Blog Archives
Gone To Ground
Gone to Ground, by Morgan Hatch, is an intricate tale of life on the edge, weaving together the lives of a high school student navigating familial and community pressures, a political operative balancing ambition and scandal, and shadowy figures pulling strings behind the scenes. Set against the gritty backdrop of East San Fernando Valley, the story unfolds through sharp prose and a cast of characters as diverse as the urban sprawl they inhabit. From Javier’s fraught attempts to keep his younger brother Alex from the clutches of gang life, to the machinations of power players like Jones, the novel paints a vivid and unflinching portrait of contemporary struggles.
Hatch’s writing is a highlight of this novel. The dialogue feels so real you can almost hear it echoing through a high school hallway. The humor is dry but frequent, as seen in moments like Javier’s sardonic observations about his economics teacher, Mr. Patel, who “recaps markers more than he teaches.” Jones, the principal antagonist, is a chillingly effective character. His calculated ruthlessness feels simultaneously inhuman and disturbingly relatable, making him a formidable force. Despite the overwhelming odds, Javier and Gio—an especially standout character—refuse to back down. Their determination and grit resonate deeply, keeping readers invested and rooting for their success.
Family loyalty versus personal ambition is a recurring theme, as Javier sacrifices his own future to protect Alex, whose flirtation with gang life is portrayed with chilling realism. The journey is harrowing, and the struggle often feels insurmountable, yet the emotional stakes are what drive the story forward. Readers are drawn into the desperate hope that the characters will prevail. Gone To Ground is a story that lingers long after the final page.
Gone to Ground is an engrossing read for anyone who appreciates layered storytelling with heart and edge. It’s a gritty, honest look at life in Los Angeles that doesn’t flinch from the darker realities but also finds moments of hope and resilience.
Unconditional Love
A Tree For Me shares the story of a child and their bond with their favorite tree and the unconditional love they have for one another. What was the inspiration for your story?
The inspiration for my poem comes from my childhood. The illustrations depict a tree that I visited as a young girl, tirelessly searching for unconditional love. While working on my memoir, I recalled this beautiful oak tree and the deep sense of love I felt in its presence. Those memories flooded back, and I began to speak them out loud! My tree was always there for me—strong, steady, and a source of unconditional love. This realization shifted my focus from my memoir to a message meant for children: a message of love and acceptance. I wanted to help guide children to find this unconditional love within themselves early on, just as I did. As someone who was orphaned and adopted into a family where I didn’t quite fit, finding that love within was my saving grace.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
The core idea is that the love we seek from the outside world must first be nurtured within ourselves. We often need to face our reflections much earlier in life than we might wish to.
The art in this book is fantastic. What was the art collaboration process like with the illustrator Karine Makartichan?
Karine and I clicked right from our first collaboration. I shared my vision for the book, and she grasped it immediately. It felt like a perfect partnership, allowing us to bring the story to life beautifully.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
A Tree for Me is the first in the Nature and Nurture series, and I’m excited to share that the next book,
A Flower for You, is on the horizon and coming soon!
Author Links: GoodReads | Shopify
The Night Garden: of My Mother
Sandra Tyler’s The Night Garden: Of My Mother delves into the raw intricacies of familial bonds, offering an exploration of love, frustration, and the unshakable ties between mothers and daughters. The memoir presents Sandra, a woman in her early 40s with two young children, who is thrust into the role of caregiver as her 86-year-old mother faces severe health challenges. The arrival of Chandice, a blunt and opinionated caretaker, creates tension, sparking conflicts that leave Sandra caught in an emotional tug-of-war. When her mother passes away, Sandra’s grief culminates in a mental breakdown, leading her to a psychiatric ward where she confronts the deeper layers of her relationship with her late mother.
The narrative echoes the surreal familial dynamics often found in John Irving’s works, such as The Hotel New Hampshire. Sandra’s inner turmoil mirrors the universal struggle many adult children face when the roles of caregiver and dependent reverse. Her mother, once an independent force, becomes vulnerable, forcing Sandra to grapple with the bittersweet realities of caretaking. The tension between Chandice and Sandra’s mother is laced with both humor and sadness, reflecting the often absurd but deeply emotional complexities of elder care. Tyler captures these moments with sharp precision, making readers oscillate between laughter and tears. Sandra’s stay in the psychiatric ward becomes a transformative journey. Stripped of distractions, she reflects on her mother’s life, their shared artistic temperaments, and the paradox of loving someone who could also inflict the most pain. This period of introspection feels less like a breakdown and more like a painful but necessary rebirth. It’s here that Sandra begins to reconcile her grief, acknowledging the beauty and difficulty of her bond with her mother. The result is a deeply cathartic narrative arc that resonates with anyone who has navigated the tangled emotions of losing a loved one.
