Blog Archives
Flee
Tracy Myhre’s Flee picks up where the first book of the Haven series left off, and it doesn’t waste a single beat. The story follows Sadie Masters, a young Marine Reserve and librarian-in-training, as her bus journey to a family reunion turns into a desperate fight for survival after a nuclear catastrophe devastates Washington State. Interwoven with her storyline are the perspectives of others, family, friends, and strangers, all caught in the chaos that follows society’s collapse. Myhre builds a world where every decision feels like it could be someone’s last, and every relationship is tested by fear, loyalty, and grief. It’s a book about what we hold onto when everything else falls apart.
I found Myhre’s writing raw and alive. She doesn’t dress things up or linger on flowery descriptions. Instead, she cuts straight to the emotion of the moment. The dialogue feels natural, sometimes painfully so, like listening in on real conversations you wish you hadn’t overheard. Sadie’s voice especially stands out. It’s strong yet vulnerable, brave yet messy in all the right ways. The pacing is quick. Chapters snap forward like jolts, each one dragging you into another cliffhanger or gut punch. Some scenes, especially the violent or intimate ones, feel real. They left me breathless and a bit shaken. That’s not a complaint, though, it’s proof that Myhre knows exactly how to get under a reader’s skin.
What impressed me most was how the book handles survival and morality without getting preachy. It’s not about heroes or villains, it’s about people just trying to live through impossible choices. I loved the smaller human moments, like Sadie’s flashbacks to her mother, or the quiet fear in characters who’ve already lost too much. At times, I did wish the story would slow down and let those moments breathe a little longer, but maybe that tension is the point. In Myhre’s world, there’s no time to rest.
I’d recommend Flee to anyone who loves survival stories that make your heart race and your mind spin. It’s perfect for readers who enjoyed The Road or Station Eleven, but want something a bit more grounded in family and personal history. It’s emotional, dark, and real. I finished it feeling wrung out and strangely hopeful, the kind of book that doesn’t just tell a story, it makes you feel like you’ve lived through it too.
Pages: 386 | ASIN : B0FQ1H1WRH
Our Ability to Judge
GRQ is a dark, fast-talking spiral into the absurd world of crypto schemes and capitalist delusion, told through the unraveling life of a man who’s equal parts hustler and fool. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Well, because I live and work in the motion picture world, there is this proximity of art and commerce. That seems innocuous enough, but invariably, the commerce has a pernicious effect on the art, and maybe commerce has a pernicious effect on virtually everything else that we do as well. Whether that’s true or not, it’s still something that I ruminate on. I have seen many people in my world compromise their vision or themselves in the service of short-term financial reward. The thinking is, I will compromise now, but later I will make things right with the world, the family, or God, or whoever one must make things right with to get absolution. I am fascinated by this process. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew) Fair enough. But maybe this gaining the world buys a person time until they can figure things out, while we search for real meaning. In the meantime, we get to eat.
Marlon is such a compelling character. Was he based on anyone you’ve known or read about?
I know a lot of people like Marlon. When directing actors, I often have to say to them that they are the hero of the story, no matter who their character is, because most of us believe that we are either heroes or victims in the grand narrative of our lives, and characters should reflect that. Rarely does anyone think of themselves as genuinely culpable for anything that befalls them. So I think “Marlon type” behavior should be seen as something that is done in degrees by everyone. Some rationalize better than others, some disguise their actions more effectively, some are pathologically unaware that they are doing it, and others do it reluctantly out of necessity. But rare is the person who is not only pure in intention and in behavior. They might even admit this, but then want a moment just to explain.
I tried very hard not to pass judgment on Marlon, and although we can objectively be critical of him, I wonder how differently anyone behaves in a crisis? How many of us actually reject the precept of slightly corrupt means justifying a virtuous end? We probably should, but we probably don’t.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
I work in the fictive world, and I recognize that fiction and narrative provide us with solace by suggesting order in a chaotic world. It doesn’t mean that the perception of narrative order is correct, but it is essential. Each of my characters creates their own moral universe, in which their behaviors make perfect sense to them, if not to other characters or the reader. The term unreliable narrator is introduced early in the novel, and it is essential to the understanding of the themes that I’m examining. Everyone is an unreliable narrator because none of us experiences the objective world objectively. Our ability to judge others is compromised, as is our ability to judge ourselves. The nature of this faux ordering is at the very heart of the book, as is the world’s essential chaos. It is the struggle between these two elements that is the space where we live, hoping to make sense of everything, and when that is impossible, accepting pretty much anything. Money? Love? Religion? Conspiracies? Metaphysics? Anything.
Nobody in GRQ really gets a neat ending. Was that a commentary on redemption in late-stage capitalism?
