Micah Briarmoon is a true Renaissance man: educator, entertainer, musician, world traveler, and author. After many years entertaining crowds around the country, he pursued his teaching degree, going on to teach both locally and internationally.
In the sweltering Bicentennial summer of 1976, fourteen-year-old Vinny Perino is the new kid on Nebraska Avenue. Trading Brooklyn’s concrete for the suburbs of Long Island, he finds an unexpected brotherhood among a crew of wisecracking Newsday paperboys.
But the easy rhythm of morning routes and Fourth of July mischief doesn’t last. When a string of burglaries hits homes along Vinny’s route, suspicion lands on the boys—and a local cop with a long memory is more than willing to make it stick.
With no one else on their side, the crew sets out to prove the truth themselves—following the only lead they have and risking more than they bargained for in the process.
The news is only for a day. The legend of Nebraska Avenue is for a lifetime.
In Hard Things, Marc Hopkins takes readers on a journey through the grueling Bigfoot 200-mile ultramarathon and, more importantly, through the uncharted terrain of his inner landscape. What begins as a personal challenge to prove his worth becomes a profound odyssey of self-discovery as he navigates the punishing trails of the Cascade Mountains and the deeply ingrained patterns that have shaped his life. From scorching desert to freezing river crossings, from hallucinations to moments of startling clarity, Marc’s physical journey mirrors his emotional one.
As he pushes his body beyond what seems humanly possible, Marc confronts the truth about why he runs—not merely to demonstrate endurance, but to escape the anxiety that has chased him since childhood. With each punishing mile, he unravels the complex relationship dynamics, family patterns, and personal struggles he’s spent a lifetime avoiding, revealing the strength he’s always projected as both his greatest asset and his heaviest burden.
Hard Things is a powerful memoir about what it means to be authentically strong, vulnerable, and worthy of love. For anyone who has ever doubted themselves, it offers a gripping, inspiring testament to perseverance, self-discovery, and the truth that the hardest trails aren’t always measured in miles.
A mysterious transformation sweeps the globe overnight. A shared dream awakens humanity into a world of light, love, and unity. Fear vanishes. Conflict dissolves. Hunger, grief, and despair are no longer part of the human condition. Society reorganizes itself around peace, purpose, and effortless cooperation.
But some are left behind—trapped in their old selves while the rest of humanity moves forward without them. They endure pain, isolation, and quiet erasure under the guise of enlightenment. When a small group of the Unawakened escapes a brutal confinement, rebellion and scientific inquiry begin to peel back the dream’s surface, pointing to the possibility that its source is anything but divine.
As the truth emerges, peace reveals its price. Moral certainty collides with survival. The Great Awakening confronts readers with a haunting question: if an entrancing paradise ends human suffering, but quietly decides who belongs—and who doesn’t—would you let it continue, or would you dare to wake the world?
Rita Jo Norvoteny is a dark fiction author and creator of The Reformed Killers Universe, a series that blends psychological horror, dark humor, and morally complex characters. Her work explores themes of trauma, survival, and the uneasy line between redemption and destruction.
Did you grow up in a family of extreme narcissists and their enablers, or have you ever wondered what it’s like to live in that kind of fishbowl environment? If so, The Jezebel Tracks is for you.
Gardner Landry’s essays feature both overt and covert histrionic narcissists—at least one of whom likely qualifies as a psychopath—while also exploring the bizarre psychodynamics of his family. Along the way, he reflects on Houston and New Orleans, and the curious ways these cities relate to one another.
You’ll meet Landry’s dramatic, buffoonish father, his chillingly psychopathic side, and a maternal grandmother who is outwardly sweet yet privately manipulative—the queen bee of the family. Topsy-turvy gender roles, financial charades, and spiritual dimensions of abuse reveal themselves, as Landry examines what he believes to be the spiritual roots of these disorders, culminating in an unexpected journey toward redemption. Buckle up for the ride.
