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Mississippi Wizards
Kenneth Penn’s Mississippi Wizards is a supernatural horror novel built around two women whose lives are separated by time but connected by violence, grief, and a persistent ghost named Nancy. In the present-day storyline, Cassandra and her husband, Ben, head into Mississippi’s De Soto National Forest for what should be a quiet camping trip, only to become targets of a vicious group of white supremacists. Running alongside that ordeal is Liza’s story, set two years earlier, as she navigates family conflict, first love, racism, homophobia, and an escalating threat that follows her into the same wilderness. The alternating perspectives gradually reveal that these aren’t simply parallel stories. They’re pieces of one supernatural puzzle.
Cassandra is the novel’s strongest anchor. She’s funny, impatient, frightened, loving, and stubborn enough to keep moving long after most people would collapse. Her relationship with Ben gives the early chapters warmth and playful energy, which makes the brutality that follows feel personal. Penn also handles Cassandra’s belief that she has schizophrenia with care. For years, she’s understood Nancy as a hallucination produced by trauma, so discovering that the ghost is real doesn’t instantly erase the emotional and physical consequences of her diagnosis. That tension gives the haunting an unusually intimate quality.
Liza’s chapters bring a different kind of pressure. Her romance with Mary is tender and believable, while her relationship with her family, especially her cousin Avery, is full of affection, betrayal, fear, and compromised loyalties. The novel’s racism and homophobia are direct, ugly forces expressed through individual choices and family histories. Penn ties those forces to the supernatural plot without turning them into abstract symbols. Early in the book, Nancy observes, “Change always comes too late for the innocent,” a line that captures the story’s grief while also setting up its interest in whether the past can be confronted, altered, or redeemed.
The book moves like a survival thriller once Cassandra and Ben are attacked, with chases, beatings, escapes, crashes, and confrontations arriving in quick succession. Its horror is physical and graphic, but the stranger element is the gradual collapse of time around the forest. Images, songs, locations, and memories echo between Cassandra’s and Liza’s experiences until the two timelines finally meet. That structure rewards attention, and the final explanation gives earlier scenes new meaning. The book is generous with action and emotional intensity, though its extended confrontations sometimes leave little room to recover before the next crisis begins.
What stayed with me most was the novel’s belief in connection. Cassandra, Liza, and Nancy are all carrying pain that began with someone else’s cruelty, yet their eventual strength comes from trusting and helping one another. That makes Mississippi Wizards more than a story about escaping killers or solving a haunting. It’s a dark, energetic novel about trauma traveling through time, love surviving hostile circumstances, and people finding the power to change a tragedy that once seemed permanent. Its closing scene lands with a welcome sense of wonder, leaving the characters on the edge of a new relationship and one very strange story still waiting to be told.
Pages: 333 | ASIN : B0H8KBZR6R
A Rewarding Experience
Jigsaw: Temporal Apocalypse follows The Temporal Guardians as they face their most dangerous challenge yet and try to stop history from being rewritten. What inspired you to conclude the Jigsaw series with a threat as enormous as the Temporal Apocalypse?
Thank you for the question. I wanted the last book in the ten book Jigsaw Series to be epic and end (???) the adventures of Francesca and Noah with a bang so to speak so the readers would really have a rewarding experience at the end (???) of their story. I also wanted to call attention to the fact that the dangers we face to Democracy and the freedoms we all enjoy today have happened in earlier historical periods and that the people then overcame them then and we will do so again.
Your novels consistently explore lesser-known historical events and locations. How do you discover the stories that capture your imagination?
My background, as readers know, includes being a history teacher. Most introductory history courses do not probe in depth many of the historical topics I introduce in my books. In Temporal Apocalypse, we set the epic in Fiume whose leader D’Annunzio helped inspire Mussolini. We set it in Jerome and Tempe to remind readers that there was labor strife and some opposition to Wilson’s war efforts. We also set part of the story on the Russo-Polish War following World War One to show how close the treaties ending the war came close to being upended literally months after they were signed.
How have the Guardians changed since the beginning of the series? Were there characters who unexpectedly became more important as the series evolved?
The Guardians themselves have matured throughout the course of the books and have become more of a team ensemble. Originally, Francesca and Noah were the central protagonists but Tori and Mueller, mostly because of the development of the Case File Series, became just as intriguing and maybe more three dimensional than the original heroes. On the flip side, while Mariah and Bonomi are important figures who contribute to the storylines and give us Angelo, they are more peripheral than Francesca, Tori, Noah, and Mueller as the series progresses.
Were there scenes that proved especially difficult to write because they marked the end of long-running story lines?
