Blog Archives
Noticing the Small Things
The Star Thrower follows three recent graduates on a trip to Bali, where they abandon their expected paths to pursue ones that give them purpose, learning along the way that small actions can make a big impact. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The story and setup stems from the Loren Eiseley’s “The Star Thrower” (or “starfish story”) is part of a 26-page essay. In that story, a man sees a boy throwing stranded starfish back into the ocean. When told he can’t save them all, the boy replies, “It made a difference to that one.” I wanted to explore how “Generation Z” or recent grads or really anyone—who often feel paralyzed by the scale of global problems—can find agency by focusing on the “one” thing in front of them rather than the “everything” they can’t control.
Bali feels transformative rather than decorative. What made it the right setting for this moment of awakening?
Bali is often called the “Island of the Gods,” but its power lies in its Tri Hita Karanaphilosophy—the harmony between people, nature, and the spirit world. It introduces a paradox and a stark visual and spiritual contrast to the “corporate ladder” or the rigid academic structures the graduates just left that plays out throughout the book. The setting isn’t just a backdrop; the physical environment and getting lost force the characters to slow down and notice the “small things” they overlooked in their fast-paced lives back home.
Each character finds a different path, yet their journeys remain interconnected. What interested you about that balance?
I wanted to highlight the importance of friendship. Even as we travel paths, our growth is often fueled by the people who knew us before we changed. It highlights that “purpose” isn’t a one-size-fits-all destination. By keeping the characters interconnected, it shows that when one person finds their light, it makes it easier for their friends and others to find theirs, too. It’s a “rising tide lifts all boats” philosophy.
The novel is openly hopeful. What do you hope readers carry with them after finishing the book?
I hope readers can feel less overwhelmed by the “grand plan” of their lives and more empowered by their daily choices. Hope isn’t a feeling; it’s an action. The Star Thrower is presented as a disciplined choice and sometimes that choice involves making changes and perhaps finding a new direction. It’s not that the characters ignore the world’s problems; they simply choose to address them one “starfish” at a time. The “Star Thrower” isn’t a person who fixes everything; the “Star Thrower” is someone who refuses to do nothing. If you finish the book and feel like you can do one small, kind thing for your community, the book has done its job. What is one “starfish” action a reader can take today?
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Their summer of self-discovery takes a sharp turn when they become entangled in a legal battle against a powerful corporation responsible for a massive environmental spill. The stakes are immediate and personal: their coastal community’s health, its economy, and the survival of endangered wildlife.
The friends emerge victorious. While the community celebrates the win, the friends’ ultimate reward is deeper than the legal triumph. By protecting life and bringing a corporation to justice, Ava, Sam, and Leo discover their true purpose, realizing that their combined talents are the ‘how’—the essential tools—for the greater ‘why’—the fierce protection of their world. The book celebrates the profound benefit of teamwork, illustrating that true purpose is often found not in solitude, but in collaboration for a cause greater than oneself.
The Star Thrower: A Novel
The Star Thrower is a contemporary coming-of-age novel that blends personal reinvention with environmental activism. It starts with Ava Wainwright at graduation, caught between her father’s expectation that she pursue law and her own quieter pull toward art, storytelling, and wildlife. From there, the book opens outward through a trip to Bali, where Ava and her friends Sam and Leo begin to see their lives with fresh eyes and, just as importantly, begin to imagine futures that actually belong to them.
I liked that the novel knows exactly what kind of story it wants to be. It’s earnest, idealistic, and driven by purpose. Bali isn’t just a scenic backdrop. It becomes the place where the three friends start naming what matters to them, and the title image of the star thrower gives the whole book its moral center. When the old man on the beach says, “It matters to this one,” the novel makes its argument plainly and effectively: individual acts may be small, but they still count.
The book also works because it gives each member of the trio a distinct path. Ava moves toward writing and illustration, Leo toward forensic science and evidence-based advocacy, and Sam toward community action and ocean-centered leadership. That structure gives the novel a nice forward motion, because each character’s growth feeds the larger plot about pollution, corporate misconduct, and public pressure. I also appreciated that the book keeps returning to the question of purpose.
In style, the novel is direct, sincere, and easy to read. It wears its heart on its sleeve, and I think that openness is part of its appeal. The dialogue is often used to clarify where each character stands emotionally, and the scenic descriptions of beaches, forests, and wildlife give the story a steady sense of atmosphere. The courtroom and activism sections shift the novel into a more issue-driven register, but they still connect back to the characters’ search for meaning, which keeps the book grounded in human stakes rather than abstract causes.
