Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author David Yarnton for his latest release, GameTrap: Silicon Dreams, Criminal Schemes.
Book: GameTrap: Silicon Dreams, Criminal Schemes Author: David Yarnton Publication Date: December 8, 2025 Publisher: 8TE,ย 8 Tech Express Limited Page Count: 472 Genres: Techno-Thriller, Financial Thriller, Boardroom/Corporate Thriller Available in: e-Book, Paperback & Hardback For Readers Who Enjoyed Reading: Bad Blood by John Carreyrou, The Fear Index by Robert Harris, The Circle by Dave Eggers
About the Book
G L A M O U R, G R E E D, A N D A G A M E C O N S O L E B U I L T O N L I E S.
G A M E T R A P I S N O T J U S T A T I T L E. I T โS A W A R N I N G.
When Isabella Lindstrรถm is drawn into the glittering world of VANTIXโข the tech startup promising to take on Nintendo she thinks sheโs backing the next big thing. But as launch parties give way to missing money, vanished allies, and whispers of criminal ties, she and her friends uncover a scheme far bigger than anyone imagined.
Set across Stockholm, London, and Los Angeles, โGameTrapโ is a gripping financial thriller where ambition comes at a cost, and the truth is buried under layers of branding, buzz, and betrayal.
INSPIRED BY REAL EVENTS
Against the high-stakes backdrop of early 2000s tech ambition, โGameTrapโ weaves a compelling tale of deception, ambition, and fractured loyalties loosely inspired by the real-world collapse of Gizmondo. What begins as a flashy handheld-console launch spirals into a far-reaching thriller filled with questionable finance, charismatic manipulators, and a determined trio trying to uncover the truth.
David Yarnton has spent more than thirty-five years in the global video games industry, including seventeen years in senior roles at Nintendo in Australia and the UK. A pioneer in esports, he was a founding director of Gfinity, the first company to open a dedicated esports arena. He has since advised governments, tech innovators, and universities worldwide on gaming, digital commerce, and the future of interactive entertainment. David has also been deeply involved in policy, industry leadership, and education. He has served on several boards, including as Chairman of the esports subgroup for UKIE, the UKโs interactive entertainment trade body; Board Advisor for the British Esports Federation; Chairman of the Edinburgh Interactive Festival; and Founder Chairman of the British Inspiration Awards, celebrating UK creative achievement. His expertise has taken him worldwide as an advisor on national video games and esports strategies from the UK, Korea to the Middle East and China working with organisations such as NEOM and Qiddiya. He has guest lectured at institutions including LBS, ISDE Barcelona, Loughborough University, and Stanford University, contributing to research on video games, esports, technology, and social responsibility. In his spare time, David channels his passion for teamwork and discipline into managing a semi๔ฒprofessional National League Rugby Union side in the UK. GameTrap is his latest venture drawing on decades of industry insight, global experience, and an eye for the stories that unfold behind the screens.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Author: byBrian L. Reeceย Release Date: 13 January, 2026 Series: A Gabrielle Hyde Thriller Genre: Cold War Techno-Thriller Format:ย E-bookย Pages: 472 pages Publisher: Waffle Ink Press Blurb: The only way to protect the ultimate secret is to steal it. 1977. Deep inside the secretive Skunk Works facility, the United States is forging its biggest advantage of the Cold War: Stealth technology. Invisible to radar, it will shift the global balance of power forever. But a traitor at the highest level is about to hand the blueprints to the Soviets. CIA Officer John Olson has seven days to stop the leak. But his agency is compromised, the FBI is hunting him, and the official protocols are a suicide pact. Out of time and out of options, Olson realizes he canโt save the program by following the rules. He has to break them. Olson turns to the only person capable of stealing the unstealable: Gabrielle Hyde. The brilliant, elusive con artist he spent a decade hunting is now his only hope. Together, they must launch an elaborate con against the U.S. government itself. From the dusty streets of Africa to the high-security vaults of Los Angeles, they must outwit a ruthless KGB assassin and a vengeful FBI agent to pull off the greatest heist in military history.
Review
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Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Stealing Stealth by Brian L. Reece is a cold war techno thriller that aims to build an entire machinery of tension around intelligence, ideology, and people’s weakness. Framed around the race to protect an experimental U.S. stealth program from Soviet acquisition, the novel operates on two levels at once: as a brisk Cold War espionage thriller, and as a character-driven study of ambition, loyalty, grief, and moral compromise. From its opening pages in 1975 Toronto, where master thief Gabrielle Hyde stages an audacious burglary and first collides with rising CIA officer John Olson, the book makes clear that it is as interested in psychology as it is in action.
What gives the novel much of its energy and flair is this central pairing. Gabrielle is not written as a stock femme-fatale criminal; she is elegant, manipulative, deeply intelligent, and consistently operating several moves ahead of everyone around her. John, by contrast, begins as a man of structure, duty, and institutional faith, yet the novel repeatedly places him in situations where those systems fail him, exploit him, or demand moral elasticity in return for survival. Their first major encounter, ending in Hydeโs escape and Olsonโs humiliation, sets the emotional temperature of the book, but author Reece smartly refuses to leave their dynamic in simple opposition. Over time, the relationship develops into a battle of methods, then of values, and eventually a wary, unstable interdependence.
The bookโs strongest thematic thread is its preoccupation with systems such as government systems, intelligence systems, bureaucratic systems, and the ways all of them reward expediency over truth. By the time the plot widens into the stealth-theft conspiracy, the novel is no longer merely asking whether the Soviets will obtain classified technology; it is asking who within the American apparatus is willing to betray principle, how far โpatriotismโ can be manipulated, and whether institutional loyalty is ever morally clean. The discovery that the stolen material concerns the Have-Blue, a stealth fighter program, and the fear that Soviet access to it could destabilize nuclear balance, raises the stakes effectively without reducing the story to dry technothriller exposition. stealing-stealth-TRADE
I also appreciated that the author gives the novel emotional ballast through loss and aftermath. Olsonโs partnership with Nate Balik and the tragedy that follows in Mogadishu sharpen the book considerably, because from that point onward the story is no longer simply about stopping adversaries; it becomes about what failure costs, and what kind of man John is becoming in response to that cost. By the final stretch, the novelโs question is not just whether Hyde can be caught or trusted, but whether John can emerge from this world with any coherent sense of self still intact. The closing chapters land this surprisingly well: Hyde remains elusive and morally uncategorizable, while John, having survived the machinery of espionage and compromise, moves toward a humbler but more self-directed future. The final pages, with John reclaiming choice in ordinary life while Hyde vanishes once again on her own terms, give the book a satisfying emotional aftertaste without sanding away its ambiguity.
If I were to pick a minor flaw (which I can’t help being an editor), it is that the novelโs sheer velocity and density can occasionally work against it. There are stretches where plot mechanics, operational briefings, and layered maneuvering arrive so quickly that the emotional transitions have to fight for air. Readers who prefer leaner spy fiction may at times feel the book is carrying several thriller modes at once such as classic espionage, political conspiracy, procedural pursuit, and caper energy. But to be fair, that maximalism is also part of its identity as author Reece is not writing a minimalist chamber thriller, he is writing a large, unapologetically cinematic Cold War story with moving parts, ideological stakes, and characters who are always one betrayal away from collapse.
Overall, Stealing Stealth succeeds because it understands that espionage is never only about secrets, it is about the people deformed, seduced, or sharpened by proximity to those secrets. Smart, ambitious, and highly readable, it offers enough action for thriller readers while giving its central relationship a complexity that elevates it above mere cat-and-mouse entertainment. It is, in the best sense, a novel about pursuit… of technology, of truth, of redemption, and of the one person clever enough to keep turning all of those pursuits inside out.
Author: byย Victoria Alvear Release Date: 20 January, 2026 Series: Genre: Historical Fiction Format:ย E-bookย Pages: 314 pages Publisher: – Blurb: Based on a true story, this is not the enlightened Rome of myth. This is a city choking on fear, where blood flows on both the battlefield and altar, and where generals and politicians alike are desperate to appease rageful gods. When 50,000 Romans fall in a single day at the Battle of Cannae, priests claim there can be only one reason the gods abandoned Rome: a Vestal Virgin has broken her vow of chastity. And they accuse Opimia (Mia), the strongest, most defiant of the six sacred Vestal priestesses. Forced as a child into serving Vesta, the goddess of fire, Mia has always chafed against Romeโs control of her every moveโespecially after being separated from her childhood love, Attius. Now, accused of a crime she did not commit, she must defend herself in a hostile court to avoid being buried alive for her โcrime.โ
Betrayed by the high priestess, hunted by Romeโs political and religious elite, Mia must either accept her fate โ or join with the Sybil of Cumae to expose the truth behind a world built on superstition, fear, and lies. A story of personal awakening amid public catastrophe,ย The Cleansingย is a haunting journey through a city at war with itself โ and a woman who risks everything to survive it.
โShocking, searing and all too timely.โ โ Kate Quinn
“Excellent and very evocative.” โ Ben Kane
Review
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Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
The Cleansing by Victoria Alvear is one of those rarer historical fiction works that prise history open, exposing the old wound beneath the page. Set in 216 BCE, in the aftermath of Romeโs catastrophic defeat at Cannae, the novel follows Mia (Opimia Pansa), a Vestal Virgin whose private grief for Attius is forced beneath the rigid choreography of ritual, purity, and public performance. From its opening movement of war, loss, sacrificial spectacle, and the October Horse rite, author Alvear establishes a world in which religion is not merely belief, but governance, theatre, fear, and social control.
What makes this novel so effective is that it is not content to be โimmersiveโ in the decorative sense. Yes, the atmosphere is richly built with smoke-blackened Rome, blood rites, public ceremony, the machinery of priesthood and patriarchy. But the real force of the book lies in how intimately Alvear understands the psychology of indoctrination. Mia is not merely trapped by institutions; she has been trained since childhood to believe that her body is responsible for the fate of the state. That interior conflict gives the novel its nerve. Even when the story becomes a courtroom drama and political indictment, it never loses sight of the horror underneath: what it does to a woman to be told, from girlhood onward, that catastrophe will be her fault if she fails to remain symbolically pure. The authorโs historical note makes clear that the novel grows out of the real accusation against Vestal Virgins after Rome sought a reason for the godsโ โabandonmentโ following Cannae.
Mia is, in many ways, the bookโs greatest achievement. She is intelligent, wounded, observant, angry, indoctrinated, skeptical, tender, and often divided against herself. Her voice carries both lyrical sensitivity and sharp interior argument, and that combination allows the novel to move between personal grief and public crisis with unusual ease. Her memories of Attius, her complicated bond with Prisca, and her slowly sharpening awareness of how ritual can be manipulated by men in power give the novel its emotional and philosophical density. Even secondary relationships, like Ketet, Floronia, the Maxima are used not merely to populate the story, but to deepen its meditation on complicity, affection, fear, and survival.
What I particularly admired is the author’s refusal to soften the ugliness of the system she is depicting. This is a novel deeply concerned with scapegoating, with the ancient logic by which societies transfer collective fear onto the bodies of women and call it justice. The author states plainly in her note that she was interested in the dynamics of โshame, blame, and scapegoat[ing]โ in response to people’s suffering, and that urgency is palpable throughout the novel. At times, the thematic architecture is so strong that the novel edges close to argument as much as story; there are moments when the parallels to modern purity culture and moral panic feel more underlined than implied. But in truth, that explicitness rarely feels clumsy. If anything, it reflects the bookโs moral seriousness. Author Alvear is not coy about what she is writing against, and The Cleansing gains force from that clarity.
If I were to offer one measured reservation, it is that the novelโs intensity can occasionally make it feel emotionally unrelenting. There is very little air in this world, and that is of course deliberate. Yet some readers may find that the sustained pressure such as the ritual, accusation, dread, misogyny, and grief allows fewer moments of expansiveness than they might desire in a historical novel of this length. Even so, I would not call that a flaw so much as a function of the story the author is telling. This is, after all, not a lush costume drama dressed in antiquity. It is a severe, intelligent, and often searing excavation of what happens when political failure seeks a sacrificial body.
In the end, The Cleansing is not simply a novel about ancient Rome. It is a novel about the frightening durability of certain instincts, such as to moralise disaster, to sanctify control, and to make women carry the symbolic burden of collective fear. That the author roots those ideas in a vividly realized historical setting only makes the story hit harder. This is a powerful, unsettling, and deeply relevant work of historical fiction that understands that the past is never truly past, especially where shame, superstition, and power are concerned. The book is also upfront about its difficult material, including animal sacrifice, slavery, capital punishment, rape references, and suicide-related content, so readers should approach accordingly.
Brian L. Reece spent 26 years in Air Force special operations, flying combat missions across the Middle East and Africa. He holds masterโs degrees in strategy, history, and business. An award-winning screenwriter and SAG actor, he also served as a technical advisor on films like Transformers and Terminator Salvation. His work fuses real-world experience with hard-boiled noir, exploring what happens when systems fail and professionals are forced to make terrible choices.
The only way to protect the ultimate secret is to steal it.
1977. Deep inside the secretive Skunk Works facility, the United States is forging its biggest advantage of the Cold War: Stealth technology. Invisible to radar, it will shift the global balance of power forever. But a traitor at the highest level is about to hand the blueprints to the Soviets.
