Blog Archives
Misfit’s Magic: Twisting in Time
Twisting in Time tells the story of Goff, a boy who desperately wishes to live a normal life but finds himself constantly dragged back into a world of magic, danger, and tangled loyalties. At Amworth Academy, what should have been quiet moments with friends and his first love quickly unravel into chaos as strange forces whisk people away, shadows stretch into monsters, and visions of looming battles return. The story swings between his present struggles and the origins of his curse in Slaathwick, where he is burdened with being a Verlokken, a kind of outcast whose magic is feared as much as it is needed. Through duels, betrayals, and heartbreaking losses, Goff keeps stumbling forward, hoping for safety and love, yet always being pulled into another storm.
What I liked most was the way the book balanced whimsy with darkness. There are scenes filled with warmth, like meals shared, jokes between friends, even the sweetness of Goff’s awkward romance with Joy, that made me smile. But just when I started to settle in, the story twisted into something darker. The shadows, the grotesque enemies, and the way time itself bends gave me a pit in my stomach. The writing has a playful rhythm in places, almost silly at times, and then suddenly sharp, reminding me of how childhood wonder collides with the dread of growing up. It kept me off balance, which I liked, because it mirrored Goff’s own unease.
Goff is both stubborn and insecure, and that mix makes him feel real. He longs to protect his friends, yet he keeps secrets, pushes people away, and sometimes gives in to anger. I wanted to shake him, but I also wanted to hug him. That kind of emotional pull is rare. The author’s choice to lean into food and cooking as recurring motifs was lovely too. Those moments grounded the story. A dish described in detail, or a meal shared, often felt more magical than spells or battles. It made me feel like magic wasn’t always in wands or words but sometimes in butter, lavender, or a loaf of bread.
By the time I reached the end, I felt both drained and hopeful. The book is heavy with loss and with the idea that time doesn’t really heal so much as twist and fold, carrying pain forward in new ways. Yet it’s also filled with small sparks of loyalty and friendship that remind you why the characters keep fighting. I’d recommend this book to readers who enjoy fantasy that doesn’t shy away from sorrow but still knows how to laugh at itself. It’s for anyone who wants a coming-of-age story tangled with monsters, magic, and heartache, but also with friendship, food, and flickers of joy that make the struggle worth it.
Pages: 318 | ASIN : B0FDQYQ8GK
Invisible Tragedy
Driven follows a woman recovering from the brink of madness who discovers a man is searching for unammi survivors to experiment on, and humans are being kidnapped, leaving her determined to find a way to save them all. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Our own world is beset with social issues. I wanted to take these two—slavery and medical experimentation on living beings (humans and animals)—and kind of push them into the reader’s face, so that they couldn’t be ignored. Slavery, also known as “human trafficking” or “sex trafficking,” takes place every day, but for those of us who are insulated in privilege, it’s an invisible tragedy and easy to overlook.
It’s the same with the experimentation; though that’s a bit harder to see in contemporary civilization, it’s definitely there, hidden behind closed doors and shuttered windows. Because we don’t see these problems, it’s easy to pretend they don’t exist.
There are many ways to fight these issues, not all of which are as bold as Alira’s choices. But here’s the thing: if we don’t face them with unflinching outrage, they will never stop.
Regardless of the methods we choose with which to fight, no one person can solve all these problems. Not alone. Yet even though one person can’t save everyone, they can help a few. And that can start a larger movement.
Alira is that person, the one who saves those she can reach. She’s already gone through so much; she is the unflinching (okay, she does flinch on occasion, but it doesn’t stop her from moving forward) individual who says, “If not me, then who?”
Alira is a fascinating character. What scene was the most interesting to write for that character?
That’s a tough choice. Alira’s whole character arc is so tightly woven that choosing a single scene as “most interesting” is like trying to choose a single favorite thread in a completed tapestry. And Alira has her peak moments in each book in this trilogy.
For Driven, I lean toward one of Alira’s “rescue” scenes—either of Bika (which has two parts, the rescue and the aftermath), the ikanne harvesters, or the brothel slaves. Each of those times gave Alira’s spur-of-the-moment creative problem-solving skills room to shine.
