‘The Spark’ is book one in the Beyond the Light Universe series. Photo: Amazon
William Steele is an artist and writer from the Rio Grand Valley in Texas. He is the creator of the Beyond the Light Universe. His debut novel “The Spark” is book one of four in the Beyond the Light series. (Amazon, 2022)
“The Spark”– Art and Science… Magic and Logic… Creation and Destruction…Choice and Inevitability…All are constructs born of an apex sentience, and somewhere out beyond the boundary of our known universe, there exists another apex species that has long since eclipsed us in experience. Their faith in magic has dwindled, and the Era of Egal has passed. By marching forward into the Era of Capitol, and abandoning the magical tether to their planet, the Thearians have decided to meet the trials of evolution head on. They have sealed their embrace of the New Way within the immortal city of Key-Rown, and choose the shelter provided by the great depths of the crystal flower. All have sealed their fate. All but one. This is his message.
‘Overkill’ is Sandra Brown’s new novel. Photo: Amazon
Sandra Brown is the author of seventy-four New York Times bestsellers. There are more than eighty million copies of her books in print worldwide, and her work has been translated into thirty-four languages. Four of her books have been made into films. In 2008, the International Thriller Writers named Brown its Thriller Master, the organization’s highest honor. In her new book “Overkill” she delivers a riveting thriller in which a conflict of conscience for a former football star and an ambitious state prosecutor swiftly intensifies into a fight for their lives. (Amazon, 2022)
“Overkill” – Former Super Bowl MVP quarterback Zach Bridger has not seen his ex-wife, Rebecca Pratt, for some time—not since their volatile marriage imploded—so he is shocked to receive a life-altering call about her. Rebecca has been placed on life support after a violent assault, and he—despite their divorce—has medical power-of-attorney. Zach is asked to make an impossible choice: keep her on life support or take her off of it. Buckling under the weight of the responsibility and the glare of public scrutiny, Zach ultimately walks away, letting Rebecca’s parents have the final say.
Four years later, Rebecca’s attacker, Eban—the heir of a wealthy family in Atlanta—gets an early release from prison. The ludicrous miscarriage of justice reeks of favoritism, and Kate Lennon, a brilliant state prosecutor, is determined to put him back behind bars. Rebecca’s parents have kept her alive all these years, but if her condition were to change—if she were to die—Eban could be retried on a new charge: murder. It is not lost on Zach that in order for Eban to be charged with Rebecca’s murder, Zach must actually be the one to kill her. He rejects Kate’s legal standpoint but cannot resist their ill-timed attraction to each other. Eban, having realized the jeopardy he is in, plots to make certain that neither Zach nor Kate lives to see the death of Rebecca—and the end of his freedom.
David Bowles’ new book ‘They Call Her Fregona’ will be released September 6, 2022. Photo: Amazon
David Bowles grew up in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, where he teaches at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He is the author of several award-winning titles, including “They Call Me Güero,” “The Smoking Mirror,” the 13th Street series, and “Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky: Myths of Mexico.” His picture book debut, “My Two Border Towns,” is available in English and Spanish. In 2020, David co-founded #DignidadLiteraria, a grassroots activist hashtag and movement dedicated to promoting equity for Latinx people in publishing. His new book “They Call Her Fregona: A Border Kid’s Poems” will be released on Tuesday, September 6, 2022. Honoring multiple poetic traditions, “They Call Her Fregona” is a bittersweet first-love story in verse and the highly anticipated follow-up to “They Call Me Güero.” (Amazon, 2022)
“They Call Her Fregona” – “You can be my boyfriend.” It only takes five words to change Güero’s life at the end of seventh grade. The summer becomes extra busy as he learns to balance new band practice with his old crew, Los Bobbys, and being Joanna Padilla’s boyfriend. They call her “fregona” because she is tough, always sticking up for her family and keeping the school bully in check. But Güero sees her softness. Together they cook dollar-store spaghetti and hold hands in the orange grove, learning more about themselves and each other than they could have imagined. But when they start eighth grade, Joanna faces a tragedy that requires Güero to reconsider what it means to show up for someone you love.