CIA Officer John Olson has seven days to stop the leak. But his agency is compromised, the FBI is hunting him, and the official protocols are a suicide pact. Out of time and out of options, Olson realizes he canโt save the program by following the rules. He has to break them.
Olson turns to the only person capable of stealing the unstealable: Gabrielle Hyde. The brilliant, elusive con artist he spent a decade hunting is now his only hope.
Together, they must launch an elaborate con against the U.S. government itself. From the dusty streets of Africa to the high-security vaults of Los Angeles, they must outwit a ruthless KGB assassin and a vengeful FBI agent to pull off the greatest heist in military history.
You can findย Stealing Stealth: A Gabrielle Hyde Thrillerย here: Amazonย |ย Goodreads
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Author: Sebastiano Lanza Release Date: January 2, 2026 Series: Burn My Shadow (Book 3) Genre: Graphic Novel Format:ย E-bookย Pages: under 100 pages Publisher:Markosia Enterprises Blurb: At long last, Tharmas manages to carve – out of sheer determination – a face to face meeting with Thomas Crowley. Unfortunately for him, Mr Crowley will not cooperate as readily as one might have imagined. Tharmas and young K will have to squeeze every wit at their disposal to live another day.
Review
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Rating: 4 out of 5.
The third issue of Burn My Shadow deepens the seriesโ dystopian intrigue by narrowing its focus: rather than attempting to widen the world too quickly, it invests in tension, movement, and uneasy alliance. This is a graphic novel that understands the value of escalation. From its opening pages, it becomes clear that the series is interested not only in oppression, but in the rhetoric that makes oppression sound reasonable. That tension between official language and reality gives the issue much of its bite.
What works particularly well here is the contrast between scale and intimacy. On the one hand, the world appears tightly controlled by faceless systems, drones, compliance codes, and behavioural technologies; on the other, the issue unfolds through a relatively small, immediate mission involving a guarded protagonist, a child in tow, and an unstable but gifted tech contact. That combination keeps the story readable and kinetic. The bearded central figure remains compelling because he is not overexplained. He moves with purpose, suspicion, and fatigue, and the graphic novel wisely resists turning him into a mouthpiece. The child, meanwhile, adds vulnerability without tipping into sentimentality, functioning as both emotional ballast and a quiet reminder of what is at stake.
Visually, the issue has a strong sense of atmosphere. The muted purples, greys, and blues create a world that feels drained yet hyper-controlled, while the rain-soaked exterior sequences and holographic overlays lend the city a cold, synthetic beauty. The novel’s visual language is arguably its greatest strength; even when dialogue grows exposition-heavy, the imagery continues telling a sharper, subtler story underneath.
That said, Issue 03 is not without rough edges. At times, the dialogue can feel slightly over-insistent in its delivery of concepts, as though the script is working hard to make sure the reader understands the mechanics of the world. In a medium as visually expressive as comics, a little more restraint would occasionally have made the issue even stronger. There are moments where subtext could have carried what the dialogue states outright. Similarly, because this is an issue built around setup, extraction, and escape, some readers may feel that characterization is still being assembled in fragments rather than fully embodied. But in fairness, that fragmentation also seems partly intentional: this is a world of partial truths, unstable trust, and identities kept under pressure.
Even so, Burn My Shadow โ Issue 03 succeeds where many third issues falter: it builds momentum without losing atmosphere. It leaves the reader with sharper stakes, clearer threat vectors, and a strong sense that the larger architecture of this world is only beginning to show itself. More importantly, it makes you want to follow these characters further, not simply to see what happens, but to understand what kind of moral cost survival will demand from them.
Overall, it is a visually moody, conceptually intriguing third issue that strengthens the seriesโ dystopian foundations. While some exposition occasionally lands a touch heavily, the comicโs atmosphere, pacing, and central dynamic more than compensate. Burn My Shadow continues to feel like a world worth entering, as it continues to be uneasy, watchful, and increasingly dangerous.
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring authorย Brian L. Reece for his latest release, Stealing Stealth: A Gabrielle Hyde Thriller.
Book: Stealing Stealth: A Gabrielle Hyde Thriller Author: Brian L. Reece Publication Date: January 13, 2026 Publisher: Waffle Ink Press Page Count: 472 Genres: Cold War Techno-Thriller Available in: ebook, paperback For Readers Who Enjoyed Reading: Atmosphere: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Le Carrรฉ); Action: Damascus Station (McCloskey); Tech: The Hunt for Red October (Clancy)
“Reeceโs background in military intelligence gives the novel authenticity… The action is sharp, the briefing-room politics are tense, and the heist sequences cinematic.”ย โย Publishers Weekly
About the Book
The only way to protect the ultimate secret is to steal it.
1977. Deep inside the secretive Skunk Works facility, the United States is forging its biggest advantage of the Cold War: Stealth technology. Invisible to radar, it will shift the global balance of power forever. But a traitor at the highest level is about to hand the blueprints to the Soviets.
CIA Officer John Olson has seven days to stop the leak. But his agency is compromised, the FBI is hunting him, and the official protocols are a suicide pact. Out of time and out of options, Olson realizes he canโt save the program by following the rules. He has to break them.
Olson turns to the only person capable of stealing the unstealable: Gabrielle Hyde. The brilliant, elusive con artist he spent a decade hunting is now his only hope.
Together, they must launch an elaborate con against the U.S. government itself. From the dusty streets of Africa to the high-security vaults of Los Angeles, they must outwit a ruthless KGB assassin and a vengeful FBI agent to pull off the greatest heist in military history.
You can findย Stealing Stealth: A Gabrielle Hyde Thriller here: Amazon | Goodreads
“A stellar series debut… sophisticated thriller that prizes psychology as much as action.”ย โย BestThrillers
About The Author
Brian L. Reece
Brian L. Reece spent 26 years in Air Force special operations, flying combat missions across the Middle East and Africa. He holds masterโs degrees in strategy, history, and business. An award-winning screenwriter and SAG actor, he also served as a technical advisor on films like Transformers and Terminator Salvation. His work fuses real-world experience with hard-boiled noir, exploring what happens when systems fail and professionals are forced to make terrible choices.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Author: ย Isaak Uriarteย & Karsten De Boltย Release Date: 20 October, 2025 Series: Genre: Science-Fiction Fantasy, Dark Fantasy Format:ย E-bookย Pages: 294 pages Publisher: – Blurb: Nikki Sinclair has spent years hiding her gifts, living in the shadow of her mother’s secrets and her father’s disappearance. But when a mysterious figure emerges from the Black Realm, spreading chaos and corruption through her world, Nikki discovers her powers may be the only thing standing between survival and annihilation. Alongside her mother, a hardened Task Force commander torn between duty and family, Nikki is thrust into a battle that spans from darkened alleyways to hidden laboratories, from burning rooftops to ancient mountain temples. As allies fracture and enemies multiply, the line between protector and destroyer blurs.
But this entity is not alone. Its reach spreads across realms, and its hunger for power knows no limits. To save her realm, Nikki must embrace the truth of who she is, even if it means becoming what she fears most. Full of heart-pounding action, shadowy villains, and a heroine torn between destiny and choice, Midtown: The Forsaken Virus of the Black Realm is the electrifying first entry in a bold new fantasy series. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, and Veronica Roth!
Review
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Rating: 4 out of 5.
Midtown: The Forsaken Virus of the Black Realm by Isaak Uriarte & Karsten De Bolt leans into the kind of dystopian chill that hits harder than rubble and ruined skylines and gives the reader the sense that the world didnโt end so much as it was repurposed by something patient, intelligent, and hungry. The atmosphere is almost immediate: metallic air, dead silence, and that creeping certainty that the dark isnโt empty, itโs listening.
What I enjoyed most is how the book balances high-stakes speculative action with street-level tension. On one side, you have covert operations, unstable science, realm-breaches, and the ominous physics of โcrystalsโ and portals; on the other, you have the grimy pulse of Midtown itself, the neon-and-shadow underbelly, where Nikki feels like the readerโs anchor inside the cityโs daily rot. She isnโt written as a polished โchosen oneโ archetype; sheโs written as someone surviving on instinct, impatience, and just enough conviction to keep showing up.
And then thereโs the central menace, the Virus, less a simple villain and more a seductive thesis. The book consistently frames power as an offer that arrives right when grief makes you most persuadable. The writing understands a crucial truth of dark speculative fiction: monsters donโt only destroy, they recruit.
Structurally, the pacing escalates cleanly into a cinematic final act and the story commits to spectacle without abandoning character dynamics. The climax leans into destruction, pursuit, and the terrifying sense that something worse is queued up behind the current crisis. By the end, the epilogue lands exactly where a solid first volume in a larger arc should, with a sharpened objective and a visible horizon of threat. The โcommunication without openingโ idea is a smart way to widen the cosmology while acknowledging the cost of unstable gateways, and the final reveal is the kind of line that makes you sit up, because it reframes everything as merely the opening exchange.
Readers who like dystopian sci-fi/fantasy hybrids with portal-tech mystique, morally pressured characters, and a villain whose philosophy is as dangerous as his power will love this book. If you enjoy stories where cities feel like organisms and โsalvationโ comes with teeth, Midtown will scratch that itch.
Author: Adam Lawless Release Date: December 14th, 2025 Series: Genre: Thriller, Fiction Format: E-book Pages: 378 pages Publisher: – Blurb: Four lives. Four nations. One slow-burn collapse of the world order. Drawn together by desire, betrayal, and ambition, four strangers from opposite corners of the world collide as love turns toxic and loyalty becomes lethal. As the world edges toward an Armageddon of historic proportions, one question remains: can love redeem the brokenโor will the master manipulator finish what fate began? A soldierโs blind devotion. Brian, a Delta Force Colonel once celebrated as a patriot, is erased after reckless ambition leads to the deaths of 22 American soldiers. Court-martialed and cast out, he reinvents himself inside the power corridors of Washington. But his greatest vulnerability isnโt his pastโitโs the affair he begins while still married. As scandal, blackmail, and surveillance close in, Brian must decide how much of his country he is willing to burn to feel redeemed. Heroes fall quietly. Damage does not.
A South Asian immigrantโs disappointment. Sayeed arrives in America believing in freedom, tolerance, and the promise of a better life. A Muslim immigrant with hope in his heart, he soon finds himself torn between family, culture, and a nation that does not always practice what it preaches. As injustice and hypocrisy mount, will Sayeed cling to his idealsโor will betrayal push him toward a darker path? The Chinese spy who loved too deeply. Jie rises swiftly through the ranks of Chinaโs MSS, driven by brilliance, discipline, and ambition. But her greatest weakness is the one thing she cannot controlโher heart. Preyed upon by a married man, her beauty and vulnerability ignite obsession wherever she goes. In Washington, D.C., love tempts her once more. The Arab dreamer on the edge of ruin. Ahmed, a poor but joyful youth from Iraq, is manipulated into stealing a sacred Islamic relic from Uzbekistanโan act that destroys his life and reshapes geopolitics. Captured and imprisoned in China, he is stripped of dignity, belief, and mercy. What survives his confinement is no longer innocent. When he finally emerges, the question is no longer if he will be usedโbut by whom. Shards of an Empire is a bleak, high-stakes political thriller where nations maneuver through human weakness and love is the most exploitable asset of all. As these four lives converge, the world inches toward collapseโnot with a bang, but with quiet decisions made in dark rooms. History will call it unavoidable. The truth is far more personal.
Review
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Rating: 4 out of 5.
Shards Of An Empire byย Adam Lawless is a geopolitical thriller that braids together multiple POVs. The bookโs biggest strength is its ambition of scope: four protagonists from radically different contexts are pulled into the same widening blast radius: Brian OโNeill, a Delta Force colonel disgraced by a catastrophic mission; Sayeed, a Muslim immigrant chasing (and testing) the American dream; Jie, a rising MSS operative whose personal life and professional life keep bleeding into each other; and Ahmed, a โhappy-go-luckyโ Iraqi youth manipulated into a relic-theft mission that turns into something far darker.
What I enjoyed most is how author Lawless builds parallel pressures across these lives with ambition, belonging, loyalty, and desire so the novel feels like four different angles on the same question: who gets to feel safe, forgiven, and free in a world built on unequal power? Brianโs arc carries the muscular, kinetic energy youโd expect from a military opening (the book throws you into the chaos fast), while Sayeedโs thread brings the emotional and ideological tension of assimilation, hope curdling into disillusionment when ideals donโt match reality.
Jie and Ahmed, though, are where the novelโs most haunting notes land. Jieโs chapters blend tradecraft with vulnerability, sheโs positioned as capable and ascending, yet repeatedly confronted by the cost of attachment and the way obsession can masquerade as love. Ahmedโs storyline is the most classically tragic: faith, poverty, and coercion converge into a โmissionโ framed as devotion, complete with a stolen relic and an expanding web of handlers who keep him blind to the true game being played. Without spoiling the mechanics of how it all locks together, I will say that the novel doesnโt flinch from the brutal idea that ordinary people are often just pieces moved by someone elseโs hand, and the book makes that โmaster manipulatorโ theme explicit.
