Blog Archives
A Chance to Make a Difference
Postmarked Castle Cove follows a US Postal Inspector struggling with sobriety grapples with a small-town mystery involving missing mail and suspicious church leaders. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
My intent was to get MC focused on more than just drinking — or not drinking in her case. I wanted a deeper, darker, more gritty investigation that would hit her hard and make her realize she had a bigger purpose in life. Something to really sink her teeth into. A chance to make a difference.
Which character in the novel do you feel you relate to more and why?
I don’t think there’s any one character I relate to more than any other. However, the one I’ve had the most fun with recently is Jim Bob O’Malley, the youngest and newest postal inspector in the same office MC works in. Although, Jim Bob’s role ended up being smaller than originally planned in book three, I can foresee expanding his character in a book four. He’s a bit of a nuisance in MC’s opinion, but his humor breaks through her hard shell at times. And MC grudgingly acknowledges he will be a good inspector—with a bit of stern direction at times from her and other senior inspectors.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The themes I focused on were grief and how MC is handling the overwhelming grief over the murder of her life partner Barb, which happened in the first book in the series. I think up to the point of book three that grief has molded MC into an emotional cripple. Barb had been MC’s world. Along with that grief comes a sense of guilt. Guilt over not being at home that fateful day to save Barb. Guilt over not having the courage to share with Barb while she had the chance, some dark locked-away personal secrets from childhood. And of course, the theme of recovery. An arc that stretches from day-to-day progress; back-sliding; thinking she’s tamed the beast and has no need for any further intervention; to the point where MC realizes that recovery is a life-long journey. And finally justice—MC observes that a number of her cases have involved child victims. Some survivors. Others not. And with that observation comes a sense of a chance at redemption. She hadn’t been able to save her sister Cindy when they were children. And she hadn’t been able to save little Emmy in book two. But MC decides to embark on a crusade to protect child victims. She wants to dig into those dark, disturbing cases and bring light to the voiceless victims and make a difference, no matter how small, in their lives.
Can we look forward to a fourth installment in this series? Where will it take readers?
I’m leaning toward another book for the series. I’ve begun gathering research for the possibility. I think MC will visit a different area of our great state of Minnesota in book four. Maybe somewhere a bit west, the St. Cloud area perhaps. And there might be a cold case revealed to her during an active investigation. The cold case is out of her wheelhouse, but MC can’t help but get sucked in. Thanks for the opportunity to talk about MC and her story!
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Contradictions We All Hold
Nina’s Whisper follows a successful pediatrician who becomes entangled in a tumultuous relationship with a woman that descends into a harrowing exploration of manipulation, abuse, and partner violence. What are some things that you find interesting about the human condition that you think make for great fiction?
I find the everyday-ness of being human really interesting. When I write, I get excited about figuring out how to turn the mundane into a moving story, almost in the way Tracy Chapman’s song Fast Car does. It’s just actual lived experience, but told in a way that resonates emotionally. I also think the contradictions we all hold as humans make for great fiction. Telling a story that forces people to choose where they stand on an issue or situation, through the contradictions of a character, is something I find super interesting. I strive to do that in a compelling way and move people the same way music does.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Themes that were important for me to explore in Nina’s Whisper were what abuse can look like emotionally, and the wide spectrum of what domestic abuse actually is, outside of just “this person hit that person.” I wanted to help people understand that you can be in an abusive relationship and not know it, because of how you define abuse or because of what society paints as a picture of abuse, which is typically a man abusing a woman.
Writing this book, and me personally living through the actual experience, because it’s based on real-life events, I realized that abuse is something that’s hard to see when it doesn’t look like the stereotype we see in media or everyday narratives. There are high rates of domestic abuse in same-sex relationships, and it doesn’t get talked about enough. I think it’s important to show the spectrum of how these issues present themselves. For me, exploring my lived experience was important for my own healing, but also to help someone else out there, someone who this book may free, who this book may give clarity to.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
I have a book with my agent right now – it’s a historical nonfiction children’s book. I also have an unpublished book that’s written in the same tone as Nina’s Whisper—very character-driven and emotionally resonant. I’ve been working on that one, called Start Where You Stand, for three or four years now. It’s almost ready, but not quite. I think it has strong potential for a film adaptation, which I also hope Nina’s Whisper will have one day. I have a nonfiction book under contract right now, that will be out in the Spring of 2026 and hopefully I can start promoting that as soon as the publisher gives me the greenlight – this book is in the vein of some of my other scholarly work like Encyclopedia of Black Comics.
