The justice system failed. She didn’t.

Cassidy Vickers suspected the “Scales Killer” was a woman, and she was right. As a podcast host, serial killers were her obsession. Now working as a feature reporter, those human monsters are part of her past.

Convicted of nine murders, Scales Killer and former influencer, Emerson Kemp, rechristened “Lady Justice,” is weeks away from execution. But brutal abusers are dying again, each marked with Emerson’s signature icon of uneven scales. Is Emerson directing the murders from death row? Cassidy can’t resist searching for the answer.

When Emerson contacts Cassidy during a true crime livestream, Cassidy is further ensnared in the hunt. An outraged public accuses Cassidy of collusion, even murder, threatening Cassidy’s career and fracturing her family. Bodies are dropping, powerful forces are closing in, and the clock is ticking faster toward Emerson’s execution.

Can Cassidy find the truth? Or will darker secrets leave her world in ruin?

Read on for an interview with Wendy M. Barnhart, author of Scaled Vengeance.

Q: What led you to transition from writing YA to writing thrillers?

A: I love reading thrillers and mysteries and always wanted to challenge myself to write one. But the idea was daunting! The twists, the turns, the tension, the clues, putting it all together so it makes sense but doesn’t give much away too early—it’s a lot. I knew it would be hard, especially since I hadn’t done it before. But then something odd happened that made me ponder why such things happen in life, which sparked other ideas, and then I knew it was time to take the leap.

What was the “something odd happened,” you might ask? I was on a Zoom call with a group of people from all over the U.S. who were sharing stories about their current works-in-progress. One woman said she was writing a novel from a rapist’s point of view, that she herself had been a victim of rape, that she wanted to interview a convicted rapist as part of the research for her character, so she arranged to meet with one at a prison. And then she shared that she and this convicted rapist were now dating. I was stunned. And perplexed. And I hoped I was controlling my facial expressions on camera. But I couldn’t stop thinking about her situation and the choices she’d made. Which is not to say “Scaled Vengeance” has a woman dating a convicted rapist; it does not. It’s just that the experience of listening to her tell her story was a catalyst to me thinking about a million things that led me to “Scaled Vengeance.”

Q: What were some of the challenges pivoting to a different genre? Were there things you found that came easier?

A: Discomfort was probably the number one challenge for me. I was pretty comfortable with my urban fantasy world where I knew the characters, the setting, the history, etc. Writing Scaled Vengeance meant not only did I have a new-to-me genre with its own expectations, but I also had a new world to build and new characters to create who knew how to operate in this genre. It felt similar to writing my first novel because I had so much to learn as I wrote. It stretched my brain in the best way.

Q: You wrote Scaled Vengeance while going through major personal transition and family turmoil. Can you describe how you found the creative energy to write?

A: Honestly, I rarely found the creative energy to write. For a time, it was a minute to minute kind of existence, waiting for the worst to be over. While it was hard to find creative energy in the midst of that, the research I needed to do for this new world was a gift. It enabled me to put myself somewhere else without the “create” element, which would have required more energy. I welcomed those rabbit holes. And as the turmoil lessened, the creativity flowed and I had a solid foundation ready to go.

Q: You claim to have seen just about every Dateline episode—and even have loose personal connections with three storylines on the show. How did this inform the writing process for this book?

A: This is total speculation here, but I think Dateline has provided everyone who watches it regularly with a light education on the basic elements of a crime scene, a dead body, the investigative process and so forth. By no means am I claiming any expertise because I’ve watched a lot of Dateline, but I certainly know more about murder investigations than I did pre-Dateline. They’re also good at leading the viewer down one “this is the bad guy” path, then throwing in twists that make us wonder. And it feels great when the murderer is sent to prison, and it’s a bummer when no one is convicted. Injustice hits hard with me. I definitely wield some of those feelings in Scaled Vengeance.

Q: What do you think is compelling in this moment about female rage?

A: First let me say, the term is a little tricky for me in that the “rage” here isn’t the dictionary definition of “violent, uncontrollable anger.” To me, this is controlled anger that is being harnessed rather than repressed. Many women are done with the imbalance, with the lesser opportunities, with the expectations that we should and will settle for second (or third, or fourth) tier, and accept abuse in all its forms. No, no, and no. And why now? We’re talking about it. We have social media now that connects us. We can call out the injustice. We are able to unite to do what’s right rather than live in “just the way it is and it’s always been this way.” Now, we see each other, and we know right from wrong. And how can we possibly respect ourselves if we accept wrong over right? I’ve lived that, and it was dark and debilitating. No one should live in a situation or a world where they are not treated with respect and value.

Q: Why do you think the true crime genre resonates with so many people, but especially with women?

A: I don’t know the exact percentage, but women are so often the victims in these shows—that alone obviously makes the scenarios they cover relatable. And given we’re taught to be vigilant and aware and prepared for danger since we’re young, maybe watching justice be served is reassuring in some way? For me, watching Dateline is interesting because of everything I’ve learned over the years. Not only the crimes and how they’re committed or solved, but also how the justice system works (or doesn’t work … see Scaled Vengeance), what investigators are legally allowed to do, like lying to suspects, or how polygraph tests really are crap, for the most part. There’s so much more than “bad guy does crime, good guys solve crime, bad guy goes to jail.” There are a lot of layers.

Q: What’s next for your writing career?