The Star Thrower is a hopeful novel about choosing a life that feels true, then learning how to defend it. It’s about friendship, grief, vocation, environmental responsibility, and the way conviction grows from small moments of attention. More than anything, it’s a book that believes people can change course and that communities can change too. That belief is what gives the novel its warmth. By the end, it feels less like a story about grand destiny and more like a story about finding your bearings and moving toward them, one choice at a time.
Pages: 136 | ASIN : B0GQL5NMGG
Sincerely Yours…Written In The Stars And Inked In Destiny!
In Sincerely Yours, Sonia D. Hebdon drops readers into Haven Cove in 1989, where Josie, a sharp, music-soaked teenager with a gift for language, falls into a charged romance with her new neighbor Blaine while secretly writing an advice column called “Sincerely Yours.” What begins as an 80s-inflected love story of mixtapes, eyeliner, and illicit nights out steadily opens into something stranger: a paranormal narrative about writing itself, about stories that breathe, unfinished worlds, and the frightening possibility that words do not merely describe reality but conjure it. The novel openly frames itself as a paranormal love story rooted in 1980s music and in the idea that certain writers can create literal worlds, and that premise becomes the book’s true engine.
What I liked most was the book’s unabashed sincerity. Hebdon is not aiming for cool detachment; she wants feeling, and she goes after it in full view. Josie and Blaine are drawn with the kind of heightened, romantic glow that suits the novel’s cassette-tape heart, and the pages are thick with Cure songs, club lights, handwritten letters, and the intoxicating self-invention of adolescence. I found that atmosphere persuasive even when the prose grew ornate, because the book’s emotional weather is so clear: loneliness, awakening, first love, artistic hunger, the longing to be seen as oneself rather than as a role assigned by family or town. The advice-column scenes also give Josie a moral and emotional gravity that keeps her from becoming just another dreamy heroine; her anonymity becomes its own form of courage.
My reaction to the novel’s second half was more mixed, but still engaged. Once the Whitlock Society and the metaphysics of authorship move closer to center stage, the book shifts from nostalgic romance into meta-paranormal fantasy, and that turn is genuinely intriguing. I admired the ambition of a story that asks what happens to unfinished narratives and imagines rare writers as conduits who generate actual worlds. The book feels stuffed with mood, mythos, sentiment, and soundtrack, but that excess is also part of its personality. I never had the sense of a cynical machine at work; I felt the presence of a writer who loves 80s music, believes in the numinous charge of words, and is willing to let teenage feeling burn bright instead of sanding it down into irony.
I’d recommend Sincerely Yours to young adult readers, especially those who enjoy YA paranormal romance, clean fiction, coming-of-age fantasy, and music-laced stories with a gothic shimmer. Readers who love emotionally direct fiction and retro atmosphere will probably be its natural home crowd. In spirit, it sits somewhere between the swooning supernatural pull of Twilight and the mixtape melancholy of an 80s-mad Sarah Dessen alternate universe, though Hebdon’s metafictional streak gives it its own curious voltage. My verdict: this is a heartfelt, melodramatic, odd little spell of a book, and when it works, it reminds me that sincerity is not a weakness but a strength.
Pages: 170 | ASIN : B0FDWQSZLJ
Leaving My Mark
Legacy is a sprawling science-fantasy epic that follows the lives of several young warriors on the world of Utopia, a place where ancient magic coexists with advanced technology. This is an intriguing fantasy novel. Why was it important for you to write this book?
It’s a story that has stuck with me since childhood. It stayed in my mind and continued to expand in scope. I had thought about creating other media, but eventually settled on writing a story. It’s my way of leaving my mark in the sands of time, proof that I was once here, something I can leave behind.
Your characters are intriguing and highly engaging to readers. What character did you enjoy writing for? Was there one that was more challenging to write for?
I enjoyed writing for all of them. There were times when it got difficult, some of Ryker’s scenes in particular. He, unfortunately, suffers through some of the darker themes within the story. As I have previously mentioned, the story has grown within my mind, and so have these characters. I am telling a story that happened ages ago, which means I have to remind myself that these are younger versions of the characters. They can’t do certain things or wouldn’t react in the same ways that they would now.
I find that authors sometimes ask themselves questions and let their characters answer them. Do you think this is true for your characters?
Oh, most certainly. They are always with me. I’ve done what I can to keep the characters alive in my mind since childhood, as I wanted to write the story one day, but feared that as I got older, I would forget about them. I didn’t want to do that, so I found ways to keep them present and fresh in my mind. Creating new adventures or exploring new lands with them.
