Blog Archives
Nurse Florence®, Tell Me About the Pancreas
Nurse Florence, Tell Me About Pancreas, by Michael Dow, RN, MS, MHA, MSM, with illustrations by Jasmine Nguyen, offers a unique exploration into the digestive system, focusing on the pancreas. The story unfolds during a lunchtime chat where Nurse Florence enlightens Cody, Jean, and Sonia about the intricacies of this essential organ. Through this engaging conversation, the nurse delivers clear explanations, patiently addressing all the girls’ queries. Vibrant visuals accompany the lesson, transforming complex medical concepts into easily digestible information.
This educational book is a part of Dow’s series aimed at raising awareness on crucial health topics. This particular edition zeroes in on the pancreas, a critical yet often overlooked part of the digestive system. Drawing inspiration from a real-life nursing pioneer, Dow uses Nurse Florence as a vehicle to impart valuable medical knowledge to his readers. The narrative is crafted with care, presenting Nurse Florence as a knowledgeable yet approachable guide. The story is grounded in real medical science, making the information both relevant and accurate. The book’s brevity and brisk pacing make it an easy read, ensuring readers quickly grasp the fundamental concepts about the pancreas. Nguyen’s illustrations are vibrant and engaging, strategically placed throughout the book to hold the reader’s attention. These visuals serve not just to entertain but also to reinforce the information being presented. I feel the vocabulary may be challenging for some, but it’s well-suited for young readers eager to learn. The inclusion of a pronunciation guide further enhances the educational value, helping readers improve their language skills while they learn about the pancreas.
Dow has succeeded in creating a read that is both informative and enjoyable with Nurse Florence®, Tell Me About the Pancreas. He provides young readers with a fun-filled journey into the world of medical science.
Finding Ricky
In Finding Ricky, author Terrence Poppa presents a gripping premise, Would you be willing to expose your innermost thoughts to a mysterious, high-ranking supervisor in order to find your missing 13-year-old son? Could you risk losing your grip on reality to save the boy taken from you after his mother’s tragic suicide? These are the haunting dilemmas Cowboy, the novel’s protagonist, must confront. Set against the backdrop of a life shattered overnight, this psychological thriller delves into Cowboy’s desperate quest to locate his son. Under the watchful eye of his enigmatic supervisor, known as The Soup, Cowboy is forced to comply with increasingly difficult demands, including working with a drug dealer named Awesome. Each task completed brings him one step closer to learning more about his son’s whereabouts. However, Cowboy is also battling his own mind. Struggling with blurred vision, headaches, and unsettling hallucinations, he finds it difficult to stay grounded. These symptoms coincidentally—or perhaps not—began after his dealings with The Soup, adding an eerie layer to his unraveling psyche.
The fast-paced storyline keeps readers moving quickly through Cowboy’s journey, making for an exciting read. While the novel leans more toward action than deep psychological exploration, it still offers moments of tension and suspense that engage the reader. One of the highlights is the dynamic between Cowboy and The Soup. The relationship’s evolving complexity and the growing dependence between the two add an interesting layer to the narrative. The glimpses into Cowboy’s traumatic past provide emotional depth and make the character’s motivations more relatable. The story moves at a brisk pace, and these elements show promise, suggesting there is much to build on in future works. Finding Ricky delivers an interesting mix of psychological drama and action, offering readers a quick, engaging escape into its world.
Pages: 285 | ASIN : B0D99MF696
The Toe Killer
In The Toe Killer, Mike Slavin crafts a gritty and tense crime thriller centered around Katrina Moon, a homicide detective balancing her professional life and personal struggles. Set in Orleans Bay, just outside of New Orleans, the book throws you into a world of high-stakes police work where Detective Moon is tasked with solving crimes while worrying about her terminally ill daughter, Jamie. The narrative kicks off with Moon caught between a bank robbery, a notorious killer with a toe fetish, and corruption within her own police department, adding layers to the relentless tension.
