Blog Archives
Forks & Knives: A Marriage at the Crossroads of Addiction and Codependency
Mimi Wahlfeldt’s Forks and Knives: A Marriage at the Crossroads of Addiction and Codependency is a poignant and powerful fictional narrative rooted in real-life events. The novel offers an intimate glimpse into the turmoil of a marriage engulfed by the struggles of addiction, painting a vivid and heartrending picture of what it means to love and live in the shadow of alcoholism. The story centers on Kat Torrington, a woman who uncovers her husband Eric’s secret battle with alcoholism just as she prepares to welcome their first child. This discovery places Kat at a critical juncture—a decision point that many readers may find relatable: should she stay and fight for her marriage or walk away from it?
Wahlfeldt’s choice to tell the story through Kat’s first-person perspective is one of the novel’s most compelling elements. This narrative approach allows readers to experience the emotional depth of Kat’s journey firsthand. Her fears, hopes, and inner conflicts are laid bare, creating a raw and unfiltered portrayal of a life entwined with addiction. The narrative’s strength lies in its authenticity. Wahlfeldt does not shy away from depicting the harsh realities of addiction and its ripple effects on relationships and families. The novel delves into the cyclical nature of denial, relapse, and recovery with a stark honesty that is both challenging and enlightening.
The metaphor of “forks and knives” serves as a powerful symbol throughout the novel, representing the difficult choices Kat faces and the often sharp, painful consequences of those decisions. For readers who have faced similar struggles, Forks and Knives offers a sense of validation and shared experience.
Wahlfeldt’s Forks & Knives goes beyond mere storytelling; it offers a form of closure to those who have questioned whether they gave their all in the most challenging moments of their lives. Whether you are familiar with the battles of addiction or simply seeking a compelling, emotionally resonant read, Forks and Knives is a novel that will stay with you long after you have turned the last page.
Pages: 293 | ASIN : B0CZ18RM29
Vivid Memories
Out of Body follows a teenage girl experiencing weird dreams who discovers they are not dreams but out-of-body experiences. What inspired the setup of your story?
Sometimes I dream that I’m flying, and after one particularly vivid dream, I wondered, “What if these aren’t dreams? What if my spirit actually leaves my body while I’m sleeping and goes flitting around town?” My next thought was, “What a great premise for a novel!” The idea marinated in my brain for a couple of years before I finally got around to turning it into a novel.
In many contemporary coming-of-age fiction novels, authors often add their own life experiences to the story. Are there any bits of you in this story?
Absolutely. I have vivid memories of my angsty teenage years. Unrequited love, shifting friendships, school drama—I lived it all, so it was easy for me to incorporate those elements into my story. For instance, in Out of Body, Abby has brilliant imaginary conversations with the boy she likes, but when she encounters him in person, she morphs into a tongue-tied idiot. Yep—been there, done that!
This sets up the novel to deliver some very entertaining scenes. What scene was the most fun to write?
At one point in the story, Abby’s astral travels take her to a very bizarre place, so I had to do some serious world-building. Those scenes were fun to write because I could let my imagination run wild. Since this was a made-up fantasy world, I didn’t have to worry about adhering to the laws of physics or biology. I just had to make sure everything seemed plausible in the context of the story. Constructing that world from scratch made me feel a little bit like a demigod: powerful, omnipotent, creative.
Will there be a follow-up novel to this story? If so, what aspects of the story will the next book cover?
Astral projection is a fascinating subject, one with infinite plot possibilities, so there could very well be additional books. Since finishing Out of Body I’ve been working on an unrelated project, but I do have a solid idea for a sequel. In Out of Body, Abby sets out to save her cousin after he gets lost on the astral plane. Without giving too much away, I can say that in the sequel, Abby will be the one in trouble, but it will be a different sort of trouble. Her world will be turned upside down, and she will have to go on the run as she figures out how to save herself.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Instagram | Website | Amazon
The Limits of Forgiveness
The God Fix follows a boy visiting extended family for the summer who discovers dark family secrets, causing him to question his life, faith, and morality leaving haunting impacts on his psyche. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I wanted to write a story that would explore numerous themes of interest to me and to blend character exploration with a suspenseful enough plot to keep the reader engaged. Whilst the plot and characters are entirely fictional, the book does draw on some emotional truths and aims to palpably capture numerous periods in time from the perspective of a young person, which in some ways was a cathartic experience to write.
One core idea that I initially had for the book was inspired by the 1930s Fritz Lang film ‘M’; it was the idea of the moral protagonist becoming the immoral antagonist. Whilst Matthew is to some extent an unreliable narrator (we see the world through his eyes and prejudices), I feel like this core change in character wasn’t pronounced in the final version given the extreme nature of the uncle’s behaviour; it is instead left up to the reader to draw their own conclusions, which fits more with how I want the book to be read.
