Blog Archives
The Cauldron: A Struggle for Survival
The Cauldron tells the story of ordinary people caught in the chaos of the American Civil War. It follows Tom Donal, his brother John, their regiment, and the circle of people around them. Through battles, camps, love affairs, spying, and survival, author Joe Clark blends fact with fiction to paint a vivid picture of how war stripped life to its bare bones. The narrative swings from large-scale strategy and politics to intimate personal struggles, giving both the sweeping sense of history and the raw, ground-level feel of living through it.
I found myself pulled in by how down-to-earth the writing feels. The dialogue often sounded plain and unpolished, but that’s part of its charm. It made me feel like I was sitting by a campfire with these characters, listening to them grumble about generals or joke about food. At times, the pacing slowed down when the focus shifted to explanations of battles and politics, but I also appreciated how those parts grounded the story in real history. The characters, especially Tom and Kat, were layered with flaws and longings, which made them stick in my mind. Their choices often carried a mix of youthful recklessness and heartbreaking necessity, which felt true to the times.
What really stayed with me was the sense of cost. Clark doesn’t glamorize the war. He shows men dying from bad food as often as from musket fire. He shows how suspicion could turn neighbors into enemies overnight. The love story between Tom and Kat was messy, tender, and sometimes uncomfortable, which made it feel all the more real. I liked how the book refused to tie things up neatly. It left me unsettled in the best way, like I’d been given a glimpse into lives that could have been lost in history.
I’d recommend The Cauldron to readers who enjoy historical fiction that isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty. If you want romance without polish, battles without glory, and characters who feel like people you might actually meet, this book is for you.
All Men Would Be Tyrants If They Could
All Men Would Be Tyrants If They Could, by Judie Mitchell, tells the story of two sisters, Abby and Connie, living in New England in the years leading up to the American Revolution. Abby is trapped in a marriage to John, a man who shifts between charm and cruelty, while Connie both supports her sister and struggles with her own feelings of powerlessness. Through their alternating voices, the book brings to life the injustice of coverture, the fragility of women’s independence, and the private rebellions of two women caught in a society that denies them a voice. It’s a work stitched together from historical truth, personal pain, and quiet defiance.
Reading it felt like stepping into a private diary. The language is simple but heavy with feeling. I found myself both frustrated and protective of Abby, who clings to hope that love might reform John even as his behavior worsens. Connie, meanwhile, became the heart of the story for me. Her quiet observations, her curiosity, her occasional small rebellions all carried an honesty that made me ache. At times, the writing made me uncomfortable in the best way. It didn’t let me slip into easy judgments; it forced me to feel the tangle of love, loyalty, and oppression that defined their lives.
I do feel that the repetition of John’s temper and Abby’s endurance sometimes dragged, though maybe that was the point. Abuse circles and grinds. The historical details were fascinating, but occasionally they crowded the page with information on trade goods or church sermons. Yet even in those slower sections, I sensed the author’s passion for uncovering the hidden lives of women, and that kept me turning pages.
Reading All Men Would Be Tyrants If They Could reminded me of The Handmaid’s Tale in how it exposes the quiet violence of patriarchy, though Mitchell roots her story in history rather than dystopia, making the injustice feel even more immediate. I’d recommend it to readers who enjoy historical fiction that leans close to lived experience, who want to feel the weight of the past pressing on the present, and who are willing to sit with discomfort in order to better understand the silenced women history tried to erase.
Pages: 312 | ASIN : B0FFR7BKXW
Fast-Paced Storytelling
Lord of the Crimson Dawn follows a hitman on assignment in Mexico who winds up being turned into a vampire, but not like others; he can walk in the sunlight and has unmatched powers that have never been seen before. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I had a lot of inspiration. Growing up, I had my favorite vampires, like Christopher Lee, Frank Langella, and Gary Oldman. But I was heavily inspired by a mixture of Underworld and The Blade movies and comics. I enjoyed writing this genre. I’ve always loved the fast-paced storytelling, like Indiana Jones movies. I just added the blood and gore to the mix.
Jack is a fascinating character. What scene was the most interesting to write for that character?
Jack is one of my favorite characters I created. There were a few scenes I enjoyed, but what I really enjoyed writing was the scenes where he wasn’t sure what was a dream and what was reality, and then he discovers that it was all real while he was being transformed into a vampire.
