Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Self Help Book Spotlight: Burned Out by Iris Waichler

First responders are trained to move toward emergencies that most people instinctively move away from, but the effects of those calls do not necessarily end when a shift is over. In Burned Out, licensed clinical social worker Iris Waichler turns her attention to the cumulative trauma experienced by firefighters, paramedics, and EMTs—and to the families who often experience its consequences alongside them. Built from candid conversations with first responders and their loved ones, the book looks beyond the emergency itself to the physical, emotional, and relational toll that repeated exposure to trauma can create.

 



Non-Fiction, Self-help

Date Published: May 29, 2026

Publisher: Manhattan Book Group

 


༺ ABOUT THE BOOK ༻

 

Burned Out evolved from conversations I had with a friend who had been a firefighter for 30 years. He shared stories about traumas he and his fellow firefighters experienced while on the job. We discussed universal challenges that first responders face in terms of not knowing what to do with this trauma, recognizing its symptoms, and the impact it had on family members and loved ones. I interviewed male and female paramedics, firefighters, and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT's) around the country to get their candid personal stories and experiences. I also interviewed family members. We all shared the goal of wanting to. help fellow first responders and family members understand the dynamics of trauma, its impact, and how they can get support to cope with its consequences with renewed understanding and resilience.

 

Key themes of book:

1. What types of trauma do first responders experience on the job?

2. How does it impact them physically and emotionally?

3. How does it affect their relationships with family members and loved ones?

4. How can first responders and family members understand and cope with these traumas?

5. What ways can they effectively communicate and understand the ramifications of trauma?

6. Where can they go for help to deal with the trauma and learn to heal from it?

 

Message for readers: My hope for those who read this book is that you will have a greater understanding and appreciation for the sacrifices our first responders and their families make in the service of others. I believe reading these personal accounts in combination with the information, support, and resources provided will be invaluable to all who take the time to read Burned Out. I hope you will share it with others you believe might find it beneficial.

 

༺ WHY READ THIS BOOK ༻

 

Burned Out addresses a part of emergency service that can remain largely invisible to the public: what happens after first responders repeatedly witness serious injury, loss, crisis, and human suffering. Waichler brings together the voices of firefighters, paramedics, EMTs, and family members rather than treating occupational trauma as an experience that affects only the responder. Her clinical social work background adds another layer to those firsthand accounts, with attention given to recognizing trauma, understanding its effect on relationships, communicating about it, and finding appropriate support.

 


༺ WHO WILL LOVE IT ༻

 

Burned Out is particularly relevant for firefighters, paramedics, EMTs, and the spouses, partners, relatives, and friends trying to understand what repeated exposure to emergencies can mean away from the scene. Counselors, healthcare professionals, social work students, and others whose work intersects with emergency personnel may also find value in the combination of personal experiences and information about trauma. The book's focus on both responders and their families makes it especially suited to readers interested in resilience, communication, relationships, and the less-visible consequences of serving on the front lines of crisis.

 

༺ ABOUT THE AUTHOR ༻



Iris Waichler has been a well known patient advocate and licensed clinical social worker for the last 40 years. She began her career working with geriatric patients who experienced catastrophic illness and counseled them and their families about adapting to these medical problems. She helped them understand their medical condition helping them to cope with the disease and its impact on their lives.
 
She is an award winning author. In addition she is a prominent speaker presenting on topics related to infertility and caregiving. She has been featured in Redbook, Parade, MindBodygreen.com., Forbes Magazine and Next Avenue Magazine. She also has done many radio shows and podcasts.
 
Iris has taught and supervised social work students, medical students, interns, residents, and nurses about patient rights, ethics.
 
Ms. Waichler found herself in the role of a patient when she battled infertility for many years. The feelings of loss and helplessness she personally experienced were profound. She promised herself if she was successful in having a child she would do everything she could to help other people fighting infertility.
 
She authored a second award winning book, RIDING THE INFERTILITY ROLLER COASTER, A GUIDE TO EDUCATE AND INSPIRE. This book won 4 awards including 2 best book of the year awards. The response was so great she began doing individual and group counseling with people who had infertility. She volunteered for RESOLVE, a national infertility group, and went on to do a series of radio interviews, magazine articles, workshops, and speeches on infertility topics.
 
Her book, ROLE REVERSAL, HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND YOUR AGING PARENTS, has won 8 major book awards. Her experience in caring for her beloved father, who died at age 97, triggered her passion in reaching out to others who suddenly find themselves in a caregiver role and are uncertain about what to do or where to go for help. In this book she shares her father’s inspiring story and her personal and professional experience in assuming the challenges that come with being a caregiver for an aging loved one.
 