Stephen King’s new book ‘Fairy Tale. Photo: Amazon
Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent novels include “Billy Summers,” “If It Bleeds,” “The Institute,” “Elevation,” “The Outsider,” “Sleeping Beauties” (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: “End of Watch,” “Finders Keepers,” and “Mr. Mercedes.” His novel “11/22/63” was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works “The Dark Tower,” “It,” “Pet Sematary,” and “Doctor Sleep” are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. In his new book “Fairy Tale,” which will be released Tuesday, September 6, the legendary storyteller goes into the deepest well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for that world or ours. (Amazon, 2022)
“Fairy Tale”– Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid: good at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. When Charlie is seventeen, he meets a dog named Radar and her aging master, Howard Bowditch, a recluse in a big house at the top of a big hill, with a locked shed in the backyard. Sometimes strange sounds emerge from it. Charlie starts doing jobs for Mr. Bowditch and loses his heart to Radar. Then, when Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie a cassette tape telling a story no one would believe. What Bowditch knows, and has kept secret all his long life, is that inside the shed is a portal to another world. King’s storytelling in “Fairy Tale” soars. This is a magnificent and terrifying tale in which good is pitted against overwhelming evil, and a heroic boy—and his dog—must lead the battle.
‘Roar Like a Goddess’ is the new book by Acharya Shunya. Photo: Amazon
Acharya Shunya is a truth teller who facilitates authenticity, self-remembrance, and Divine Feminine pathways to awakening within. The first female head of her 2,000-year-old Indian spiritual lineage, Shunya reinterprets and recontextualizes ancient teachings for modern times, empowering people everywhere to lead fulfilled, fearless, and enlightened lives. She is president of The Awakened Self Foundation in California and author of “Ayurveda Lifestyle Wisdom” and “Sovereign Self.” Her new book “Roar Like a Goddess: Every Woman’s Guide to Becoming Unapologetically Powerful, Prosperous, and Peaceful” is a rallying cry for women everywhere to break free from the shackles of patriarchy and awaken their true nature, brought to life through India’s primary goddess archetypes. The release date is September 6, 2022. (Amazon, 2022)
“Roar Like a Goddess” – Within you is a wellspring of strength and resilience, the ability to create and enjoy abundance, and an expansive sense of inner freedom and divinity. Yet after centuries of living in patriarchal societies, many women do not realize how powerful they are―or how much they have been enculturated to keep their true nature hidden. “In Roar Like a Goddess,” trailblazing Vedic spiritual teacher Acharya Shunya empowers women everywhere to step into their divine immensity and lead powerful, abundant, and wise lives through her revolutionary revisioning of ancient India’s primary goddess archetypes: Goddess Durga, Goddess Lakshmi, and Goddess Saraswati.
Throughout “Roar Like a Goddess” Shunya honors her progressive Vedic roots while breaking the shackles of tradition to bring modern-day women an inclusive, feminist spirituality. Sharing classic myths, original insights, and empowering practices, Shunya offers a profound process for awakening the many faces of goddess within. “It is time for all women to come out of the closet and roar with all their spiritual power,” she writes, “because that is our true sound.”
‘Aurora’ is the new novel by David Koepp. Photo: Amazon
David Koepp is a celebrated American screenwriter who has written more than two dozen feature films in a wide variety of genres, including the first two Jurassic Park films, Death Becomes Her, Carlito’s Way, The Paper, Mission: Impossible, Spider-Man, Panic Room, War of the Worlds, Angels and Demons, Inferno, and Kimi. Some of the films he has both written and directed are Stir of Echoes, Secret Window, Ghost Town, and Premium Rush, the latter two co-written with John Kamps. Koepp is also the author of the novel “Cold Storage.” In his new book “Aurora: A Novel,” a worldwide cataclysm plays out in the lives of one complicated Midwestern family. It will soon be a major motion picture from Netflix and Academy-Award winning director Kathryn Bigelow. (Amazon, 2022)
“Aurora” – In Aurora, Illinois, Aubrey Wheeler is just trying to get by after her semi-criminal ex-husband split, leaving behind his unruly teenage son. Then the lights go out—not just in Aurora but across the globe. A solar storm has knocked out power almost everywhere. Suddenly, all problems are local, very local, and Aubrey must assume the mantle of fierce protector of her suburban neighborhood. Across the country lives Aubrey’s estranged brother, Thom. A fantastically wealthy, neurotically over-prepared Silicon Valley CEO, he plans to ride out the crisis in a gilded desert bunker he built for maximum comfort and security. But the complicated history between the siblings is far from over, and what feels like the end of the world is just the beginning of several long-overdue reckonings—which not everyone will survive . Aurora is suspenseful storytelling—both large scale and small—at its finest.
