Join me with authors Mary Connaughty-Sullivan, Laurie Condon, and Annamma Udaya Thomas.
Mary Connaughty-Sullivan, author of “Nudges from the Other Side” – I received a lot of advice on what to do and how to do it after I lost my 20-year old son, Aaron, to a fatal car accident on Memorial Day in 2010. See a counselor, sign up for a grief group, go here, go there, do this, do that. But I was completely lost and the only thing I knew for sure was that I didn’t want to follow any of those suggestions. I was too exhausted because losing my only child was utterly debilitating on every level. One person, however, said something that resonated, “Listen, Mary; work if you want to. Don’t work if you don’t want to. Just do what you feel like doing for as long as you need to do it.” That felt like a license to do exactly what I needed to do and was immensely liberating to me. So I picked up an empty journal and began writing. And I did this because the day of Aaron’s funeral, the most amazing things began happening. I knew I had to write them down because otherwise I would risk forgetting them, or worse, I might later tell myself I imagined what was happening. Thirteen years later, I’m still experiencing my son communicating with me in the most creative and mind-bending ways. And others who have left our time have also nudged me and others from across the veil. Defying what we’ve all been taught about the finality of death and what we consider to be the very black-and-white laws of science, I have discovered that our loved ones can and do reach out to us to let us know they’re alive and well and to make sure we know they still care about us.
Laurie Condon, author of “There’s No Place Like Home” – Claire and Gary, college sweethearts, married for decades were at an impasse. They had been together forever and started taking each other for granted. When faced with problems they would normally tackle together, they turned elsewhere and struggled to find their way home. Gary finds his biological family, Claire struggles with identity issues, and their son is forced to become an adult. Will they be able to overcome sickness, addiction and deceit and remember what brought them together?
Annamma Udaya Thomas, author of “Car Talk-Body Talk: Integrative Primary Care for Adults Only” – This book is a self-care guide for adults utilizing the U.S. healthcare system. Inside you will find light-hearted comparisons to the different functions of cars. Phrases like “gaining traction”, getting “bodywork” done, and “where the rubber meets the road” point to how both practitioners and the general public use car analogies in daily discussions. Each chapter is rooted in a “vehicle” theme and divided up into the 7 principal energy centers of the body based on yoga principles. From root to crown, the themes/colors/7 chapters follow those 7 energies (colors of the rainbow). It’s far from linear; it’s a hybrid perspective and an Integrative Primary Care approach aimed at helping diverse U.S. adults navigate the system and reach optimal health (OH)!
Donna Keel-Armer, author of “The Red Starfish” – 
Michael Vecchione, author of “Fallen Angel Book II: The War for the Soul of Brooklyn” – 
Susanah Pratt, author of “How Do You Do, My Name is Sue!” – It was 2020, and I was looking for something to ease the self-enforced quarantine of the COVID-19 lockdown. An attractive brochure from Hutton House Lectures arrived in the mail. I signed up for a ZOOM course called Write a Chapter of Your Life, given by Lisa Pulitzer. Writing for that course stirred so many memories of the 90 years of my life that I decided to extend the chapter into a book. Those memories saw me grow and develop from a depression baby born in 1933 into a naïve bride just out of high school. Suddenly, I was a housewife and a mother of four children, born over five short years, and then widowed at age 39. I began as a girl with virtually no knowledge of how the world worked, and eventually became an independent woman with a curiosity about life. I have traveled to many wonderful places on five continents. Then, at age 84, I entered into a new way of life with a second marriage. Our combined family of 60 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren are very important to both of us. In this memoir, I have set forth some of the memories of my life’s journeys in hopes that a reader might get a glimpse of me as a growing, evolving woman, and appreciate some of the experiences and observations I have been able to recall. 