Iris has been doing freelance writing for the last 18 years. The focus of her work has been on health related topics. She also does workshops and speeches offering caregiving tips for caregiver family members and educating healthcare professionals.
 
Ms. Waichler lives in Chicago with her husband, Steve, and her daughter, Grace and her mini golden doodle Brandi. She loves to travel whenever she can and to spend time with friends and family.
 

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༺ LAST WORD ༻

 

Burned Out places attention on the people behind the uniforms after the immediate crisis has passed. By bringing first responders and their family members into the same discussion, Waichler examines trauma as something that can reach beyond an individual and into the relationships surrounding them. The personal accounts at the center of the book also give readers a reason to consider what support can look like after years of responding to other people's worst moments. For those who want a clearer understanding of that often-unseen part of emergency service, this is a thoughtful place to begin.




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Science Fiction Book Blitz: Everything That's Left Behind by Kelly Lydick

A vanished scientist, a daughter unwilling to accept the official story, and an American Southwest transformed by catastrophic drought give Everything That’s Left Behind an intriguing mystery at its center. Kelly Lydick’s first novel begins with a deeply personal question—what really happened to Nichola Rodale’s father?—then sends Nichola across a desolate landscape in search of an answer that may overturn everything she believed about his death. The combination of family mystery, scientific legacy, and a drought-altered setting makes this science fiction story one to watch.



Fiction/Science Fiction

Date Published: June 28, 2026

Publisher: Sapphire Stories




༺ ABOUT THE BOOK ༻

When Nichola Rodale stumbles upon information suggesting her father—a renowned scientist and brilliant puzzle maker—may not have died during The Great Drought, she embarks on a perilous journey across the desolate American Southwest to discover the truth.



༺ WHY READ THIS BOOK ༻

The mystery surrounding Nichola’s father gives this science fiction novel a particularly personal engine. He was not only a renowned scientist but a brilliant puzzle maker, a detail that adds another layer to the information Nichola uncovers and the questions she must pursue. Her search also unfolds across a desolate American Southwest after The Great Drought, placing an intimate family mystery inside a dramatically altered landscape. For readers who like speculative fiction anchored by a concrete question that must be solved, those elements create a compelling reason to follow Nichola into the unknown.



༺ WHO WILL LOVE IT ༻

Everything That’s Left Behind belongs on the radar of science fiction readers who prefer their speculative settings tied to a personal mystery. The Great Drought and the desolate Southwest provide the larger backdrop, but Nichola’s reason for crossing that landscape is intensely specific: evidence that her scientist father may still be alive. Readers especially interested in stories involving hidden information, puzzles, family secrets, and a search for truth should find plenty here to pique their curiosity.



༺ ABOUT THE AUTHOR ༻


Kelly Lydick’s writing has appeared in Natural Awakenings, Co Yoga + Life, True Blue Spirit, American Art Collector, Western Art Collector, and many others. She has been featured on NPR’s The Writers’ Block and the Word podcast, and on iHeart radio. She is the author of the experimental Mastering the Dream, a contributing author to the anthology Dreams That Change Our Lives, and the author of Dream Incubation for Greater Self-Awareness: A Handbook. Everything That’s Left Behind is her first novel.



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༺ LAST WORD ༻

At the heart of Everything That’s Left Behind is a discovery powerful enough to make Nichola question a death she had accepted as fact. That gives her journey across the drought-stricken Southwest more than physical stakes: she is following the possibility that her father’s story never ended where she was told it did. Add his identities as scientist and puzzle maker, and the novel has the ingredients for a mystery in which finding the truth may depend upon understanding what he left behind. Kelly Lydick’s move into fiction offers an intriguing premise for readers drawn to science fiction where the fate of a changed world and the unanswered questions within one family intersect.





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Artificial Intelligence Non Fiction: Lifecycle of Intelligence by Steve Jones

Artificial intelligence may be developing at technological speed, but the institutions responsible for deciding how it should be used do not move nearly as quickly. In Lifecycle of Intelligence, economist and international analyst Steve Jones approaches that mismatch as a question of governance and leadership rather than technology alone. His framework connects AI policy with economic power, democratic accountability, labour-market disruption and international competition, while proposing both a five-stage maturity model and an AI Charter for the Machine Age. The result is a book concerned not simply with what artificial intelligence can do, but with who will shape its development, who will benefit from it and what structures might keep that power accountable.


AI Governance, AI Charter, Artificial Power, AI Oligarchs, Democracy and the Future of Nations

Economic Policy, Leadership, Artificial Intelligence

Date Published: July 16, 2026


༺ ABOUT THE BOOK ༻

The Future Of AI Will Not Be Decided By Technology Alone—It Will Be Decided By Leadership 

Artificial Intelligence is moving faster than any previous technological revolution. It promises extraordinary prosperity but also unprecedented risks. Will AI create a future of shared human flourishing or concentrate wealth, power and influence in the hands of a technological elite? 