A: I have one more book to write in my urban fantasy series, and I’ll wrap that up in 2027. And maybe there will be more books from the Scaled Vengeance universe; there are a lot of characters I would like to spend more time with and see where it takes me. Regardless, I do want to write more in the thriller genre. I love the challenge of weaving everything together with plenty of twists and turns.

Purchase your copy of Scaled Vengeance here.

International bestselling author Wendy M. Barnhart (formerly Terrien) received her first library card at age 2, and soon began writing her own stories. Scaled Vengeance is her first thriller. Her debut novel, The Rampart Guards (February 2016) launched a highly successful YA urban fantasy series, earned a Kirkus starred review and was named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books in 2016. The fourth installment in the series, The Forge of Bonds received the Colorado Authors League Award of Excellence. 

Wendy serves on the board of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and is a member of the Colorado Authors League, the Authors Guild and Sisters in Crime. Find out more about her at her website WendyMBarnhart.com.

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There was an orange fuzzy who was looking for a home…

There was also a busy village of blue fuzzies who had their own rhythms…

…until a huge storm destroyed their village and the orange fuzzy blew in.

Find out what happens when these two worlds collide. Is this the home the orange fuzzy always dreamed of? Will the blue fuzzies let the orange one stay?

With a mix of evocative and cozy watercolors, this tender story comes to life from award-winning author Eliana Miao and the Pen & Pipette team.

Culminating in a final twist, readers learn that the world of fuzzies lives inside them, introducing young readers to the science of the gut microbiome.

Written by high school students who wanted to create the science picture books they wish they had growing up, The Brave Fuzzy passes their passion for science and stories to a new generation.

Targeted for children ages 3-11, this book is perfect for kids (and their parents) interested in belonging, science, microbiology, and nutrition. It sets up opportunities for parents to talk to their kids about eating different foods to help their own microbiomes and fuzzies grow.

Learn how tiny lives can make a difference both inside and out…

Read on for an interview with Eliana Miao, author of The Brave Fuzzy.

Q: What inspired you to write The Brave Fuzzy? Why do you include STEM themes in your writing?

A: We noticed few science books that resonated with younger preK-2nd grade readers—most were National Geographic and DK style books targeted to older elementary and middle school readers. To fill that gap, we created a picture book with a narrative story that represents how the gut microbiome works.

We want to expose young kids to new, inspiring scientific research in a way they’d love. The microbiome was the perfect context to write a book that explores resilience, community, and diversity.

Q: What challenges come with being a teen author?

A: I first pitched this book idea at the American Library Association Conference in 2024 to more than 50 publisher booths, only to be ghosted or written off. So I founded Pen & Pipette to publish teen-created books ourselves. It is a challenge to be taken seriously by adults and professionals, but that makes us hold our work to an even higher bar, from world-building and story creation to writing and illustrations.

Q: Are there any advantages to being a teen author?

A: We had the freedom to work on our book out of order, playing around with brainstorming, writing, design, and world-building all at the same time. And whether it was taking inspiration from social media golden hour trends, Pinterest whimsical boards, or testing ideas out on siblings, we used our teen perspective to help create a book that resonates with kids.

Through lunch club meetings, we each used our unique perspective—some of us were more science-, art-, or writing-oriented—to tackle the book from all angles. We were also able to work directly with our illustrator to bring our vision to life. We even visited two elementary classes to get students’ feedback on their favorite settings, treehouses, and illustration styles. They are, after all, our target audience!

Q: How do I arrange a book talk for my school or library?

A: Our goal with Pen & Pipette is to train other teens around the country to give book talks about our books and to get involved in creating new books. If you know a teen who loves books or science, please connect them with us.

And if you’d like a book talk for your students, please reach out to us! We can give virtual book talks or in-person book talks, depending on location.

Q: What do you hope readers take away from The Brave Fuzzy?

A: I hope young readers are inspired to be the “brave fuzzy” in their own lives, learning how to welcome others and find strength in diversity. At the same time, I hope kids can get their first look at how cool and intricate our microbiomes are, and feel encouraged to keep learning about science. And maybe become a little more excited about eating their veggies along the way!

Q: What’s next for Pen & Pipette?

A:We are excited to launch and share The Brave Fuzzy with as many kids as we can. We plan for many upcoming book talks inspiring kids about science and sharing our raw behind-the-scenes process of creating this book. We are also excited to interact with this awesome book community of educators, librarians, parents, and young readers, and learn what they love most (or not!) to take into our next book.

Purchase your copy of The Brave Fuzzy here.

Eliana Miao debuted an award-winning illustrated science book in 2023. Inspired by that experience, she founded Pen & Pipette, a nonprofit inspiring the next generation of readers and scientists through exciting educational books and classroom events.

She loves learning about the world through reading. Even before she could read, she always asked to have “How Things Work” and lift-the-flap books read to her. Based on her own experience, she understands the power that books have to teach and inspire. You can find Eliana in the Bay Area hanging out with friends and trying new foods.

Pen & Pipette is a nonprofit on a mission to ignite a passion for science in kids. Founded by high school students who love both stories and science, the team creates the kinds of stories they wish they had growing up. Knowing that kids look up to teens, they visit classrooms to get kids excited about science and writing. To learn more, visit penandpipette.org and follow Pen & Pipette on Instagram: @penandpipette and TikTok: @penandpipette

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In the tradition of Joy Harjo and Sandra Cisneros, Forgotten Lands is a fearless poetry collection exploring disability, divinity, and erasure—offering a voice from the margins that refuses to be silenced.

