Blog Archives
Freedom
Have You Heard This One Before is a lively mix of short stories that swing between mystery, humor, horror, sentiment, and quiet reflection. What was the inspiration for this collection of short stories?
There were many stories and topics I wanted to write about, but they didn’t merit the length of a novel. I enjoy the short story format, but realize that most published collections are centered on a theme or genre. I didn’t want to write under restrictions on my work, e.g., that it should be all horror stories. On the other hand, I understood that the appeal of a book with multiple genres would be difficult to market. Hopefully, there are readers out there who are open to fun, imaginative, funny, frightening tales, all in one collection.
What is it you enjoy about writing short stories over longer novel formats?
I love the opportunity to explore various types of stories. When people comment on my work as an author, I often tell them I’m more of a storyteller than an author. It’s fun to see if you can engage readers quickly and provide a quick read that entertains and, possibly, even makes a longer impression. You won’t find me writing romance novels anytime in the future, but I have written a romantic short story for this book. Some other tales are not substantive enough for a novel, but they are still worth exploring. Summing up the short stories’ appeal in one word, I’d say freedom.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in putting together this collection of stories?
Placement. What should come first? Should “The Loop Two” come right after “The Loop?” Where do I put my description of a romantic encounter? What do I end with? I also wanted to make sure the more whimsical stories didn’t feel out of place. The final order of the chapters involved a lot of thought. And to make it even more difficult, I kept coming up with new story ideas.
Do you have a favorite story in the book, and if so, why does it hold special meaning for you?
I have several that could qualify as favorites: “The Loop” and “The Loop Part Two,” “Drive,” “Hippity, Hoppity, Bang” (laugh out loud funny), and “Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone.” But my absolute favorite is “A Haunted Diary.” Many readers might find it too sentimental, but I believe the themes of kindness and returning home to relatives who have passed are universal. The final paragraph (spoiler alert) is one of my two favorites in the book (“Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone” is the other).
Dear Diary – November 15, 2019, Friday
This will be my last entry. About three weeks of journaling, just like Mae, oddly enough. I’m heading to the hospital in an hour, and I won’t be coming home. I said goodbye to Mae. I’m sure she heard me, just as I’m sure she’s gone from the house and is saying hello to Josh right now. I’m going to hide this diary somewhere it won’t be found, until it’s needed. Then, it can reveal itself. As I reread this entry, I should make one change. I won’t be coming back to this house again, but I will be going home. And Josh will be waiting to meet me there.
All of my books include examples of the importance of kindness, even in the face of difficulty. “A Haunting Diary” is no exception.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
A lighthouse that holds a spirit and his memory. A diary and haunting that links the past and present. A drive down a road that stretches longer than an ocean of dreams. Snowflakes drifting softly over a horrified snowbird in Orlando. A love story that snares two workaholics, and a horror that brings out a laugh and tears from our protagonist.
From tender to terrifying, whimsical to wicked, these stories linger long after the last page turns. Romance, regret, mystery, laughter, fear—and at least one tragedy involving the Easter Bunny!
Every story is a surprise.
Every surprise is unforgettable.
Find your favorite twist in “Have You Heard This One Before.”
Reservations: A Samantha Wright Crime Series
Reservations follows FBI profiler Samantha Wright as she’s pushed back into the hunt for a serial killer after the sudden death of her mentor and closest friend, Dr. Edmond Sampson. The story opens with grief, then moves fast into danger as Sam takes over the RESERVATIONS case, a string of murders involving young boys on reservations across the American West. Her past traumas, messy romantic entanglement with Special Agent Charlie Falken, and deep loyalty to Dr. Sampson color every choice she makes. The book blends crime, trauma, culture, and romance in a way that feels raw and intimate, almost like sitting beside Sam as she thinks her way through every dark corner of the investigation.
I liked how emotional the writing feels. The author doesn’t rush through Sam’s pain. She lets it sit there, real and jagged. Sam grieves her mentor with this quiet, private sorrow that feels heavy and familiar. At the same time, the pacing snaps between slow internal moments and sudden shocks. The memories of the BAKER’S DOZEN case are especially rough. The writing keeps things personal. It doesn’t pretend Sam is made of steel. She’s brilliant, but she’s tired, haunted, and sometimes unsure, and I liked her more because of that.
The mix of genres also surprised me in a good way. The romantic scenes with Charlie are blunt, sweaty, flawed, and full of emotional landmines. They’re not polished or dreamy. They feel like two people clinging to each other because they don’t know what else to do with their hurt. Then the story swings into investigative mode with sharp detail and a steady buildup of dread. The casework feels grounded and tense, especially when Sam revisits crime scenes or pieces together old trauma with new evidence. The writing is vivid.
