SPR’s book reviews of new self-published books
Sometimes Fatal Events Have Occurred by John L. Sheppard
Sometimes Fatal Events Have Occurred by John L. Sheppard is an inventive literary science fiction novel – a prequel to his also-inventive Explosive Decompression. This novel takes place centuries earlier, and even earlier than the present – the 90s. Buzz, an artist, is dying from brain cancer, and he’s visited by a woman from the future who says she can cure his cancer; she doesn’t want him to die because she loves his art. She has the ability to project her mind into the past, and soon Buzz needs to time travel himself in order to save the art […]
I’ll Be Looking at the Moon: A novel about finding Home by Lucia Barrett is a delicately poignant novel about finding yourself, and love, even if it takes decades to achieve.
PICKSS is a system developed by Muthuswamy N, the founder of Quest Systems, a business consulting firm. His acronym stands for Prevention of Ineffectiveness through Concentration in Key Specifics Strategy. In Success Through PICKSS, Muthuswamy lists many reasons people often give for not being able to do their work, then shows how they can be productive by resetting attitudes and utilizing both sides of the brain—left (logic) and right (creativity).
Not Fit For Human Consumption: Triggered Traumatic Memories and the Violence Profile by licensed Clinical Psychologist A.P. Filosa focuses on the myriad problems that trigger our worst impulses, and how we can ultimately overcome them. Beginning with the claim that the book is the “CURE TO HUMANITY’S ILLS,” it’s a wide-reaching treatise that can help those suffering from traumatic experiences, and especially those prone to violent impulses.
Elmeeria is a place of magic and wonder, and for now it’s in a delicate balance. The garden kingdom enjoys a prosperous existence, yet must guard itself against threats from beyond the great wall and from those that may infiltrate them at any moment: witches.
In Mateguas Island, the first novel in this series, Bill Anderson mysteriously drowns (or did he?) after moving his family to the idyllic locale, but Mateguas Island turns out to be rife with magic and the specter of ancient rituals. His body was never recovered, so ten years later, his twin daughters, Terri and Sophie, are determined to find out what happened to their father. Karen, their mother, is unsurprisingly reluctant, given she’s moved on and remarried, but she accompanies them back to the island, where the mystery deepens, as does the danger.
Beato Goes to Israel by Sucheta Rawal is the second in the series of “Beat Goes to” books – the other books taking him to Greenland and Indonesia – featuring a globetrotting cat and his adventures. Here Beato travels throughout Israel with a girl named Helena who teaches Beato about the country’s history, culture, religion, food, and more.
In the Fullness of Time by Katherine P. Stillerman is an inspiring work of historical fiction, and the sequel to Stillerman’s eloquent first novel, Hattie’s Place. In the first novel, Hattie tries to make her way through early 1900s South Carolina, dealing with sexism, and especially children’s rights, or lack thereof in the early century. In this novel, the concentration is again on rights: specifically, the suffrage movement, and the right to vote.