Blog Archives
A Father’s Presence
A Father’s Presence tells the story of Curtis and his father, tracing the ripples of absence that echo through generations of men learning what it truly means to “be there.” It begins with a boy whose father, though physically present, feels distant, carrying the quiet ache of growing up without his own dad. Through small, tender moments and the wisdom of mentors like a patient coach, Curtis learns how listening and empathy can heal old wounds. The story blooms into a celebration of connection, showing how one family breaks free from the heavy weight of inherited silence to build something whole and loving.
Reading this children’s book stirred something deep in me. The writing feels honest and simple, yet it cuts right to the heart. Each page carries warmth and quiet power through its words and its illustrations. The author doesn’t hide behind fancy words or big speeches. Instead, he shows us the small gestures like a pat on the head, an empty chair, a son’s whispered promise, that build and break a life. The pacing is gentle, but the emotions sneak up on you. By the end, I wasn’t just reading about Curtis and his father. I was thinking about my own family, about the times I could have listened more or spoken less. There’s something raw and comforting about that.
I loved how the book balances pain and hope. The illustrations by Salar Seif add another layer of heart, soft and sincere, helping the story feel alive. The scene where Curtis and his dad finally spoke, not as man and boy, but as two souls trying to understand each other, that scene hit me hardest. It reminded me that presence isn’t about showing up, it’s about seeing, hearing, and feeling with someone.
I’d recommend A Father’s Presence to anyone who’s ever wished for a deeper connection with their parents, their children, or themselves. It’s a picture book for fathers trying to unlearn the quiet, for sons who crave more than words, and for anyone brave enough to break old cycles. This children’s book doesn’t just tell a story. It gives you a reason to sit down, listen, and start again.
Pages: 20 | ASIN : B0FRQ28YTJ
You Make My Heart Giggle: Dadisms, The Wisdom and Wit of Dad
The book is a heartfelt blend of memoir, wisdom, and history. Brent John Larsen builds each chapter around one of his father’s sayings, what he calls “Dadisms.” These are short, memorable lines that carry lessons about courage, integrity, optimism, and love. Each one is tied to a story from his own life, often connected to his father’s influence, and then matched with an episode from history that reflects the same theme. The book moves from family stories to bigger cultural touchstones like the Apollo moon landing, the Grand Canyon expedition, or D-Day. It’s both intimate and sweeping, mixing tender memories with lessons meant to last.
Reading it stirred me up in ways I didn’t expect. The writing is simple, but that works in its favor. It doesn’t try to be fancy. It feels like sitting on a porch with someone older and wiser, listening to stories that matter. At times, the mix of personal loss and historical grandeur felt heavy, but that weight gave the lessons a kind of permanence. Some chapters hit harder than others. The introduction, where Larsen recalls losing his son and nearly losing his own life, shook me. It made me sit still for a while. I also loved how he wove in his dad’s voice, almost like the man was speaking directly to me. There’s an earnestness here that you don’t find in most books.
Each chapter follows the same rhythm: the saying, the family story, the historical story. I found myself anticipating the turn. Yet the predictability didn’t take away too much because the content itself was strong. What I enjoyed most was how personal moments were stitched to major historical events. That leap from small family wisdom to global history made me feel the depth of these sayings. It reminded me that wisdom can be both ordinary and extraordinary, lived at home and echoed through time.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys family stories, history told in a personal way, or reflections on fatherhood. It would especially resonate with parents, children of loving fathers, or anyone who’s lost someone and still feels their lessons echoing through life. It’s warm, emotional, and rooted in gratitude. For me, it felt like a reminder to look closer at the words my own family repeats and see what truths are hidden inside.
Pages: 217 | ASIN : B0FJSPCN3W
The Domino Effect
Finding Sutton’s Choice follows a young writer who confronts old memories when she returns home to face her father’s declining health and deal with the family’s struggling newspaper. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I’ve witnessed so many loved ones impacted by Alzheimer’s disease—beloved mentors, friends, friends’ parents or spouses, and even one of my own family members who has shown early signs of dementia. As I researched the topic, it became more and more important to weave a plot that unobtrusively but positively raises awareness of the disease and provides caregivers with a relatable story. As a past journalist of a family-owned Pittsburgh publication, I was drawn to the idea of incorporating a community newspaper. Setting the story in Lakeside Chautauqua, the very real place where I live, also allowed me to offer a snapshot of a closeknit, small Ohio town, not unlike the farming community where I grew up in Coshocton County, Ohio.
Which character in the novel do you feel you relate to more and why?
