New book release: Hula Girl 2: Tears of Pearls - by Rob Lezcano

 

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Beneath the waters of the South China Sea lies a secret older than empires.

While continuing to learn the deeper meaning of Aloha through the ancient scroll left to him, Tommy Tanner and his dashboard Hula Girl, LaʻKa, discover something unexpected on the beach behind his Oceanside home, a wounded woman washed ashore by the tide.

But she is no ordinary woman.

She is one of the JiaoRén, a legendary Asian mermaid whose tears transform into priceless pearls.

Through her story, Tommy learns a terrible truth: deep beneath the waters of the South China Sea, the JiaoRén are being captured and tortured by pirates seeking their magical tears. The pearls they produce have become one of the most valuable treasures in the world.

Together with LaʻKa and the ancient Protectors of Aloha, Tommy sets out on a daring mission across the Pacific. What follows is a magical and dangerous journey that leads them into hidden ocean caverns, pirate strongholds, and a battle against a ruthless captain known only as The Butcher.

To save the JiaoRén and restore balance to the ocean, Tommy and his friends must confront forces far older, and far darker, than they ever imagined.

About the author:

Rob Lezcano is a genre-bending author whose work explores memory, myth, legacy, and the thin veil between the ordinary world and the impossible one hiding just beneath it.

His writing moves freely between memoir, speculative fiction, magical realism, and myth-driven adventure, but each book is united by the same central question: What do we carry with us, and what refuses to let us go? Whether grounded in lived experience or wild invention, Rob’s stories examine identity, love, obsession, faith, and the quiet moments where truth reveals itself sideways.

New Book Release: Friends for A Season: Because Wisdom is Ageless - by Brad Graber

 

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Can Strangers from Different Generations Truly Become Friends?

When Helena takes a tumble that requires hospitalization, she thinks her life as an independent woman is over. In her youth, she'd been a mother, author, speaker, and activist, but now, she's scared and alone, abandoned by her sons, certain the world has forgotten her. Faced with moving into a retirement community, Helena struggles to adjust her expectations, even as Julie, the activities director, wrangles her into volunteering as a patient advocate for Zak, a college freshman, also alone and struggling in this intergenerational novel of the friendship that blossoms between two people on opposite ends of life's journey.

From the award-winning author of The Intersect, After the Fall, Boca by Moonlight, and What's That Growing in My Sour Cream? comes a novel that rips aside the facade of a woman's life, leaving readers to contemplate the value of friendship and family.

About the author:

Brad Graber writes novels because he grew up in a family where no one listened to him...so he made up stories about them. Insightful and witty, Graber encourages us to look beyond the surface, creating characters that inspire hope and connection. Graber also writes a monthly humor blog, There, I Said It! To learn more about Brad, check out his website at bradgraber.com

New Book Release: Rewrite Your Normal: A Workbook for Rebels, Survivors, and Cycle-Breakers - by Lisa Gerardy

 

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Rewrite Your Normal is a guided workbook for anyone ready to break old patterns and build a life that finally fits. Created for rebels, survivors, and cycle-breakers, this workbook helps you explore the beliefs you inherited, understand the protective habits that shaped you, and create new emotional and mental tracks that support healing and growth.

Through reflective prompts, practical exercises, and clear guidance, you will uncover the stories that have influenced your sense of self and begin writing a healthier narrative for your future.

This workbook is a companion to Lisa Gerardy’s memoir Chasing Normal, yet it stands completely on its own. You do not need to read the memoir to benefit from the insights and tools offered here.

Choose your direction. Rewrite your story. Build your version of normal.

About the author, Lisa Gerardy:

I'm a writer, educator, and trauma survivor who believes deeply in the power of telling the truth out loud. I grew up on the wrong side of the highway and the wrong side of the tracks, raised by a mother I half jokingly call the Government Cheese Mommy Dearest. My childhood included sexual abuse, emotional harm, and a long lesson in pretending chaos was normal.For years, I tried to outrun that past through relationships and alcohol. In 2005, I met my husband and learned a different definition of love, one built on patience, safety, and laughter instead of fear.I wrote a memoir called Chasing Normal about surviving abuse and learning to believe in love again. I followed it with the Rewriting Normal workbook for anyone trying to untangle their own story and decide what normal actually means. I also created Cracked Track Parenting for fellow cycle breakers raising kids without a healthy blueprint.