The Lifecycle of Intelligence is a groundbreaking guide for leaders, policymakers, business executives, educators and citizens who want to understand and shape the future of the Machine Age. 

Written by economist and international analyst Steve Jones, this compelling book goes beyond the hype surrounding AI to explore the deeper economic, political and social forces redefining nations, democracy, labour markets and global power.
 
Rather than focusing solely on technology, this book asks the defining question of the 21st century:
 
How do we ensure Artificial Intelligence serves humanity, not the other way around? 

Inside You'll Discover:

  • The Big Picture - Understand the economic, geopolitical and historical forces driving the AI revolution.
  • The Five-Stage AI Maturity Model - A practical framework that helps governments, organisations and nations understand where they are today and how to progress safe, responsible and human-centred AI governance.
  • The AI Charter - Inspired by the Atlantic Charter, this bold vision establishes guiding principles for freedom, democracy, accountability, fairness and shared prosperity in the Machine Age.
  • The Real Risks of AI - Explore the challenges of AI oligarchies, automation, job displacement, surveillance capitalism, misinformation, democratic erosion, systemic safety risks, environmental impacts and geopolitical competition.
  • A Practical Roadmap for Action - Discover concrete governance models, implementation frameworks and policy recommendations that help leaders move from awareness to action.
 
Exclusive Bonus Included - When you purchase this book, you'll also receive the companion AI Governance Manifesto, Playbook and Policy Framework, a practical blueprint for implementing responsible AI governance.
 
This powerful companion includes:

  • The AI Governance Manifesto
  • The Lifecycle of Nations Maturity Model
  • The Lifecycle of Intelligence Maturity Model
  • The AI Charter for the Machine Age
  • AI Governance Playbooks for governments, businesses and institutions
  • Regulatory architecture and implementation roadmaps
  • Board-level AI governance frameworks
  • Labour transition and economic renewal strategies
  • Metrics, checkpoints and governance tools
  • International cooperation and treaty pathways
 
Together, these frameworks provides comprehensive blueprints for governing AI responsibly while encouraging innovation, protecting democracy and promoting long-term prosperity.

The Lifecycle of Intelligence explains how humanity must govern it.
It offers practical solutions—not fear.
It presents leadership—not ideology.
 
The Machine Age has begun.
The question is no longer whether AI will transform society.
 
The question is whether we will have the wisdom and the leadership to govern it.
Join the Movement for Just AI and Human Prosperity
 

Get your copy today to discover the roadmap for governing the Machine Age and help shape a future where AI works for humanity, not against it.
 

༺ WHY READ THIS BOOK ༻

Lifecycle of Intelligence shifts the AI discussion away from a narrow contest over technical capability and toward the institutions that will have to manage its consequences. Jones treats artificial intelligence as an economic and political force capable of altering labour markets, concentrating influence and testing democratic safeguards. What distinguishes his approach is the attempt to turn those concerns into structures readers can examine: a five-stage AI maturity model, an AI Charter inspired by the Atlantic Charter, and governance playbooks aimed at governments, businesses and institutions. 

 

For readers following the public debate around AI, that combination provides a way to consider not only the risks being identified, but the governing principles and practical mechanisms proposed in response.

 

༺ WHO WILL LOVE IT ༻

This is aimed most directly at readers whose interest in AI extends beyond new tools and technological capabilities to questions of policy, economics and institutional power. Policymakers and business leaders can approach the maturity model and governance frameworks from an implementation perspective, while economists and strategists may be more interested in Jones's treatment of automation, labour transition and the distribution of prosperity. 

 

The book also has a clear place for readers concerned with democratic accountability, surveillance, misinformation and the possibility that control of increasingly consequential technology could become concentrated among a relatively small number of powerful actors. Its emphasis is on governing the Machine Age rather than explaining how its underlying technology works.

 

༺ ABOUT THE AUTHOR ༻


Steve Jones is an economist, entrepreneur and international commentator on geopolitics, trade and global governance. He is the author of All to One: The Winning Model for Marketing in the Post-Internet Economy (McGraw Hill), and has advised governments, think tanks and global institutions. Steve has had a successful corporate career with British Airways, EDS, Avis and Accenture.
 
Steve’s Churchill World Order Series combines history, politics and global economics shaping today’s fragile world order. How Churchill’s fascination with America led to the strategic doctrine of the Atlantic Charter and to Bretton Woods, NATO, the IMF, the WTO and the UN. Trump’s Tariff Tsunami, covers the turbulent threat to rules-based world order today and is now followed by Lifecycle of Nations on how to fix and protect the future of world trade.