After her acclaimed debut, psychotherapist and poet Lauren Martin returns with a luminous second collection written from a life changed by spinal cord injury. From the quiet of recovery, she turns to ritual, prayer, and language.

Rooted in the West African tradition of Ifá, and honoring the Òrìsà who walk with her, these poems move through love and loss, illness and the body, isolation and faith, and the daily politics of being overlooked.

With a voice both melodic and raw, Martin shifts between verse, haiku, and prose poems. She writes toward nature, toward God’s presence in all forms, and toward the fierce tenderness that survives transformation.

Forgotten Lands is poetry as prayer and protest—an offering of what endures when everything else shifts.

Read on for an interview with Lauren Martin, author of Forgotten Lands.

Q: How did Forgotten Lands come to be? What does the title of the collection mean to you?

A: The collection came to be while caring for my father and anticipating his loss during the last two years of his life. The theme of loss is woven through the book and isn’t just about the loss of a parent but the loss of relationships, the planet, health, relevance. Several of the poems speak to faith in the face of these losses. The titular poem speaks with reverence to my father’s ancestry and a culture most people do not understand.

Q: What can you tell us about Ifá and how this influences your writing?

A: Ifá is an ancient West African tradition and the religion I practice. The Òrìsà provide daily inspiration as representations of God in nature. My love for them and faith in them has supported me through many hardships.

Q: How does disability influence your work?

A: I live with many disabilities–both visible and not. Unfortunately, the world is still quite hostile toward disability and as a result, I have learned to spend a lot of my time in solitude and in the simplicity of spiritual ritual and commitment. It has deepened my faith and writing.

Q: What is the relationship between pain and the divine in your work?

A: I do think the divine lives in that chasm. In the paradox of good and evil and pain and freedom. The margin between this world and the next. Which is where the beauty of our soul’s commitment lives.

Q: What do you hope your readers take away from this new collection?

A: A questioning of the unknown. A humility to understand when things are unknown and ask questions. A respect for eldership and our ancestors. And kindness for each other.

Purchase your copy of Forgotten Lands here.

Lauren Martin is a psychotherapist, an award-winning poet, and a devoted Ìyânífá. She lives in Oakland, California. Lauren studied poetry at Sarah Lawrence College. She spent years writing without submitting her work due to a long shamanic journey, which led her to both Ifá, and to the writing of several books. Learn more at: www.laurenmartin.net

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Part crash course in feminism, part social guide, part memoir, and part manifesto, A Feminist Guide to Marriage does what it says on the cover. Drawing on personal experience and a wide range of feminist thinking, it will help you to understand and do marriage differently—and better.

Marriage is a commitment that involves our bodies, our minds, our money, our families, and our friends. It is tied in inextricable ways to who we think we are and how we relate to others. It has also been one of the most controversial subjects in feminist debate. Taking that history into account, A Feminist Guide to Marriage confronts something that many feminists still do not want to admit, which is that marriage must be considered and analyzed for social justice to succeed. Many well-meaning people decide to marry, and the future of all our intimate relationships—whether we marry or not—depends on appraising this thorny, contradictory institution more accurately.

Written by a scholar of popular culture who has been teaching for 25 years and married to a man for 15, A Feminist Guide to Marriage shares stories from real people (including the author) about everything from dating to divorce. In it, you will learn how to live your desires ethically, what a just marriage looks like, what you should ask of yourselves, and what you should ask of your partner(s.) With chapters on sex, money, children, and monogamy, among others, this book will help you to use feminist ideals to live, think, act, and love.

Read on for an interview with Suzanne Leonard, author of A Feminist Guide to Marriage.

Q: What led you to write A Feminist Guide to Marriage?

A: Since I was eight, when I watched Princess Diana’s wedding, I’ve wanted to get married. Even when I grew up, I couldn’t shake the feeling that my life wouldn’t be complete until that happened. As I became an expert in gender studies, I thought a lot about whether that aspiration conflicted with my feminism, or my politics. I wanted to write a book to show myself, and others, that this wasn’t the case.

Q: What does the history of marriage look like, roughly speaking?

A: The history of marriage is pretty ugly. It’s been bad for women, generally, and also bad for many people who’ve been excluded from the institution, like enslaved peoples, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. That said, people still want to get married, and they do so in droves. For this reason, I believe we owe it to ourselves, and our communities, to make it more just.

Q: How have feminists engaged with or challenged marriage throughout history?

A: This is one of the few areas in which stereotypes of feminists have some basis in reality: feminists have levied a multitude of critiques against marriage. Some even called for its abolition, and frankly, they did so for good reason. For centuries, married women didn’t have rights over their money, their property, or even their bodies. That said, I believe we need a feminist appraisal of marriage today—not one that relies on outdated practices or beliefs.

Q: How does your pop culture studies background influence how you think about marriage?

A: Most of us, myself included, understand our lives in stories. We watch the stories of those around us, whether in real life, or in fictional form, to figure out our own. Stories can also change what we imagine is possible. I believe deeply that stories we find in popular culture are the drivers for how we live our present, and imagine our future. If we can tell the story of marriage differently, we can live it differently, too.

Q: How do finances factor into a feminist approach to marriage?

A: Before I wrote the chapter on money, I was pretty confident about what I was going to say: partners should keep separate bank accounts. I assumed dependency is bad or at least suspect, though it turns out I was wrong. Married couples who share finances from the start (which just means having at least some joint money) fare better in the long term than those who keep everything to themselves. This sort of behavior promotes interdependence, which is a key factor in keeping couples happy—and not just when it comes to finances.

