Guest post: Samantha Specks, author of ‘Dovetails in Tall Grass’

Author Samantha Specks. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Today’s guest post is from Samantha Specks, author of ‘Dovetails in Tall Grass,’ available everywhere starting today.

Inspired by the true story of the thirty-eight Dakota-Sioux men hanged in Minnesota in 1862―the largest mass execution in US history―Dovetails in Tall Grass is a tale of two young women connected by the fate of one man.

Writing Historical Fiction with debut novelist Samantha Specks

Though my novel is about events in 1862, for me the story started on Christmas 2005. A bitter wind blew snow over a country road. I was a high-schooler, cozy riding in my parents’ Suburban making the final turn to my grandparents’ home, when my blue eyes spotted something new. Headlights illuminated shapes moving across the darkening horizon. A group of men on horseback. Curious, I asked my parents why people were riding in the cold. My mother explained: “They’re Dakota who are marching to show they haven’t forgotten what happened here long ago.” And I’ve spent the last 15 years of my life learning what they haven’t forgotten.

It was that cold night on the frozen Minnesota prairie when the first seeds of the Dovetails story were planted in my heart. The men who I crossed paths with were the Dakota 38+2 Riders. To commemorate the US-Dakota War anniversary and promote reconciliation, this group still rides every December from Lower Brule, South Dakota to the site of the mass hangings in Mankato, Minnesota. Their journey inspired the girl I was and the woman, and author, I am today.

Writing Dovetails in Tall Grass

Dovetails grew its way through the cracks in my life. In hindsight, I can see how there was space for that, as my career path was meandering; I previously worked in sports broadcast journalism and as a therapist. It was during my graduate studies in 2011 that I began diving deeper into my interest in the US-Dakota War; somewhere amidst the academic research and my personal interest, I began to interpret the history with a lens for story, through the perspective of two women. Still, years and a career passed by. It wasn’t until 2017, once my husband and I had moved from Minnesota to Texas that he encouraged me, “why don’t you finally write that book idea you always talk about?” Story had pushed its way through, grown too big to ignore. A nudge and a new beginning in the Lone Star State were what I needed to give it the time and space it deserved.

Once the moving boxes were unpacked, I had to figure out how to write a book. I didn’t even own a laptop, so a visit to the Apple store was a starting point. My mind was overflowing with ideas. A massive roll of artist’s paper seemed like a good purchase as well. Then I spent six months doing intensive research. There was no information about the US-Dakota War that was too big or too small. My brain wanted it all: scholarly articles, old texts from libraries that hadn’t been checked out for years, or page 7 of comments on Minnesota History message boards. It was time well spent. Once I really knew the history inside and out, I outlined. I unrolled that giant scroll of artists paper and made detailed historical timelines and abstract conceptual character boards. Hours upon hours, I sat on my hardwood floor surrounded by torn sheets of paper, stacks of texts, random pages flagged in open books, and my keyboard home row already worn from the constant clickety-clack of notetaking. After a few months, I sat back and looked at the chaos of a story around me. I let myself feel it. It wasn’t in the past; it overwhelmed my heart now. This war was complex. Ugly. Unresolved. This time in history mattered so much to me.

I knew it, I felt it, I had it. It was time to write.

I took a deep breath, let it out, and started typing. Most mornings, I’d head to a Starbucks with a singular goal of getting the fictional characters of 1862 living in my mind onto a Microsoft Word document. Some days I felt hopeful the writing was taking the shape of a story, but most days I felt like an imposter. I was a first timer, and it was excruciating. To me, my pages were rough, messy, and imperfect. After a morning of writing, I’d stop at Brazos Bookstore to look at the historical fiction section. Beautiful covers, stunning prose. How did writers do this? Mornings at the coffeeshop began to feel dreadful. When I opened my document, those first draft pages felt like I was catching a glimpse of myself midway through a dental procedure. Mouth open bizarrely wide, water and bits of whatnot spraying about, drills zinging and polishers whooshing too loudly in my ears. The world was already full of brilliant authors with dazzling work who smiled perfectly from the shelves. Real, flawless, writing like that was something my messy pages could never be. When I started working with an editor, my insecurity only worsened. I couldn’t look at myself. My stomach flipped with anxiety each time I saw my editor’s name pop up in my inbox. Despite her positivity and encouragement, the comments, deletions, and suggestions throughout my pages flagged my failure. A professional was making it clear that I didn’t have the writing chops. Who was I kidding?

