New Book Release: The Hidden Vegetables Cookbook - by Heidi Herman

 

Find it on Amazon HERE

Hate vegetables but still want to eat healthy? Tired of feeling guilty every time you skip the greens? What if you could enjoy your favorite meals with all the nutrition and none of the veggie taste?

If you've ever wished you could eat healthier without choking down another forkful of kale or pretending to like Brussels sprouts, The Hidden Vegetables Cookbook is for you.

This isn't your typical health cookbook. It doesn't try to convince you to fall in love with spinach or develop a taste for zucchini. Instead, it gives you a creative, practical way to get the benefits of vegetables without tasting their flavor.

These recipes are smart, satisfying, and designed for real adults who know they should eat their veggies... but just don't like them. Author Heidi Herman brings together 90 flavorful dishes that cleverly incorporate fresh vegetables in ways that blend, mask, and even overpower their taste so you get the nutrients without the struggle. From hearty dinners to indulgent treats, you'll find vegetable-packed recipes that actually taste amazing. And no, they don't look green or "healthy" in that bland, boring way. They just taste like good food.

Here's how this cookbook will help:

• Eat More Vegetables Without Changing Your Taste Buds - These recipes work with your existing preferences, using vegetables in a hidden way that won't mess with the flavors you love.
• Enjoy 90+ Delicious, Comforting Recipes - Think Beef Bourguignon with hidden spinach, Chicken Enchiladas with pureed carrots and onion, or chocolate cake where the zucchini disappears entirely.
• Feel Validated Instead of Guilty - You're not alone. Lots of adults don't like veggies. This book offers a real solution, not a lecture.
• Boost Your Nutrition Effortlessly - Get your daily dose of fiber, vitamins, and minerals without even realizing it.
• No Special Skills or Tools Needed - Recipes are simple, accessible, and use common ingredients. Perfect for busy cooks or beginners.
• Rethink What Healthy Food Can Look (and Taste) Like - No bland salads. No raw veggie platters. Just real meals that feel indulgent and nourishing at the same time.

Whether you're trying to eat cleaner, sneak more nutrition into your meals, or finally stop feeling bad about your veggie aversion, The Hidden Vegetables Cookbook is here to make it easy-and actually enjoyable. You'll no longer have to avoid recipes just because they call for squash or feel left out of the healthy-eating conversation. These recipes are designed to fit into your lifestyle, not the other way around. And the best part? You'll enjoy every bite without second-guessing what's hidden inside. With practical, no-fuss instructions and real ingredients, you can finally eat better without sacrificing flavor or forcing down foods you dislike.

Stop forcing down vegetables and start hiding them like a pro. Grab your copy today and eat better-on your own terms.

About the author:

Heidi Herman was born and raised in Central Illinois, but her passion and a common theme in her writing is her Icelandic heritage. She spent more than thirty years in the telecommunications industry in a variety of roles that gave her a broad understanding of business, which she later applied to entrepreneurship, first in a small restaurant and later in a boutique publishing company.

Her writing career started with the inspiration of her mother's example. In the winter of 2012, her mother, Íeda Jónasdóttir Herman, published a childhood memoir, which featured some of Iceland's folklore. Heidi was immersed in childhood memories of the Scandinavian legends, lore, and imaginative stories. The myth of Iceland's troll-like Christmas characters - Jólasveinar - sparked the imagination of many readers and led to Heidi writing her first book, "The Legend of the Icelandic Yule Lads." It was followed by two more books on Icelandic folklore: "The Guardians of Iceland and Other Icelandic Folk Tales" and "The Icelandic Yule Lads Mayhem at the North Pole."