Critically, the same ambition that makes this story compelling can also make it feel dense and high-velocity as youโre asked to track multiple arcs, multiple moral frameworks, and a widening conspiracy as it accelerates. If you like thrillers that feel realistic, political, and morally knotted, and where romance doesnโt soften the world but sharpens i, this will hit. And if youโre the kind of reader who loves an epilogue-style historical sting (the book frames โempireโ as something that echoes across centuries), the closing โPrelude/Postludeโ cements that larger thesis in a way thatโs both unsettling and memorable.
Shards of an Empire is big, bold, and unapologetically intense with equal parts spy intrigue and emotional unraveling, written for readers who enjoy stories where the personal is political, and love is never just love; itโs leverage, risk, and occasionally the only remaining rebellion.
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Alexandra Devane for her latest release, Inconclusive Volume 1.
Book: Inconclusive Volume 1 Author: Alexandra Devane Series: The Shards of Sansatia Series (Book 1 of 2:) Publication Date: 31 August 2025 Publisher: – Page Count: 139 Genres: Fantasy, dark Romantasy Format Available: ebook and paperback For Readers Who Enjoyed: Fourth Wing and ACOTARย
About the Book
Eighteen-year-old Acteo Venand is anย elite striker cadetย at Inoton Academy, a military institution that prepares him to battleย Noxvaleres, supernatural warriors who hold sway over the three pillars of desire: memory, fantasy, and reality.ย With graduation just a few months out, Acteo is ready to dedicate his life to the righteous destruction of Noxvaleres and avenge the traumas that he and his family have enduredโuntil anย ill-advised prize fightย entangles him with Reyna Ward, anย alluring assassin and Inconclusive, meaning a human with a chance at converting into a Noxvalere.ย Reyna continuously challenges Acteoโs worldview, and soon, his understanding ofย the distinctions between human and Noxvalere, and justice and desperation, begins to fracture. In thisย spicy dark Romantasy Series,ย you will find – Magic, mystery, and mayhem – Crime & Intrigue – Sword & Sorcery with aย modern twist – A fascinating cast of characters who areย as skilled at secrecy as they are at combat
Alexandra Devane is a Fantasy novelist who is partial to powerful female leads with a dark side and love octagons. Her passions include family, spicy food, and of course, the thrill of writing.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Author:J.D. Macpherson Release Date: December 3rd, 2025 Series: Genre: Blend of Psychology, Philosophy, and Technology, Non-Fiction, Computer Science, AI Format: E-book Pages: 221 pages Publisher: Cairnstone Press Blurb: Are you using AI or is AI using you? In a world where algorithms shape thought and automation floods the creative field, Human Again is a field-tested playbook for staying awake, original, and alive in the age of machines. Part reflection, part practical guide, it invites readers to explore identity and inspiration in real time, learning to think with AI rather than be replaced by it. Bending cultural insight, personal experience, and practical tools, Macpherson explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping creativity, work, and identity, and how to harness it without losing yourself.
You will learn how to:
Ask sharper questions that create leverage, not noise
Build a High Signal Question Engine to think deeper and faster
Use the Socratic method and mindfulness to train deeper thinking
Recognize the โqualia,โ the unspeakable textures of human experience, that no algorithm can touch
Protect your authenticity, taste, and voice while others sound the same
Learn how to compound clarity and creativity
Whether you are a professional, a creator, or simply curious about what is next, Human Again shows how to use AI better than anyone around you while keeping what no algorithm can replicate: your judgment, conscience, and imagination. Because finding identity and inspiration in the AI age begins with remembering what it means to be human.
Review
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Rating: 4 out of 5.
Human Again: In the AI Age by J.D. Macpherson reads like a candid, idea-rich notebook from someone whoโs spent time living with generative AI, not just theorising about it. What makes this book work is its voice; it is curious, slightly confessional, and persuasive, with โcome sit with me, letโs think this throughโ energy. It doesnโt treat AI as a shiny toy or an apocalyptic villain; it treats it as a force that is already in our homes, our workflows, our attention spans, and our sense of self.
Structurally, itโs clean and bingeable with four sections: Discoveries, Possibilities, Operations, and Pitfalls, that move from first-contact curiosity (the early chapters feel like the author at the kitchen table, actually trying things) to more grounded strategy. I especially liked how author Macpherson keeps returning to a central tension that AI isnโt conscious, but it is convincing, and that gap between โsounds rightโ and โis trueโ is where modern humans are about to get tested. The chapters on credibility, creativity, mindfulness, and the practical mechanics of using AI (including promptcraft as a real skill, not a gimmick) feel written for readers who want to stay agile without losing their spine.
Where the book becomes most valuable is in the Operations + Pitfalls stretch: the mindset shifts, the attention economy warnings, the โdonโt outsource your thinkingโ reminders, and the honest naming of risks like hallucinations, dopamine loops, and the subtle emotional attachment people can form with a tool that mirrors them too well. Itโs also refreshingly not preachy, but more like a friend whoโs a step ahead, turning around to say, โHereโs what I wish Iโd known before I got swept up.โ
That said, readers looking for a richer academic, citation-heavy AI book may find Macphersonโs approach more reflective than research-dense, as this is more experience-based wisdom and philosophical framing than a technical manual or a policy treatise. So if you want a smart, readable, humane guide to staying human while becoming AI-literate, Human Again: In the AI Age is a timely and thoughtful read that leaves you more alert, intentional, and (ironically) more present.
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Adam Lawlessfor his latest release, Shards of an Empire.
Book: Shards Of An Empire Author: Adam Lawless Publication Date: December 14th, 2025 Publisher: – Page Count: Genres: Fiction, Thriller Available in: ebook, paperback, hardback For Readers Who Enjoyed Reading: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Other Side of Me by David Cordisco
About the Book
Four lives. Four nations. One slow-burn collapse of the world order.
Drawn together by desire, betrayal, and ambition, four strangers from opposite corners of the world collide as love turns toxic and loyalty becomes lethal. As the world edges toward an Armageddon of historic proportions, one question remains: can love redeem the brokenโor will the master manipulator finish what fate began? A soldierโs blind devotion. Brian, a Delta Force Colonel once celebrated as a patriot, is erased after reckless ambition leads to the deaths of 22 American soldiers. Court-martialed and cast out, he reinvents himself inside the power corridors of Washington. But his greatest vulnerability isnโt his pastโitโs the affair he begins while still married. As scandal, blackmail, and surveillance close in, Brian must decide how much of his country he is willing to burn to feel redeemed. Heroes fall quietly. Damage does not. A South Asian immigrantโs disappointment. Sayeed arrives in America believing in freedom, tolerance, and the promise of a better life. A Muslim immigrant with hope in his heart, he soon finds himself torn between family, culture, and a nation that does not always practice what it preaches. As injustice and hypocrisy mount, will Sayeed cling to his idealsโor will betrayal push him toward a darker path? The Chinese spy who loved too deeply. Jie rises swiftly through the ranks of Chinaโs MSS, driven by brilliance, discipline, and ambition. But her greatest weakness is the one thing she cannot controlโher heart. Preyed upon by a married man, her beauty and vulnerability ignite obsession wherever she goes. In Washington, D.C., love tempts her once more. The Arab dreamer on the edge of ruin. Ahmed, a poor but joyful youth from Iraq, is manipulated into stealing a sacred Islamic relic from Uzbekistanโan act that destroys his life and reshapes geopolitics. Captured and imprisoned in China, he is stripped of dignity, belief, and mercy. What survives his confinement is no longer innocent. When he finally emerges, the question is no longer if he will be usedโbut by whom.
Shards of an Empire is a bleak, high-stakes political thriller where nations maneuver through human weakness and love is the most exploitable asset of all. As these four lives converge, the world inches toward collapseโnot with a bang, but with quiet decisions made in dark rooms.
History will call it unavoidable. The truth is far more personal.
Adam Lawless is an avid student of world history, culture, philosophy, and religious thought. He loves meeting people from diverse cultures, religious backgrounds, points of view, and exchanging ideas. While he is not authoring books, he loves eating out, hanging out with friends, camping at Yellowstone National Park, sit by the fireplace and sip hot chocolate, watching thrillers, and comedy movies. Adam’s mantra for life – Life is too short to be grumpy, enjoy the tiny joys in life, be grateful for the warm sunshine, the green grass under your feet and the blue skies spread over your head. Whenever he can, he travels to other cultures to learn about their history, their civilization, their customs, and their way of life. Human beings fascinate him! His favorite thing to do is sit by the beach and watch the sun set in the orange skies.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Author: James D. Reginatoย Release Date: 3rd November 2025 Series: Genre: Memoir Format:ย E-bookย Pages: 141 pages Publisher: James D. Reginato Blurb: Quiet Enduranceย is James’ debut memoir of chronic illness, misdiagnosis, and endurance: a haunting exploration of identity, resilience, and the human need to be believed. At aged 23, James Reginato was a law and commerce student who loved structure, precision and meaning. He found peace in order, whether through flying, study, or music. Life made sense until a trip overseas left him with a severe infection that marked the beginning of a long and confusing decline. What began as physical illness became something far more complicated when doctors could not explain his symptoms. Quiet Enduranceย is a hauntingly raw recount of his journey through misdiagnosis, disbelief, and the quiet erosion of identity that comes from being treated as a problem instead of a person. It is an intimate account of how a once healthy body can become a source of fear and how the healthcare system can lose sight of the human being behind the data.
Through vivid storytelling and careful reflection, James explores the moments that broke him and the small acts of persistence that kept him alive. He writes about the hospitals that misunderstood him, the labels that trapped him, and the eventual discovery of the real conditions that he had been researching all along. Alongside the medical struggle runs a portrait of family, love, and endurance in the face of a system that could not see past its own limits. This memoir is both personal and universal. It speaks to anyone who has been dismissed, doubted, or reduced to an explanation that does not fit. It is about what happens when you are forced to become your own advocate, when survival depends on refusing to be erased. Quiet Enduranceย is not a story of miracle recovery. It is about the resilience that remains when there is nothing left to prove. It is a record of persistence, truth, and the strength that comes from still being here. Disclaimer This text includes detailed descriptions of medical treatments, trauma, hospitalisations, severe mental health challenges, suicidal themes, and systemic mistreatment. Reader discretion is advised. This work is based on the authorโs personal experiences and medical history. Excerpts from medical correspondence and clinical records are drawn from the authorโs own files and have been reproduced or paraphrased for context. Identifying details of individuals, institutions, and locations have been altered or omitted to protect privacy. These passages are presented in good faith as part of the authorโs lived experience, and are not intended to criticise or make factual claims about any identifiable person or organisation.
Review
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Rating: 4 out of 5.
Quiet Endurance: A Memoir byย James D.ย Reginato is an unflinching account of what happens when a body falls apart, and the systems meant to hold you together decide your suffering is โsomething else.โ It opens with the authorโs intent to show how misunderstanding, systemic rigidity, and misplaced psychiatric assumptions can fracture care, and the patient inside it.
What makes this memoir so memorable and really mand is the voice; it is controlled, articulate, and furious in the way only the truly exhausted can be. Author Reginato writes with the discipline of someone who thinks in procedures and that contrast becomes painful (and powerful) when medicine fails to offer the same clarity. The result is a narrative that reads like a slow, relentless erosion of selfhood, until โsurvivalโ stops meaning improvement and starts meaning persistence.
The bookโs emotional hinge is how plausibly it tracks a descent from โtreatableโ to โsuspect.โ We watch an origin-point illness after a Bali trip (later identified as typhoid) and the cascade that follows as weight loss, gut dysfunction, hospitalisation, escalating fear, and a homecoming that doesnโt feel like safety so much as being left alone with the consequences. When validation finally arrives in the form of a POTS diagnosis, thereโs a brief, aching sense of โfinally, I have a name for this,โ and then the bitter aftertaste. The memoirโs strongest chapters donโt just catalogue events; they show what repeated dismissal does to the mind and how it teaches you to doubt your own sensations, your own reality.
I want to be fair about what may not work for everyone. The clinical specificity, such as the cycles of admissions, tests, discharge plans, and the repeated need to โproveโ symptoms, can feel intentionally repetitive, because thatโs the point: the systemโs loops become the patientโs prison. Still, readers who prefer a tighter memoir arc may find portions heavy with medical process. But for the audience this book is speaking to, such as patients with complex illness, caregivers, and clinicians who want to experience texture behind the file, those details are exactly what give it authority. And the ending pages, which return to the ethics of care and the radical act of reclaiming narrative (โkeep the pen firmly in your handโ), leave the reader with something rarer than inspiration, a sober, hard-earned clarity.
If you pick up Quiet Endurance, do it with appropriate care as the book explicitly warns of trauma, systemic mistreatment, and suicidal themes. But if youโre in the right headspace, this is a compelling and necessary memoir that argues, persuasively, that medicine canโt be reduced to protocols alone.
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring authorย James D. Reginatoย for his latest release, Quiet Endurance: A Memoir.
