Blog Archives
Free and First: Unlocking Your Ultimate Life
Free and First is a deeply personal guide to self-discovery. Elizabeth Jane traces her journey from people pleasing and self-doubt to a fuller, freer life shaped by awareness, boundaries, and self-love. She weaves her childhood memories, her marriage, the collapse of that marriage, her travels, her art, and the spiritual teachings that lifted her along the way. The book unfolds through stories, poems, and reflections that show how putting yourself first can feel terrifying at first, yet life-saving in the end. The message is simple and strong. You can only live your ultimate life when you stop abandoning yourself and finally choose you.
As I read, I felt drawn into the honesty of her voice. She talks about fear, shame, exhaustion, and hope in ways that feel raw and real. Her descriptions of becoming invisible in her own marriage hit me hard. I could feel the weight of that silence building inside her. I admired the courage it took for her to pull apart the patterns she had carried since childhood and to name them without flinching. The poems sprinkled throughout the book gave me a quiet pause every time. They felt like little rest stops that softened the heavier moments and reminded me why the journey matters.
Her ideas about boundaries and self-worth resonated with me. Then it surprised me with a sharply clear insight that made me sit back for a moment. I liked that mix. I also appreciated how she used her art and travel as ways to reconnect with herself. There is something tender about someone discovering creativity for the first time in adulthood and letting it shake their life awake. I found myself smiling through those parts. It made the transformation feel less theoretical and more lived in.
This book is heartfelt and encouraging. It is especially good for women who feel stretched thin or unseen, and for anyone who keeps putting others first until there is nothing left for themselves. If you want a book that feels like a warm conversation mixed with personal stories and simple tools, this will speak to you. It reminded me that choosing yourself is not selfish at all. It is the start of everything that follows.
Pages: 156 | ISBN : 1923250043
A Princess on Her Own Terms
A Princess on Her Own Terms follows Princess Sapphire of Xionia, a sharp and stubborn young woman born into a world that worships perfection and tiny waists yet has no idea what to do with a girl who prefers books, good food, and swordplay. The story tracks her journey through tense family expectations, a disastrous ball, an unexpected connection with a prince, and a growing sense that she has every right to build a life on her own terms. It blends fairy tale settings with modern themes about self-worth and independence.
Reading this book made me root for Saphie from page one. Her voice feels real. It hits with honesty and humor, and it cuts through the sugary world around her. I found myself laughing at the chaos of her family and wincing at the cruel comments tossed her way. What surprised me most was how gently the author handles her emotions. The writing is simple in the best way, with scenes that move fast and feel warm. I never felt bogged down. I felt like I was being told a story over tea. I loved that. I also liked the way the author pokes fun at royal traditions that make no sense. It gave the book a playful charm.
Some ideas in the story hit me harder than I expected. Saphie’s refusal to shrink herself for anyone feels powerful. I could feel her frustration, her quiet bravery, and her strange mix of stubborn pride and vulnerable hope. Her relationship with her father made me smile. Her bond with her sister Emmie warmed me right through. Her scenes with Edward gave me that silly flutter in my chest. Not because they were overly romantic, but because they felt honest. The book never tries to make her perfect. It lets her be loud, messy, clever, hungry, bold, and soft all at once. I liked that a lot.
A Princess on Her Own Terms is sweet, funny, and surprisingly thoughtful. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy fairy tales, especially those who want a heroine who does not fit the usual mold. It is great for younger readers who need a reminder that they do not have to shrink to shine, and for adults who still believe stories can be gentle and brave at the same time. I think anyone who loves a good comfort read will enjoy this book.
Pages: 227 | ASIN : B0GCVNK65J
The Guidance
The Guidance tells the story of three isolated tribes living on the lone world of Domhan. Each tribe grows in its own strange corner of the land, shaped by a mysterious universal force called the Guidance. The Harvest Tribe lives by farming rules set in the Book of the Blest. The Hunter Tribe learns to survive with spears and livestock. The Pharmacist Tribe crawls forward through intuition, experiments, and whatever scraps of nature it can gather. Their traditions shift. Their beliefs twist. Their lives unfold as the Guidance quietly watches. The book paints these three evolving cultures in slow, steady strokes, showing how tiny changes ripple across generations.
As I read, I felt myself pulled into the rhythm of the writing. It is calm, almost meditative. Sometimes the prose slows down, but I didn’t mind because the world had a kind of warm strangeness that kept me curious. I liked how the author reveals each tribe’s beliefs through their daily routines instead of long lectures. The scenes around harvest rituals, hunting decisions, and plant experiments had a subtle charm. I found myself smiling when small discoveries became big turning points for them. It made the world feel alive. I also liked how the book lets misunderstandings shape entire cultures. A single phrase or symbol grows into sacred truth.
There were moments when the writing made me pause in a good way. The shift from gratitude toward spirits to gratitude toward one God. The Hunter Tribe guessing that animals hold the divine. The Pharmacist Tribe stumbling into medicine and chemistry without knowing what those things are. These moments hit me with a sense of wonder. I also felt a kind of sadness. The tribes keep changing but never know why. They try their best with limited clues and plenty of hope. That hit close to home. The writing is simple, but it carries a quiet emotional punch.