Do cats have mystical, supernatural powers? - by Vijaya Schartz

  

Pasha safeguarding my latest book
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I have loved cats since I was five years old, petting the neighbor’s cat and bringing strays home on my way back from school. But I was deprived of having one as a child because of my dad. “Cats belong in a barn,” he always said. We lived in an apartment at the time. But as soon as I left home, I adopted my first cat. I have enjoyed their company ever since.

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Unlike dogs, who love unconditionally, cats are very picky about who they like. Some believe they can read a person’s aura (the magnetic field surrounding all living beings), and they develop supernatural powers as they age. If an adult cat comes to you and chooses you to take care of him or her, it means you are a good person, kind, peaceful of heart and mind, and trustworthy. I would never trust someone who hates cats.

Pasha, the current blue-eyed guardian of my home

Cats are believed to watch over dreams, sense spiritual energy, and guard thresholds. Some say they have nine lives, others that they are shapeshifters. They have a knack to appear in sealed rooms with no explanation. No closed door or high balcony ever stopped a cat. I often find strange cats on my balcony on the third floor with no apparent access.

Byzantium series
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While black cats are sometimes vilified in the west, because long ago they shielded witches from evil spirits, in Scottish folklore cats in general are considered good luck and believed to bring prosperity. In China, cats and big cats (like tigers) are a symbol of wealth. In Japan, the Maneki-neko (beckoning cat) is a symbol of good luck, prosperity, hospitality, and happiness. It graces homes and waves at you from the windows of most Japanese restaurants, or it wishes you a Happy New Year on your Social Media feed.

Maneki neko (photo: Tokoname ware - Amazon)

In Egyptian antiquity, cats were the guardians of the underworld, preventing the evil dead from escaping and wreaking havoc in the world of the living. They were considered divine, and the Goddess Bastet, with the head of a panther, warded-off evil and protected mothers.

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But many other cultures around the world venerate the cat. Celtic lore mentions the “Cat Sith,” a large black cat with a white spot on his chest, said to change form nine times in his life (possibly the origin of the nine lives legends).

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In Siam, many temple cats reside in sacred spaces safeguarding the souls of the deceased as they move to the afterlife. In Nepal and Tibet, temple cats are nurtured, fed, and loved. In return, they get rid of vermin… physical and otherwise.

In my latest novel, Chi Warrior, many cats dwell in the monastery of the Celestial Gate, protecting the monks and the Acolytes, even curling up on their crossed legs as they meditate.

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If you like cats, definitely check out my science fiction novels. Some of my cats are big, others small, some are genetically engineered, and some wield supernatural powers.

Happy Reading!

Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author

Kick-butt Sci-fi Heroines, cats, romantic elements

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New Book Release: Four Corners Voices: Stories, Poetry, Essays

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Four Corners Voices: Stories, Poetry, Essays is a collection of writing published by Four Corners Writers based in Cortez, Colorado. The pieces included (12 short stories, 24 poems, and 13 essays) were gathered through a submission process in the summer of 2024.

In 2025, Four Corners Voices was named the winner of the 2025 Colorado Book Award for Best Anthology and, in 2026, Four Corners Voices was named by Colorado Humanities as Colorado's selection for the 2026 National Book Festival.

About the authors:

Chuck Greaves, the author of seven novels, has been a finalist for many of the top honors in crime fiction including the Shamus, Lefty, Macavity, and Audie Awards, as well as the New Mexico-Arizona, Oklahoma, and Colorado Book Awards and the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction. His 2012 novel Hard Twisted (Bloomsbury) was hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "a gritty, gripping read, and one that begs to be put on film" while his 2015 novel Tom & Lucky (Bloomsbury) was a Wall Street Journal "Ten Best Mysteries of 2015" selection. His latest novel The Chimera Club, the fourth installment in his critically acclaimed Jack MacTaggart series of legal mysteries (Minotaur), was a 2023 Colorado Book Award finalist and was named the "Best Mystery Novel of 2022" by the Colorado Authors League. You can visit him at www.chuckgreaves.com.