I also publish a comic strip called Rent Free on my website. If I can stick with it, that could definitely become a collection in book form. That would probably take a couple of years, but I’m excited about the possibility.
And finally, I just pitched a middle-grade book to a publisher this month. It’s about an introspective young kid in Philadelphia trying to find himself and embrace who he is—despite all the signals telling him to be someone else. It’s a coming-of-age story that takes place over the course of one day.
So, I’m always working on something. I enjoy having books in different stages of the process. Just to recap: I’ve got a book that my agent is pitching, a book under contract coming out in 2026, one that’s 85% finished and almost ready to be pitched, one that I know won’t be ready for a couple of years, and one that’s already been pitched to a publisher but hasn’t gotten the green light yet. I’ve realized I’m in a mature place in my writing career, where I can see the beauty in having multiple projects at different stages of production so I can stay ready.
Author Links: LinkTree | Website
A page-turning debut in the tradition of Carmen Machado’s, In The Dream House, Nina’s Whisper is a thriller fueled by love, lust, trauma, survival and triumph.
“Masterfully written” -Darryl Stephens
“This book promises to haunt, anger, console, and ultimately inspire anyone who opens it.” -Marc Lamont Hill
There’s no such thing as perfect love.
Nina Chandler knows this to be true. Even so, love is the one thing missing from her almost perfect life. With a medical degree and new house, she’s worked hard to twist and tug her dreams into reality. But with her twenties almost over, it sometimes feels like she slept through the party and woke up to find everyone gone.
When a young woman cannonballs into Nina’s world, she’s a big, bold example of everything Nina isn’t. Page, with her edgy personality and free spirit is…perfect. Nina struggles to understand why someone so effervescent would be drawn into her small, suburban life, but her insecurity fades before the glory of Page’s adulation.
Of course, there’s no such thing as perfect love.
Nina tells herself that, when small red flags rise and fall. A moment of pure, selfish recklessness. A sharp word, a bone-cold look. But if there’s one thing Nina has always been good at, it’s hushing the voices of doubt that get between her and her ambitions—until those dreams start to spin out of control, and become a nightmare she can’t wake up from.
Postmarked Castle Cove
Judy M. Kerr’s Postmarked Castle Cove continues the gripping journey of MC McCall, a tough yet vulnerable U.S. Postal Inspector, as she struggles to maintain her sobriety while diving headfirst into a complex investigation involving missing mail, small-town secrets, and suspicious church leaders. The story is layered with emotional nuance, balancing themes of grief, addiction recovery, and justice. At the heart of the book is MC’s return to duty after rehab, her rocky relationship with her young partner Jim Bob, and a chilling case that uncovers a tangle of corruption and abuse tied to a religious institution in a northern Minnesota town.
Kerr writes with such raw honesty that I found myself rooting for MC like she was an old friend, even when she messed up. The portrayal of addiction isn’t whitewashed. It’s messy and exhausting and human. I could feel MC’s twitchy restlessness, her craving for booze like it was right there in the room. And the friendships, especially with Meg and Dara, gave the story so much warmth. There were moments that wre deeply emotional, especially when MC leaned on her found family to keep herself afloat.
The plot itself isn’t just about solving a case, it’s about putting your own pieces back together while the world keeps spinning. And that makes this book stand out from your typical mystery fare. The mystery in Castle Cove has this slow-boil tension that builds toward something sinister. The creepy pastor, the secrets hidden under the guise of religion, and the vulnerability of children in the community all made my skin crawl. It’s clear Kerr has a lot to say about trust, power, and how people look the other way when things get uncomfortable. That part left a deep impression. I finished the book feeling a little shaken, in the best way.
