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Strong Female Protagonists
Broken Image centers around a woman grieving after tremendous personal loss, recovering from an accident, and healing after an abusive marriage, who finds herself in an area terrorized by a serial killer. Where did the idea behind this novel come from?
Broken Image is part of a four-book series, with each book centered on one of the four Bennett siblings. I needed a love interest for Jay, and a reason for her to be in Edmondsville, so I decided to bring back Joe Grimes, one of my favorite secondary characters from The Row Series. Making Sage, his great-niece, felt like the perfect way to root in the small town.
I also enjoy creating strong female protagonists who face real challenges, so I gave Sage the dual burden of grieving her daughter while escaping an abusive marriage. That enabled me to bring in Brooke O’Connor Matthews from my Victory Hill Series. Brooke runs a social network that helps women and children escape dangerous situations, and in this story, she’d been corresponding with Sage’s Uncle Joe. Writing is the fun part, but marketing matters too, and I’ve found that intermingling my series is a great way to introduce readers to worlds they might not have discovered otherwise.
As for the killer…he’s hiding in plain sight, living within the very community that trusts him. He will stay there, quietly keeping everyone on edge, until he finally makes one fatal mistake in book four, Final Image.
Sage’s healing feels just as important as solving the mystery. Was it always your intention for her emotional recovery to be the heart of the novel?
As a retired librarian and educator, I tried to weave in details that might genuinely help readers deal with their own grief or hardship. Jay dealt with the loss of a bullied high school classmate to suicide by keeping a journal of his thoughts and recovery, and that experience shapes how he connects with Sage. He buys her a journal and encourages her to do the same. I included excerpts from Sage’s journal throughout the book, and I’m hopeful that the idea resonates with readers. Journaling can be a simple and powerful tool for working through pain.
I wanted Sage to overcome her grief and abuse and come out the other side a strong, independent woman. She was never really weak. She was just a victim who got in over her head, desperate to do the right thing by her little girl. While editing the book, I took Donald Maass’ Advanced Fiction Methods course, an invaluable tool that helped me sharpen my focus on Sage’s recovery arc. I didn’t want her to simply survive her circumstances. I wanted readers to watch her grow. We see so much grief and abuse in today’s world, and I wanted Sage’s story to show that it’s possible not just to endure it, but to come out the other side stronger than before.
You occasionally let readers see events from the criminals’ perspectives, creating suspense by revealing dangers the other characters don’t yet recognize. What made you choose that narrative approach?
I am an avid Nora Roberts/JD Robb fan, and I’ve always admired how she lets readers into everyone’s head, not just the hero’s. There’s something powerful about that kind of access. It creates a sense of dramatic irony where the reader knows more than the characters do, which increases the suspense. When you see the danger coming before the characters, you’re not just wondering what will happen; you’re bracing for when it will happen.
I also love creating strong, distinct characters, even frightening ones, and letting readers see the world through their eyes. It’s a way of making the threat feel real and immediate, rather than abstract. Readers aren’t just told a killer is dangerous; they are inside his thoughts, seeing how close he already is.
Can readers look forward to more installments in the Bennett Auction Series?
Yes! I am currently working on book three, False Image, which follows Mary Kate Bennett and Sheriff Duane Peterson’s story. Book four, Final Image, will wrap up the series with GW Bennett and Miranda Dooley.
There’s still plenty left to resolve – a ghost who needs to cross over, symbols on a brass key that need to be located to solve a century-old town mystery, and a serial killer who still needs to be caught. I’m excited to bring the Bennett siblings’ stories full circle in 2027, and I hope readers will stick around to see how it all comes together.
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When Sage Grimes returns to the small town of Edmondsville, she carries more than grief. The loss of her beloved great-uncle Joe and her four-year-old daughter Grace has left her shattered, her memories fractured, and her trust in the world destroyed. She came to Joe’s home to heal. Instead, she finds returned letters that hint at buried secrets, evidence that someone has been inside the house Joe left her, and terrifying gaps in her memory about the accident that changed everything.
She thought coming home would save her. She didn’t know someone was already waiting.
Jay Bennett has spent years trying to outrun his own painful past. When he meets Sage, he recognizes something in her eyes he’s seen before – the quiet devastation of someone standing at the edge. Determined to help her find her way back, he offers her something unexpected: a journal, a community blog, and a reason to believe her story isn’t over yet. But as Sage’s voice grows stronger, someone works anonymously in the shadows to destroy everything she’s building.