I find that authors sometimes ask themselves questions and let their characters answer them. Do you think this is true for your characters?
Definitely. Sometimes, their answers surprise me.
But at least one major focus of my writing is to ask big questions, sometimes even the ones we don’t want to face. I think The Founder’s Seed trilogy manages to do that. I feel like Alira’s answers to those questions came from a courageous heart and a strong spirit.
Where do you see your characters after the book ends?
Oh, their story continues in the coming follow-up trilogy, tentatively titled Nexus. That trilogy will be told through the eyes of non-POV characters that were introduced in The Founder’s Seed, but Alira, Botha, and Galen/Thrace will all be there. We see the start of that at the end of Driven, in the new secret colony Alira and Kilbee have established.
Stay tuned.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | BlueSky | Website | Niveym Arts | Amazon
On Danua, acting Clan Admiral Knøfa experiments on his unammi prisoner. Except the squib isn’t healing any longer, and the medics aren’t working fast enough to save her. Knøfa starts searching for another unammi—maybe a male this time, so he can create all the test subjects he wants.
Stopping the Cartel is enough to keep Alira’s hands full. She doesn’t want to fight the Clan, too. Yet, when she learns Knøfa is searching for the unammi survivors, she races to warn them. As Knøfa’s ship approaches them on Earth, the council tries to force it to leave. But Alira knows that if the humans escape, the unammi are doomed. Knøfa’s “experiments” will escalate, and other humans will follow his example. To protect her people’s secrets, she must stop that ship. Her only hope is to attempt something no Founder’s Daughter has ever done.
All Men Would Be Tyrants If They Could
All Men Would Be Tyrants If They Could, by Judie Mitchell, tells the story of two sisters, Abby and Connie, living in New England in the years leading up to the American Revolution. Abby is trapped in a marriage to John, a man who shifts between charm and cruelty, while Connie both supports her sister and struggles with her own feelings of powerlessness. Through their alternating voices, the book brings to life the injustice of coverture, the fragility of women’s independence, and the private rebellions of two women caught in a society that denies them a voice. It’s a work stitched together from historical truth, personal pain, and quiet defiance.
Reading it felt like stepping into a private diary. The language is simple but heavy with feeling. I found myself both frustrated and protective of Abby, who clings to hope that love might reform John even as his behavior worsens. Connie, meanwhile, became the heart of the story for me. Her quiet observations, her curiosity, her occasional small rebellions all carried an honesty that made me ache. At times, the writing made me uncomfortable in the best way. It didn’t let me slip into easy judgments; it forced me to feel the tangle of love, loyalty, and oppression that defined their lives.
I do feel that the repetition of John’s temper and Abby’s endurance sometimes dragged, though maybe that was the point. Abuse circles and grinds. The historical details were fascinating, but occasionally they crowded the page with information on trade goods or church sermons. Yet even in those slower sections, I sensed the author’s passion for uncovering the hidden lives of women, and that kept me turning pages.
Reading All Men Would Be Tyrants If They Could reminded me of The Handmaid’s Tale in how it exposes the quiet violence of patriarchy, though Mitchell roots her story in history rather than dystopia, making the injustice feel even more immediate. I’d recommend it to readers who enjoy historical fiction that leans close to lived experience, who want to feel the weight of the past pressing on the present, and who are willing to sit with discomfort in order to better understand the silenced women history tried to erase.
Pages: 312 | ASIN : B0FFR7BKXW
A Broader Canvas
Broken centers around a shapeshifter plagued by the chaos of living as a human and enduring her own lost sense of self. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I have to admit that my own experience has partly led to Alira’s story. While I don’t have dozens of voices in my head (other than the characters in my stories, that is), I always felt like an outsider among those around me. It took me many years to find my tribe, and to reach a place in my life where I felt I could be myself and not struggle to fit in.
I’ve known many others like this, and it’s hard. For all of us. Struggling to be the kind of person you think others expect of you can be soul-draining. That’s what started Alira’s tale for me. From there, it took off on its own.