The book is thought-provoking and rewards patient reading. I’d recommend The Guidance to anyone who enjoys calm, idea-driven fiction. It would be great for readers who like stories about worldbuilding, mythmaking, and how cultures grow from tiny seeds. It’s not a fast ride, but it is a meaningful one, and it leaves you thinking about how people learn, how they survive, and how they make sense of forces far bigger than themselves.
Pages: 187 | ASIN: B0DZGRM23J
My Socks are Dirty Too
My Socks are Dirty, Too is a loose, goofy collection of short bits, gags, and cheeky observations about aging, marriage, senior-center hijinks, bodily mishaps, and everyday life. The book moves fast and hops from one joke to another, almost like listening to a friend who can’t stop cracking wise as he recounts stories about his wife, his buddies, his church antics, and all the strange things that happen as the years pile up. It feels like flipping through a scrapbook of one-liners and mini-stories built to get a grin, a smirk, or a full laugh, with topics ranging from HOA mischief to senior-center pranks to marital back-and-forths and the general chaos of getting older.
While reading, I kept finding myself smiling at how unfiltered the writing is. The author leans into a kind of playful orneriness that feels honest, like he’s laughing at life before life gets the chance to laugh at him. Some jokes are silly, some are sharp, and some hit with that little sting of truth that comes with age. I liked the rhythm of it. The quick hits kept me turning pages because I never knew if the next line would be a groaner or something that would make me snort-laugh. I also enjoyed how he describes the senior center like it’s a sitcom set. The quirky characters and wild signage made the place feel alive and weird in the best way. It all felt familiar, as if he were letting me in on a private hangout with the neighborhood troublemaker.
I also felt a kind of warmth beneath the joking. Even when he teases his wife or pokes at aging bodies and fading memory, there’s affection tucked into the cracks. The stories are crude at times and sometimes outrageous, but the heart shows through. It reminded me of listening to an older relative tell stories that drift between the ridiculous and the meaningful. Some bits made me roll my eyes in the best possible way, and others caught me off guard with how relatable they were. Aging can be hard, but the author treats it like a long, rowdy adventure where you either laugh or you stew, and he refuses to stew.
I’d recommend this book to readers who enjoy quick humor, playful irreverence, and a lighthearted look at senior life. It’s great for anyone who wants to laugh about the oddness of growing older or who appreciates a storyteller who doesn’t take himself seriously. If you like joke-heavy books you can dip in and out of, or if you just need a pick-me-up, this one fits the bill.
Pages: 122 | ASIN : B0F7VPXGZ9
The Return
The Return drops the reader straight into South Park, Colorado, where Ike McAlister and his family wrestle with a brutal winter, old wounds, and the steady creep of danger from men tied to the coming railroad. The story follows Ike’s fight to protect his land, his people, and the fragile peace he has managed to build. The novel blends frontier grit with family devotion and a sense of unfinished business that never quite loosens its grip. I felt the stakes rise page by page as storms, enemies, and secrets closed in around Ike and those he loves.
I found myself pulled in by the writing right away. Torreano paints the land with steady hands, and the cold feels like it bites through the page. The early scenes in the blizzard hit me hard. The tension builds quietly, then all at once, and I caught myself almost holding my breath. The dialogue has a simple rhythm that feels true to the setting. I liked that it never tries too hard. Some passages felt a little drawn out, yet the heart of the story beats strong enough that I didn’t mind lingering. I cared about Ike more than I expected. He is stubborn, loyal, and rough around the edges, and I felt that mix settle in me as something real.
What surprised me most was how emotional the book became as it unfolded. I kept feeling this tug in my chest when the family struggled through the small, private moments that hit harder than the gunfire. Lorraine’s strength stayed with me and made me think about the cost of keeping a home running when the world feels cold and hungry. I got frustrated with Ike at times because he pushes himself past reason, but that is also why he stays on my mind. The themes of honor and self-responsibility land with a quiet weight, and I found myself nodding more than once, thinking about how little those values change across time. There were moments that felt gentle, then sharp, then gentle again, and I liked that uneven beat.
The book mixes history, hardship, and hope in a way that should sit well with readers who like westerns with real heart. I would recommend The Return to anyone who enjoys frontier stories with strong family bonds, vivid landscapes, and characters who feel lived in. It would also suit readers who want action tempered with emotion and a sense of place that settles around you like campfire smoke.
Pages: 327 | ASIN: B0FR1XC4QT
At the Foot of the Mountain
At the Foot of the Mountain is a poetry collection that moves through memory, place, and the hard work of healing. The book shifts between nature scenes, family wounds, cultural identity, and quiet moments of reflection. Every poem feels like a step on a long trail where grief rises, settles, and rises again. Some pieces glow with the warmth of sunlight after rain. Others sit heavy, shaped by loss, longing, and the effort to understand where a person truly comes from. What ties it all together is a steady pulse of hope, small but stubborn, that shows up in forests, mountains, and even the kitchen.