In 2017, she co-authored an Icelandic cookbook, "Homestyle Icelandic Cooking for American Kitchens" with her mother, Íeda Jónasdóttir Herman, which won a US category in The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards that year. Heidi published her debut novel, "Her Viking Heart", in 2018, and it was named the 2018 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Gold Winner - Romance Category. Her motivational work, "On with The Butter! Spread More Living onto Everyday Life" was inspired when Heidi worked to complete her mother's final work, "Never Too Late." Íeda Jónasdóttir Herman (1925-2019) was 94 years old and had completed a year of new experiences to prove a person is never too old to enjoy life. That message, along with her mother's example, led Heidi to write this new motivational book with ideas and encouragement on how anyone can find those activities and experiences.

She had authored seven books in five genres, with a new cookbook slated to be released September 16, 2025. Today, she continues to write between time spent traveling, sharing Icelandic culture plus a number of hobbies and interests. When she's not on the go, she is usually found cooking something up in the kitchen.

New Book Release: Finish Your Book - by Lorraine Haataia, Ph.D.

 

Find it on Amazon HERE

You were never meant to write alone.

You didn’t come here just to start a book–you came here to finish it. The idea found you for a reason and it’s calling you forward. But in the swirl of self-doubt, perfectionism, and procrastination, it’s easy to forget: you’re not meant to do this alone.

In Finish Your Book, Lorraine Haataia, Ph.D., invites you into a writing journey rooted in connection, encouragement, and trust in your own creative wisdom. After guiding hundreds of writers, she’s seen one truth again and again: momentum multiplies in community.

This isn’t a rigid how-to writing manual. It’s a heartfelt invitation to return to the writer you already are and carry your book across the finish line. Inside, you’ll discover how to:

• Create a writing rhythm that fits your life
• Strengthen your flow through friendship and support
• Turn isolation into inspiration through community

Your story chose you for a reason.

The connections you need are already aligning.

And yes–you’re meant to finish your book.

About the author:

 Dr. Lorraine Haataia is a devoted supporter of writers, providing community and resources to thrive. As the Founder of Prolific Writers Life, she helps writers connect with live experts through workshops and collaboration. A passionate professor and scholar with six degrees, including a PhD, Lorraine is also the author of Finish Your Book.

 

Her internationally published writing and insights have been shaped by her extensive travel and experience on television, podcasts, and even TEDx and standup comedy stages.

Currently based in Arizona, she is committed to helping writers succeed by empowering them to share their wisdom with the world.

 

New Book Release: The Man Who Rode Dragons - by DJ Boyer

 

Find it on Amazon HERE

The Man Who Rode Dragons! Two friends, who by a peculiarity in the vortex, find themselves in the realm of magical creatures. This is a place where dreams come from. After spending two days there, Bill and Larry return but have no memories of the place. Then, the day before graduation from Arizona State University, two people arrive from the other realm. They need Bill and Larry’s help. Neither Bill nor Larry remembers anything about their trip to the other side. The two from the other realm return their memories to them. When that happens, they agree to go back. There is one glitch. Diana, Larry’s girlfriend, wants to go as well. During the memory transfer, she learns what they remember. Now the three are off on an adventure they never expected.

About the author:

TJ Boyer, best known for his Mirror Gate Chronicles, a Sci-Fantasy genre series, is from Phoenix, AZ. He is married to Elizabeth Ajamie-Boyer. With two children and three grandchildren, he has been writing and telling stories since he was in his teens. He and Elizabeth co-write The Mirror Gate Chronicles series.

New Book Release: Infinite Paradise: Witnessing the Wild - a memoir - by Dianne Ebertt Beeaff

 

Find on Amazon HERE

Experience a year immersed in the healing power, adventure, and tranquility of the natural world, on sixteen acres of wild land in Southern Ontario, Canada.

With personal vignettes and color photographs that track the seasons of a single year, Infinite Paradise connects readers with the wildlife on sixteen acres of forest and water meadow along the Conestoga River in Southern Ontario, Canada.

Broken into seasons and then further into months and days, the book focuses on the buoyancy of life, showing readers that in a world battered by global warming, habitat destruction, and species extinction, many riches still remain. Interacting with nature can combat stress, heal the human spirit, and foster new and calming perspectives on life.