Q: Does a feminist approach to marriage include nonmonogamy?

A: The short answer to this question is “not necessarily, but maybe.” Monogamy, like marriage, has not always been great for women, particularly if we recall that married men were (and in some places, still are) legally allowed to have sex with their wives any time they wanted. Feminists who advocate for non-monogamy often do so in the name of women’s bodily autonomy. There is also good evidence that non-monogamous couples have greater social networks, and more transparency in their relationships. That said, non-monogamy is definitely not for everyone.

Q: Do you believe a feminist marriage is possible?

A: Absolutely. And the reason that’s so important to me is that for most of us, marriage is the most personal and the most political thing we will ever do in our lives. My marriage isn’t just about me and my husband, but about how I conceive of myself as a citizen in a larger community. And that is why I believe so strongly that we need to get this right.

Purchase your copy of A Feminist Guide to Marriage here.

Suzanne Leonard is a Professor of Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Simmons University in Boston. She has published widely on sex, romance, marriage, adultery, and intimacy. Author of multiple books includingWife, Inc: The Business of Marriage in the Twenty-First Century, as well as co-editor of the award-winning anthology,Imagining ‘We’ in the Age of ‘I’: Romance and Social Bonding in Contemporary Culture, Leonard specializes in the intersections of feminism and popular culture. Learn more at: www.suzanneleonard.com

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Dr. Tabitha Reynolds has spent her career pulling other people back from the edge—in emergency rooms, in bush clinics, in places where the medicine ran out before the need did. Surviving has never been her problem. Wanting to is another matter.

When her Cessna goes down in the Alaskan interior, no one knows where she is. She made sure of that. Then word reaches her from the life she left behind: the one door she believed closed forever has opened—and it won’t stay open long.

Now she must cross a hundred miles of frozen plains and dense forests with winter closing in, and face everything she fled: a marriage broken by her secrets, a grief too heavy to speak aloud, and memories that surface when there’s nowhere left to hide.

The Price of Mercy is a harrowing novel of survival without comfort, memory without mercy, and the quiet damage we carry long after the world stops watching.

Read on for an interview with Tristen M. Hannah, author of The Price of Mercy.

Q: You have a background in nuclear submarine operations. How does that show up in a novel about wilderness survival?

A: Operating a nuclear reactor is a highly technical job, and the training places an emphasis of understanding the fundamentals, understanding the why. And I tried to bring a sense of technical detail and the why to the survival aspects of the story. I really enjoyed and was inspired by The Martian and how it wove together the prose along with all the science, complementary and harmonious, not clashing. And of course, Matt Damon’s delivery of ‘I’m going to have to science the shit out of this.’ I did my best to achieve a similar effect in the passages where it made sense.

Q: How did Tabitha’s story come to you, and what was the process by which (through an all-female editorial and beta reading team) you shaped her compelling story arc?

A: There were two major sources of inspiration that came to me around the same time. When my ex-wife was pregnant with our first, we were watching a show on the History Channel, Alone. I was enthralled with the skill and expertise the participants had. And then my son was born, and it’s really a magical time for a first-time parent. The two pieces came together, but not really in a considered approach ahead of time. I just had this imagination of a woman stranded Alone style, and the first plane crash scene came out, and then other aspects layered themselves. After just a few weeks, I had a short draft finished. And I knew then that, as rough and unsophisticated as that draft was, I had something that could be worked with. And I did everything I could to respect the story as a work of art, to ensure it was the best it could be. I’m neither a woman, nor a survival expert, nor a medical expert, nor am I familiar with Levantine culture. So it was important to get the right team assembled, to get the right perspectives and life experiences in, and inject those in lieu of my own.

Q: Most survival stories end with rescue as the resolution—yours doesn’t seem to. Why?

A: The book opens with a woman in a full-blown mental health crisis who wants to disappear from the face of the earth. The idea of “does she make it?” is an engine that drives suspense and entertainment but has little bearing on the thematic meaning or her greater character arc. The questions Tabitha must answer are “Is there anything worth going home to?” and “What does it mean for her to live?” Just ending on survival or perishing without greater resolution would have been perilously close to trauma porn.

Q: Most survival stories offer rescue as a kind of redemption. What does yours offer instead?

A: I think rescue can genuinely be metaphorical in a book to the larger conflict resolution. But this book has a certain morality to it. It elevates service over self, endurance over grief, and ultimately suggests that even living comes with strings attached. That’s where the tagline comes from: Survival has a cost.

Q: You’ve said this book started with the birth of your first child. How does this story come from that experience?

A: The first few weeks of being a new father is a crazy time emotionally. There’s this little life I was instantly attached to, and more than that, had a duty to. I wrote the first draft in the weeks after Lucas was born, much of it while he slept on my chest. It was honestly like I was possessed; I literally could not help myself. I truly don’t think I could have ever done this at another time in my life, and I will never produce a similar story again.

Purchase your copy of The Price of Mercy here.

Tristen M. Hannah, a voice in upmarket and commercial fiction, weaves tales with dark and gritty undertones that captivate the hearts of readers. A writer since his teenage years, Tristen’s literary journey took a profound turn with the birth of his first child. Inspired by this life-changing event, he penned a short story that swiftly evolved into his debut novel, The Price of Mercy.

