‘Iowa Trouble’ is a politics centered memoir by Tyler Granger, a lifetime Iowan who was heavily involved in the area’s politics. Photo: Tyler Granger, used with permission.
Tyler Granger is a lifelong Iowan who wanted to share his life’s journey and began writing his memoir in 2020 for his infant daughter so she would have a book about her father and her family’s history. He shares his journey in this memoir, which includes stories ranging from football to Warped Tour to working for the Obama campaign. He has a degree in political science from Northwestern College and has worked on a variety of political campaigns and non-profits across Iowa. “Iowa Trouble” is a memoir of political violence across Iowa mixed with a variety of horror stories from punk sub-culture to Iowa gangsters to the politics of the Iowa Caucus. (Tyler Granger, 2023)
“Iowa Trouble”– while it is not for everyone, it includes something for everyone. It is a coming of age/gangster novel/political thriller/horror memoir with the target audience being punks and political junkies.
* Disclaimer: This self-published memoir includes stories of murder, rape, drugs and alcohol, political corruption, and other violent crimes that could be potentially emotionally distressing for some readers.
Author Tyler Granger. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
‘How To Employ Your Own Boss: The Ultimate Guide on How To Move From Being An Employee To Employer’ is Samuel Shy’s book about entrepreneurship. Photo: Amazon
From time to time, everyone at one point or another has fantasized about being their own boss. Regardless of what type of job you have, if you work for someone else, it can be exhausting and soul crushing because jobs most require getting up early, long commutes to work, and working at least eight hours a day, which means being cooped up in an office all day and missing out on life’s important events and spending time with loved ones; not to mention stressful office politics and overly critical managers who often demean more than praise employees. When it comes down to it, do you really know what it means to be your own boss? In his new book “How To Employ Your Own Boss: The Ultimate Guide on How To Move From Being An Employee To Employer,” Samuel Shy writes about this important topic that is frequently in every worker’s mind after a long stressful day at work. (Samuel Shy, 2023)
“How To Employ Your Own Boss: The Ultimate Guide on How To Move From Being An Employee To Employer” – is available only as an e-book and is only 62 pages long but it features the basic concepts you should know when considering being self-employed. This includes the definition of an employee, the types of employees, and most importantly, what is self employment. He lists the advantages, disadvantages, and examples of self employment and how to move from being an employee to being self employed. Once you decide that this is the right move for you, he also explains how to start and run your own business along with the advantages and disadvantages of being your own boss which serves as a reality check. He also includes the characteristics that define someone who can be their own boss: could this be you? Are you ready to take the plunge?
This guide dealing with entrepreneurship, business, and economics is available through Lulu.
‘The Vanished’ is the latest book in the Robert Spires series by Simon Rosser. Photo: Amazon
“The Vanished” may be book 9 of the Robert Spires series but it is an excellent read as a stand alone novel. It begins with Vanessa and Stefan hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains as what begins as a hiking adventure ends with Stefan’s disappearance. This event is just the latest in similar disappearances that have been occurring in the area so the UK’s Global Environmental Command, GLENCOM for short, dispatches Robert and Agent Belinda Caruso to investigate since it is thought that they might have some environmental connections.
Along with the disappearances, for decades now, there have been cases of cattle and other livestock mutilations in neighboring farms that look as if they were done by scalpel or laser technology. No tracks or other evidence as to who might be responsible for the unexplained deaths has ever been found but there might be reason to believe that there might be an extraterrestrial link since there have also been instances of unusual lights in the night sky. Robert Spire and Agent Belinda Caruso team up with Spire’s old friend, ex-U.S. Marine Travis Dexter and the deeper they dig, the clearer it becomes that the U.S Military might be involved.
While the topics of farm animal mutilations, missing hikers, and mysterious lights in the sky are common occurrences in the real world, the author brilliantly combines them to create an intriguing yet unnerving science fiction adventure. Far from giving clear explanations for them, he does give a possible, though chilling, reason for the disappearances that could very well happen and leaves the way open for expanding on this story, including which mysterious government agency may be involved. It also serves as a warning to humanity without coming off as preachy or condescending.