I would not say difficult. I would say evolving. Some of the secondary antagonists introduced in this book, the take over and shutdown of the Foundation, and the Liberty Town storyline were inspired by people and organizations that have made an impact on current events since 2025. That said, the Jigsaw series has always been a commentary against rising white nationalist authoritarianism in this country and around the world and we used episodes from history to demonstrate that this is not the first time these fringe reactionary movements have tried to circumvent the American Ideal of an inclusive Republic where all people have the opportunity to achieve the American Dream.
Author Links: GoodReads | X | Facebook | Website | Instagram
THE TEMPORAL APOCALYPSE IS IMMINENT — TIME IS RUNNING OUT.
The Temporal Guardians must prevent Lilith, Ahriman, and their evil allies from unleashing Akoman’s Amulet — an ancient weapon with the power to destroy reality.
In the shattered aftermath of the Great War, across battlegrounds torn between nations and ideologies, the fate of history itself hangs by a thread. The world teeters on the brink of a totalitarian nightmare — a ruthless order imposed by the powers of darkness where eugenics decides who rules and who serves.
If the Guardians fail, the very fabric of society—and their own identities—will be erased forever. Every second lost brings them closer to a future none can escape.
The clock is ticking.
The Guardians must stop the coming of the Temporal Apocalypse before it’s too late
A Character’s Voice is Unique
Fangs for Hire follows a resistance fighter who, after being executed during WWII, is resurrected as a vampire and transforms personal tragedy into a lifelong quest for justice. What inspired you to combine wartime history with vampire fiction?
I am a history buff as well as a science buff, and I enjoy reading historical magazines, historical novels, and watching fascinating documentaries about World War II. I was inspired to write this novella by several influencing creative forces, such as the TV series Forever Knight, about a 13th-century vampire who became a 20th-century cop to save as many innocent humans as possible and redeem his past sins when he fed on the innocent and guilty alike. Another inspiration came from reading about the resistance against the Nazis in occupied Belarus, from 1941 to 1944. I thought: why not combine the dark fantasy and realism of real military conflict to tell a story of an ordinary teenage girl who fought for her country and was presented with a unique opportunity to strike at her enemies after her moral death? The result was Fangs for Hire, and I am very proud to be able to see this project from start to finish. Larisa Tokar is a unique character who is a survivor and a vampire with a human heart that is no longer beating.
Larisa balances confidence, compassion, and ruthlessness throughout the book. How did you approach creating her voice?
This is a very good and interesting question. A character’s voice is unique, and since Larisa is the main protagonist of the story, she has a unique voice and actions that define who she is. Born as an average human female with no special powers and no particular or unique talent, she nevertheless is an honest, kind, and compassionate person. The brutal Nazi invasion of her country and her desire to fight back against a brutal oppressor make her a person not only influenced by Soviet propaganda, but also a young woman who learns not only how to survive but also strikes at the enemy from a unique angle. She narrates the story with strong personal feelings based on her life experience. Her execution, death, and resurrection as a vampire alter her perspective about the war and the dark truth that was hidden from her. Born again as a vampire, with inhuman abilities that make her into a unique warrior, Larisa navigates through years in prison, during and after the war. She survives and adapts to her condition, and learns new skills to help those who deserve her love and respect. Larisa Tokar is a unique kind of time traveler.
The Urtama functions more like an international society than a traditional supernatural clan. How did that idea evolve?
Fangs for Hire is a novella that is related to my other vampire novels such as Beyond Sunlight, Eighteen Forever, Innocent Eyes, Heatseeker, and Before the Dawn. All of them feature a secret race of nightwalkers who call themselves Urtama. They are a very ancient species that have been living alongside mankind before the dawn of recorded history, stretching all the way back before the time of the last Great Ice Age. My idea about vampires came from the realization that, as a secret species, they had to remain in the shadows while adapting to the new times, as humanity had evolved from hunters and gatherers to farmers and eventually to city builders. Urtama represents a secret race of immortals who depend on human blood to survive, and therefore human lives are precious to them. And while I liked reading about supernatural clans and traditional vampire fiction, I imagined a different and secret world of vampires with their own rules and traditions and system of punishments for the crimes against humanity and their fellow immortals. No society can exist without rules and regulations, and Urtama has their own.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
I am currently working on a sword and sorcery story, which has evolved from a short story I wrote in my experimental science fiction and fantasy writing group in the year 2012. It will most likely be a novelette-length, but with a rich, dense, and hopefully interesting story about kingdoms, battles, knights, love, ambition, and ancient super weapons. This is a unique project, because I seldom work on fantasy tales involving warriors and magic. I hope to complete and present the next book for review sometime in the early Fall. For me, writing is a labor of love, and I want to make this story a unique tale that is not only about action, adventure and magic, but also a morality tale with values that remain true both in the real and magical realm. The best part is that my work schedule permits me two days per week to work on my novels, and each novel I write, I want to make it interesting and informative for my readers. Please stay tuned. A new book is coming!
