Blog Archives
A Jericho’s Cobble Miscellany
When I first opened A Jericho’s Cobble Miscellany, I expected a quaint collection of small-town stories. What I found was something richer, stranger, and more layered. Tom Shachtman’s book is not so much a single story as it is a patchwork quilt stitched from voices, artifacts, and memories. We meet townspeople past and present, from accident victims hovering between life and death to schoolteachers scribbling in their diaries, from old family dynasties with troubling legacies to modern-day residents juggling community duty and private worries. The narrative dances between perspectives: sometimes a newspaper clipping, sometimes a poem, sometimes the musings of a geological formation. It’s messy and alive, much like the New England hamlet it captures, spanning from Labor Day 2003 to Memorial Day 2004, with centuries of echoes reverberating in the background.
What struck me first was the sheer variety of voices. Shachtman has a gift for making each character distinct, whether it’s the weary but hopeful thoughts of Grace Newington in a hospital waiting room or the earthy humor of the women at Get’nGo who call themselves “the sorority of the brown bags.” The writing has an intimacy to it that I enjoyed. At times, I found myself moved by how history and personal memory get tangled. I loved how the town’s past, its Native roots, its Whitbred settlers, its scandals, sits so close to the surface that every conversation seems to brush against it. The book shifts forms. A poem would melt into a diary entry, which would jump into a mock playlet, and I’d have to steady myself. But maybe that’s the point: a miscellany should feel like rummaging through a box in an attic, never sure what you’ll find next.
The book also made me think about how communities wrestle with memory and change. There’s anger and pride about names, schools, and family legacies. There’s tenderness in how neighbors watch over one another, yet sharp divides between “Cobblers” and “Gobblers,” the locals and the weekenders. I liked that the author never smoothed these tensions away. He let the contradictions stand, and they felt real. The emotions felt raw. I found myself laughing at one passage and then feeling the weight of grief a page later. The shifts gave the book a strange vitality that straight storytelling might have missed.
A Jericho’s Cobble Miscellany is less about a plot than about a place, less about neat answers than about what it feels like to live in the shadow of history while stumbling through the present. I would recommend it to readers who like community sagas, who enjoy oral histories, or who simply want to sink into the rhythm of a small town that is both ordinary and mythic. If you’re willing to wander, to let yourself be surprised, you’ll find something touching here.
Pages: 286
My Life Story
The book follows Tess, a young woman moving through a world that feels half dream, half reality. From her childhood prayers beneath the stars to her adult wanderings through galleries, cafés, and shadowy streets, she is haunted by questions of love, loss, and meaning. Along the way, she encounters figures like Jules, Samuel, and Sara, each carrying secrets and desires that pull her deeper into a web of longing and reflection. The novel drifts between memory and the present, mixing photography, magic, and fleeting encounters with moments of aching stillness. The story is a meditation on how people search for beauty and truth in a fractured world.
I felt a tug in two directions reading this book. On one hand, the writing is lush and cinematic, clearly born from its origins as a screenplay. Scenes play out like film reels: light shimmering on water, footsteps echoing in an empty church, faces caught in camera flashes. That worked beautifully for me, giving the book a dreamlike quality that made me want to live in its world. On the other hand, the density of description left me craving more dialogue and more movement. Still, the mood was so strong that I let myself get carried by it.
What I really liked was how the novel handles its ideas. It’s not just a story of Tess and Jules or Samuel and Sara, it’s about the ways we carry grief and desire through our lives. The characters often feel like symbols more than flesh-and-blood people, yet that abstraction made the book feel universal. I found myself frustrated at times because Tess keeps drifting, Jules hides behind charm, and Samuel slips away into the shadows. But that frustration mirrored the characters’ own struggles. It left me unsettled, and I liked that.
My Life Story feels like a novel for readers who enjoy atmosphere more than plot, who don’t mind stepping into a story that blurs the lines between memory, fantasy, and reality. I’d recommend it to anyone who loves lyrical writing, who wants a book that feels like cinema on the page, and who doesn’t mind sitting with unanswered questions. It isn’t a fast read, but it’s a rewarding one if you let yourself drift in its tide.
Pages: 128 | ASIN : B0FCCBB2BG
Car Trouble
Car Trouble follows Jim Crack, a down-and-out young man whose misadventures across the freeways and backstreets of Southern California form a gritty, chaotic odyssey of personal implosion. What begins with his Volkswagen catching fire on the 5 Freeway spirals into a bleak but strangely comic day filled with existential spirals, weed smoke, porn, broken relationships, and failed attempts to find meaning in a world so dependent on cars, status, and surface-level happiness. Through vivid flashbacks and derailed digressions, Jim’s day of misfortune exposes a lifelong grappling with abandonment, identity, trauma, and a simmering, unshakeable rage toward the machinery of life, both mechanical and societal.
