SPR | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Braving the World by Pam Saylor

A dynamic couple decide to make retirement a gateway to shared overseas adventures in Braving the World: Adventures in Travel and Retirement by Pam Saylor.

This engaging memoir covers all the highs and lows of an ambitious stay abroad. Pam and her husband Dave each had areas of expertise and both were highly detail-oriented, which would be crucial to the year-long escape they envisioned, the “bel sogno,” the beautiful dream: a year in Italy, half in Rome, half in Venice. Before they could leave they had to rent out their home, find a year-long dog sitter, sell their cars, store […]

SPR2021-05-25T04:14:55+02:00March 31st, 2021|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Travel Book Reviews|

A Lullaby in the Desert: One Woman’s Fight for Freedom

What if by questioning injustice and standing up for the oppressed, your words were met with threats, captivity, and execution? Would you still stand up?

Imagine being born without rights. From bicycle bans and compulsory clothing to mandatory beliefs, what’s worse than being born in a society where your gender alone is a crime? Millions of women are held captive, whether behind bars or behind barriers, for what they believe, what they wear, and what they say. They are suffering at this very moment. Some, like Susan, decided they wouldn’t take being held in the grip of a society’s invisible […]

SPR2021-03-16T11:57:24+02:00March 16th, 2021|Categories: Features, Member Blog|

Review: Mr. Smitty Notes: Genesis 1-11 by Mr. Smitty

An older mentor writes to a boy named Sammy to explain why and how our views of morality and spirituality have changed since the founding of America, basing his case on the biblical creation story, in Mr. Smitty Notes: Genesis 1-11.

The author introduces this lively viewpoint by explaining to the reader that Mr. Smitty, the “author” of the narrative, would be someone with whom Sammy has “an important relationship,” expressing his concern for the boy’s future by acquainting him with elements of the past with which Sammy may not be entirely familiar. He reminds the reader that the […]

SPR2021-04-21T08:34:58+02:00March 12th, 2021|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Religion Book Reviews|

Review: Your Next Big Idea by Samuel Sanders

With drawings, diagrams, and dynamic brain teasing techniques, author and entrepreneur Samuel Sanders presents new ways to look at our habits and problems and create new patterns and solutions, whether in professional or personal life, in Your Next Big Idea: Improve Your Creativity and Problem Solving.

Sanders cites four skills to be examined and developed in the course of his interactive book: innovation, creation, problem solving, and ideation – being “an ace at coming up with ideas.” He asserts that once a reader completes his guide, s/he will be able to come up with 100 meaningful ideas to incorporate […]

SPR2021-04-06T04:18:24+02:00February 25th, 2021|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Business Book Reviews, Self-Help Book Reviews|

An Interview with Emmanuel M Arriaga: Author of Foundra

Emmanuel M. Arriaga grew up in the inner city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From a young age, he was obsessed with fantasy and science fiction. Breaking the shackles of a low-income life, Emmanuel developed an interest in science, technology and engineering. He went on to graduate from Pennsylvania State University with a Master’s in Information Science.

For almost a decade, Emmanuel has sought to share his vivid imagination with the world, learning the art of story crafting and eventually becoming an award-winning author. With a love for travel, gadgets and volunteering, Emmanuel is enjoying life and helping others.

Tell us about […]

SPR2021-02-16T08:18:52+02:00February 16th, 2021|Categories: Interviews|

Review: Enok and the Womb of Gods by A. SkoroBogáty

A. SkoroBogáty’s motivating origin story from ancient sources twists established mythology and explores traditions of worship, gods, and legend in his evocative Enok and the Womb of Gods.

This epic fantasy explores politics, power, and belief in an ancient world, with added touches of mythology and fantasy expected in a story inspired by Old Testament verses and characters, as Enok battles from his life as a slave to a fighter, facing barbarians, pagan cults, and imprisonment. With a poetic touch to the fable-like writing that succeeds in convincing the reader the work could be written in Enok’s time, the […]

SPR2021-03-23T09:22:31+02:00February 15th, 2021|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: When A Rook Takes The Queen by Edward Izzi

When A Rook Takes The Queen by Edward Izzi is an intense urban thriller, taking its name from the Chicago Gambit, an opening used in chess that is widely thought of as a daring way to open the board for the game. The seamy streets of Chicago are the setting here, and the author weaves a set of similar moves into the story with his characters, creating an intriguing assassination puzzle for the reader to unravel.

When a Chicago Tribune reporter, the stubborn Larry McKay, investigates the murder of the city’s mayor, an African-America woman who had been seeking a […]

SPR2021-03-12T06:05:36+02:00February 1st, 2021|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Crime Fiction Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

An Interview with Rich Leder: Author of Cooking for Cannibals

Rich Leder has been a working writer for more than three decades. His credits include 19 produced movies—television films for CBS, Lifetime, and Hallmark and feature films for Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, Tri-Star Pictures, Longridge Productions, and Left Bank Films—and six novels for Laugh Riot Press.

He’s been the lead singer in a Detroit rock band, a restaurateur, a Little League coach, an indie film director, a literacy tutor, a magazine editor, a screenwriting coach, a wedding consultant, a PTA board member, a commercial real estate agent, and a visiting artist for the UNCW Film Studies Department, among other things, all […]

SPR2021-01-27T08:44:13+02:00January 27th, 2021|Categories: Interviews|