The characters are believable and relatable, but giving the assassins for hire brothers the stereotypical ‘Deliverance-like’ characteristics makes them seem cartoonish at most. The language is easy to follow and understand and makes the story flow naturally. Overall, ‘The Vanished’ is a must-read and thrilling science fiction novel and is recommended for readers who enjoy science fiction, UFO/alien stories and appreciate speculative fiction.
‘Identicality’ is a suspenseful technothriller by Jay L. Koppelman. Photo: Jay L. Koppelman
Jay L. Koppelman, a San Francisco Bay Area resident, is retired from a career in real estate investment and finance. He currently serves as CFO of an educational therapy clinic and has been an active participant on various philanthropic boards. In his spare time, he chases his grandkids, enjoys golf, recreational flying, and reading about science and technology. “Identicality,” his debut novel, is a riveting and thought-provoking science fiction thriller that will keep you thinking and guessing until the very end – and beyond. (Jay L. Koppelman, 2023)
“Identicality” – As founding partner of a prestigious San Francisco law firm, Charlie Wood owes much of his success to business dealings with his life-long friend, the brilliant inventor-entrepreneur Adam Braudy. While Charlie is grateful to Adam, he cannot help envying Adam’s staggering wealth and fame and feels resentful every time Adam calls and expects him to drop everything to do his bidding. As Adam lies dying following an assassination attempt, he asks Charlie to aid him in fulfilling one last request: use his latest invention—a device capable of duplicating human life—to create an Adam replicant. Unable to deny his friend’s dying wish, Charlie sets aside his deep ethical reservations and, at the risk of spawning a Frankenstein monster, creates Adam’s replicant.
Everything seems to be going as planned as the new Adam takes on the first Adam’s role as husband, father, inventor and industrialist—firmly convinced he is the real Adam. But then the first Adam miraculously survives. How far will Adam go to get his life back?
‘The Vanished’ is the new sci-fi thriller by Simon Rosser. Photo: Amazon
When he is not busy with his day job as a lawyer, Simon Rosser is the author of action/adventure-thriller novels, predominantly the Robert Spire action thrillers, which all have an ecological, historical, science-fiction mystery cataclysmic theme. Think James Bond mixed with Indiana Jones and some environmental/historical facts thrown in for good measure. Previous books include “The A-Z Of Global Warming” – updated 2012 edition, and the Robert Spire eco-terrorism action-thrillers “Tipping Point,” “Impact Point,” “Melt Zone,” “Cataclysm of the Ancients,” “Crypto,” and the Galileo Project sci-fi UFO conspiracy thrillers 1-3. The author has also written sci-fi thrillers, “Vaporized” I and II and “Salient,” together with stand alone espionage adventure thriller, “Red Mist.” In his new book “The Vanished,” Robert Spire and Agent Belinda Caruso are sent by the U.K’s GLENCOM Agency to the United States to investigate the strange phenomena surrounding hundreds of individuals, including hikers, hunters, and sightseers who are mysteriously vanishing from U.S. National Parks where animal predation has been ruled out as being the cause. It is a gripping sci-fi mystery and book number 9 in the Robert Spire thriller series. (Simon Rosser, 2023)
“The Vanished” – When Vanessa and Stefan go hiking in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, little did Vanessa know that after finding an idyllic spot to camp, it would be the last time she would ever see her partner alive. Stefan seemingly vanishes into thin air. Since the 1960s, probably earlier, cattle and other livestock have been discovered by ranchers on their land, mutilated as if by scalpel or laser technology and drained of their blood. No tracks or other evidence as to who might be responsible for the unexplained deaths has ever been found. The strange, unexplained mutilations continue to this day.