Tyler’s ability to dissect the parent-child relationship is unmatched. She portrays the paradoxical nature of familial love with unflinching honesty—how the same person can be a source of comfort and exasperation, joy and sorrow. The humor threaded through the memoir softens the melancholy, making the story as entertaining as it is reflective.
Few memoirs tackle the complexity of family with such insight and grace. The Night Garden: Of My Mother is a must-read for anyone grappling with aging parents, the weight of caregiving, or the bittersweet nature of love. Tyler’s prose cuts to the core, reminding us that even the most difficult relationships can leave behind gardens of meaning and growth.
Pages: 288 | ISBN : 195313677X
Angels in the Sand
Lori Keating’s Angels in the Sand offers a touching and heartfelt exploration of loss, resilience, and the enduring power of family bonds. At the heart of the story is 10-year-old Jessica (Jess) Alexander, a young girl grappling with profound loss. Her father’s tragic accident has already left a void in her life, and now, her family faces another heartbreak: her grandmother’s terminal cancer diagnosis. As Jess and her mother prepare to spend one final Christmas with her grandmother, the narrative unfolds into a poignant journey of love, remembrance, and hope.
Keating masterfully paints the dynamics of Jess’s close-knit family. Jess’s determination to make their last holiday together unforgettable leads her to create a “must-do” list for her grandmother, filled with activities designed to create lasting memories. These moments serve as both a celebration of life and a reminder of the importance of cherishing the time we have with loved ones.
This book is an essential read for children coping with loss and for parents seeking to understand the inner workings of a grieving child’s mind. Keating captures the raw emotions of grief, illustrating not only the sorrow but also the glimmers of joy that can coexist in the healing process. The story reassures readers that it’s okay to feel happiness again, a sentiment that provides comfort and encouragement. The message that departed loved ones would want to see us happy adds a layer of solace for readers navigating similar experiences. The narrative also underscores the significance of preserving memories. Through Jess’s perspective, the book highlights how easily children can forget cherished moments, urging adults to share stories and details about those who have passed. These shared memories become invaluable threads connecting the past with the present. Keating weaves subtle Christian elements into the story with grace, using biblical references to instill hope and faith. These moments of spiritual reflection are seamlessly integrated, offering a comforting perspective to readers who may draw strength from such beliefs.
Jess’s character is a standout achievement in this book. Her innocence and curiosity shine through, making her reflections feel authentic and deeply relatable. Keating’s vivid storytelling allows readers to experience the world through Jess’s eyes, capturing the sweetness of small moments and the depth of her family’s love. These tender memories serve as a beacon of light during dark times, reminding readers of the beauty in connection and care.
Angels in the Sand, by Lori Keating, carries a profound moral: cherish the people around you and remain open to the signs that lost loved ones continue to watch over us. Keating’s gentle yet powerful storytelling leaves an indelible impression, making this book not only a source of comfort but also a celebration of life’s most precious gifts.
Pages: 112 | ISBN : 978-1957656816
Families and Friends
In Better Than Coffee, a family learns to resolve their differences and rediscovers the power of Christianity through regular meetings and a renewed supportive family network. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The comfort of how coffee and tea in society brings families and friends together and my love for drinking a hot cup of tea or ice cold glass of tea.
Are there any emotions or memories from your own life that you put into your characters’ lives?
Yes, watching meaningful tea and coffee talks through world events and enjoying tea and coffee talks with family and friends through the years.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The importance of a healthy support system of family and friends who are safe to share hard times, tears, and laughter, with the joy of enjoying a cup of coffee or tea for additional comfort and relaxation.
Can we look forward to more work from you soon? What are you currently working on?
Yes, I am in the formation stages of writing family and friends fun books.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
learn later that although coffee provides them with temporary comfort, God becomes their ultimate comfort for every walk of their lives, unhealthy addictions, brokenness, and despair in their lives with God’s help and the support of one another.
Although the characters are fictional, the power of God and Christianity is real.
May readers be inspired to love God, enjoy coffee or tea, and share their blessings and life’s adventures with their loved ones.
An Amalgamation of Real Life
1986 is a nostalgic and poignant journey through childhood’s highs and lows, weaving humor, heartbreak, and haunting realism into a vivid tapestry of suburban life in the titular year. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
When you look back at your childhood, there is always a series of key moments that stand out. For this book, I wanted to weave together those moments in a way that felt organic and captured both the feeling of the 1980s and the dreamlike way they exist in my memory. Though the stories are all fiction, the emotions, imagery, and characters they explore come from an amalgamation of real life.