Book: Quiet Endurance Author: James D. Reginato Publication Date: 26 October 2025 Publisher: Coffee Shop Publishing (Self-Published) Page Count: 139 Genres: Personal Memoirs, Patient Experience, Mental Health Book Links: (Paperback) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FXTW8W41 , (Kindle) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FYTLKY8M
About the Book
Quiet Endurance traces the collapse of a young manโs health after a post-travel illness triggers relentless gastrointestinal and autonomic symptoms that no one can explain. As his body falters, the medical system repeatedly reframes his condition as psychological, leading to misdiagnoses, harmful assumptions, and an admission to an eating-disorder unit that never fit his reality. The memoir follows his struggle to stay alive, be believed, and make sense of a body that no longer obeyed the rules, revealing how easily complex patients are dismissed when their symptoms defy neat categories. It is a story of misdiagnosis, persistence, and the quiet resilience required to survive a system that stops listening. Quiet Endurance speaks to readers who appreciate memoirs grounded in vulnerability and insight, those drawn to works like When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan and The Collected Schizophrenias by Esmรฉ Weijun Wang. It will resonate with readers navigating chronic illness or misdiagnosis, healthcare professionals seeking to understand the patientโs perspective, family members supporting someone medically complex, and anyone drawn to the moral and emotional landscape of modern medicine.
Key Themes
The intersection of medicine, identity, and meaning. The emotional cost of misdiagnosis and disbelief. How illness reshapes relationships, purpose, and self-perception. Endurance as an act of courage when clarity is denied.
James Reginato is an Australian writer, musician, and former law student whose work examines resilience, identity, and the unseen realities of chronic illness. His writing emerged after a sudden collapse in health in his early twenties, an event that dismantled the structured life he had been building and forced him to confront the loss of mobility, certainty, and independence. Living with conditions including Gastroparesis, POTS, Osteoporosis, Atrial Tachycardia, Ehlersโ Danlos Syndrome, and Small Fibre Neuropathy, James navigated years of misdiagnosis, medical uncertainty, and the isolation of invisible illness. Writing became his anchor; a way to reclaim agency, translate chaos into meaning, and hold on to the parts of himself that illness could not diminish. His debut memoir, Quiet Endurance, explores collapse, adaptation, and the reclamation of identity, offering an unfiltered account of what it means to live honestly within chronic illness rather than triumph over it. James also writes about the systemic limitations of medicine, advocating for more humane and nuanced care for those with complex conditions. Outside of writing, he is an accomplished guitarist and lifelong aviation enthusiast; pursuits that reflect his search for clarity, structure, and freedom. Through all of his work, James seeks to illuminate overlooked experiences and give voice to those whose stories often remain unseen.
You can findย author Reginato here: Website | Amazon
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Author: Chris Waddington Release Date: 19 October 2025 Series: Genre: Historical Fiction, WW1 Format: E-book Pages: 288 pages Publisher: Coffee Shop Publishing (Self-Published) Blurb: I donโt know if Iโm living longer or dying slowerโฆ Armed with dreams of heroic victory and Lord Kitchenerโs rally cry ringing in his ears, Jack Crosby proudly made his way to the front line. Once there, he quickly realised that there was no glory to be had on the blood-soaked fields of Flanders. On the back of unrelenting German fury, December delivers a brutal Belgian winterโฆ
Water pours in, swirling around Jackโs ankles, it meanders effortlessly through the trench, bringing with it the pungent stench of death. Body parts intermingle with rats and slushy mud, facilitating the inevitable spread of disease. Cutting a forlorn figure, Jackโs hardening heart aches for home, his beloved Rose and the idyllic life he now mourns. But then, on Christmas Eve, dulcet German tones carried on the wings of angels float serenely through the gloriously placid night airโฆ Christmas in Flanders Fields is a poignant and moving depiction of the ungodly struggles encountered by decent men, too young to die. Set against the backdrop of the remarkable Christmas truce in 1914, Itโs a story that encompasses love, hope, fear, bravery and the most unlikely friendships forged on the rugged plains of No-Mans-Land.
Review
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Rating: 5 out of 5.
Christmas in Flanders Fields by Chris Waddington is told through the reflective voice of British soldier Jack Crosby, immersing the reader in the muddy trenches of World War I, where brutality has become routine and hope feels like an act of rebellion. From its opening pages, the book establishes an unflinching realism where rats, corpses, fear, and exhaustion are rendered with lyrical restraint rather than sensationalism.
At its emotional core is the historical Christmas Truce of 1914, a fleeting moment when enemy soldiers laid down their weapons to sing, bury the dead, exchange gifts, and briefly remember their shared humanity. Author Waddington captures this event with remarkable tenderness. The scenes of candlelit trees rising from German trenches, carols drifting across no-manโs-land, and men shaking hands with those they had tried to kill only hours earlier are written with a sense of awe and disbelief that feels earned. The friendship between Jack and German soldier Wilhelm Becker becomes a powerful symbol of the fragile, fleeting nature of peace.
Equally affecting are Jackโs memories of home, particularly his love for Rose, whose letters and small gifts sustain him through despair. These quieter passages ground the novel emotionally, reminding us what war steals and what soldiers fight to preserve. The prose is evocative and reflective, often reading like a lament for lost innocence and squandered potential.
On the whole, Christmas in Flanders Fields by Chris Waddington is a poignant, immersive, and deeply emotional and moving tribute to a moment when compassion briefly triumphed over conflict. It is historical fiction at its most heartfelt. It is sobering, beautiful, and unforgettable.
Welcome to TRB Lounge. Today, Iโd like to welcome J.J.N. Whitley, author of The Orichalcum Crown, for an author interview with The Reading Bud.
About The Author
J.J.N. Whitley
J. J. N. Whitley is a licensed attorney and proud cat-dad. His time in Okinawa sparked a love for anime and JRPGs, and living in Australia did the same for sports.
Welcome to TRB! Could you provide our readers with a personal introduction beyond yourofficial Author Bio?
Sure. I’m JJNW (Juh-jin-wuh). I introduced myself as that one year in drama class, and the name stuck. One year for Halloween I told a friend I was JJNW’s ghost, and that stuck too.
I’m naturally fidgety and always itching to work on the next project, whether it’s something I’m writing, playing or watching. So when I was diagnosed with ADHD last year I thought it explained a lot.
Beyond the blurb, can you share a unique aspect or background detail about your book’s setting or characters?
One major detail is the prevalence of gods. The oft aloof All-Mother is the literal mother of Athena and one of her sisters. The original emperor runs a brothel just down the mountain. Even when theyโre not directly involved in the plot, their shadows loom large.
Every book begins with an idea. What was the initial inspiration that led you to write this particular story?
Funny enough, it came from a lack of inspiration. I realized that while Iโd been working on existing projects for several years, I hadnโt come up with anything new in a long time. I started with the central idea of exploring the relationships of a royal family with an aging emperor on the decline and let it flow from there. ย
Fantasy often tackles profound themes. What central message or theme do you hope readers will take away from your book?
The initial theme was about the weight of leadership. Heavy is the head that wears the crown and all. But, despite the best intentions, that head is still human and prone to err. As the story evolved, it also tackled the theme of feeling like an outcast even in places where youโre supposed to be loved.
Of all the characters in your book, is there one you feel particularly close to? Why?
As much as I love Athena, Iโd have to say Makoto. At her core, Makoto is someone who believes love must be earned and is almost always at risk of being lost. She wants nothing more than to be loved without needing to perform but is terrified of her authentic self being rejected.
There are elements of that I relate to. My favorite line in the book comes from her conversation with Ephraim in the garden and came right from my own heart.
How do you approach character development in a fantasy setting to ensure they are relatable to readers?
By grounding key character traits and relationships in reality. A handful of examples.
Athena being a protective older sister comes from her strained relationships with her parents. Dad is busy running the empire, and Mom is too busy being a god to care. So, she takes it on herself to make sure the little scamps are cared for.
Olive’s love of art stems from Athena’s encouragement. Now it helps her feel connected to a sister that’s no longer around.
Makoto and Ephraim are so close, because they met at a time when they each needed friendship. She needed a friend to make her feel safe in a new environment, and he needed a friend to deal with the grief of losing his parents.
When the characterโs core feels grounded, their development comes naturally. Even in the face of fantastical elements.
What served as the primary inspiration for your characters? Were they from existing myths, personal experiences, dreams, or something else entirely?
Once I decided on the initial premise of a royal family, I had to start filling out the ranks. While some characters, like Ephraim and Klaus, are unique to this story, several others are from other ideas that never went anywhere. This includes major players; such as Athena, Makoto and Reina. Itโs why I often refer to this story as my Island of Misfit Toys.
How long did the process of writing this book take from inception to completion?
About six years off and on. I had several drafts that started and ended in different places. Iโd take breaks from writing or to work on other projects before coming back to tinker with it some more. The first idea started around February, 2020 when I was walking the track at the gym.
Are there other stories or fantasy worlds you’re currently developing?
Absolutely. One of them is a story of people trapped in a video game, so itโs a hybrid science fiction story as well. Another takes place in a world my friend made. And another is small town Indiana but with a little dash of magic.ย
What attracts you to the fantasy genre specifically? Do you explore other genres as well?
I usually stick with fantasy but include other genres as part of the work. I love that fantasy has no limits and can encompass other genres. You can still write romance, horror, comedy and drama within a fantasy setting.
When did you first realise you wanted to be a writer? Was the journey straightforward, or did you face challenges along the way?
My fourth grade teacher, Mr. Kolp, had a mandatory journal writing period. I would write stories based on shows I was watching; like Dragon Ball or Pokรฉmon. Had so much fun that I kept doing it. Thereโve been a lot of challenges. Self-doubt, low sales and all that. But, here we are still doing it because I love it.ย
Can you describe your typical writing routine?
It usually goes one of two ways. Iโll either have a flash of inspiration and starting writing a scene on my phone until the scene ends or I get stuck.
Alternatively, Iโll sit at my computer and re-read the last few paragraphs to get back into the scene. Iโll see it play out in my head and transcribe it as best I can. If I get stuck, Iโll go for a walk and think through it and hopefully get unstuck.
Editing is a crucial part of the writing process. How do you approach revisions and self-editing in the context of a fantasy narrative?
I try to note whatโs missing or inconsistent in a draft when Iโm reviewing it. If a character mentions something thatโs from a previous draft then it needs to be cut or reworked. Likewise, if someone acts in a way they normally wouldnโt there needs to be a good reason for it or else itโs gone.
In addition, if there are elements of the plot or characterization that are lacking or not featured at all then I note where they should be inserted and rework those moments.
With the growing popularity of audiobooks and multimedia adaptations, have you considered these formats for your work?
I haven’t looked into audiobooks at this time, but I’d love one. I think it would be really cool.
I’d be ecstatic if someone wanted to adapt Orichalcum into a show, movie or game but I’m not holding my breath yet.
If you had to describe your writing style in three words, what would they be?
Talkative but violent.
What tools or methods do you prefer for writingโcomputer, typewriter, voice recording, or traditional pen and paper?
My go to is the notes app on my phone. That way I can write in just about any situation. But when I need to grind out some pages or editing, then I have to sit at my computer. Every now and then I do enjoy hand writing a few pages.
Could you share five books or authors that have influenced your writing, especially within the fantasy genre?
The Harry Potter series is a big one. I know I read a lot as a kid, but itโs the first time I remember being sucked into another world and not wanting to leave.
Lord of the Rings and Warriors as series with their own mythologies and large casts of characters.
I read Mistborn a few years ago, which helped a lot in developing the magic system of another story.
While not a book series, I’d be remiss if I didn’t include the Trails series for its world building and character writing.
How do you tackle Writerโs Block when working within the expansive boundaries of fantasy?
A couple different ways. If a particular sentence is giving me trouble Iโll write a very basic to the point sentence, put it in brackets and move on with the paragraph.
If itโs the start of a scene or story, Iโll try hand writing and just seeing what happens. I did that with one story and a character I hadnโt previously imagined showed up and changed the whole ding dang thing.
If itโs a big picture element, Iโll play around with different versions of it and discuss it with people who know the story.
What piece of advice would you offer to budding writers, especially those looking to venture into fantasy?
Number one is to write. It’s the cliche answer, but your idea will always be just that until you write it down.ย
Number two is be flexible and willing to adapt. Sometimes plot threads and characters don’t go where you initially imagined, and that’s okay.ย
Last is to have a “why guy”. Someone who knows the story about as well as you do who you can bounce ideas off of. Regardless if they like the new idea or not, their job is to ask why a new direction is a good thing. The process of explaining it will generally show if it’s a passing fancy or something with deeper roots. Then you can have a good faith discussion about it.
Thank you, author Whitley, for taking the time to answer our questions and for all your insightful answers!
About the Book
The Orichalcum Crown
Makoto lost her mother to a battle she canโt remember before being adopted into the Kauneus Empireโs royal family. Upon her eighteenth birthday, she receives her motherโs necklace from the emperor. Makotoโs memories slowly return, haunting her with visions of her lost sister and her motherโs murder. She is torn between the family and answers awaiting her across the sea and the relationships with her family, best friend, and his handsome brother. Makoto fears returning home will cast doubt upon her loyalty to the emperor and sever her from the family. After all, Kauneus has no need for a disloyal princess. Makotoโs eldest adoptive sister, Athena, remains banished from Zenith Palace for uncovering the emperorโs secret bastard. She is visited by her former dragon uncle, who shares a rumor that the emperor will be assassinated during the annual ball. Athena has no choice but to break her exile to save her father. Returning home risks death, but sheโll pay any price for her familyโs safety. As night falls upon the ball, lurking shadows and hidden agendas threaten the empireโs fragile peace. Makoto and Athena must navigate the delicate lines between loyalty and betrayal and learn what they are willing to sacrifice for freedom, truth, and family.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Author: J. J. N. Whitleyย Release Date: 1 November 2025 Series: The Orichalcum Crown (Volume 1) Genre: High Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Coming of Age Format:ย E-bookย Pages: 337 pages Publisher: – Blurb: Makoto lost her mother to a battle she canโt remember before being adopted into the Kauneus Empireโs royal family. Upon her eighteenth birthday, she receives her motherโs necklace from the emperor. Makotoโs memories slowly return, haunting her with visions of her lost sister and her motherโs murder. She is torn between the family and answers awaiting her across the sea and the relationships with her family, best friend, and his handsome brother. Makoto fears returning home will cast doubt upon her loyalty to the emperor and sever her from the family. After all, Kauneus has no need for a disloyal princess.