As Infinite Paradise illustrates, the complexity, beauty, and power of the natural world is available to any reader who stays open to the splendid lifeforms they live among.

About the author:

A native of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, Dianne Ebertt Beeaff is the award-winning author of seven published books, Dianne and her husband, Dan, live in Arizona and are the parents of two children. Dianne's latest book, Infinite Paradise, Witnessing the Wild, a nature memoir, was released July 22, 2025.

Also in print are the 2000 best seller A Grand Madness, Ten Years on the Road with U2, its sequel A Grand Madness, U2 Twenty Years After, released October 2019, along with a reprint of the first book, the poetry collection Homecoming, an historical fiction novel Power's Garden, and the non-fiction book, Spirit Stones, Unraveling the Megalithic Mysteries of Western Europe's Prehistoric Monuments. Her books have won many awards, the latest being Winner in the Music Category in the 2020 National Indie Excellence Awards for A Grand Madness, U2 Twenty Years After, and Finalist in Adult Fiction with the 2020 Wishing Shelf Book Awards for On Traigh Lar Beach

New Book Release: A Canyon Cowboy Spring - by Sally Harper Bates

Buy it on Amazon HERE

Third in a series of children's stories about a cowboy at the Grand Canyon in Arizona. This one has lots of great illustrations of baby animals that are found every spring in Northern Arizona. "Canyon Cowboy" (Carson) takes a ride with a young friend of his and they see lots of babies and talk about each kind they see.

About the author:

Sally Harper Bates: Born in Prescott, Arizona, Sally rarely lived outside of Yavapai County. She grew up in the company of working cowboys and their families, cherishing the lifestyle, culture, heritage and experiences. Her family tree is rooted on both sides deep into the sod of Arizona and New Mexico. Seven generations on maternal and paternal side of the “tree” have lived, worked, and grown up in the granite and manzanita of Yavapai County.

After nearly six decades of being in the midst of “cowboy country” it makes perfect sense that what she writes would be full to overflowing with “cowboy”. She is a singer, songwriter, novelist and best known as a poet.

For several years she was an invited poet/singer to cowboy poetry gatherings in Nevada, Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Utah and of course, Arizona. She was nominated female cowboy poet of the year through WMA three times in the early 1990’s.

An integral part of the production of the Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering in Prescott for over 30 years, a 4-H leader, and secretary to the Arizona Cowpuncher’s Association three times. She’s also an active member of a local church where she leads Bible studies and shares her life experiences as a growing Christian.

A grandmother, and great-grandmother, she enjoys semi-retirement in Chino Valley.

 

New book release: The Wye Tree - by D.L. Roberts

 

Find it on Amazon HERE

I am frequently asked how I come up with my ideas. Usually, I don’t know. They just show up. In this case, the movie The Chronicles of Narnia somehow hit a nerve and caused me to wonder about parallel universes. One thing led to another and the very short e-story The Garden, Barn and the Treewas published on Amazon, and it still resides there.

Copying C.S. Lewis’ wonderful story was unique and the Walt Disney people are formidable, so trying to clone their work was never an option. However, these fine people don’t own the idea of parallel universes. Over the years, many have written about things happening in the same place but in different dimensions. Why not me, I reasoned. The laptop was dusted off, an ink cartridge was inserted in the printer, and my editor went on full alert. The Wye Tree was born. I hope you enjoy it because I enjoyed writing it.

About the author:

 Writing as D.L. Roberts, Darold Graves, was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and served two tours in the U.S. Air Force, earning a master’s degree in management and teaching university-level courses. After retiring from the military, he supervised teachers and librarians at a women’s state prison before retiring from state service. During the COVID lockdowns, his wife passed away, and he earned a doctorate in writing. Now living in a resort community in Arizona, Darold enjoys an active life—playing cards, serving on the local symphony board, managing his church library, attending book clubs, and teaching writing at a nearby retirement community. He continues to write prolifically, with 20 mystery themed novels in print.