What is it that draws you to the science fiction genre?
I like science fiction because it allows me to stretch reality in ways that drive home the point of the story. I feel like The Founder’s Seed books could also be called science fantasy, since there are elements of it (the harvesting of souls, for one) that can’t be supported by science. But these genres expand the boundaries of what is possible or probable, and allow the reader a greater leeway for suspension of disbelief.
My stories usually ask big questions; so far, science fiction and science fantasy have both offered a broader canvas for that work.
Do you have a favorite character in The Founder’s Seed series? One that his especially enjoyable to craft?
Of course, Alira is my favorite. She’s me in so many ways that count. She’s definitely the hardest to write, but also the most rewarding.
A very close second favorite is Botha; he’s a joy to write! Putting myself in his head, so that I can write him with authenticity, is always fun!
Where will the next book in the series take readers? When can we expect to see it released?
The next book, Driven, picks up where Broken left off; it gives a closer—and thoroughly raw—look at the new antagonist, Knøfa; follows Alira’s journey through her time with Botha, and what comes after (no spoilers!); settles Thrace/Galen in her/his role; and sets the threads for the follow-up trilogy that is already in the works.
Driven was released in late June and is now available for readers.
Author Links: GoodReads | BlueSky | Facebook | Website | Amazon
To make matters worse, the harvests of knowledge and memories she’s gathered from the dead aren’t adequate to fully understand her assumed role—unless she surrenders control to the one internal voice she thinks can make things right. But that harvest isn’t willing to share the space in her head, and soon Alira is no longer sure which voice is his, and which is her own.
Galen has vowed to help Alira succeed and follows her increasingly unbalanced directives, until he realizes that her harvests have corrupted her conscience, maybe even her sanity. Galen has never been a leader. But as the crisis screams toward them, he must make a choice: abandon their people to save Alira or sacrifice her to save them all.
Power of Forgiveness
The Raven Moonstone follows an orphaned high schooler who discovers a wizard’s journal and accidentally turns the town librarian into a goat, sending him on an adventure to find an arcane artifact to reverse his spell. I enjoyed the depth of the main character, Noah. What was your process to bring that character to life?
I wrote The Raven Moonstone, sitting cross-legged in the back of our van. It was a time for stepping outside my comfort zone. I walked away from my career in IT and decided it was time to retire. The plan was to drive the backroads of America and explore. Somewhere in Missouri, we had pulled into a free campsite, and sometime during the night, another camper arrived. In the morning, I peeked out the window to catch a glimpse of our neighbor when a young man opened the back of his SUV to let his dog out. But it wasn’t a dog, but a goat. My curiosity sparked, and I grabbed my coffee and walked over to introduce myself. The young man’s name was Noah, and he was traveling cross-country with a pet goat with no name.
My grandson is just learning to read, so I thought I’d write him a story. It had always been on my bucket list to write a book. I’d thought it’d take years, so I targeted it for when he’d be about twelve. My goal was twofold: 1) create a fun story, and hopefully he’d grow to love books as much as I do, and 2) pass on words of wisdom, as a legacy, in a way that he wouldn’t. I was speaking to him. After my character Noah showed up on the page, the book wrote itself.
What themes were particularly important for you to explore in this book?
The Raven Moonstone is a weird, funny, whimsical story of family and secrets and courage, but underneath it all, it’s a story about the undeniable power of forgiveness.
Can you tell us more about what’s in store for Noah and the direction of the second book?
The Dragon Moonstone, book 2 in Noah’s adventures, brings us to Castle Dragon, where Noah is sent to master his gifts. Noah’s magic is out of control, and his powers caught the attention of some unsavory characters. Noah is impulsive and impatient, and decides to take shortcuts during his lessons, which turns out poorly. Determined to right his wrong, he is sent on a quest, but his plans become complicated when the Dragon Moonstone goes missing. He must find it and restore the balance to the realm. Along the way, Noah meets many new characters, all with their own agenda. Typically described as a loner, Noah must rely on his friends and work together and learn to trust if he is going to solve the mystery.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Now ominous ravens lurk in the shadows, watching his every move.