Makotoโs eldest adoptive sister, Athena, remains banished from Zenith Palace for uncovering the emperorโs secret bastard. She is visited by her former dragon uncle, who shares a rumor that the emperor will be assassinated during the annual ball. Athena has no choice but to break her exile to save her father. Returning home risks death, but sheโll pay any price for her familyโs safety. As night falls upon the ball, lurking shadows and hidden agendas threaten the empireโs fragile peace. Makoto and Athena must navigate the delicate lines between loyalty and betrayal and learn what they are willing to sacrifice for freedom, truth, and family.
โA cleverly plotted fantasy with a cast of memorable characters. Highly recommended!โ โ The Wishing Shelf
โThe Orichalcum Crown is a lush and wonderfully imagined work of fantasy that centers on a princess who, after recovering lost memories of her former life, seeks out the truth about her past. Whitley slowly develops the narrative tension, enticing readers through atmospheric worldbuilding and stirring writing.โ
โย TheBookLifePrize
โIn a land populated with deadly monsters, reluctant immortals, vicious secrets, and persistent whispers from a hidden past, a young woman finds her voice in The Orichalcum Crownโฆ a family-first novel steeped with mythology and shrouded in mystery.โ โ Indieโs Today.
Review
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Rating: 4 out of 5.
Epic fantasy often hinges on spectacle, but The Orichalcum Crown by J.J.N. Whitley distinguishes itself by placing intimacy, memory, and moral responsibility at the heart of its world-building. Set within the empire of Kauneus, the novel follows Makoto Clarissa vi Kauneus, a young princess burdened not only by political expectation but by fragmented memories, inherited trauma, and a power she does not fully understand. From its opening moments, the story establishes a deeply personal tone, even as it unfolds on an imperial scale.
Makoto is a compelling protagonist precisely because she is uncertain. She makes her way through the courtly intrigue, assassination threats, and questions of succession while grappling with her origins in Avalon and the meaning of the Orichalcum Crown itself, an artifact that symbolizes humility and responsibility rather than glory. The political tension surrounding Avalonโs possible independence, the shadowy influence of religious and noble factions, and the menace of unseen conspirators give the narrative a steady undercurrent of suspense. Yet the novel never loses sight of its emotional core: Makotoโs relationships with her sisters, her father, and those sworn to protect her.
Author Whitleyโs world-building is meticulous and textured, enriched by mythology, ritual, and a cast of sharply drawn supporting characters, most notably the volatile Athena, the observant Reina, and the enigmatic Morgana. The prose is elegant without being overwrought, allowing moments of introspection to sit naturally beside scenes of political maneuvering and latent violence. Themes of identity, legacy, restraint, and power recur throughout, lending the story a philosophical depth that to to another level, beyond standard fantasy fare.
Overall, The Orichalcum Crown by J.J.N. Whitley is a thoughtful, character-driven, intense, and impressive opening to a new epic fantasy series. Readers who value political complexity, morally grounded protagonists, and richly imagined worlds will find much to admire here, and plenty to anticipate in the volumes to come.
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Chris Waddington for his latest release, Christmas in Flanders Fields.
Book:Christmas In Flanders Fields Author: Chris Waddington Publication Date: 19 October 2025 Publisher: Coffee Shop Publishing (Self-Published) Page Count: 288 Genres: Historical Fiction, WW1 For Readers Who Enjoyed Reading: Sebastian Faulks,ย Christmasย Truce – Malcolm Brown & Shirley Seaton,ย Christmasย Truce by the Men Who Took Part – Mike Hill & Silent Night – Stanley Weintraub.
About the Book
I donโt know if Iโm living longer or dying slowerโฆ
Armed with dreams of heroic victory and Lord Kitchenerโs rally cry ringing in his ears, Jack Crosby proudly made his way to the front line. Once there, he quickly realised that there was no glory to be had on the blood-soaked fields of Flanders. On the back of unrelenting German fury, December delivers a brutal Belgian winterโฆ
Water pours in, swirling around Jackโs ankles, it meanders effortlessly through the trench, bringing with it the pungent stench of death. Body parts intermingle with rats and slushy mud, facilitating the inevitable spread of disease. Cutting a forlorn figure, Jackโs hardening heart aches for home, his beloved Rose and the idyllic life he now mourns. But then, on Christmas Eve, dulcet German tones carried on the wings of angels float serenely through the gloriously placid night airโฆ
Christmas in Flanders Fields is a poignant and moving depiction of the ungodly struggles encountered by decent men, too young to die. Set against the backdrop of the remarkable Christmas truce in 1914, Itโs a story that encompasses love, hope, fear, bravery and the most unlikely friendships forged on the rugged plains of No-Mans-Land.
You can find Christmas In Flanders Fieldshere: Amazon | Goodreads
About The Author
Chris Waddington
The Christmas Truce of 1914 has always been a source of great fascination and the idea of writing a fictional story set during this remarkable and historic event has danced around my head for more than 2 decades. The thought that opposing groups of men thrown together and made to endure the most atrocious conditions can lay down the weapons and come together in the name of Christmas showcases the very best of humanity. I toured around Belgian battlefields and war cemeteries in the Flanders region conducting research for this book and found the whole experience emotional and humbling. Iโm very excited to produce a story that pays homage to this momentous occasion and the brave souls, regardless of nationality, who risked and gave their lives.
This is my second novel following the release of Coffee Shop Girl in 2020. Prior to that I have wrote childrenโs books, poetry and even lyrics to the odd song. Iโm a proud Grandfather to Nirvana & Neveah, a staunch Liverpool supporter and a self-confessed Elvis fanatic! Itโs a passion I share with my beloved daughter, Chantelle. Iโve enjoyed visits to Graceland, Tupelo and my favourite city, Nashville.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Author:KZK Release Date: 23 September 2025 Series: Genre: Horror, Body Horror, Psychological Thriller, Eco-Horror Format: E-book Pages: 215 pages Publisher: – Blurb: When Thea returns to her quiet Minnesota hometown, she expects to confront her motherโs erratic behavior. Instead, she finds herself tangled in a chilling mystery: two men have vanished without a trace, and whispers of prejudice and paranoia ripple through the community. As Thea digs deeper, secrets buried in the bog begin to surface. Family lies, hidden forces, and small-town grudges collide in a suspenseful story where survival means uncovering the truth before it consumes her. Fans of Gillian Flynn, Tana French, and dark rural thrillers will be gripped by Filaments โ a haunting tale of disappearances, betrayal, and the dangerous threads that bind us together.
Review
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Rating: 5 out of 5.
Filaments by KZK is the kind of uneasy read that creeps into your bloodstream and refuses to leave. It is a richly atmospheric eco-horror story that blends fungal body horror, grief, myth, and psychological tension into a narrative that feels intimate as well as deeply unsettling. From the very first chapter, author KZK establishes a voice that is confident, immersive, and unafraid to linger in discomfort, and that is precisely what makes this book so compelling.
At the heart of the story is Thea, a protagonist shaped by loss, guilt, and unanswered questions surrounding her motherโs death. As she searches for the truth, the natural world around her begins to feel increasingly hostile and alive. The forests, bogs, and soil are not just backdrops but active participants in the story. KZKโs treatment of mycelium and fungal networks is particularly striking, as they are used not merely as a horror device, but as a metaphor for inheritance, interconnectedness, and the way trauma spreads invisibly, and relentlessly.
One of the strongest aspects of Filaments is its atmosphere. The writing is lush and tactile; you can feel the damp earth, the creeping tendrils, the oppressive stillness of the bog. The horror here is not loud or gratuitous; it is slow, biological, and psychological. When the body horror does appear, it feels earned and meaningful rather than sensational. This restraint gives the novel its power.
The emotional core of the story is equally strong. Themes of female rage, autonomy, grief, and control are woven seamlessly into the narrative. The relationships, particularly between women, are complex and fraught, adding layers of moral ambiguity that take the book beyond a straightforward horror novel. By the time the story reaches its climax, the tension feels both terrifying and inevitable.
The ending is haunting, resonant, and perfectly suited to the tone of the novel. It does not rush to comfort the reader, nor does it over-explain. Instead, it lingers, much like the filaments themselves.
Overall, Filaments is a standout eco-horror novel that is original, disturbing, and beautifully written. If you enjoy atmospheric horror, fungal or biological themes, and stories that balance emotional depth with genuine unease, this is a book you should not miss.
Author:Del Elle Release Date: 26 March 2019 Series: James and Jones (Book 1 of 3) Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Adventure Format:ย E-bookย Pages: 41 pages Publisher: Delartelle Blurb: Most people pass the shop without a second glance, mistaking it for an old estate agent’s with bad signage. But inside, James (Jay), Jones (Jo), and their not-so-receptionist Suzรฉ tackle problems that shouldnโt exist. When Phillens Martens arrives clutching an apple-shaped brooch, theyโre drawn into a tangle of illusionists, collectors, and the ancient title of Prince of the Apple Towns โ a title that tends to cause chaos for whoever holds it. Witty, wondrous, and brimming with invention,ย Prince of the Apple Townsย is the first adventure inย James and Jonesย โ a whimsical fantasy series about a not-so-ordinary shop, its impossible cases, and the unlikely team who take them on.
Review
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Rating: 4 out of 5.
Prince of the Apple Towns by Del Elle is an inventive work of fantasy that unfolds less like a conventional quest and more like a dream you slowly realize you are already inside. The story follows Phillens Martens, an anxious, slightly off-balance man who finds himself entangled with a pair of eccentric โIntuitive Consultantsโ and, through them, a far larger conflict tied to the mysterious Apple Towns and their powerful brooches. From the very first chapter, author Del Elle establishes a tone that is whimsical on the surface, yet edged with unease and consequence beneath.
What truly distinguishes this book is its worldbuilding through conversation and implication rather than exposition. The Apple Towns, Delcorf, Akane, Gala, Cox, Braeburn, Elstar, and others, feel lived-in and ancient without ever being formally mapped out for the reader. The brooches, each tied to a town and granting extraordinary abilities, introduce a compelling power structure that culminates in the titular contest: the struggle to become the Prince of the Apple Towns. This looming competition adds real stakes to what initially feels like an almost playful narrative.
Characters like Jo and Jay bring levity and texture, but they are never merely comic relief. As the story progresses, the danger becomes tangible, especially with the arrival of Orchardรฉ and the revelation of what possession of multiple brooches means. The action sequences are sharp and kinetic, yet still grounded in the bookโs distinctive, slightly surreal rhythm.
Ultimately, Prince of the Apple Towns is a story about power, guardianship, and choice, and about what happens when responsibility is forced upon those who never asked for it. Itโs a richly imaginative, thoughtfully paced fantasy that rewards attentive reading and leaves the door open for intriguing continuations in this unusual world.
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author ย J. J. N. Whitley for his latest release, The Orichalcum Crown.
Book:The Orichalcum Crown Author: J. J. N. Whitley Publication Date: November 1, 2025 Genres: High Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Coming of Age Formats Available: Kindle, Paperback (in progress)
About the Book
Makoto lost her mother to a battle she can’t remember before being adopted into the Kauneus Empire’s royal family. Upon her eighteenth birthday, she receives her mother’s necklace from the emperor. Makoto’s memories slowly return, haunting her with visions of her lost sister and her mother’s murder.
She is torn between the family and answers awaiting her across the sea and the relationships with her family, best friend, and his handsome brother. Makoto fears returning home will cast doubt upon her loyalty to the emperor and sever her from the family. After all, Kauneus has no need for a disloyal princess.
Makoto’s eldest adoptive sister, Athena, remains banished from Zenith Palace for uncovering the emperor’s secret bastard. She is visited by her former dragon uncle, who shares a rumor that the emperor will be assassinated during the annual ball. Athena has no choice but to break her exile to save her father. Returning home risks death, but she’ll pay any price for her family’s safety.
As night falls upon the ball, lurking shadows and hidden agendas threaten the empire’s fragile peace. Makoto and Athena must navigate the delicate lines between loyalty and betrayal and learn what they are willing to sacrifice for freedom, truth, and family.
