Blog Archives
Students on the Margins
The Elephant in the Ivy follows a theater student at an Ivy League campus whose playful interdepartmental spy game blurs into real danger, exposing how performance, power, and privilege shape identity and loss. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I had a couple of influences here. First, I had some students a long time ago when I was a middle school teacher that really inspired me. I wanted to imagine what they’d be like in college, and the whole set-up is a metaphor for the kinds of challenges that students on the margins face. Second, I currently teach at a community college, working with students that are often coming back to school after a long break. This population benefits from reassurance that they are “real” college students, that this community is here for them. Alison is a scholarship student in the Ivy League. Her feeling out of place and finding her own ground to stand on– that’s something I see a lot from community college students.
How did your background or observations of academic life influence the book’s tone and details?
College can be a setting where marginalized populations don’t feel welcome. A lot of that comes from the standard dialect being enforced in classrooms. I learned to talk like my teachers and my privileged peers when I was a scholarship student, but I never felt that ownership of the space that others seemed to feel. With Alison, I wanted to show the audience what outsiders feel like in this setting. It’s only when she stumbles upon the game that she starts to see the university as her own space. I think college can be a wonderful place to find your footing, to find something you’re passionate about that makes you want to dig your heels in. For me, it was building sets for the theatre department.
The novel balances humor with real grief and danger. How did you know when to let scenes stay light and when to let them turn dark?
My default is probably light. I’m a funny person, and I make light of most everything. I think there’s even some good jokes in the scene where Alison has to mother her mother. I make the case that Hamlet could be a comedy if you played it for laughs. I actually did that. I played Hamlet and hammed up the stuff I thought was funny. The local papers didn’t like it much, but I did get laughs. The world has light moments and sobering ones, too. I guess I just tried to be Rainbow Rowell during the hard ones, and P. G. Wodehouse the rest of the time. Taking a low-stakes thing and giving it higher stakes by making characters want what they want even harder– that’s a Wodehous move, I think.
What conversations do you hope students, educators, or first-time readers have after finishing the book?
Well, I very much hope I covered the bases of the stuff that’s in literature. Something to say, and a long-form story that says it. A nice mix of passages, characters, and literary devices that serve as metaphors for the big ideas. I’m hoping that the book being free is helpful so that classrooms can take advantage and have one less hurdle to take on. I hope they read it in class and then just stop when it reminds them of something– a life experience, another story, a concept from class. And that they chat about that a bit, and then move on. I think that’s what it takes to become a stronger reader: a place and time dedicated to reading, a community to read with, and someone to talk to about the book.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website
Alison Ashe is a junior at Bauer. A scholarship kid, a theatre major, strapped for cash and even more strapped for time; she’s easily annoyed and something about her privileged peers really wigs her out. But unlike most of her peers, Alison has an outlet where starting on third base doesn’t do anyone any favors. Ancient and secret, Bauer is home to a spy game of sorts. A game where all that matters is that your wits are sharp and you’re willing to take big risks. And, of course, who you trust.
All proceeds for The Elephant in the Ivy are used to purchase books for classrooms. Teachers are invited to reach out to the author to participate in this program.
Praise for The Elephant in the Ivy:
“It’s a real book!” -Danyelle Khmara, Arizona Public Media
“A rollicking heist of a book. Alison Ashe will trick you, and you’ll thank her for it.” -Grace Olsen, WMHC Radio
Written with support from Pima Open Digital Press, an open educational resource initiative at Pima Community College.
Your Problems Solved: Cold Clues
Your Problems Solved: Cold Clues hooked me right from the first scene, where retired librarian Dory Frame steps onto her porch and finds a troubled young woman asking for help. That moment kicks off a mystery rooted in a small California town in 1955, full of heat, old secrets, sharp characters, and the quiet grit of a woman who never expected to become a sleuth. The story winds through murder, corruption, community ties, and one woman’s stubborn insistence on truth. It moves with a gentle rhythm that feels like a stroll through a neighborhood, then tightens when things turn dark. I found myself caring far more than I expected to.