Reading this book was like crawling inside someone’s unfiltered stream of consciousness. Zorn’s writing is raw and intense, often hilarious, sometimes painful, and always fully immersed in Jim’s spiraling, disillusioned psyche. There were moments I laughed, like the pure absurdity of a landscaping crew rescuing Jim from a flaming car, only to feel a gut punch pages later as he sinks into total emotional paralysis on a crusty couch with nothing but a bong and old porn for comfort. Zorn captures the erratic rhythm of thought with a ferocity that reminded me of Bukowski meets Vonnegut, but with more exhaust fumes and burnt-out brake lights. The prose veers wildly. Sharp, punchy lines land like jabs to the ribs, then unravel into stoner-poetic rants or tragic internal monologues that drip with disillusionment.
But what really hit me hard was how real it all felt. Jim’s pain, his failures, the weird moments of tenderness or sudden clarity linger. This book doesn’t follow a clean arc. It doesn’t tie up neatly. That felt true to life. At times, I was frustrated by the sheer amount of dysfunction, the digressions, the lack of redemption. But maybe that’s the point. This isn’t a story about fixing things. It’s about someone living in the fallout of a life already shattered, trying, failing, and trying again in ways that are small, stupid, human. The way Zorn writes about cars as both literal death traps and symbols of modern isolation stuck with me after I closed the book.
I wouldn’t recommend Car Trouble to everyone. It’s harsh. It’s crude. It’s uncomfortable. But if you’ve ever been young, broke, high, angry, and unsure what you’re supposed to be doing with your life, this book will feel painfully familiar. It’s for readers who crave something raw and don’t mind wandering through the smog of existential burnout.
Pages: 273 | ASIN : B07CP4R132
Beauty and Toughness
Splenditude follows a literary-minded woman coping with mental illness and looking for love and a fulfilling life in 1990s Chicago. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Beginning the novel at an Irish wedding highlights Deirdre Collins’ ethnic and religious roots. Chicago is introduced in its beauty and toughness, foreshadowing that Deirdre’s expectations of a traditional trajectory for her life will be upended.
Did you plan the tone and direction of the novel before writing, or did it come out organically as you were writing?
I outlined the novel before I started to write it, using a Save the Cat format as a general guideline. Some plot changes were made during the writing, but I am more of a planner than a pantser.
There was a lot of time spent crafting the character traits in this novel. What was the most important factor for you to get right in your characters?
I wanted Deirdre Collins, the protagonist, to change from an unreliable narrator to a reliable narrator as she moved toward the positive. I also wanted to show Max Fletcher’s humanity in spite of his troubles and missteps.
Can we look forward to more work from you soon? What are you currently working on?
I am working on a short story collection which will be published by High Frequency Press next year, and a novel about children and gun violence slated for 2027.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
Splenditude
Eileen T. Lynch’s Splenditude tells the story of Deirdre Collins, a sensitive, literary-minded woman navigating love, mental illness, and the longing for a fuller life in 1990s Chicago. The novel traces her downward spiral into mania and depression, her struggle to find meaning, and her slow, painful climb back toward stability and purpose. Anchored by her deep interior life and longing to be a writer, Deirdre’s story unfolds against a vivid Chicago backdrop, with its smoky bars, biting winds, and old neighborhoods filled with ghosts and grit.
Lynch’s prose is rich and layered without being heavy. Her writing dances between lyrical and blunt, often in the same paragraph. I was struck by how intimately she renders Deirdre’s mind. Its sharpness, its fragility, its longing. The emotional rhythm felt honest. There are no neat bows here, no characters who say just the right thing. People disappoint and disappear. Love drips in awkward silences and backhanded compliments. I loved that. I also loved the humor tucked into the darkness, the literary references like secret handshakes, and the way Lynch pulls Chicago off the page like steam from a manhole.
There were a few moments when I found myself hoping for a slightly quicker pace or a smoother shift between scenes. The ending felt more like a gentle exhale than a grand finale, which may have been exactly the intention; life rarely ties itself up neatly. Still, that’s a small note in a book that, overall, truly stayed with me and moved me in ways I didn’t see coming. I found myself underlining sentences, re-reading passages, and pausing just to sit with what Lynch had unearthed.