I’d recommend Reservations to readers who enjoy crime fiction with strong emotional depth and a protagonist who feels human in all the best and hardest ways. It’s especially fitting for people who like stories that dive into trauma, culture, identity, and the complicated ties we form with the people who shape us. If you want a thriller with heart and heat, something that grips you and makes you feel a little raw by the end, this book will get you there.
Pages: 332 | ASIN : B0FHYLFVBZ
DARKER THAN BLOOD (The Psychic Thriller Experience)
Taylor Marsh’s Darker Than Blood is a psychological and spiritual thriller that threads together trauma, intuition, and the battle between light and dark energy. It follows Gaynell Debs, a brilliant but fractured psychic researcher who investigates crimes through energetic and spiritual phenomena while confronting her own buried past. The story moves between philosophical musings on the soul and gripping scenes of investigation, murder, and mysticism. It’s part psychological study, part metaphysical manifesto, and part crime story, all wrapped in a stream of intense emotion and strange beauty.
The writing is poetic, rhythmic, almost hypnotic at times. Marsh writes with conviction, though her style can be dense, full of spiritual theories and raw inner dialogue. Still, I couldn’t look away. Gaynell’s voice is sharp, vulnerable, and maddeningly honest. I found myself torn between skepticism and belief, between wanting to shake her and wanting to protect her. The blend of astrology, psychology, and metaphysics is bold, and even when I didn’t buy every claim, I admired the audacity of it all. The emotional tension is constant, and that’s what makes it compelling, there’s never a dull page, just moments that leave you unsettled and curious.
At times, the prose teeters on the edge of chaos, but that’s part of the charm. Marsh writes like she’s chasing truth. I felt that too, reading it. The story jumps from intimate confessions to philosophical revelations, and I loved the unpredictability. The dialogue is raw and relatable, especially between Gaynell and Nun. There’s a deep current of loneliness running beneath the mysticism, and it hit me harder than I expected. The ideas about trauma, energy, and emotional alchemy are strange but oddly comforting. It’s a book that feels alive, pulsing with the author’s own search for meaning.
Darker Than Blood is a rewarding read. It’s for readers who crave intensity and don’t mind getting lost in spiritual terrain that feels dangerous and divine. I’d recommend it to anyone who loves fiction that questions reality, faith, and the limits of human understanding. Reading Darker Than Blood felt to me like stepping into the same haunted, cerebral space as The Secret History by Donna Tartt, but with a far more mystical, electric pulse running through every page.
Pages: 311 | ASIN : B0F79GQWHX
Propulsive Stories
Stolen follows a brilliant, tough, and resourceful private investigator with a powerful AI who helps a woman being stalked for her new EV battery, when it snowballs out of control into blackmail, espionage, and an underground crime ring aided by a rival AI. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
This question goes to the heart of how I write. Sometimes I start a chapter with only a vague idea of what I want to accomplish. When it’s done, more than I expected ends up on the page. For example, in Stolen, a deadly international assassin targets the protagonist and her client. Until the moment I started writing that chapter, there was no assassin, not even the concept of one. My creative process is fluid and more creative as I go. I never outline my stories or rely on pages of story notes. I start with a loose story framework, define the characters, and then let them loose. I’m sometimes surprised when a twist I hadn’t intended to write suddenly appears. If I like the twist and think it enhances the story, I leave it in and make whatever adjustments are necessary to accommodate it. For my book, Stolen, I didn’t have a distinct element of inspiration; I just had a general idea. However, as this is the third book in the series, the characters were already well-known to me. This familiarity made it easier to tell the story.
The supporting characters in this novel, I thought, were intriguing and well-developed. Who was your favorite character to write for?
Molly, with her massive AI brain, is always fun to write for. In this book, I explore why Molly is motivated to work with humans, rather than trying to wipe out humanity, as some people fear the technology may one day do.
How did you balance the action scenes with the story elements and still keep a fast pace in the story?
I intentionally write all of my books with pace in mind. My favorite line in a review is this: “…I couldn’t put the book down,” or “It kept me up late into the night.” As a reader myself, I enjoy propulsive stories. I want my readers to experience that sensation.
Can you tell us more about what’s in store for Riley Callen and the direction of the next book?
I’m taking a break from this series, but I’ll definitely return to it in the future. These great characters have many more stories to tell. When I do return to the series, the next book already has a title: Quantum. If you think AI’s potential is scary, wait until you see an AI installed on a quantum computer. It’s not hyperbole to say the tech could break the world.
Author Links: Amazon
However, when a Chinese conglomerate purchases the company, Lena learns there will be no payday. The new owner is not liable for the contract she’d negotiated with the old management. Frustrated but determined to change her luck, she revises her original design and substantially extends the battery’s range. She intends to sell the new design to a competing company, which will render her old design obsolete. But it soon becomes clear that the Chinese company that acquired her battery design has become aware of her plan and is surveilling her wherever she goes. Fearful for her safety, Lena contacts Riley Callen and asks for help. Riley and her AI associate Molly quickly intercede, diffuse the situation, and get Lena the money she’s owed.
