Mom Runs Away Sometime in her early seventies, my mom ran away from home. She'd been living in a downstairs apartment at one of my sisters' homes in Boulder, Colorado, helping to raise two grandchildren while their parents were busy practicing law. It seemed to dawn on her rather suddenly that she had enjoyed plenty enough child rearing with her own litter of six when she abruptly announced that she would give her Volkswagen Rabbit to whoever … [Read more...]
A Glimpse into Dan Lawton’s Book Launch at Warwick’s Independent Bookstore and the Creative Process behind ABOVE THE GROUND
Last week, Warwick's Independent Bookstore in La Jolla, California, hosted author Dan Lawton to celebrate ABOVE THE GROUND: A True Story of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Attendees at this sold-out event had an opportunity to connect with Dan Lawton as he presented some of his research and signed copies of the book. Literary discussions and events like this one serve as powerful reminders of the profound impact that books have on our … [Read more...]
Meet Author Tom Julian
My name is Tom Julian, and my goal in life is to become a rich weirdo. I like to say that I am halfway there, in that I am not rich, but I've mastered the other half of that equation. I was a storyteller from as far back as I can remember, and I would always make up my own universes. My GI Joe's didn't come with the mythology included with the packaging. Mine were actually 4-inch-tall members of feuding royal houses that lived in the deep, dark … [Read more...]
Saddle Up for an Adventure with Jim Duke’s DANCES WITH DONKEYS, the Memoir of a Half-Assed Cowboy
"I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A COWBOY" Journey through the dusty plains of Texas and the rugged mountains of Colorado in Jim Duke's debut, DANCES WITH DONKEYS: The Memoir Of A Half-assed Cowboy-the often hilarious, occasionally poignant, sometimes hair-raising, and always entertaining tales of a man who dropped out of high school and took off for Texas to become a cowboy. In this captivating memoir, Duke recounts his adventures and ass-inine … [Read more...]
Narrated by Stephen Bowlby, Ron Chepesiuk’s BAD HENRY: The Murderous Rampage of ‘The Taco Bell Strangler’ is Available Now in Audiobook!
Narrated by the exceptionally talented Stephen Bowlby, the audiobook version of BAD HENRY brings this bone-chilling narrative to life. Bowlby's skillful narration adds depth and intensity to an already haunting story. Beyond the gruesome details of Henry Louis Wallace's crimes, the book offers insights into the psyche of serial killers and casts a piercing light on critical issues surrounding race and policing. Ron Chepesiuk's meticulous research … [Read more...]
Author Dan Lawton Hopes ABOVE THE GROUND Can Create Space for Important Conversations Amidst Divisive Times
When Kevin Barry Artt was born, his mother had to give birth to him in a convent in a small town, out of sight of people who would be scandalized that a baby had a Protestant dad and a Catholic mother. If he'd died some years ago, he might have been buried in a cemetery in Ballymurphy that is said to have an underground wall, invisible from the surface, that divides Catholic dead from Protestant dead. The bigotry and absurdity of it seem … [Read more...]
Author Rod Sadler Describes the Charm and History of Mackinac Island, the Setting for GRIM PARADISE
It's a beautiful place. Michigan's Mackinac Island is considered the State's crown jewel. Thousands of tourists each year visit a place filled with Victorian charm. It's well warranted. There are no automobiles allowed on the Island. Modes of transportation consist of horse-drawn carriages, bicycles, or walking, and goods are transported to the stores by horse-drawn drays. As a tourist walks along the business district, the air is filled with … [Read more...]
Author Dan Lawton Calls Kevin Barry Artt’s Journey a ‘Metaphor for Northern Ireland Itself’
That Artt's adoptive parents named him after a revered Irish patriot, Kevin Barry, suggests that he, too, is a patriot and a freedom fighter-which, really, he isn't. He was an accidental hero. He didn't seek out the violence and abuse that the British poured onto him. He stumbled into them by accident. He didn't ask for the legal abuse that U.S. prosecutors Mark Zanides and Sara Criscitelli, a couple of modern-day Javerts, later laid onto … [Read more...]
Read Larry Pollard’s Powerful Endorsement of DEATH BY TALONS by Tiddy Smith
In March 2023, Tiddy Smith's DEATH BY TALONS hit the shelves, shedding light on Kathleen Peterson's tragic death-and the disconcerting facts and unsettling implications about what might have been known by the police. The book ended up in the hands of none other than Larry Pollard, whose review is more than an endorsement; it's a stamp of validation, affirming the book's compelling narrative and the meticulous research that underpins it. "Twenty … [Read more...]
GRIM PARADISE: The Cold Case Search for the Mackinac Island Killer by Rod Sadler
When widow Frances Lacey was murdered in July 1960 on Mackinac Island, only a few meager clues were found by police, and the case soon turned cold. But more than sixty years later, will those same clues finally solve the mystery? On July 24, 1960, the quaint charm and serenity of Mackinac, nestled between Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas, was shattered by Lacey's brutal death. Despite a massive manhunt and thousands of pages of police … [Read more...]