Postmarked Castle Cove is a hard-hitting story that sticks with you. It’s not just for fans of crime fiction or police procedurals. This is for anyone who’s ever had to fight to get back up after life knocked them flat. If you like your mysteries with heart, grit, and a good dose of redemption, this one’s for you.
Pages: 252 | ASIN : B0F92CHXJK
Ninas Whisper
Nina’s Whisper is a raw and emotionally charged novel that follows the life of Nina, a successful pediatrician who becomes entangled in a passionate and tumultuous relationship with a woman named Page. What begins as a whirlwind romance quickly descends into a harrowing exploration of emotional manipulation, psychological abuse, and intimate partner violence. Told from Nina’s point of view, the story is an intimate confession of how love, hope, and commitment can trap a person in an increasingly dangerous situation. The novel chronicles her emotional journey over the course of several years, culminating in an intense and heart-wrenching effort to reclaim her life and sanity.
The writing is clear and deeply personal, and Howard does an exceptional job of pulling you into Nina’s mind. I found myself often frustrated, angry, scared, and heartbroken alongside her. The emotional depth is gripping. The storytelling is tight, and the pace is steady even as the subject matter grows more intense. Howard doesn’t sensationalize abuse, she renders it quietly, carefully, which somehow makes it hit even harder. It felt so real that I caught myself questioning how easily love can blind us. Nina’s gradual loss of self, her inner justifications, her attempts to make sense of madness, they’re all too relatable.
What struck me most about this story was how deeply it made me feel. The emotional intensity is relentless, it doesn’t flinch, and it doesn’t let you look away. It pushed me to sit with discomfort and reflect on how easy it is to lose yourself in the name of love. I found myself yearning for more moments of calm or joy for Nina, but I also see the value in how unapologetically the story centers the reality of trauma. There’s a kind of beauty in its rawness.
Nina’s Whisper is a gut-wrenching read, but one that’s worth every page. It’s for readers who want honesty, who can sit with discomfort, and who are drawn to stories that show how strong the human spirit can be even in the face of relentless harm. I’d especially recommend it to survivors of abuse, therapists, and anyone who wants a deeper understanding of the quiet ways people get broken and the fierce ways they try to build themselves back up.
Pages: 218 | ASIN : B0848YGLTL
Colours of the Fraud
Otilija Štajn’s Colours of the Fraud is an atmospheric novel that weaves together mystery, personal drama, and an unsettling sense of foreboding. For over two decades, Ema has owned a mysterious painting, oblivious to its true significance. When a friend casually suggests that the portrait resembles his sister, Ema’s curiosity deepens. Soon after, an art instructor claims it to be the work of a 16th-century Italian master. As Ema searches for answers, her life starts to unravel in unexpected ways. Her long-term relationship falters just as her career seems to be on the upswing, and more paintings featuring the same enigmatic woman begin to surface. Confusion gives way to a growing certainty that something larger and more mysterious is at play, far beyond her control.
Set against the backdrop of modern life, the novel immerses the reader in Ema’s world, one marked by the crushing pressures of corporate existence and complex personal relationships. Štajn’s writing expertly conveys a mounting sense of dread, making each new discovery feel like a step deeper into an ever-tightening labyrinth.
The story begins with disorienting shifts between timelines, but soon settles into Ema’s present-day struggles. As an economist working in a large firm, she’s consumed by her career, but the painting—lovingly dubbed The Muse—takes hold of her mind. The deeper she delves into the painting’s origins, the more chaotic her life becomes. Štajn’s talent lies in crafting a suffocating atmosphere, where even the most mundane moments carry a sense of unease. The book is not overtly dangerous, yet it pulses with an underlying tension that keeps the reader on edge.
The novel is remarkably tight, with little wasted space. Every character serves a purpose, whether enriching Ema’s personal life or adding complexity to her professional world. Štajn explores her relationships thoroughly, ensuring that each dynamic feels fully realized.