One day, probably while I was avoiding writing and in some rabbit hole of research, I stumbled upon an image of JK Rowling’s edited Harry Potter pages. They were marked top to bottom, Xs over massive blocks of her writing. Wait… what? Rowling’s edits were messy?! My next visit to the bookstore, the shelves looked different to me. The titles were still awe-inspiring. But the authors’ names were superhuman in a new way… they didn’t get here because they wrote a perfect first draft. They got here because they pushed through every comment, suggestion, flag, cut paragraphs, deleted precious words time and time again. The process was ugly. Ugly and necessary.

My therapist brain flipped on. An editor’s feedback would be exposure therapy for me. Bit by bit, I’d face and feel the anxiety of looking at my words. And in that discomfort of exposure, bit by bit, I’d get stronger. I needed to get okay with the ‘ugly and necessary’. Shame dissolved in the light of that truth.

Before long, I was refreshing my inbox, hoping to see my editor’s name pop up. I craved feedback. I didn’t need my writing to be the Harry Potter; I needed it to be Rowling’s marked up pages. And with that shift in my thinking, the words poured out of me.

I got down to it and I wrote a book.

After a handful of years writing, I don’t think of myself as a “writer.” I think of myself as someone who is just lucky enough to tap into compelling ideas when I learn about significant times in history. After I’ve spent time in the trenches of research, the fictional story is something totally outside of myself that I just happen to be able to see. The more I study the fascinating dynamics of our past (cough cough *present*), the more fire lights within me and illuminates just what complexities would play out in a story arc. If I can get my fingers to type fast enough, the actual writing feels like grabbing the ideas/feelings/characters invisibly floating beyond my mind and sticking them onto the physical page. If I write well enough, at the end of my work the fire will spread to a reader turning the pages of a meaningful story playing out on our vibrant and vivid past.

Hopes for a Reader

After finishing Dovetails in Tall Grass, these are my hopes for a reader…

I hope a reader sets the book down and thinks, “Wow, I can’t believe I didn’t know about this time in history before…” and they instantly google “Chief Little Crow” or “Dakota 38+2 Riders” — and maybe even search for “Emma Heard” or “Oenikika” because these fictional characters feel so real, they must be part of the actual history.

I hope this is a novel that makes a reader look forward to her book club meeting – that it brings out lively, engaging, dynamic conversation in a group. And that she chooses to chime in a few more times than she usually does in that discussion.

And finally, at the end of the day, I hope a reader remembers Dovetails in Tall Grass a novel that made her think, feel, and question. When someone asks her, “Have you read any good books lately?” She recommends it; not just because she liked the story but because she wants others to know how much the US-Dakota War of 1862 mattered.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Samantha Specks is a licensed independent clinical social worker. She and her husband live in Houston with their baby (Pippa) and fur baby (Charlie). When not in Texas, they enjoy spending time on the lakes of Minnesota and in the mountains of the Roaring Fork Valley in Colorado. Dovetails in Tall Grass is Samantha’s debut novel. Currently, she is writing Dovetails of a River, which is set at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

‘Dovetails in Tall Grass’ by Samantha Specks. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Memorial. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

New book release: ‘One Last Stop’ by Casey McQuiston

‘One Last Stop’ is the new novel by Casey McQuiston. Photo: amazon

Casey McQuiston is The New York Times bestselling author of “Red, White & Royal Blue,” as well as a pie enthusiast. She writes books about smart people with bad manners falling in love. Born and raised in southern Louisiana, she now lives in New York City with her poodle mix and personal assistant, Pepper. Her new book “One Last Stop” is a romantic comedy that will stop readers in their tracks. (amazon, 2021)

“One Last Stop” – For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York City is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love stories do not exist, and the only smart way to go through life is alone. She cannot imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there is certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures.

But then, there is this gorgeous girl on the train. Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. Jane with her rough edges and swoopy hair and soft smile, showing up in a leather jacket to save August’s day when she needed it most. August’s subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there is one big problem: Jane does not just look like an old school punk rocker. She is literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. Maybe it is time to start believing in some things, after all.