What are some things that you find interesting about the human condition that you think make for great fiction?
I’ve previously written a speculative/supernatural audio drama podcast, and questions about the human condition were very much at the core of each episode. Any reflection that can challenge the way that one perceives the world is intriguing to me, as well as works that explore values, politics, and power. I think great fiction can be both speculative about worlds unknown, as well as more immediate to us if it is able to expose the intrinsic absurdity of our everyday lives.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
There were a lot of themes that felt important to me to explore in this book. Among them were questions of the limits of forgiveness, the use of religion as a justification or motivation, the value of revenge, the question of how independent our beliefs really are, and fundamentally what we believe to be right or wrong. Given that the characters have their own differing perspectives and interpretations, I think it’s fitting that so should readers, though I hope to have in some way challenged them to consider their own views. Other themes that felt important for me to explore around these were questions of alienation, longing, class difference, and addiction.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
I’m co-writing my next book with Emmelina Gateman. It will be a fun, supernatural young adult horror story called “The Dead Witch’s Song;” it will include interactive and ” Choose Your Own Adventure’” elements. Whilst it will be a very different book to this one, it will still touch on themes of morality, forgiveness, and societal progress.
Author Links: Goodreads | Website | Amazon
The God Fix is a dark coming-of-age story set in Greater Manchester in the early 2000s. Taking place across multiple visits to his extended family, Matt, a boy from Surrey, must grapple with the gravity of unraveling discoveries about his family, forcing him to contemplate his life, his faith, morality, revenge, and death.
The Whims of the Natural World
An Empty House Doesn’t Sneeze follows a 15-year-old boy navigating the challenges of adolescence while the world around him is engulfed in chaos. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Because my father was killed in WWII, the war has always been an interest. At some point, the idea of somebody lighting fires during the mandatory blackouts in Seattle captured my imagination. As a former sixth-grade teacher, I understand how inadequate we are at teaching civics and history, especially to young people, hence teenage readers became my target audience.
Was there anything from your own life that you put into the characters in your novel?
The novel is set in my Seattle neighborhood, which by the way, still looks almost exactly like it did in 1943. Much of the story reflects my own lived experiences, though slightly updated to the nineteen fifties. I grew up near the “wilds” of Ravenna Park – in terrain that shaped my mind as much as my appreciation of nature. This experience cultivated my habits of listening, observing, and yielding to the whims of the natural world.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The central idea of An Empty House Doesn’t Sneeze cried out to become a mystery. It was also a vehicle to portray the homefront in a way most young readers had not been exposed to. I merely hope readers enjoy An Empty House Doesn’t Sneeze and learn a little history along the way.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
The children’s stories I noodled around with years ago are brewing on the back burner, and I’m waiting to see if they spark my interest. An Empty House Doesn’t Sneeze follows my debut novel (published in September 2023) – River’s Reach: Coming of Age Amid the Fish War – a coming-of-age adventure (for “kids” of all ages) that highlights the tensions between the Washington State Game Department and the Nisqually Indians over tribal fishing rights in the Nisqually Valley. With River’s Reach, I hoped to open minds, encouraging people to question beliefs and prejudices that might otherwise settle in for a lifetime.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Into this fragile balance a neighborhood threat emerges: Someone is lighting fires during the mandatory blackouts. Scotty, whose father is an air raid warden, is soon caught up in the firebug mystery and tries to smoke the arsonist out. When the local bully throws suspicion on Scotty’s draft-age brother, and when even his best friend’s actions don’t seem to add up, Scotty must navigate a moral and ethical thicket while treading a path toward maturity. Even as scarcity slips into every nook and cranny, An Empty House Doesn’t Sneeze celebrates a youthful spirit and hearkens to simple pleasures, where free time and family abound.
David Scott Richardson’s An Empty House Doesn’t Sneeze is a work of historical fiction set in 1943 in the Pacific Northwest. A heartwarming and playful coming-of-age adventure, this novel is suitable for MG/YA and the young at heart. It contains no gratuitous language, but there are a few slurs that are true to the historical setting and swear words-in keeping with the characters and story.
Internal Conflicts
Star Lost follows a woman living in a world where ignorance is reinforced as the government routinely wipes memories of the people, who starts to unravel the truth behind the dystopian state and become involved with a group trying to save their world. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Well, as this review and others have mentioned it is a chillingly plausible reality, isn’t it? Though Star Lost is set in the near future it was inspired by recent frustrations. I have seen a recent decline in our society’s interest not only in the understanding and memory of historical events but appreciation for anything deemed “outdated.” That said, the book was not written to say that the be-all and end-all of human existence is old tech and books, reading, and the written word (although some book lovers might disagree), but rather to explore why we have such animosity as a society towards anything “old”, historical record, reading, and understanding of our own personal histories. Not to mention the recent influx of revisionist history and book banning. I think it best, despite our motivations for wanting to dispel it, to hold on to our history so we don’t repeat it. I also take a bit of a dig at social media, which carries over into all three books.