As I read, I kept smiling at the voice of Dory. She is steady and thoughtful, yet she surprises you with a streak of bravery that sneaks up on you. The writing made me feel like I was sitting beside her at the kitchen table, sipping iced tea while she sorted through clues and her own memories. Author Lennette Horton paints small-town life with such affection that even the gossip feels warm. There were moments that hit harder, though, like the quiet grief wrapped around Dory’s widowhood or the unease of a veteran struggling with trauma. Those scenes caught in my chest. They added weight to a book that could have stayed light but chose something richer.
I also appreciated the layers tucked inside the plot. What starts as a simple request from a desperate daughter slowly becomes a tangle of civic corruption, hidden relationships, and buried ledgers. Horton balances this with soft humor and everyday detail. One moment I was caught in the tension of a new clue, and the next I was listening to neighbors talk tomatoes and grandbabies. Oddly enough, that blend worked. It grounded the danger in something very real. I felt like I knew these people. I wanted them safe. I wanted justice to land where it should.
By the final pages, I closed the book feeling satisfied. This story would be wonderful for readers who love cozy mysteries with heart, fans of historical settings, and anyone who enjoys a heroine who solves problems with brains, kindness, and a little stubbornness. If you like mysteries that feel authentic rather than flashy, this one is a great pick. I’m looking forward to reading more of Dory’s adventures.
Pages: 342 | ASIN : B0FNTBNHY3
The Relentless Lure of Greed and Power
Polar Deception follows a man living in a time of environmental collapse and geopolitical fractures who steals rare crystals from a remote research center and murders his colleagues to secure himself a lucrative deal. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
It’s interesting that you characterize the story as following Carlos, the antagonist. Carlos represents all that is wrong with the world—the relentless lure of greed and power. While he doesn’t steal the crystals, he hides them to double‑cross his prospective buyer, China. That act underscores his manipulative nature and the destructive choices people in power often make. History and current events remind us that unchecked ambition and exploitation lead to suffering for the many and lasting damage to our only home in the universe. Diana’s struggle against Carlos is symbolic of humanity’s broader fight to resist those forces.
For me, the heart of Polar Deception is Diana’s story—a smart, adventurous woman who has endured profound personal tragedy, from a difficult childhood to the loss of both her mother and husband within just a few years. Her journey is about resilience and finding the courage to stand up to someone like Carlos.
What character did you enjoy writing for? Was there one that was more challenging to write for?
I especially enjoyed writing Angie. She’s a lively, fun companion for Diana, yet she carries her own inner demons that I hope to explore more fully in the next book.
Carlos, on the other hand, was the most difficult. I envisioned him as a narcissistic sociopath, but early (and even recent) feedback suggested he came across as cartoonishly evil. To balance that, I gave him a more nuanced background shaped by personal tragedies, and even a faint conscience—he avoids harming those he believes “don’t deserve it.” Writing such characters is tricky: while narcissistic sociopaths exist in real life, their behavior can feel unbelievable in fiction. Still, if we are to understand and deal with such sociopaths in reality, at the very least we must be able to acknowledge that they have a role to play in fiction.
I felt there was a clear warning in these pages about the direction Earth is headed. What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The central theme is the butterfly effect—how a single action, whether natural or human, can ripple across the globe for good or ill. The Russian earthquake is one example, echoing the real-life 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami that impacted Antarctica. It’s a reminder that it only takes one event in one corner of the world to reverberate thousands of miles away in mere hours
Another theme is the outsized influence of individuals. History shows us how one person—Hitler being a stark example—can alter humanity’s course through threats or promises of power. Carlos embodies this danger, justifying his actions as serving the “greater good.” But Diana ultimately strips that power from him, at least for now, preserving the fragile balance.
What will your next novel be about, and what will the whole series encompass?