I have all the feels for Charlotte, as complicated (and sometimes annoying) as she may be. She’s a very, very distant version of myself… an insecure, immature, dutiful but damaged, sometimes angry, and inherently messy version. But aren’t we all a little messy when we’re 10? 20? Older? It takes time to work out the kinks. Charlotte holds onto old hurts far too long, but for good reason. As is seen through her memories, her childhood was complex. I can relate to that. I killed some personal demons in the writing of this book, and, like Charlotte, I’ve grown into a more self-aware human during the process.
Now, if you were to ask me what character I aspire to be, that would be The Surly Sturgeon’s barkeeper, Bea, who is a Boss Lady and completely unconcerned with what others may think. My new motto? Be like Bea.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Finding Sutton’s Choice explores complicated parent-child relationships, failing mental health, forgiveness, and the domino effect family choices have on who we become.
I am fascinated by how our perceptions of the past can shade and shape our future. Note that I say “perceptions.” Our personal histories are only as factual and reliable as our memories of those moments in time. And, though we are a product of our past, our future is what we make it. We can choose a new path to produce different outcomes. As my character Chuck Sutton would say, “It’s the final inning that really matters.”
Can we look forward to more work from you soon? What are you currently working on?
In the past six years, I’ve completed multiple first drafts during National Novel Writing Month in November. Though I’ve got a healthy stack of potential projects, I’m currently editing a sequel to Finding Sutton’s Choice. The follow-up, tentatively titled Sutton’s Second Chance, is set 15 years in the future. You can expect a few of the same quirky characters and many new ones, all living their best (but equally messy) lives in the little Lake Erie town of Lakeside, Ohio. Additionally, I’ve been working on personal essays about my lake life. I hope to bundle them for future publication.
Author Links: GoodReads | X | Facebook | BlueSky | Instagram | Website | LinkedIn
Chuck Sutton-newspaper editor, retired baseball player, and the town’s most beloved celebrity-is thought to have Alzheimer’s disease. The community newspaper is also on the verge of closure, and a childhood friend holds a decade-long grudge. Despite all this, there is Lakeside. The quaint waterfront community, flush with ivy-covered cottages and vintage charm, hasn’t changed even as everything else in Charlotte’s life has shifted. She intends to stay only long enough to get her father’s affairs in order.
But, to reconcile her past and unearth family secrets, Charlotte must reconnect with Chuck through his Alzheimer’s diagnosis and reevaluate her own misconceptions about growing up in the small Ohio town that still holds her heart.
Finding Sutton’s Choice
In Finding Sutton’s Choice, Brenda Haas delivers a heartfelt and layered story about Charlotte Sutton, a young writer who returns to her quaint hometown of Lakeside, Ohio, after ten years away. A mysterious voicemail and concerns about her estranged father’s health, possibly Alzheimer’s, bring her back to a place she swore she’d left behind. As Charlotte steps into the chaos of her father’s declining memory, a struggling family newspaper, and a surprise half-sibling, she’s forced to confront old wounds, unspoken truths, and what it really means to go home again.
This book hit me square in the chest. Haas writes with an intimacy that doesn’t just paint a picture, it lets you walk the streets of Lakeside with Charlotte. Her prose is straightforward, not showy, but rich with emotion and charm. The dialogue felt natural and real, and the pacing kept me invested. I especially loved the way memory and identity were woven through the story without beating me over the head. And Charlotte, who is blunt, flawed, and sharp, was someone I could root for even when she was a mess.
Some of the characters leaned on small-town tropes. Still, Haas balanced it with enough surprises and emotional weight to make those moments work. What really stuck with me was the raw honesty about family. The father-daughter dynamic wasn’t whitewashed, and the complicated layers of resentment, love, and misunderstanding rang painfully true. Watching Charlotte navigate a relationship with a father who might not remember her, and then discovering a brother who took her place, was heartbreaking in the best way.
Finding Sutton’s Choice is a beautiful story about forgiveness, second chances, and finding home in unexpected places. If you’ve ever wrestled with family messes or avoided going back to the town that raised you, you’ll enjoy this one. I’d recommend it to readers who enjoy emotionally driven fiction with depth, especially fans of Ann Patchett or Elizabeth Berg.
Pages: 310 | ISBN : 978-1645382386
Storytelling and Healing
Scarlet Birthright follows a young DJ in Trinidad who falls in love with a dancer who becomes pregnant and flees to America, leaving his daughter with a lifetime of questions and longing. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Scarlet Birthright is deeply personal—it’s autobiographical fiction born from my own experience. I was the love child of teenage parents, and my father left Trinidad when I was just a few months old. I grew up with my loving grandparents in Trinidad and Tobago while my father lived in America with his other family. This novella became my way of weaving together fact and fiction to explore that story, and ultimately, it helped me process and resolve the trauma of growing up with an absentee father. Writing this title was both an act of storytelling and a form of healing.