Robert Spire, and Agent Belinda Caruso team up with Spire’s old friend, ex-U.S. Marine Travis Dexter. Initially suspecting some kind of environmental cause, it soon becomes apparent that the U.S Military might be involved. Are the many hundreds of missing people, the unusual lights in the night sky and animal mutilations linked? As Spire digs deeper into the phenomenon, it quickly becomes evident that something inexplicable is happening and that there may well be an other-worldly explanation for what is going on.
This edge-of-your-seat fictional sci-fi mystery thriller will take you into the worrying and inexplicable but factual world of missing people, cattle mutilations and strange lights in the night sky. Buckle up and keep the lights on.
‘The Dot: Book 4’ is the new science fiction adventure by Mark Bertrand. Photo: Mark Bertrand, used with permission.
Mark Bertrand is the author of “Starzel,” “Love Reincarnate,” “A Conscious Thing,” and “The Dot.” He is a writer by day and a stock market trader by night. His career path includes working in aerospace and neuroscience. He received a bachelor of science in aeronautical engineering and his master of mathematics from Boston University. To balance his left brain with his right, his MBA is from the University of California at San Diego. Finally, to quench his desire for knowledge, he completed his Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Southern California. Mark has been a Buddhist for more than forty years, is considered Mahayana, and has also studied Alan Watts’ and Tich Naht Hahn’s writings on Zen. He managed a small abbey in San Diego, California for ten years. Currently, he is a member of the Sangha at the Enlightenment Stupa of Benalmádena, Spain. In his new book “The Dot: Book 4,” two men on different planets discover themselves and their fathers while confronting planetary existential crises of famine, radiation poisoning, and the collapse of society. (Mark Bertrand, 2023)
“The Dot: Book 4”– The Cyborgs, hoping to create a civilization of kindness and love without the destructive effects of anger, harvest a group of scientists, inject them with a serum to alter their DNA, implant a neurolink brain chip, and send them to Ziran, a planet with minimal technology. Eight generations later, Ziran faces extinction. The planet’s binary star system is producing x-ray radiation, which is destroying crops, poisoning the people, and killing their settlement’s chances at a future. In the hopes of saving their planet, the people of Ziran use an ancient ritual, evoking the gods to possess the bodies of the King and Queen to create a child. This child, Zosimos, is the planet’s only hope.
Zosimos matures at an inhuman rate. As he ages, he displays exceptional mental abilities, helping his people solve a range of technological and medical issues. By the time he reaches the age of six, he is ready to take the crown. When Zosimos is exposed to a plant strain with the side-effect of reversing the DNA-altering serum, he feels anger for the first time. With that anger comes the realization that he is superior to those around him. In a fit of rage, he kills his parents and claims the throne, forcing his people to submit to his tyrannical rule.
The promise of a cure for radiation poisoning leads Zosimos to Kelv, the sage. Still filled with rage, Zosimos forces Vallena, who is friends with the sage, to trap Kelv and obtain a DNA sample, hoping to learn why the sage has survived in the wasteland with no protection from radiation. However, Vallena discovers a way to reinstate the DNA-altering serum and cure Zosimos’s rage, and tricks him into taking the cure. The cure works, and Zosimos grows depressed and filled with remorse. He seeks advice from the sage, and through their lessons on love, truth, and alignment between mind and body, Zosimos becomes enlightened. Zosimos, contemplating the solution to his planet’s crisis, and questioning everything he thought he knew, turns to the conscious supercomputer his father hid in Vallena’s home but it is indifferent to human suffering and unwilling to interfere with frail humanity. Using the teachings learned from Kelv, Zosimos convinces the machine to help them. The machine begins to study the human body’s ability to heal itself and in doing so, finds a solution that can save everyone: transcendence but in order for this plan to succeed, the people must trust the former tyrant Zosimos.
Centuries later, the Cyborgs return to monitor their experiment, only to discover a planet vacant of life. There are no humans, no evidence of civilization, no skeletons. The only indications of the now failed experiment are the abandoned neurolinks, and a dead supercomputer.