New book release: ‘Our African Unconscious’ by Edward Bruce Bynum

‘Our African Unconscious’ by Edward Bruce Bynum. Photo: amazon

Edward Bruce Bynum, Ph.D., ABPP, is a clinical psychologist and former director of the behavioral medicine program at the University of Massachusetts Health Services. The 2005 recipient of the Abraham H. Maslow Award from the American Psychological Association and the author of several books, including Dark Light Consciousness, he is currently in private practice in Hadley, Massachusetts. In his new book “Our African Unconscious: The Black Origins of Mysticism and Psychology,” he reveals how spirituality and the collective unconscious of all humanity originated in Africa. It will be released on Tuesday, September 14, 2021. (Black Château, 2021)

The fossil record confirms that humanity originated in Africa. Yet somehow, we have overlooked that Africa is also at the root of all that makes us human—our spirituality, civilization, arts, sciences, philosophy, and our conscious and unconscious minds.

In this extensive look at the unfolding of human history and culture, Edward Bruce Bynum reveals how our collective unconscious is African. Drawing on archaeology, DNA research, history, depth psychology, and the biological and spiritual roots of religion and science, he demonstrates how all modern human beings, regardless of ethnic or racial categorizations, share a common deeper identity, both psychically and genetically, connected with a primordial African unconscious.

Exploring the beginning of early religions, spirituality, and mysticism in Africa, along with philosophy, art, and science, the author looks at the Egyptian Nubian role in the rise of civilization and the emergence of Kemetic Egypt, revealing how and why ancient Egypt was separated from the rest of Africa in the Western mind—despite it being the most sophisticated expression of the Mother Continent. He examines the Oldawan, the Ancient Soul, and its correlation with what modern psychologists have defined as the collective unconscious. Revealing the spiritual and psychological ramifications of our shared African ancestry, the author examines its reflections in the present confrontation in the Americas, in the work of the Founding Fathers, and in modern Black spirituality, which arose from African diaspora religion and philosophy.

By recognizing our shared African unconscious, the matrix that forms the deepest luminous core of human identity, we can learn to see and feel that the differences between one person and another are merely superficial and ultimately there is no real separation between the material and the spiritual.

“Our African Unconscious” by Edward Bruce Bynum, Ph.D., ABPP is available on Amazon

ISBN: 9781644113967
Publisher: Inner Traditions Bear & Company
September 2021
Paperback: $22.99
480 pages

2021-09-14T16:09:00

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‘Great American Road Trips: Scenic Drives’ excerpt

Reader’s Digest’s ‘Great American Road Trips: Scenic Drives.’ Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Now that summer is here, most people will be taking vacations, including road trips. Reader’s Digest has put together a new book, the first in the Great American Road Trips series, that covers Scenic Drives. Hoping to inspire readers to travel and explore the wide-opens spaces and breathtaking views of our country, “Great American Road Trips – Scenic Drives: Discover Insider Tips, Must-See Stops, Nearby Attractions and More” is a complete guide to making road trips easier.

Here is an excerpt from “Great American Road Trips.”

OAK CREEK CANYON
Red rocks, steep switchbacks and dramatic views make this Arizona drive a nail-biter.
Story by Marija Andric

Excerpted from GREAT AMERICAN ROAD TRIPS: SCENIC DRIVES, A Reader’s Digest Book, copyright © 2020 by RDA Enthusiast Brands, LLC. Used by permission of Trusted Media Brands, Inc., New York. Available wherever books are sold.

Growing up in Arizona, I loved the biodiversity of the state. Minutes from my home, I could hike the best trails in the Sonoran Desert, and after a few hours of driving, I could breathe fresh alpine air and marvel at fall foliage. And there’s one scenic drive in Arizona that has it all: Oak Creek Canyon.

This 15-mile state-designated scenic road along Route 89A begins in Sedona (if you’re coming from Phoenix) and winds its way north to Flagstaff. It curves up the Colorado Plateau from the high desert to a landscape of ponderosa pines.

Getting to the start of the drive is a treat for the senses. Route 89A rolls through Oak Creek Village, passing iconic red rocks that are named for their shapes. The landscape has an unearthly feel, and its singular beauty is unforgettable. Bell Rock, which is just off the road, is a popular spot to pull over for pictures or go on a hike along the lower, easier trail.

