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They Did What Had To Be Done
The Return: The Grass Isn’t Always Greener follows a rancher in Colorado who, after his wife is struck with a mysterious illness, moves his family to Denver only to be caught up in a web of deception and hidden enemies. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The Return is the third in the South Park series, all set in Colorado in the 1870s. It follows ranchers Ike and Lorraine McAlister as they struggle to survive in a fast-changing world. What they faced every day is not so different than what we face today, as days blur by in a seeming swirl.
How has character development for the main character changed for you through the series?
Ike McAlister is a strong protagonist who is also a flawed man. Much of what changes him is a result of his marriage to Lorraine, a steadfast, strong partner in a harsh world. He doesn’t have to carry the whole load, and relies on Lorraine throughout the series.
What intrigues you about this time period enough to write such a thrilling period piece?
I’ve always been intrigued by the grit of the Old West settlers. There was no whining, no complaining, no one was a victim, they just went about living and did what had to be done.
Will there be a follow-up novel to this story? If so, what aspects of the story will the next book cover?
Right now, there’s no fourth instalment planned, but I am working on another western mystery set in the time period between the end of the Civil War and 1900. Six short stories in one novel, all revolving around a mysterious pistol with a deadly past.
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Lorraine’s condition fails to improve, and Ike narrowly escapes a deadly attempt on his life. Soon, the couple finds themselves tangled in a web of deception, where hidden enemies plot their destruction. As suspicion deepens and threats draw closer, Ike and Lorraine must unravel the truth before it’s too late.
Will they survive long enough to expose the conspiracy, or will the shadows of Denver claim them both?
Perfect for fans of historical western thrillers, [Your Book Title] delivers suspense, grit, and heart in a world where survival is never guaranteed.
Finding Joy
The Joy Molecule is a soulful blend of memoir and life guide that follows your journey from achievement-chaser to purpose-driven connector, revealing how real joy grows from self-awareness, compassion, and meaningful relationships. Why was this an important book for you to write?
For most of my life, I’ve seen personal growth as an ascension ladder. We climb through experiences, challenges, insights, and relationships. And wherever we are on that ladder, we have two responsibilities: to reach down and help those coming up behind us, and to reach up and learn from those who have already climbed higher.
At certain points on that ladder, something shifts. Instead of stepping onto the next rung, we feel called to build a platform, something sturdy enough for others to stand on, something that can support more than just our own next step. The Joy Molecule came from one of those moments for me.
I realized that the concepts in this book, understanding what we are, who we are, and why we are here, and how joy arises from conscious connection and purpose, were too important to keep climbing quietly with. They deserved a platform. They deserved to be shared in a way that could help others navigate their own journey, especially those who, like me, spent years chasing achievement while longing for something deeper.
Writing this book was my way of building that platform: a place where people can pause, reflect, reconnect with themselves, and find a more joyful, aligned path forward.
What moment or relationship first made you realize that joy and achievement weren’t the same thing?
There wasn’t a single moment, there were dozens. But the clearest shift happened during my trip to Africa in 2012. I met people with far fewer material resources than I had ever known, yet they radiated a depth of joy and connectedness that I couldn’t quite understand. Meanwhile, I had all the “achievement boxes” checked and still felt empty. That contrast shook something loose in me. It exposed the illusion that achievement automatically leads to fulfillment. Becoming a father to two extraordinary children deepened that lesson. Their struggles, and my desire to support them without projecting my own expectations, also showed me that joy comes from presence, compassion, and connection, not accomplishment.
How did writing this book change your own understanding of joy, if at all?
The title of the book came from the concept that Conscious Connection + Purpose (C2P) = Joy. When I started writing the book I thought I would focus on the concept of connection, yet when I started digging and reviewing the people that I know who have deep, meaningful joy, they all had something in common. They all knew What they were, Who they were and Why there are here. That concept came after I started writing the book, so that was a huge piece of awareness I didn’t have before writing this book.
For readers who feel stuck in their careers or identities, what’s the very first small step you’d urge them to take toward reconnecting with joy?