Splenditude is a book for anyone who’s ever felt too much, thought too deeply, or tried to crawl their way out of a dark place with only stories and hope as their tools. It’s for readers who savor emotional honesty, who can live without tidy arcs, and who believe beauty and brokenness often walk hand in hand.
Pages: 234 | ISBN : 978-1962931199
Emotions
With His Words I’m Not Alone is a coming-of-age novel that explores the main character’s vulnerability and queer identity as they search for connection and healing. Where did the idea for this novel come from?
This may come as a shocker to some, but the idea for With His Words I’m Not Alone came after listening to a webinar about writing with AI a few years ago. That alone shocked me because my first thought was, now everyone can write a book whether they know how to write or have not a talent for writing a good or any story. From that thought came the fear of the book market being flooded with poorly written and “fake” books. As I had been developing this idea in my head, I identified with Noel, who falls victim to this technology, uses AI and then regrets it. To make things more complicated for him, I made Faded enter the scene like his online stalker. And not only a stalker. Faded was supposed to challenge Noel on every level, especially his sexuality. Faded is both Noel’s poison and cure, someone who invaded his intimate space and turned it into chaos before trying to put things back in order. Slowly, this lit-fic drama metamorphosed into a LGBTQ+, contemporary, unconventional romance and human story as I wanted it to be. It is a story of a relationship building that seems to be impossible to work out, not only because of the vulnerability of one protagonist but also because of two different worlds that clashed thanks to one tag and one message.
Because of my personal situation and the hard time I was going through, it took me a few long years to finish this book. Back then, AI was just knocking on our door. It was something new for most of the writers and authors; me included. Today, the situation has dramatically changed. Many authors use various AI software to get them the idea for their characters, backdrop, plots, and even write their stories. Besides being an unconventional love story, With His Words I’m Not Alone raises questions of morality of using technology to create and write instead of us and for giving our readers and fans a chance to decide whether they want to read human-made or AI-written books. To avoid any misunderstanding and possible confusion, I did not use AI as my muse or to write With His Words I’m Not Alone. It is all me. And I plan to keep it that way. My cover is also a creation of a talented human designer.
Your characters are wonderfully emotive and relatable. Were you able to use anything from your own life to inform their character development?
Thank you for saying that. I like character-driven stories and if I created emotive and relatable characters, I am more than happy. As it is with every author, we draw inspiration from people and the environments that surround us. From certain moments in time. That’s how I created Noel and Faded, mixing characters and characteristics of several people I encountered somewhere and at some point in my life.
I was able to use something from my own life in their character development, but only in a smaller portion. Going through a challenging period of my life and being a big introvert, I used my emotion and vulnerability in Noel, but I am not as broken and haunted as Noel is. Besides being emotional and driven by desire to help others, I am also passionate and intense when something intrigues me and occupies my attention. This passion, compassion and need to help Noel I built into Faded, although I am not so intense and obsessed as Faded is, haha.
I also used my fear of failure, fear of disappointing my readers as an author and creator of stories, and fear of being a bad promoter of my written words. Therefore, I made Noel so bold and determined to fight for his books, as my opposite, to encourage and boost myself that way that I can do it too. When you are set on doing something and you fight for it hard, the forces of the universe will help you do it.
What were some of your inspirations as a writer?
I get my inspiration from various situations and moments in life. From something that hits me, enchants me, or shocks me. It can be a breathtaking sunset or an incredible book. Since I read most genres, many authors have inspired me throughout my lifetime. I was a big fan of Anne Rice’s vampires, Stephen King’s horrors, a historical classic by Margaret Mitchell and other novels about the American Civil War, the Wild West, and other authors and books which don’t have much in common with my genre. Thanks to a few indie authors who write LGBTQ+ and YA books and movies like Call Me By Your Name, Brokeback Mountain, or Love, Simon, I got an inspiration to write this story. Indie author Jonathan Hill made the biggest impact on me; he was a sort of my turning point. Then followed other, both traditionally published and indie authors, like Adam Silvera, Jay Bell, Darryl Banner, Thomas Grant Bruso, Benjamin Alire Saenz, and most recently Kent Holland whose book, Honey, Moon, I finished at the moment of this interview and loved it as much as fabulous The Sea Ain’t Mine Alone by C.L. Beaumont I’ve read years ago.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from this book?
The one thing I hope readers take away from my book is emotion. Emotion that will encourage them to love someone unconditionally and bravely, like Faded loves Noel, emotion that will motivate them to help their crushes, boyfriends, husbands, sons and daddies—or pets!—selflessly and without a hidden agenda of wanting something in return. I would like them to feel and experience emotion that will motivate them to strive to be a better person, and make their life more fulfilled, meaningful, and beautifully passionate.