Lisa C. Taylor holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Stone coast/University of Southern Maine. She has three published collections of poetry, two published collections of short stories, and her forthcoming novel, The Shape of What Remains, will be published in March 2025. Lisa's honors include the Elizabeth Shanley Gerson Lecture in Irish Literature with Irish writer Geraldine Mills, a Surdna Arts Fellowship that enabled her to spend a summer in Ireland, a Hugo House New Works Fiction Award, Pushcart nominations in fiction and poetry, and Best-of-the-Net nominations in fiction and poetry. She's received writing residencies from the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Ireland, Vermont Studio Center, and Willowtail Springs in Colorado. Her work has appeared in anthologies and numerous literary journals. Lisa formerly taught creative writing at a university and an arts magnet high school. She currently teaches online, presents at writing conferences nationwide, and codirects the Mesa Verde Writers Conference with writer, Mark Stevens.

The son of two librarians, Mark Stevens was raised in Lincoln, Massachusetts and has worked as a reporter, television news producer, and in public relations. He's the author of The Fireballer (2023, Lake Union), named Best Baseball Novel by Twin Bill Literary Magazine and named a Best Baseball Book of the Year by Spitball Magazine. Thomas & Mercer will publish No Lie Lasts Forever in April of 2025, the Buried by the Roan, Trapline, Lake of Fire, and The Melancholy Howl. Buried by the Roan, Trapline, and Lake of Fire were all finalists for the Colorado Book Award (2012, 2015 and 2016 respectively). Trapline won. Stevens has had short stories published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Denver Noir (2022, Akashic Books), and Crimes Against Nature (2024, Down & Out Books). In 2016 and again in 2023, Stevens was named Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' Writer of the Year. Stevens hosts a regular podcast for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and has served as president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter for Mystery Writers of America.

New Book Release: The Roses of Carterhaugh - by Melissa Widmaier

 

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Illustrated

Love is immortal.

In a quiet souters village in Scotland, an earl’s rebellious daughter stirs up trouble with the fabled faeries known as the Daoine Sìth. Can she lift the veil on a darkened past and rescue her knight from the seelie queen’s clutches?

Based on a beloved Child Ballad, this fairytale retelling mixes magic with devotion, leading our heroine and her loved ones on an adventure worth recounting in an enchanted glade or a royal hall.

About the author: 

Melissa is an award-winning author on the spectrum who likes to mix a little ink with her magic. Her books focus on the familial bond and exploring the natural world. When not manipulating words, she can be found camping with a camera in hand, getting lost among things green and growing. She lives in Arizona with her husband, three boys, a dapper old cat, and a rambunctious corgi.

New Book Release: The Door in the Carnegie Library - by VC Williams

 

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Shy Julie Johnson of 1967 dreams of a different life. The seventeen-year-old wants popularity, a clique of friends, and boys calling for dates. When she finds a secret door in the old Carnegie Library, she exits into the rustic world of 1907, where she must learn to trust strangers for the first time in her life. With nothing to lose, she ventures out, one step at a time, from her tightly guarded existence. She finds that making good friends like Debby is easier than she thought, and a handsome boy, Ren, wants to hold her hand and take her to a dance. 

But when a notorious outlaw, the Apache Kid, learns about the Yavape' Apache magic that transported Julie, a native woman warns that her life may be in danger. The Kid has been on the run for years, and this seems like the perfect way for him to escape. Knowing she must learn the reason for her presence here, Julie tries new things, takes risks, and finds life with her guardians, Rilla and Charles Keeler, can be fun and rewarding, even without makeup, running water, or electricity. 

But when the Apache Kid kidnaps her and drags her into a remote area in the surrounding mountains, Julie faces her biggest test. Enduring pain and hardship, only her faith and a message from the Apache Maiden's spirit sustain her. Sharing the Maiden's message for the Kid only enrages him, leaving Julie afraid for her life, but the Kid leaves her to be rescued. Her trials are not over as he continues to stalk her, and when the right storm rolls in, Julie and Charles find him waiting for them. Attacking Charles, the Kid drags Julie into the portal, releasing her at the last minute. A few weeks later, Julie leaves her friends and arrives back in 1967, a changed young woman with a new perspective and confidence. She soon has a visit from a person out of the past who provides the answers to her questions about those she left behind. In their honor, she intends to live the life of her dreams.

About the author:

VC Williams has a strong background in technical writing and is delighted to devote her life now to writing fiction. She previously worked in administrative and accounting roles in retail, government, manufacturing, and non-profits. She also served twelve years as a business administrator/minister for a large church in El Paso. Texas. VC is a second-generation Arizonan and a history enthusiast. She is married with two sons and two grandchildren. She has been blessed with opportunities to travel and has visited many beautiful places here and around the world. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society, the Arizona Authors Association, and the Arizona Territorial Society.