“Gardner expertly weaves deeply personal stories with biblical truth…to stand in solidarity with those who suffer as victims of covert Christian narcissists. However, Gardner doesn’t leave us merely with the problem. In just about every essay, he makes it clear that the solution is a sincere belief in and an intimate relationship with the unique Son of God, the only One of his kind, and the One who triumphed over powers and principalities (including Jezebel): Jesus Christ.”
– Alex Tarasiuk, Pastor, Iglesia Conexión Vertical, Querétaro, México
Eliezer Sobel, 73, is the author of The Silver Lining of Alzheimer’s: One Son’s Journey Into The Mystery, a joyful memoir of caring for his mother, Manya, whose ordeal with Alzheimer’s lasted twenty years, until she finally passed away at 95. His story shines an unusual light on what has become an epidemic of dementia around the world, which most accounts largely tend to depict as purely tragic. Instead, Eliezer discovered that as his mother’s memories as a Holocaust survivor began to vanish, what emerged was the innocent, radiant, and loving young girl she had once been.
Robert Callaway was born in Hollywood, California, and moved with his parents and sister to Utah when he was six. He grew up in the Orem-Provo area.
From the silence of a Turin Institute for Infants to the unfolding symphonies of a life in music, The Unknown Composer is a deeply personal memoir of identity, transformation, and creative devotion.
John A. Carollo—born Giovanni Baudino—was adopted from Italy and raised in Pennsylvania, a child caught between languages, cultures, and selves. Through music and poetry, he forged a life of meaning beyond abandonment, beyond acclaim. With candor and lyricism, he traces his evolution from a solitary child to a prolific composer whose works span piano, orchestra, choir, verse, and chamber music.
This memoir is a meditation on the metaphysics of sound, the necessity of solitude, and the healing power of artistic truth. Through reflections, poetic interludes, and hard-won wisdom, Carollo offers a testament to the unseen lives behind the music we rarely hear, and the courage it takes to remain faithful to one’s inner voice.
For anyone drawn to the creative process, the mysteries of identity, or the soul’s search for expression, The Unknown Composer is both map and mirror. John A. Carollo, the story of a composer who turned silence into art, and art into lasting sound.
How to Write a Romance Novel: A Step-by-Step Guide for Aspiring Authors Writing a romance novel requires more than bringing two characters together. At its core, romance is about emotional
As writers immersed in the world of dark fiction, it’s easy to be drawn to the intricate dance between light and shadow within the human psyche. Exploring moral dilemmas in storytelling is like embarking on a thrilling journey through the labyrinth of ethical ambiguity. It’s a terrain where characters grapple with their inner demons, and as a creator, an opportunity to guide them through this tumultuous landscape.
J. Claire, known as the ‘Poet of the Wild,’ is a multi-award-winning author and poet whose debut collection Revelry earned numerous honors between 2025 and 2026, including two American Fiction Awards in Narrative and Nature Poetry, finalist recognition in Contemporary and General Poetry, finalist in Contemporary and Nature Poetry from the 2025 American BookFest Best Book Awards, the International Impact Book Award in Poetry: Personal and Confessional Poetry, the NYC Big Book Award for Distinguished Favorite in Poetry: Journeys, Memory, and the Self, finalist recognition in the 2025 Positive Impact Book Awards, finalist placements in Contemporary, General, and Narrative Poetry from the American Writing Awards, and the 2026 Independent Press Award for Distinguished Favorite in Poetry: Human Identity & Connection.
In She Stood Up and Walked, Jasmine was the girl who smiled on cue, clapped for herself when no one else did, and gave until there was nothing left. From whispered prayers in the mirror to long silences in crowded rooms, she learned how to shrink herself to keep the peace – until peace became a performance.
You cannot escape the darkness.
Crown Princess Aeloria hears the words echo through her mind—a warning, or perhaps a promise. Heir to the forest throne of Sylvanthar, she was born to protect her people from the Moon Elves who murdered her brother and shattered her peace. But when fate binds her to the enigmatic moon prince Frey she was raised to despise, everything she believes begins to unravel.