The short answer is yes. Although I would add this addendum, it extends beyond capitalism. I think most people’s efforts to build satisfying and rewarding lives are ultimately futile, and that little they do will ultimately provide them with spiritual succor, a resonant foundation, or give them a sense of genuine purpose and meaning. It’s a huge risk to build one’s life on bigger philosophic understandings that don’t offer immediate or palatable rewards, but building our lives on material accumulation has certainly revealed itself to be a form of madness. To me, my characters are essentially comic because it is the human comedy; the repetition of the same actions to which we are predisposed, with the same tragic/hilarious outcomes. If our lives were screenplays, we fail to do the necessary rewriting. Instead, we recast, thinking that’s going to change the outcome. I can tell you from making a lot of films, casting doesn’t change our story or our ending.
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Unfolding over a single tension-filled day, Marlon must confront not only his financial ruin, but the dark secrets haunting his family.
A pulse-pounding descent into the dangers of unchecked ambition and the real-world costs of chasing the dream.
Diligence and Determination
The Slide follows a brilliant but troubled scientist who discovers that a massive black hole is heading straight for Earth, leaving him to try and find a way to save humanity. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I did want something PRE-apocalyptic, a disaster novel of sorts, with no way out. The idea of the failed protagonist constantly interests me, and I wanted an ending that wasn’t all hunky-dory with everything working out in the end. I had also recently watched The Fly again, and was, shall we say, reinspired. 😊
When creating Dane Currier, did you have a plan for development and character traits, or did it grow organically as you were writing the story?
They always grow organically as I write the story, really. I learn about them as I’m writing, usually.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Valuing human life, futility, dealing with inevitability, human relations, diligence and determination to find a way, hope, etc.
Will there be a follow-up novel to this story? If so, what aspects of the story will the next book cover?
Since it ended the way it did, probably not. A sequel would be bizarre and awkward, frankly. But I never rule anything out. You never know! 😊
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His Courier3.1 operation system checked out. His teleportation chambers were state of the art, and he knew they would revolutionize the world as we knew it.
But in a cruel twist of timing, something draws near which threatens not only his dream, but humanity as a whole. A ‘supermassive’ black hole is on a collision course with the Milky Way galaxy, and there is no stopping it. Could it be that Dane was inspired to design his system for such a time as this? What do we do when we face an inescapable threat that seeks to annihilate everything we know? And most importantly, what happens when humanity loses everything that makes us human? Will Dane, Megan, Isaac and Dina discover a way for mankind to press on and survive? This one inescapable truth remains:
There is no escaping The Slide.
From the creator of the bestselling and award-winning Dissonance alien invasion saga, the Christian dystopian saga THE END, and the 9/11 historical fiction thriller Forecast comes a new genre disaster fiction tale of humanity’s struggle to survive. In the natural disaster fiction genre, The Slide will frighten and enthrall you to no end.
The Slide
Aaron Ryan’s The Slide is a tightly wound, emotionally raw, and fast-paced sci-fi thriller that tackles the apocalypse in a way I’ve never quite seen before. Set in late 2025, the story follows Dane Currier, a brilliant but troubled scientist who discovers that a massive, uncharted black hole is heading straight for Earth. The revelation kicks off a tense, global unraveling, paralleled by Currier’s personal obsession: a secret teleportation project called Courier 3.1. As the world faces doom, Dane sees a chance for redemption, escape, or maybe something deeper. It’s a bold mix of hard science, emotional confession, and philosophical grit.
Ryan’s writing is conversational, even chatty at times, and it works. It pulls you in like a friend telling you the end is near over a late-night drink. The balance between grand cosmic doom and intimate personal fear feels incredibly relatable. There’s a rawness to Dane’s voice. His acid reflux, his bitterness, his hope, all made him feel painfully real. I didn’t always like him, but I couldn’t stop listening. I also loved the way Ryan treats the black hole not just as a sci-fi monster, but as a metaphor for grief, purpose, and mortality. The writing is smart and hits hard, often laced with sarcasm and gallows humor.
The pacing picks up quite a bit in the later chapters, and there were times I found myself wanting a little more space to take it all in. While I admired the emotional honesty throughout, a few moments of dialogue leaned a bit dramatic. Still, these are minor things in an otherwise powerful story. What shines here is the vision: the gnawing sense that science and soul are dancing toward the same abyss. Ryan captures the spiraling collapse of society with an eeriness that feels way too close to home. And Courier 3.1? Man, that machine had me questioning everything.
The Slide is part sci-fi disaster, part confession booth, and part love letter to human stubbornness. If you like your fiction with big ideas, flawed heroes, and the occasional burp of existential dread, this book’s for you. I’d recommend it to fans of Blake Crouch, Andy Weir, or anyone who wonders what they’d do if the end of the world knocked on their door and offered them a way out.