Reading these poems, I found myself pulled in by how raw and tender the writing is. The language is simple on the surface, yet it carries so much under it. I felt a real ache in pieces about mothers, heritage, and complicated love. Some poems made me pause just to picture the scene, like the quiet watchfulness of a deer or the weight of snow on a birch leaf. The book mixes softness with sharp edges, and I liked that contrast. The emotional rhythm jumps aroun,d and I enjoyed never knowing if the next poem would sting or soothe.
I also appreciated how the natural world is used to talk through emotional pain. It is dirt, wind, and cold water. It is trees that fall and birds that migrate, and a trail that forces you to keep walking even when you would rather curl inward. The writing is unpretentious and heartfelt and sometimes unpredictable, which makes it feel alive. Now and then, the imagery overwhelmed me a little, but even that felt like part of the experience. Healing is messy. Memory is messy. The poems let that mess show.
In the end, I walked away feeling moved. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy intimate poetry rooted in nature and personal history. It is a good fit for anyone drawn to stories of recovery told in small, vivid fragments.
Pages: 98 | ISBN : 198911945X
To Highlight The Corruption
Angel of Death follows a grieving Irish detective whose search for the truth, sparked by a skeleton in a Kerry bog, leads him from family tragedy into a brutal web of corruption, power, and reckoning. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Had you asked me this when I started writing, I would have had difficulty answering. Now, it’s clearly that I wanted to highlight the corruption in Thoroughbred racing and breeding, a world I lived in for many years.
Trey O’Driscoll’s inner life feels central to the novel. How much of the story began with his emotional arc versus the plot itself?
Realistically, O’Driscoll only developed for me as the story unfolded. I had no prior thoughts on him as a character, except that physically he was based on someone I knew who wasn’t anything like the character I created. I would have to say that perhaps he behaved as I would, had I been a policeman in this situation.
By the end, the book holds both tragedy and hope. What feeling did you most want readers to sit with after turning the final page?
I would like them to see the corruption so that, hopefully one day, something might be done about it.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
I’ve written a memoir that’s currently being looked at. I also have a novel I had put aside and am re-writing.
Author Links: Amazon | GoodReads
Garda Detective-Inspector Trey O’Driscoll is tasked with the duty of investigating the find. From the outset, he suspects foul play and investigation of the bog produces pieces of evidence that lead to a UK jeweller, who comes up with two names. Through this, records of a horse kidnap emerge and Driscoll has thoughts of the disappearance of Shergar, the Derby winner. Not believing earlier investigators, he has his own beliefs.
An athlete dies of lethal drugs surreptitiously laced into innocent looking tablets. Driscoll establishes a source but his Chief Inspector won’t entertain an enquiry for an undisclosed reason. Evidence leads to a manufacturer on a Greek island who also happens to be a major racehorse owner in the UK.
Into this scenario a beautiful freelance journalist insinuates herself. From tit-bits of information, she anticipates where the heart of the investigation will lead, gets a job as a stable hand in a critical racing yard, working under cover.
Ultimately, it’s she who unearths the critical evidence leading to the unfurling of this spine-tingling murder mystery.
Better Off Dead
Better Off Dead drops us straight into the foggy, moneyed world of Marin County and follows Trisha Carson, an amateur sleuth with sharp instincts and a stubborn streak, as she tries to untangle the suspicious death of Andrew Barlow. What looks like a tragic open water swimming accident begins to feel like something darker, especially once Andrew’s son Harrison insists his uncle murdered his father. From there the book expands into a layered mystery involving family secrets, financial ruin, and a Shakespeare-inspired sense of emotional chaos. It’s a contemporary mystery, but it leans into the psychological side of the genre, especially as parallels to Hamlet surface in clever ways.
What struck me first was the tone of the book. Trisha’s voice feels grounded and natural. She’s observant in a way that made me feel like I was riding shotgun with her, listening to her mutter under her breath about everything from funeral etiquette to suspicious boat owners. The writing is clean and steady. When it settles into a moment, it stays just long enough to let me feel the tension before moving on. Carroll lets the humor breathe, too. Trisha gets itchy rashes at funerals, complains about open water temperatures, and has a talent for stumbling into awkward situations. Those small quirks soften the edges of a story built around death and betrayal, and they made the darker turns hit harder.
I liked how the mystery is shaped by relationships instead of just clues. Harrison’s shifting behavior, the uneasy dynamic between the Barlow brothers, and Justine’s brittle elegance give the story texture. I found myself leaning in whenever Trisha pushed past her own nerves to ask the uncomfortable questions. Some scenes felt almost cinematic to me, like peeking through the Barlow family’s glass walls at night and catching the flicker of something you’re not meant to see. The Shakespeare thread could have felt gimmicky, but instead it adds a quiet echo beneath the plot. Not overwhelming. Just a subtle reminder that families have been falling apart in dramatic fashion for centuries.
If you enjoy contemporary mysteries with an approachable narrator, tangled family dynamics, and a backdrop of Northern California that feels lived in rather than postcard pretty, this one will hit the mark. Fans of character-driven mysteries or anyone who likes their crime fiction with emotional undercurrents will especially appreciate Better Off Dead.
Pages: 317 | ASIN : B0DVZQW36T
LITERARY TITAN 