Lead Story | Self-Publishing Review

Review: The Meaning of Life by Nathanael Garrett Novosel

A professional researcher has considered and compiled data from various fields to create a goal-oriented exploration of life’s meaning in the informative and impassioned The Meaning of Life: A Guide to Finding Your Life’s Purpose.

At the outset of the comprehensive tome, author Nathanael Garrett Novosel offers a “Pre-Book Assessment,” allowing the reader to rate his/her current “ability to derive meaning from life,” with a simple analysis of the resulting rating. He propounds that no important information about how to live can come from one of our most basic questions: How did life come to be? Instead, we should […]

SPR2020-04-14T11:06:40+02:00April 12th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Nathanael Garrett Novosel, Self-Help|

Review: Hard-Easy by Arthur F. Coombs III

Author Arthur F. Coombs III explicates his lifelong philosophy of behavior and personal choice in Hard-Easy: A Get-Real Guide for Getting the Life You Want, a helpfully straightforward manual for self-improvement.

The title of the book is also its philosophical structure: the idea that there are two modes of behavior – Hard-Easy and Easy-Hard. The former basically means doing the hard work first, and easily reaping the rewards later, while the latter means making the easy choice, and leaving the hard part for later. While this may seem like a rather simple premise for an entire book, Coombs has […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-04-03T07:40:14+02:00April 3rd, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Arthur F. Coombs III, Self-Help|

Review: Silent Muse Poetry by Ariele Tee

The timeless theme of love gained, appreciated, and lost is explored in Silent Muse Poetry: A Tale of Heartbreak and Becoming, the eclectic debut collection by poet Ariele Tee.

Tee’s book is divided in five parts. An introductory piece in Volume 1, “The Buildup,” states the issue clearly: “This love ran through my veins, ignited flames and drove me crazy.” Here, the poet focuses on the blindness of the early stages of love. She refuses to see the lover’s flaws, enumerating the virtues and vowing her eternal devotion. She wants to be the one and only (“9-5 and weekend”), […]

SPR2020-04-03T04:50:16+02:00April 2nd, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Ariele Tee, Poetry|

Review: Terribilita by Ben Wyckoff Shore

The powerful ties of blood and an ardent desire for vengeance fuels Terribilita, a strong new work of historical fiction by author Ben Wyckoff Shore.

Enzo Ferrando has lived in the shadow of his legendary father for three decades, but has managed to carve out his own place in the sun as an instigator and freedom fighter. Unfortunately, his rebellious behavior brings swift retribution, catapulting he and his son Lucca into new journeys taking them far from home – and the possibility for revenge.

Lucca is temporarily safe as a deckhand on a merchant ship under Captain Bartolo, set […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-04-02T10:49:49+02:00March 31st, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Historical Fiction|

Review: Resurrection Lily by Amy Byer Shainman

The complex and painful decisions surrounding breast cancer are explored in intimate detail in Resurrection Lily: The BRCA Gene, Hereditary Cancer & Lifesaving Whispers from the Grandmother I Never Knew, a raw and impactful memoir by Amy Byer Shainman.

Cancer can often seem like a constant threat, but there are some people at dramatically increased risks, especially women with a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA 2 gene. After discovering that she possesses a gene mutation that greatly increases her changes of developing breast cancer, Shainman comes to terms with this looming threat and embarks on an inspiring journey […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-03-19T09:55:05+02:00March 18th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Health, Memoir|

Review: Blowback ’94 by Brian Meehl

Author Brian Meehl brings his Blowback Trilogy to a compelling close with Blowback ’94, where Iris Jongler-Jinks finally gets her wish to hop through time, landing her squarely in the heart of the Belle Epoque in Paris, determined to find her mother and reunite the Jongler family.

Iris is joined by Arky, her time-traveling brother who just recently evaded death in the American Civil War, and the pair boast a brilliant dynamic as they try to unravel the last great mystery of their family’s cor anglais. Although neither of them planned to be tossed backward this time around, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-03-10T10:36:13+02:00March 9th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Brian Meehl, Science Fiction, Time Travel, Young Adult|

Review: Memoirs of an Angel by Jim Huggins

How much do animals know? What can pets offer and share if given the chance? These are questions that are explored and answered in Memoirs of an Angel by Jim Huggins.

Having had a beloved dog in his life – a German Shepherd named Smokey who passed away in 2002 – Huggins began to feel lonely after Smokey was gone. Drawn to the breed and also driven by a passion for animals that have suffered abuse after his own childhood of feeling unwanted, Huggins began searching for a possible replacement. That’s when he learned about Cadie, a “boomerang” award winner […]

SPR2020-03-11T10:59:23+02:00March 8th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Memoir, Pets|

Review: The Void Revealed by Stephen J. Ethier

Power struggles abound in the city of Windhold, the entrancing setting for Stephen Ethier’s new science fiction and fantasy novel, The Void Revealed.

Centuries have passed since the last winds of Fury blew through the basin, scorching and burning all that lay in its path. Safely atop the Spire, the city of Windhold now braces for another period of devastation as the Void beneath their feet again turns into a violent realm of death and destruction.

However, there is far more to the Fury than meets the eye, and the tenuous balance of power between the Brotherhood of the […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-02-05T05:34:22+02:00February 4th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Fantasy|