And Jay is keeping secrets of his own.
As fragments of memory begin to surface about the accident that killed Grace, a chilling possibility emerges that will change everything Sage thought she knew. Her dangerous ex-husband is circling. Anonymous threats are growing bolder. And Edmondsville, already gripped by fear as a serial killer terrorizes the community, offers fewer safe places than Sage had hoped.
The closer she gets to the truth, the more deadly the danger becomes.
When Sage discovers that the one person she’d begun to trust has been keeping things from her, her fragile recovery threatens to collapse entirely. Sage must find the strength to face the past before it destroys her future.
Because someone doesn’t want her to remember. And they’ll do anything to make sure she never does.
Broken Image is a gripping small-town romantic suspense perfect for readers who love emotionally complex heroines fighting to reclaim their lives, heroes with wounded hearts and protective instincts, small-town settings with secrets hiding in plain sight, slow burn romance woven through pulse-pounding suspense, and stories about grief, healing and the courage to trust again.
If you loved Mirror Image, don’t miss Sage and Jay’s story in Broken Image – the next chapter in the Bennett Auction Series.
Stormfront Rising
Stormfront Rising is a big, rowdy fantasy adventure built around danger, discovery, and the kind of companionship that’s forged when everyone is wet, wounded, outnumbered, and still cracking jokes. Jason N. Long opens with a ship caught in an unnatural storm, purple lightning crawling across the sky, and a kraken turning disaster into outright catastrophe. From there, the novel keeps widening its horizon, drawing readers into a world of rival empires, elemental dragons, dangerous magic, strange oceans, and cities with histories that feel much larger than the characters passing through them. The maps, faction guide, and detailed systems of measurement reinforce the sense that this is a fully imagined place.
The book’s real engine, though, is its band of survivors. Leo, Zoe, Thorn, Ben, Toby, and the wider cast have distinct voices, skills, and emotional burdens, and their relationships give the story its warmth. Leo’s practical instincts, Zoe’s dangerous confidence, Thorn’s enormous personality, and Ben’s anxious intelligence create a lively rhythm that carries through the quieter stretches as well as the fights. Their banter can be filthy, affectionate, cruel, and unexpectedly tender, often within the same conversation. That mix makes them feel less like a polished heroic fellowship and more like people who’ve learned to love one another while standing knee-deep in trouble.
Long approaches fantasy with a tinkerer’s enthusiasm. Weapons have mechanisms, magic has consequences, cultures have customs, and politics shape nearly every choice. The story blends seafaring adventure, military fantasy, dark comedy, cosmic speculation, and dragon mythology into something proudly excessive and deeply personal. Its action is physical and graphic, but the violence has weight because the characters carry their losses forward. Even the jokes often sit beside grief, fear, or loyalty, which gives the novel an emotional texture beneath all the blood, monsters, and spectacle. The author’s acknowledgement of his “three-body problem” and “quantum queries” hints at the scientific curiosity running beneath the fantasy framework.
By the time its many conflicts converge, Stormfront Rising feels like the opening movement of a saga that has been living in its author’s imagination for years. It’s ambitious, unruly, funny, violent, and sincere, with a world large enough to reward readers who enjoy learning names, factions, histories, and rules as they travel. Most importantly, it understands that epic fantasy works best when the fate of nations is tied to people we’d willingly follow into a storm.
Pages: 471 | ASIN : B0GXFGQ2BM
Broken Image
Kay Brooks’s Broken Image is a small-town romantic suspense novel that blends murder, grief, family secrets, and a touch of the supernatural. The story centers on Sage Grimes, who returns to Edmondsville after losing both her young daughter, Grace, and her beloved great-uncle Joe. Sage is also recovering from an accident she can’t fully remember and separating from an abusive husband. While she tries to make a home out of the house Joe left her, a serial killer is stalking women in the area, another woman is fighting to survive captivity, and several people close to Sage are pulled into the growing danger.
