Lead Story | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Accidental Dad by Joshua McDowell

★★★★½

A deeply personal and thorough perspective on life as a single father.

Every established system has its persistent flaws, regardless of how often or eagerly they’re pointed out. In Accidental Dad, Joshua McDowell presents his case against the treatment of single fathers in a tangled system seemingly designed to make them fail. McDowell takes readers through his story from start to finish, where he successfully joined the small percentage (6-11%) of single fathers who fought for custody and actually won. He offers this unique perspective in an unadulterated form, revealing his intimate details of teenage fatherhood, the pain of […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-03-10T09:59:20+02:00February 25th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Book Reviews, Parenting Book Reviews|

Review: What Casts the Shadow? by Seth Mullins

★★★★½

What Casts the Shadow? (The Edge of the Known Book 1) by Seth Mullins is an introspective novel about Brandon Crane, a metal musician with a lot of hope for the future, but facing demons and darkness he must overcome. His band “Edge of the Known” are forging ahead, but Brandon’s negative thoughts, spurred on by an abusive father, threatens to make everything come crashing down, as the violent part of him is threatening to overtake his life. When Brandon meets a wise mentor, Saul, he might finally be able to put his life together.

What makes What Casts […]

Henry Baum2019-01-22T15:28:22+02:00February 24th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Contemporary Fiction Book Reviews, Men's Fiction Book Reviews, Music Book Reviews|

Review: Project Anan by Lionel Lazarus

★★★★

Project Anan by Lionel Lazarus is a compelling work of science fiction about two planets facing a crisis. On the one hand, the aliens called are facing an energy crisis of their own, while humans are facing an ecological crisis on Earth. The Anan are more than an alien race: they engineered the human race and so want to save us as well, and the question becomes if humans have enough sense of self-preservation to be able to work with creatures from another planet. Leaving Earth on a beat-up ship in search for a more hospitable home, humans may […]

Henry Baum2023-01-18T16:03:39+02:00February 24th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Devil’s Eye: Inception (Devil’s Eye Book 1) by James Bulu

★★★★

Devil’s Eye by James Bulu is a sci-fi story told through the retrospective narration of Josh, for reasons that the reader comes to know as the tale progresses. The youngest son of a mixed family, caught in the throes of religious inclination and familial expectations, the young Josh is gifted with an immense and confusing ability from a moment of great stress. When his hidden abilities are revealed to a friendly professor, Josh is enlisted in a secret government program in an effort to propel humanity into the stars. But Josh’s ability has seemingly more drawbacks than anything, and […]

Henry Baum2016-03-04T02:38:46+02:00February 22nd, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Labyrinth of Extremes: The Cam Gordon Chronicles by R.M. Gibson

★★★★

Labyrinth of Extremes: The Cam Gordon Chronicles, by R. M. Gibson, is a heartfelt story about life, love, and loss told from the perspective of a single father.

The Sixties are nearly over and Cam Gordon is on the precipice of some major life changes. Cam, a single father of two teenage boys, wants to find a wife and mom for his kids. But the divorced man isn’t willing to settle down with just any woman. He wants to find the perfect mate who’ll love him, take care of his boys, and not leave. But relationships aren’t the […]

T B Markinson2016-03-04T02:39:22+02:00February 22nd, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Romance Book Reviews|

Review: The House Guest by Deborah L. Norris

★★★★

The House Guest by Deborah L. Norris follows the life of Maggie Davis, a middle-aged widow living in a large Victorian home in 1950’s Nebraska with her daughter. The house also doubles as a bed and breakfast, so new boarders come in and out who gather around Maggie’s kitchen table for conversations about life and the latest gossip. As Maggie is still recovering from her husband’s tragic death, she has a lot to contend with in her own life, but she’s also a keen observer of her visitors. A scheme to swindle Maggie out of her property leads to […]

Lysa Grant2016-03-04T02:39:49+02:00February 3rd, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews, Women's Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: The High Price I Had To Pay by Jamila Davis

★★★★★

If you are not already privy to the race/class imbalance of the USA, this amazing story will make your eyes pop out of your head in disbelief – if you are, like most of us, this tale is just about the seal on the deal. A 25-year-old woman without a college degree at the time, gets accused of bringing down Lehman Bank for millions of dollars. Yes, actually breaking a huge investment bank. Her male, white bosses get paltry sentences while she gets 12.5 years in jail.

Jamila Davis, an African American from New York, was seen all over […]

Naka Jackson2016-03-04T02:40:51+02:00January 29th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: My Ladybird Story by Magus Tor

★★★½

John Bird is your typical suburban American kid in many ways, and yet secretly, he knows he isn’t. His dad tries to beat it out of him with sports, and his words cut almost as sharply as the taunts his schoolyard bullies chant at him every day: “ladybird.” Everyone knows John is different, but nobody knows why, exactly. It’s only when newfound kindred spirit Aureus enters John’s life does he start to understand “himself” in My Ladybird Story: The growing pains of a Transgender by Magus Tor.

The author has a wide variety of other titles available, mostly romance […]