Thinking the case is resolved, Riley returns to assisting the FBI with capturing a highly organized crew of kidnappers. The Feds had made no progress on the case until Riley and Molly started working on it. Molly quickly discovers the kidnappers have an AI of their own coordinating the logistics of the kidnappings. This allows those in charge to get rich while simultaneously distancing themselves from their crimes and the criminals they employ to do the dirty work.
While embroiled in her work with the FBI, Molly reports that the man running the corrupt Chinese company, Mr. Shi, has contracted an international assassin named The Black Dragon to kill Riley and her client, Lena Alton. Not wanting to stop chasing the kidnappers, who are promising violence against future hostages if the FBI continues to interfere with their crimes, Riley brings in her Special Ops friends, Carnivore and Vegas, to help her dispatch the assassin before he can do any harm.
The clock is ticking on both cases, and Riley will have to work faster than ever to stop these bad guys.
Thieving Shadows
In Thieving Shadows, Jessica Piro drops readers into the gritty, class-divided city of Rookfall, where a young cobbler’s apprentice, Matthew, and a mysterious thief named Genevieve find themselves tangled in a larger conspiracy involving power, memory loss, and revolution. The story unfolds through their unlikely bond as they navigate corrupt law enforcers, violent inequality, and a lingering mystery surrounding a devastating explosion that changed their city forever. It’s a tale of survival, rebellion, and rediscovery set against a rich and decaying steampunk backdrop full of haunting ruins and shadowy secrets.
I was immediately drawn in by Piro’s worldbuilding. The setting is tangible. You can feel the damp rot of the Barrows, hear the buzz of the airships, and taste the desperation in every stolen bite. What I really appreciated was how Piro layered Rookfall’s society. There’s no subtlety to the cruelty of the elites or the grinding poverty of the lessers, but that works in the book’s favor. The story doesn’t pretend life is fair. It shows how people survive when hope seems naïve. And while the plot dabbles in the fantastical with hidden powers and ancient machines, it’s grounded in sharp and often painful truths about oppression and human nature. I found myself rooting for Genevieve not just as a character, but as a symbol of rebellion. She’s clever, dangerous, and stubbornly alive.
But what got me emotionally was the relationship between Genevieve and Matthew. There’s no forced romance or cheesy dialogue. It’s awkward and real. They both carry deep scars–hers from betrayal, his from poverty and fear. And yet there’s a fragile trust that builds in stolen moments. Matthew’s kindness is quiet but powerful, and Genevieve’s journey from lone wolf to someone who might accept help resonated with me. Piro doesn’t rush their connection, and that patience pays off. The villain, Baron Hawkes, felt a bit cartoonishly evil at times, but that’s a small bump in an otherwise gripping ride.
Thieving Shadows surprised me with its heart. I heartily enjoyed the steampunk adventure and the dystopian mystery. It’s a story about people trying to matter in a world that wants them forgotten. Fans of Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows or Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastard series will find their next great read here. It’s messy, dark, and relatable, and I couldn’t put it down.
Pages: 289 | ASIN : B0F44D46DN
The Scavenger (Second Edition)
The Scavenger kicks off with three teens, Jared, Jessica, and Adrian, all navigating high school life in Hopps Town, each struggling with personal demons. Jared is tormented by both bullies and supernatural nightmares. Jessica’s life at home is shattered by her abusive, alcoholic mother. Adrian, caught between expectations and his own passions, tries to find balance. But once the trio makes a wish at a mysterious well, their lives are flipped upside down, and something ancient, dark, and deadly starts to stalk them. Part coming-of-age story, part horror-fantasy, this novel blends trauma, friendship, and paranormal tension with surprisingly emotional depth.
Lucid does a great job crafting teenagers that aren’t just stereotypes. Jared, for instance, is more than the gay kid dealing with bullies, he’s witty, loyal, and haunted (literally and emotionally). His interactions with his mom, especially the confrontation about his sexuality (“I’m gay, get over it”), hit hard. It’s raw and messy, and painfully honest. Same with Jessica, her scenes with her abusive mother had my stomach in knots. One moment that stuck with me was when her mom told her she should’ve aborted her is absolutely chilling. But Jessica’s strength and resilience kept me rooting for her.
The horror builds slowly, which I enjoyed. The scene where Jared’s school empties out and he’s chased by a black smoke creature gave me serious goosebumps. The whispers, the locked doors, the way the laughter chased him down the hallway, it felt like something straight out of a nightmare. And later, when the crow crashes into Adrian’s window and its eyes glow red? I actually paused reading to take a breath. The horror elements don’t overwhelm the story. Instead, they sneak in gradually and make the tension feel very real. It’s not just gore or shock for the sake of it. There’s meaning behind the madness, and the pacing kept me hooked.