One thing I really enjoyed about this book is how vividly it immerses you in the atmosphere of the story. Slavin’s descriptions of Orleans Bay — its streets, its criminals, and even its baked goods — are so rich that I felt like I was sitting in Katrina’s car right beside her. For instance, the opening chapter’s tension between her job and her emotional state, reflected in her concern for her sick daughter while she chases criminals, immediately hooked me. The authenticity in the police procedures and the sheer chaos of the streets is compelling and terrifying. However, at times, the heavy use of police lingo could make it hard for someone not familiar with crime fiction to follow along easily.
Slavin does an excellent job in developing Katrina Moon as a strong, complex character. She’s tough but compassionate. The way her personal life bleeds into her professional life adds a layer of realism. The scenes where she is talking to her daughter, praying that she survives, stand out as the most emotionally charged moments. You can feel the helplessness, the weight of her responsibilities.
The tension Slavin builds throughout the book is gripping. The moments leading up to confrontations with criminals are intense, especially the showdowns with the killer. The toe-killer storyline, while horrifying, sometimes takes a backseat to other elements, like internal police drama, which can cause the pacing to slow. Despite this, Slavin redeems the story with chilling and brutal action scenes that keep you on edge.
The Toe Killer is a high-energy and emotionally charged thriller that will appeal to fans of gritty crime dramas who enjoy flawed but resilient protagonists. If you are into police procedurals with a dark and twisted edge, then this book won’t disappoint.
Life Is an Unknown Journey
A Prophecy Awakened follows a young woman who, on her eighteenth birthday, is given an old diary and sent through the veil on an unknown journey. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Before I outlined A Prophecy Awakened, I knew I wanted a main character who lived in a world with challenges and obstacles. I wanted her to have to fight for what she wanted and for what she didn’t. I wanted her to fail and I wanted her to succeed because most importantly I wanted her to show tremendous growth from her first to her last chapter. Life is an unknown journey. We all have stories and experiences that have forced us to get back up and that’s what I wanted for Charlotte. My desire for her was to experience “life” and for her readers to run alongside and cheer her on!
When creating Charlotte did you have a plan for development and character traits or did it grow organically as you were writing the story?
I think a little of both. I knew magically that Charlotte would have a special touch with nature and that overall her personality would be gentle. At times during my writing I found that if I veered away from her peacefulness it pulled away from the story and made my writing awkward, so I would delete and get back on track. It’s interesting how characters can let the author know when something just isn’t right for them.
In fantasy novels, it’s easy to get carried away by the magical powers of characters. How did you balance the use of supernatural powers?
My desire was not to create a world that was completely fictitious, but rather one that was partially grounded with settings and opportunities that were both tangible and relatable to the reader. Gifted people walk beside us every day, so I imagined a realm where the supernatural played a role in human society, allowing some of their previous human qualities to emerge while they maintained their hidden talents.
I hope the series continues in other books. If so, where will the story take readers?
YES! There will be a third book, the final in the Immortal Wounds series. It is titled, Ravenglass, and it is where the prophecy will unveil. Ravenglass is in the early stages of writing but I am anticipating a publishing date late 2025.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Bookbub | Amazon
Family. Destiny. Magic. Lore.
Forced to leave behind her only known family, on the night of her eighteenth birthday Charlotte Delgado flees through the invisible veil that has granted her safety since birth, with only an age-old diary to guide her. Given less than a day to read the four-hundred year-old tales scripted amongst its pages, she barely understands the predetermined path her ancestor writes of, let alone believes it.
However, despite the dangers the journal warns of—supernatural creatures that will hunt her along her journey—it’s the ominous twist of fate that surrounds the last bloodline witch in her family that fills Charlotte with the most fear.
Is she that witch or merely a pawn moving the prophecy forward?
Kernels of Truth
Pennsylvania Fireside Tales Volume 2 is a delightful anthology that captures Pennsylvania’s heart and soul by retelling some of the folktales that have been passed on through the generations. Where did the idea for this collection come from, and how did it develop over time?