The vignettes are so vivid. How did you approach balancing nostalgia with universal relatability in your storytelling?
I have always read and noticed myself that the most effective way to achieve universality in storytelling is through specificity. Which is nice, because then all I need to do as a writer is delve into my own experiences and hold nothing back. The reason this works is because at heart I think we all value the same things.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
I dedicated this book to my family and that was always front of mind when writing these stories. Family and home are what the main character keeps returning to throughout the book. The project was started at a hard time in our country, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and just after January 6th, 2021. Like many, I was feeling as if the world was coming apart at the seams. Maybe subconsciously, I wanted to revisit a time when everyone was together and celebrate the goodness of that.
Were there any moments or characters in the book that proved particularly challenging to write, and why?
Yes, the most challenging thing was figuring out how to render complex situations and emotions in a voice that felt true to the age of the main character, since the stories are written in first person. The narration does go back and forth between being a child and an adult reflecting on past memories, but I wanted to keep the events themselves subjective to the eyes of a child, to keep things immediate and therefore powerful. One of the stories stumped me for months in that regard.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Amazon
Unchained (A tale of Identity, freedom and self discovery)
Unchained, by Chinonso Elom, is a memoir chronicling a young man’s transformative journey toward self-discovery amidst the challenges of coming of age. Set against the backdrop of an orthodox environment in Nigeria, Ikenna’s story reveals the struggles of growing up in a conservative Catholic family, bound by rigid expectations that leave little room for individuality. For Ikenna, the weight of these expectations is compounded by his identity as a homosexual, which subjects him to the harsh judgment of his parents and the church. Ostracized and vilified, he faces a series of dehumanizing attempts to “correct” his identity, which only deepen his feelings of alienation, despair, and invisibility. Determined not to succumb to this oppressive reality, Ikenna takes a bold step and relocates to the United Kingdom for higher studies. This decision becomes the catalyst for his transformation. In a foreign land, he discovers love, friendship, and a sense of belonging that empower him to reclaim control over his life. His story evolves into one of resilience, liberation, and the quest for authenticity.
From the opening chapter, the weight of societal expectations looms large, as Ikenna grapples with the pressure to conform to traditional norms. The conversations between Ikenna and his parents, laden with unspoken truths, felt authentic and raw. The contrast between his rigid life in Nigeria and the vibrant, accepting LGBTQ+ community in Northampton is stark and moving.
One of my favorite parts was when Ikenna attends an LGBTQ+ event for the first time. He dons an outfit that reflects his true self, stepping into the space with trepidation but finding only support and admiration. This moment of courage and the subsequent camaraderie among the attendees was heartwarming, showing the power of acceptance. Even as Ikenna finds love and builds a life for himself, he constantly battles the echoes of his upbringing and the fear of his family’s rejection. I was particularly struck by the tension during his parents’ visit to the UK for his graduation. The subtle shifts in their reactions from pride in his achievements to discomfort with his newfound confidence illustrate the chasm between their worlds. Elom handles this delicate dynamic with sensitivity, though I found myself longing for more resolution in these familial threads.
Unchained is an emotional journey of self-discovery that resonates deeply, especially for those who have struggled to reconcile personal identity with societal expectations. Chinonso Elom’s prose is simple yet evocative, and the themes of resilience and belonging are universally relevant. This book is perfect for readers who appreciate character-driven stories about cultural conflict, self-acceptance, and the power of community. Ikenna’s story will stay with me for a long time, reminding me of the importance of living authentically despite life’s challenges.
Pages: 84 | ASIN : B0DHTZ89S8
Create a Memory
In Grandpa’s Christmas Gift, two children are granted a most amazing Christmas wish by an angel when they appeal to their late grandfather for a holiday miracle. Where did the idea for this story come from?
I was really close with my father and he passed away long before my daughter was born. I wanted to create a memory of him for my daughter and the idea was born!
Do you have a favorite scene in this story? One that was especially fun to write?
When the children dance in the snow and they ask for their grandfather’s help. That was my favourite because it shows how much they love him and also because they are not only asking for themselves – they’re also asking to make their parents happy!
The art in this book is fantastic. What was the art collaboration process like with Chloe Nyiri?
It was inspiring. It was great to work with her because she drew many ideas and I got to pick which ones I love!
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
My next book is about my daughter as she loves playing with flashlights. The title is Emily and the Wonder Lamp.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Istvan Sanyi | Chloe Nyiri | Amazon
This lovely classic story is about a poor family who doesn’t have enough money to celebrate Christmas. The children ask grandpa from heaven but they don’t know if he can hear them or not.
LITERARY TITAN 