Sage’s emotional recovery gives the novel its heart. Her grief isn’t treated as a single obstacle she needs to overcome, but as something that shapes her routines, relationships, and sense of self. Baking, exploring Joe’s collection of local history, and planning a meditation gazebo all become meaningful parts of her healing. One of the book’s most affecting observations comes when Leona tells her, “Our hearts break because they are tender and vulnerable.” That idea runs through the entire story. Sage’s pain leaves her exposed, but it also allows her to form deeper connections with the people who welcome her back into the community.
The suspense unfolds through several intersecting storylines. Sage’s missing memories gradually raise questions about the crash that killed Grace, while Abby receives increasingly disturbing attention from a killer who believes she belongs to him. Ivy’s struggle to escape captivity adds urgency, and Sheriff Duane Peterson works to connect the evidence before someone else dies. Brooks frequently shifts viewpoints, sometimes letting readers see events through the eyes of the criminals. This creates tension by revealing how close the danger is even when the characters don’t recognize it. The mystery surrounding Walter, Sage’s estranged husband, becomes especially gripping as Sage begins trusting her own instincts again.
Edmondsville itself plays a major role in the book. The auction business, fall festival, cemetery, apple orchard, local history society, and community Facebook page give the town a lived-in personality. Brooks fills it with a large, affectionate network of friends and relatives who cook for one another, investigate strange events, share old stories, and show up when someone needs help. The many characters and plot threads make the novel feel busy at times, but they also create the sense that Sage is entering a community with a history that extends well beyond her personal crisis. The ghostly presence of Isabella fits naturally into this setting, adding warmth and lingering mystery rather than shifting the novel into full supernatural horror.
Broken Image is about rebuilding a life after fear and guilt have distorted the way a person sees herself. The thriller plot supplies danger and momentum, but Sage’s movement from isolation toward belonging provides the most satisfying journey. By the closing chapters, her statement, “I’m going to be okay,” feels earned because it comes after she has confronted both the truth about her past and the person who tried to control it. Readers who enjoy romantic suspense with an active community, multiple mysteries, gentle paranormal elements, and a strong emphasis on emotional healing will find plenty to engage with here.
Pages: 292 | ASIN : B0GZFNJZ9G
Moonlight Cruise: Murder and Magic
Moonlight Cruise is a dark and twisting thriller that takes the reader from the dusty desolation of the Mojave Desert to the serene yet deceptive beauty of a cruise ship gliding through the Panama Canal. The story follows Jessica Ascher, a woman on the run from the demons of her past, both human and supernatural. Her journey is woven into a larger tale of fanaticism, greed, and the eternal struggle between good and evil. As Jessica tries to protect her daughter, Zamzam, from a cult seeking divine power through blood and sacrifice, the book paints a vivid, unsettling picture of how madness can hide behind devotion and how faith can both save and destroy.
Reading this book was like stepping into a fever dream. The writing grabbed me right away. It’s gritty, raw, and full of heat. Yurie Kiri doesn’t shy away from horror, but the violence never feels random. It’s purposeful, meant to unsettle and make you think about the darker parts of human nature. I found myself both fascinated and disturbed, flipping the pages faster than I meant to. The story moves like a storm, quiet at first, then violent, full of lightning flashes of insight. Sometimes the dialogue feels rough around the edges, almost too real, but that rawness adds to the tension. It’s messy in the best way, like life when it’s at its worst and most honest.
What really got me was the emotion beneath all the chaos. Jessica’s fierce love for her daughter feels like the heartbeat of the story. It’s what keeps you rooting for her when everything else starts to rot. There’s also a haunting sense of mystery, of forces too big to understand. Kiri blends crime, horror, and spirituality into something that feels unique, almost mythic. I did find myself tripping over the sheer number of characters and subplots at times, but I think that’s part of the experience. It’s a labyrinth of sin and faith, and you’re supposed to get a little lost.
I’d recommend Moonlight Cruise to readers who like their thrillers dark and their mysteries layered with moral questions. It’s not a light read, not something to skim before bed, but it sticks with you long after the last page. If you enjoy stories that make you question what’s real, what’s holy, and what’s just human madness, this book will pull you in and keep you there until the end.