My inspiration was both homesickness and books by an early collector of central Pennsylvania mountain stories named Henry Shoemaker. After graduating from Penn State in 1967 I ended up working in New Jersey. I missed the mountains of my central Pennsylvania Tom Sawyer boyhood, and when browsing through books in Princeton’s Firestone Library I found many books by Shoemaker. His stories and descriptions brought home right into my lap since I recognized many of the places and family names he wrote about. After I had read all the Shoemaker materials I could find, the thought occurred to me that I could collect similar tales on my own and write about them. Not only would it give me a chance to roam the mountains I loved once more, but it would also alleviate my homesickness. And it did!
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this collection of tales?
When I started interviewing people to collect my tales back in 1970, we had just put a man on the moon, and I was looking for old-time Pennsylvania mountain folktales, legends, and human-interest stories whose roots went as far back as the Civil War, and even further back than that. Much to my surprise, the old tales could still be heard, and I’m finding some yet today! In fact, to get my arms around my collection I decided to categorize them into four types:
Native American-based episodes that included legends those aborigines passed on to early settlers related to landmarks and tribal traditions. Much to my delight I also found many human-interest stories handed down through families as oral histories that have never made the history books concerning how ancestors sometimes fought battles with Native Americans, sometimes were captured by them, etc.
Early hunting episodes when there were still packs of wolves and mountain lions in the Pennsylvania mountains, and stories about how people hunted them and were hunted by them – men and women alike, including one Little Red Riding Hood-type episode!
Ghost, witch, and supernatural tales. There’s a strong dose of that no matter which legendary domain you explore, and Pennsylvania is no different. What really surprised me the most when collecting these tales was how deeply rooted the superstitions are that form their basis. In fact, in 1970 I could still find old-timers in the more remote valleys who still believed in the old-time kinds of witches – those who could change themselves into black cats, ride broomsticks, cast evil spells, etc. One old-timer in particular stated, “They say there’s no such things as witches, but they’ll never convince me of that!”
Then my fourth category is kind of a catch-all. Stories of lost treasure, hidden gold, exaggerated animals, gypsies, moonshiners, and whatever else seems part of the genre.
What were some goals you set for yourself as a writer in this book?
Unlike Henry Shoemaker, who I later learned was prone to much exaggeration and romanticization of his tales, and even inventing some on his own, I wanted to preserve the tales as they were told to me, but I also wanted to explore the history behind them. I, therefore, envisioned myself as an investigative reporter to put the tales in historical context, even though most sounded like the proverbial “tall tale.” By doing this I could decide whether the tales have any kernels of truth buried in them at all. Did they have any basis in fact at all, and what were their origins? It has truly blown me away sometimes by what I found using this approach.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be published?
My Sunbury Press publisher has asked me to write a fourth volume for my three-volume Pennsylvania Mountain Landmarks series that they have already published. No publication date has been set yet.
Author Links: Goodreads | Sunbury Press Authors | Pennsylvania Fireside Tales | Website | Amazon
In offering a second volume of Pennsylvania mountain legends and folktales to the reading public, the author does so with a note of appreciation to all who found the first volume of legends of interest – public and press alike. The old stories and folktales which appeared in my Pennsylvania Fireside Tales Volume 1 and which seemed to strike a “chord” within me, also apparently appealed to others as well. Most people like these survivors from a bygone day – a time that was simpler in many ways than this present hectic age. In turn, these “survivors” not only help to perpetuate that feeling of kinship some of us feel toward these rugged Pennsylvania hills, but they also connect us to a rich fabric of history and to the people who lived it. With that link or connection, they cause us to feel closer to the past; our life’s span seems extended, and we seem less mortal. It is with this background, then, that this second volume of Pennsylvania fireside tales is presented for the public’s reading enjoyment. As explained in the first volume of this series, the title “fireside tales” comes from the fact that these stories and legends are variants of, or are exactly like, episodes that were related by early settlers sitting around their fireplaces on cold winter evenings when story-telling was the only form of entertainment by which to relax. Return now to those days of old when the pace was slower and life was harder. Keep in mind, however, that people then seemed content with their lot, finding pleasure in simple things like a wolf’s howl, a panther’s cry, a firefly’s glow, or a flaming sunset sinking slowly behind the everlasting hills.