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
Fall of the House of Taga
M. K. Aleja’s Fall of the House of Taga is a CHamoru historical fantasy and mythic retelling that brings several fragmented legends together as one sweeping tragedy. Set across Guam, Rota, and Tinian, the story follows Taga from an ambitious chief’s son into exile, redemption, leadership, and eventual ruin. Aleja grounds the novel in CHamoru language, spiritual traditions, community values, and the enduring presence of the latte stones, giving this Indigenous folklore fantasy a strong cultural identity from its opening pages.
At the center of the book is Taga’s complicated relationship with shame. His youthful pride opens the door to I Guaifi’nao, a supernatural entity that feeds patiently on isolation, fear, and unresolved pain. Taga’s years in Tinian offer real healing as he learns to serve others, builds a family with the capable and perceptive Liho, and earns his place as maga’låhi. That long path makes the later tragedy hit harder because readers see exactly what he’s built, how much he loves it, and why its destruction matters. As a dark fantasy family saga, the novel treats redemption as something created through daily choices.
The book’s second half moves firmly into supernatural horror, with sleeplessness, whispers, hallucinations, and changes in Taga’s behavior building toward a brutal, emotionally intense climax. The short chapters and direct prose keep the story moving quickly, though some lessons and emotional ideas are repeated often enough that their impact occasionally softens. Even so, the clearest moments are powerful, especially those involving Samai, who becomes more than a witness to her family’s fall. Her compassion and determination transform the ending from pure devastation into an account of survival, truth-telling, and cultural memory.
What gives Fall of the House of Taga its lasting weight is its portrayal of storytelling itself. Aleja presents oral tradition as a living safeguard, then shows how colonial interpretation can separate connected histories, dismiss spiritual knowledge, and turn a complex tragedy into a simpler tale of jealousy and violence. That makes this historical fantasy novel and colonial folklore retelling feel both intimate and purposeful. It’s a fast, sorrowful read about a man haunted by an old wound, a family caught in its consequences, and a daughter who makes sure the stone’s true story is remembered.
Pages: 275 | ASIN : B0HD2WYX4R
Literary Titan Gold Book Award: Fiction
The Literary Titan Book Award honors books that exhibit exceptional storytelling and creativity. This award celebrates novelists who craft compelling narratives, create memorable characters, and weave stories that captivate readers. The recipients are writers who excel in their ability to blend imagination with literary skill, creating worlds that enchant and narratives that linger long after the final page is turned.
Award Recipients
Restoration by Laura Brooke
Even Angels Wear Leather Jackets and Ride Motorcycles by J.A. McGovern
Visit the Literary Titan Book Awards page to see award information.
Literary Titan Silver Book Award
Celebrating the brilliance of outstanding authors who have captivated us with their skillful prose, engaging narratives, and compelling real and imagined characters. We recognize books that stand out for their innovative storytelling and insightful exploration of truth and fiction. Join us in honoring the dedication and skill of these remarkable authors as we celebrate the diverse and rich worlds they’ve brought to life, whether through the realm of imagination or the lens of reality.
Award Recipients
Crescent City Requiem by Brian Kaufman
The Suicide Council by Victer Hugo Basurco
Departure from Innocence by WILLIAM WILSON
Steel & Ballast by Markella Kara
Visit the Literary Titan Book Awards page to see award information.
Jigsaw: Temporal Apocalypse
Jigsaw: Temporal Apocalypse is a sprawling time-travel adventure that combines historical fiction, supernatural fantasy, science fiction, political intrigue, and a generous amount of pulpy action. It’s the tenth Jigsaw novel and the fifteenth book in the larger Jigsaw Universe, and the author recommends reading the earlier installments first. The story follows the Guardians as they try to stop Lilith, Ahriman, Pilo, and their allies from reshaping history and triggering a Temporal Apocalypse. The plot moves across centuries, from Roman-occupied Judea and medieval trade routes to postwar Europe, 1910s Arizona, the Russo-Polish War, and the strange political experiment in Fiume. That scale gives the book the energy of a season finale in which nearly every character, artifact, rivalry, and historical thread has returned for one enormous confrontation.