Were you able to achieve everything you wanted with the characters in the novel?
Mostly, yes. Since Scarlet Birthright unfolds through multiple perspectives, I felt I gave proper depth to the father, daughter, grandparents, and mother—each voice felt authentic and complete. However, I do wish I’d spent more time developing the stepmother’s character. Her story felt unfinished to me, which is why I ended up writing a separate short story dedicated entirely to her perspective. Sometimes characters demand more space than we initially give them.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The central theme became letting go of anger—a gift I didn’t realize I needed when I began writing. Through the process, I also explored the idea that perhaps we all do the best we can in any given moment. We’re imperfect humans making imperfect choices, often with limited information or emotional resources. There’s something both humbling and liberating about accepting that complexity in ourselves and others.
What is the next book that you’re working on, and when can your fans expect it out?
I’m working on “The Other Side of Love and Desire,” which will be the fullest exploration of themes that first emerged in my short story collection, Scarlet Yearnings: Stories of Love and Desire. It’s my way of diving deeper into those emotional territories that readers responded to most strongly. The book is scheduled for publication at the end of 2025 and will be available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and from all major book retailers.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website
🔥 A Life-Altering Spark: Witness the impulsive choice that sets Joromi on a collision course with family, identity, and legacy—its aftershocks echoing across decades.
🌴 Vivid Caribbean Setting: Immerse yourself in the lush beauty and folklore of Trinidad, where family legacies run deep as the island’s roots.
💔 Generations of Heartache: Follow Trisha’s poignant struggle to find her place—and finally confront the father she never knew.
✨ Ancestral Magic: Spirits, legends, and cultural traditions weave through every page, reminding us how the past guides our future.
💪 A Story of Hope & Redemption: Watch as one family’s destiny unfolds across decades and oceans, revealing the power of forgiveness and second chances.
Buy now to immerse yourself in a novel where passion transcends distance, heartbreak challenges fate, and one family’s destiny unfolds across oceans and decades.
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DAD’S CHILD CUSTODY ACTION PLAN – Insider Secrets for Family Court Success
David Pisarra’s Dad’s Child Custody Action Plan is a no-nonsense guide for fathers navigating the treacherous waters of family court. It’s direct, personal, and practical. Pisarra lays out a roadmap from preparing paperwork to presenting evidence that’s clearly geared toward empowering dads to take control of their custody battles. He covers everything from legal strategy and courtroom behavior to emotional preparation and communication tactics, all while reminding readers that the legal system isn’t always fair but can be managed with preparation and grit.
Reading this book felt like sitting down with a seasoned lawyer who’s been through it all and isn’t afraid to call out the system’s flaws. Pisarra’s tone is conversational and raw, which makes the heavy topic a bit easier to digest. I appreciated his honesty, especially when he warns about the limits of AI research or the traps dads often fall into by not preparing thoroughly. Some parts made me laugh, not because they were funny, but because of how blunt and relatable they were. It’s rare to find a legal guide that isn’t dry, but this one has heart and bite.
Still, it’s not polished in the traditional sense, and that’s kind of the point. Pisarra isn’t writing for academics—he’s writing for guys in the trenches. At times, the repetition and scattered layout felt a bit chaotic, like flipping through a stack of Post-it notes. But the core advice is rock solid. The “Kid Inventory,” the courtroom scripts, the emphasis on preparation—all of it is gold for someone trying to survive the emotional and strategic rollercoaster of family court. You can feel the author’s passion for helping dads reclaim their role, and it’s genuinely moving.
This isn’t a book for the bookshelf; it’s one for the glove compartment, your nightstand, or your gym bag. If you’re a dad facing a custody battle, especially one without deep pockets or a supportive legal team, this book is for you. It doesn’t sugarcoat the process, and that’s what makes it powerful. It’s real, raw, and ridiculously helpful.
Pages: 134 | ASIN : B0F5NPX97Z
Scarlet Birthright: What They Left Behind
Scarlet Birthright is a raw, emotional novella about love, abandonment, regret, and redemption. Set between Trinidad and New York from the late 1960s to the early 1990s, it tells the story of Joromi, a young DJ whose summer romance leads to heartbreak, a hidden daughter, and lifelong consequences. Across shifting seasons and continents, James stitches together the lives of Joromi, Margaret, Trisha, and their families, weaving a tale about choices that echo through generations. It’s messy, real, and haunting in the best way.