Beyond the realm of fiction, Tristen’s life is a tapestry of unique experiences. As a former submarine officer in the Navy, his training in nuclear operations adds depth and authenticity to his narratives, subtly intertwining his personal experiences with the worlds he creates. Off the page, Tristen is a board game enthusiast, enjoying moments of light-hearted competition with friends. Yet, it’s the stories of resilience, endurance, and triumph against impossible odds that resonate most with him—themes that are palpably evident in his works. Learn more about Tristen on his website.

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A prominent lobbyist dead from “natural” causes. An innocent woman seized without warning. A plot that will rewrite the future of the free world. The common denominator—former Marine Ben Siebert.

The hero who dismantled a biological weapons conspiracy and stopped a terrorist attack on American soil is back. But this time, he’s not looking for a fight. Freshly exonerated after breaking every rule in the book to save thousands of lives, he just wants to disappear. A quiet life. No emergencies. No agencies. No ghosts.

The world has other plans.

From the moment Cassandra Boyle is seized by authorities without due process, nothing adds up. And after Siebert’s mysterious connection to her surfaces, the walls close in fast. Hunted by a formidable CIA officer from his past and facing a foe who’s always a step ahead, he’s caught in the crossfire of a multijurisdictional investigation, racing to uncover a conspiracy that makes his previous missions look like rehearsals. And he’s out of allies, options and time.

Read on for an interview with J. Lee, author of The Social Silence.

Q: The premise of taking down social media is bold. What made you want to explore that idea, and do you think it’s actually possible?

A: The more I learned about both the positive and negatives impact of an industry that by far and large grew into what it is over the past 20 years, the more compelling the question became of what the world would look like without it. The more I explored the cause & effect of it being taken down, looked at the dominoes and did some projecting, the more fascinating I found it.

The easy answer is “of course it is. Anything is possible.” The longer answer is that there’s probably a lot more that goes into it in real life than the book suggests, and it would indeed come back. There are a lot of brilliant people out there who benefit too much for them to let it vanish. In a morphed way, it’d come back.

The approach the protagonists take in the book is logical and passes the sniff test of some folks who work in the industry, but there’s a strong likelihood a great deal more destruction would be necessary.

Q: North is a villain with a coherent, even sympathetic worldview. How do you write a character like that without letting the reader off the hook morally?

A: There’s a decent percentage of the population out there that sympathize with North’s views and would actually support the outcome. That certainly makes it easier to let him off the hook, and at the same time, the book aims to shine a spotlight on the consequence of inaction. It’s easier to vilify a protagonist that kills people, makes folks suffer and does things when there is a very safe alternative. What I really like about North is that he goes out of his way to take care of people: no one dies, employees get money, costs are recovered, and the only real villain is the social media industry that gets eliminated

Q: The book is dedicated to someone who “appreciates the value of living off the grid.” How much does your own relationship with social media influence this story?

A: What a fun question. The dedication was purely personal, and I made it to a man I respect in so many ways and consider not only a mentor but a friend. He is as top notch as people get, and I always like seeing him and his wonderful family.

One thing Bruce and I do share is a desire to, for the most part, stay off that grid. I have social media accounts for my writing, and I am not inherently opposed to them, but let’s put it this way: if a law came out right now making any form of social media completely illegal, I wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep tonight.

Q: Ben Siebert keeps getting pulled into situations that put him at odds with institutions he respects. What does that tension reveal about who he is as a character?

A: Ben has a servant’s heart, highly refined skill set, and arsenal of weapons that makes for a very unique combination. He is almost always looking to be left alone, but people who need him and don’t have anywhere else to turn know he’ll be there. I like to think that speaks to a high level of integrity.

Q: If social media disappeared tomorrow, do you think the world would be better or worse off—and does the book answer that question, or deliberately leave it open?

A: The book definitely gives an opinion on the answer. There’s no gray on the outcome of the story or what the implications, both literal and figurative, of that outcome are. Of course, the truth is, that like every critical decision, whether it would be good or bad is a matter of perspective. There are some who would surely love it, some hate it, and the majority in the middle, representative of the normal bell curve.

Purchase your copy of The Social Silence here.

J. Lee is a storyteller shaped by contrasts. With dual degrees in Engineering and Sociology, he brings both precision and empathy to every page. By day, he’s structured, disciplined, and technical; by night, he’s a connector who thrives on storytelling and sharing insights with others. Since 2018, J. Lee has published five award-winning novels. His books are known for their tight plotting, emotional depth, and suspenseful pacing—earning praise from bestselling authors like Kyle Mills and Ward Larsen, who have compared his work to Harlan Coben and Michael Connelly. At his core, J. Lee has a servant’s heart. Beyond writing novels, he is passionate about helping aspiring writers, offering candid advice, and pulling back the curtain on the publishing process. His mission is to make writing more approachable, less intimidating, and above all—inspiring.

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After the sudden death of her brother, Corey retreats to a remote ranch in Sedona, Arizona, hoping the silence of the desert can drown out the noise of her grief. But the quiet only deepens her isolation—until a mysterious stray dog appears, pulling her back into the world and forcing her to face what she’s been running from.

Set against the stunning red rock canyons, Nomad is a lyrical, emotionally charged debut about trauma, resilience, and the wild grit it takes to heal. As Corey grapples with loss and the ghosts of her past, she’s drawn into unexpected relationships that challenge her guarded heart and crack open the possibility of love.

Read on for an interview with Cynthia Johnstone, author of Nomad.

Q: What inspired you to write Nomad?