Pages: 396 | ASIN : B0DYJZW6SS
Revived
Barbara Avon’s Revived is a haunting and deeply emotional psychological horror novel that explores love, trauma, and the supernatural through the eyes of a tormented couple, Cassie and Steven. Set initially in a gloomy, century-old house with a chilling past, the story quickly spirals into something far darker when Steven dies in a tragic accident, only to be revived. What follows is a slow, dread-soaked descent into psychological chaos as Steven’s return blurs the lines between life and death, love and obsession, memory and madness. Through atmospheric prose and shifting perspectives, Avon crafts a tale where the scariest monsters might just be the ones we carry inside.
To be honest, this book shook me. The writing is sharp and poetic. Avon doesn’t flinch from digging deep into the murky waters of mental illness, trauma, and grief. Her characters feel painfully real, especially Cassie, who’s written with a rawness that made my chest tighten. At times, the prose borders on lyrical, and that contrast—beauty laid over horror—makes it all the more unsettling. I appreciated that this wasn’t a traditional horror story with jump scares. Instead, it’s a slow burn, a psychological unraveling that lingers in your head long after the last page. Avon’s portrayal of intimacy, both emotional and physical, walks a razor’s edge between sensuality and vulnerability, adding a deeply human layer to the supernatural tension.
But here’s the thing: this book isn’t easy. It’s uncomfortable. Disturbing. It’s full of trauma that’s never neatly resolved. The ambiguity can be frustrating—what’s real, what’s hallucination, what’s supernatural—but I think that’s the point. You’re meant to feel off-balance. Still, I had moments where I felt emotionally wrung out and had to step away. That said, I kept coming back. The pacing could be a little uneven at times, and there’s a surreal quality that might not work for every reader. But if you give it your trust, it pays off with a visceral, deeply affecting experience.
Revived is not for the faint of heart. It’s for readers who want more than a thrill—they want to be unsettled, to feel something. I’d recommend it to fans of psychological horror who aren’t afraid of stories that peel back skin to reveal the mess underneath. If you like Shirley Jackson, early Stephen King, or Gillian Flynn’s darker narratives, this book might just crawl under your skin in the best ways.
Pages: 141 | ASIN : B09WZDDPVM
Throne of the Peacock Angel
Throne of the Peacock Angel is a gritty, surreal, and sharply written novel that blends supernatural mystery, urban grit, and political intrigue in a New Orleans setting that’s as alive as any of its characters. The story centers around Adam Worthy Deen, a man with a haunted past, supernatural baggage, and a life that keeps pulling him into secrets far deeper than he wants. He’s got a scarab attached to his heart—literally—which grants him enhanced strength and long life, but also a dangerous hunger for human energy. As ghosts from the past, shadowy organizations, and foreign aristocrats begin converging, Worthy finds himself drawn back into a world he’s been trying to leave behind.
The writing is snappy. Khalid has an ear for dialogue and a knack for making his characters sound real—especially the banter between Donny and Eva, which had me smirking more than once. It’s got that smooth, jazzy rhythm that suits New Orleans perfectly. It’s those moments—where the book lets its characters just be—that give it such strong personality.
The mix of genres here is bold. You’ve got noir-ish crime elements, a secret society feel, hints of espionage, and supernatural dreamscapes with a giant dung beetle made of crystal feeding at a lake of blood. Honestly, that dream scene threw me in the best way. It reminded me of old-school horror-fantasy with just enough weirdness to keep it unpredictable. Worthy’s struggle with the scarab feels symbolic and raw—he wants to live a normal life, but that talisman keeps pulling him toward darkness. It’s the push-pull of destiny vs. desire that gives the book a pulse.
There are a lot of moving parts—government agencies, aristocratic secret missions, shady families like the Bacons, and street-level drama with Donny’s hilarious misadventures. Sometimes, I had to stop and remind myself who was who and why certain plot threads mattered. But it works, mostly because the characters are vibrant. Eva, for instance, steals the show at times. She’s fierce, sarcastic, and has this unspoken loyalty to Worthy that feels earned.
By the end of the opening chapters, I was hooked. Khalid’s world has weight, and Worthy is one of those characters that sticks with you—a reluctant hero who carries pain like a shadow. This book would be great for fans of supernatural thrillers, noir with a twist, or folks who just like their fiction weird but grounded. If you like John Constantine, True Detective, or anything with secret histories and mystical scars, you’ll find a lot to love here.