In this volume:
- The Black Ghost of Scotia
- Juniata Gap
- Through the Veil
- Snakes, Snakes, Snakes
- The Lower Fort
- Spellbound
- Last of the Big Shots
- Haunts of the Highway
- More Snakes
- Little Red Riding Hood?
- Burned at the Stake
- Ridden
- Dead for Three Days?
- Mollie Maguire Memories
- Sitting with the Dead
- The Throwback
- Bloody Run
- Beyond Belief
- Jack’s Narrows
- Nights in the Colby Narrows
- Western Pennsylvania Wolf Days
Harness the Power of PR
In The Powerful Publicity Prescription, you explore the history and evolution of PR and stress the importance of purposeful PR management in business. Why was this an important book for you to write?
Many authors and entrepreneurs have come to me saying they lacked a PR resource to flip through and refer back to. I wanted to give them a resource that they could be empowered to take action with and to fill in the gap in the PR industry as much of the sector neglects and overlooks the author and entrepreneur communities.
I wanted to show authors and entrepreneurs that they too, can harness the power of PR to achieve their goals, that they deserve to fulfill their fullest potential to become global industry leaders trusted by audiences worldwide because PR isn’t just reserved for Fortune 500 companies.
In addition to giving them the history of PR and in-depth knowledge of every aspect of a PR campaign, I wanted to show them that authors and entrepreneurs in every genre and sector, just like them, have found PR success, which is why I shared my own client case studies and portfolio examples. I take it one step further by giving them tools and resources to save time and energy in every part of a PR campaign and resources to help them push past the fear, anxiety, and imposter syndrome stopping them from moving forward.
How much research did you undertake for this book, and how much time did it take to put it all together?
I started writing this book in 2022 and the draft started undergoing revisions a year later before I started working with my editor. With this book, I leaned on my client portfolio and experiences of authors and entrepreneurs I’ve worked with and presented webinars to over the last decade.
I framed the chapters of this book with a specific focus on questions my clients and audiences have had about why PR is powerful, why it’s different from advertising and social media, how mindset can stop you from moving forward, how to develop strong media pitches, and how to develop confidence with interviews.
What is a common misconception you feel people have about public relations?
A common misconception many authors have, which I address in the book, is that PR only works if you have at least $20K and an audience in the millions to launch a campaign. That myth is false, PR works for any author and entrepreneur who has a solid foundation of what their goals are, who their audiences are, and some ideas on what methods they want to incorporate into their strategies.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from your book?
That the knowledge they obtain helps them to build the confidence to take action on developing their own PR campaigns, even if it’s sitting down and brainstorming their goals.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Website | Instagram | InRetrospect | LinkedIn | Amazon
Never run ineffective publicity campaigns again.
Unlock the secrets of becoming a global industry leader, powerhouse pioneer and trusted expert with this deep dive into the impactful world of public relations. This compelling book will guide you through how to recognize and push past limiting beliefs such as fear, anxiety and imposter syndrome to develop a resilient and positive mindset for PR and marketing. From its intriguing history to the powerful impact of media relations, you’ll receive invaluable step by step guidance on how to develop each element of a successful, global PR campaign to reach your goals.
You’ll learn:
- How to build exciting media kits to present your brand using engaging and fun audiovisuals
- How to craft irresistible story pitches to attract media attention, no matter the platform or industry
- To develop comprehensive media databases to get in front of the right audiences and build powerful relationships
- The art of how to solidify concrete goals and the key performance indicators to measure campaign results
- How to master interviews and presentation opportunities with confidence
And much more!
Armed with real world case studies and industry success stories from the author’s rich client portfolio, embark on this journey to gain the confidence to share your story with worldwide audiences and develop long lasting relationships with media, influencers and collaborative partners to harness the power of public relations to fulfill your fullest potential as a global industry leader.