Colours of the Fraud is a captivating blend of mystery, psychological tension, and rich character exploration. Otilija Štajn skillfully crafts a narrative that draws readers into a world where the past and present collide and where personal unraveling mirrors the deeper mystery of a seemingly innocuous painting. The novel’s moody atmosphere, complex relationships, and meticulous attention to detail make for a thoroughly engaging read. It’s a story that keeps you guessing, unraveling its secrets layer by layer, and leaves a lasting impression with its haunting, introspective tone.
Pages: 281 | ASIN: B0D366RQ8K
Love, Pain, Screwy Family Dynamics
A Woman’s Persuasion follows a young heiress as she breaks away from her father’s expectations, seeking true love and independence amidst the challenges of family dynamics and societal norms. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
This book is a careful chapter-by-chapter modern translation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion. I was sitting in a lecture at a conference for the Jane Austen Society of North America, listening to the speaker and audience members talk about adaptions, and how many different adaptations there are for Pride and Prejudice. Someone said that Persuasion doesn’t get adapted much, because it just isn’t as relatable nowadays. I was sitting in the back row, thinking, “Oh yes it is! You just have to have the stakes right.”
I got home, pulled out my Complete Works of Jane Austen, and read through Persuasion. And I was convinced I was right. If Captain Wentworth was another woman, and the year is 2007, the family is going to have objections. A family objecting to the person you fall in love with is a familiar story to many, many people. I did trade racism for classism in the case of Aunt Hayter. And instead of vague observations about Anne’s complexion in the original story, I used weight as a modern-day obsession over appearance.
Can you share insights into your process for developing the complex family dynamics and societal settings in the story?
The complex family dynamics are in Jane Austen’s original. Writing this story was to prove a point: that Persuasion is every bit as timeless as Pride and Prejudice, and to do that I wanted to change as little as possible. At the very beginning, establishing Sir Walter’s vain character, the original talks about a book called The Baronetage. I used Who’s Who in America. It worked exactly the same way.
The process was pretty simple. I had the road map right in front of me: I would read a chapter, think it over, cackle a little, and start typing. Sometimes it came very quickly. The story starts in New York, instead of England. In the original, the family has to “retrench” because of irresponsible spending. In my version, I set it in 2007 during the financial crisis of 2007-2008: a whole lot of financiers went down in flames; same economic crisis where a family has to figure out what they’re going to do.
Sometimes, for the settings, I had to think a little longer about what I was going to use as the modern American substitute. I’ve been to Rhode Island many times, it was easy to use that for Regis-Lyme. It took me a while to realize that, instead of finding an American naval base so that the story continued where it made sense to have a Navy captain, what I needed to do was change military branches. I lived in Dayton for 20 years, home from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Now I can go back to writing about what I know. Always write about what you know.
What challenges did you face in making Anne a relatable character to readers from various backgrounds?
I know not everyone relates to Anne. Heck, the recent TV movie of Persuasion that has gotten a ton of flack for being a poor adaptation – it looks to me like the writers could not relate to Anne, so they tried to turn her into a spunky Elizabeth Bennet kind of character. If you can’t relate to the characters, why are you making an adaptation of that story…?
I use weight as a way to talk about being unhappy – with life, with yourself. When Anne decides she doesn’t like what she sees in the mirror, and decides to start the fight to feel better about herself, it’s a battle everyone, from all sorts of backgrounds, faces. It’s never an easy battle. I’ve had people say the issue was triggering for them, and my book hit way, way too close to home. I was sorry to cause pain, but I am not sorry that I spoke the truth so accurately. And weight is just a metaphor (albeit one that so many of us in the post-Covid years can relate to). There are so many ways we can look in the mirror, and say, “I don’t like what I see. It’s time to change that.”