Without giving too much away, the next book begins with a global event that sends Diana and Angie to Greenland, where a crisis is brewing. Book 2 is set in 2053 and will explore sustainable alternatives to today’s technology—solutions that are based on existing innovations but not considered economically feasible. The series as a whole will continue to examine how humanity’s choices, both large and small, shape our shared future.
Author Links: Amazon | GoodReads | Website
And Thwaites—the infamous Doomsday Glacier in Antarctica—has collapsed. Submerged coastlines and yesterday’s technologies are the new normal. But deep within Antarctica’s mountains, revolutionary magnetic crystals hold the key to resurrecting the modern era. There’s just one problem—with Thwaites gone, mining will unleash a catastrophic chain reaction, shattering Antarctica’s ice, and reshaping Earth’s future forever.
Dr. Carlos Perez doesn’t care. Prestige and profit are all that matter. After collecting crystal samples at a Chilean research station, he murders three colleagues under orders from his Chinese buyer—then hides the samples until he can cut a new deal. To avoid detection, he returns to the facility aboard a pleasure cruise.
Also aboard is Diana Harris, a recently widowed sustainability advocate with a background in geology, traveling with her spirited best friend, Angie. Diana hopes for healing—but after she stumbles upon a mysterious red crystal and a trail of hidden agendas, she’s pulled into a deadly conspiracy. The CIA is watching. China is listening. And Carlos is ready to kill again.
When Diana and the other campers are left stranded in the icy wilderness, the countdown begins. A rare cyclone is closing in. The truth is cracking through the ice. And Diana must summon her strength to stop a man-made disaster that could redefine civilization.
The truth lies beneath the fracturing ice.
And if it surfaces—nations will kill to control it.
The Kindred Chronicles: Shifting Sands
Shifting Sands follows the survivors of Sol Thalen in the immediate aftermath of its fall. The story opens on a city crushed into ruins and a people clinging to hope by the thinnest threads. Chris, Grace, Elline, Raham, Camille, and the thalenar struggle through endless hours of digging through collapsed halls, pulling survivors from the rubble, mourning the dead, and trying to understand what comes next. Their grief shapes every choice. Their loyalty holds them upright. And the central tension of the book becomes clear early on. How do you rebuild a culture when the ground beneath it has literally vanished? The novel is driven by emotion and community and a sense that every character must decide who they are now that their world has been unmade.
I found myself slipping into the atmosphere without effort. The author leans into sensory details, and the rubble and smoke and sand build a world that is both beautiful and bruised. What struck me most was how the story rarely lets the characters breathe. Grief becomes a kind of weather. it’s constant, pressing, and shaping them in ways they cannot fully articulate. I enjoyed that the book doesn’t rush healing or transformation. It lets emotions sit heavy and raw, and that made the characters’ quieter victories hit harder. At times, the prose felt a little lofty for the scenes it described, but even then, it carried an emotional punch that kept me invested.
I kept thinking about what it means to lose not just people, but culture. identity. the songs and rituals that tie a community together. The thalenar blade lore and the meaning of song within their traditions stood out as some of the most compelling worldbuilding in the book. And I found Raham’s arc especially moving. the quiet strength, the slow cracking, the way he tries to hold others together while he’s barely holding himself. Grace’s exhaustion and determination also pulled me in. Her efforts to see the essence of life while losing pieces of herself felt intimate and aching. If anything, I wish the story had paused more often to let certain emotional beats land, but the constant urgency also felt true to the setting.
This book would resonate with readers who enjoy character-driven fantasy, stories about surviving loss, and worlds built through culture as much as magic. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes tales that sit with hard emotions and still reach for light. Fans of the series will find this entry in The Kindred Chronicles especially satisfying, since it deepens the world and the characters in ways that feel rewarding.
