Lead Story | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Soldier to Sojourner by Gordon Schwerzmann

Soldier to Sojourner: The Journal – Traveling on the 1970s Asian Hippie Trails is a compelling personal and historical travelogue of Gordon Schwerzmann’s time in the military and as a tourist in Asia.

Beginning with his stint as an Army officer in Korea in 1970 and continuing through civilian trips to Japan, Nationalist China, Hong Kong, Macau, the Philippines, and Burma, the book is a wild and varied trip through exotic locales. Schwerzmann, a photojournalist and travel writer, documents his experiences through detailed descriptions, historical discourse and extrapolated musings, recollections of people he met, and a wide range of photographs […]

SPR2023-03-20T16:58:22+02:00November 22nd, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Travel Book Reviews|

Review: The Noble Exiles (Ocean Black Book 1) by E.J. Wedge

Author E.J. Wedge plunges readers into the dark and unknown ocean of the future with his first novel, The Noble Exiles, the first installment of the Ocean Black series, a sprawling and visionary sci-fi debut.

Unknown centuries in the future, with Earth long ago abandoned, the scattered seeds of humanity have spread to dozens of other stars and planets across the galaxy. However, the details of how the interstellar Nation was finally united, and how the Forging War saved our species, may not be the true origin story of cosmic peace.

The tale is told largely from the perspective […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-11-28T11:22:48+02:00November 14th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Derelict by Tracy Grogan

Author Tracy Grogan plunges readers into mysterious new depths with Derelict, the second book in the Divemaster Ricky Mystery series.

After taking a job as a dive instructor in Egypt, it doesn’t take long for the unshakeable Ricky Yamamoto to be caught up in another maritime mystery, when her job prospects literally blow up in her face. On top of that, the local authorities are far too occupied with civil unrest to properly investigate the disappearance of a fellow diver on her team. Unable to shake the feeling that her life has once again stumbled into something sinister, Ricky […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-11-10T12:45:40+02:00November 10th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: The Ordeal by Josephine Walden

A tender memoir covering events that will surprise the reader as much as they did the author, The Ordeal: A Journey from Misfortunes, Illness and Betrayal to Truth by Josephine Walden inspects the reliability of memory and reveals the bitter pull of greed.

Josie Walden was a nurse and psychiatric nurse-counselor whose mysterious, debilitating illnesses often rendered her incapable of doing her job, On top of that, she also experienced unanticipated natural disasters that drained her finances. It was during these years that she and her older sister, Julie, were faced with their parents’ declining health, eventual deaths, and the […]

SPR2022-11-09T13:12:00+02:00November 8th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews|

Review: Lyrical Bliss in Tuscany by Cindy Irish

Lyrical Bliss in Tuscany by Cindy Irish, the third book in her Bel Homme Quartet Series, is a powerful and exciting love story embedded in the tale of a rising musical star. With vivid style and sanguine spirit, Irish explores themes such as pleasure, sex, and success, but she also touches on the discipline, self-discovery, and self-awareness that a true artist needs in order to fully express themselves.

While Nico is already a world-acclaimed singer, Gina, a local musician, is only starting to discover the full extent of her potential, and not only in her music. Since the first […]

SPR2022-11-01T19:44:44+02:00November 1st, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Romance Book Reviews|

Review: ’53 on 35th: A “Silent Boomer’s” Recollections by J. Conran Meyer

In ’53 on 35th: A “Silent Boomer’s” Recollections, J. Conran Meyer endearingly recalls a bygone time before technology and social media replaced a child’s reliance on fantasy and invention for fun and entertainment.

1953 was a seminal year for Meyer – at ages 8 and 9, he was powered and defined by his imagination, and that of his 35th Avenue neighborhood gang, including his younger brother, Nick, and his best friend, Billy. With folksy humor, elaborate tales, and obvious affection, Meyer recreates growing up in Sacramento, CA in great detail, complimenting the narration of his childhood experiences with commentary and […]

SPR2022-10-21T16:27:39+02:00October 18th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews|

Review: Family Matters by Lance Lee

In a memoir that does double duty as a multi-generational history of dysfunction and the effort to define a life shaped by deceptions, Lance Lee unmasks the myths his parents clung to in Family Matters: dreams I couldn’t share and how a dysfunctional family became America’s Darling, The Addams Family.

Lee and his sister, Linda, endured a turbulent childhood controlled by their father David “Gar” Levy, a self-absorbed, generally distant, often emotionally abusive patriarch. A high-powered advertising and television network executive, Gar created the sitcom, “The Addams Family,” which Lee believes Gar infused with his own parents’ dysfunction and […]

SPR2022-10-07T15:00:03+02:00October 6th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Biography Book Reviews, Memoir Book Reviews|

Review: A Rebel’s Path (The Enchanted Isles Book 3) by I.L. Cruz

Author I.L. Cruz summons another tense chapter of the Enchanted Isles YA series with A Rebel’s Path, her third electrifying installment. Between paternal revelations, impending royal nuptials, a resurgence of magic, and an urban legend come to life, the life of Inez Garza and the realm of Canto is as strange and exciting as ever.

Inez’s predestined fate of bringing magic back to the Enchanted Isles is a tall order, particularly since she has no idea how to achieve that seemingly impossible goal. Her powers have proven to be impressive, but difficult to predict and keep hidden, training in […]