Written with the creative entrepreneur, startup, nonprofit, and small business in mind, The Powerful Publicity Prescription will demystify the world of public relations including busting popular PR myths, to empower you to develop tailored, customized public relations campaigns to achieve your goals without spending thousands of dollars or having an audience that numbers in the millions.
Love is a Choice
Cozy Critters on the Ark follows a little mouse living in peaceful solitude who goes on an exciting adventure on Noah’s Ark and learns the meaning of friendship and happiness. What was the inspiration for your story?
My husband and I created the Cozy Critter world because of our love for small pets that make a lasting impact in one’s lives. Our guinea pig, Cooper, means a lot to us and we wanted to create a world where small creatures can make huge impacts in things and people around them. Kids can sometimes feel like they’re small and they don’t matter but our story hopefully teaches them that they do matter and their acts of kindness can change others and themselves.
The art in this book is fantastic, really bringing the story to life. What was the art collaboration process like with illustrator Michael Collazo?
Working with my husband was an absolute privilege and honor. We learned a lot about our marriage and working together as a team. Michael is a unique artist because he doesn’t use any image references when he illustrates and everything you see in our book comes from his heart. In this book, he would draw the images first and then we would both add words to it, which is normally the opposite of the story writing process. This made it so that the illlustrations became the primary focus and our story weaved in and out of them. Michael has never taken an art class in his life. He is truly a unique artist and I pale in comparison to him and have a more realistic art style.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
Love is a choice and every day is full of choices to make. We can strive to make this world a better place by loving people just as they are, which is a biblical principle my husband and I try to live out daily and requires an internal decision of us even when it might be hard. Rufi has his flaws by taking on tasks harder than he expects, not asking for help, and letting his introverted nature create a barrier between him and people who might enjoy him. The Cozy Critters accept him just as he is and we did not want to change him- he is still a guarded little workaholic mouse. But he does learn a thing or two about the value of loving others and letting one be loved in return. Friends can easily become family, especially if you did not have a traditional family upbringing and this book also has friendship, belonging, kindness, and displacement themes.
When will book two be available? Can you give us an idea of where that book will take readers?
Our next book in the Cozy Critter Storytime Series will focus around Henrietta, the bossy go-getter bunny. She will want to take over the Christmas planning and readers will see what happens when her long list of action items gets fulfilled. Although she is a bit of a control freak, she is just as fragile as Rufi and has endearing qualities we will be developing. The book, Henrietta Ruins Christmas, will be released in the Fall of 2025.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Instagram | Amazon
YOU are about to embark on an adventure with the world’s greatest friends, the Cozy Critters! Join us for the first heartwarming story in the Cozy Critters Storytime Series, which takes place alongside the biblical record of Noah’s Ark. The events that transpire will leave you saying…
“Why am I cheering and clapping for a mouse?!”
Rufi the workaholic mouse has friends but lives a solitary life. When he isn’t working hard, he enjoys reading a good book with a nice cup of coffee. His world is quickly turned upside down when he finds himself thrust into an adventure alongside new companions. When Rufi is displaced from his solitary treehouse, he may just discover that sharing the world with unexpected friends is what brings him true happiness!
Join Rufi as he is caught up in the action aboard Noah’s Ark and learns that any place can be a home if it is filled with love. This whimsical tale demonstrates a simple truth which is held dear by its authors, “Love never fails.” This book was created to support connection between children and the adults who are teaching them about life. While it contains fictional elements and absurdities, it aims to provide children with examples of belonging and kindness and demonstrate how friendship can rescue you from life’s biggest storms.
We understand that children navigate many of the same kinds of problems as adults, including finding ourselves in new living situations, situational family dynamics, and unexpected displacement. This book encourages children to broaden their ideas about belonging and helps them to see that they are surrounded by others who are willing to share their world.
Note: Side effects of this book may include wearing a red shirt, being a better friend, and cozy behavior.
