Blog Archives
I Shared A True Story
A Line in the Sand is the intimate yet unflinching story of a young woman in rural Bangladesh whose resourcefulness and hope are tested against poverty, political unrest, and the crushing weight of microfinance debt. What drew you to focus on the intersection of microfinance, poverty, and women’s resilience?
I shared a true story in the book. Nilima Rani Das (real name), a housewife from a poor-class family, had taken a loan of about $150 from Grameen Bank. She had paid back forty installments; only six were left when she fell into financial hardship and was unable to pay her 41st installment. The bank officials relentlessly harassed Nilima, and out of desperation, she committed suicide. The Grameen Bank and its founder, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, claim that he changed the fate of people with low incomes worldwide through the Grameen Bank, a narrative that was sold to the West as a false representation. Nilima’s story is not unique; there are many documented cases where women such as Nilima have taken loans from Grameen Bank and have lost everything, and have committed suicide, literally for a few dollars. I thought it was high time someone told their story.
The book’s raw language gives it a lived-in authenticity. Was this a deliberate stylistic choice or something that emerged naturally in the writing?
Yes, part one of the book, which tells Nilima’s story, has a raw, heart-wrenching emotion that is quite different from part two, which is her daughter’s story. Yes, the choice of language was deliberate to convey the depth of agony that the victims of Grameen Bank loans continue to endure.
What do you hope readers will carry with them after reading your book, especially those far removed from Nilima’s world?
My sincere hope is that readers will see the real picture that this so-called ‘poor people’s bank’ hides. That readers stop putting the proponent of this business model on a pedestal and see the real Man who chose to make himself super-rich at the cost of the super-poor. He destroyed so many people’s lives, the very people whom he promised to help. The Bangladesh government had prosecuted Mohammad Yunus, fined him for tax evasion, and sentenced him to jail. He orchestrated a coup, seized political power, and liaised with the corrupt Bangladesh Army. Upon seizing power, his first action was to reverse the court decision by removing the Supreme Court judges and replacing them with his handpicked appointees.
The scenes of village life are rendered with such sensory detail. Were these drawn from personal observation, research, or lived experience?
Actually, all three. I grew up in the Indian subcontinent, so I drew heavily on my childhood experiences. I researched the topography of the geographical area surrounding Nilima’s village to provide an accurate description of her surroundings.
Author Links: GoodReads | X | Facebook | Website
Full Circle – A Jack Trench Thriller
Full Circle by Mike Howard drops you headfirst into the shadowy world of espionage and never lets you climb back out. At the heart of the story is Jack Trench, a CIA case officer who has spent decades chasing terrorists across the globe. The novel opens in Manila, where Trench faces betrayal, blood, and the ruthless world of “Sparrow Units” bent on killing Americans. From there, the story stretches into the depths of Cobra One, the CIA’s hard-hitting counterterrorism arm, and carries Trench across continents and into retirement, where old ghosts and new dangers won’t leave him alone. The story mixes high-octane operations with the slower burn of regret and memory, building a character who is equal parts hardened operator and weary man looking for peace.
What stood out to me most was how straightforward the writing feels. It’s straight-shooting, clear, and doesn’t hide behind literary tricks. The action is described in sharp detail, and sometimes I felt like I was sitting in the backseat of that armored SUV with Trench, or crouching in the shadows with The Watchers. The violence is raw, often sudden, and always personal. At times, I caught myself holding my breath. Yet, there were also moments when the prose leaned into exposition. Background details sometimes came in thick slabs, slowing down the pace I’d gotten hooked on. Still, I admired the author’s dedication to grounding the story in real-world intelligence tradecraft, it gave the book a grit that felt convincing.
Emotionally, the book hit me harder than I expected. Jack Trench is no cardboard hero. He’s ruthless when he has to be, but the man carries loneliness and loss with him like extra baggage. Reading the quieter scenes, like his battle with caterpillars in his garden or the way he pours himself a bourbon while reflecting on old missions, I felt the weight of a life lived in shadows. The blend of action and emotion is what kept picking the book every night to finish the story.
I’d say Full Circle is a great pick for readers who love military thrillers, CIA spycraft, or stories about men who can’t quite escape the lives they built. If you’re someone who enjoys Tom Clancy or Vince Flynn, you’ll feel at home here. But it’s also a good choice for anyone curious about the toll that a lifetime of covert work takes on a person. This is a story with bullets flying and blood spilling, but it’s also a story about a man trying to come full circle in his life.
Pages: 204 | ASIN : B0BYTP2KFB
Resilience
Resilient follows a young woman hardened by growing up in the foster system who develops an attraction to not only her boss and VP of a motorcycle club, but his cousin as well, leading her on a journey of self-discovery. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Resilient started as a small idea planted in my mind. My main goal was to create a strong female protagonist who embodied the admirable trait of resilience. My initial visions often took unexpected turns, but in the end, I hope I conveyed the message of resilience to the readers.
Your story features some unique and interesting characters who have their flaws but are still likable. How do you go about creating characters for your story?