My family and I took this drive in the summer to escape the dry desert heat and in the fall to see the foliage, which begins to turn in November. After crossing the Midgley Bridge, our first stop was Slide Rock State Park, a 43-acre historic apple farm that was at one time the Pendley homestead. Growing apples in the high desert sounds far-fetched, but Frank Pendley mastered an innovative irrigation technique in 1912 that allowed his orchards to thrive. In fact, today park officials still use the same technique to water the remaining heirloom trees.

Though the apple orchard is amazing, the main attraction is the park’s namesake natural slide, which is a slippery chute of worn sandstone about 80 feet long and up to 4 feet wide. The waters of Oak Creek, which carved this canyon, are icy cold and refreshing. Children and adults alike squeal in delight as the water carries them down the slide into a pool.

Algae makes the rocks especially slippery, so it’s important to wear water shoes. It’s also important to look up and appreciate the canyon walls and cliffs that surround the park. I’ve never been disappointed by that view.

Back on the highway, you could easily stay in your car to take in the sights, but along the road, a few picnic sites, campgrounds and overlooks, such as Banjo Bill and Halfway, are well worth exploring.

The farther you drive, the higher you climb. The air cools, and by the time you reach the West Fork Trail, ponderosa pines appear alongside oaks and junipers. The trail, one of the most popular in the area, follows the west fork of Oak Creek.

In fall, the trees are ablaze with reds, oranges and yellows. The canyon walls soar, and the sound of the moving water soothes. You’ll step onto a paved trail that leads to a footbridge over the creek and Mayhew’s Lodge, the ruins of an old guesthouse that burned down in 1980. At that point, your West Fork Trail adventure begins. The in-and-out hike is about 6 miles round trip.

The thrilling part of the drive begins at Pumphouse Wash. For the following 2 miles, the road curves into a series of switchbacks, each steeper than the last.

If you’re lucky enough to be the passenger, you’ll see some gorgeous views of the canyon. (My mother always kept her head down during this part of the drive.) If you’re the driver, well, you’re probably looking at your knuckles and the road ahead.

Years ago, my husband-to-be and I went on this curvy drive. Though I knew where we were going, he insisted on using GPS. As the GPS attempted to chart the switchbacks, the fine pink line of the road turned into a blob.

It’s a slow drive to the top, but when you get there, be sure to stop at the Oak Creek Vista. Take a look back at where you’ve been, and marvel at the wonder of it all. The elevation changes and the diverse ecosystems of the drive are laid out before you. It’s a popular stop with visitors. The overlook is also home to a market offering Native American arts and crafts.

At this point, you’re on the Colorado Plateau’s southwestern edge. This is commonly referred to as the Mogollon Rim. The air up here is cooler and the forest is thick with pine trees.

The old lumber town of Flagstaff (home to the San Francisco Peaks, Northern Arizona University and Route 66) lies ahead. But that’s a scenic drive for another day.

POINTS OF INTEREST
Length
15 miles

Fun Fact
The dramatic reds and oranges in the rocks of Sedona come from iron oxide, left from a post-glacial ocean that filled the Verde Valley.

Words to the Wise
A Red Rock Pass is required if you want to stop and park your car along the drive.

Side Trip
Thousands of years before Hollywood discovered the red rocks of Sedona and the beauty of Oak Creek Canyon, the Sinagua called this place home. Though they moved on centuries ago, they left behind the Palatki and Honanki cliff dwellings. The sites are open to the public and overseen by Coconino National Forest staff. Call 928-282-3854 to reserve a tour spot.

