Lead Story | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Project Manager’s Handbook by Valentyn Bannikov

A matter-of-fact breakdown of a complex, dynamic, and essential position, Project Manager’s Handbook: Walkthrough for Beginners by Valentyn Bannikov is a comprehensive guide with an original lens.

Beginning with the most basic definition of a project and scaling up the discussion to the innumerable nuances of running an effective project team, this book is intuitively structured and designed for all levels of experience. Even the simplest concepts are illuminated with a fresh rhetorical perspective, from the unique aspects that define a project, versus a basic act of production, to new frameworks for conceptualizing scope, time, and cost for individual situations.[…]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2023-04-18T14:48:40+02:00March 30th, 2023|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Business Book Reviews|

Review: Scar Songs by W. Royce Adams

Exploring the complex and commonly overlooked emotional experiences of men, Scar Songs by W. Royce Adams is a bold and unabashed collection of stories that looks at fraternal friendship, along with grief, growth, love, and purpose.

These vignettes are candid glimpses into the lives of ordinary people, in large part, but they reveal that even the most forgettable interactions can have long-lasting impacts and echoes. Using an impressive economy of language, Adams captures the psyche and struggles of each story’s protagonist with a compelling rawness.

In “Thief Catcher,” a young man must pit his sense of duty and need for […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2023-03-29T10:55:32+02:00March 28th, 2023|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Short Stories Book Reviews|

Review: Stumble and Fall by Amy Rivers

Dealing with the effects of trauma both at a personal and community level, Stumble and Fall by Amy Rivers is a cuttingly honest and raw novel. Through the story of Kate and Tilly, Rivers dissects the emotions and fears that many abused people go through, exacerbated by finding themselves caught in events much bigger than themselves.

Kate and Tilly are sisters who deal with trauma both in their professional and personal lives. While Kate has been assaulted in her own house, Tilly has been the victim of sexual abuse all through her teens, opening a ridge between her and the […]

Marina Dora Martino2023-03-21T13:42:37+02:00March 21st, 2023|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Delaware Before the Railroads by Dave Tabler

A brief yet beautifully detailed journey through Delaware’s past, and the colonial history of America itself, Delaware Before the Railroads by Dave Tabler is a revelatory peek into an oft-overlooked state, reading like a love letter to one of America’s first and most forgotten colonies. Topping out at just under 100 pages, this is an easy afternoon read for residents of Delaware, those interested in colonial lore, or fans of historical photography.

Despite having moved to Delaware only a dozen years ago, Tabler writes with the familiarity and affection of a lifelong native; his state-spanning explorations and historical tracking certainly […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2023-03-21T13:03:00+02:00March 20th, 2023|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: History Book Reviews, Photography Book Reviews|

Review: Coming Into Power by Tamara Smith

A fast-paced, engaging erotic fantasy, Coming Into Power by Tamara Smith is bursting with imagination and sensuality as well as consideration of issues such as trust, family, and the meaning of belonging. With its original take on the genre, thriller-like plotting, and sharply-drawn characters, the novel is a boundary-pushing, category-crossing story as sensitive as it is steamy.

As the title declares, the book is fundamentally a discussion of power, and how it grows as we become mature adults and fully ourselves. Of course, in a fantasy, this centers around the characters’ fantastical powers, whose superhuman abilities are frequently associated with […]

Marina Dora Martino2023-05-02T10:23:58+02:00March 13th, 2023|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Paranormal Romance Book Reviews|

Review: This May Be Difficult to Read by Claire N. Rubman, PhD

Author Claire N. Rubman, PhD presents a revolutionary new take on a fundamental facet of childhood development in This May Be Difficult to Read: But You Really Should (for your child’s sake). The shocking fact that 42 million Americans are functionally illiterate in 2023 means that this book is more critical than ever, especially for those with the responsibility to teach.

As Rubman quickly explains, learning to read and learning to comprehend are two very different things, though they are often grouped together. She astutely separates these ideas, highlighting the reasons behind the growing rift between them, and offers […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2023-02-07T14:36:41+02:00February 7th, 2023|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Education Book Reviews|

Review: Celey (Heritage Series Volume II) by Susan Diane Black Blackmon

Celey by Susan Diane Black Blackmon is the second book in the Heritage Series, a collection of historical novels based on real-life characters and events. Standing between fact and fiction, Celey is a heartwarming novel about hardship, family, and the hopes and dreams of a town in 19th-century Arkansas, for an engrossing and evocative work of historical fiction.

Waldron is a place on a difficult journey from wilderness to civilization, and Celey, a young woman of sixteen, experiences what it means to live in an unsafe environment, where women cannot go around town unaccompanied and bullies seem to go […]

Marina Dora Martino2023-03-21T11:26:27+02:00February 6th, 2023|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Energy Wars by Lionel Lazarus

Intergalactic power struggles and a universe driven by the hunt for precious fuel, Lionel Lazarus dazzles readers with Energy Wars, the second and third parts of his Energy Exchange series.

Immensely powerful and ageless, but still able to be surprised, The Eight is returning to his home galaxy onboard the Hela, but finds that an unthinkable coup has occurred. His beloved companion, the supreme leader of the Overlords, is gone, and now The Sixth threatens the historic peace the Overlords had worked to achieve.

Having learned from past battles, The Eight knows to rely on brains, rather than brawn, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2023-01-23T17:51:04+02:00January 19th, 2023|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|