‘The Memory Index’ is Julian R. Vaca’s new young adult novel. Photo: Amazon
Julian R. Vaca has been a creative writer for over a decade. He is a staff writer on PBS’s Reconnecting Roots, a nationally broadcast show that drew in millions of viewers over its first two seasons. He is also the co-writer of Pencil Test, a feature-length documentary with Disney animation legend Tom Bancroft as executive producer. In his new speculative Young Adult science fiction novel “The Memory Index,” the world treats memories like currency, so dreams can be a complicated business. Perfect for fans of Neal Stephenson and Philip K. Dick. (Amazon, 2022)
“The Memory Index” – In an alternative 1987, a disease ravages human memories. There is no cure, only artificial recall. The lucky ones—the recollectors—need the treatment only once a day. Freya Izquierdo is not one of those. The high school senior is a “degen” who needs artificial recall several times a day. Plagued by blinding half-memories that take her to her knees, she is desperate to remember everything that will help her investigate her father’s violent death. When her sleuthing almost lands her in jail, a shadowy school dean selects her to attend his Foxtail Academy, where five hundred students will trial a new tech said to make artificial recall obsolete. She is the only degen on campus. Why was she chosen? Freya is nothing like the other students, not even her new friends Ollie, Chase, and the alluring Fletcher Cohen. Definitely not at all like the students who start to vanish, one by one. And nothing like the mysterious Dean Mendelsohn, who has a bunker deep in the woods behind the school. Nothing can prepare Freya and her friends for the truth of what that bunker holds and what kind of memories she will have to access to in order to survive
‘What’s So Great About Books Anyways?’ by Matt Hoag is a resource for teachers to help motivate children to read. Photo: Amazon
Matt Hoag is a first time author and an elementary teacher. He has a master’s degree in education and lives in Pennsylvania. Matt believes that education should be open, creative, and that there are many different ways to learn. Keep reading! His new book “What’s So Great About Books Anyway?” is a children’s book that revolves around Sam and his journey as he discovers the joys of reading. (Matt Hoag, 2022)
“What’s So Great About Books, Anyway?” – There is nothing good about books! At least that is what Sam thinks. Sam has never been a good reader, but a special librarian shows him that does not mean that he should just give up. As Sam’s self-esteem and confidence grow, the black and white world of literature opens up to a world bursting with color all because he is trying.
This book is a useful tool to show children that if they try they can do many things. This book is also designed to promote acceptance and understanding through the various characters and illustrations. Follow Sam through his journey as he discovers the wonderful world of reading in this wonderfully illustrated story.
‘Rudy Lyle: The Unsung Hero of the Five-String Banjo’ by Max Wareham will be released August 23, 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Whether on archaeological digs or translating medieval poetry, the past has always been a north star for banjo player Max Wareham. Following years of performance with the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band, Wareham digs into the early history of bluegrass music with his debut book, “Rudy Lyle: The Unsung Hero of the Five-String Banjo,” which presents an intricate and surprising portrait of a nearly forgotten master. It will be released on Tuesday August 23, 2022. (Max Wareham, 2022)
“I began this project as a way to root my own playing more firmly in the tradition,” explains Wareham, “but quickly came to realize that despite Rudy’s tremendous influence on the development of bluegrass music, he’s been nearly forgotten.” What began as a music instruction book of banjo tablature became a deep dive into Lyle’s impact on an entire genre of music and generations of banjo players.
“Rudy Lyle: The Unsung Hero of the Five-String Banjo” paints a vivid picture of the life and musical significance of the early bluegrass giant. The book features exhaustive and largely never-before-published transcriptions and analyses of every break Lyle recorded with Bill Monroe, the “father of bluegrass.” Lyle’s historical significance is explored in the final interviews given by late banjo legends Sonny Osborne and Bill Emerson, as well as interviews with several other prominent banjo players and members of Lyle’s family. Beautiful portraits of each interviewee are included alongside several never-before-published photos of Lyle himself.
In addition to the 19 main transcriptions, the book features chapters on Rudy’s style and its historical importance, his approach to backup playing, a thorough comparison of his breaks on every alternate take of Monroe’s classic “Raw Hide,” and several live transcriptions from before and after his time as a Blue Grass Boy.
Fans of bluegrass music, banjo players, and curious readers can pre-order “Rudy Lyle: The Unsung Hero of the Five-String Banjo” ahead of its August 23 release date.