Noah is determined to reverse his magical mishaps. To do that, he must find a powerful arcane artifact—the Raven Moonstone. With the help of his friends, Sara and Jesse, he sets out to solve the mystery behind the missing heirloom.
With unexpected magic, an evil witch, and a herd of feisty goats, Noah’s journey is about to spiral wildly out of control.
Book One of The Moonstone Legacy Series
Quiet Pride
In A Long Cast, you share with readers your experiences with family and friends over five decades of surfcasting on Martha’s Vineyard. Why was this an important book for you to write?
The stories were starting to evaporate as time went on. I could feel them slipping away, and I wanted to capture them so years from now the kids would be able to simply share the book with someone they cared about and say, “It was like this.”
For the last several years, my adult daughter would keep prodding: “You should write these stories down, Dad.” And I kept deflecting it. Then, when I turned 70, I secretly decided to give it a try so I could maybe surprise them in the end. But I stalled. It was just dry, boring details at first. But when I asked my fishing friends if there was anything they would like to share for the book, it became clear that they, too, wanted documentation for their family and friends to have forever. I sensed their quiet pride and an unspoken hope, and this is what gave me the motivation I needed to get it across the finish line. I used the Dedication page to give the rationale for the book.
Is there anything else you now wish you had included in A Long Cast? A memory? An experience?
No. Not at all. But if there was a Prologue, it would contain the reactions after it came out. Everything from the successful construction company owner who said, “Only read one book my entire life. But I read this one in two days.” I gave each of the twenty-five featured fishermen a copy when it came out. One guy, looking at his copy, said to the other, “Geez. Didn’t know he (me) could write.” The other fishermen replied, “Didn’t know you could read.” The wife of a fisherman texted and explained that she always wished him well as he headed out the door for his annual fishing trip, but never figured out why he liked it so much. Now she knew, she said.
Right after the book came out, he got really ill and had to stop fishing. One day, she was reading the book outside his hospital room and started to laugh out loud. He asked her what was so funny. She read him the two paragraphs, and he laughed so hard and long that they had to settle him down. “It’s true.” He kept laughing. “It’s true. That’s Ed.” (The fisherman in the story.)
Different fishermen would reach out and tell me which story they liked best, and everyone has a different one. A younger fisherman said he bought a copy for his dad and told him it was because of the piece on The Partner. Another told me it was Retie. I think mine might be The Car. I still laugh out loud when I read it.
What advice would you give someone who is considering writing their own memoir?
Don’t make it about you. Make it about the encounters and conversations and actions of others that have been illuminating, convincing, affirming, paradoxically true, righteous, courageous, challenging, grace- filled, perplexing. Don’t report facts, and details, and accomplishments. Tell the stories of who and what has enriched the journey.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from your book?
I hope the reader can also find one or two things in the book to be true.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
In 1971, a father and son ventured out of their apartment in New Jersey to the Island of Martha’s Vineyard to try their hand at surfcasting. That trip began a life of Spring trips to the waters’ edge in search of bluefish and striped bass. Fifty years later, Mike Carotta takes readers along for thirty straight nights and days of fishing.
This is not a How To book. It does not contain the secrets to a fantastic fishing career. Rather, hard fishing has a way of revealing lessons from the shore and the people who gather there-binding together strangers in conversations and gestures, failures and successes, new learnings, and, eventually, creating old friends.
Through it all, more than fish are caught-and shared. The result is a thoughtful collection of essays on life with some notes from the trade filtered in. Join Mike on his pilgrimage back to where the distance between heaven and earth gets a little thinner and the real “keepers” of the trip go far beyond the fish on the end of the line.
“I am not a good surf fisherman. There are no helpful fishing hints here. This is a collection of recollection: stories of saltwater characters, occurrences, and conversations. Like stars in the night sky, they are best enjoyed when you get some distance from the lights of other stuff.” – Excerpt from A Long Cast
LITERARY TITAN 