Finishing the novel is cause for celebration - by Vijaya Schartz

 

COVER REVEAL - NOVEMBER 2025 RELEASE
In the meantime, read my other novels
amazon - B&N - Smashwords - Kobo

The story is complete, revised several times, only needs a few tweaks before I send it to the editor, and the new book cover just emerged from the BWL Art Department. That’s an exciting time for an author. This is the time when I pat myself on the shoulder and celebrate finishing my thirty something novel. I lost track. I’ve been writing for a long time, but this feeling of accomplishment never gets old. Ice-cream sundae with all my favorite toppings (including Kalua) is definitely indicated.

I wanted a kick-butt heroine on the cover to illustrate this story, and boy, did I get one. She is ready to conquer her world. Big thank you to Michelle Lee, at the BWL Art Department. She is a magician who performs miracles with graphics.

At this stage of the process, I proudly post and promote the future release with the cover on Social Media, show the art work to all my friends on my phone, watching their reaction. I’m also lining up a few blog posts and interviews, and a few professional reviews, as well as a small launch campaign when the book is released.

Meanwhile, I’m refining the blurb, trying to say just enough for a hook, while not revealing too much. This is what I have so far:

The Protectors trilogy:

Set a few decades after a cataclysm devastated the feudal planet. An elite of mighty warriors protect the Celestial Gate, expecting benevolent Immortals to return from the stars.

CHI WARRIOR:

Anila, spiritual warrior woman, trained all her life in the desert, at the monastery of the Celestial Gate, to take the vows of the mighty Protectors. That’s all she’s ever known, all she ever wanted. But a cloud of black wings haunts her nightmares.

When hordes of barbarians invade from the north, Bayor Khan seems unstoppable, determined to destroy everything in his path. Rumors of his cruelty make the most powerful princes tremble in their stone fortresses.

Anila is pulled into the inevitable clash as a prophecy unfolds, blurring the lines between good and evil. Nothing is as it seems… An ancient enemy rises in the shadows, and the falling darkness threatens to engulf Anila and everyone she loves.

CHI WARRIOR is scheduled for release on November 1st, but you can find my other thirty-five-or-six-or-seven novels with kick-butt heroines and brave heroes at your favorite online retailer: amazon - B&N - Smashwords - Kobo 

amazon - B&N - Smashwords - Kobo

In my mind, I’m already plotting the next books in the Protectors series. Although set in the same world and closely related, the next novels will also be standalones, with a few returning characters, but a new hero and heroine for each story. I love my characters dearly, but I also like to meet new ones. And readers picking up a book in any of my series at random will not feel frustrated for not having read the previous ones… although I hope they’ll want to read them later, as they can be read out of order.

amazon - B&N - Smashwords - Kobo

amazon - B&N - Smashwords - Kobo

Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author

Strong Heroines, Brave Heroes, Romance with a Kick

amazon - B&N - Smashwords - Kobo - FB

New Book Release: Dark Forces of the Universe - by D.L. Roberts

 

Find it on Amazon Here

Pirates? Not the “Arg” or eye patch kind, but space pirates

somewhere in the very distant future.

A family’s travels are interrupted by pirates who kidnap a man and his wife, but a young man avoids capture. This is his story of how he rescues his parents and becomes a high-ranking officer in the Space Force.

Our future hero is joined by a young couple. Together the

three overcome obstacles to destroy slavery on a planet far from Earth. Many times, it would have been easier to quit fighting and return home. Living a quiet life is nice if

you can pretend dark forces in the universe do not exist.

Three adventurists destroy a kidnapping ring and help

bring order to the universe. This is their story.