Luccee is a fascinating character trying to just hold on to her memories and understand what is happening to the world around her. What scene was the most interesting to write for that character?
I think Luccee is a really fun FMC all around. She has an underdog quality, but she knows how to kick things up when she needs to. I recently finished book 3 of the series and those scenes are more fresh, but in attempting to recall Luccee’s scenes from Star Lost, I’d have to say she is the most fun to write when she has realizations about herself and other people. I think any scene with Trevers where he does his best to help her see “reason” but Luccee is able to stand up to him is my favorite. I love giving Luccee opportunities to grow as a person. Her scenes with Wilda are another favorite. I love their mentor/mentee dynamic.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Familial discord is a big one. Family history obviously plays a big part in the narrative as well. If your MC is having a disagreement with their family, I think it’s important to explore that in-depth at some point in the narrative. It’s often the source of their internal conflicts, and usually what sets them on a journey towards something external. And since Star Lost is the first book of the series, it was necessary for me to dwell on the “past lives” of the characters, so the reader better understands them and what makes them tick in future books.
Can you tell us more about what’s in store for Luccee and the direction of the second book?
I’d be happy to! Luccee will definitely go on the journey she is meant to (and the one readers of Book 1 will be yearning for), immediately beginning with Book 2. She will go on what some readers have called “a wild ride” and whether intentionally or accidentally, meet people who have an odd connection to her she couldn’t have imagined. And her life will change in ways she never would have predicted. That will even carry over into book 3 which is coming out this fall! But if you read books 1 and 2 in tandem, it will give you the sense you’ve been transported from the status quo to a more colorful universe. From sepia tone to technicolor!
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Instagram | TikTok | Amazon
The Power of Mindset Shifts
Passion Struck offers readers a roadmap for transforming their lives, discovering their passions, and unlocking their hidden potential in order to pursue their passions and achieve their dream lives. Why was this an important book for you to write?
I wrote Passion Struck because I saw so many people trapped in lives of quiet desperation, feeling lost or unfulfilled. It became clear to me that there was a deep need for a guide to help people rediscover their passions, unlock their potential, and live more intentional lives. This book was my way of sharing the lessons I’ve learned and empowering others to break free from complacency and pursue their true purpose.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
It was essential for me to convey the power of mindset shifts, deliberate action, and intrinsic motivation. The book focuses on how we can reshape our thinking, align our behaviors with our values, and use passion and perseverance to achieve meaningful change. I wanted to emphasize that success isn’t just about talent—it’s about intentionality and persistence in the face of challenges.
What is one thing that people point out after reading your book that surprises you?
Many readers are surprised by how much they resonate with the concept of quiet desperation. They realize how often they’ve settled for less than they truly want. People have also pointed out how practical and actionable the steps are, which I aimed for, but it’s always rewarding to hear that it’s making an impact.
What is one thing that you hope readers take away from Passion Struck?
I hope readers walk away with the understanding that they hold the power to transform their lives. By embracing intentional living and aligning their actions with their passions, they can create a life of purpose and significance. Ultimately, I want them to realize that it’s never too late to break free from limitations and pursue their dreams.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | X (Twitter) | YouTube | Instagram | Threads | TikTok | Amazon
Recipient of Best Business Book and Best E-Book Honors – International Business Awards (the Stevie Award)
A Powerful Blueprint for Transforming Your Life from Ordinary to Extraordinary
Imagine yourself waking up each day with a clear mission, free from self-doubt, and armed with the skills to lead and thrive in any situation. In Passion Struck, John R. Miles provides a compelling roadmap to elevate your life from ordinary to extraordinary.
In this book, you will learn how to:
· Create a meaningful mission that will enhance your life’s purpose from Square founder Jim McKelvey.
· Identify the root causes of self-doubt and overcome fears that are holding you back from Oprah Winfrey.
· Transform the way you lead from General McChrystal and the Honorable Keith Krach, former Under Secretary of State.
· Unleash your potential by taking purposeful actions toward achieving your dreams from Astronaut Captain Wendy Lawrence.
· Transform the world around you by harnessing Jeff Bezos’s power of adaptability.
Passion Struck introduces a methodology centered around mindset and behavior shifts, the psychology of progress, deliberate action, and intrinsic motivation. You’ll discover how to break free from the constraints of fear and doubt, leveraging insights from some of the world’s most successful and inspiring individuals. John R. Miles combines his own life experiences with actionable advice and powerful stories to help you ignite your passion and live with intention.