Nearby Attractions
Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff; Tlaquepaque district, Sedona; Fort Verde State Historic Park, Camp Verde; Sharlot Hall Museum, Prescott; Smoki Museum, Prescott

Slide Rock State Park’s natural slide is an oasis of fun. Photo: Pat Canova/Alamy Stock Photo

New book release: ‘The Tree of Knowledge’ by Daniel G. Miller

‘The Tree of Knowledge’ is book one in The Tree of Knowledge series. Photo: amazon

Daniel G Miller is a writer and entrepreneur. He currently lives in Dallas with his wife Lexi. “The Tree of Knowledge: A Mystery Thriller” is his debut novel, the first in The Tree of Knowledge series. The second is “Of Good and Evil: A Thriller.” (amazon, 2021)

“The Tree of Knowledge: A Mystery Thriller” – Albert can see the future, he just does not know it yet. It is said that the greatest chess masters can envision a match’s outcome ten moves before it occurs. Imagine a person who can visualize ten steps ahead, not simply in the game of chess, but in every human interaction. Imagine a person who could anticipate what you would say before you said it, who could see a punch before it was thrown. Imagine a person who could see the chess game of politics, economics, and power itself unfold long before it happens. Imagine a secret that could make all of this possible.

Mathematics professor Albert Puddles is such a person, and as he is thrust into a murder and burglary investigation on the Princeton campus, he finds that there is such a secret buried in an obscure cipher. The discovery leads Albert to team up with an aging mentor, a curious graduate assistant, and an unusual “book club” on a frantic chase across the country to recover the secret and clear his name. Through this adventure, Albert rediscovers a woman from his past and is forced to confront his own understanding of love, rationality, power, and the limits of the human mind.

“Of Good and Evil: A Thriller” – The second book in the bestselling Tree of Knowledge Series

Albert has seen the future…does he have the power to change it? An unstoppable force is sweeping the United States. Powered by a secret ability to predict and manipulate events, Christina Culebra and her Red Army relentlessly accumulate followers with one goal in mind: Absolute Power.

While Christina and her movement captivate the country, the one man who knows their next move– who knows their every move–Mathematics Professor Albert Puddles, hides, grief-stricken from the loss of his one and only mentor. Hoping that Albert holds the key to solving the secrets of the Red Army, his comrades in arms, known as the “Book Club,” recruit friends and foes alike to bring him back from exile. But they may be too late, for a new enemy has risen to challenge Christina and disrupt the Book Club’s plans, a mysterious terrorist known only as “The Cipher.” Faced with twin threats to everything he holds dear, Albert is forced to use his singular power to decode the riddles of a dead man while reckoning with the ghosts of his past.

‘Of Good and Evil: A Thriller’ is book two of The Tree of Knowledge series. Photo: amazon

Book review: ‘Dovetails in Tall Grass’ by Samantha Specks

‘Dovetails in Tall Grass’ is a historical fiction novel by Samantha Specks. Photo: amazon

Samantha Specks is a clinical social worker who has worked on a child/adolescent psychiatric unit, as a Dialectical Behavioral group therapist with adults and adolescents, and as an outpatient psychotherapist. She currently lives in Texas, but her heart and mind resided in Minnesota, her home state, while working on “Dovetails in Tall Grass: A Novel,” which is her debut novel. It is inspired by the true story of the thirty-eight Dakota-Sioux men hanged in Minnesota in 1862 – the largest mass execution in US history. “Dovetails in Tall Grass” is a powerful tale of two young women connected by the fate of one man. It will be released Tuesday August 24, 2021.

This being a historical fiction novel, it begins with three notes from the author about the subject matter, one being that she authored this book “because I was seeking a greater understanding of a complex and difficult past.” She goes on to encourage readers to further educate themselves on the subject and how it influences our current system. The Prologue takes place on December 26, 1862, after Emma and Oeninika, both teenagers, live through the execution of the Dakota men and describes how they were each affected. The story then goes back to May 5, 1861, leading up to the mass execution; first Oeninika’s story, then Emma Heard’s story and from there the stories alternate. Oeninika is desperately trying to hold on to her calling as a healer and follow the orders of her father, Chief Little Crow. Her people’s way of life is changing because the government is forcing them to live as farmers instead of the hunter/gatherer lifestyle that comes natural to them. Emma Heard longs to become a teacher but her family needs her help around the farm. Even though she did not have a normal education, Emma goes to work for her father, who is a lawyer. Later, she becomes the court transcriber during the Dakota’s trials.

Fueled in part by anger at the U.S. government’s delay of the Dakota’s annuity cash payments, which is causing them to be near starvation, they attack the town and eventually the Heard farm. One of the Dakota assaults Ida, Emma’s sister, but Tashunke, Oeninika’s new husband, intervenes and saves her life. Emma witnesses this and when the law arrests the Dakota, including Tashunke, who did not participate in the raids, she testifies on his behalf, saving him from execution. In the end, Oeninika and Tashunke reunite and Emma Heard leaves the family farm to attend university.