What is your background and experience in writing, and how did it help you write Legacy?
I have little to no experience in writing officially. The most I have done was write some short stories, many of which never got an ending, and write some poetry in my young teen years. I am not even an avid novel reader. I once was in my youth, but I lost that along the road, unfortunately. I’ll still read comics and manga occasionally, but even then. At one time, I thought I would create a Legacy series within a comic book or a manga, but my drawing skills aren’t as consistent as I would like them to be. I don’t have the means to hire an artist, but I know how to write. So, I decided on trying my hand at stringing words together and writing a book, a series of books if all goes as planned.
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A sci-fi fantasy epic of war, sacrifice, and the unbreakable power of friendship. For readers who crave rich characters, explosive action, and worlds where courage and conviction are the greatest weapons, Legacy delivers a thrilling beginning to a saga that will echo across galaxies.
Dark Angelus Everlast is a mystery to most. A local outsider with no known past, he rose to prominence after a decisive victory in one of Utopia’s most prestigious martial arts tournaments. Powerful, enigmatic, and reserved, he’s earned respect—but remains untested in the eyes of many. That changes when a brutal force from beyond the stars descends upon the planet, leaving devastation in its wake and catapulting Dark into a role he never sought.
Thrust into command as Planetary General, Dark must rally divided factions, earn the trust of wary allies, and master abilities that may cost him more than he’s willing to give. With his home on the brink of collapse, he stands as one of its final hopes—whether he’s ready or not.
At his side are Cory Ryker and Cogeta Fairway—steadfast friends whose loyalty runs deeper than blood. Cory, a quiet strategist with a sharp mind who must learn to confront and defeat his greatest enemy, himself. Cogeta, a charismatic warrior whose humor masks a lifetime of burdens, faces trials that will test the very foundation of his identity.
Together, they’ll navigate a galaxy where ancient forces and advanced civilizations collide, forging uneasy alliances, confronting devastating truths, and waging war against an enemy that embodies domination and despair.
Legacy is a bold fusion of military science fiction, epic fantasy, and political drama, exploring the price of heroism in a world where nothing comes without sacrifice. This is not a tale of chosen ones—it’s the story of young warriors standing against impossible odds, shaped not by destiny but by the choices they make when everything is on the line.
Legacy
Legacy is a sprawling science-fantasy epic that follows the lives of several young warriors on the world of Utopia, a place where ancient magic coexists with advanced technology. The central focus is on Dark Angelus Everlast (Angel), a mysterious, battle-hardened youth with a troubled past, and his close-knit group of friends: the charming troublemaker Cogeta, the reserved intellectual Cory, the kind-hearted Leen, and several other richly drawn characters. The story begins with a celebratory dance at Utopia University but soon spirals into tournaments, political tensions, emotional entanglements, and spiritual conflicts that challenge the characters’ bonds and ideals. It’s a coming-of-age story wrapped in fantasy armor, soaked in emotional vulnerability, and set against a backdrop of war, prophecy, and legacy.
Reading this book felt like being dropped into the middle of someone’s beloved dream world. It’s dense, heartfelt, and often emotionally raw. The writing switches between tender introspection and explosive confrontation. There are scenes that resonated with me, especially those that explored Cory’s aching loneliness and longing, Angel’s gruff tenderness, and Leen’s quiet strength. The dialogue often brims with tension or affection. I appreciated how the author didn’t shy away from showing emotional messiness. There were parts where the writing veered into melodrama, but those moments made it feel more real, like watching teenagers deal with the weight of growing up while the fate of the world quietly looms.
Stylistically, the book wears its heart on its sleeve. Sometimes that means some scenes are long or narrations dive deeply into characters’ internal monologues. It felt like reading something intensely personal, like the author poured everything into these characters, their triumphs, their pain, and their awkwardness. The world-building was immersive, if sometimes overwhelming. The fusion of Norse myth, magical lore, and sci-fi tech made for a wild ride. But the real star was the character work. The friendships, rivalries, and quiet betrayals were where this book truly shined. It made me care deeply about these fictional kids and their fates.
Legacy left me feeling nostalgic, a bit heartbroken, and hopeful. It’s a book for anyone who loves character-driven fantasy with heavy emotional undercurrents. I’d recommend it to readers who enjoy stories like Final Fantasy, RWBY, or My Hero Academia. Tales where bonds between characters matter more than the battles themselves. If you’ve ever sat alone at a dance, staring at someone you loved from afar, this book might hit you harder than you expect.
