New Book Release: ICEd Kidney - by J. Michael King

 

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Richard “Dick” Hertz has a desirable life. He lives in a spacious house in sunny Miami, Florida, with his wife and teenage son and daughter. The only thing he loves more than his family is his job at US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).

But his enviable life is turned upside down when his brother-in-law desperately needs a kidney transplant. A potential kidney donor is identified. When the donor is suddenly deported to Colombia, Karen, Dick’s wife, assumes Dick can use his influence at ICE to have the donor returned to the US to save her brother. When Dick fails, and Karen’s brother dies of kidney failure, she becomes distraught, which leads her to initiate divorce proceedings. Karen’s loose lips get Dick fired from ICE, and he begins an alcohol-fueled downward spiral, making numerous immoral and illegal decisions. He is charged with a simple misdemeanor, which then balloons into additional felony charges.

Dick is placed under house arrest before trial and fitted with an ankle bracelet monitor. He attempts to get revenge against the potential organ donor’s daughter, Ana. She is a U.S. citizen and also an organ donor match but refused to donate a kidney. Dick removes the ankle monitor and travels west to search for her. His daring, well-planned vengeance scheme fails spectacularly. He is arrested, escorted back to Miami, jailed, and additional charges are filed. He dejectedly pleads guilty and is incarcerated.

Will Dick survive prison, knowing that ex-ICE personnel are targets in jail? If he survives, will he rebuild his life once released, or will his incarceration make him bitter and vengeful? Will his friends and family visit him and welcome him back, or ignore and reject him?

About the author:

J. Michael King earned Engineering degrees from North Dakota State University (NDSU) and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He was employed by a large US manufacturer of diesel engines, holding various positions. He worked and lived in Spain for eight years, traveling throughout western Europe. He also worked in numerous Latin American Spanish-speaking countries, including México, Colombia, Panamá, Chile, Perú, Argentina, and the Dominican Republic.

The author resides in southern Arizona, USA, and writes about the US Southwest and Mexico–USA border, and immigration issues. He enjoys traveling, learning, hiking, practicing Spanish, wine tasting, and attending concerts.

New Book Release: Climbing After the Fall - by Clay Hurtubise

This manuscript, Climbing After the Fall: Story of Stroke and Recovery, presents a raw, unflinching, and deeply personal account of surviving a massive stroke and navigating the subsequent rehabilitation process. As a memoir written by a retired pharmacist (R.Ph.), it combines firsthand experience with clinical insight, resulting in a compelling narrative that balances emotional vulnerability with factual detail. The structure, beginning with a vivid contrast between pre-stroke adventures and the abrupt “fall,” then progressing through hospital care, rehabilitation challenges, and home recovery, effectively conveys the physical, psychological, and systemic hurdles encountered.

Clay Hurtubise once conquered avalanches in the Alps, solo-climbed frozen waterfalls, and raced motorcycles through the Himalayas, mountains that tested human endurance. None prepared him for the one that struck without warning: a massive stroke that erased his strength, vision, and independence in an instant.

In this unflinching memoir, he chronicles the paralyzing fall, the shortcomings of institutional rehabilitation, and the persistent struggle to reclaim his life at home. Supported by a steadfast partner, an intuitive dog, and innovative therapies, Hurtubise ascends, not to his former heights, but to a new summit of resilience.

A candid, insightful account of stroke survival that offers hope, clarity, and hard-earned wisdom to survivors, caregivers, and all who face life’s most formidable ascents.

About the author:

Clay Hurtubise, R.Ph., born in Maine, attended pharmacy school in Wyoming, joining Kappa Sigma. Facing early challenges, including bullying and abuse, he built a resilient life with a supportive partner of nearly 30 years. Their unique family values compassion and empathy, reflecting his enduring commitment to personal growth, strong relationships, and a deep appreciation for the support of his community throughout his journey.

New Book Release: Broken Wing - by Clay P Hurtubise

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 Broken Wing is a thoughtful and imaginative environmental adventure that blends human ambition with the lives of the natural world in a compelling way. Hurtubise builds a richly textured story in which a group of individuals seeking a healthier life inadvertently stumbles into ecological consequences far greater than they expected. Interwoven with this human journey is the poignant and evocative narrative of an unkindness of ravens, whose struggles and triumphs mirror the broader impact of human actions on the environment.

About the author:

Clay Hurtubise, R.Ph., born in Maine, attended pharmacy school in Wyoming, joining Kappa Sigma. Facing early challenges, including bullying and abuse, he built a resilient life with a supportive partner of nearly 30 years. Their unique family values compassion and empathy, reflecting his enduring commitment to personal growth, strong relationships, and a deep appreciation for the support of his community throughout his journey.

The end of the world a fiction author might imagine - by Vijaya Schartz

 

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Doomsayers have always been here, but this is a new one to me. As a science fiction author, I find it fascinating.

