Fiction
40 Books by 40
For a lot of people, the idea of getting older is appalling. They fret when they find their first grey hair or notice the first wrinkle. As I approach my 40th birthday, I find that I am not ashamed when I say I’m almost 40. It doesn’t bother me to get older, because I realized […]
Review: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capital, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus […]
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins – Chapters 1 & 2
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capital, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus […]
Review: Virgin River by Robyn Carr
Welcome back to Virgin River with the book that started it all… Wanted: Midwife/nurse practitioner in Virgin River, population six hundred. Make a difference against a backdrop of towering California redwoods and crystal clear rivers. Rent-free cabin included. When the recently widowed Melinda Monroe sees this ad, she quickly decides that the remote mountain town […]
Review: Alone in the Wild by Kelley Armstrong
Every season in Rockton seems to bring a new challenge. At least that’s what Detective Casey Duncan has felt since she decided to call this place home. Between all the secretive residents, the sometimes-hostile settlers outside, and the surrounding wilderness, there’s always something to worry about. While on a much needed camping vacation with her […]
Review: 1,000-Year-Old Ghosts by Laura Chow Reeve
A grandmother teaches her family to deal with difficult memories in a unique way — by pickling them in jars. “1000–Year–Old Ghosts” appears in the new anthology Pen America Best Debut Short Stories 2017. School is back in session and I find myself struggling to manage my love for literature and my hectic schedule. Fortunately, […]
Review: The Lucky Ones by Tiffany Reisz
They called themselves “the lucky ones.” They were seven children either orphaned or abandoned by their parents and chosen by legendary philanthropist and brain surgeon Dr. Vincent Capello to live in The Dragon, his almost magical beach house on the Oregon Coast. Allison was the youngest of the lucky ones living an idyllic life with […]
Review: Watcher in the Woods by Kelley Armstrong
The secret town of Rockton has seen some rocky times lately; understandable considering its mix of criminals and victims fleeing society for refuge within its Yukon borders. Casey Duncan, the town’s only detective on a police force of three, has already faced murder, arson and falling in love in less than the year that she’s […]
Review: Egypt’s Sister by Angela Hunt
Five decades before the birth of Christ, Chava, daughter of the royal tutor, grows up with Urbi, a princess in Alexandria’s royal palace. When Urbi becomes Queen Cleopatra, Chava vows to be a faithful friend no matter what–but after she and Cleopatra have an argument, she finds herself imprisoned and sold into slavery. Torn from […]
Review: This Fallen Prey by Kelley Armstrong
In This Fallen Prey, the next installment of New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrongs thriller series, Casey Duncan is about to face her toughest job as police detective in Rockton yet. When Casey first arrived at the off-the-grid town, an isolated community built as a haven for people running from their pasts, she had […]
The Writer's Inkwell 