Pages: 422 | ISBN : 978-1665543224
Intercessor
John Robert Still’s Intercessor takes readers on a journey through the haunting streets of New Orleans, introducing our protagonist, Jim Hampton, who is wrestling with the void left by abandoning his career as a lawyer. This reflective and eerie novel weaves together themes of personal reinvention, spirituality, and the seductive yet ominous allure of a city steeped in mysticism. Still’s evocative prose paints vivid scenes, blending the supernatural with the struggles of a man caught in existential limbo.
Right from the start, I found myself drawn into Still’s rich depiction of New Orleans. The city almost feels like another character in the story, teeming with life and shadowed by ghosts, both literal and metaphorical. Still’s portrayal of New Orleans—from gas-lit streets to lively Bourbon Street bars—is immersive. One passage that stuck with me describes Jim walking through the French Quarter: “The old houses seemed to shimmer with an energy from centuries of sheltering eccentric occupants, their lives absorbed into the woodwork.” This line encapsulates the novel’s ability to merge physical setting with emotional resonance.
The protagonist, is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, his internal monologue—filled with regret, longing, and self-doubt—is relatable. On the other, his frequent moments of indecision and his awkward interactions, particularly with Myriam, a young and mysterious bartender, can make him frustrating to follow. There’s a scene where Jim misinterprets Myriam’s kind gestures as pity, and while it’s painfully human, it also underscores his tendency to overanalyze. Still captures the restlessness of midlife crisis well.
One of the novel’s standout elements is its eerie, almost gothic tone. From Jim’s unsettling encounters with shadowy figures to the foreboding whispers of a brewing storm, Intercessor expertly builds tension. A particularly gripping moment comes when Jim stumbles into a seedy underworld masquerading as a party. The scene’s descent from intoxicated excitement to outright menace is chilling and heart-pounding.
The book switches between being a spiritual allegory, a character study, and a supernatural thriller. As the story unfolds, it’s clear that Still wants to explore big ideas: faith, redemption, and the battle between good and evil. Myriam’s steadfast Catholic faith and her role as a beacon of hope juxtapose Jim’s cynicism and spiritual fatigue.
Intercessor is a moody and thought-provoking read that will resonate with those who appreciate character-driven stories laced with a touch of the supernatural. Its vivid settings and ambitious themes make it worth picking up. If you’re drawn to stories about personal growth, faith, and the mystery of the unseen, this book has much to offer.
Pages: 305 | ASIN : B0BS1PPT5H
Moonset on Desert Sands
Moonset on Desert Sands by Sherri L. Dodd is an enchanting dive into a world where magic, mystery, and human complexities intertwine. The story orbits Bethie Spiritbrite and her circle of coven sisters, weaving their spiritual practices with a gripping mystery involving a stolen athame and its sinister connections. Set against the vivid backdrops of Sedona and the redwood-covered Boulder Creek, the book melds magickal lore with suspense in a way that feels both grounded and otherworldly.
What I loved most about the book was its evocative imagery and atmosphere. Dodd paints Sedona and its mystical allure beautifully. For instance, Arista’s shop, Cosmic Prisms, felt like a real haven filled with the scent of candles and the shimmer of crystals, contrasting with the bustling, sometimes judgmental tourist crowd outside. The way Dodd writes about Sedona’s sunsets, with their scattered blues and magentas, made me want to pack a bag and explore it myself. These serene moments are pierced by tension-filled scenes, such as the cliffside car crash that opens the story, which had me gripping the book tighter. The characters, however, are the heart of the novel. I found Arista particularly compelling as she wrestles with her past trauma while trying to navigate a new life. Her journey into aura reading and her curiosity about Trini’s layered aura provided a sense of warmth and growth. Fergus and Fallon, with their dark ambitions and manipulative schemes, added a sinister depth. The tension between light and shadow, the nurturing bond of Bethie’s coven versus Fergus’s malevolent rituals, kept me hooked. I especially enjoyed how Dodd wove moral dilemmas into the story, like Dustin’s theft of the athame. It made me question loyalty, power, and consequence.
Moonset on Desert Sands delivers a satisfying blend of mystery, magic, and heartfelt relationships. It’s perfect for readers who love a bit of witchcraft with their whodunit or enjoy character-driven stories with supernatural undertones. Whether you’re a believer in magick or simply someone who loves an atmospheric mystery, this book offers plenty of spells to capture your imagination.
Pages: 371 | ASIN : B0DF33L1YW