It’s part of the power of Jane Austen’s writing – she writes about the human condition. All sorts of backgrounds can relate to love, pain, screwy family dynamics, and choices you wish you could unchoose.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Sadly, at the moment my writing is a bit stalled. I have filed for divorce, I am simultaneously job hunting and getting ready to put a house on the market. I started no fewer than FIVE books in 2022, and did no fiction writing in 2023 (I teach historical dancing – including Regency dances, of course – and I have a 9-volume series on historical dance that is in search of a publisher). But I miss writing terribly, and I need to get back to it when my life settles down! There are characters beating on the inside of my head, demanding to get out.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website | YouTube | Amazon
Anne Elliot broke off her relationship with Freddie Wentworth when her family didn’t approve. Almost eight years later, Freddie re-materializes in her life. She’s a captain in the Air Force, successful, single, and as beautiful as ever. Mortified that she doesn’t have much to show for the intervening years, Anne tries to avoid her. When contact is inevitable, her life is turned upside down. Self-doubt becomes self-improvement, old wounds are reopened and then allowed to heal, and true friends and true love win in the end.
A Woman’s Persuasion
In A Woman’s Persuasion, Jeanette Watts invites readers into the world of a wealthy and privileged family, centering the narrative around Anne, a character who courageously forges her own path, diverging from her father’s expectations. The patriarch of this affluent family, a notable financier, has set stringent standards, particularly emphasizing the importance of appearances. Anne’s decision to stray from her father’s prescribed course propels her into a journey filled with romance, complexities, and unforeseen developments.
The author skillfully intertwines a traditional contemporary romance style with historical elements, set against a backdrop of modern sensibilities. Anne is a compelling protagonist, relatable in her endeavors and choices, even to those from less privileged backgrounds. The narrative flows seamlessly, drawing the reader into the intricate dynamics of the family and the nuanced challenges of their societal position.
This emotionally resonant novel is a thoughtful exploration of romance and is replete with family tensions, the allure of forbidden love, and unexpected turns. The author’s direct yet richly descriptive storytelling is captivating and offers a clear and enjoyable journey through the story. Her ability to vividly portray scenes and craft multifaceted characters, all while delving into their histories and internal struggles, is one thing I particularly enjoyed about this book.
A Woman’s Persuasion is a compelling read for enthusiasts of both historical and modern romance. The story merges themes from these genres, creating an engrossing narrative. Its well-crafted character development and intriguing dilemmas make it a captivating book that is hard to put down. I recommend this novel to those seeking an engaging blend of romance and character-driven storytelling.
Pages: 164 | ASIN: B07ZR8165R
The Still Small Voice
Brenda Stanley’s The Still Small Voice is a captivating tale that intertwines family dynamics, deeply buried secrets, and an undeniable sense of homecoming. This narrative spotlights Madison Moore, who, after a prolonged absence, finds herself returning to her former home in Utah. Her departure years prior, prompted by a college opportunity and family discord, had created a significant distance. Yet, her father’s declining health now compels her back home. Yet, as Madison anticipates a reconciliatory return, she soon realizes the past’s shadow refuses to recede, sparking an engrossing drama that will keep readers gripped until the very end.
Beautifully illustrated and flawlessly developed characters evolve as the narrative unfolds. Madison, our protagonist, is endearingly complex – assertive, intriguing, and pleasantly rebellious. The supporting cast contributes generously to the story’s progression, each lending their unique flair. Amelia Johnson stands out amongst them, offering an intriguing subplot that significantly enriches the narrative.
The narrative is an immersive exploration of small-town secrets and the lies we tell those closest to us, skillfully layered with suspense that entices the reader to keep turning the pages. Its scenes, dense with anticipation, leave readers eager to discover the characters’ next move and the consequential impact on the storyline. The climactic revelation is a testament to Stanley’s refined narrative abilities – an exhilarating payoff indeed!
Stanley’s world-building prowess is also commendable, creating an authentic setting that complements the narrative’s texture. While the story’s pacing may be leisurely, it is redeemed by a vibrant character ensemble and a meticulously constructed plot that ensures readers remain absorbed throughout.
The Still Small Voice is a thrilling murder mystery that blends beautiful prose with an intriguing plot, leaving a resonating imprint long after the final page is turned.
Pages: 290 | ASIN : B0BG385N93
LITERARY TITAN 