David Alyn Gordon’s greatest strength here is his enthusiasm for overlooked history. The novel doesn’t treat the past as scenery. Labor struggles, racial violence, extremist movements, wartime upheaval, political opportunism, and religious traditions all become active parts of the story. The shifting missions in Arizona, Poland, and Fiume gradually connect through the fragments of a powerful amulet, while the Nazi Bell and other temporal devices add a science-fiction framework to the supernatural conflict. There’s a lot happening, but the structure creates the feeling that separate pieces of history are clicking into place. Gordon also has a knack for choosing settings that are dramatic on their own, then finding ways to raise the stakes with demons, immortals, vampires, zombies, and time travelers.
For all its apocalyptic danger, the book is often funny and affectionate. Noah, Francesca, Tori, Mueller, Mariah, and the rest of the Guardians speak to one another like people who’ve survived far too many bizarre missions together. Their teasing, arguments, romantic bonds, and family connections give the story warmth between battles. The dialogue can be blunt and deliberately theatrical, especially when the villains explain their plans or heroes trade jokes during a crisis, but that style fits the book’s larger-than-life personality. The emotional farewell scenes near the end are particularly effective because they draw on relationships built across the series. Even after the central conflict is settled, the final chapters leave room for births, reunions, new beginnings, and the amusing realization that retirement may be harder for these characters than saving history.
I’d recommend Temporal Apocalypse most strongly to established Jigsaw Universe readers, especially those who enjoy seeing long-running character arcs and earlier plot elements brought together. It’ll also appeal to readers who like alternate-history adventures packed with real historical figures, supernatural mythology, political commentary, and fast-moving ensemble action. Someone fascinated by lesser-known episodes from the aftermath of World War I or early Arizona history will find plenty to explore. Because the story assumes familiarity with a large cast and extensive backstory, its biggest rewards will go to readers who’ve already traveled through the earlier books and are ready for a crowded, energetic culmination.
Pages: 258 | ASIN : B0H28LCRTT
Fangs for Hire: A Story of the Vampire Larisa Tokar
Fangs for Hire is a fast-moving blend of vampire fiction, wartime drama, and espionage thriller. Its narrator, Larisa Tokar, is a century-old vampire who works as a freelance operative for intelligence agencies, using her supernatural strength, heightened senses, voice imitation, and access to blood memories to pursue dangerous targets. The story alternates between her present-day missions in Paris and her youth in Nazi-occupied Minsk, where she joins the resistance, is betrayed, publicly executed, and resurrected through the intervention of the ancient vampire Andrei Rumin. That structure gives the novella two distinct energies: the brisk confidence of a supernatural spy adventure and the heavier emotional pull of an origin story shaped by war, loss, and survival.
Larisa is the book’s center of gravity, and her blunt, self-assured narration makes her easy to understand even when her actions are ruthless. She enjoys money, travel, history, good company, and the practical advantages of immortality, but she also carries lasting grief over her parents, her friends, and the destruction of the life she expected to have. Her moral code is simple and consistently applied: protect innocent people and reserve violence for those she believes have earned it. That certainty gives the action a pulpy, vigilante quality, while her memories of occupation and execution add a more personal motive beneath the swagger. Her confrontation with Roman Starenko, the officer who betrayed her, brings those sides together in a scene driven by anger, political disillusionment, and long-delayed revenge.
The novella is especially interested in building a complete vampire society. The Urtama have elders, laws, banks, donors, safe houses, political networks, and punishments for anyone who threatens their secrecy. This world feels less like Gothic folklore and more like an international organization that has quietly adapted to every century. The book also spends considerable time on military and political history, often pausing the immediate story to discuss Soviet repression, the German invasion, Napoleon, resistance movements, and the changing shape of Europe. Readers who enjoy historical detail may find this scope rewarding, though the amount of explanation sometimes slows the suspense. While the story could benefit from careful editing, its directness gives it the feeling of Larisa telling her remarkable life story exactly as she remembers it.
I’d recommend Fangs for Hire most strongly to readers who like alternate-history adventures, powerful antiheroines, detailed vampire lore, and action stories with a firm moral divide between predators and their chosen prey. It should also appeal to military-history fans who enjoy seeing real events woven into supernatural fiction. The violence is graphic, and the book includes sexual material, so it’s best suited to adult readers. At heart, this is the story of a young woman whose first life is destroyed by war and whose second life becomes an ongoing campaign against cruelty. By the final pages, Larisa’s immortality feels both like a weapon and a responsibility, leaving her with endless time to remember the past, enjoy the present, and decide what kind of future she’ll help create.
Pages: 145 | ASIN : B0H68MHWVP