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༺ LAST WORD ༻

The most consequential question raised by Lifecycle of Intelligence is not how powerful AI may become, but how societies intend to exercise authority over that power as it grows. Jones places that question alongside employment, economic concentration, democratic institutions and international relations, then gives his argument a concrete shape through the maturity model, AI Charter and implementation frameworks. That makes this a policy-minded contribution to the AI conversation: one built around the premise that technological development and responsible governance cannot be treated as separate projects. 

 

For readers thinking about the Machine Age in terms of institutions and public choices rather than software alone, there is plenty here to examine and debate.

 


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Monday, August 17, 2026

Paranormal Fantasy Spotlight: The Half Kasst by Delilah Belvedere

Sarai Davis does not merely discover that vampires exist in The Half Kasst; she learns that her own blood carries a history someone deliberately tried to erase. Delilah Belvedere builds that revelation around an ancient lineage, aristocratic vampires, inherited power, and a heroine forced to decide what reclaiming her identity will cost. The result places Sarai at the center of a conflict where ancestry is both weapon and target—and where awakening to her true nature makes her more dangerous to the people already hunting her.

 

An ancient bloodline.

A forgotten war.

A woman destined to awaken both. 

 

 The Half Kasst

by Delilah Belvedere

Genre: Paranormal Vampire Romance, Urban Fantasy

**NEW RELEASE!**

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༺ ABOUT THE BOOK ༻

 

After a charged encounter ignites something ancient in her blood, Sarai Davis becomes entangled in a world of hidden magic where pleasure and danger are inseparable.

 

A shocking prophecy shatters her reality: Sarai is a Half Kasst, descended from an erased bloodline and born to stand against a secret network of aristocratic vampires.

 

Now hunted, Sarai must reclaim a legacy meant to be wiped from history, and embrace her power before the forces hunting her finish what they began millennia ago. But power always demands payment.

 

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༺ Read an excerpt ༻

 

Kate adds, “She is right, Sarai. You must feed. If Half Kassts are anything like vampires, you don’t want to experience what starvation is like. My father…”

She pauses, looks around the room, then continues.

“My father punishes vampires who don’t follow his rules by locking them up, and he does not provide them any blood. It’s terrible. They wither away for years; their screams get weaker in just weeks, and after a few months, you don’t even hear them anymore.”

 

༺ WHY READ THIS BOOK ༻

 

The most intriguing part of The Half Kasst is that Sarai's transformation is tied to a history that has been intentionally suppressed. Her discovery of what she is therefore becomes an act of reclamation as much as a supernatural awakening. The aristocratic vampires hunting her are connected to that erased bloodline, giving the conflict a deeper question beneath the immediate danger: who benefits when an entire legacy disappears?

 

The excerpt adds another layer to the book's vampire mythology by making blood a matter of physical survival and punishment. Starvation is not presented as an abstract threat; Kate describes it as something deliberately inflicted on vampires who break the rules. Combined with Sarai's need to understand what being a Half Kasst means, that detail suggests a supernatural world whose systems of control can be as dangerous as its individual monsters.

 

 

 

 

 

༺ WHO WILL LOVE IT ༻

 

This novel should particularly interest readers who like vampire fiction in which bloodlines, hierarchy, and supernatural politics matter as much as attraction. Sarai's hidden ancestry gives the urban-fantasy side of the story a mystery to uncover, while the paranormal-romance elements place desire alongside danger rather than separating the two. The author's stated blend of African-inspired mythology and nontraditional vampires also makes The Half Kasst worth a closer look for readers interested in vampire lore that moves beyond familiar traditions.

 

༺ ABOUT THE AUTHOR ༻

 

 Delilah Belvedere is a Kenyan-born, Washington, D.C.–based author and keynote speaker whose stories weave together mythology, sensuality, and power. Her writing blends African-inspired mythology with nontraditional vampires, witches, immersive worldbuilding, and unapologetically sensual storytelling, exploring themes of identity, legacy, and self-discovery through bold, unforgettable characters. Drawn to the spaces where ancestral magic, forbidden desire, and hidden histories collide, Delilah creates worlds where passion is transformative, power is inherited, and destiny is written in blood. Through every story, she champions authenticity, body positivity, curiosity, and the courage to embrace one’s truest self. When she’s not writing, Delilah is exploring new cuisines, hosting backyard BBQs, or binge-watching her next favorite series.

 

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༺ LAST WORD ༻

 

Sarai's discovery turns the familiar question of becoming a vampire into something more complicated: she is recovering a lineage that existed long before she understood her place in it. That distinction gives The Half Kasst its strongest hook. Her enemies are not simply hunting a woman who has gained supernatural abilities; they are confronting the return of something history was supposed to have buried. For readers drawn to secret bloodlines, inherited magic, sensual paranormal worlds, and vampire hierarchies with old grievances still shaping the present, Sarai's awakening offers an enticing beginning.

