Twenty-three years ago I awoke to a profound silence. I thought it was an ear infection, but the ENT specialist had a different diagnosis—sudden sensoineural hearing loss (SSHL). Most of us call it sudden deafness. I lost the ability to hear at least 30 decibels in my left ear and over 50 in my right…
Readers of revised fairytale stories are wary of Once Upon a Cursed Time: Dark Fairytale Anthology edited by Rebecca Weeks and Aimee Shaye. To quote the editors, “[It’s] a collection of fourteen dark fairytale stories written by eleven twisted authors.” It is also a retelling of childhood favorites from a very dark perspective. First, I…
Echo is a beautifully orchestrated novel by award winning author Pam Munoz Ryan involving the lives of four different children. The book begins with Otto’s story, a young boy lost in a forbidden forest. There, three mysterious sisters—Eins, Zwei, and Drei—who give him a melodious harmonica, rescue him. It is this harmonica that becomes the…
Earlier this month the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards announced its winners in its Middle Grade Fiction category. Taking First Place was Star Sapphire and the Land of Gems: The Crystal Cavern (Book3) by Anthony Pardoe. The Second Place winner was Koolura and the Mayans (Koolura Series Book 3) by Michael Thal. The Royal Dragonfly Book…
Nine-year-old Portia Maddox needs to use the restroom every time she drinks water. She’s always thirsty and hungry and still bone thin. School Nurse Bryant recommends a doctor appointment, and Dr. Thomas confirms her suspicions—Portia has childhood diabetes. She now needs to test her blood regularly and inject herself with insulin; which turns out to…
Elle Chambers is a witch detective who works for Edinburgh’s coven. So when Ferguson Black, a Scottish solicitor and werewolf goes missing, its Elle’s job to find him and ensure this dangerous supernatural being doesn’t hurt anyone. Elle’s liaison with the coven is Rebecca, a powerful witch who keeps her “supplied with investigation jobs that…
Mackenzie Bell is Hillcrest High’s top female tennis star. When matched up against Tabor Julian, one of the school’s best jocks, Mac wins. At home, Mac isn’t such a star with her mother, Delilah, who tends to ignore her daughter for the affections of male suitors. When introduced to Roger Carmichael, Mac becomes livid, because…
Becky Mellor, age 13, is prepared for her worst summer vacation. She has to spend it with her little brother, Joe, at Uncle Percy’s stately mansion, Bowen Hall. To make matters worse, Internet access at the mansion is questionable. Little does Becky realize that her entire life is about to change when she and Joe…
About the Book Title: The Whizbang Machine Author: Danielle A. Vann Genre: YA After years of running from his tragic past, Jack Yale books a flight home. With him is a typewriter that is intended to be a gift for his granddaughter, Elizabeth. The minute Elizabeth’s fingers cradle the large black and cream keys the…
After losing everything, all seventeen-year-old Thea wanted was to be a normal teenager. Instead, she was attacked by a mysterious creature she thought only existed in fairy tales. Now thrown into the unknown realm of Faey, Thea is forced to determine the difference between reality and fantasy, in a world ruled by a dark elite…