Pages: 391 | ASIN : B0FBRLTW29
Lose Yourself In A Story
Legacy follows a mysterious young man with an unknown past and his loyal friends, who is catapulted into a leadership role he doesn’t want and is unprepared for when his world is brought under attack from a brutal force beyond the stars. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I’ve always been fascinated by the image of people circling a fire or sitting around someone in a tavern—one voice holding everyone captive with a tale of heroes and distant wars. Today we gather around a screen instead of a campfire, but the need is the same: we want to lose ourselves in a story.
Dark’s journey truly begins when life unapologetically hits him hard. Suddenly, he is faced with challenges he never saw coming, things he couldn’t have planned for. It’s the origin story for many heroes of tales old and new.
I find the world you created in this novel brimming with possibilities. Where did the inspiration for the setting come from, and how did it change as you were writing?
I am a big fan of Japanese animation, Western comics and cartoons, RPGs, and world mythology. These things influenced my imagination when I was younger. Characters and stories came to life as I played. To start off with I created a race of beings by fusing together three things that I was a fan of into one. After doing that, they needed a home, and so Utopia was created. I forget where I first heard of the word, but I liked how it sounded. Though my world Utopia definitely does not live up to the word’s meaning. It may be beautiful, but it’s far from a paradise. The stories that formed when I was a child remained with me. While writing the story it did have to change a bit here and there. Things that worked when I was younger, didn’t quite work as well now that I am older and more knowledgeable. Trying to figure out why this or that happens has been a challenge at times, when it didn’t matter how it happened when I was younger, it just did. That works sometimes but not all the time. In some ways the story grew even larger as I was writing it as new questions or problems with the logic of things popped up.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Adventure was a major theme for me. I enjoy exploring areas and walking along paths in the woods, at times veering off the trail. Going out for a drive and just going somewhere you’ve never been before.
Loneliness and self-doubt play a strong role as well. But to counter that is the theme of Love and Friendship. Love in its purest and most innocent form and the type of friendships that truly are unbreakable. The pillars one leans on when all else seems lost.
Where does the story go in the next book, and where do you see it going in the future?
In regards to where the story goes in the next book, to put it simply, to the stars. “Legacy” is the start of a series that is going to explore a vast universe. There are a lot of stories, worlds, and characters yet to be explored that are just dying to be told. Beyond that…my dream is that I am creating a series that can and will stand the test of time. The Legacy series will hopefully be a strong foundation to build upon for years to come. This isn’t just Dark’s legacy, it’s mine.
Author Instagram
A sci-fi fantasy epic of war, sacrifice, and the unbreakable power of friendship. For readers who crave rich characters, explosive action, and worlds where courage and conviction are the greatest weapons, Legacy delivers a thrilling beginning to a saga that will echo across galaxies.
Dark Angelus Everlast is a mystery to most. A local outsider with no known past, he rose to prominence after a decisive victory in one of Utopia’s most prestigious martial arts tournaments. Powerful, enigmatic, and reserved, he’s earned respect—but remains untested in the eyes of many. That changes when a brutal force from beyond the stars descends upon the planet, leaving devastation in its wake and catapulting Dark into a role he never sought.
Thrust into command as Planetary General, Dark must rally divided factions, earn the trust of wary allies, and master abilities that may cost him more than he’s willing to give. With his home on the brink of collapse, he stands as one of its final hopes—whether he’s ready or not.
At his side are Cory Ryker and Cogeta Fairway—steadfast friends whose loyalty runs deeper than blood. Cory, a quiet strategist with a sharp mind who must learn to confront and defeat his greatest enemy, himself. Cogeta, a charismatic warrior whose humor masks a lifetime of burdens, faces trials that will test the very foundation of his identity.
Together, they’ll navigate a galaxy where ancient forces and advanced civilizations collide, forging uneasy alliances, confronting devastating truths, and waging war against an enemy that embodies domination and despair.
Legacy is a bold fusion of military science fiction, epic fantasy, and political drama, exploring the price of heroism in a world where nothing comes without sacrifice. This is not a tale of chosen ones—it’s the story of young warriors standing against impossible odds, shaped not by destiny but by the choices they make when everything is on the line.