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‘Braxton’s Turn: Watch Out Washington’ is a humorous political novel by Stephen R. Marks. Photo: Stephen R. Marks
Stephen R Marksis the author of “Braxton’s Turn: Watch Out Washington.” He started writing it in 2012 and as a busy businessman running a company, he had little time to devote to the manuscript until he retired in early 2020. His company helped raise money for research and he was asked to join the JDRF Los Angeles Board of Directors in 2011. That experience exposed him to the work of advocacy groups, parents, and the medical research community in pursuit of a cure for type 1 diabetes. Yet despite millions of dollars raised through charitable giving combined with large annual research grants from the U.S. Congress, there was still no cure and no preventions in hand or on the horizon. In 2012 he got the idea for a story about how the right man, in the right place, at the right time could lead the efforts that would result in the cure. That developed into the story of Jonathon ‘JB’ Braxton; a story filled with comedy and quirky characters in addition to serious discussion of life with type 1 diabetes and other social commentary. Hopefully, it will be a source of hope and inspiration to those in the diabetes community and to those who desire our country to have better people seeking public office. (Stephen R. Marks, 2023)
“Braxton’s Turn: Watch Out Washington”– In the spring of 2012, an unlikely transformational figure inadvertently breaches the perimeter of U.S politics. Unencumbered by political ambition and devoid of greed or lust for power, Jonathon Braxton reluctantly enters the arena. Fueled solely by a desire to advocate for more medical research funding to find a cure for type 1 diabetes afflicting his son, Braxton agrees to speak at the 2012 Republican National Convention courtesy of two influential power brokers who see ‘JB‘ as the future of the party. Lance Reibus, the Republican National Committee chairman, is pressured by two important power brokers, Carlton and Cornelius Hale, into giving Braxton a prime time speaking slot with the intent to showcase Braxton to the party and to the country. Braxton is aware of their motives but does not care as he sees this as an opportunity to advocate for his cause and one that cannot be passed up despite his disdain for politics.
Braxton’s passionate speech advocating for increased funding for stem cell research catapults him into the political limelight and launches his political career and a journey that leads him to the U.S. Congress and the height of U.S. political power. Along the way he remodels Washington DC political norms and cable TV opinion shows as he becomes a regular on Wallis Kriss’ Big News Sunday show. Braxton’s monthly Sunday morning appearances with Kriss become must watch TV for much of the country and serve to reshape the U.S. political landscape.
As the 2016 presidential election comes into view, Braxton finds himself in the orbit of the Democrat front-runner, and current Secretary of State, Heather Carrington. The Republican Braxton intrigues Carrington and they form a bond as Carrington faces uncertainties about her desire to be president and Braxton strives to navigate the halls of Congress in pursuit of his agenda. On the cusp of the election, a series of events bring Braxton and Carrington closer together and lead to a surprising conclusion as Braxton brings both the Democrat and Republican parties to the brink of extinction.