One thing that hit me right off the bat was how vivid and alive the writing is. The first chapter, where Joromi meets her at the party, practically sizzled off the page. James doesn’t just tell you that he’s struck dumb; you feel the sweat, the frangipani scent, the pounding heart when the mystery girl with the Afro walks in. That attention to atmosphere is a real strength. It dragged me into the heat of Trinidad’s dry season without mercy. At times, the language was almost overwhelmingly rich, dense, and luxuriant, like indulging in a second slice of chocolate cake despite already being full, but ultimately, it remained deeply satisfying.
Emotionally, this book gutted me. Joromi’s slow-motion car crash of choices, breaking things off, lying to himself, chasing an American dream while abandoning his roots, felt so human it was painful. The scene where he learns about the death of Trisha’s mother broke me. He crumples onto the kitchen floor, and even though he deserves the gut punch, you can’t help but ache for him. James captures grief and guilt in a way that’s too real. It’s messy and selfish and confused, just like real people. That said, there were moments when I wanted to shake Joromi until his teeth rattled. I mean, come on, man, your daughter’s right there!
What stood out even more was the women. Margaret, in particular, was complicated and, frankly, sometimes pretty hard to like. But that’s what made her fascinating. When she tells Joromi, “Just don’t bring her into this house,” after learning about Trisha, my stomach twisted. I hated her. I understood her. James doesn’t try to make any woman a saint or a villain. They’re just…human, battered by life and culture and their own fears. It’s messy in a way that polished, sanitized novels rarely dare to be.
Scarlet Birthright is a story for anyone who knows that love isn’t always enough, that choices leave scars, and that healing takes more than just time; it takes courage. I’d especially recommend it to readers who like intergenerational family dramas, emotionally complex characters, and writing so lush it feels like stepping into another world. Bring tissues, and maybe a little grace for the characters you’ll love and hate all at once.
Pages: 179 | ASIN : B0DYYXKV5F
Working Dads and Balancing Acts
People often joke about International Men’s Day coinciding with World Toilet Day or the underwhelming celebration of Fathers’ Day. Yet, as this book compellingly illustrates, fathers are invaluable pillars of society. Working Dads and Balancing Acts, by Sarah Maconachie, is a powerful exploration of modern fatherhood, presenting deeply personal and inspiring stories from dads navigating the complexities of work, family, and self-growth. With a timely message, the book advocates for a cultural shift toward greater support and flexibility for working fathers.
The narratives are raw, honest, and varied, offering a comprehensive look at the joys and struggles of contemporary fatherhood. From juggling demanding schedules to embracing vulnerability, the fathers featured in these pages shine a light on the evolving role of dads in today’s world. Maconachie weaves their stories with universal themes, creating a work that is both engaging and empathetic. The conversational yet insightful tone strikes a delicate balance, ensuring the book resonates with readers from all walks of life. Through direct anecdotes and reflections, the experiences of these fathers become tangible, relatable, and impactful.
Readers are immersed in the daily balancing act of parenting, vividly illustrated through examples like “coffee and plan” sessions with partners. These carefully structured schedules, often derailed by life’s unpredictability, underline the challenges fathers face in achieving harmony between their personal and professional lives. The material is rich and multidimensional, seamlessly blending emotional depth with practical utility. The book also tackles pressing societal issues. It addresses stigmas around stay-at-home dads, the inadequacy of paternity leave policies, and the mental health challenges men often face. Yet it doesn’t stop there—it celebrates the triumphs of fathers advocating for change and redefining traditional roles. Practical frameworks like the Four Burners Theory and the Five Balls of Life add depth, offering actionable strategies for prioritizing family, self-care, and career. Maconachie’s inclusion of worksheets at the conclusion encourages proactive planning and self-reflection, equipping readers with tools to craft a more balanced life.
Working Dads and Balancing Acts is more than a book; it’s an enlightening journey into the realities of fatherhood in a rapidly changing world. Sarah Maconachie’s curation of vulnerable, transparent accounts ensures the book feels both substantive and accessible. It’s a perfect read for fathers, their partners, and anyone intrigued by family dynamics or work-life balance. By acknowledging the unique challenges faced by working dads and celebrating their resilience, the book offers a message of hope and empowerment. This thoughtful, heartfelt work reminds us that fatherhood is as multifaceted as it is transformative—a balancing act worth championing.
Pages: 232 | ASIN : B0DPJRNXCX
LITERARY TITAN 