โA cleverly plotted fantasy with a cast of memorable characters. Highly recommended!โ
โ The Wishing Shelf
โThe Orichalcum Crownย is a lush and wonderfully imagined work of fantasy that centers on a princess who, after recovering lost memories of her former life, seeks out the truth about her past. Whitley slowly develops the narrative tension, enticing readers through atmospheric worldbuilding and stirring writing.โ
โTheBookLifePrize
โIn a land populated with deadly monsters, reluctant immortals, vicious secrets, and persistent whispers from a hidden past, a young woman finds her voice in The Orichalcum Crownโฆ a family-first novel steeped with mythology and shrouded in mystery.โ
J. J. N. Whitley is a licensed attorney and proud cat-dad. His time in Okinawa sparked a love for anime and JRPGs, and living in Australia did the same for sports.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Author: Alison Bellringer Release Date: 26 April 2024 Series: Genre: Middle Grade Fiction Format:ย E-bookย Pages: 75 pages Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers Blurb: Britney is a young, extremely malnourished child, who comes from a poor family with an abusive father. Her mother does everything she can to protect her daughter from her husband, receiving the brunt of the aggressive beatings herself. The girl barely speaks, afraid of being overheard by the wrong person, and the only words she knows are the few repeated words her mother uses to calm her after a fight. A total of three words in all, namely โ Whisper, Britney, and Ma. There is a very private, sheltered spot in the nearby forest which Britney uses as a place to hide away if ever her mother has to spend the day walking into the nearest town to
purchase supplies or to trade goods. They have discreet, non-verbal signals which they use to keep the area hidden and make sure that Britney is secure (far away from Pa’s prying eyes). On one such day, Britney hears unusual sounds and is terrified that her father has found out about their system, but the surprise turns out to be just a lonesome little puppy. The girl quickly becomes friends with the stray, instantly joining forces in their solitude, only ever meeting in the secret place where they share such a deeply silent, unspoken bond. This continues until Ma helps her only child run away for good, tearfully leaving Britney to fend for herself in the best way she knows how. The adoring puppy (promptly being referred to as Whisper) unexpectedly follows the girl, and together they set off on a journey that will forever change their livesโฆ
Review
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Rating: 5 out of 5.
Whisper by Alison Bellringer is a beautiful story that opens softly and still manages to break your heart, and then carefully put it back together. Told from the POV of Britney, a malnourished little girl living with an abusive father, the novel traces her journey from fear and secrecy to safety, found family, and, slowly, trust. The bookโs gentleness comes from an unlikely guardian: a stray puppy Britney names Whisper, whose steadfast presence changes the course of her life.
From the gut-punch opening in the cottage, to the quiet, sacred ritual of a secret forest hideaway, and the puppy who finds her there, Author Bellringer writes with unshowy clarity that lets emotion land without melodrama. Scenes like Whisper fetching help and leading a kind carpenter to the collapsed child (and the warm safety of Grandma Rubyโs hearth) feel cinematic yet grounded, the sort of moments young readers cling to when they need proof that good adults exist.
What I loved most is how the book treats healing as a slow, layered process. Britneyโs vocabulary at first is just three words and the narrative mirrors that tentative expansion of self. As she grows, the world widens and there is the complicated arrival of people from her past. The author doesnโt sanitize trauma, but she centers resilience and community, showing how patience, consistency, and everyday kindness knit a life back together.
Parents, teachers, and librarians will appreciate how the book handles tough themes with care like domestic violence, abandonment, and a nuanced strand of possible redemption, while keeping the focus on safety, boundaries, and support. The tone is middle-grade friendly, but Iโd still suggest guided reading for sensitive readers; it invites valuable conversations about speaking up, trusting safe adults, and what real change looks like.
Author: S.A. Sterling Release Date: 26 October 2025 Series: Genre: Memoir Format:ย E-bookย Pages: 70 pages Publisher: – Blurb: 2:47 a.m. Again. For two years, she woke in the quiet hoursโwhen the house slept, when the world felt suspended between night and morning. In that stillness, she began to write. AWAKE is a collection of sixty nights lived in real time: the hum of insomnia, the weight of perimenopause, the questions that surface at 3 a.m. when defenses are down. These pages don’t offer solutions. They offer presence. For anyone who’s ever felt alone in the dark hours, this book is company.
Review
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Rating: 4 out of 5.
AWAKE: Notes from the Quiet Hours by S.A. Sterling is a gentle, meditative, and moving memoir.
Told through short entries written during real bouts of insomnia, AWAKE reads like a midnight journal, part memoir, part meditation, part conversation with yourself. Author Sterling’s writing covers drifting thoughts from the small rituals of staying awake to ponderings on motherhood, ageing, marriage, memory, loss, and the strange kind of clarity that only arrives when the world is still.
Thereโs a beautiful rhythm to the entries. Some nights are fleeting with a single page of observation about her hands or the hum of the fridge, while others open like essays about belonging, identity, or the ache of loving people from afar. The language is spare but lyrical; each sentence feels distilled, honest, and unadorned. What makes it powerful is the intimacy, that rare feeling of being trusted with someoneโs unfiltered 3 a.m. thoughts.
Author Sterlingโs greatest gift as a writer lies in her ability to turn exhaustion into revelation. She writes of menopause, motherhood, migration, and midlife with a rawness that never feels self-pitying. Thereโs humour here too, and grace in the smallest acts: warming her feet, watching the rain, whispering โyou againโ to her reflection at 2:38 a.m. By the end, you realise AWAKE is about awareness, about being fully alive even in the quietest, most uncertain moments.
Welcome to TRB Lounge. Today, Iโd like to welcome Alison Bellringer, author of Whisper: Book One, for an author interview with The Reading Bud.
About The Author
Alison Bellringer
Alison has been writing short stories to share with friends and family for many years and always enjoys exploring her creativity when putting pen to paper, so she is excited to have the opportunity to share her love of writing with others through the art of publishing. Alison loves spending time with her pet dog, a Labrador x Huntaway called Smoky, teaching her tricks and taking her for walks. She lives in a small town in New Zealand near many beautiful parks and beaches. Alison has been playing trombone since about 2010, euphonium from mid-2019, and always likes getting together with a few friends to โmake a joyful noiseโ sharing music. She also enjoys a bit of freelance photography when she gets the chance, especially if it involves taking pictures of sunsets.One of her books,ย The Bronson Escapades, is a Silver Recipient of the Momโs Choice Awardsยฎ honorary seal of excellence, andย The Wolf Cubย is a 2ndย Place winner of the Royal Dragonfly Book Award Competition of 2024 in both the โEducationโ and โCoffee Table & Gift Booksโ categories, in addition to obtaining Honorary Mention in several others: Best Cover Design, Childrenโs Chapter Books, Middle Grade Fiction, and Animals/Pets (a complete list of results can be found on the Story Monsters Book Awards website). More recently,ย The Wolf Cubย received the Bronze Medal for the โEBook Pre-Teen Fictionโ category in the 2025 Moonbeam Book Awards. Alisonโs 2024 trilogy titledย Whisper,ย Lucas, andย Escapeย have also been presented with the NAPPA Award winning seal.ย
Welcome to TRB! Could you give our readers a personal introduction beyond whatโs mentioned in your Author Bio?
Everyone in my immediate family have been avid readers for a long time and my three older siblings and I were all homeschooled using a very literacy-based program, which means there were always plenty of books lying around the house whenever we wanted to read something. The style of each author that we had literature from was quite varied, so the range of material available to us covered quite a number of different topics or genres, including early-readers to more in-depth novels for older children or young adults.
As a result of this widespread exposure to books from such an early age, it would be reasonable to assume that my initial interest in reading naturally contributed toward my notable passion for creative writing. This pursuit has only grown stronger ever since penning my first little story and I have now been writing childrenโs fiction for at least twenty years, with several later ones actually being professionally published, including Whisper (Book One) and the rest of the trilogy.
Childrenโs books often come with vibrant illustrations and settings. Can you share some background or details about the world or characters of your book that might not be immediately obvious?
At this point, none of my childrenโs books contain illustrations, other than what may be on the front cover. I absolutely love leaving the visual aspect up to each individual reader to interpret as they wish because they would all have a slightly different idea about exactly how each character looks, and what distinctive impression or feeling various settings invoke for them in particular. My writing style is usually quite descriptive and several independent reviewers have commented about things like how theyโve been drawn right into the bookโs plot, could easily identify with the main character or topic being touched upon, or vividly able to picture different scenes in their mindโs eye and feel as if they were there in person.
Every childrenโs book carries a spark. What was the moment or idea that inspired this story for you?
Unfortunately, more and more children are facing similar problems in the real world to what my fictional character endures at the tender age of five. Initially, this little girl is a victim of domestic abuse, and I wanted other children to be able to relate to her story and have hope that even extremely difficult circumstances can be overcome if the right support is in place to help them get through it.
In actual fact, a friend of mine read this first manuscript and suggested that the story could easily be turned into a series, with the central focus switching between some of the other main characters and filling out more details about their own lives, making each one even more relatable and compelling overall. I readily agreed with this idea and after a bit of thought and time to consider, fitted together parts two and three, with certain scenes overlapping some of those already covered in Whisper, only pictured from a different characterโs point of view.
Childrenโs literature often imparts valuable lessons. Is there a particular message or theme in your book that you hope resonates with young readers?
I hope readers are able to learn valuable life skills as a result of picking up one of my books and that my writing will encourage more in-depth discussions about different subjects, both within and out of the classroom. As a simple example, because a lot of my titles include some form of basic animal care as a key part of the story, I would love to hear directly from children who have gained new insight or a deeper understanding of how they could look after their own pets with a greater amount of awareness or sensitivity. Another example would be for readers to show more empathy toward others, especially when superficial differences occur, and being more mindful when they donโt know what personal struggles or battles someone else may be facing beneath the surface.
Among the characters in your book, is there one that holds a special place in your heart? Why?
My favorite character is Lucas; the titular character of the second book in the trilogy. Without giving too much away, he is one of the two kind-hearted people who took the vulnerable Britney in after she flees from an abusive home (which takes place in Whisper). I really enjoyed being able to delve more deeply into Lucasโ backstory as a young orphan and further developing this characterโs journey as he makes the distinct transition from being a runaway himself and then later becoming the main guardian and protector of a similarly traumatized little girl.
Crafting characters that resonate with young readers can be a unique challenge. How do you approach character development to ensure theyโre both engaging and relatable?
Apparently this aspect of writing develops very naturally for me, as I hardly ever have to intentionally think about this sort of thing beforehand, or even as the story progresses. It is often only once Iโve finished the primary draft that I am able to take a figurative step back in order to see the bigger picture and can then pinpoint the fundamental core values or foremost attributes of each character, making slight adjustments if anything needs improving or could be expanded upon.
One thing authors could do to assess whether or not a particular character is sufficiently engaging or relatable is to ask themselves a series of questions about how the character has been portrayed. For example, do they experience a believable combination of real human emotions? Does the character have an interesting backstory or achieve something of notable worth over the course of the narrative? What is something new that the character has learned about themselves or someone else by the end of the book? Have they changed their opinion or view of something that was previously misunderstood? What would you have done in the characterโs situation? While readers may not have to like every character personally, it is still important that they are able to connect with them in some way and can at least have a general understanding of who they are or what it is about the character that makes them convincing enough to include as a meaningful part of the story.
Was there a specific event, memory from your own childhood, or something else that served as the cornerstone for this book?
Not that Iโm aware of. My books are not generally based on real people or specific true-to-life scenarios, but on a foundational aspect, they are depicted quite strongly with a sense of realism rather than being overly steeped in fantasy or make-believe. For Whisper, I wanted the main topic, or topics, to be something a little more challenging or thought-provoking than any themes I had attempted before with my earlier works. While the precise language being used has been deliberately chosen to remain suitable for a middle-grade audience, it does still deal with different elements regarding domestic abuse, survival, overcoming childhood trauma, and navigating complex family relationships.
How long did it take you to bring this story from concept to the final published book?
As Iโve just mentioned in answer to an earlier question, there was a bit of a gap between finishing off Whisper as book one and until the time I really started on the rest of the trilogy, but once Iโm ready to get going, the physical writing of each manuscript never takes very long to complete. I generally like to get each draft to a level Iโm pretty satisfied with before setting it aside, however many read throughs that requires, but I would generally revisit the story and give it a final polish prior to submitting any new material to my publisher.
Are there other tales or characters youโre currently working on for young readers?
I am working on a new series with my publisher at the moment which will likely consist of several consecutive stories each featuring the same central characters. The Horses of Saddlers Ranch is my take on the classic โhorse-loving, pony-mad teenager conceptโ and the bonds that they form with these majestic, four-legged animals. Each subsequent book is titled after a different horse, and centers around the lives of Coral Johnson and her two best friends as they have various adventures on her familyโs ranch and discover the unique personalities of each new animal. Cloud kick-starts the series and came out during mid-2025, and the second book, Golden Haze, was released in early October. Book Three currently has a release date set for January 2026 and I am extremely hopeful that there will be a few more instalments yet to come even after that.
This series is also aimed for a similar middle-grade audience, or 9-12 age group, as last yearsโ trilogy, with underlying themes of treasuring close friendships (regardless of any starkly contrasting attributes), behaving responsibly and accepting the often-unexpected consequences of different actions, problem-solving, and overcoming various other challenges in the charactersโ daily lives. It is proving to be a fantastic new series, suitable for horse or animal lovers alike, with the chief focus of each book based on offering a more convincing portrayal of how difficult ranch work can be in the real world.
What draws you to writing for children specifically? Do you ever dabble in other genres or age groups?