‘Self Care for Black Women: A Powerful Mental Health Workbook to Quiet Your Inner Critic, Boost Self-Esteem, and Love Yourself’ is five books in one. Photo: Amazon
Layla Moon is a full-timer writer, spiritual practitioner, and a coach living in Brooklyn, NY. She struggled with poverty, as well as toxic relationships within families and partners throughout her life. In her mid-20s, she started seriously practicing the law of attraction, hoodoo magic, and other spiritual practices. Over the next 7 years, she would go onto successfully manifesting her dream life; a life filled with happiness, a loving partner, and a fulfilling career in writing and coaching. She now teaches others how to do the same through her books. When not writing, you can find her spending time with her family, practicing yoga, and discovering new books to read. Her new book “Self Care for Black Women: A Powerful Mental Health Workbook to Quiet Your Inner Critic, Boost Self Esteem, and Love Yourself” is a collection of five essential books for black women looking to prioritize their mental, spiritual, and emotional well-being. (Layla Moon, 2023)
** For a limited time, from April 1 through April 9, this title will be available for .99 **
“Emotional Self Care for Black Women: A Powerful Mental Health Workbook to Silence Your Inner Critic, Raise Your Self-Esteem, And Heal Yourself”
“Spiritual Self Care for Black Women: A Powerful, Holistic Workbook to Radically Love Yourself and Heal Your Mind, Body, & Soul”
“365 Powerful Positive Affirmations for Black Women: Reprogram Your Mind to Boost Confidence, Self-Esteem, Attract Success, Money, Health, and Love”
“365 Badass Positive Affirmations for Strong Black Women: For BIPOC Women to Overcome Negative Thinking, Increase Confidence, and Self-Love”
“One Year Self-Discovery Journal for Black Women: 365 Eye-Opening Questions to Discover Your Self, Raise Self-Esteem, and Embrace Your True Beauty”
Not only do these books provide useful knowledge and inspiration, but also come with a journal to record your own self-care journey. Each book has been chosen with care to provide black women a comprehensive picture of self-care, encompassing subjects like physical health, emotional health, mental wellbeing, and the importance of sisterhood and community.
After reading these books, you will acquire the skills and information necessary to take charge of your own mental health and develop a self-care strategy that works for you. This box set is the ideal resource whether you are trying to develop your practice or are just beginning your self-care journey.
‘The Family Bones’ is the new suspense thriller from Elle Marr. Photo: Amazon
Elle Marris the #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of “Strangers We Know,” “Lies We Bury,” and “The Missing Sister.” Originally from Sacramento, she graduated from UC San Diego before moving to France, where she earned a master’s degree from the Sorbonne University in Paris. In her terrifying new novel “The Family Bones,” a young woman plunges into her family’s shadowy legacy. (Amazon, 2023)
“The Family Bones” – What makes a psychopath? Psychology student Olivia Eriksen’s family is notorious among true-crime buffs. Faced with a legacy of psychopathy that spans generations, Olivia has spent much of her academic life trying to answer one chilling question: Nature or nurture? Although she has kept a safe distance from her blood relatives for years, Olivia agrees to attend a weekend reunion. After all, her fiancé is eager to meet his future in-laws, and the gathering may give her a chance to interview her elusive grandfather about the family traits.
But nothing is ever peaceful among the Eriksens for long. Olivia’s favorite cousin is found dead in a nearby lake. Then another family member disappears. As a violent storm isolates the group further, Olivia’s fears rise faster than the river and an uninvited guest is about to join the party. True-crime podcaster Birdie Tan has uncovered a disturbing mystery in her latest investigation—and she is following it right to the Eriksens’ mountain resort. There is a deadly twist in the family plot that even Olivia does not see coming.
‘Why Did I Like You Anyway?’ by Terrie Lynn. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Terrie Lynn is the author of self help books including “On The Verge of Sex” and “Why Did I Like You Anyway?” She was born and raised in Akron, Ohio and lived there until she went on vacation to Atlanta, GA and stayed for 20 years. She is a graduate from Georgia State University with a major in Communications and a minor in Theater. Her passion for writing is not to preach or judge, but to aid in one reflecting on their own behavior. In “Why Did I Like You Anyway?” she offers women relationship advice; not about how to get or keep a man, but rather why women do what they do and like who they like. It is available on Amazon. (Terrie Lynn, 2023)
“Why Did I Like You Anyway?” – It is not a book about male bashing, but about what women like. How a woman feels about herself can explain plenty about her decision making. Too often, people do not know themselves as well as they think they do. They repeat their relationship behavior because of this lack of understanding. In many situations, the focus is on what the other person has done rather than looking inward at what they themselves are doing. Once a person realizes that they can only change themselves, they are empowered to make real changes in their lives and their relationships. The author hopes this book will help readers learn more about themselves and their role in dating and relationships.
SA Examiner 