A: Nomad grew out of a question: what does the natural world have to teach us about surviving hardship? I’ve always been drawn to the idea that nature isn’t just a backdrop for healing—it’s a teacher. There’s a rhythm to how the land moves through loss and renewal, season after season, and I became fascinated by what it might mean to actually follow that rhythm. To let go of the human instinct to control or rush grief and instead take cues from something much older and wiser than us.

That fascination became the engine of the book. I wanted to write a character who didn’t just visit nature for comfort but who let it recalibrate her, who watched how the desert endures, how things die back and come again, and who slowly understood her own grief through that lens. So Corey’s journey into the Arizona wilderness became a way of asking, “What happens when a woman reeling from tragedy steps away from the noise of everyday life and lets the land itself set the pace for her healing?” I think we have so much left to learn from nature’s patience, and Nomad was my attempt to sit with that.

Q: Why drew you to write about the American Southwest, and what does your own relationship with “the wild” look like?

A: Although I’m not a lifelong resident of the Southwest, its stark, unforgiving beauty got under my skin almost immediately. There’s an honesty to a landscape that doesn’t soften itself for anyone, and something about that bluntness drew me in. Wild places have always pulled at me, and throughout my life I’ve found refuge in hiking, camping, or just sitting quietly with a book in a folding chair in the woods. Nature has a way of settling me. It’s where I feel most at home.

I think that’s because the wild operates on its own rhythm, one that doesn’t care about deadlines or grief timelines, and I find that strangely comforting. I love looking out a window and seeing trees instead of buildings, hearing birds instead of traffic. It reminds me that we’re visitors here, just a small part of something much larger than ourselves. The Southwest, in particular, makes that humility impossible to ignore. And I think there’s a lot we could learn from a landscape that endures so much and keeps going.

Q: What inspired the character of Corey?

A: Corey was inspired, in part, by all the tough, capable women I’ve encountered over the years; the kind who quietly do hard things without ever asking for recognition. I wanted to pay tribute to that particular brand of strength, the kind that doesn’t announce itself. It’s a less commonly portrayed female archetype: a woman who is deeply independent, highly capable, and genuinely comfortable on her own. I wanted to write a character who could navigate physical hardship, build a life with her own two hands, and find strength in solitude rather than fear it.

So much of that strength goes unnoticed simply because it isn’t loud. It looks like chopping wood, hauling water, fixing what’s broken, sitting with long, silent nights, and getting up the next day to do it all over again. I wanted to give that kind of endurance its due. While grief drives much of Corey’s journey, she isn’t defined by her loss. She’s resilient and resourceful in ways that are easy to overlook if you’re not paying attention. And through her, I wanted to explore what happens when a woman who’s used to relying only on herself is finally forced to open her heart to others.

Q: What does Corey’s search for stillness and isolation represent? Do you seek the same quiet introspection in your own life?

A: Corey’s search for stillness and isolation represents her retreat from humanity after enduring more pain than she believes she can bear. She has come to associate love, connection, and vulnerability with loss and convinces herself that the safest path forward is one she walks alone. Over the course of the novel, she discovers that while solitude can be healing, complete isolation comes at its own cost. I relate deeply to her desire for quiet introspection. Growing up in a quiet home with my father, I spent a great deal of time entertaining myself outdoors and learning to enjoy my own company. Those early experiences made solitude feel less like loneliness and more like a place of comfort, reflection, and renewal.

Q: What can you tell us about the animal-human relationship in the novel? How does Corey change after meeting the stray dog, Nomad?

A: The relationship between Corey and Nomad sits at the emotional heart of the novel. I wanted to pay tribute to the quiet, unwavering loyalty dogs offer us and the profound impact they can have on our lives. At a time when Corey has lost faith in people and has withdrawn from the world, Nomad eventually becomes someone she can trust. Through his loyalty, protectiveness, and willingness to put her needs before his own, he helps her rediscover connection and reminds her what unconditional love looks like. I also wanted there to be a sense of mystery surrounding Nomad, leaving readers to wonder whether he is simply a stray dog who appeared at exactly the right moment or perhaps something more.

Q: What’s next for you?

A: I’m currently writing an upmarket novel set beneath Sedona’s red rocks. At its heart are two women from very different worlds: Rae, a tough, outspoken massage therapist carrying her own grief, and Anne, a young woman whose seemingly perfect life is quietly unraveling. As their paths collide, buried secrets, family wounds, and dangerous truths emerge, forcing both women to confront the difference between love and control, faith and fear, and the stories they’ve been telling themselves for years.

There’s a bit of a Thelma and Louise spirit running through it. Two women who, on paper, have nothing in common, finding an unlikely solidarity in each other. I’m drawn again to that theme of female strength, but this time it’s less about quiet endurance and more about what happens when women finally stop carrying it alone.

Purchase your copy of Nomad here.

Cynthia Johnstone is a former pediatric therapist and longtime writer whose work explores the intersection of human resilience and the natural world. With a background in psychology and communication, she writes fiction rooted in emotionally complex characters and landscapes that test, shape, and heal the human spirit. Her debut novel, Nomad, reflects her enduring fascination with grief, memory, survival, and the restorative power of place. She holds degrees from Loyola University Chicago and Boston College. Cynthia lives with her family in Arizona, where the dramatic terrain of the Southwest continues to inspire her. Learn more about Cynthia and her work at: www.cynthia-johnstone.com and on Instagram: @cynthia_johnstone

The post An Interview with Cynthia Johnstone, Author of Nomad appeared first on Digital Pubbing.