 

 

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LIterary Eco-Fiction Teaser: Crows Calling by Bruce McConnell

A ten-year-old girl, a council of animals beneath California redwoods, and a crow determined to make humanity listen give Crows Calling an unusual way into the climate conversation. Bruce McConnell places young Luz between the human and nonhuman worlds, where bears, coyotes, trees, chickens, and other “planimals” have their own memories, grievances, and ideas about what should happen next. By combining a coming-of-age story with a cross-species debate over environmental responsibility, the novel approaches ecological questions through characters who quite literally have different stakes in the future of the planet.


An Inspiring Journey into our Better Natures

Literary/Eco-Fiction

Date Published: 10-01-2025

Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press


Crows Calling on Goodreads

༺ ABOUT THE BOOK ༻

 

Earth’s animals are fed up with humanity’s mindless damage to our common home. Will a young girl and her family heed their call? 
 

Ten-year-old Luz sets out on an overnight camping trip, accompanied by her spiritual mentor. Peering through a canopy of California redwoods, Luz witnesses a council of animals confronting the menace of climate change. Led by a lustrous—and talkative—American Crow named Koro, the animals weigh their options. Some, like Koro, want to collaborate with humans. Others doubt humanity’s good intentions. The conversation compels young Luz, innately in tune with the natural world, to fight passionately in its defense. 

 

At once a work of fact-based activism and a moving coming-of-age, Crows Calling immerses the reader in a richly-drawn family and community who, despite their differences, decide to dedicate their lives to the care of Grandmother Earth. They are not alone. Rather, they are accompanied by a colorful cast of savvy planimals—bears, coyotes, trees, and even chickens—with long memories and ancient ways of healing. However, some damage cannot be undone. Natural disasters, public apathy, and greed threaten everything that Luz and her friends are working for. Can the cross-species alliance find unity and resolve the climate crisis?

 

༺ read an excerpt ༻

 

 
Chapter 1
 

Before we go any further, I really should introduce myself. I am Koro—a lustrous female American Crow. Surely, when strolling in woods or along an urban lane, you have admired my family’s elegant, iridescent plumage and thrilled to our melodious song. You know of our prodigious memory, of our cleverness spearing hapless grubs from sodden logs with a favored twig. 

 

The glint you see in my ebony eye is a tear shining for my grandmother—the earthly incarnation of generosity, whose bounteous lands and waters make room for every new arrival. Of late, however, one family—relative newcomers—has been pushing her limits, leaving their garbage everywhere and abusing the other guests. They run their noisy engines at all hours. Noxious smoke belches from their cooking fires. Every day, more and more of them come, crowding into other families’ spaces, destroying the homes of many of my friends. 

 

Recognizing our Crow persistence, Grandmother Earth called us to help her get those inconsiderate tenants to clean up their act. Peering into the chasm of the coming Meltdown, I am proud to be on precious Grandmother’s team. My cawcus is responsible for majestic Northern California. The land we cover is a patchwork sprawl of asphalt and forest, garlic and strawberries, oranges and avocados, cattle and sheep raised sustainably and otherwise, bears guttering in their occult tongue, sweet jasmine brandishing her shameless perfume, and sixteen million busy humans. 

 

Through wildfires, drought, floods, extreme heat, even earthquakes, Grandmother is pleading directly with humans. Some hear her message. Take Makah Andrews, professor of International Environmental Policy at Monterey University. Makah’s one of the good ones, trying to use the system to turn itself around. That’s the aim of “Team Grandmother”—a successful turnaround. 

 

What’s that I hear? Ah, please allow me to introduce my most trusted teammate, Ursula, a beautiful California Black Bear who lives around here. Ursula, tell the folks what we’ve been hearing from other nonhuman parts of the natural world, from other planimals, as we call ourselves. Our fellow creatures are getting nervous. Some are angry. That’s why we’re organizing a Congress. …

 

༺ WHY READ THIS BOOK ༻

 

Crows Calling does more than give animals human voices; it gives them positions within an argument. Koro favors cooperation with humanity while other creatures are less convinced that people can—or will—change, creating disagreement inside the natural world rather than presenting it as a single harmonious chorus. Luz then becomes more than an observer. Her encounter with that council asks what a child who recognizes the urgency of environmental damage can do when the adults and institutions around her have their own competing priorities.