I recently came upon a claim (by Enki files), allegedly translated from ancient Sumerian tablets secreted away in locked backrooms of the British Museum. It says that the human species is an alien experiment with an expiration date, and our makers are returning to harvest us as soon as the total population of Earth reaches nine billion humans… which should happen in about half a decade.

According to these tablets, dating thousands of years before Christianity, not all of us will be harvested, the records say, only those deemed worthy. The rest will be destroyed when the Earth is cleansed then reformed for the next experiment, which will not be human at all, but something more primordial.

Parts of this sound suspiciously like the rapture in Christian texts.

Will we soon face Armageddon, fighting aliens to prevent Earth’s destruction?

According to Enki Files, the top leaders of our world are aware of this.

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But here is where the texts diverge. According to these ancient records, these makers do not consider us as living entities in our own rights, but as mere vessels… but vessels for what? Enki Files says the texts are incomplete, many tablets are missing, damaged, or in some places unreadable, which allows for misinterpretations and mistakes.

Still. For a science fiction author, the very notion is fascinating. From the perspective of a limitless universe populated by advanced alien races, why not?

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Is this why some world leaders are pushing AI advances, even though we know it could replace or even kill us all? Is there a secret plot from the most powerful leaders of Earth to face that harvest and the following Armageddon with AI weapons to defend our very existence?

Do I believe this? I believe the ancients who recorded it believed it strongly enough to carve it in stone and preserve it in their library for future generations.

It makes me curious. What would be the end of the journey for mankind? What would we become? As vessels, what would we contain?

Each day I am surprised by the depth of thought of our ancestors. Writing science fiction and fantasy allows me to build on their recorded mythology to create a populated universe, and stories that resonate in all of us, because they are part of our faraway past.

Enjoy the reading.

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Vijaya Schartz, award-winning author

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

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New Book Release: We Were a Nice Formal Family - by Patricia A Grenelle, PsyD

 

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A powerful story of hidden trauma revealed and healed.

From the outside, Patricia Grenelle’s childhood looked ordinary—a farm, parents and sisters, routines, and what appeared to be a “nice, normal family.” She believed it, completely. But beneath that familiar surface lay experiences no child should endure. In We Were a Nice Normal Family, Patricia, a former forensic psychologist, reveals the childhood sexual abuse, abandonment, and emotional neglect that shaped her life for decades.

Told with honesty and clarity, her story traces the moments that fractured her early years and the lingering effects that followed her into adulthood: complicated relationships, failed marriages, self-doubt, anxiety, and the symptoms of C-PTSD she later came to understand. Patricia also honors her sister Josie, whose parallel suffering gives voice to countless survivors who never had the chance to speak.

More than a memoir, this book offers insight, understanding, and hope. Through personal experience and professional perspective, Patricia illuminates the patterns of trauma and the pathways to recovery—reminding readers that healing remains possible even after years of struggle. Packed with helpful resources for anyone you know who may be suffering in silence.

Perfect for readers of What Happened to You?, The Body Keeps the Score, and survivor-centered memoirs about resilience, truth-telling, and reclaiming one’s life.

About the author:

Patricia A. Grenelle, PsyD, is a retired Forensic Psychologist and survivor of childhood sexual abuse and C-PTSD. She brings dual perspectives to her writing: the raw emotional truth of lived trauma and the clinical expertise of decades studying it. Patricia wrote We Were a Nice, Normal Family to honor her sister, who suffered beside her, and for every survivor who's been told they were "too sensitive," blamed themselves for family dysfunction, or wondered if healing was possible. Through her work, she reaches those who have experienced abuse, helping survivors live more productive, happy lives by understanding what happened and why it still matters. Patricia lives in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona with her husband Ed, a retired US Army Major, and her service dog JP, a Goldendoodle who supports her through her own C-PTSD journey. She encourages readers to help stop childhood sexual abuse, rape, and trauma by supporting the organizations she highlights in her work.

New Book Release: Under the Mogollon Rim - by Elizabeth Ajamie-Boyer

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North of the Salt River Valley and Under the Mogollon Rim, lays Cibecue, Arizona Territory. Lila, the daughter of a rancher, Ronald Sutter, liked the idea of finding true love on her own. Her father, on the other hand, wanted her to marry a landowner or his son so one or the other could take care of her. He wanted to pick the man she would marry, with the ulterior motive that the families would combine their ranches. Love wasn’t necessary in his mind. But was it? 

About the author:

An award-winning author, Elizabeth Ajamie-Boyer is from Phoenix, Arizona. She is married to, and co-writes with, TJ Boyer, primary author of The Mirror Gate Chronicles series. Having written several books, Elizabeth has two notable awards: The International Impact Award for 2025 & International Christian Book Awards Winner for 2026. These awards are for her story, The Dirty End of the Needle!