Blog Archives
Born on Monday
Born on Monday tells the story of Billy Stevens and Jessica Michaud, two people tethered by shared history and unfinished feelings in the small town of Augusta, Maine. It’s a story about trauma, redemption, and how the past has a way of catching up even when we think we’ve buried it. The novel opens with a reunion that feels innocent at first, a meeting in a bar between ex-lovers, but it quickly widens into something much darker. Their lives, already scarred by heartbreak and regret, begin to tangle again through loss, addiction, and violence. Becker’s writing threads together memory and immediacy with quiet dread, pulling the reader through a story that feels both intimate and cinematic.
I couldn’t help but feel pulled under by Becker’s prose. It’s sharp but unpretentious. The way he writes about small towns feels dead-on, that claustrophobic mix of nostalgia and rot. His characters are flawed, all cracked open in ways that feel real, not performative. Billy’s grief feels worn and honest, and Jessica’s shame and self-doubt are haunting. I liked how Becker avoids grand speeches or easy answers. Every conversation carries an undercurrent, like everyone is speaking through layers of history. The pacing is deliberate, but it gives space for emotion to breathe. I found myself pausing often, not because the plot slowed, but because I needed to sit with the weight of what had just happened.
There’s something raw about the ideas Becker plays with, survival, masculinity, and cycles of trauma. Some scenes hit harder than I expected. The quiet domestic pain, the strange kindness between people who are barely holding on, the way memories echo through time. Becker writes people who keep trying, even when they shouldn’t. The story feels true in a way that most “redemption arcs” don’t.
By the end, I wasn’t sure if I felt heartbroken or hopeful. Maybe both. Born on Monday isn’t for readers who want neat resolutions or tidy morals. It’s for those who don’t mind sitting in the mess, who understand that healing isn’t about closure, it’s about survival. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes character-driven fiction that deals with real scars, not storybook wounds. Fans of small-town dramas like Sharp Objects or Winter’s Bone will find something familiar here, but Becker’s voice is his own.
Pages: 352 | ASIN : B0FSSN8XXZ
Last of the Autumn Rain
Diana Louise Webb’s Last of the Autumn Rain is an emotionally charged novel that weaves together trauma, tragedy, and mental health through the voice of a haunted narrator named Julie. The story opens with a deadly accident at a nightclub that kills Julie’s best friend and spirals into a psychological journey touching on abuse, betrayal, obsession, and revenge. As Julie revisits past experiences from her childhood in New Jersey to a near-fatal spring break trip to Mexico, she reflects on the forces that shape identity, morality, and the thin line between sanity and madness. With fictionalized events that feel brutally real, Webb holds nothing back in her mission to spotlight the stigma and neglect surrounding mental health.
The writing is sharp, vivid, and unsparing. Webb’s prose can be poetic in one moment and violently raw in the next. Her scenes of abuse and trauma are gut-wrenching without being gratuitous. I often found myself re-reading lines, not just for their emotional weight but because they caught me off guard in how directly they confronted the reader. There’s a beautiful messiness in the storytelling. Fractured timelines, flashbacks, inner monologues, and haunting hallucinations that all blend into Julie’s spiraling mental state. At times, the chaos felt overwhelming, but it always felt deliberate. It’s like the author doesn’t want you to read this passively, she wants you to feel every drop of blood, guilt, and silence.
I found myself torn over the narrator. Julie is not a reliable or particularly likable character. She is violent, self-serving, and damaged. But that’s kind of the point. I couldn’t shake the feeling that Webb was daring me to judge her. One moment, Julie is saving someone from abuse; the next, she’s casually describing a childhood act of horror with a twisted sense of pride. I didn’t always agree with the choices she made. The novel sometimes seemed to blur the line between victim and perpetrator, and I admired Webb’s courage in forcing us to sit with those contradictions. It’s rare to see a female protagonist written with this much moral ambiguity and rage. And it’s even rarer for a book to make me feel that conflicted and still want to keep reading.
Last of the Autumn Rain is not a light or easy read. It’s intense, messy, and emotionally exhausting, but in the best way. This book is for readers who crave raw truth over tidy resolution. It’s for those who have battled demons or known someone who has. I would especially recommend it to fans of Gillian Flynn or Alice Sebold, readers who don’t mind going into the darker corners of the human mind. Webb has something important to say about pain, silence, and survival, and she says it with brutal, unforgettable honesty.