I think joy is about connection and knowing What you are, Who you are and Why you are here. The metaphor I use in my talks is a closed door. Most of us live in a very comfortable room, especially here in the US. We live for ourselves, rugged individualism, raising our children as isolated families rather than in community. With this in mind, if we want to find more joy we don’t need to look outside of ourselves, this is an inside job. By opening the door to a journey to finding self, we begin to shed the identity we’ve created since our birth and seek connection. Finding ourselves allows us to connect more deeply with others and I believe that is one of the biggest reasons we are here. The Harvard Study on Happiness over the past 85 years is clear that those who have deep meaningful relationships at 50 will be happy at 80. To me it all comes down to connection and connecting to self is the first step.
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In The Joy Molecule, author Larry Kesslin introduces a simple but powerful idea:
Joy comes from knowing What you are, Who you are, and Why you are here. And it is deepened by personally connecting with others. Joy is not something to chase … it is something to live.
Kesslin reveals that joy isn’t about perfect circumstances. It’s about clear alignment.
Within these pages, he shares the stories of individuals who have taught him the most valuable lessons of his life.
Most spend their lives trying to succeed, impress, and keep up. But deep down, what they are really searching for is joy.
Through personal stories and the lives of remarkable individuals—from blind athletes to social impact leaders—each became the lightning rod for him to see a path to joy. Now he shares them with you. Their stories are profound. Their resiliency, creativity, and courage to take another step forward when no steps were readily apparent will leave you with wonder. Their lives are to be celebrated … as yours is.
Joy is rooted in deep human connection. It is a journey to love yourself, your life and surround yourself with peace that enables you to breathe with clarity and vision.
If you’re ready to live with more purpose, more connection, and more joy—
The Joy Molecule is your invitation to begin.
Servant
Servant is a supernatural fantasy novel that blends family drama, ancient mystery, and time-crossed storytelling. The book follows two threads that eventually begin to echo one another: Zach, a middle-school kid from the Keane family who vanishes from his house under eerie circumstances, and Akolo, a boy living centuries earlier whose life is marked by war, trauma, and the demands of kings. As Zach’s family searches for him in the present day, he finds himself wandering through stone hallways, oil-lit corridors, and a world that feels pulled straight from his dad’s archaeology stories. Meanwhile, Akolo faces his own captivity in a foreign palace controlled by a ruler who insists he will “need” him. Both boys are caught in places where power, fear, and destiny collide. By the time the book reaches its epilogue, the story has cracked wide open into something larger, hinting at deep magic, interwoven timelines, and a house that is far more alive than anyone wants to admit.
I found myself pulled in by the writing style. It’s simple on the surface but has this steady emotional current running underneath. The authors don’t rush. They let each moment breathe. Even the small scenes, a father making coffee, a daughter complaining about pizza for breakfast, or the house creaking in the early morning, carry a sense of “something is happening here,” even if you can’t name it yet. I liked that. It made me feel like I was sitting inside the Keanes’ home, overhearing bits of life while the bigger mystery brewed just out of sight. And then we cut to Akolo’s story, which feels raw and grounded and ancient. Those chapters landed hardest for me. His fear. His confusion. The way he clutches the jeweled stone in his pocket just to feel connected to something familiar.
I also appreciated the author’s choices around pacing and perspective. Switching between timelines can easily feel gimmicky, but here it feels purposeful. Zach’s modern confusion mirrors Akolo’s ancient disorientation, and that parallel makes the supernatural elements feel earned. I liked how the book doesn’t give its secrets away too quickly. We get hints, symbols carved into doors, fog in places fog shouldn’t be, Marshall knowing more than he says, but the authors trust the reader to sit in the unknown for a while. That kind of patience is rare, and honestly, refreshing. The emotional beats hit hardest because they’re framed by that tension: the Keane parents’ terror when Zach goes missing, Ariel’s mix of resentment and fear, Akolo’s grief for his family, Marshall’s haunted loyalty to forces he doesn’t entirely understand. All of it builds toward that late-book shake of the earth, where the house itself moves as though waking up.
Servant doesn’t wrap everything up, but it feels like a middle chapter that knows exactly what it is. I’d recommend this book to readers who love supernatural fantasy with a human heart, people who enjoy stories about families surviving strange things, or anyone who likes time-slip mysteries tied to ancient cultures. If you want something atmospheric, character-driven, and a little eerie without tipping into horror, this one will hit the spot.