Some of the characters are based on my own life and those of those close to me. While I incorporate elements of embellishment and fiction to heighten the excitement and intrigue for the audience, the essence of the characters remains grounded in genuine authenticity.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The title says it all: resilience is a topic that requires more discussion. Charly’s story emphasizes the importance of dealing with trauma and the ability to persevere despite the hardships she endured. Additionally, the support of friends and family played a significant role in how she navigated the obstacles placed in her path.
What will the next book in that series be about, and when will it be published?
The next book, Courageous, delves into the lives of three characters: Clark, Gun, and Vin. Their story explores the complexities of mental health, a topic familiar to many individuals. Through their experiences, I aim to shed light on the importance of understanding mental health and the various ways people cope with it. I’m genuinely excited to share their journey and the lessons they learn. Courageous was published in April 2025.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website
After a harrowing attack one night, Charly and her friend Jess seek refuge within the MC’s protective walls. At the clubhouse, she encounters Dominic’s charismatic cousin, Jax, and the air crackles with an undeniable spark.
When the men reveal their interest in her, Charly’s insecurities emerge. Soon, jealousies erupt from her coworkers, including Jess, prompting Charly to set aside her fears. She begins a journey of pleasure and self-discovery with Dom and Jax.
Unfortunately, their relationship is fraught with resentment, betrayal, and sabotage. And when her life is threatened, Charly’s only option is to escape.
Along the Trail
The story follows Winnifred Hayes, a young woman traveling westward with her family in search of new beginnings on the Oregon Trail. Through her eyes, we see the monotony of walking behind wagons, the terror of storms and stampedes, and the tender, sometimes complicated bonds that hold families together during hardship. Alongside her sister, Lenora, her hardworking father, her stern but caring mother, and her little brother Elijah, Winnie navigates the endless prairie. She meets other travelers, grows close to a cowhand named Hal, and learns about resilience, love, and the freedom and cost of such a dangerous journey. The novel mixes sweeping depictions of frontier life with intimate family moments, placing the reader right in the dust and uncertainty of the trail.
This book stirred me in ways I didn’t expect. The writing feels honest and unvarnished, like the trail itself. Curtis doesn’t romanticize the hardships, and that makes the fleeting moments of joy all the brighter. I found myself drawn to Winnie’s restlessness and quiet strength. She isn’t fearless, but she pushes forward anyway, and I admired that. Some scenes were so vivid. The dialogue feels natural, not polished, and that gave the characters a warmth I believed in. There were moments when I wished the pace slowed a bit to linger on Winnie’s inner life, but the brisk rhythm mirrored the constant forward push of the journey, so it worked.
What really struck me was how the book captures the pull between freedom and expectation. Winnie looks up to women like Mae, who ride freely and live outside traditional roles, yet she feels the weight of what might be waiting at the end of the trail. That tension hit home for me, because it speaks to how we all wrestle with carving our own path while others try to define it for us. The tender way Curtis explores family ties, especially the quiet understanding between Winnie and her mother, moved me deeply. At times, I felt frustrated right alongside Winnie, and at others, I was swept up in the simple sweetness of a kind smile or a shared laugh.
I’d recommend this book to readers who love historical fiction rooted in real grit and humanity. If you enjoy stories about ordinary people facing extraordinary trials, or if you’ve ever wondered what it felt like to cross a continent with only faith, oxen, and a dream, this is for you. Along the Trail would especially resonate with those who like novels centered on strong young women finding their place in uncertain worlds. It’s heartfelt, raw, and quietly beautiful.
Pages: 289 | ASIN : B0FL1C55WW
Falling into Shadow
Falling into Shadow follows multiple characters: Kyra, Sophie, Dante, and Renette. Each is grappling with survival, power, and the shifting balance of their world. Kyra’s desperate flight from Shadow Demons sets a brutal tone. Sophie, an Ionian Knight, carries the burden of protecting others while wrestling with betrayal and political intrigue. Dante is caught between family expectations and his own fractured past. Renette navigates the clash between ambition and the pull of her roots. The threads weave together into a sweeping tale of survival, politics, and looming war in a fragile world that feels as real as it is dangerous.
What I loved most was the immediacy of the writing. It feels cinematic, almost like watching a series unfold on screen. The pacing is relentless in places, then slows down just enough to let you breathe, and that kept me hooked. The action scenes hit hard. They’re vivid, raw, and sometimes gruesome in a way that made me flinch. Yet, they’re balanced with quieter moments that reveal doubts, guilt, and flashes of humanity. I found myself rooting for characters even when they made questionable choices. Kyra’s guilt and Sophie’s frustration, Dante’s longing for approval, Renette’s heartbreak; they all felt painfully real.
Still, there were times when the dialogue carried a little too much explanation, almost like it was doing double duty as worldbuilding. It didn’t ruin anything for me, but I noticed it. And some of the big concepts, like the Eidan’s glimpses of the future or the cloaked armies, had such massive implications that I wanted more space to sit with them. The book barrels forward, and part of me wished for more lingering in those big, head-spinning ideas. But then again, that urgency is part of what made it addictive.
