Mariposa Oracle: Queen City Licensed Massage Therapist by Trisha Barry is a humorously told story that follows a massage therapist and the situations she gets herself into. I was immediately pulled in with the terrific descriptions, especially when she arrives at her client’s door, pulls...

A story of selflessness and devotion is always touching, but it is even more extraordinary when the protagonists are two brothers. Manas is the eldest and hopes that Manan, the younger brother, will have a wonderful life. Born and raised in a family that cannot...

The Train Jumper is a work of fiction in the historical genre. It is aimed at the general adult reading audience and was penned by author Gwen B. Banta. The book follows Kat and Leni, two young women on the run through 1950s America who...

Anne Moose opens House of Fragile Dreams with a brief chapter in which the protagonist, Rachel, is sitting in a police interrogation room, desperate to talk to someone to ‘explain her actions’. We get well into the story before we learn why she was there,...

Floating in the Neversink by Andrea Simon is an extraordinary novel. In the summer of 1955, nine-year-old Amanda Gerber has to say goodbye to her best friend, Francine. She travels from Brooklyn to deep within the Catskill Mountains, where Grandma Sarah lives. Although she is...

In the preface of Mr. Dalton’s Christmas by Robert A. Valle, the author asks us if all the tales about Christmas are only legends. It’s as if his Christmas story is not. Hmm. Legends are time-honored tales, and Mr. Valle’s is new, so I suppose...

Nermina’s Chance by Dina Greenberg is the harrowing and sometimes heart-breaking story of Nermina Beganovic as she struggles to recover from losing everything she has. A victim of war crimes during the Balkan War and forced to flee her country, Nermina settles in Portland, Oregon....

Crump the Cat is a graphic short story written by Anna Lussenburg about an orange tomcat called Crump, who was famous on a television program called The Appurrentice. Crump was admired from every angle for his extensive wealth, which he liked to show off to...

Written by Ronald Travis Lund and co-authored by Lorna and Larry Collins, Dominic Drive is a nostalgic look at life. Dominic Drive is a sweet, postwar community in Southern California; it is a pleasant place to grow up and live. The children play outside until...

The Shade Under the Mango Tree by Evy Journey is a cultural work of art. It follows Luna and Lucien with different backgrounds and family ties, but who come together out of fate. Lucien finds Luna’s moleskin journal in a coffee shop. His interest is...