Pages: 262 | ASIN : B0FQ5ZGH1R
Pay Less for College: The Must-Have Guide to Affording Your Degree
Pay Less for College lays out a clear and practical roadmap for cutting the true cost of a college degree. The authors walk through the entire financial aid system step by step, from how schools build their cost of attendance to how families can understand their Student Aid Index and estimate real net prices. The book breaks everything into simple pieces, and it shows families how to lower their costs with smart planning, better timing, and more strategic college lists. I found that the book blends explanation with action in a way that makes the whole process feel less scary and a lot more doable.
I was impressed by how clear and direct the writing is. The topic is heavy. It is full of numbers, rules, odd quirks, and deadlines. Yet the authors talk like they are sitting next to you at a table with a big cup of coffee and a stack of forms. The tone feels calm. It feels friendly. It made me relax. I liked how the book avoids pretending that financial aid is simple. Instead, it acknowledges the mess. It untangles it little by little. I appreciated that honesty. It made me trust the advice more. And the tables of information help a lot. They turn confusing ideas into something you can actually follow.
The book pushes readers to face real numbers, and that hit me. The constant reminder that net price is what matters feels like a splash of cold water. I kept thinking how many families get blinded by the sticker price or by vague encouragement from colleges. The authors challenge that. They show how much schools differ in generosity and how much strategy matters. That message stuck with me. It made me feel a bit frustrated about how complicated the system is, but also relieved to have a guide that feels grounded and realistic.
Pay Less for College is a great fit for families who want clarity, control, and a plan. It works for parents who feel overwhelmed and for students who want to understand how the money side really works. It is especially helpful for anyone who likes checklists, examples, and concrete next steps. I would recommend it to households at any income level because everyone can save something with the strategies in this book. It really does make the whole process feel manageable, and that alone is worth the read.
Pages: 362 | ASIN : B0FQQ3WWSW
Having It All
Having It All follows Dalia Roberts, a devoted mother and sharp Wall Street trader, as she tries to hold together a demanding career, a young family, and the emotional weight of a past that shaped her more than she cares to admit. The book opens with a gripping evacuation during a high-rise fire that sets the tone for the chaos woven through her days. From there, the story settles into the everyday struggle of keeping her daughters healthy, her marriage steady, and her job secure. Along the way, she leans on her sister, her mother, and her own stubborn strength as she learns what having it all really means in a life that is far from picture-perfect.
I felt pulled right into Dalia’s world. The writing has a warm and steady rhythm that fits her character so well, and I liked how the author keeps the stakes grounded in real life instead of forcing big melodramatic twists. The scene where Dalia rushes to help the daycare babies during the fire hit me hard. It showed her instincts, her fear, and her heart all at once, and I found myself rooting for her immediately. I also enjoyed the family scenes, especially the ones with her sister, Melanie. Their kitchen conversations feel lived-in, messy, and familiar, which gave the story a sense of comfort even when the stresses around them grew heavy.
At times, though, I felt frustrated with Dalia in a way that made her feel even more real. She holds herself to impossible standards, and the book doesn’t hide how that pressure wears her down. Watching her panic over Kelly’s sniffles or stress over bills from years past made me ache for her. I appreciated that the author never mocks these moments. Instead, she treats them as honest pieces of a woman trying her hardest. I also liked how the story quietly challenges the shiny magazine version of the “perfect working mom,” and I caught myself laughing when Dalia scoffed at an article claiming women can effortlessly manage it all. Her reaction felt like a wink to every woman who has ever tried to juggle too much at once.
The story’s message is gentle but firm. You don’t “have it all” by matching someone else’s idea of perfection. You have it when you learn to value what’s already in your hands. That conclusion landed beautifully for me, simple and true in a way that lingers after the last page. I’d recommend Having It All to readers who enjoy heartfelt domestic fiction, stories about motherhood, or character-driven novels that explore work, family, and identity in a relatable way. If you like books that sit somewhere between comfort reading and emotional honesty, this one fits right in.
