Coined by Gibor Basri, a professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, a planemo is a rogue planet between the stars. Author Colin Edwards developed this concept as the premise for his novel, The Ark: A New Beginning. What would happen if a planemo named Ronin headed for Earth and collided with our…
The beauty about the BeSwitched Series is how seamlessly the books are connected yet each is very independent of the other. Readers can easily read book two without worrying about missing something from book 1. However, the books are so good, you’d be doing yourself a disservice by missing any of them. In BeSwitched, Surla,…
Seventh grader Dylan Jones knew all about the good life. His family had lots of money so Dylan got what he wanted. Even so, everyone liked the boy because he was a carefree and happy child. Miss Wickware, Dylan’s history teacher saw potential in the youth, too. He just needed a bit of education from…
After 1861, if a British subject committed piracy, arson, or murder, that individual could have been sentenced to death in the United Kingdom. Public opinion gradually turned against capital punishment when Timothy Evans was hanged in 1950 for killing his wife and baby. It was later uncovered that Reginald Christie was the murderer. By 1965…
Molly Snow has authored a funtastic series—BeSwitched. In book one, Surla, a witch’s black cat, has escaped the tyranny of the wicked Idis for the serenity of Cathy’s comfortable home. Only one problem: Surla has invoked the Black Cat’s Curse. She crossed a human’s path and switched into the body of a local high school…
The author of The Un-Faithfulness of Seun Lissa, Damilola Ogunremi discusses the writing process. “What goes into the writing process of a book or any manuscript?” This is one question I get asked when an individual who is not already in the field wishes to write a story or want me to take them in creative…
Cristy Bertini, Editor-in-Chief of Story Monsters Ink magazine recently announced the winners of the 2015 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards/Ebook Awards. In the Young Adult category Goodbye Tchaikovsky won Second Prize. Linda F. Radke, president of Five Star Publications, the sponsor of the Dragonfly Book Awards says, “Winning any place in the Royal Dragonfly Contest is…
Blaire Thompson is a junior at Dysart High School in Phoenix, Arizona. She has dreams of becoming an Olympic skater. Her dad is a Chief Master Sergeant (CMS) in the Air Force, so like most military brats she’s moved around a lot—Spain, Germany, South Carolina, and now Phoenix. Unfortunately, the summer prior to senior year CMS Thompson…
Ninth grader Philip Malloy wants to join the Harrison High School track team. His middle school gym teacher told Coach Jamison he was really good. With Philip on the team, Harrison High has a real shot at becoming county champs. Philip’s grades in school are pretty good, except for English, where Philip tries to impress…
Portia Maddox has just discovered she has a sister. Her dad had a previous brief marriage that led to the birth of a child he didn’t know about. Now, to the surprise of Portia’s parents, they had a 16-year-old daughter, Jasmine. Jasmine’s mother, Vivian, is involved in a new relationship. She could use some alone…