moment alone sets the tone. It’s direct, a little painful, and strangely gentle. Scenes stretch out with detail you can almost smell or touch. Then, suddenly, a sentence snaps short and lands like a stone in the gut. I liked that mix. It mirrors the characters themselves. Walter’s voice, in particular, blends clinical precision with emotional restraint. Meanwhile, Leatha’s chapters feel grounded and visceral, as if she’s speaking while chopping vegetables or tying on an apron. And Betsy’s early chapters shimmer with that mix of bravado and fragility found in a teenager who has survived too much too young.
What surprised me most was how the novel lets relationships carry the ideas. Topics like passing, racial identity, gender, sexuality, and bodily autonomy are present, but they arrive wrapped inside the everyday details of meals, births, surgeries, and whispered conversations over kitchen tables. The story never lectures. It just unfolds. Sometimes I found myself pausing, not because something dramatic had happened, but because a small detail shifted my understanding of a character. A hand on a shoulder. A joke in sign language. A quiet refusal to leave someone behind. These moments gave the book a warm undercurrent even when the history it leans on is harsh. And although the novel spans continents and decades, its emotional center always comes back to the home this unconventional family creates together.
By the end, I felt like the title wasn’t just a claim but a philosophy that the book keeps proving. The story champions people who carve out belonging in a world determined to deny it to them. It’s historical fiction, yes, but it reads with the intimacy of family lore and the clarity of someone finally ready to tell the whole truth. I would recommend Everyone Deserves a Home to readers who enjoy character-driven historical fiction, stories about identity and chosen family, and novels that blend emotional honesty with rich, lived-in detail.
Pages: 263 | ASIN : B0FL13PG6X
I And the Village: Daughter of the Kibbutz
I and the Village: Daughter of the Kibbutz traces Estee Cohen Laub’s life from her early childhood in Kibbutz Kfar Masaryk to her family’s tangled past in Europe, shaped by war, migration, and loss. The memoir blends daily kibbutz life with the weight of inherited trauma. It moves between her own coming of age and the stories of her parents and grandparents who survived upheaval, exile, and the Holocaust. Laub paints a vivid picture of communal childhood, the rules that shaped it, and the emotional undercurrents that ran beneath a system built on ideals of equality and collective identity.
Laub’s writing is simple on the surface, yet it carries flashes of raw honesty that hit without warning. I found myself smiling at the small scenes of childhood, the games, the kids’ arguments, the curiosity, all of it wrapped in that strange mix of innocence and structure. Other times, the mood dropped fast as the family history unfurled. I kept thinking about how she held those two worlds together, the bright kibbutz sun and the long shadow of Europe, and how much strength it must have taken to look back without flinching. Her voice feels steady, even when the memories shake.
What stayed with me most was Laub’s openness. She lets the reader sit with her confusion, her longing for affection, her complicated relationship with her parents, and her deep pull toward dance. The prose wanders at times, but I didn’t mind. It felt true to the way memory behaves. Some scenes are so detailed that I saw them as clearly as if I were standing there, and other parts drift past like half-remembered dreams. I appreciated that looseness. It gave the story a human rhythm. I felt a quiet ache through much of the book, mostly because Laub writes about loss not with drama, but with this soft and steady truthfulness that lingers.
I And the Village is a good fit for anyone who loves personal histories, stories of survival, and reflections on what it means to grow up inside a system bigger than yourself. Laub’s memoir will also appeal to readers drawn to cultural history, communal living, or family stories shaped by war. I closed the book feeling moved and grateful for the glimpse into a life both ordinary and extraordinary in its own way.
Pages: 224 | ISBN : 978-1837944620
Mortal Vengeance
Mortal Vengeance, by Alejandro Torres De la Rocha, is a young adult supernatural thriller that follows a tight-knit but deeply troubled group of teens whose attempt to get revenge on a cruel teacher spirals into something far darker than any of them imagined. What starts as a grim school drama quickly escalates into a chain of betrayals, fear, and ultimately the appearance of a mythic, reaper-like being that shatters their lives. The book blends coming-of-age turmoil with horror and psychological suspense, and the shift from everyday cruelty to supernatural violence comes through sharp and sudden.