Author Links: Linktr.ee
A Fantasy Memoir
The Dreamtidings of a Disgruntled Starbeing follows a spirited 13-year-old girl who lives with her dysfunctional family: a narcissistic mother, a psychopathic brother, and a distant father, leading her to find solace in her celestial daydreams and embark on a journey of self-discovery. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
To be honest, if there was a genre called Fantasy Memoir, I’d say this story would fall into that as, even though the story is fictitious, it holds many truths from my childhood. Growing up, I needed to find my own supportnet and, like Klara, I used my mind and my perspective to change my experience. In fact, it took me close to fifteen years to finish this novel as I was determined not to share it until I had found a way to portray the story with warmth and humor, while also showing a way forward for when we deal with challenging relationships. (Which I suspect most of us seek to do.)
That said, Klara’s story is also different from mine in many ways. Rani, for instance, is someone I wish I had met as a child, as is her uncle. The three belief systems–Quakerism, Hinduism, and Q’ero Shamanism–I came across later in life, however, I decided to include them as they are belief systems that don’t tell us what to believe, but how to find our own inner truth, which appeals to me.
What were some of the emotional and moral guidelines you followed when developing your characters?
That’s an interesting question. I’d say I wanted to portray the characters without judgment, however, as the story needed an antagonist, and as Klara was to have emotional growth, this may not become clear until the very end.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Oneness, that’s the first thing that comes to mind. Oneness, not only in the way we are all connected as people, but the way we are connected to nature and to the Earth and Cosmos as well.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
As much as I’ve enjoyed my connection with all the people who’ve connected with Klara, my present focus is to reach out to children. Besides writing I’ve had extensive experience with art and illustration and a long dream of mine has been to write and illustrate children’s books. Now, retired, I’m grateful to finally have the time and the space to pursue this dream. To follow my progress, please visit my Instagram account.
Author Links: GoodReads | Instagram | Facebook | Website
Precocious 13-year-old Klara Tippins lives in a refurbished convent in upstate New York with her unwholesome family; a narcissistic mother, a psychopathic brother, and a distant father.
It sounds dire, yes, but this is Klara, a starbeing from a distant star, and she has friends in high places; her starfamily none the less, who give her guidance in her dreams. At least that’s what she likes to think, though, if she’s to be honest, she doesn’t remember much when she wakes up.
As the story moves, three belief systems are brought into Klara’s path: Quakerism, which leads to other people, Q’ero Shamanism which connects her with nature, and Hinduism which provides an understanding of the world and her place in it.
A heartfelt novel about the resilience and determination needed to retain a sense of self when it’s being undermined from the very start. For Klara, it was a matter of reaching beyond her circumstances so that, ultimately, she could reach within herself.
Dry The Rain
Dry The Rain is a haunting and intimate novel told from the perspective of a girl who survived a prolonged and horrific kidnapping. As she recounts the trauma she endured at the hands of her captor, referred to simply as “He,” the story unspools through a blend of raw reflection, fragmented memory, and unfiltered commentary on how the world consumes pain for entertainment. The novel explores the aftermath of trauma, the commodification of suffering, and the tension between truth and storytelling, especially when a survivor’s life is turned into a streaming series. What unfolds is not a traditional narrative, but a personal reckoning.
Dry The Rain made me feel like I was sitting inside someone’s broken mind as it slowly tried to piece itself together. The writing is stripped down and jagged. It loops and circles back, never quite giving in to what most readers might expect from a story like this. I admired how much it refused to dress up trauma or package it neatly. The narrator doesn’t want pity. She wants control. The writing felt deeply personal, but also sharp, like it was daring me to keep reading even when it hurt. I found that power both upsetting and moving. And honestly, there were parts that made me put the book down, not because of gore, but because of the sheer, quiet intensity of what was being said.
Still, the voice of the book is what stayed with me. It’s messy. It repeats itself. But it also felt frighteningly real. The way the narrator talks about the TV adaptation of her life and how others misunderstand her survival resonated with me. She’s not asking for your attention. She’s telling you what it costs to get it. Some of the ideas in the book are brutal in their simplicity, especially when she talks about beauty, control, and the way society consumes victims.
I would recommend Dry The Rain to readers who don’t mind being uncomfortable. This isn’t a thriller or a trauma memoir with easy lessons. It’s a reflective, original story for those who want to sit with hard truths and aren’t looking for tidy endings. If you’ve ever felt that pain is something too often turned into content, this book will speak to that unease.
Pages: 223
LITERARY TITAN 