Falling into Shadow is a ride worth taking. It’s brutal, imaginative, and packed with heart. I’d recommend it to readers who love fast-paced sci-fi with strong characters and aren’t afraid of a little blood and grit. Reading Falling into Shadow felt like a mix of the gritty survival of The Expanse and the mythic, character-driven drama of Dune, only with a rawer edge and a faster pulse. If you like stories that mix political intrigue with personal stakes, this one will pull you in and not let go.
Pages: 518 | ASIN : B0FB3RZ1DM
I, Monster
I, Monster tells the story of Hans, a boy born into poverty, abuse, and neglect who grows into a man consumed by cruelty. What begins as childhood bullying and violence slowly shapes him into a predator, then into a soldier, and eventually into a commander of a concentration camp. Through Hans, the book explores how systematic brutality and dehumanization can turn an ordinary person into an architect of horror. It is not a story of redemption but of descent, a chilling portrait of the way cruelty feeds on itself until nothing remains but emptiness and power.
The writing is sharp, relentless, and full of imagery that sticks in the mind long after you finish the book. The brutality is not sensationalized but presented with a stark clarity that made me feel both horrified and transfixed. At times, I wanted to look away. At other times, I found myself compelled to keep reading, almost against my own comfort. The author’s ability to take me into Hans’s mind disturbed me, because I caught myself understanding the logic of cruelty, even while despising it. That balance between revulsion and reluctant empathy is what made the book so powerful for me.
The prose can be heavy, almost poetic in its repetitions and its grim rhythm. It worked in creating atmosphere, yet sometimes I felt like I was drowning in it. Still, that might have been the point. The book doesn’t want to let the reader breathe too easily. It forces us to live in the same suffocating darkness as its main character. I appreciated that. It’s not an easy read, but it left me thinking hard about the banality of evil and how ordinary pain can harden into extraordinary cruelty.
I, Monster reminded me of Ordinary Men by Christopher Browning, since both confront the terrifying truth that cruelty often grows not from monsters at birth but from ordinary people shaped by their times and choices. I would recommend I, Monster to readers who are willing to confront the darkest corners of human nature. If you want a raw, unsettling exploration of how monsters are made, this will stay with you long after the last page.
Pages: 216 | ASIN : B0FN6T64YQ
The Mysteries of the Sea
Stone of Faith follows a sea captain searching for a legendary stone of faith, who comes across the siren of the sea, and he realizes he has found his fated love, but she is held captive by a monster unwilling to release her. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration came from my love of Celtic Lore and the sea’s timeless mysteries. I’ve always loved stories of sirens, but I chose to make her something other than the usual temptress. I imagined her as the one imprisoned—longing for freedom. The sea captain grew from Scottish maritime history, where men risked everything on storm-tossed waters, often carrying the weight of legacy and loss. Bringing the two together allowed me to explore how love and faith can become the greatest treasures of all—more powerful than magic or curses.
I found Captain Ewan MacDougall to be an interesting character. What was your inspiration for that character and his role in the story?
Captain Ewan MacDougall springs from my fascination with Scotland’s seafaring past and the resilience of men who live by the sea—bound by duty yet longing for freedom. I wanted him to carry the weight of his family’s legacy, threaded with both honor and tragedy —a man haunted by ghosts but still clinging to hope. His role as captain gave him not only authority but also isolation—he commands the sea, yet his heart yearns for connection. Meeting the siren forces him to confront what he’s been missing: faith in love and in himself. Ewan became the bridge between the mortal world and the mystical one, demonstrating how courage and devotion can even break the strongest chains.
I felt that there were a lot of great twists and turns throughout the novel. Did you plan this before writing the novel, or did the twists develop organically while writing?
Most of the twists and turns I planned—I’m very much a plotter—but some still developed organically as the story unfolded. The seafaring theme of Stone of Faith actually grew directly from Stone of Lust, which ends with the stone slipping into the sea and vanishing beneath the waves. That loss became the natural bridge into Ewan’s world, driving both the maritime setting and his quest. While I had the major arcs mapped out, I always leave room for discovery, and a few surprising turns surfaced as I outlined and wrote. Those moments of spontaneity often bring the most magic to the page.
I hope the series continues in other books. If so, where will the story take readers?
Next in the series:
Highlander’s Holly and Ivy, a Christmas companion book coming December 1st, 2025. Features Alex MacDougall, Mary, and Roderick from Thistle in the Mistletoe son. A forbidden love between a Highlander and an English lady intertwines with magic, betrayal, and the fate of a nation as they fight to unite their worlds and reclaim Scotland’s legacy.
Stone of Destiny, book 7. Kathryn MacArthur, Evie’s BFF, love story. The exciting conclusion to the Stones of Iona Series, where a woman torn between fate and forbidden love must defy a Fae prophecy and battle dark forces to reclaim her future—and the heart of the Fae warrior she can’t forget. Look for this one early 2026.
This series leads into another connected series, Dragons of Tantallon, a dragon-shapeshifter series revolving around the magic Iona Stones.
Author Links: GoodReads | X | Facebook | Website
LITERARY TITAN 