I was pulled into the heat and pressure of those classrooms and courtyards. The writing often leans intense, almost cinematic, with scenes described in a way that makes the emotions feel oversized, raw, and volatile. I caught myself thinking, these kids are carrying way more weight than they know how to hold. Marcos’s explosive anger, Mario’s guilt and fragility, Alex’s manipulative charm and insecurities, Melissa’s heartbreak, Enrique’s need to please everyone… every character is drawn with a kind of heightened emotional color. Sometimes it felt melodramatic, but in a way that matched the story’s pulse. The author’s choice to push sensations and metaphors to their limits gives the book a feverish energy, like the world is always one bad decision away from breaking.
What surprised me most was how quickly the story shifts from grounded teen conflict to something mythic and terrifying. One moment we’re dealing with bullying and revenge in a school hallway, and the next we’re staring down the Grim Cojuelo on a moonlit pier. That jump could have felt jarring, but for me, it worked because the emotional stakes were already running so high. The supernatural element feels like an extension of everything boiling inside these characters. Still, I found myself wishing for a few quieter beats where the emotions had room to breathe. When everything is dialed up, it can be hard to sit with the subtler moments. But there’s something gripping about how unafraid the author is to dive into intensity, whether it’s love, jealousy, fear, or guilt.
Mortal Vengeance is a story about how small cruelties grow into big consequences, and how revenge rarely lands where you expect. If you like young adult stories that mix school drama with supernatural horror, and you don’t mind a narrative that swings for big emotions instead of quiet restraint, this will be the perfect book for you. It’s a dramatic, dark, and sometimes chaotic ride, but it is delightfully entertaining.
Pages: 306 | ASIN : B0FDT6JYSQ
Navigating New Ideas
Surprising Max follows a soccer-loving boy who reluctantly practices piano and discovers, alongside a blooming amaryllis, that patience and care can unlock unexpected confidence and talent. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
A retired music professor and piano teacher, I made up Max’s story for Sunday School children, as an introduction to Advent, a season of waiting and preparation that precedes Christmas. A piano teacher enjoys a unique influence in a child’s education, guiding year-by-year growth. And, since music is a performance art, the recitals become the show and tell for performers and parents. Max GETS surprised, at his performance, at the appearance of the high school soccer star, who dazzles at the piano, and by the beauty of the red amaryllis. But, even more than that, Max IS the surprise. He has amazed the audience, his mom, and, of course, himself.
How did you approach writing a story about perseverance without making it feel instructional for young readers?
Max’s thoughts are expressed through his “italicized” questions. We are privy only to what he’s feeling: self pity, bewilderment, amazement, worry, and finally, a proclamation. For most children, navigating new ideas requires an emotional safety net that permits questions that may not have answers.
What role did the illustrations play in shaping Max’s emotional journey as you envisioned it?
Our sons’ favorite book was the great Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. While my illustrator couldn’t copy that little boy, she came very close to capturing that disheveled awkwardness. Max’s smiles bookend his experiences; he was happy playing soccer AND, eventually, playing the piano.
What do you hope children feel or reflect on after finishing Surprising Max?
A friend told me that, after receiving Surprising Max for Christmas, her grandchildren decided to take piano lessons. Obviously, that was a wonderful reflection on Max! Not every child will become a musician. However, the pursuit of music making is filled with life-enriching and life-enduring lessons. My hope would be that every child feels welcomed in that world.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
Quantum Weirdness
Diverging Streams follows two young lovers who, after an accident, are separated and reunited twenty years later by another accident, leaving them with the ability to travel through time and dimensions. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I began working on this book over 30 years ago, and I really don’t remember any particular inspiration for it. At one point, in 2008, I gave up on it and published Chapters 2 and 3 as a stand-alone short story, but about 2010, I took it up again and finished it in 2015.
Your novel has some interesting characters with their own flaws, yet they are still likable. How do you go about creating characters for your story?
I know it sounds corny, but I listen to my characters and allow them to develop their own personalities. I like to compare it to those old Max Fleischer cartoons in which Betty Boop or Koko the Clown climbs out of the ink bottle onto the paper. And once the characters are fully developed, I let them write the story for me. I feel more like an observer than the creator.