What also impressed me was the blend of emotional arcs and supernatural themes. The wish-at-the-well premise could’ve felt cheesy, but Lucid makes it work. It’s not about the wish itself; it’s about what’s inside the characters when the darkness comes calling. After the wish, the world subtly shifts: abusive parents start acting too perfect, the past won’t stay buried, and the kids begin unraveling. It’s eerie in the best way. Even side characters like Tina, with her own painful backstory, feel layered. The book isn’t afraid to tackle hard stuff: abuse, homophobia, grief, trauma. But it doesn’t wallow in misery; there’s light, too. Friendship. Laughter. Hope. That balance made the heavier themes hit even harder.
The Scavenger is a wild, emotional ride. If you’re into horror stories with heart, this is for you. It’s got teenage banter, real-world pain, and enough mystery and chills to keep you flipping pages. Fans of Stranger Things, IT, or even Goosebumps with a bit more grit will probably enjoy it. The characters are memorable, the scares are solid, and the story stays with you. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who likes thrillers with a side of soul.
Pages: 140 | ASIN : B0CY4SQXPH
Characters Breathe Life
In Provenance of Ashes, a group of students in East Berlin finds themselves deep within an international espionage plot that spans decades. Where did the idea for this novel come from?
The idea sprung from two different threads. I was fascinated when reading about the case of Cornelius Gurlitt (the son of a famous Nazi art dealer), who had a hoard of paintings stashed in his apartment and was caught in modern times on a Swiss train after selling one of the paintings. I was intrigued that paintings with such a sordid past could be hidden for decades and surreptitiously sold in the new millennium. I’ve also done lots of global travel, in the course of which I met people who worked for (or used to, I think!) Israeli intelligence and the Stasi.
Which comes more naturally to you? The plot or your characters?
The plot/broader concept, and then my characters breathe life into the story.
What part of this book was the most fun to write?
Too tough to answer! Perhaps the reminiscing of Werner, the evil former Stasi agent and bastard son of the Nazi who stole and hid art at the end of WWII.
Can we look forward to a follow-up to this novel? What are you currently working on?
Absolutely–I am working on a new novel featuring Marco and Beryl, which will fit into the theme of a Married into the Mossad Thriller but not willing to reveal more just yet!
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Realizing jet-set passions are no match for Beryl’s nobler pursuits in hunting Werner, Marco slowly yields to his wife’s batting eyes and steely determination. Love, loyalty, and a quest for restitution drag him into the Mossad’s embrace. When the couple near the truth about Werner’s real identity, they must confront a dark secret of their own buried deep in East Berlin. Will either side risk exposing past crimes to win today’s cat-and-mouse battle? Beryl and Marco plot traps spanning the Mid-East, Silicon Valley, and Holland as modern-day spies counter legendary espionage guile.
Jeff Ulin’s thriller Provenance of Ashes thrusts the weight of haunting history into a marriage grappling with higher priorities. Read it now and travel into a world of shadows where the mantra never forget motivates patriots of good and evil.
LGBTQ+ Journalists
ANKRBOY follows the raw and gripping journey of a man leading a double life—rising in the high-stakes world of television news while hiding his true identity in a world that demands conformity. Why was this an important book for you to write?
I wrote ANKRBOY for two reasons: 1.) To help heal myself and 2.) To hopefully help others who are struggling in their own lives. I was absolutely devastated when I lost my career in TV news when my secret was revealed. Writing the book helped me make sense of a lot of things that happened to me. During the process, I realized the news business needed me a lot more than I needed it. Living my life openly and authentically has brought me to a wonderful place and I’ve never been happier.
The media industry plays a pivotal role in your book. Do you think it has changed at all in terms of LGBTQ+ representation?
Yes, there’s been a dramatic change (for the better) in terms of LGBTQ+ representation in the media. In fact, I use that change in the set-up of my book comparing how open and honest today’s generation of LGBTQ+ journalists can be—and how that would have never worked for me. It was simply a different time—and I’m happy we’ve gotten to where we are today where LGBTQ+ journalists are not only accepted but celebrated.
The book has some emotional moments. What was the most emotional moment for you to write about?
There were many nights when I was writing ANKRBOY that cried my eyes out. I think the most difficult part was reliving the final hours of life with my first boyfriend who died of AIDS. He asked that I come over and help his parents give him one last hot bath. We sat for over an hour—as he soaked in the warm water—saying our goodbyes. It was absolutely crushing, but amazingly cathartic for both of us. I have to warn people about that chapter in the book (#21). It was extremely difficult to write—and just as difficult to read.
If you could go back and give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
I’d tell “Young Mark” to relax. To breath. To believe. That everything would work out just the way it should—and great things are coming for him. To just keep going.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Amazon
LITERARY TITAN 