It is not easy to write about war and conflicts, especially between the government and a specific group of people. Samantha Specks does a commendable job of presenting both sides of the U.S.-Dakota War in “Dovetails in Tall Grass,” as experienced by two young females already struggling with their own growing pains. It is a fusion of a historical and a coming-of-age novel told in the first-person point of view of Emma Heard, who comes from a settler family, and Oeninika, a Dakota. The narration is well-balanced as it describes the grief, pain, and heartbreak they each experienced during this challenging time in history. Emma feels conflicted: “They weren’t as purely evil as my recollection wanted me to believe. That warrior had protected us. My urge to destroy shifted to an angry confusion” and so does Oeninika “Little Rapids had abandoned her and the children, disappearing with Brown Wing and others to continue raiding. Pointless raiding that didn’t serve the war mission or their families.” The action flows effortlessly from page to page and the chapters are short and to the point. With poetic language, “the cup steamed in the damp chill of the morning rain. Puddles rippled as raindrops splashed down in a steady stream,” the author brings beauty into an environment that sometimes seems depressing and hopeless. The characters are well-developed so when the inevitable happens, readers can empathize with both. “Dovetails in Tall Grass” is a hauntingly beautiful historical novel that reminds us that there are always two sides to each story and that actions have consequences. It is recommended for fans of the genre who appreciate reading about the human side of war.

“I questioned if I could continue working in a law office, after seeing the truth of how powerful men manipulated the implementation of the law. It seemed to me the Dakota had been willing to abide by a treaty; it was our own government’s failure to honor the treaty that was the impetus for this disaster.” – Emma Heard

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.

New book release: ‘Into the Dread Void’ by Abe Moss

‘Into the Dread Void’ is the first in The Dread Void series by Abe Moss. Photo: google

Abe Moss has been writing horror stories for as long as he can remember and hopes to never stop. He loves creature-features, psychological horror, supernatural horror, cosmic horror, you name it. With each book he writes, he hopes to try something a little different. The possibilities are endless and that is what he really loves about storytelling. He hopes you will enjoy his stories too. The Dread Void is a chilling new series by Abe Moss with the first two books released in May and July and the third in October. They are meant to be read in numerical order. (amazon, 2021)

“Into the Dread Void” (The Dread Void Book 1)
The first in a chilling new series by horror author Abe Moss, “Into the Dread Void” begins the story of an unlikely duo—Nell, a foul-mouthed orphan with an unusual gift, and Hux, an otherworldly man with a knack for destroying otherworldly things—and their union against a universe teeming with horrors the likes of which our world has never fathomed. After years of life in foster care, fourteen-year-old Nell Parrish can hardly believe her luck when she meets her newest foster family. Kind and accepting, the Palmers are everything for which she has ever hoped. However, during a weekend trip to the Palmers’ summer cabin, a dark storm rolls in, along with something else lurking in the downpour. Hux is no stranger to the horrors of our universe. It is his job to stop them when they breach the Void—the glue which binds and separates our universe’s dimensions. So, when he must track down yet another trespassing entity, it is business as usual. That is, until the trail leads him to her—a teenage girl whose peculiar nature seems to have earned her the entity’s fixation, much to the peril of those around her.

“Amid the Sinking Dark” (The Dread Void Book 2)
Robbed of her only chance at a normal life, Nell Parrish now finds herself in a strange new home where darkness and mysteries abound. Plagued with dreams of the night which brought her here, she is desperate for any distraction, anything to forget those unimaginable horrors…even if it means braving another altogether. Marilyn Powell and her little daughter Emmie are running toward a new life, escaping the overbearing judgement of Marilyn’s parents who want nothing more than to separate them. But when their road-trip getaway brings them to the dark and stormy seaside town of Brightport, plans change. A monstrous thing resides in Brightport. Something with an appetite as dark as the storm overhead. What was meant to be a one-night stay soon becomes a nightmare, as Marilyn and Emmie become the town’s latest target.