Pages: 331 | ASIN : B0FFFMJQR3
Evacuation Route
Chris Dungey’s Evacuation Route is a gritty, wry, and deeply human novel that follows two aging brothers—Walt and Warren Bocewicz—as they navigate the final days of their failing family pharmacy in Jacksonville, Florida. It’s a story about endings—of businesses, dreams, and illusions—and what happens when the past won’t let go, and the future doesn’t offer much to hold on to. Through dry humor, raw reflection, and vivid detail, Dungey explores themes of addiction, redemption, brotherhood, and the small moments of absurdity that stitch together a life on the edge of collapse.
What struck me first was the voice. It’s sardonic, bruised, but weirdly comforting. Dungey lets Walt speak in a way that’s both poetic and foul-mouthed, like someone who’s done a lot of time—both literal and emotional. One line that stuck with me was when Walt refers to his stash of leftover pills as a “golden parachute of brake fluid.” The metaphor is funny and heartbreaking. He’s not planning to get high. He’s planning to coast. The way Walt scavenges leftover meds and rations them like wartime chocolate speaks volumes about the quiet desperation of a man trying to stay clean but not above cutting corners. Dungey doesn’t excuse Walt’s thievery; he frames it in a larger commentary about survival in a system that’s left men like him behind.
Another highlight is the dynamic between the brothers. Warren, the straight-laced pharmacist with a taste for community theater, and Walt, the wayward ex-con with a flair for ten-dollar words and sketchy ethics, are an unlikely but believable duo. Their exchanges are loaded with decades of resentment and love. When Barren finally tells Walt about the $1.4 million offer for the building, it feels like a plot twist in a family saga more than a financial windfall. There’s no cheering. Walt doesn’t jump for joy. He thinks about how much of the haul is his, about the unpaid debts, about the cat. This is a book that constantly dodges the easy emotion. It doesn’t go for the melodrama. It sits you down and lets the disappointment breathe.
But the book isn’t just grim. There’s an undercurrent of dark comedy that really works. I laughed when Walt muses about the $5 thesaurus in the jail library or worries about cultural appropriation while driving his “urban classic” Cadillac through the wrong neighborhood. That moment—equal parts cringe and candor—captures the uneasy blend of shame and swagger that defines Walt’s character. Dungey has a gift for these moments.
Evacuation Route is a slow burn, a bit messy, and it rarely gives the reader a clean moral center to hold onto. But if you’ve ever known someone who’s screwed up everything, who’s just trying to make it through the next day without screwing up more—this novel might hit you in the chest. Dungey’s writing doesn’t flinch. It’s tired, it’s bitter, and it’s weirdly beautiful. I’d recommend it to readers who love character-driven stories, gritty Southern settings, or fiction that explores addiction and redemption without preaching.
Pages: 585 | ASIN : B0DY5P6824
The Voice of Reason
Taquoma follows a volcanologist on a perilous mission to prevent a catastrophic eruption in Yellowstone, racing against time to save humanity. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration for the setup of Taquoma is my fascination with volcanoes and the hazardous job of volcanologists. When Mount St. Helens exploded I was in awe of the sheer power of Mother Earth. While watching a documentary on volcanoes a terrifying thought crossed my mind: what if every major volcano on Earth starting with Yellowstone erupted at once? What would that look like? I set out to explore this intriguing idea. I also explored the idea of how the government might counter Yellowstone by fracking and pumping cold water into the caldera to cool it. I developed a complex plan to engineer that idea, then during my research, I coincidently stumbled across an actual plan by NASA to do almost exactly what I envisioned. It was a wonderful find and helped me fill in the blanks of my original plan.
Yara Del Rey is a woman with strength. What do you think makes her a valuable and worthy heroine?
Yara’s inner strength derives from her unconditional love of her daughter, Kalani, and the parents who raised her. She’s traditional and loyal and seeks to do what is right even though she fails miserably at times. What makes her most valuable is her fiery nature and determination to speak the truth, no matter the cost to her personally or professionally. She is the voice of reason in the story that the NASA scientists choose to ignore. She treats people with respect and respects the Earth, holding those values dear to her heart.
How did you balance the action scenes with the story elements and still keep a fast pace in the story?
Mainly by integrating character development and plot progression directly into the action sequences. I used the intensity of the moment to reveal key details about the characters and advance the narrative while keeping the writing focused on descriptions to maintain momentum. I set out to make every action scene a critical turning point in the story and ramp up the tension.
What is the next book that you are working on and when can your fans expect it to be out?