Amidst the Darkness
The Hate Game: Screaming in the Silence is your memoir sharing the experiences you underwent at the Knoll School for Boys in Hove, Sussex, back in the 1970s and the bullying that was inflicted on you for your beliefs. Why was this an important book for you to write?
To clarify. I wasn’t bullied for my beliefs. I was bullied because I was young, an ‘outsider,’ and was a late developer. Any pupils in that category were labelled as “Jews,” by the “superior” bullies.
I had shared stories with numerous people and had pushed memories to the back of my mind. PTSD does that. Later in life, as a social worker in child protection, I came face to face with my past on several occasions. I had a “Eureka” moment interviewing a young teen who had (thankfully) failed to take her own life: her story was my story, and I started to come to terms with the horrors that had transpired during my adolescence. My extended (British) family were very resistant to me sharing truths with the world as it wasn’t the “British” way to be transparent about the past. The school and personal experiences were shocking, and rather than bury them, I chose to tell my story. The writing of The Hate Game was cathartic, albeit painful.
I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
Everything. I felt ashamed about the bullying and abuse at school. I hadn’t told my wife and children about the historical sexual assault, so that was a challenge (despite working in a field where I encourage transparency). The death of my father and later writing about my mum brought up feelings and emotions that I had buried. I also felt shame about laughing through the dark times but understood that it is (and still is) a coping mechanism. One of the hardest things about writing a memoir is the judgment that may emanate from others. However, the overwhelming gratitude that my story could be told outweighed the negatives by a country mile.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
It is crucial to share one’s feelings with a trusted adult. Unfortunately, I did not know any adults I could trust. The teachers were more abusive than the students, and I couldn’t rely on anyone in authority. Even today, children and young people tend to keep their distress to themselves, a concerning trend I’ve observed in my work in child protection. It is imperative for adults, particularly parents, to build a strong, trusting relationship with children. Despite my love for my family, they were not the safe haven I needed to confide in.
What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your story?
Amidst the darkness, pain, and feelings of utter hopelessness, there is a beacon of light at the end of the tunnel. I was determined to survive and, somehow, thrive. It’s imperative to foster open communication with your children rather than hastily judging them for their acting-out behaviours. There is often a deep-rooted cause, and dismissing it as merely ‘hormones’ will cause further isolation for the child or youth. My own experiences have instilled in me resilience and a profound sense of empathy for those in need, whether they belong to minority groups or are families and children in crisis. As a result of my adverse childhood experiences, I have been able to help and empower numerous vulnerable young people. My transformation from trauma to triumph, guided by a profound encounter with God, has equipped me to make a meaningful impact on the lives of others.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Instagram | Website | Amazon
At school, survival wasn’t just about fitting in—it was about making it through the day with his dignity intact. The first time they shoved Gary’s head into the toilet bowl, he questioned how much more he could take. By the time they drew a swastika on his forehead, he stopped wondering.
In the backdrop of 1970s England, Gary navigates the chaotic seas of adolescence in the English coastal town of Hove. With humour and a delicious sense of naivety, he steers through a life marked by a blend of love and dysfunction, anchored by his loving and quirky mother and his deeply cherished father. But beyond the warmth of home, school is a much darker and crueller reality. At Knoll Boys, Gary confronts a relentless and vicious bullying that pushes his spirit and resilience to the brink. The horrors he endures are not just physical—they are ritualistic and dehumanizing, the cruelty seemingly unending. Yet, Gary’s resilience shines through, a testament to the human spirit’s capacity to endure.
Despite the bruises and hate-filled taunts, Gary discovers moments of unexpected joy, like the awkward thrills of first love and the surprising strength that begins to grow within him. As he navigates his family’s unpredictable antics and the dark corridors of his school, Gary’s journey becomes one of ultimate transformation—a testament to his unbreakable spirit and a beacon of hope for all who face similar challenges.
The Hate Game is a raw and profoundly moving coming-of-age memoir that explores the power of laughter and love. It’s a story that will leave you rooting for Gary, laughing with him, and inspired by his indomitable will to rise above the pain and become the change he longed for.
LITERARY TITAN 