Title: “Rudy Lyle: The Unsung Hero of the Five-String Banjo” ISBN: 364215376135191 Pages: 148 Publisher: Gateless Gate Music Publishing
Max Wareham studied with banjo masters Tony Trischka and Bill Keith and was introduced as a significant voice on the instrument with the release of Peter Rowan’s latest album, Calling You From My Mountain, on which he plays banjo and sings harmony. Prior to joining the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band, Wareham taught music extensively, played bass with the psych-pop outfit Sun Parade, and wrote songs and produced several albums under various aliases. Much of his work in bluegrass and education is focused on early bluegrass banjo styles and how they can offer alternative paths to expression within the bluegrass idiom
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‘Still On Fire: A Memoir’ is Renee Linnell’s new book due out on August 16, 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Renee Linnell is a serial entrepreneur who has founded or cofounded five companies and has an MBA from New York University. Before that she was a model and professional dancer. Having an unorthodox childhood and being surrounded by death at a young age led her on a spiritual quest that took her all over the world, culminating in her ordination as a Buddhist monk. What began as writing for catharsis in 2013—as she struggled to regain her sanity after being brainwashed in a Buddhist cult—turned into her first memoir, “The Burn Zone: A Memoir.” “Still on Fire” is the sequel. Her mission is to remind people Who They Truly Are and to reignite their passion for being alive. It will be released Tuesday August 16, 2022. (Renee Linnell, 2022)
I have a confession to make: I’m not very good at being human. I still can’t figure it out. For the life of me, I cannot figure out other people, and even after all these years of trying, I can’t figure out myself. And maybe that’s the whole point. Maybe that’s what makes life dynamic and thrilling. I’m not sure. Maybe “I’m not sure” is the answer to all of it.
I have noticed that anytime I think I’m sure, life comes along and proves me wrong. I have noticed that anytime I think I’m sure, I turn into a bit of an asshole. I close my mind to ideas and concepts and people that oppose the way I think I’m sure. And I am really beginning to see how quantum physics is right when it tells us there are billions of simultaneous realities. The Buddha said, “With our thoughts we make the world.” Science is finally catching up to what the mystics, saints, and shamans have been saying for thousands of years: our thoughts create our reality. There are billions of us, each with a unique perspective, so there are billions of simultaneous realities. No wonder we can’t get along.
What if we stopped trying so hard to get others to see from our point of view? What if we finally realized our point of view works for us because it is ours. But everyone else has a point of view that works for each one of them. If it didn’t work, they would seek alternative information and change it.
What if life on Earth really is just the ultimate video game? We incarnate in these bodies, and like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and the other characters do in the movie Jumanji, we have to figure out how our avatars work. We discover our strengths and weaknesses. We learn about our bodies, our flaws, and our unique skill sets. We discover our likes and dislikes. Personal preferences. And we fine-tune as we go.
We get plopped into these bodies and these personalities that are constantly surprising us. And at the same time, we get plopped into a world where every single other human is living in a different reality, looking through a different lens. They are creating from a different lens, and with a different skill set, different wants and needs. And then we add that each human is projecting that different reality onto everybody else: Thieves think everyone else is stealing from them; lovers think everyone else has good intentions; cheaters think everyone else is cheating; fighters always find people with whom to fight. You get the point.
Combine all that with the fact that when we are young, and often for most of our lives, we bend and mold and shape ourselves into false versions of ourselves to fit in and people-please. And we end up with a shit show. Seriously. It’s fascinating.
The only way to unwind the shit show is for each one of us to stop caring so much about what other people think about us, to stop comparing our lives to the lives of others, to start discovering who we truly are, and then to build an authentic life around it. This raises us up, out of the mess, and it washes off the shit so that we sparkle with light. If we trust that we are here for a reason, that we are unique for a reason, and that a divine path is already lined up for us, life gets a lot easier. As we admit we do not know, that it is all a mystery, that as soon as we think we have the world or ourselves or anyone else figured out, we get the carpet pulled out from under us—we get our paradigm shattered—life gets a lot more fun. It’s like walking up to the River of Life and someone asking, “Where does this river go?” and you answer, “I have no idea, but it sure looks like fun!” and jump in. Arms up in the air. Ready for the ride. Trusting that wherever the ride leads is someplace amazing.
This morning I was meditating in my favorite living room chair, and I had a vision of myself in that same chair at about eighty years old. I saw how little and how wrinkled and how wise this version of me was. She was glowing. She was so patient, so calm, so content. And she offered me advice. She said to me, “Slow down.”
Just those two words.
“Slow down.”
She sat there in her comfy lounge clothing with her warm cup of coffee, and she was so beautiful in her calm, in her peace, in her wisdom.
“Slow down.”
She said, “You will be here in a flash, and you don’t want to miss any moment of it.” She told me, “It is all coming. All of it. All that you dream about. But it is not your work to do. It is God’s work to do through you. If you do not slow down, you cannot be a clear channel. The same way you cannot rush a baby into this world, you cannot rush your accomplishments; they will be born when they are meant to be born, after the proper gestation. Your unique contribution will be offered. It must be. But if you rush the process, you end up with a child that does not have fully functioning lungs. So, please, my love, slow down.”