About the author:

Writing as D.L. Roberts, Darold Graves, was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and served two tours in the U.S. Air Force, earning a master’s degree in management and teaching university-level courses. After retiring from the military, he supervised teachers and librarians at a women’s state prison before retiring from state service. During the COVID lockdowns, his wife passed away, and he earned a doctorate in writing. Now living in a resort community in Arizona, Darold enjoys an active life—playing cards, serving on the local symphony board, managing his church library, attending book clubs, and teaching writing at a nearby retirement community. He continues to write prolifically, with 20 mystery themed novels in print.

New Book Release: Sherwood History - by Jude Reynolds

 

Find it on Amazon HERE

What was World War II all about? For over 15 years, several strong men in other countries turned the entire world and the little farming town in Sherwood, Oregon upside down. All race of people were herded to camps, fear of bomb strikes was on everyone's mind, a very poor farming community was asked to give up food and money, even after a devastating ten-year depression. Young men went to war and women took the jobs that the men performed. The courage of the people in small-town Oregon was amazing and gives us pause about our future.

The loss of family members on the battlefield, the toll on the children and families, and the need for new courageous roles for everyone was a reaction to save democracy in America.

About the author:

June (Weisenback) Reynolds came to Chehalem Mountain in 1962 and started Sherwood School in 5th grade. She is a 4th generation Oregonian and her children are 5th generation. She was a librarian and teacher for 40 years and even taught U.S. History because she was a living history re-enactor! As a child, she never learned any Sherwood History and so in 2001, she started writing a history book about the area and helped with the new Historical Society. This is her story of World War II from her parent's viewpoint and that of the Sherwood Community members of the 1940s.

New Book Release: Ramblings and Roundabouts - by Brenda Revard

 

Find it on Amazon HERE

Brenda Revard had taken many trips across the United States with her husband, Brian, over the course of their thirty-five-year marriage. As retirement approached, they decided it was time to explore the world beyond their own borders. They sold their house, parted with most of their belongings, and bought a motorhome … in Amsterdam.

But Brenda quickly discovered that they had more to learn than European visa rules and driving laws. International travel required them to adapt to different cultures, navigate unfamiliar terrains, and find basic staples on the fly—a challenge for someone who liked to plan everything out ahead of time. Solving these problems not only brought a sense of accomplishment but also led to delightful surprises as they encountered new people and places.

Ramblings & Roundabouts: An American Couple's Travels in Europe—Mostly by Motorhome chronicles Brenda's journeys outside her homeland and her comfort zone. Containing a myriad of travel tips, her memoir will inspire anyone who's dreamed of embarking on a grand adventure.

About the Author

With a varied background in homeschooling, technical writing, family businesses, and working in higher education, Brenda's experience lends generously to her writing. Brenda earned her bachelor's degree in English from the University of Kansas and her master's degree in liberal arts from Baker University. Brenda lives with her husband Brian in Tucson, Arizona. 

New Book Release: Olive Envy - by D.R. Ransdell

Find it on Amazon HERE

Who wouldn’t jump at the chance to study abroad in Italy? College student Gina Campanello is excited to find that she absolutely needs to take a three-week course offered in Orvieto, a small town near Rome. She realizes that it will be a tall order to study so much grammar in a short period of time, but she’s up to the challenge!

Learning Italian is one thing. Sharing a microscopic apartment with a chatterbox is another. After Gina finds a peaceful garden outside a wine and cheese shop, she makes friends with Tony, a fellow Italian American who is running the place for his uncle. Tony becomes Gina’s local guide to everything around town, including the best cafés and shops. He knows the history of the town and most of the gossip.

But nobody avoids making enemies, including Tony’s uncle. When his rivals work to overthrow the shop, Gina dives into the action, learning more about friendship, loyalty, and revenge than she ever expected to.

Create your own study abroad session by joining Gina in her latest travels!

About the author:  

D.R. Ransdell is a writer, a traveler, and a musician. She's also a night owl--how else could she get any writing done? Although she's a native of Illinois, after a lovely stint in Mexico, she moved to Tucson, Arizona, where the sun is strong and the pools are inviting. By day she's a writing instructor at the University of Arizona.