 

McConnell also builds his environmental themes into family and community life rather than confining them to an abstract crisis. The supplied description identifies natural disasters, public apathy, and greed as obstacles facing Luz and her allies, while the opening chapter immediately establishes Koro as a narrator with wit, frustration, memory, and a distinctly crow-centered view of human behavior. That combination of activism, coming-of-age, and nonhuman perspective gives the novel a structure designed to make ecological questions personal.

 

༺ WHO WILL LOVE IT ༻

 

This is a strong match for readers interested in eco-fiction that places environmental questions inside a character-driven story. The talking animals and trees may also appeal to those who enjoy fiction that crosses the boundary between the everyday and the allegorical, while Luz's role gives the larger ecological conflict a coming-of-age dimension. Readers intrigued by stories in which the natural world has agency—and is allowed to challenge human assumptions directly—will find plenty to consider in Koro's proposed alliance between species.

 

༺ ABOUT THE AUTHOR ༻

 

 

Bruce McConnell is an agile and accomplished shapeshifter, having flourished as a poet, roofer, artist-blacksmith, mechanical engineer, tenor, business consultant, national security official, non-profit executive, and peacemaker. A collection of his poems, Living from Here, was published by Anvil Press (US). He recently moved to Ashland Oregon to feel closer to his relatives in the natural world. Crows Calling is his first novel. He is working on a second novel set in Southern Oregon. 
 

A leading player on global peace and security issues at the intersection of governments, business and civil society for over thirty years, McConnell is the former President and CEO of the EastWest Institute. He serves on the board of The Stimson Center, in support of peace, security, justice, and prosperity for all living beings. 

 

From 2009 to 2013, McConnell served in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he was Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity. He was a member of the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team. From 2000-2008, he created, built and sold two consultancies that provided strategic advice to clients in the technology, business and government sectors. In 1999-2000, McConnell led the International Y2K Cooperation Center, which was sponsored by the United Nations and the World Bank.

McConnell holds a Master of Public Administration from the Evans School for Public Policy at the University of Washington and a Bachelor of Sciences from Stanford University. He serves as a business advisor to various technology companies.

 

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༺ LAST WORD ༻

 

Koro's opening narration makes the premise of Crows Calling clear: humans are not the only ones entitled to an opinion about what happens to the planet. By allowing a crow, a bear, a child, and an expanding community of “planimals” to participate in the same environmental conversation, the novel shifts climate change away from statistics alone and toward questions of responsibility, cooperation, and who gets heard. Luz's challenge is not simply recognizing that something is wrong; it is deciding what to do after the natural world has asked her directly to become part of the solution.

 

 

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Friday, August 14, 2026

Speculative Fiction Spotlight: Holes in the Somewhere by Richard R. Brown

Grief does not follow a single set of rules in Holes in the Somewhere. It can emerge through a mysterious wall, accompany strangers confronting a fungal pandemic, or sit beside college students preparing for the extinction of the Sun. Richard R. Brown gathers those unsettling possibilities around something considerably more personal: his own experience of grief and loss following his father’s death from cancer. The result is a collection where speculative fiction and horror provide unusual shapes for recognizably human fears, losses, and impossible decisions—and where the distance between the normal and paranormal can become disturbingly thin.


Holes in the Somewhere

by Richard R. Brown

Genre: Speculative Fiction, Horror Stories

Goodreads


༺ ABOUT THE BOOK ༻


Holes In The Somewhere is a collection of short works, anchored by a personal memoir of the author's own experience with grief and loss after the passing of his father from cancer, by speculative fiction author Richard R. Brown.

 

A single mother encounters insanity in the worst possible person; an estranged parent loses his reunited family to a mysterious bathroom wall; a group of strangers come together to fight a fungal pandemic; college students prepare for the extinction of the Sun... these are a few of the challenges faced by the desperate characters in Holes In The Somewhere. The choices they make, the dilemmas they wrestle with, all have very supernatural consequences, but are felt with very human emotions.

 

These stories will tug at strings your heart thought were too well-hidden for anyone to know about, and cause the mind to probe the gray areas between wrong and right. Between normal and paranormal. Behind what's real and only to the side of what's unreal. A perfect mix of quick, unsettling reads, and longer, heart-wrenching escapes.

 

What readers are saying:

"The debut is speculative fiction in form: weird, unsettling, occasionally cosmic. But it reads less like a genre exercise than like grief that has been given permission to take unusual shapes." - Justine Castellon, Author/Reviewer

 

"I guarantee there is a 'gotcha' story in there for just about anybody, and if you don't find at least one that bothers you just as you're about to fall asleep, you're made of sterner stuff than I am." - Kenneth Crist, editor-in-chief, Black Petals Magazine

 

“These stories are weird and creepy and heart-wrenching in all the best ways. If you enjoy fiction that makes you question everything and wrecks you emotionally, this is for you!” – Valerie S., 5 star Amazon Review


༺ WHY READ THIS BOOK ༻


Holes in the Somewhere uses speculative situations to approach emotions that are considerably less imaginary. A mysterious bathroom wall, an approaching solar catastrophe, and a fungal pandemic may belong to horror and speculative fiction, but the people facing them are still negotiating grief, fractured families, fear, responsibility, and choices without comfortable answers.