Pages: 235 | ASIN : B0FGQMMC27
One Bad Decision
The Wife’s New Maid follows a woman who marries a wealthy man to create her perfectly crafted life, which begins to fall apart when her new maid, desperate to escape a violent boyfriend, enters their lives. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
It’s a story about how one bad decision can change everything in a person’s life journey. How chasing the wrong dream can turn one’s life upside down.
The main character, Linley, ignored the warning signs in her rush to escape the grind of corporate life and marry the man who promised her a fairy tale life in the suburbs. But the dream soon turned into a nightmare. Her instincts whispered truths she didn’t want to hear, because she was dazzled by the prospect of marrying a rich, handsome man, ignoring red flags by drowning out reason. By the time her husband’s true nature came to light, she was already trapped. To protect her family, she made choices she’d never imagined—morally questionable actions that felt justified only because her husband’s betrayal had forced her into a dark corner.
What were some of the emotional and moral guidelines you followed when developing your characters?
I made sure that each character’s choices, even the questionable ones, were rooted in believable desperation and a longing for survival. That love and survival often force people into making morally gray decisions and how people, especially when pushed into a corner, rarely make clean choices.
I wanted to show how loyalty, betrayal, and the hunger for freedom can twist even the best intentions. My intention when developing the characters(except for Ana’s abusive boyfriend, Hector) was to avoid painting someone as purely good or evil but defined by their circumstances and desires.
I wanted the characters’ moral dilemmas to feel personal, raw, and inevitable. And how every major choice must cost the character something emotionally, so the stakes always felt real.
Do you think there’s a single moment in everyone’s life, perhaps not as traumatic, that’s life-changing?
Sure. Here are a few that come to mind(I’m sure there are plenty more!)
There’s falling in love and the visceral sensations that come with feeling that powerful connection with another human being. Or heartbreak, which can have devastating consequences and cause a profound form of depression that is hard to shift. Or feeling profoundly humiliated in a way you never forget. A medical diagnosis that forces a big career change. Moving home. A major act of courage. Meeting someone who helps you see things in a new light. A spiritual awakening through art or nature. Realizing you’ve been chasing the wrong dream all along, which was Linley’s epiphany.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
Though The Wife’s New Maid is a stand-alone, I’m writing a sequel called, The Maid’s New Husband. Hopefully, it will be out around October this year.
Author Links: GoodReads | X | Facebok | Website
Linley had crafted the perfect life— a dazzling home, an elite social circle, and a wealthy, handsome husband who promised her everything.
Marrying Dorian Gunn should have been a dream.
But not all fairy tales end well…
Three years in, Linley’s marriage is a hollow shell reduced to icy silences and a cruel prenup demanding an heir she can’t seem to produce. Then comes the new maid—young, beautiful, and with dreams of her own.
And she’s not only there to clean. She’s here to survive.
Desperate to escape a violent boyfriend, the maid sets her sights on the one man who can save her—the rich husband—and she’ll do whatever it takes to claim him. After all, morality is a luxury she can’t afford.
In this house of whispered betrayals, no one’s hands are clean. Everyone is hiding something, and when the truth finally comes out… someone won’t make it out alive.
A Stand-alone Domestic Thriller
The Wife’s New Maid
Amora Sway’s The Wife’s New Maid is a dark, slow-burning psychological thriller dressed up in luxury, suburban charm, and a heavy coat of emotional disarray. Told through the lens of Linley, a woman who trades her independent New York life for a marriage to a wealthy, controlling hedge funder named Dorian, the novel drips with passive-aggressive tension and subtle menace. It explores the suffocating demands of a picture-perfect marriage and how little cracks, like a too-sexy maid or a fading sex life, can deepen into full-blown chaos. It’s twisted, oddly funny at times, and uncomfortably real.