Pages: 488 | ASIN : B0G64WJHFQ
Handsome Dark Stranger
Handsome Dark Stranger tells the story of Beth, a young woman living with her grandfather in a quiet coastal village, where grief, devotion, and the supernatural wrap themselves around the rhythms of daily life. The book follows her encounters with a mysterious figure who moves between light and shadow, showing himself in dreams, graveyards, and even burned fields. The line between the ordinary and the otherworldly blurs as Beth navigates her family’s past, her grandfather’s fading strength, and the strange force that seems to answer her unspoken longing. The story folds together gothic atmosphere, spiritual imagery, and the steady beat of village life to build a world where presence and absence feel almost the same.
The descriptions pulled me in with their quiet intensity. Some scenes made me pause just to take in the mood. I found myself caught between wonder and unease, which I loved because it made the world feel alive, even when nothing dramatic was happening on the surface. The pacing moved gently, almost deliberately, and at times I wished it would hurry, but the slow burn worked for me. It let the emotions simmer. The supernatural figure felt both beautiful and unnerving, and I liked how the author never rushed to explain him.
There were moments when the emotional weight of the story was surprisingly deep. Beth’s memories of her parents and grandparents felt tender and raw. I could feel the love in them. I could also feel the exhaustion that comes from carrying someone else’s grief while trying not to lose yourself. The gothic elements added another layer. The dreams, the howling, the flicker of stained glass coming alive, all of it made the story feel thick with something hidden just under the surface. At times, I wanted clearer answers, but part of me enjoyed the uncertainty. It kept me reaching forward, curious and slightly on edge.
I think that this book would speak most deeply to readers who like stories filled with atmosphere and emotion rather than fast action. It suits anyone who enjoys quiet supernatural tales, introspective characters, and a slow, thoughtful unraveling of mystery. If you like your fiction moody, poetic, and touched with both comfort and fear, you’ll enjoy this book.
Pages: 104 | ASIN : B0FTGFVZBB
Olympus or Oblivion
Reading Chrissy Dargue’s Olympus or Oblivion feels like being dropped into a wild, bawdy, self-aware pantheon where celebrity fantasy, personal philosophy, and unapologetic filth collide in the most chaotic way possible. The book introduces itself as an erotic satirical anthology, then immediately proves it can deliver on all three fronts. Each chapter follows a fictional sexual encounter with a different Hollywood icon, framed as both myth and judgment, and the voice that guides it is loud, human, furious, sentimental, and very funny. It moves fast, plays hard, and somehow manages to build a whole moral framework while describing sexually explicit escapades. The tone is intimate and irreverent and completely in control of its own madness.
As I read, I kept feeling a blend of admiration and “what the hell just happened” amazement. The writing is quick, chatty, and sharply observant. It has that feeling of sitting with a friend who tells a story so confidently that you follow, even when it plunges off a cliff into a disaster of sex toys, tree frog cigarettes, emotional vulnerability, or misplaced anatomy lessons. I loved the honesty here. The narrator is flawed and hilarious and often furious at the world, yet there is so much heart behind the jokes. The Henry Cavill chapter swings between worship, frustration, and affection with an almost musical rhythm. Depp’s chapter, on the other hand, crashes into surreal farce, tenderness, and genuine madness, and the contrast really shows off what the author can do. I laughed a lot. I winced a lot. More than once, I was slightly horrified, then impressed by how quickly the story made that horror feel warm. There is something bold about how the book refuses to hide the narrator’s desires or insecurities. It made the comedy sharper and the emotional punches landed harder.
What surprised me most was the philosophical streak running under the chaos. For all the sex and satire, the book is also a meditation on power, desire, loneliness, and the strange ways we try to judge the people we want. The Olympian framing is funny but also revealing. Every encounter becomes a test, not for the celebrity but for the narrator’s own values, boundaries, and hunger for connection. Even the absurd moments, like fainting from frog toxins or sketching a diagram of a vulva to keep a confused man on track, carry a sort of emotional grit. The narrator wants to understand people. She wants to be understood in return. I found myself weirdly moved between the jokes. Sometimes the writing gets messy on purpose. Sometimes it hits a poetic rhythm that blindsided me. The mix works because the voice stays genuine.