Lâle Davidson, author of “Beyond Sight” – 
Catherine Manett, author of “Runaway Home: Tempered“ – Peter and Hayley are two young adults who’re set to age out of Long Island’s foster care system together. It’s an exciting time for the two, and life should be fun without rules and the watchful eye of a foster parent. However, with the news of their foster mother’s terminal illness, Peter has decided to adopt Danny, a thirteen-year-old boy also in her care. Now, Peter’s life isn’t the same. The three must continue to live together in a new apartment. Peter hopes he has created the perfect family, despite their differences. He soon learns what a tremendous burden he’s taken on at the young age of twenty-one. Being the sole breadwinner and a new parent means giving up the opportunity to live a carefree life with Hayley. As she continues to struggle with addiction, Hayley competes with Danny for Peter’s attention and affection. When that seems to fail, she turns to her new boyfriend and opioid dealer, Tristian, to fill that void. Peter and Tristian clash immediately. With the prospect of his plans for a perfect family falling apart, Peter begins to hallucinate and flashback to a past he fled on a Scottish Island many years ago.
Rick Bobrick, author of “Anything You Want!” illustrated by Lauren Sullivan – Anything You Want! is a modern-day fable that features Davy Crockett and his furry frenemy, the greedy grizzly bear. A battle of wits quickly unfolds when these two rivals are granted three wishes – with no compromise in sight. A break in the fourth wall invites children to be a part of a story that explores the wonder of words and the wisdom of wishing, while providing a simple reminder that there is magic all around us – but only if we believe.
Lindsey Kinsella, author of “The Heart of Pangaea” – Robyn has a vivid imagination, even for a twelve-year-old. Vivid enough to create herself a companion—but Ed isn’t your ordinary imaginary friend. Ed is a Dimetrodon, an ancient beast from a forgotten age. When her mother falls ill, Robyn and Ed delve into her subconscious, to the prehistoric kingdom of Pangaea, in search of a cure. But in a world of dinosaurs, pirates, and ancient magic, can they find what they seek? Can they even save themselves from the creatures which inhabit this mysterious land? The Heart of Pangaea brings the wonders of palaeontology to a vivid and magical fantasy setting. In this novel, the reader will dig up scientific discoveries and be gripped by a story rich with the meaning of friendship, family, and love.
Carren Strock, author of “Married Women Who Love Women” – 
Bette Lee Crosby, author of “Beyond Betrayal” – Bette Lee Crosby is the USA Today bestselling author of twenty-four novels and recipient of numerous literary awards. Often hailed as a masterful storyteller, her novel Baby Girl was named Best Chick Lit of 2016 by Huffington Post, and her 2019 release Emily, Gone won the International Book Award for Women’s Fiction. Her most recent release is The Fault Between Us, a historical novel based on a true story. Crosby, a lover of dogs and all things Southern, laughingly admits to being a night owl whose guilty pleasure is late-night chats with fans and friends on social media.
Robb Grindstaff, author of “Slade” – 
Wilnona Marie, author of “A Thoughtful Collection” – Wilnona is an, are awarded poet and member of The And I Thought Ladies. The And I Thought Ladies also have novels in romance, women’s fiction, and noire mystery. She is a co-founder of 25 Hottest Authors Magazine & The And I Thought Literary Magazine, as well as the Thoughtful Book Festival. In early 2020 they served as judges on the scholastics writing and arts award. The pair have turned their writing career into a media empire. Ranging from the written word to starring a reality show about authors which aired on channel 18 in four markets, as well as Amazon. They are principals in the Documentary. Create, Aspire, and Inspire as well as How to Become a Lady? These shows share a place under the AITL umbrella alongside the four podcasts and the Inspirational Women in Literature Media and Journalism Awards.