What intrigues you about the horror and paranormal genres that led you to write this book?
Growing up, I enjoyed all types of horror films, from the old-time monsters to slasher films. I also enjoyed reading vampire novels along with other monster and demon novels.
Will this novel be the start of a series, or are you working on a different story?
Yes, this will be the start of a new series, and yes, I am working on a new story as well as a new story for my Demon Hunter series.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
They Are An Odd Couple
The Case Files of GG Michaels follows Guenevere Michaels and her pragmatic partner as they unravel eerie mysteries with wit, suspense, and a razor-sharp blend of folklore and modern investigation. What inspired you to pair paranormal lore with modern investigative techniques in this collection?
I think it began early on beginning with Scooby-Doo before proceeding to other series like the X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stranger Things, and the TV show, Friday the 13th the Series.
But it also stems from something that has always perplexed me, that is how various paranormal investigative shows find something out of sorts but then largely do nothing about it. These investigators may document something and be even be frightened by it but they do nothing about it. By contrast, GG & her friends (depending on the story,) do something about the ghosts, monsters, and cults the run across. They leave a situation better than they found it.
Guen and Janet’s dynamic is both witty and heartfelt. How did you develop their contrasting voices and chemistry?
They are an odd couple, but they deal with odd scenarios, so it jibes. They’re both brave in their own ways. Their backgrounds influenced them with GG’s idealism contrasting with Janet’s pragmatism. Often the approach of one is better suited to the scenario than the other. I love writing dialogue and work hard at developing unique voices for my characters. Often, a reader may not remember a book’s plot but they will remember a character that they loved by what they said and did and how they said and did it.
I’m also developing a third member of GG Michaels Investigations, Izaak, whom we meet in the story, The Padded Cell.
Many of your settings feel like characters themselves. Do you draw inspiration from real locations or create them entirely from imagination?
As a kid I was pretty good at scaring myself. My imagination was, and continues to be, vibrant. My locations are a combination of real experience and researched with a lot of ideation as to how I could make them even spookier. To paraphrase Stephen King, I do my best to “be there.”
Some stories resolve quickly, leaving readers wanting more. Do you see yourself expanding any of these cases into longer novels?
I have so many ideas on the drawing board, most of which I think will pan out. In order to write them all, I will continue to write in the short story/novelette length, but one never knows how a story will develop and if it requires novella or novel length space to tell the tale adequately.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Ghosts
Vampires
Evil Cults
Monsters
Haunted Asylums
Or…you could go with GG Michaels and experience them all.
So…safe & boring?
Or Supernatural Adventure?
Choose adventure!
A Broader Canvas
Broken centers around a shapeshifter plagued by the chaos of living as a human and enduring her own lost sense of self. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I have to admit that my own experience has partly led to Alira’s story. While I don’t have dozens of voices in my head (other than the characters in my stories, that is), I always felt like an outsider among those around me. It took me many years to find my tribe, and to reach a place in my life where I felt I could be myself and not struggle to fit in.
I’ve known many others like this, and it’s hard. For all of us. Struggling to be the kind of person you think others expect of you can be soul-draining. That’s what started Alira’s tale for me. From there, it took off on its own.
What is it that draws you to the science fiction genre?
I like science fiction because it allows me to stretch reality in ways that drive home the point of the story. I feel like The Founder’s Seed books could also be called science fantasy, since there are elements of it (the harvesting of souls, for one) that can’t be supported by science. But these genres expand the boundaries of what is possible or probable, and allow the reader a greater leeway for suspension of disbelief.
My stories usually ask big questions; so far, science fiction and science fantasy have both offered a broader canvas for that work.
Do you have a favorite character in The Founder’s Seed series? One that his especially enjoyable to craft?
Of course, Alira is my favorite. She’s me in so many ways that count. She’s definitely the hardest to write, but also the most rewarding.
A very close second favorite is Botha; he’s a joy to write! Putting myself in his head, so that I can write him with authenticity, is always fun!
Where will the next book in the series take readers? When can we expect to see it released?
The next book, Driven, picks up where Broken left off; it gives a closer—and thoroughly raw—look at the new antagonist, Knøfa; follows Alira’s journey through her time with Botha, and what comes after (no spoilers!); settles Thrace/Galen in her/his role; and sets the threads for the follow-up trilogy that is already in the works.