I am currently working on my first book series called, THE TIMEPIECE SERIES. The first three books are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble Nook and I am currently writing the fourth book. Book One, THE TIMEPIECE LEGACY, was recently reviewed by Literary Titan and it earned a Silver Book Award. Book Two is titled THE TIMEPIECE PARADOX, and Book Three is titled THE TEMPUS GLASS. Book Four will be out in early 2025 titled THE TIME TRINITY. You can find all my books and links to purchase on my website AuthorKevinMiller.com.
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At the base of Mount Rainier, twenty-six-year-old Yara Del Rey gathers data for her dissertation in geology. A talented and promising young volcanologist, Yara is alarmed by the recent rumblings of the legendary volcano.
When a team of NASA and USGS scientists kidnaps Yara off the side of Mount Rainier, she is whisked to Wyoming, where a greater threat stirs within the bowels of an ancient caldera. Yara is plunged into the politics and the greed of a multi-billion-dollar NASA plan to pump chilled water into the magma chambers of the Yellowstone volcano—something Yara warns could lead to an apocalyptic catastrophe.
Yara’s warnings go ignored and after she separates from the team of scientists, she hires ex-Navy pilot Clayton Red Sky, to fly her over Yellowstone in a hot-air balloon to assess the condition of the caldera. Before they can depart, disaster strikes and sends Yara and Clay on a desperate journey to escape the oncoming shock wave and billowing clouds of fiery ash.
A scorched earth and a race against time stand in the way of Yara and her six-year-old daughter Kalani, thousands of miles away in Tacoma, Washington.
“Taquoma” is international award-winning author Kevin D. Miller at his finest. His ability to bring a story to life in a cinematic fashion and create characters the reader immediately falls in love with is a hallmark of his writing. “Taquoma” is loaded with tension, thrills, and unexpected twists and turns. It is a unique disaster thriller and a love story that grabs the reader by the throat and sends them on a wild adventure and to the depths of human emotion.
TAQUOMA
Kevin D. Miller’s Taquoma is an electrifying journey through a world on the brink of volcanic catastrophe. It follows Yara Del Rey, a committed volcanologist who finds herself entangled in a perilous mission to prevent a cataclysmic Yellowstone eruption. As the planet’s molten fury threatens to erupt, Yara fights against the clock to protect her daughter—and humanity—from certain devastation.
Miller excels at blending scientific realism with heart-pounding fiction. He paints a scenario so convincing it feels like a genuine threat, making you wonder just how fragile our world is. The characters are rich and relatable, each with their own emotional weight, drawing you deeper into the story. And the suspense? It’s relentless. Miller’s descriptions of volcanic chaos are breathtaking and terrifying, leaving you in awe of nature’s raw power.
The novel isn’t just about action and thrills, though. Beneath the explosive narrative, Miller explores crucial themes like environmental responsibility, the dangers of unchecked human ambition, and the unbreakable bonds of love and perseverance. It’s a fast-paced adventure, but it makes you think, too—about the world we live in and how precariously we treat it.
Taquoma is perfect for anyone who loves a high-stakes disaster thriller or simply enjoys a wild adventure with depth and meaning. It’s intense, thought-provoking, and will leave you on the edge of your seat, rooting for Yara until the very last page. If you’re in the mood for a gripping, explosive read that keeps you invested from start to finish, this one delivers in every way.
Pages: 266 | ASIN : B0BKTSN32S
Killer Bees & Murder Hornets
Bee Conspiracy follows a tenacious detective investigating an odd accident involving bees and teams up with a Wildlife agent who suspects it is, in fact, not an accident. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
One sees in the media, from time to time, sensationalized headlines that include terms like “killer bees” or “murder hornets.” These terms are intended to scare people and create clickbait. I thought it would be interesting to show an expert in the field of insects who would find clues that showed a beehive was planted in a certain position in order to “weaponize” the bees by putting them in a defensive posture.
How do you balance story development with shocking plot twists? Or can they be the same thing?
A good story has a certain skeletal structure that includes twists but also relies upon a character who is following a journey to achieve a certain goal.
What draws you to the genre of eco-thriller and makes it ripe for you to write such a great conspiracy thriller story in it?
Thank you for the compliment! I have always been interested in insects and how they relate to our ecosystem, and I wanted to explore a character who would see things from the point of view of the insects and how he might be able to use his knowledge to solve crimes. I do enjoy a good thriller and certainly aspire to keep people turning the page to find out what happens next.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
I am working on a new book set at the modern-day Tower of London, in England. I am also mulling ideas for a sequel to Bee Conspiracy!
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A suspenseful tale featuring a mismatched investigative team reminiscent of X-Files‘ Mulder and Scully…
As concerns over food shortages grow amid massive honeybee die-offs, an LAPD cop and a Special Agent for US Fish and Wildlife investigate a sociopath kindling mass hysteria to profit from the extermination of biological bees.
LITERARY TITAN 