I’d recommend Olympus or Oblivion to readers who enjoy sharp humour, chaotic storytelling, sex-positive honesty, and big, unstoppable personality. If you like fearless writing, emotional whiplash, and stories that show both the ridiculous and the tender parts of being human, this book will hit the spot. It’s funny and vivid and unexpectedly sincere, and it left me feeling like I had just witnessed someone telling the truth in the most unhinged and heartfelt way possible.
Pages: 401 | ASIN : B0FLQL7VHN
The Manglers of Carraig
The Manglers of Carraig drops readers straight into a city split by wealth, fear, and the eerie green glow of warding gems. It follows Conell Byrne, a boy fighting to keep his family alive in a world where monsters stalk the night and the rich hoard their safety behind iron fences. His desperate attempts to protect his sister and his mother collide with the power games of men like Garban the loan shark, and the story pulls that thread tighter as the dangers grow. Alongside this grim struggle is Riona, a jeweler whose bold designs using mangler claws spark outrage among the elite. Their stories move on separate tracks at first, one soaked in survival and the other in ambition, yet both expose the city’s deep fractures and the unseen costs of living in Carraig.
I found the writing fast and punchy. Scenes land quickly and hard. I especially liked how the book lets moments breathe right before everything goes sideways. Conell racing through dark streets with only gemlight to save him had me clenching my jaw. The author leans into sensory details that linger and refuses to clean things up for comfort. I felt the grit of the lower districts and the cold shine of North Hill. I felt Conell’s panic when he returned home and found the door broken open and the ominous quiet inside. The emotional hits come simply and directly, which makes them incredibly impactful.
The worldbuilding grabbed me, too. I appreciated how the author mixes small human choices with the big looming terror of the manglers. It all feels grounded even when the story dips into the grotesque. Riona’s chapters were a surprise. They twist into subtle power struggles and hidden desire. Her jewelry made of claws could have been a cheap gimmick, but it ends up saying something about the people of Carraig and what they choose to look away from. I enjoyed how these two storylines sit far apart but rhyme in the way everyone is just trying to survive something, even if the monsters look different.
By the end, I felt a strange mix of sadness and curiosity about where the story might go next. I would recommend The Manglers of Carraig to readers who enjoy dark fantasy with heart, quick pacing, and a world that feels alive even in its ugliness. If you like stories about people pushed to the edge and forced to make impossible choices, this one will stick with you.
Pages: 188 | ASIN : B0FX3WVJ1C
The Elephant in the Ivy
The Elephant in the Ivy by Alexander Greengaard is a playful campus spy story that blends secret games, academic life, and personal loss. The book follows Alison Ashe, a theater student at an Ivy League school, who plays a hidden espionage game between departments. What starts as lighthearted intrigue grows into something darker. Stakes rise. Friendships strain. Death becomes real. The story moves through classrooms, quads, dorms, and late-night walks while asking how much performance and pretense shape real life.
I enjoyed the writing style a lot. It felt loose and confident. The voice has humor and warmth. I laughed often. I also felt a pit in my stomach more than once. The dialogue snaps. The inner thoughts feel honest and messy. I liked how the book never tried to sound smart for the sake of it. It trusted the reader. The pacing worked for me. Some scenes flew by. Others lingered in a good way. I felt close to Alison.
I kept thinking about performance and identity when reading this book. Everyone in the story plays a role. Students act like spies. Professors play at authority. Institutions play at fairness. The game mirrors real power structures and privilege. That resonated with me. The book talks about gender and class without lecturing. It just shows you. I felt anger at times. I felt joy too. I liked that the book respected fun and silliness while still taking emotions seriously. That balance is hard, and the author pulled it off.
I would recommend The Elephant in the Ivy to readers who want something smart. It is great for people easing back into reading. It is also good for students and educators who enjoy stories about school life with a twist. If you like humor, secret worlds, and characters who feel real and flawed, this book is worth your time.
Pages: 167 | ASIN: B0FXS7BVPK
LITERARY TITAN 