The science inserted in the fiction, I felt, was well balanced. How did you manage to keep it grounded while still providing the fantastic edge science fiction stories usually provide?
I have long believed that time, like space, is three-dimensional, which I maintain offers the best explanation for quantum weirdness. The world I have created—the constantly dividing and diverging time streams, each with its own unique reality, follows necessarily from multidimensional time. Although the afterlife, as I have described it, is more speculative, it is perhaps more a case of probable than merely possible.
Will this novel be the start of a series, or are you working on a different story?
I have no interest in further pursuing this story. I have finished two more novels: Conniption Creek, a dark comedy in the tradition of Catch 22, and The Swing Time Soda Emporium, a coming-of-age story set in small-town America during the 1940s, which I hope to publish by late this year or early next.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
Consistent with the many worlds interpretation of quantum physics, time—like space—is three-dimensional, with a nearly infinite number of constantly dividing and diverging time streams, each stream containing its own unique reality.
Simple Intentional Acts
Sacred Celebrations is a warm and soulful guide to help readers who want to deepen their emotional and spiritual life by marking life’s transitions with intention and love. Why was this an important book for you to write?
As more people identify as “spiritual but not religious,” there’s a real need for a guidebook that can be returned to again and again when big life events arise. I’ve heard from readers who’ve used Sacred Celebrations to plan weddings, funerals, menopause parties, divorce parties, and other intimate gatherings. When they write to share their stories, I often find myself saying “YES!” out loud at my computer—usually startling my cat! It thrills me not only that the message resonates, but that readers are putting it into practice. The world needs more rituals, and one by one, readers are helping bring that vision to life.
We are craving connection and community more than ever. In our fractured world, it’s essential that we find our way back to one another—and rituals help us do that. They ground us, center us in the present moment, and invite us to truly witness one another during life’s milestone moments, whether they are filled with joy, grief, or often both at the same time.
Creating a new ritual or celebration can be overwhelming when someone already feels the need to slow down. What is a good starting point to help someone ease into this new way of thinking and create something meaningful for their lives without feeling overwhelmed?
Start small. Light a candle and write in your journal. Create a simple altar with photos of your ancestors on a bookshelf. Say a gratitude grace with your family at dinner. Invite a few trusted friends to offer prayers or blessings before surgery. Pick flowers from your garden and give them to a neighbor.
Ritual doesn’t need to involve lots of people, elaborate planning, or money to be meaningful. Simple, intentional acts can be incredibly powerful.
I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
My miscarriages. I experienced two miscarriages of twins within a 72-hour period. Writing about that time was an important part of my healing journey—though about 75% of what I wrote never made it into the book.
The portion that did remain included two rituals we participated in, one private and one public, that deeply supported us as we moved through profound grief. Rituals have a remarkable ability to help us navigate some of the most devastating experiences of our lives.
What is one thing that you hope readers take away from Sacred Celebrations?
That there is only one right way to do ritual: your way. This book is not prescriptive; it’s an invitation. An invitation to sense what needs to be honored, celebrated, or remembered, and then to use the tools and ideas I offer to create something meaningful and aligned with you and your community.
You can easily create simple yet memorable rituals that you and your community will remember for years to come!
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Sacred Celebrations | Amazon
Do you celebrate the joys, grieve the losses, and embrace the changes inherent in life’s natural cycles and seasons? In today’s fast-paced world, our souls are begging us to slow down—we must heed that call!
By blending her personal experiences, information about multicultural celebrations, and practical how-to steps, Elizabeth Barbour shares uniquely accessible advice for designing rituals. You’ll enjoy new elements to invigorate birthday gatherings and holidays and additionally be inspired by:
A beautiful grief ritual featuring white roses
An infant’s spiritual dedication in a labyrinth
A young girl’s playful and educational first moon party
An artist’s creative and meaningful “starting a new business” ritual
A divorce ritual punctuated by beating the furniture with a tennis racket
Sacred Celebrations is a resource you’ll come back to again and again to help you navigate emotional endings and beginnings with more presence, clarity and confidence.
LITERARY TITAN 