Legacy
Legacy by The Chronicler is an ambitious, genre-blending tale set in the richly imagined world of Utopia, where technology, magic, and ancient warrior ideals coexist. Told through the lens of a timeless narrator known only as the Chronicler, the novel follows a group of university students, Angel, Cory, Cogeta, Leen, and Becky, through a transformative chapter in their lives. The story intertwines themes of loyalty, longing, coming-of-age, and social hierarchy, all while hinting at deeper undercurrents of political unrest and cosmic mystery.
One of the strongest aspects of Legacy is the emotional depth embedded in its characters. From the opening chapter, the novel presents a poignant and relatable exploration of unrequited love and self-doubt through Cory, a soft-spoken student struggling to express his feelings for a girl named Alisandra. The scene is richly written, conveying his vulnerability without resorting to melodrama. His internal struggle is one of the most human and grounded elements of the story, serving as a quiet contrast to the more overt heroism of his peers. Watching Cory wrestle with his emotions while surrounded by confident, outgoing friends like Cogeta and Angel adds an impressive layer of complexity to the group dynamic.
The narrative also shines in its portrayal of relationships and rivalries. Angel and Leen’s bond evolves with warmth and authenticity, standing out as one of the most compelling arcs in the early chapters. Their connection is given the space to breathe, which allows readers to witness not just romantic development, but also how love can soften a guarded, combative personality. The rivalry between Angel and Shaw, captured in a tense exchange, provides a compelling look at class conflict, pride, and jealousy. The way their mutual disdain plays out through terse dialogue rather than immediate violence adds a mature touch to what could have easily been a one-dimensional conflict.
The world-building is vast and imaginative, but sometimes overly detailed to the point of slowing the pace. The elaborate descriptions of food, drink, and school traditions, while evocative, at times overshadow the momentum of the plot. While Cory’s introspection is effective in moderation, extended internal monologues occasionally dilute the tension built elsewhere. Still, the writing retains a sense of earnestness that is difficult to fault. Every moment, whether quiet or dramatic, seems deeply felt by its characters.
Legacy is a heartfelt and immersive narrative that will likely appeal to fans of character-driven fantasy, particularly those who enjoy a blend of school drama, action, and interpersonal tension. The writing is sincere, the characters are richly drawn, and the setting is both imaginative and grounded. Readers who appreciate strong emotional arcs, evolving friendships, and a touch of romantic and political intrigue will find much to enjoy here. It’s a story that doesn’t just entertain, it invites you to care.
Pages: 464 | ASIN : B0FBRLTW29
Life After a Zombie Apocalypse
Love and Other Cures for the Recently Undead follows a teenage girl who awakens from a two-year blackout to find she has survived the apocalypse but is now one of the undead. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I was talking to a friend about zombies and zombie apocalypses. She’s more of a horror writer and was working on a post-zombie apocalypse story about an ex-zombie who still had cravings for human flesh. But my thought was that if there were ex-zombies, those people were probably really traumatized—it’s where my mind naturally goes. And it was that thought that made me start to really wonder what life would be like for those left over from a zombie apocalypse, what sort of things they’d struggle with on a daily basis, and how they’d cope with everything they’d gone through and lost. I’ve always been passionate about psychology, so this became something of an interesting thought experiment.
What is it that draws you to the paranormal romance genre?
I like the freedom it offers. As I mentioned before, my main interest is in the psychological and I feel like a treasure trove can be explored in paranormal romance. There are the interpersonal and social issues between the main love interests stuck within the broader context of something extraordinary with its own psychological baggage. In CeCe and Derrick’s case, they had to bridge the gap of trust and forgiveness while navigating the trauma from being ex-zombies.
What was the inspiration for Cece’s traits and dialogue?
I love tennis, so I made her this phenomenal tennis player—the type of player I could only dream to be. Because CeCe is so dedicated to a sport and having this identity as an athlete from such an early age, it shaped everything about her and who she is. For her to lose that, it was like losing half of herself. She doesn’t know who she is anymore and has to get to know herself in a way she never has. It’s this feeling of being disconnected that dictates her traits and dialogue moving forward in the story.
Can readers look forward to a follow-up to this novel? What are you currently working on?
I did leave it open for a sequel, and I really love CeCe and Derrick so I’ve definitely been thinking of how the story would continue. Right now, though, I’m working on another paranormal romance that involves a serial killer, who is definitely not one of the main love interests.
Author Links: GoodReads | X | Facebook | Website
CeCe wakes to a reality she can’t fathom and realizes it’s probably not a good idea to fall for the guy who bit her and made her one of the undead.
But in this post-apocalyptic world, everything she’s known and understood has changed, including the path to love.
This is going to be your next favorite story, so hurry and buy it now!