I was genuinely surprised by how compelling the narrative became. The writing style is understated, yet it carries a quiet precision and a strong sense of character throughout. Linley’s voice is vulnerable, cynical, and funny in that “laugh so you don’t cry” kind of way. Early on, there’s this scene where she props her legs up against the wall post-coitus like it’s a team sport, just trying to conceive before a four-year prenup clause kicks in. The blend of quiet desperation and dry humor is executed with remarkable precision. It made me squirm and laugh and then feel kind of bad about laughing.
What really got under my skin was how slowly and subtly the horror unfolds. At first, it’s just awkward silences, missing affection, and a husband who’s a little too into coasters and keto muffins. But then the porn browsing, the rigid control, and the maid’s “skimpy” outfits start to add up. One moment that hit hard was when Linley finds her husband masturbating to buxom brunettes online. She doesn’t scream or confront him; she freezes, tiptoes away, and quietly screams into a pillow. That broke me a little. It’s not about shock, it’s about how many women are trained to shrink themselves in real time, even when their world is burning.
The pacing dragged a bit in places. The prose leans repetitive, and some inner monologues circle the same idea over and over with Linley’s loneliness, Dorian’s emotional constipation, and the perfect wife act. But I’ll admit, it mirrors her rut perfectly. It makes you feel like you’re right there with her, smiling at dinner parties and dying on the inside. The book club scenes are particularly well-crafted, offering a sharp and memorable portrayal of social dynamics. The passive-aggressive wine-sipping suburban wives were both hilarious and horrifying. Everyone smiles with perfect teeth, but it’s all gossip and envy under the surface.
The Wife’s New Maid is for people who enjoy thrillers that simmer rather than explode. It’s for readers who want something psychological, layered, and eerily close to real life. For anyone who has ever maintained the illusion of a perfect life while quietly unraveling beneath the surface, this novel may resonate deeply, both unsettling and engrossing in equal measure.
Pages: 227 | ASIN : B0F1L6PQC2
There is No “Perfect Mother”
In Shaken, an exhausted and overwhelmed young mother gives in to the frustrations of raising a toddler and makes a regrettable decision that could change the course of her life. Where did the idea for this novel come from?
The idea came to me about 17 years ago when I saw a poster that said, “NEVER SHAKE A BABY” at the doctor’s office. At the time, I hadn’t heard of the Shaken Baby Syndrome (SSB) and found myself wondering, “Who would shake a baby?” But then I realized there had to be people out there who did, otherwise there wouldn’t be a whole campaign about it. I couldn’t help but think how horrible that would be — to lose control and hurt your baby like that. Later that afternoon, I wrote a scene where a young mother snaps and loses control, shaking her baby without realizing what she was doing. I didn’t know what to do with that character and scene at that point in time, so I shoved it aside to work on other things. When I needed something to present to my writing group in the summer of 2019, I dug out that chapter, read it to the group, and watched as everyone at the table exploded with extreme emotions: horror, shock, disgust, confusion, sympathy, and so on. I realized that if I could evoke such a wide range of reactions, this was a novel worth bringing into the world.
What was the inspiration for Sally’s traits and dialogue?
After I had my own kids, I went to various playgroups and parent-baby classes. There, I observed the put-together moms, the hot-mess moms, and everything in between. As hard as we moms all tried to do the best we could, I soon realized there’s no such thing as the “perfect mother” — you might have it under control one minute, then be a sobbing mess the next. I wanted to take the overwhelm that my mom friends (and myself) had felt during those early years and to amplify it to the extreme, showing how everything could change in one awful moment. Although nobody in my social circle ever abused their baby, plenty of moms expressed their frustrations and how close they got to “going over the edge.”
What are some things that you find interesting about the human condition that you think makes for great fiction?
I’m intrigued by those intense, dark moments in life where one bad thing happens, someone reacts to it and makes a bad decision, then another one, and before you know it, their whole life has come undone. Like in the movies when someone finds a bag full of millions of dollars hidden in the woods and they think they can get away with just keeping it, but it’s never that easy. And yet, you can’t help but wonder, “What would I do?” Would I go to the cops? Or keep the money?