My main focus as an author is to create engaging chapter books for children who are able to read simple plotlines on their own, continuing to help them grow in confidence and learn about real-life issues, even within fictional settings. Similarly, a long-term goal for my writing is to present younger readers with a wider range of material which illustrate high moral standards and assist those children to personally embrace these traits in their own day-to-day lives. It has never been about the number of sales made, but rather, how many people I can reach in a positive way who will then come away from their reading experience feeling encouraged or more inspired by the underlying messages of hope found in most of my books.
Childrenโs middle-grade fiction is still one of my favorite genres to read, even though Iโm no longer in that age group, and my stories are likely a tangible reflection of that. I especially enjoy the ones about animals, so it seemed perfectly natural for me to adopt a similar sort of approach with my own writing. I do, however, have plenty of ideas for some adult novels that I would be keen to try my hand at in the not-too-distant future, but I am uncertain exactly when that will happen or how long it might be before Iโd be ready to share them with anyone elseโฆ
Can you recall the moment you decided to write for children? Was it a straightforward path or were there twists along the way?
I donโt think this was ever really a conscious decision so much as a natural leaning toward writing in the genres that I have always enjoyed reading anyway. Crafting new stories for children has long been the direction that has inevitably drawn me in, and it seems the most fitting option considering my more long-term goals and some of the driving factors behind why I keep coming up with fresh material for this age group in particular.
Could you share a bit about your writing routine, especially as it pertains to crafting stories for children?
I have no regular time set aside specifically for writing, as it usually just depends on whenever the appropriate incentive strikes. I also like to mix it up with my other hobby of photography so that Iโm not always doing the same thing every week.
What most often seems to happen is a potential new title will pop into my mind first and then Iโll gradually fill out more of the corresponding plotline or additional details as I write, sometimes with slightly unexpected results. I generally prefer to just go with the flow and see where it takes me rather than risk hindering my creativity too much by having any predetermined criteria, such as its exact length when finished or deciding how many chapters the story is going to have in advance instead of allowing it to fit together more naturally. I do have quite a long list of ideas though, which is where I will note down any sudden bursts of inspiration for safekeeping until I am ready to select the next most pressing title that is clamoring for attention and actually begin the process of writing out the entire original draft so that itโll be ready for any future touch-ups to be incorporated as needed.
Editing stories for young readers has its own set of considerations. How do you approach the revision process to ensure the narrative is both engaging and age-appropriate?
There are a number of issues I keep an eye out for during the final editing stage. One key aspect of this process is to make sure that the vocabulary is challenging enough to test and grow readersโ skills, but not so difficult that it is no longer manageable or would detract from their overall enjoyment of the story as a whole. I generally go through each manuscript multiple times after the initial draft, and one reason for that is to help minimize the potential for readers to trip over unusual words or phrases if all it takes is a simple reordering of words, or some other quick fix, that would make it flow off the tongue just that much easier. Another purpose for doing this is to avoid having too much repetition throughout the book (i.e. using the same word multiple times to describe something when I could easily just swap it out for another, which would keep the story sounding fresh while retaining more avid interest from the reader).
It has always come quite naturally for me to craft memorable scenes or characters that would be appealing to lots of middle-graders. Most of my books are best suited to children aged 8-14 who are confident enough to handle reading them on their own, but adapting read-alouds to slightly younger kids would also suit my style of writing quite well, and the short chapters make it far more practical to just read small sections at a time if they cannot cope with any longer sessions given all at once.
Given the increasing multimedia engagement for children, have you considered other formats like audiobooks or interactive apps for your stories?
Not really at this stage. I realize these formats are becoming more and more popular in this day and age, but to put it simply, the more editions or formats an author decides to use for their books the more expensive it can get to first have the initial production done, and then maintain effective marketing plans or promotional leads for every additional aspect relating to each title. I have not put much research into pursuing any of these options as of yet, so I may very well be mistaken, however even having just paperback and ebook editions available are great options to start with and seemed perfectly adequate to me when I first accepted the publisherโs contract.
In just three words, how would you describe your style of storytelling for children?
Immersive. Uplifting. Wholesome.
Do you have a preferred method or tool for writing โ whether itโs a computer, typewriter, voice recording, or good old-fashioned pen and paper?
I have always preferred writing my stories by hand โ hence the general inclusion of the โputting pen to paperโ reference in my author bio โ but Iโve now come to the point where doing this and then having to type it all up afterward is simply too time-consuming and becoming no longer practical, largely because of this needless doubling up of tasks (especially as my manuscripts have been gaining in length and complexity as the years go by). I love copy-typing really, and used to just freeze up if there was nothing already there for me to work off, but more experience and consistent practice in constructing various plotlines and developing a range of different characters has made this much less of a problem area for me.
Are there childrenโs authors or specific books that have been influential in shaping your writing journey?
Nothing specific comes to mind. I have read a great many middle-grade books in my lifetime, as well as an array of adult novels, so it would be reasonable to assume that a lot of my writing is simply a general reflection of some kind of โstorehouseโ of information that has been unconsciously accumulated over a significant period of time, especially as new titles or authors are discovered whose work is then enjoyed over and over again.
Writerโs Block can strike anyone. How do you navigate it, especially when crafting stories for a younger audience?
I believe this can be an issue for some writers, although Iโve always found it to be more of a problem depending on the mindset of the author concerned rather than anything else. For me, I occasionally get the misguided notion stuck in my head that the next scene or some upcoming dialogue is going to be more difficult to keep the story moving forward, so I end up just putting it off despite knowing from previous experience that whenever I decide to just sit down and get on with it the words usually just flow into place automatically, often without conscious thought. I also have quite a long list of potential titles or topics to include in future stories, so coming up with new material to write about has never been much of a challenge for me either.
For those aspiring to write for children, what advice would you share based on your experiences?
Just keep trying! It can be a rough road, full of potholes and bumps along the way, but I think itโs extremely important for authors to be able to write about topics that inspire them, or things that theyโre passionate about, and can really let that shine through by staying true to themselves. Write what you know, but keep challenging yourselves in new ways to get better at your craft, so always set achievable goals to aim for. My last piece of advice would be to not let anyone push you around โ pursue the vision which you have for your own book and then tirelessly search for those who will help you get there, rather than limiting your creative freedom by sticking it in a box or restricting yourself only to certain areas by attaching labels that you canโt break out of if your skillsets change when you continue to mature as a writer.
Thank you, author Bellringer, for taking the time to answer our questions and for all your insightful answers!
About the Book
Whisper: Book One
Britney is a young, extremely malnourished child, who comes from a poor family with an abusive father. Her mother does everything she can to protect her daughter from her husband, receiving the brunt of the aggressive beatings herself. The girl barely speaks, afraid of being overheard by the wrong person, and the only words she knows are the few repeated words her mother uses to calm her after a fight. A total of three words in all, namely โ Whisper, Britney, and Ma. There is a very private, sheltered spot in the nearby forest which Britney uses as a place to hide away if ever her mother has to spend the day walking into the nearest town to purchase supplies or to trade goods. They have discreet, non-verbal signals which they use to keep the area hidden and make sure that Britney is secure (far away from Paโs prying eyes). On one such day, Britney hears unusual sounds and is terrified that her father has found out about their system, but the surprise turns out to be just a lonesome little puppy. The girl quickly becomes friends with the stray, instantly joining forces in their solitude, only ever meeting in the secret place where they share such a deeply silent, unspoken bond. This continues until Ma helps her only child run away for good, tearfully leaving Britney to fend for herself in the best way she knows how. The adoring puppy (promptly being referred to as Whisper) unexpectedly follows the girl, and together they set off on a journey that will forever change their livesโฆ
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Author: Richard French Release Date: 17 November 2025 Series: Convergence Series Genre: Dystopian, Speculative Fiction, Cyberpunk, Metaphysical Sci-Fi Format:ย E-bookย Pages: 393 pages Publisher: Indie Pen Press Blurb: In a world where emotions are harvested as hazardous waste, an elite Collector absorbs a child’s loveโand awakens. Senior Collector Emma Thorne is the state’s most precise weapon until a four-year-old’s pure love fractures her conditioning. When her collection field fails on an immune stranger, everything she believes crumbles. Emma discovers the brutal truth: emotions aren’t wasteโthey’re living energy linked to planetary health, and the Council’s “peace” is killing the world. Her mother is the architect of suppression. Project Terminus will permanently sever human feeling within hours. For readers who devouredย Deliriumย andย The Giver, but crave the hard science and hope ofย Nexus. To save humanity, she must sacrifice everything she is to restore the world’s heart. Pre-order your copy nowย and be one of the first to discover what happens whenย the weapon learns to love.
Review
โญโญโญโญ
Rating: 4 out of 5.
The Emotion Collector: Awakening by Richard French blends science fiction, philosophy, and pure human emotion into something that defies easy categorization. It is an ambitious, multi-layered exploration of emotion, memory, morality, and what it truly means to feel.
The premise is instantly fascinating: in a world where emotions can be extracted, stored, and traded, one person begins to question whether humanity is losing the very thing that makes it human. But this isnโt just a cyberpunk โwhat if,โ itโs a deeply reflective journey through consciousness, loss, and redemption. French uses his protagonistโs awakening as a mirror for all of us, how much of our inner life is ours to control, and how much is shaped by the systems we live within?
What makes the novel shine is its philosophical and psychological richness. French intertwines emotional introspection with speculative science, blurring the line between technology and spirituality. The world-building is subtle but effective, while the emotional undercurrents remain raw. Each supporting character feels like a fragment of the larger question the novel poses: can emotion exist without consequence, or is pain the price of depth?
Stylistically, The Emotion Collector: Awakening balances poetic introspection with crisp pacing. Frenchโs prose has rhythm, with one moment meditative and the next sharp and cinematic. Thematically, it sits comfortably alongside works like Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro or The Giver by Lois Lowry, but its voice is entirely its own, more speculative and abstract, with a touch of existential wonder.
The Emotion Collector: Awakening is a beautifully written exploration of emotion, consciousness, and control. This book offers both intellectual stimulation and emotional resonance, a rare and rewarding combination.
Welcome to TRB Lounge. Today, Iโd like to welcome S.A. Sterling, author of AWAKE: Notes from the Quiet Hours, for an author interview with The Reading Bud.
About The Author
S.A. Sterling
S.A. Sterling writes about real life: the quiet struggles, late-night thoughts, and moments that push us to grow. Sheโs lived across oceans, taught languages for years, and met women from all walks of life who share one thing in common: the desire to keep showing up, even when life gets messy.
Her latest book, AWAKE: Notes from the Quiet Hours, was born from sleepless nights and honest reflection. Before that, she wrote Ride On!โthe story of Dame Sarah Storeyโs extraordinary journey of resilienceโand several books designed to help women navigate everyday life with more clarity and courage, including Executive Functioning Skills for Women with ADHD, The 369 Manifestation Journal, and The Women Rising Strong 2024 Workbook.
She lives in northern Italy with her husband, where she teaches, writes, and keeps a pot of lemon water on her desk for the early hours that refuse to sleep.
Welcome to TRB! Please give our readers a brief introduction about yourself before we begin. We’d love to know beyond what your Author Bio says about you.
Iโm someone whoโs learning to make peace with imperfection. I live in a small Italian town surrounded by mountains, where I teach languages, write, and try to balance too many notebooks and not enough hours of sleep. Iโm a mother, a wife, a sister, and a woman still figuring out how to be all of those things without losing myself. Writing, for me, is how I stay honest.
Beyond the blurb, could you delve into some unique aspects or pivotal moments from your book?
Each page was written in real time, during sleepless nights between 2 and 5 a.m. Nothing was planned. I simply sat down and wrote what was true in that moment. Sometimes grief, sometimes humor, sometimes calm. The uniqueness lies in its immediacy. AWAKE isnโt about sleep, itโs about what surfaces when the noise quiets down: aging, motherhood, marriage, identity, and the small things that hold us together when everything else feels uncertain.
What drove you to explore this specific theme?
Insomnia became a doorway. I stopped fighting it and started listening to what those hours were trying to tell me. I realized that sleeplessness mirrors midlife, that stage where we canโt hide from ourselves anymore. The bookโs message is simple: youโre not alone in your wakefulness, in your restlessness, in your questions.
What served as the catalyst for this one?
It started with frustration. I couldnโt sleep, and all the advice โmagnesium, herbal teas, no screens โ wasnโt working. One night I opened my notebook and typed a few lines just to release the noise in my head. That became the first โnight.โ Then came another, and another. Over time, it became a ritual, a way to process my changing body, relationships, and life.
How long was the journey from concept to final version?
About two years. I didnโt plan it as a book at first; it grew naturally from those nights. The editing process took several months after that, turning fragments into a cohesive journey.
What are your future aspirations as a writer?
I want to keep writing books that make readers feel seen, especially women in midlife. I donโt aim for perfection or grandeur, just truth. In five years, I hope to have published more works that explore the quiet transformations we rarely talk about.
Are there other topics or projects youโre currently working on?
Yes, several. Iโm writing a memoir about body image, belonging, and learning to stop performing for acceptance. Iโm also expanding my Women Rising Strong platform, where I share stories of resilience and empowerment. Alongside that, Iโve resumed my weekly newsletters, where I write about midlife, creativity, and personal growth. And Iโm working on a new book about self-reinvention for women over 50: how we can redefine purpose and possibility in this next chapter of life.