Coming soon: “Beyond the Phantom Glow” (The Dread Void Book 3)
Release Date: October 5, 2021

New book release: ‘Unthinkable’ by Brad Parks

‘Unthinkable’ is the new thriller by Brad Parks. Photo: amazon

International bestselling author Brad Parks is the only writer to have won the Shamus, Nero, and Lefty Awards, three of American crime fiction’s most prestigious prizes. His novels have been published in fifteen languages and have won critical acclaim across the globe, including stars from every major prepublication review outlet. A graduate of Dartmouth College, Parks is a former journalist with the Washington Post and the Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey). He is now a full-time novelist living in Virginia with his wife and two school-age children. His new novel, “Unthinkable,” is a thriller about an ordinary man who may be able to save the world as we know it but to do so, he must make an impossible choice. (amazon, 2021)

“Unthinkable” – Nate Lovejoy is a self-proclaimed nobody, a stay-at-home dad who does not believe he is important to anyone but his wife and their two daughters. So, it is a shock when members of a powerful secret society kidnap and spirit Nate away to a mansion at the behest of their leader, Vanslow DeGange, who claims to know the future. He has foreseen that a billion people could die―unless Nate acts. It seems improbable, especially given what DeGange says will set this mass casualty incident in motion: Nate’s wife Jenny will sue the biggest power company in Virginia. Nate quickly senses that the power company is perpetrating a fraud. But at every turn, it becomes apparent there is more to DeGange’s gift than Nate wants to acknowledge. A billion people really could die, and Nate might be the only one who can save them. All he must do is the unthinkable.

New book release: ‘Billy Summers’ by Stephen King

‘Billy Summers’ is the new novel by Stephen King. Photo: amazon

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His first crime thriller featuring Bill Hodges, “Mr. Mercedes,” won the Edgar Award for best novel and was shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award. Both “Mr. Mercedes” and “End of Watch” received the Goodreads Choice Award for the Best Mystery and Thriller of 2014 and 2016, respectively. King co-wrote the bestselling novel “Sleeping Beauties” with his son Owen King. Several of his books have been adapted into celebrated films and television series including The Shawshank Redemption, Gerald’s Game and It. King was the recipient of America’s prestigious 2014 National Medal of Arts and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for distinguished contribution to American Letters. In 2007 he also won the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. His new book “Billy Summers” is out now and is the story about a good guy in a bad job. (amazon, 2021)

“Billy Summers” – Billy Summers is a man in a room with a gun. He is a killer for hire and the best in the business. But he will do the job only if the target is a truly bad guy. And now Billy wants out. But first there is one last hit. Billy is among the best snipers in the world, a decorated Iraq war vet, a Houdini when it comes to vanishing after the job is done. So what could possibly go wrong? How about everything. This spectacular novel is part war story, part love letter to small town America and the people who live there, and it features one of the most compelling and surprising duos in King fiction, who set out to avenge the crimes of an extraordinarily evil man. It is about love, luck, fate, and a complex hero with one last shot at redemption.

Upcoming new book release: ‘The Noise’ by James Patterson and J.D. Barker

‘The Noise’ by James Patterson and J.D. Barker will be released on August 16, 2021. Photo: amazon

James Patterson is one of the best-known and biggest-selling writers of all time. His books have sold in excess of 375 million copies worldwide. He is the author of some of the most popular series of the past two decades – the Alex Cross, Women’s Murder Club, Detective Michael Bennett, and Private novels – and he has written many other number one bestsellers including romance novels and stand-alone thrillers. He also writes a range of books for young readers including the Middle School, I Funny, Treasure Hunters, Dog Diaries, and Max Einstein series. J. D. Barker is the international bestselling author of numerous books, including “Dracul” and “The Fourth Monkey.” His novels have been translated into two dozen languages and optioned for both film and television. Their new thriller book, “The Noise,” will be released on Monday, August 16, 2021. (amazon, 2021)

“The Noise” – If you hear it, it is too late. Can two sisters save us all? In the shadow of Mount Hood, sixteen-year-old Tennant is checking rabbit traps with her eight-year-old sister Sophie when the girls are suddenly overcome by a strange vibration rising out of the forest, building in intensity until it sounds like a deafening crescendo of screams. From out of nowhere, their father sweeps them up and drops them through a trapdoor into a storm cellar. But the sound only gets worse . . .

2021-08-16T13:25:00