Ancient magic stirs beneath the sacred tree that guards their world, and Aeloria soon learns that light and shadow are not opposites but reflections of the same truth. As betrayal, prophecy, and forbidden love entwine, she must decide what kind of queen she will become: savior, destroyer, or something far more dangerous.
Perfect for fans of Holly Black and Sarah J. Maas, The Mountain of Magic and Death is a sweeping fantasy of vengeance, sacrifice, and a love powerful enough to burn through destiny itself.
In rural Queensland, Alex O’Brien has always been the dutiful Catholic child with a future planned by others. But when Alex leaves home for St. Bernadette’s College in Brisbane, distance brings questions that faith and family never prepared them for.
Drawn to new friends who live with fearless honesty, Alex begins to see that discomfort may not come from inadequacy—but from being seen as someone they’re not. A single reckless choice shatters the life Alex has been building, sending them home to Warrawong and into the humbling work of starting over.
At a homeless shelter filled with people remaking themselves from the ruins, Alex learns that courage isn’t about perfection—it’s about truth. Between who they were and who they’re becoming lies the space where grace takes root.
The Space Between is a tender, hopeful story about identity, faith, and finding the language to live as your truest self.
Born in Ukraine and currently residing in California, Elana Gomel is an academic, an award-winning writer, and a professional nomad. Her academic work centers on speculative fiction and narrative theory. Among her many academic books are Science Fiction, Alien Encounters, and the Ethics of Posthumanism and The Palgrave Handbook of Global Fantasy. A member of Horror Writers of America (HWA), she is the author of many short stories, two collections, several novellas, and eight novels of dark fantasy and science fiction. Her stories appeared in The Best Horror of the Year, The Dark magazine, Apex, and many anthologies. Her novel Nightwood, a fairy tale about exile, marriage, and monsters, won the Silver Award in the Bookfest 2023 contest. Her latest novel is the epic dark fantasy A Tale of Three Cities.
Elorine Jade is a children’s author who writes gentle, magical stories for readers who feel deeply and notice the quiet details of the world. Her work centres on courage, resilience, and emotional growth, often told through nature-rich settings and thoughtful protagonists. The Adventures of Morish is her debut novel and the first book in a series inspired by her love of storytelling, her experiences as a parent, and her belief that quiet children deserve to see themselves reflected in books.
In Sweetness & Light, Melinda Worth Popham returns to 1950s Kansas City and to her Mission Hills neighborhood, where manicured lawns and polite silence masked a darker undercurrent. This haunting memoir intertwines chilling local crimes—the Bobby Greenlease kidnapping, the gunning down of a childhood friend’s father, a classmate’s lethal rebellion—with the author’s own coming-of-age in a household where appearance was everything and truth was often obscured.
Through a child’s clear-eyed gaze and an adult’s reckoning, Popham explores the uneasy collision of innocence and violence, secrecy and revelation. Her family’s quiet tragedies—her brother’s hidden illness, her mother’s emotional absence, her father’s careful propriety—mirror the crimes that gripped the headlines and shaped her understanding of what lurked beneath the surface.
A meditation on memory, identity, and the pursuit of truth, Sweetness & Light offers a riveting blend of personal narrative and true crime. For readers drawn to stories where history’s footnotes echo through private lives, this memoir illuminates how we piece ourselves together from fractured recollections—and why some shadows, once faced, offer the clearest light.
Nick Clement is an educator, children’s author and founder of Chi Education and Confident Healthy Active Me CIC. A former primary school teacher, he now creates movement-rich, mindful stories that help children build confidence, emotional wellbeing, and a love of active learning. Drawing on his background in sport, coaching, and child development, Nick’s books are designed to get young children moving, imagining, and feeling good about themselves. His mission is simple: To help every child feel confident, healthy and active through joyful, accessible storytelling.
Chelsea Muzar holds her MFA in creative writing from the University of Nebraska Omaha. Her work has been published in Clarkesworld Magazine, Planet Scumm, and Kansas City Voices. When she isn’t writing, she’s enjoying time with her husband, daughter, and their toy poodle.