M.A. Beasley, author of “The Warrior Angel” – Gracie and her eight-year-old son Lucas are out doing some last-minute Christmas shopping when a nasty car wreck interrupts their night. Lucas nearly dies when Gracie’s mother, Teresa, arrives at the hospital with a too-good-to-be-true suggestion. Say this prayer, and I promise your son will live. Her mother has always been very religious and quite superstitious about things. Gracie says the blessing is mainly to get her mom to drop it and be there for her and her son. The prayer works. It’s ten years later, and Gracie is haunted by something. She learns that the “prayer” she said wasn’t one at all. She had unknowingly made a bargain with a demon. In return for saving her son, Gracie now owes him a soul. Either she offers one, or he will take Lucas. The closer the deal’s anniversary, the scarier things get for Gracie and Lucas. Affiliations with this demon go back even further than she knew. Family secrets are coming out. She doesn’t know if she wants to know. This demon will stop at nothing to get what he is owed. How far will a mother go to save her son?
Janet Rudolph, author of “Desperately Seeking Persephone” – 
J.P. Quinn, author of “When The Fans Go Home” – 
M.M. De Voe, author of “A Flash of Darkness” – The dark, challenging stories of A Flash of Darkness represent some of M.M. De Voe’s best stories written from 2005 to the present. De Voe juggles literary fiction with fables, science fiction with horror, pagan satire with the fantastical. But what shines through is intelligence and daring. She leaves you wondering what is real and what is unreal. Dive into the haunted atmosphere of “Shutter,” lingering on the outskirts of horror past or horror-to-be. “Tastemakers” satirizes a modern obsession with life as performance art. “The Mayor of Flashback” is pure literary fiction that intertwines memories of 9/11 in Manhattan and the elastic bonds of marriage. “Cake” is a frightening peek into a domestic world; where keeping an eye on the children may not necessarily be for their safety. “A Rose” delivers a knockout punch of shifting fables and narrators that shows in a single story what this author’s imagination can accomplish. M.M. De Voe is the founder of the literary nonprofit Pen Parentis, a process described in her memoir/productivity guidebook for writers who are parents, Book & Baby.
Maureen McNeil, author of “Anna Magdalena” – 
Robb Grindstaff, author of “Turning Trixie” – 
Eric Friedmann, author of “It’s Forever Strictly Personal: A Final Nostalgic Movie Memoir of 1992-1999” – 
J.D. Ruffin, author of “Heir of Magic”– 
Paul Joseph, author of “Precious Cargo” – At the end of the 19th century, Mark Twain, wife, Livy, and Clara, one of his daughters, traveled around the world for a year. Twain was on a lecture tour, and his experiences were later captured in 
Robert Loewen, author of “The Lioness of Leiden” – 
nicolette elsie, author of “seasons to bloom” – 
Stephen Reger, author of “Storm Front: Book One of The Stormstrong Trilogy” – 
Brian Vukadinovich, author of “Rogues in Black Robes” – In Rogues in Black Robes Brian Vukadinovich exposes the severity of corruption within the highest levels of the federal judiciary in how a federal court of appeals judge from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago, Michael S. Kanne, used his influence to have a decision fixed regarding an appeal that Brian Vukadinovich had filed against rogue police in Valparaiso, Indiana, who had tormented him for years. In Rogues in Black Robes, you will read how a former judge of the United States Court of Appeals in Chicago, Richard A. Posner, after retiring from the federal bench, decided to come clean and disclose how he allowed himself to be manipulated by Judge Michael S. Kanne into throwing the decision of the appeal of the police case, as a favor to Judge Kanne, even though he, Judge Posner, knew that the appellate decision should have gone in favor of Brian Vukadinovich and against the Valparaiso police. In Rogues in Black Robes, you will read how the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Diane S. Sykes, and other members of that court, covered up the case-fixing activities, and you will also read how the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Attorney General Merrick Garland, turned a blind eye to the case fixing activities and swept the judges’ nefarious acts under the rug in order that the public would not know about the degree of judicial corruption that has permeated the federal judiciary. In Rogues in Black Robes, you will read about mechanisms that are put in place to protect corrupt judges from accountability when they breach their sworn oaths of office and even violate the laws of the United States.