With Shaken, I wanted people to really think about what would happen if they actually snapped and lost control — because, deep down, we all have the ability to lose control. Would you try to cover it up? Come forward and share the truth? Run away? What if Sally was your wife, sister, next door neighbor? What would YOU do? Although we tell ourselves we would make better choices if we found ourselves in the same exact situation, there’s no way to know for sure until it’s really happening to you.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
I’m currently revising a young adult mystery about a teen girl, Olivia, who believes her parents didn’t die in an accident but were in fact murdered. As her twin sister fights for her life in the hospital, Olivia rallies the help of two new friends to uncover the truth, but the more secrets they discover, the more Olivia begins to realize her own life might be in danger. This book has been through one round of beta reading with great feedback, so I’m working on fixing remaining plot holes and tightening things up. I hope it’ll be available sometime in 2026.
Author Links: GoodReads | X | Facebook | Website
Enter Alyssa, the teenage babysitter, who is left in charge the night after the incident. As Morgan’s condition deteriorates, Sally’s partner, Charles, grows increasingly concerned. A series of alarming doctors’ visits spiral into a nightmare when authorities are alerted and fingers start pointing at Alyssa. Will Sally come forward and risk losing everything, or will she try to maintain the illusion of being a perfect mother—even if it means someone else takes the blame?
Shaken explores the intense, often unspoken, struggles of new motherhood and the complexities of human fallibility, raising an unsettling question: Does one irreversible mistake define you forever?
Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Lisa Jewell, and Freida McFadden.
Shaken
Jill Amber Chafin’s Shaken is an unsettling yet deeply human exploration of parental burnout, guilt, and the irreversible consequences of a single moment of lost control. The novel follows Sally, a young mother grappling with exhaustion and the relentless demands of raising a toddler, Morgan. Her mounting frustration culminates in a moment of violence—shaking her child in desperation—leading to a spiral of paranoia, self-recrimination, and a desperate attempt to hide the truth. Meanwhile, Charles, her husband, oblivious to the full extent of what has transpired, struggles with his own frustrations as a provider, balancing work and family life with increasing detachment. As Sally’s secret festers, the novel digs deep into the emotional and psychological turmoil of parenthood, revealing just how fragile the line is between loving care and overwhelming despair.
Chafin’s writing is unflinching and raw. She masterfully captures Sally’s descent into fear and guilt with a sharp, visceral intensity. The opening chapter is particularly haunting—Sally’s panic and the creeping realization of what she’s done is stomach-churning. The way Chafin builds tension is remarkable; every moment that follows is laced with dread, making it impossible to put the book down. The portrayal of a struggling mother losing her grip is uncomfortably real, and that’s what makes the book so powerful. It doesn’t shy away from the ugliness of exhaustion, the loneliness of motherhood, and the terrible things people are capable of when they are pushed to their breaking point.
Charles’s chapters provide a necessary contrast offering a glimpse of the “normal” world outside of Sally’s unraveling mind but at times, his storyline feels flat compared to the emotional hurricane Sally is experiencing. His dissatisfaction with his job, the flirtation with a co-worker, and his general cluelessness about Sally’s struggles feel almost too mundane next to the life-or-death stakes of her narrative. That said, his role as the unwitting husband makes the moments when he begins to sense something is deeply wrong all the more gripping. The way he questions Sally, the small details he notices but brushes off, add to the tension beautifully.
One of the novel’s most gut-wrenching strengths is how it forces the reader to empathize with someone who has done the unthinkable. It would be easy to condemn Sally, but Chafin doesn’t allow for simple judgments. Instead, she forces us to sit with her fear, her regret, and her suffocating love for Morgan. The scenes where she desperately tries to convince herself that everything is fine googling symptoms, forcing normalcy, and clinging to the hope that no permanent damage was done are some of the most emotionally brutal moments in the book. And then there’s Morgan himself, quiet and listless after the incident, a heartbreaking contrast to the wild, screaming child he was before. It’s devastating to watch Sally try to interact with him, begging for any sign of his usual energy, realizing in horror that something is profoundly different.
Shaken is not an easy read, but it’s an important one. It’s a book that will resonate deeply with parents, especially those who have ever felt overwhelmed, isolated, or teetering on the edge of control. It’s also a gripping psychological drama that will appeal to fans of dark, emotionally intense fiction. While it doesn’t offer easy answers or redemption, it does offer something more vital an unfiltered look at the messy, terrifying, and sometimes dangerous reality of being responsible for another life. If you’re looking for a book that will haunt you long after you’ve turned the last page, Shaken is a must-read.
