Campfire Tales penned by the author Weston King is a collection of short stories. The first story Flying Monkeys revolves around the monkeys. Sixteen years old Don lives in a monkey sanctuary with his mother Issy. Issy’s husband went on a hike to find a new monkey but he didn’t return. Read this story to know what all will happen between monkeys and Don’s family.
Another story Unlucky is about a six years old girl Kelsey who has been missing for the last three months. Her older sister Julie is sixteen years old. She thinks that instead of her sister, it would have been better if she were in her place. Her parents have already fallen into drinking since Kelsey is missing.
Stories are interesting and I enjoyed reading them. There are lgtbq characters as well in the story. I enjoyed every bit of this book. Characters are well written and plot of the stories are riveting. Language used in the book is simple and has a smooth narration. I enjoyed Weston’s stories and looking forward to read more of his work.
Book: Second Wind: Spiritual Respiration: I Can Breathe Again
Author: Tiffany N. Smith
Available On: Amazon
Language: English
Rating: 5/5
“Second Wind: Spiritual Respiration: I Can Breathe Again” penned by the author Tiffany Smith is a memoir in which the author has shared her life experiences from her teenage years through adult life.
Tiffany is a daughter of Christian God-fearing parents. She has two siblings Resa and Kevin. Her parents have provided their kids love, values, materialistic things, strong belief, etc. Right parenting plays an important role in shaping kids’ future. Through her school life, Tiffany was a mouthy, defiant teenager. At DSU, she majored in sociology. In the freshman year, she was the tequila queen and her grades were also affected. However, in Sophomore year, Tiffany became serious towards her career and started dating Kraig who also became the father of her child. Grab a copy of this book and get to know yourself about Tiffany’s belief and relation to God.
This book is for both believers and non-believers. I enjoyed reading this book. It was great to know about the author’s life. A reader can learn or gain so many experiences by reading a book that is based on someone’s life. Through this book, readers will realize that God is faithful. Being a believer of God, I totally agree with this. Cover photo of the book is nice and this book is well written.
“AXEL” is an interesting Children’s Book written by Louise Coenen.
Story features the mightiest mouse, Axel, who longed for adventure and fame. One day he decided to venture out so he can discover the outside world. With his twitchy nose and freshly brushed whiskers and hair he went up to the edge of the mousehole to see who was there. Grab a copy of this book to know more about Axel’s adventure and to know who he would meet along the way. After reading this book, readers will be excited for an adventure.
This story will enhance the vocabulary of the little readers. Storyline of the book is very interesting. Kids will definitely love this story. Author has written this book well and I am glad to get my hands on this adorable book. It’s a story worth reading.
Cape Henry House penned by the author Jolly Walker Bittick is a coming of age story. Story is narrated by former Petty Officer Third Class Bosner. Story features Bosner who is in the military. By his second and third year, he had a good friends circle. One day, two of Bosner’s shipmates decided to move into a place down the road from base.
B-man and Dolvar are consummate partiers and they were moving in with a married couple Penley and Anne. This new place became a perfect spot for Bosner and his shipmates to party, have drinks, enjoy girls, etc.
This story is funny and gave me a sneak peek into the different side of sailors’ life. I enjoyed every bit of this story. Cover photo of the book is nice and the title is suitable. If you love humorous stories full of interesting characters then this book would be a perfect pick. The author Jolly has done fantastic work in this book and I am highly impressed with his writing. The text size I felt was too small. Apart from that, I loved this novel.
The First Splish Splash written by the author Lotta D Todd and illustrated by Mike Motz is the first installment in the Water Safety and Pool Adventure book series.
Story features a little boy, Langston, who has a dream to be the Best Swimmer. He told about his dream to his parents and water safety friend, Pang the Penguin. Langston’s family decided to take him to the pool on Saturday. Will Langston have the courage to take the first step to pursue his dreams?
This is a well written story. The facts shared about swimming will help little kids to learn important things. This is an amazing picture book to make kids aware about swimming. I am sure kids will enjoy reading this book and they will be tempted to learn swimming as well. Parents should give this adorable book to their little ones.
Book: Bridges to Heal US: Stories and Strategies for Racial Healing
Author: Erin Jones
Available On: Amazon
Language: English
Rating: 5/5
“Bridges connect to places, but bridges also get walked on…and sometimes with heels.” Being a bridge is at the same time rewarding and painful.
“Bridges to Heal US: Stories and Strategies for Racial Healing” penned by the author Erin Jones is a book worth reading. This book teaches strategies to the readers that could help them to move their community towards racial justice. This book guides readers to do their part to end the racial discrimination in the United States of America.
This story is both a memoir and an insightful call to action that inspires readers to work towards racial healing. Erin, a brown woman was given birth by a white mother at a hospital in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Her mother gave her up for adoption at the Children’s Home Society where Erin was adopted by a white couple who had never met Black people. The couple was unaware of the challenges they have to face for adopting a black child in a white family.
Readers could take away many useful things from this book. Cover photo is mind blowing and the title is suitable. In this book, the author has not only shared the good about her life but she has also covered the bad and ugly parts of her life. This is a book worth reading. I am glad to get my hands on it.
Pederasty is the debut novel of the author J. C. Morgan. Story features Julian, a respected lecturer at a high-end university. Julian fell for a schoolboy named Matt. Matt had sent an email to Julian and after reading that email, things changed. But before receiving that email, Julian and Matt had interacted very briefly.