Structured into twelve powerful principles, the book guides you step-by-step through the process of unlocking your purpose and igniting your most intentional life. Each chapter delves into a specific principle, enriched with personal anecdotes, expert interviews, and practical exercises. By the end of this transformative journey, you’ll have a clear mission, newfound confidence, and the tools to make a lasting impact on your life and the world around you.
Passion Struck isn’t just a book—it’s a roadmap to a life of significance.
Choosing Animal Companions
Sally Mitts Finds A Home: The Story of A Shy Shelter Kitten follows a shy little kitten who is accidentally left behind when her family moves and must find a way to survive. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Since I was a child I have been rescuing cats and kittens from the streets and from shelters. I feel the suffering of abandoned animals acutely. And each one brought me so much happiness in return, with their love and their marvelous, unique personalities. But many had been traumatized. It took time, patience, and genuine commitment to win their trust.
When I wrote Sally Mitts Finds A Home, I wanted to show people that every animal, like every human being, comes with a formative backstory that we don’t know. And it’s important to approach them with compassion and humility.
The animals that people often bypass in shelters -the quiet ones, the seniors, the special needs animals – are so very deserving of love and attention, too. And they are often the most euphorically loving. I hope Sally Mitts’s story encourages people to look beyond the surface when choosing animal companions and consider them.
What scene in the book did you have the most fun writing?
That’s really a toss-up between when Sally discovers the wonders of a garden after always living inside a house, and when she is happy in her new home.
What were some educational aspects that were important for you to include in this children’s book?
It helps children learn:
~How to cope with unexpected situations
~How to discern and trust good instincts
~To empathize with others’ experiences
~To understand the importance of adoption
~kindness to animals
Can you tell us more about what’s in store for Sally Mitts and the direction of the second book?
The second book, Sally Mitts And The Land Of Imagination will be published on October 26, 2024. In it, Sally follows some shoes who are walking along without any feet in them to a mysterious red door with the word IMAGINATION written over it. Inside the door, she meets fantastical creatures, paints the sky, meets a shirty mole, engages a fog monster, and has many adventures and challenges.
Our imaginations fire the dreams that we long to come true. And Sally discovers that you can do what you really want to if you follow those longings.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Website | Amazon
PURPLE DRAGONFLY BOOK AWARD
For fans of spunky heroines, Sally Mitts Finds A Home: The Story Of A Shy Shelter Kitten is a heartwarming tale about a lost kitten who finds her way back to love and home.
Accidentlally left behind, brave little Sally weaves her way though adventures on city streets and gardens. Ending up in ananimal shelter, she learns about the lives of other street cats, especially her good friend, the spirited Charlie the Tailless. But when Charlie is adopted, gentle Sally finds herself very shy with potential adopters. The shelter keepers worry Sally is too shy to ever be adopted. Until a quiet man offers her the chance to trust again.
From this warm and touching story, children learn about facing new situations, the power of friendship, learning empathy for others, and trusting good instincts.
The Righteous Place In Light and Shadow
The Righteous Place in Light and Shadow, by R. Groff, is an outstanding short story collection that delves deep into the realms of horror and sci-fi, delivering a series of imaginative and unsettling short stories. Within these pages, readers will encounter a variety of close encounters with the unexplained, the unknown, and the unknowable. In one gripping tale, a World War II survivor finds himself inexplicably linked to a string of bizarre crimes while another story presents the collapse of society in a manner that defies all expectations. Elsewhere, an alien artifact holds the key to cosmic horrors, and in the violence-torn streets of 1990s Compton, a computer game unleashes a demonic entity that threatens to drive a young boy to madness. As you navigate through this collection, be prepared to enter a realm where fantasy and reality blur, and cosmic terror lurks at every turn.
Groff’s collection echoes the eerie atmospheres found in Ray Bradbury’s The October Country and Stephen King’s Nightmares and Dreamscapes. Some of these stories delve into pure horror, while others venture into the speculative territories of science fiction. What ties them all together is the recurring theme of unsuspecting protagonists who stumble into situations where the very fabric of their reality is shattered, revealing a world far more sinister than they could have imagined.
A unifying thread throughout this collection is the idea that humans are most vulnerable when they believe their world is easily defined and categorized. The stories remind us that unspeakable evil and insidious threats often lurk closest when life appears most mundane. Standout stories include The Undead of Greenwood, which poignantly explores the hopelessness of addiction, and Jacob’s Game, which draws inspiration from the Tron movie series to craft a tale of technological horror.
The Righteous Place in Light and Shadow is a must-read for fans of both horror and sci-fi. Groff’s ability to craft tales of genuine nastiness and cosmic dread will undoubtedly resonate with aficionados of the genre, evoking the mastery of storytellers like Clive Barker and Robert Bloch. This collection is a treasure trove of short fiction that will both unsettle and captivate, making it an essential addition to any horror or sci-fi enthusiast’s library.
Pages: 688 | ASIN : B0D61BJC4Z
LITERARY TITAN 