 

The inclusion of Brown’s personal memoir gives that approach additional context. Rather than keeping lived loss separate from the collection’s stranger stories, the book places the author’s experience following his father’s death alongside fictional characters confronting their own versions of disappearance, upheaval, and mortality. That combination makes the collection especially interesting for readers who appreciate horror that uses the impossible to examine emotions that are entirely real.

 



༺ WHO WILL LOVE IT ༻


This collection should be particularly interesting to readers who prefer horror that unsettles emotionally as well as supernaturally. Its scenarios range from intimate family terror to large-scale catastrophe, allowing the stories to approach dread from different directions rather than relying on a single kind of monster or threat.

 

Short-fiction readers who enjoy moving between quick disturbances and longer narratives will also find that variety built into the collection. The recurring attention to grief and difficult moral territory makes it a stronger match for those who like speculative fiction that leaves uncomfortable questions behind after the immediate danger has passed.


༺ read an EXCERPT ༻


Excerpt from ‘A Hole In The Somewhere’, a story in ‘Holes In The Somewhere’

When he hung up, he saw the answer to his problem of Tony’s dead body. He picked Tony up and wrestled him into the wall where the blurred patch was. Pieces seemed to fall off into the wall, but that just made Tony easier to handle. He just had time to change into a clean shirt and slide the gun back under the couch before there came a soft knock on his door.

 

Jack wiped sweat from his forehead and opened the door. Before him stood the same little girl who held his hand twenty years ago and asked him, “Why, Daddy?” about absolutely everything. Only now she had green eyes when she used to have brown eyes.

 

“Mommy says you’re my grandpa,” she said to him now. “Why is your door all bubbly and brown, Grandpa?”

 

Jack looked up and past his granddaughter at Mary, who was smiling anxiously at both of them.

 

“Hi, Daddy,” was all she said. It was enough.

 

Jack burst into tears, picked his granddaughter up in his left arm, and trotted down the steps to embrace his daughter with his right arm. They hugged for several moments before a muffled, “Why are you crying, Grandpa?” came from his shoulder.

 

Jack laughed, and put her down on the ground again. “I’m crying because I’m so happy to meet you!” he said.

 

“Oh. My name’s Emily, but you can call me Emmy. Why do you live by the train tracks, Grandpa?”

 

“Actually, Dad, I’m curious, too. This address came up as ‘Condemned.’ How is it that you live here?”

 

Jack led them inside and told them his story, forcing himself to be honest about his decisions and his reasons. Recent events disappeared from his awareness as the last twenty years enveloped him. He told them about his depression and anger from the divorce, and how losing everything seduced him into giving up everything. He hadn’t wanted to try to replace what he had lost because that would be admitting that he had lost it to begin with. After a few minutes, Emmy wanted to explore, so Jack gave a tour while he talked. It only took a minute.

 

In the bathroom, Mary shot him an alarmed look when she saw the cracked mirror. “Oh! It was like that when I found this place. I got a new one last month. I just forgot about hanging it up.”

 

“Let’s do it now, Daddy. I don’t like that crack, for some reason. It creeps me out.”

 

They hung the new mirror while Jack entertained them with stories from his train-hopping days. Mary leaned the cracked mirror against the wall below the new one, stood up, and proclaimed, “Much better!”

 

Jack and Mary returned to the main room. Mary told Jack about her short, failed marriage to Emmy’s father, her job at CyberSolutions, and her academic career. “Where is Emmy?” Jack wondered aloud.

 

“She was fascinated by that old mirror, so I leaned it against the wall so she could look at it.”

 

Jack felt a moment of unease at this, but had no ready explanation for it, so he let it go. “Are you hungry, kiddo?” he asked Mary. “I’m sure Emmy probably is. Want to go to lunch?”

 

“Sure, but I’m pay-“Mary was interrupted by a tremendous whipcrack coming from the bathroom.

 

The gun!, Jack thought, and leapt to his feet as Mary called out, “Emmy?  Emmy!” They both ran into the bathroom, only to find it empty. There was nothing to hide behind, but Mary made a close search of every corner, anyway, all the while calling her daughter’s name, “Emmy! Emmeeee!”