One morning in London, Julian is at a cafe sitting with Matt where Matt is gulping coffee after coffee and Julian realised that he couldn’t say no to this charming schoolboy. As the story progresses, Julian knew that he should walk away from the boy. But will he be able to? They have come so close that they have been under the covers and touching each other’s bare skin.
This is an intriguing story with a unique plot. I enjoyed reading this story. Cover photo is nice. Author’s writing style is nice. Her characters are amazing. Author has constructed an intense world and I was hooked to the story the way Julian was to Matt. Morgan’s sentence formation and use of language made my reading pace smooth. Pace of the story is fine and I didn’t feel bored anytime. I must say the author has done great work in her debut novel.
“The Fall of the Phoenix” penned by the author Daniel Kelly is a retelling of the tale of the fall of Troy. The story began with the duel between Hector and Achilles who trained together, grew to men as brothers and fought together. Hector and Achilles both are powerful and being face-to-face in the final battle means only one will survive. Can Hector beat Achilles and save Troy from Greece?
Written in 274 pages, this story is full of action. This classical story about the fall of Troy is well described by the author. I haven’t heard about this story before so it’s an insightful read to me. Both Hector and Achilles are amazing, making it difficult to pick one. The story is detailed. Since I have read the story about the fall of Troy for the first time, I had to re-read a few pages but it’s totally worth it. Language used in the book has good vocabulary so one would come across many new words.
Those who love reading historical fiction should definitely pick this one.
“The Adventures of Autumn Lee” is an interesting Children’s book written by the authors Candace and Autumn Lee. Autumn Lee is an extraordinary girl who loved her home and family. Her grandma V knew that Autumn has a super special power i.e. her sweetest heart.
Grab a copy of this book and read it yourself to know what is going to happen further in the story.
Illustrations by Khadija Maryam are so beautiful that it will catch kids’ attention right away. This book has a valuable lesson for kids. It teaches little ones about kindness. Cover photo of the book is lovely and the story plot is interesting. I loved this picture book.
Q1. Hello, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
Hi, my name is Lynn Jaffee. I’m an acupuncturist and free-lance writer. I love to write and blog about health, nature and eating well at acupuncturetwincities.com. I’ve also written about Eastern medicine in ‘Simple Steps: The Chinese Way to Better Health’ and how you can use it to live a healthier life. However, in my recent book, ‘Love Pain: Stories of Loss and Survival’ I wrote about love, loss and mental health after losing my adult son, Andrew, to cancer. I live and work from my home in Edina, Minnesota, which is near Minneapolis.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing ‘Love Pain: Stories of Loss and Survival’ book?
Love Pain was an incredibly hard book to write, because I was telling the story of losing my son. Despite the story being sad, there’s also a narrative underneath the sadness about living life to the fullest and appreciating the small miracles that occur every day. Even on the worst of days some incredible things happened, and it was a challenge finding the balance to tell that part of the story without the sadness overshadowing everything else.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
I love so many different authors that it’s hard to choose! I’m a big fan of Pam Houston because reading her stories feels like you’re talking to your best friend. And when I’m stuck or need inspiration in my writing, I always turn to Natalie Goldberg.
Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
I love the Southwestern United States, especially Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona. Maybe because I live in Minnesota which is so green and lush, I’m attracted to the red rocks and desert landscapes of those states. It’s beautiful country that demands you go outside to hike and explore it.
Q5. Is there lots to do before you dive in and start writing a book?
The idea for a book percolates in my head for several months before I actually sit down and begin to write. Because I was writing about the loss of my son, that process for ‘Love Pain’ took even longer. I knew that I would write the book, but beyond being creatively ready, I had to be emotionally ready to sit down and write that story.
Q6. How long did it take you to write ‘Love Pain: Stories of Loss and Survival’ book?
It took me over a year when I actually sat down to write ‘Love Pain’. There are several stories in the book, and I’d write a couple of them and then had to step away for a while. It seemed that when I took breaks, I was able to come back and feel fresh and ready to continue writing.
Q7. On what all platforms readers can find ‘Love Pain: Stories of Loss and Survival’ book to buy?
It’s available in paperback and on Kindle from Amazon.com here.
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘Love Pain: Stories of Loss and Survival’?
I had completed the book, but was struggling for a title, figuring that if I just set it aside for a while, a title would come to me. Then, one day when I was walking through the marsh trail near my house, I came across a women who was singing to her daughter in German. As I passed by them, she was a little embarrassed about singing, and explained to me—a complete stranger—that it was about love pain, and it was s song that her grandmother used to sing to her. I immediately thought “That’s it! Love Pain!” So much pain that occurs in our lives is because of the people we love, and it felt like the perfect title. The cover image for ‘Love Pain’ is actually a photograph I took during my first solo road trip out west that I wrote about in the book. It was taken in the Sandhills of Nebraska, and I was attracted to the lonely road and the threatening color of the sky. I felt like it captured the theme of the book, that despite difficult times on the road ahead, we find strength and keep moving forward.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
For myself, I took regular breaks from writing, so I could come back with a fresh perspective. For my readers, I tried to keep the stories interesting in a couple of ways. First, each story intertwines my son’s words with my own, so we’re both telling the story from two different perspectives. Second, I tried to mix things up. While I was ultimately telling a story of loss, the book also talks a great deal about travel, nature, a little bit of Eastern medicine and the incredible things that happen when you slow down and live in the moment.
Q10. Are there any secrets from the book (that aren’t in the blurb), you can share with your readers?
Yes, despite being a story of loss, many readers have said they enjoyed the humor in ‘Love Pain’. There’s even a food fight!
Sassy Reviews 