Pages: 216 | ASIN : B09JN2Y6DY
Dream Me Dead: A Story of Betrayal, Infidelity, and Love
Dream Me Dead is a psychological thriller with a strong emotional core, and its premise grabs you from page one. The story follows Peggy Prescott, who opens the book by telling us she is dead and determined to reveal the truth about her husband Rob, a respected surgeon now on trial for her murder. What unfolds is a layered mix of courtroom drama, trauma, suspicion, and blurred realities, all threaded through Peggy’s unsettling perspective as she watches events play out from beyond the living world. As the story progresses, her memories fracture and re-form, her sense of the living and the dead becomes porous, and the real history of her marriage to Rob surfaces piece by piece.
Peggy’s voice is striking because it’s calm even when what she describes is horrific, and that contrast creates a tension that stays with you. Author Laurie Elizabeth Murphy makes deliberate choices here, especially in letting Peggy narrate from a place suspended between worlds. It lets her speak plainly about betrayal, longing, and fear, but with an eerie restraint. I found myself reacting not only to the events but to how Peggy processed them, especially when her certainty about what happened collides with the medical team’s insistence that her memories are confused.
Murphy also isn’t shy about leaning into the messy parts of human behavior. The trial sequences give the book a legal-thriller pulse, but underneath the questioning and objections you feel the emotional wreckage of this family. Rob’s arrogance, Peggy’s desperation to be believed, the daughters’ anger, even the way secondary characters like Dr. Steinbrenner or Mrs. Stoner color the narrative with their own biases and wounds. It becomes clear that this story isn’t just about a crime. It’s about the stories people tell about themselves to survive. And because the book blends psychological fiction with elements of suspense and the supernatural, it has room to explore those ideas without having to explain every mystery. Sometimes it’s the uncertainty that keeps you reading.
By the time I reached the final chapters, I felt the book had shown me both the exterior plot and the interior landscapes of these characters, which is where it’s strongest. It’s a thriller, yes, but one with emotional weight and a haunting, almost dreamlike undertow. I’d recommend Dream Me Dead to readers who enjoy psychological suspense that leans into character and memory as much as plot. If you like courtroom tension, unreliable narration, and stories that sit somewhere between mystery and emotional reckoning, you’ll enjoy this book.
Pages: 355 | ASIN : B0F1WG5JHK
Tissiack: A Sierran Siren
Tissiack: A Sierran Siren follows Awena, a Native American and white high schooler who runs cross country, deals with family pressures, hears a mysterious ancestral voice, and tries to figure out who she is. The story jumps between her school life, her tribe’s struggles, and big moments like the State meet and the winter Bracebridge feast. It also weaves in deep cultural history, government injustice, and a coming-of-age kind of quest that Awena doesn’t fully understand at first. By the end, she starts shaping a path that blends tradition, identity, and her own sense of purpose.
The writing sneaks up on you. One minute it feels like a simple YA story about running and friendship, and then suddenly it drops these heavy truths about Native history and government failures that made my stomach twist. I kept getting caught by the quiet moments, especially Awena’s talks with Ama. They felt warm and sad at the same time. I liked that the book didn’t rush those scenes. The whole vibe had this mix of modern teenage life and thousands-of-years-old memory that gave the story a kind of echo. It made the book feel bigger than it looked.
The scenes with the BIA meetings made me mad. The explanations about broken treaties and stolen land made me sit back and just stare for a second. I kept thinking about how unfair it all is, and the book didn’t sugarcoat any of it. I liked that the story leaned into the messy parts of identity and didn’t pretend everything works out cleanly. Some moments were blunt. Some were tender. Some were almost funny in a dark way, like the boys’ cross-country team acting tough and then totally wimping out in front of a mountain lion. The mix of moods kept the book alive.
By the end, I felt proud of Awena. I wanted to cheer for her. She isn’t perfect, and that made her real. She stumbles, she doubts herself, and she fights through it. The writing made me feel like I knew her. I also loved how the story kept circling back to the idea of hearing your own voice, not just the ancestral one but the inner one.
If you like coming-of-age stories with heart, culture, humor, and a real sense of place, Tissiack: A Sierran Siren would be great for you. It feels especially perfect for teens or adults who enjoy stories about identity and heritage, and for anyone who loves the outdoors or running. It also works well for readers who want something thoughtful but not heavy in a gloomy way.
Pages: 64 | ASIN : B0F922QL54
LITERARY TITAN 