༺ ABOUT THE AUTHOR ༻


Richard R. Brown is a legally-blind author of speculative fiction, horror, and thrillers. He writes from experience, having lived through paranormal events, alien attacks, and cosmic horrors -- at least, in his mind and in the books he listens to. He and his Guide Dog live in the Pacific Northwest. Richard is between Guide Dogs at the moment as Edison retired last summer. Edison was at Richard's side through every story in his book. Richard has no such guidance for his current novel, but will likely have one for editing help.


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༺ LAST WORD ༻


The title Holes in the Somewhere suits a collection concerned with the places where ordinary explanations stop working. Brown’s characters encounter impossible intrusions into recognizable lives, but the emotional consequences remain grounded in things people understand all too well: losing someone, recovering a relationship, confronting mortality, and wondering which choice can still be called right when every option carries a cost.

 

That connection between grief and the uncanny may be the collection’s most intriguing proposition. Horror can give fear a monster, a pandemic, a cosmic catastrophe, or even a hole where no hole should exist. Grief is harder to contain. Here, the strange things lurking around the edges of reality offer another way to look directly at it.



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Adventure Spotlight: Second Chance Highway by Lori Keesey

Ginny Carmichael’s road trip begins as an act of escape, but Second Chance Highway is interested in what happens after physical distance has been created between a woman and the life that has harmed her. Traveling with her baby daughter, Ginny encounters people who offer kindness without demanding anything in return, while the road steadily carries her toward an estranged mother and wounds that cannot be left behind simply by crossing state lines. Lori Keesey’s sequel to Always Think of Me places faith, forgiveness, and restoration alongside the practical courage required to begin again, turning the highway itself into part of Ginny’s reckoning with what freedom might actually mean.


Second Chance Highway by Lori Keesey

Second Chance Highway

A Sequel

Fantasy / Action & Adventure / Christian

Date Published: June 9, 2026

Publisher: Clay Bridges Publishing

Find Second Chance Highway on Goodreads


༺ ABOUT THE BOOK ༻


Sometimes, the second chance we truly need is the one we give ourselves.

 

Ginny Carmichael feels trapped in her abusive relationship until an otherworldly visit ignites her determination to break free. With her baby daughter in tow, she embarks on a courageous road trip that not only takes her away from danger but also leads her to unexpected kindness, genuine connections, and profound forgiveness. 

 

Along the way, she meets a compassionate waitress, a spirited aunt, and ultimately her estranged mother, who may hold the key to her healing. As Ginny approaches her destination—and the truth about her worth—she discovers that escape was never the destination. Wholeness was. 

 

Second Chance Highway is a poignant tale of faith, friendship, and the path to restoration and redemption, and is the sequel to the award-winning Always Think of Me.


༺ WHY READ THIS BOOK ༻


Second Chance Highway centers its story on an important distinction: getting away from danger and recovering from it are not the same thing. Ginny’s decision to leave is only the beginning. The people she encounters on the road—a waitress, an aunt, and eventually the mother from whom she has been separated—become part of a much more difficult process involving trust, forgiveness, and the rebuilding of her sense of worth.

 

The supernatural element also gives Ginny’s departure an unusual starting point without removing the human work that follows. Her journey still depends on choices, relationships, and a willingness to confront painful family history. Readers interested in faith-centered fiction that treats restoration as a process rather than a single dramatic moment may find that emphasis especially meaningful.


༺ WHO WILL LOVE IT ༻


This sequel may appeal most to readers who want character-driven Christian fiction concerned with recovery, family relationships, and the difficult work of forgiving without pretending that harm never occurred. Ginny’s journey combines a literal road trip with a return to unresolved relationships, giving the story room for both outward movement and inward change.

 

Those who have already read Always Think of Me can continue Ginny’s story here, while readers drawn to women rebuilding their lives after controlling relationships may connect with the book’s focus on agency, motherhood, faith, and learning to accept genuine kindness after living with fear.


༺ ABOUT THE AUTHOR ༻



Lori Keesey is the author of Second Chance Highway, the sequel to the award-winning Always Think of Me. Lori discovered her love for writing at a very young age and then pursued a professional writing career as a journalist, freelance writer, and communication consultant. She graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park.

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༺ LAST WORD ༻


The most significant distance Ginny travels in Second Chance Highway is not measured by the miles between her old life and her destination. Leaving gives her the opportunity to survive; the harder question is what she will build once she is no longer organizing every decision around fear. That distinction gives the novel a more thoughtful definition of a second chance than simply starting over somewhere new.

 

Ginny’s encounters along the road also suggest that restoration can arrive through unexpected people as readily as through long-awaited reconciliations. Her destination matters, but so do the moments that gradually challenge what she has learned to believe about herself. In that sense, the highway is less an escape route than the place where Ginny begins deciding what she will carry forward—and what she is finally ready to leave behind.



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