Driven was released in late June and is now available for readers.
Author Links: GoodReads | BlueSky | Facebook | Website | Amazon
To make matters worse, the harvests of knowledge and memories she’s gathered from the dead aren’t adequate to fully understand her assumed role—unless she surrenders control to the one internal voice she thinks can make things right. But that harvest isn’t willing to share the space in her head, and soon Alira is no longer sure which voice is his, and which is her own.
Galen has vowed to help Alira succeed and follows her increasingly unbalanced directives, until he realizes that her harvests have corrupted her conscience, maybe even her sanity. Galen has never been a leader. But as the crisis screams toward them, he must make a choice: abandon their people to save Alira or sacrifice her to save them all.
The Dangers of Time Travel
Furniture Sliders follows a former intelligence officer who is pulled back in to discover what has happened to a classified project and the people working on it, which controls time, memory, and identity, and is now missing. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I have always been a fan of both film noir and espionage novels plus I have a tech background and a fascination with quantum mechanics. I wanted to write a story that felt like a 1940s Cold War spy thriller written in noir style—then break it wide open with the addition of speculative science fiction. I had a question: what if you take the characteristics of quantum mechanics such as superposition and entanglement and instead of applying them to atomic particles, you applied them to human beings? To spies? Can you be in two places at once or two timelines at the same time? Firstly, apply the ability to manipulate space and time and then take it even further by playing in panpsychism – the concept that every inanimate object can be sentient. Of course, you would have to have some form of technology to do all of this – the Mirror is exactly that inspired by the one in my hall at home. The title literally came from a box of plastic furniture sliders that were on the table at home with the box looking like a paperback book – Furniture Sliders on the spine! Sliders was a perfect description for agents moving through space and time and their organization is called the Bureau, along with the Mirror, giving the initial tongue-in-cheek furniture connection.
I found Max Calder to be an intriguing character. What was your inspiration for this character?
Max Calder is the kind of character I love; deeply broken but still pushing forward through the fog. It isn’t about a single character or character flaw but about weaving influences together. I guess Max carries echoes of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe and Graham Greene’s morally ambiguous operatives. He isn’t polished like Bond, but weary, suspicious, and prone to moral compromise – a man affected by the machine he serves. I tried to deliberately write against cliché by grounding him in history and psychology. His gaps, duplications, and doubts reflect not only the dangers of espionage but the fragility of identity itself. Unlike many spy archetypes, Calder isn’t defined by conquest or success, but by survival, mistrust, and fear of irrelevance — hopefully making him come across as human, flawed, and complex. In many espionage novels, agents and spies are unaffected by what they do and are amazing at executing their role. In the case of Max, I wanted him to be very affected. Remorse, regret, and inner demons.
What themes were particularly important for you to explore in this book?
Primarily the consequences of messing with time and how doing so can also mess with you physically, potentially drive you insane and affect your memory while creating echoes or even doppelgangers as time threads overlap. All caused by, or underpinned by, the human-applied characteristics of quantum mechanics. It was important to explore relationships especially between protagonists and antagonists and between espionage agents and technology pitching various spy agencies against each other – even if they are supposed to have great relationships. I also wanted to introduce fictionalized real-life characters to the storyline which in this book includes Alan Turing, Hugh Sinclair and William Stephenson.
Where does the story go in the next book, and where do you see it going in the future?
There are two more books coming in the series. Angus Sliders and Cuban Sliders. Angus Sliders is planned to publish on the 15th December. One of the challenges with quantum-based technology like the Mirror is that many want to get their hands on it in many cases for various nefarious reasons. In Furniture Sliders it was the Russians and ex Nazis. In Angus Sliders, Max Calder discovers that some major occurrences in Furniture Sliders didn’t really happen and that MI6 is very involved. Even a fictionalized Kim Philby is involved as is Charles Fraser-Smith who was the inspiration for James Bond’s Q. Max Calder is more and more affected by what the Mirror can do to you. In Cuban Sliders the Russians are back in the game and so is the CIA. Through all of this the Mirror becomes even more difficult to control or destroy. The big question is – can it be destroyed at all or even stopped and who gets to control it? Are there more storylines past the initial trilogy? Yes indeed!