Pages: 365 | ASIN : B0DPN2JJWP
Jake Fox: Ties That Blind
Michael Stockham’s Ties That Blind is a gripping blend of suspense, drama, and raw human emotion. The story weaves through the lives of Jake Fox, a lawyer haunted by the loss of his daughter, and Rose Tucker, a teenage girl thrust into a whirlwind of tragedy and danger after her father’s murder. Set in the tight-knit, secret-laden town of Haven, Texas, the novel is a journey through grief, redemption, and the pursuit of justice. It’s a layered narrative, unflinchingly raw yet deeply human.
Stockham does not shy away from heart-wrenching tragedy. The first chapter vividly describes Jake discovering his daughter Lucy’s suicide. It’s haunting, visceral, and almost too real. The palpable grief that drives Jake’s character gives the story its beating heart. Yet, there’s a thread of hope, too. Jake’s visions of Lucy anchor him, a tender, otherworldly reminder that even in despair, there’s something to hold onto. Stockham’s portrayal of trauma feels authentic, unafraid to explore the quiet moments of despair, like Jake’s late-night struggle with a gun and his ultimate decision to keep going. These moments linger long after reading. Rose Tucker, however, steals the spotlight with her resilience. Her storyline of fleeing into the night, grappling with her father’s brutal murder, and navigating her newfound orphaned existence is both heart-wrenching and electrifying. The well-crafted tension in scenes like Rose’s escape to the storm shelter had my pulse racing. You feel her fear, uncertainty, and growing determination to uncover the truth. Her relationship with Margie, a steadfast maternal figure, adds warmth to the story’s darker themes. Margie’s down-home wisdom and kindness give Rose a sanctuary in a world turned upside down. Stockham masterfully builds a world where secrets lurk behind every picket fence and corruption festers in shadows.
Ties That Blind is a story of hope amid darkness, courage amid fear, and the ties, both broken and unbreakable, that define us. Stockham’s prose is evocative and approachable, making the characters’ struggles feel intensely personal. I’d recommend this book to fans of suspenseful thrillers with strong emotional undertones. It’s perfect for readers who appreciate layered mysteries and heartfelt stories of redemption. Whether you’re in it for the twists, the legal drama, or the poignant character arcs, this book delivers.
Pages: 398 | ASIN : B0CQQFZVJJ
The History of Mankind
Desert Guardian follows a young man on a post-graduation trip, who literally falls into a hidden world of illegal artifacts, danger, and unexpected friendships. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The grandeur and other-worldly feel of the gorges, rivers, and hoodoos of Canyonlands National Park provided the inspiration for the set-up of this story.
What were some ideas that were important for you to personify in your characters?
Ethan is a “reluctant hero,” dropped into the setting by accident, so one of his main themes was finding the strength to persevere, uncover the theft of ancient artifacts, and fight not only for his own survival but for that of newfound friends.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Our relationships with the earth, wilderness, and the history of mankind are themes in the novel. The thieves see the artifacts not as precious history but as something to be exploited. Relic, and eventually Ethan, see their connections with the past and the place that shaped it and work to protect them.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
I have a total of six Relic novels and am working on the seventh. It is not likely to be ready for another year or so.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
Get ready for an epic adventurous thrill ride into danger and murder
A moonshining hermit. A campus bookworm. A midnight murder. Can an unlikely duo and a whitewater crew save themselves and an ancient Aztec battlefield from deadly looters? Ethan’s world turns upside-down when he slips off the edge of red-rock cliffs into a world of twisting ravines and coveted artifacts. Saved by a mysterious desert recluse named Relic, Ethan must join a whitewater rafting group and make his way back to civilization. But someone in the gorge is killing to protect their illegal dig for ancient treasures… When Anya, the lead whitewater guide, is attacked, he must divert the killer into the dark canyon night, but his most deadly pursuer is not who he thinks… Ethan struggles to save his new friends, face his own mortality, and unravel the chilling murders. But when they flee the secluded canyon, a lethal hunter is hot on their trail…
LITERARY TITAN 