Freedom always comes at a price.

For Tan, that price might be her soul.

Once an enslaved princess, now a fugitive, Tan is hunted across the Empire after a fatal mistake brands her its most wanted criminal. Desperate to survive, she strikes a perilous bargain with Kier—a cold, calculating pirate from the rebel stronghold of Stormhart. His promise: freedom on the open sea aboard the Revenge, a ship ruled by the sadistic Captain Blackthorn.

The price: her soul, bound to Blackthorn in an unbreakable blood-oath.

Unless she can win it back. To break the bond, Tan must defeat one of Blackthorn’s criminals in a deadly game, relying on Kier’s brutal training—and navigating the dangerous pull between them. But when passion awakens an ancient power even the Empire fears, Tan becomes the spark that could ignite a war.

As dark tides rise and loyalties fracture, she must choose: surrender to the darkness rising within her, or carve her own destiny before it’s too late.

Read on for an interview with Julia Makin, author of Stormheart.

Q: Romantasy is dominated by fae, dragons, and knights. Why did you decide to write about seafaring pirates?

A: Stormheart was largely inspired by tales of piracy in the Caribbean, an area of history I’ve always loved. In a world dominated by rigid social structures, pirates enjoyed a life of wealth, rebellion and freedom, but at a brutal price—death was always around the corner, either from the gallows or the whims of the sea. As a reader, it’s this type of fast paced, high-stakes adventure that makes me really devour a book! And it’s for that reason I feel that pirates fit really well into the genre.

Q: What research did you do to bring elements of the book to life?

A: As I began polishing a later draft of the novel, I volunteered as a crewmember on a three-masted wooden ship for a fortnight, to really get a feel for the lifestyle. To make the fight scenes seem more real, I took a course in polish-sabre fencing—that was a lot of fun!

Q: What themes in the book do you hope resonate the most with readers?

A: Piracy, both in my book and in the real history that inspired it, was all about rebellion. The law, the constraints of gender roles, social class and race—pirates challenged it all. The main theme of Stormheart is liberation from the cruel forces that seek to dominate us. I hope the book will resonate particularly with those left feeling disheartened by the current political landscape in our own world.

Q: The early story of Stormheart was drafted during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. How did this book help you during this time?

A: When I was a child in school, teachers used to complain that I ‘lived in my own world.’ As our world ground to a halt due to the pandemic, and I found myself unable to go to work or even leave the house, I was finally able to explore daydreaming as a full time profession—and the world of Maelstrom was born! The book certainly gave me a sense of hope and purpose during a difficult time.

Q: The end of Stormheart really leaves readers wanting more. Can you give us any hints about what is to come for Tan, Kier, and everyone else?

A: I’m so excited to finally be writing book 2, Windsong, where Tan’s quest to find the Annunaki will take her on an adventure full of wild and legendary magic, while Naruaki dives into the dangerous and ethereal underwater world of the Mertach. Stay tuned!

Purchase your copy of Stormheart here.

Julia Makin is a fantasy romance author whose debut novel Stormheart blends high-stakes adventure, slow-burn romance, and a world full of pirates and forbidden magic. Originally from the UK, Julia lived in Japan, Italy and Greece before settling in West Ireland.

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Let’s be clear about one thing up front, because it’s the thing most “AI for authors” posts get wrong: the goal is not to have AI write your book. If a machine writes your draft, it’s not your draft, and readers can feel the difference. Your voice, your structural instincts, your sense of when a scene should surprise someone—none of that is delegable, and you shouldn’t want it to be.

What can change is the friction around the writing. Most of us don’t lose days to the actual sentences. We lose them to staring at a blank page, to not knowing which of three directions a chapter should go, to realizing on page 180 that a character’s eye color changed in chapter two. That’s the layer where an AI tool earns its place—as a thinking partner that hands you options and questions, while you stay the one making every decision and writing every real line.

Here’s specifically where it helps, with the exact prompts I’d give it.

1. Getting past the blank page (without letting it write the page)

The trick is to never ask the tool for prose. Ask it for a ramp—questions that get YOU writing.

Prompt: “I’m about to write a scene where my protagonist confronts her estranged sister at their father’s funeral. Don’t write it for me. Instead, ask me 8 sharp questions about these characters and this moment that will help me figure out how to open the scene.”

You’ll get things like: What does she want to say but won’t? Who else is watching? What’s the last thing these two said to each other? Ten minutes later you’re writing the scene yourself—but warmed up, not cold.

2. Brainstorming volume—options, not paragraphs

When you’re stuck on what could happen, AI is genuinely good at generating quantity so you can pick. The key word in the prompt is “list.”

Prompt: “My mystery needs a reason the detective can’t just call the police. Give me 15 short possibilities—one line each, no explanations. Range from realistic to strange.”

You throw out thirteen, one is fine, and one makes you sit up. That last one is yours now—you found it by reacting, which is a very different act from having something written for you.

3. Getting unstuck mid-scene

When a scene stalls, don’t ask it to finish the scene. Ask it to diagnose why you’re stuck.

Prompt: “Here are the 300 words I’ve written for this scene. [paste] I’ve stalled and I don’t know why. Don’t rewrite it. Just tell me what might be missing — tension, a clear goal, a reason for the reader to care—and ask me two questions.”

Half the time the answer (“your character wants nothing in this scene”) is something you already half-knew. Hearing it back is enough to unstick you, and you write the next 300 words yourself.