Author Links: Facebook | Blog | Website | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The Bureau is chasing a secret called the Mirror—a project so classified that even its architects have vanished or been silenced. It’s said to control time, memory, even identity itself. As Calder tracks the Mirror’s echoes across empty safehouses and wartime graveyards, the lines between hunter and hunted begin to blur.
Artemis may be an ally. Or she may be a weapon. And Calder? He may not even be who he thinks he is.
As bodies pile up and truths unravel, Calder must navigate a world where nothing stays still—where every room slides just a few inches sideways when you’re not looking. In the end, he’ll face one impossible choice:
Burn the truth… or become it.
Deep Freeze
Anne Louise O’Connell’s Deep Freeze is a suspenseful mystery set against the unlikely backdrop of Dubai’s indoor ski slopes, posh neighborhoods, and glossy hospitals. At the heart of the story is Susan Morris, an American ex-pat nurse whose curiosity and compassion pull her into the chaos following a tragic ski lift accident that nearly kills her friend’s husband, Dr. Barry Thornton. What begins as a personal favor to comfort a friend quickly spirals into a dangerous investigation involving hospital coverups, cryogenic experiments, and the exploitation of domestic workers. The book moves briskly, balancing cultural detail with medical intrigue, and it doesn’t take long before Susan realizes she’s in over her head.
I was hooked from the start. The writing has a straightforward flow that makes it easy to slip into Susan’s world. What really grabbed me was the way O’Connell built tension through ordinary settings. A shopping mall ski slope or a hospital hallway doesn’t sound like a thriller, but the unease creeps in, and before you know it, you’re bracing yourself for the next turn. I found myself both frustrated and impressed with Susan. She’s stubborn, she pushes too far, but she’s also brave in a way that feels relatable rather than superhero-like. At times, the dialogue felt a little stiff, but the energy of the plot kept me flipping pages late into the night.
Emotionally, the book hit me harder than I expected. The parts dealing with exploited domestic workers left a knot in my stomach. It’s not just about crime or corruption, it’s about people living in the shadows of luxury and power. That gave the story real weight. I also felt for Susan as her marriage slowly unraveled in the background. Those quieter moments balanced out the faster-paced mystery, and I found myself caring as much about her personal struggles as the central investigation. The suspense had my pulse up, but the human side of it tugged at me even more.
Deep Freeze is a gripping read that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys mysteries with both heart and grit. If you like thrillers that blend cultural insight with medical drama, you’ll find a lot to love here. It’s especially for readers who want a strong but imperfect female lead, someone who feels like a real person caught in extraordinary circumstances.
Pages: 244 | ASIN : B0DTLY26YZ
The Unearthing
The Unearthing follows the Krigga family as they leave their suburban life behind for an old Georgian house in the countryside. The story is told mostly through the eyes of Anna, the middle child, who resents the move and resists every change. Her brother Rupert and sister Clara add their own voices to the chaos of sibling rivalry, while their parents try to hold the family together. Soon, the house itself begins to reveal secrets. Hidden staircases, strange rooms, eerie discoveries, and a foreboding tower nearby push the children into a world of mystery and unease. What begins as a family drama slowly shifts into something more shadowed, blending everyday struggles with a creeping sense of the supernatural.
The writing swings from tender to dramatic, sometimes even over the top, but that’s part of its charm. I could feel Anna’s anger like a living thing, the way she stomped and sulked and held on to her grievances. At times, I wanted to shake her. At other times, I wanted to comfort her. Tapia captures that messy middle-child energy perfectly, and while it could be grating, it also felt real. The imagery is thick and vivid, and I loved how it painted the old house as if it were alive, breathing with history and menace.
There were moments when I laughed at the squabbles between the siblings, then felt uneasy when the story leaned into shadows and whispers. The pacing could be uneven, lingering on moods a bit too long before getting to the action. Yet, when the eerie attic scenes or the crumbling gargoyles came into play, I was hooked. The book feels like a blend of family diary and gothic adventure.
I’d recommend The Unearthing to readers who enjoy stories about families in transition, especially when everyday life collides with something darker. Young adult readers might see themselves in Anna’s moods, while older readers may smile knowingly at the chaos of siblings and the weight of growing up. If you like your mysteries tinged with domestic squabbles, eerie houses, and a touch of the uncanny, this children’s fiction novel will speak to you.
Pages: 399 | ASIN : B08NCB4XKX
LITERARY TITAN 