4. Continuity and revision checks—the unglamorous win

This is where an AI tool quietly saves real hours, and it’s the least controversial use because it touches your words, not the machine’s.

Prompt: “Read this chapter. [paste] List every physical or factual detail I’ve committed to—hair color, time of day, who’s in the room, what day of the week it is—as a plain checklist I can verify against the rest of my manuscript.”

Now you’ve got a continuity sheet you can actually diff against chapter two. Same idea for a line-level pass: “Point out every sentence where I use the word ‘just’ or start with ‘There was’—don’t change them, just flag them.” You make the edits. You keep the voice.

Where to keep it out entirely

Being honest about the limits is what makes the rest trustworthy:

• Voice. The moment you let it draft actual prose, especially across a series, everything drifts toward the same competent, slightly airless middle. Protect your voice like it’s the product—because it is.
• Structural judgment. Whether your midpoint lands, whether a subplot earns its space—that’s taste built over years. A model will confidently tell you a badly-structured book is well-structured.
• Deliberate rule-breaking. The best moments in fiction often break a “rule” on purpose. AI is trained toward the average and will smooth exactly those moments out. That instinct is yours to keep.

A rule of thumb

If a use of AI produces questions, options, or checklists that you then act on, it’s probably helping. If it produces finished prose that ends up in your book, you’ve handed over the one thing that was supposed to be yours. Stay on the first side of that line and these tools are a genuine multiplier. Cross it and you’re not really the author anymore—and your readers, eventually, will know.

Amol Mozarkar is the founder of ShakespeareAI, a book-writing platform built on the idea that the author stays in the driver’s seat and the software handles the friction. He works with indie authors on drafting and revision workflows.

The post Guest Post: What Actually Changes When You Add an AI Drafting Tool to Your Author Workflow appeared first on Digital Pubbing.

A Ghost Story for the Living

After losing her husband Wyatt to a sudden accident, interior designer SJ Monroe believes she is alone with her crushing grief. But nothing is further from the truth. Wyatt, a ghost trapped in a liminal state, must watch in silence, unable to help, as the woman he loves rattles around their unfinished farmhouse in Sleepy Hollow, New York. He mourns all that remained unresolved in their marriage – the children they never had, the depression that stalked him, and the fractures in their relationship.

Over the following months, SJ survives, aided by the company of Wyatt’s dog, Hawk, and nightly drives to Wendy’s for her habitual fry and chocolate shake. She marshals the courage to take a restoration job for the historic Osprey House in her hometown of Beaufort, South Carolina. A vigilant Wyatt follows as she reconnects with family and finds new friends. Signs from the natural world urge her forward. But not everyone wishes her well. While trouble looms, an ever-watchful Wyatt resolves to find a way to speak to SJ from beyond the grave – to tell her to abandon the grief and guilt consuming her, and to claim her happiness. Will she hear him?

Read on for an interview with Tara Badstubner, author of Every Room Remembers.

Q: What inspired you to write Every Room Remembers? How did you create your protagonist SJ?

A: The novel began to take shape during Covid. The exceptional loss that we all absorbed daily put me in a tough headspace. A dear mentor suggested I write into my fears instead of trying to ignore them. Her suggestion allowed me to feel the loss and heartache deeply but through the safe guise of my fictional protagonist, SJ.

Q: Do you believe the natural world sends us signs?

A: I feel I’ve benefitted many times from signs appearing at just the right moment, encouraging me or comforting me. For me, signs often come through cherished songs that hold significance, through the appearance of certain animals and through numbers.

Q: What is the significance of the animals portrayed in the book?

A: Each animal in the novel represents something unique. For instance, the book opens with the appearance of a black snake. The snake in some cultures is a harbinger of change or transformation. Right after this scene, SJ’s and Wyatt’s lives experience the ultimate transformation. If we can attune our senses to the more subtle communications all around, then we’ll be amazed how much the mystical world is trying to engage with us.

Q: What inspired you to write about “the other side of grief” from Wyatt’s perspective?

A: We always think of grief in terms of the one left behind and that’s so strange to me. An unanticipated death is bound to affect both the living and the deceased, as so much remains unresolved. I wanted to give the dead a voice beyond being mourned and canonized. They were imperfect, they had struggles, foibles, and death doesn’t negate their humanity.

Q: How do we cope with the feelings of regret and lack of resolution that often come with great loss?

A: In my novel, my characters are good people in a loving but flawed marriage. They didn’t always get it right and there was much left unresolved. Who among us always gets it right? But gradually, SJ and Wyatt learn to recognize and have faith in the extraordinary tenacity and goodwill of life. Yes, there is heartache and punishing turns, but I do believe that love has the final word, whether in this life or what lies beyond.

Q: What do you hope your readers will take away from the book?

A: I hope that those who experience deep grief feel seen and held with love. Grief can be so isolating and sometimes the only thing a person has the bandwidth for is a book—not texts, lunch dates, or visitors at their door, but the humble book that one can pick up and put down at leisure. I want readers to experience the slow resurrection of SJ’s life and through her imagine a life for themselves where there are still one or two wonderful surprises waiting for them.

Purchase your copy of Every Room Remembers here.

Tara Badstubner lives in Pennsylvania and is busy creating her next novel surrounded by her husband, children, grandbabies, and several silly dogs. Every Room Remembers is her debut novel, releasing September 2026 from Sibylline Press. A former Artist-In-Residence for Bookgardan, Tara can be found at tarabadstubner.com and on Instagram @tarabadstubner.

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