Have you ever been tempted to venture into fiction?
Yes, many times. But even when I try, reality sneaks back in. My writing always starts from something true: a conversation, a feeling, a memory. Maybe one day Iโll write fiction, but it will probably still sound like real life.
Can you recall the moment you realized you wanted to be a writer?
I donโt think it was one moment. Writing was always there: poems, letters, journals, scraps of thoughts. But it became serious when I understood that writing helps me make sense of things. It wasnโt an easy path; there was doubt, comparison, rejection. But each word felt like coming home.
Describe your writing process.
I write early in the morning or in the middle of the night, when the world is quiet. I keep lemon water or tea next to me and write in bursts: no outline, no plan. Later I come back to shape it. Itโs less about discipline and more about showing up for myself.
Outside of writing, do you have another profession?
Yes, Iโm a language coach. I teach English, Italian, and Russian to adults and teenagers. Having lived across oceans and learned seven languages, Iโve been able to meet women from many walks of life, each with her own story, accent, and way of seeing the world. Teaching keeps me close to real conversations, the kind that remind me how language isnโt just about words. Itโs about who we are, and how we connect. That understanding shapes everything I write.
Given the theme of your book, could you recommend other reads with similar ideas?
Two come to mind: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, for its quiet honesty about grief and resilience, and I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie OโFarrell, for its raw reflection on the body, mortality, and what it means to stay awake to life. Both explore how awareness, even painful awareness, can lead us back to meaning.
In non-fiction, are there authors who influenced your approach?
Joan Didion, Anne Lamott, and Cheryl Strayed have shaped how I see the power of truth on the page. They write with honesty, vulnerability, and restraint. They turn ordinary life into something worth sitting with. I also connect with Maggie OโFarrellโs way of writing about the body and memory. All of them remind me that raw truth often says more than polished perfection ever could.
How do you handle writerโs block?
I donโt call it a block anymore. Itโs usually exhaustion or fear. When words stop coming, I step away. I cook, walk, or play piano. Then I come back. Writing always returns when I stop forcing it.
How do you balance research and narrative?
Since AWAKE is rooted in lived experience, research wasnโt formal. It came from observing, reading about perimenopause, and listening to other women. I try to weave those truths naturally into the narrative, without turning it into a lecture.
How do you handle criticism or differing viewpoints?
I remind myself that readers bring their own experiences to every book. Not everyone will connect, and thatโs okay. I donโt write to please. I write to tell the truth as I know it. If someone disagrees, at least it started a conversation.
What advice would you give aspiring nonfiction writers?
Write what keeps you up at night, literally or metaphorically. Donโt wait for it to sound perfect. Tell the truth, even when it feels uncomfortable. The right readers will find you not because your story is flawless, but because itโs real.
Thank you, author Sterling, for taking the time to answer our questions and for all your insightful answers!
About the Book
AWAKE: Notes from the Quiet Hours
2:47 a.m. Again. For two years, she woke in the quiet hoursโwhen the house slept, when the world felt suspended between night and morning. In that stillness, she began to write. AWAKE is a collection of sixty nights lived in real time: the hum of insomnia, the weight of perimenopause, the questions that surface at 3 a.m. when defenses are down. These pages donโt offer solutions. They offer presence. For anyone whoโs ever felt alone in the dark hours, this book is company.
You can findย AWAKE: Notes from the Quiet Hoursย here: Ebookย |ย Paperback
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to TRB Lounge. Today, Iโd like to welcome MJ Walker, author ofItalian By Default, for an author interview with The Reading Bud.
About The Author
MJ Walker
Margaret Walker is a teacher. She lives in Sydney, Australia with her family. Her first two novelsย His Mostย Italianย Cityย andย Through Forests and Mountainsย were published by Penmore Press in the USA.
Welcome to TRB! Please give our readers a brief introduction about yourself before we begin. We’d love to know beyond what your Author Bio says about you.
Hi Heena,
Iโm a teacher (almost retired). I have been reading and writing all my life and have had short stories published in Australia and the UK as well as two previous novels published by Penmore Press in the USA. They are His Most Italian City and Through Forests and Mountains.
Beyond the official blurb, could you offer us a unique insight or a behind-the-scenes glimpse into your book?
Italian By Default ย is based on my own story about trying to find my identity as an adopted person living with a husband (and his identical twin brother) who were crazy about their own Italian heritage. At the same time, it is about my adoption reunion. In 1960, I and my twin sister were adopted together to my parents. My sister is not interested in adoption. I left her out of the book so as not to cause her distress.
Evey book has a starting point. What was the spark or pivotal moment that inspired you to write this one?
Probably the death of my mother-in-law in 2000. Our house, which had been Italian anyway, became much more so because many of her belongings came to us.
Is there a core message or theme in your book that you wish readers to discover?
You are important regardless of the circumstances of your conception. God knew you before you were conceived.
Of all the characters in your book, do you have a personal favourite? What makes themspecial to you?
Pollyโs friend Felicity, who was based on a lovely friend of mine.
How do you approach character development, ensuring they resonate with readers andfeel authentic?
I constantly have that person in front of me when I write. I forget about myself and become them.
What was the inspiration for this book? Was it an idea, an anecdote, a dream, or somethingelse?
I met my birth mother in 1989 but I didnโt meet my birth siblings until 2002. Iโd say that frustration with that situation was my inspiration.
How long did it take you to write this particular book?
25 years. I kept writing during the adoption reunion and finally finished with the death of my birth mother in 2020. For example, after a family dinner or meeting or whatever, I would come home and write it up immediately. After that, it was just revision.
Are you working on any other stories presently?
Yep! I have at least 3 manuscripts I am hoping to have published one day, plus a fun one I am writing at the moment just to keep my hand in.
Why have you chosen this genre? Or do you write in multiple genres?
I am most interested in history, and character development in fiction. I also have a history blog, mwalkeristra.blogspot.com. ย
When did you decide to become a writer? Was it easy for you to follow your passion, or didyou have to make some sacrifices along the way?
I canโt stop writing. Itโs cathartic for me, if Iโm stressed or anxious. I donโt think it matters what you write or how you write. If you practise, youโll improve.
What is your writing ritual? How do you do it?
I generally write every morning after Iโve walked the dog and had coffee.
Editing can be a gruelling process. How do you approach revisions and self-editing?
If I get stuck, it really helps to put the manuscript away for a few weeks, write something else, then return to the first one. Something I have also found invaluable is to have a manuscript professionally assessed. It is worth every cent.
With the rise of audiobooks and multimedia experiences, have you considered exploringthese avenues for your stories?
A lot of people I know read audiobooks while theyโre driving. I havenโt got around to that yet. Itโs expensive, but a friend of mine did it recently, and it really bought the book to life.
Lastly, if you were to describe your writing style in three words, what would they be?
Not too sure.
How do you prefer to writeโcomputer/laptop, typewriter, dictation, or longhand with apen?
Everything, plus I always carry a notepad and pen in my bag.
What are your 5 favourite books? (You can share 5 favourite authors too.)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Madam Will You Talk by Mary Stewart, Exodus by Leon Uris, anything by Dickens. Crime? Ian Rankin, MC Beaton. She looks simple but under the surface, sheโs very cluey. I love Bill Brysonโs style. He cannot write a dull sentence.
How do you deal with Writerโs Block?
Zone out and write anyway. Just sit down and write non-stop for 15 minutes.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Join a writerโs group. My writersโ group is fabulous at all the things Iโm bad at. I really need them.
Thank you, author Walker, for taking the time to answer our questions and for all your insightful answers!
About the Book
Italian by Default
AN ADOPTION REUNION โ based on a true story โ Meet Polly, her Italian husband Joe and his identical twin brother Cicero. Polly is adopted and wants to find her heritage, but the twinsโ passion for Italy dominates her life. She gets more style than Gucci, more opera than Verdi and more pasta than she can eat. If this isnโt bad enough, Pollyโs friends insist that she belongs where she is loved โ safe and secure in her wealthy Sydney suburb. What should Polly do? She has met her birth mother, but not only will that lady refuse to discuss the past, she has barred Polly from ever meeting her siblings. Then one day Polly reads in the newspaper that her mother has been murdered. Or has she? Pollyโs longed-for adoption reunion finally happens but not in the way she expects.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author Alison Bellringer for her latest release, Whisper: Book One.
About The Author
Alison Bellringer
Alison has been writing short stories to share with friends and family for many years and always enjoys exploring her creativity when putting pen to paper, so she is excited to have the opportunity to share her love of writing with others through the art of publishing. Alison loves spending time with her pet dog, a Labrador x Huntaway called Smoky, teaching her tricks and taking her for walks. She lives in a small town in New Zealand near many beautiful parks and beaches. Alison has been playing trombone since about 2010, euphonium from mid-2019, and always likes getting together with a few friends to โmake a joyful noiseโ sharing music. She also enjoys a bit of freelance photography when she gets the chance, especially if it involves taking pictures of sunsets.One of her books,ย The Bronson Escapades, is a Silver Recipient of the Momโs Choice Awardsยฎ honorary seal of excellence, andย The Wolf Cubย is a 2ndย Place winner of the Royal Dragonfly Book Award Competition of 2024 in both the โEducationโ and โCoffee Table & Gift Booksโ categories, in addition to obtaining Honorary Mention in several others: Best Cover Design, Childrenโs Chapter Books, Middle Grade Fiction, and Animals/Pets (a complete list of results can be found on the Story Monsters Book Awards website). More recently,ย The Wolf Cubย received the Bronze Medal for the โEBook Pre-Teen Fictionโ category in the 2025 Moonbeam Book Awards. Alisonโs 2024 trilogy titledย Whisper,ย Lucas, andย Escapeย have also been presented with the NAPPA Award winning seal.ย
Britney is a young, extremely malnourished child, who comes from a poor family with an abusive father. Her mother does everything she can to protect her daughter from her husband, receiving the brunt of the aggressive beatings herself. The girl barely speaks, afraid of being overheard by the wrong person, and the only words she knows are the few repeated words her mother uses to calm her after a fight. A total of three words in all, namely โ Whisper, Britney, and Ma. There is a very private, sheltered spot in the nearby forest which Britney uses as a place to hide away if ever her mother has to spend the day walking into the nearest town to purchase supplies or to trade goods. They have discreet, non-verbal signals which they use to keep the area hidden and make sure that Britney is secure (far away from Paโs prying eyes). On one such day, Britney hears unusual sounds and is terrified that her father has found out about their system, but the surprise turns out to be just a lonesome little puppy. The girl quickly becomes friends with the stray, instantly joining forces in their solitude, only ever meeting in the secret place where they share such a deeply silent, unspoken bond. This continues until Ma helps her only child run away for good, tearfully leaving Britney to fend for herself in the best way she knows how. The adoring puppy (promptly being referred to as Whisper) unexpectedly follows the girl, and together they set off on a journey that will forever change their livesโฆ
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
2:47 a.m. Again. For two years, she woke in the quiet hoursโwhen the house slept, when the world felt suspended between night and morning. In that stillness, she began to write. AWAKE is a collection of sixty nights lived in real time: the hum of insomnia, the weight of perimenopause, the questions that surface at 3 a.m. when defenses are down. These pages donโt offer solutions. They offer presence. For anyone whoโs ever felt alone in the dark hours, this book is company.
You can find AWAKE: Notes from the Quiet Hourshere: Ebook| Paperback
Book Excerpt
Before
I don’t sleep through the night anymore.
Started sometime in my late forties. 2:30 a.m. felt like a normal time to wake up. Sometimes 3:00. Sometimes 4:00.
I tried the rules. Magnesium. No screens. Worked sometimes. Mostly didn’t.
This isn’t a book about fixing it. I don’t know how to fix it. Maybe you do. Maybe you don’t. Maybe you’re reading this at 3 a.m. because you can’t sleep either.
I wrote these over two years. In real time. When I was awake and everyone else was asleep.
If you’re awake tooโyou’re not alone.
How to read this book
Read one entry or ten.
Start anywhere.
Stop when you feel less alone.
Night 1 โ The Buzz
2:47 a.m.
That hum again. Not a sound, a feeling. Low and steady under my skin.
My legs feel electric, like they want to walk somewhere.
Slippers. Bathroom. Back to bed.
Five minutes. Ten. Nothing.
Check the time. Shit.
I’m up.
Lemon. Ginger. Salt. Steam fogging the mug.
Desk lamp on. Laptop glow.
Bedroom door closed behind me. Lino probably heard me leave.
But he’ll stay in bed until morning. Unlike me.
Anthony’s face flashes in my mind. Him holding the baby.
I should be happy. I am happy. I’m just tired.
Still awake.
Night 6 โ Both Languages
2:53 a.m.
My thoughts switch languages mid-sentence.
English. Then Italian. Then back.
I don’t choose. It just happens.
Sometimes worry speaks Italian.
Sometimes English.
Comfort doesn’t have a language. Or has both.
I dream in both too.
My brain can’t pick a side.
Neither can I.
Night 8
3:39 a.m.
My chest is hot. My feet are freezing.
I’m both sweating and shivering.
Perimenopause, probably.
I hate that word. Too clinical for what it feels like.
Like someone else is driving my body and won’t tell me where we’re going.
Lino still in bed.
He’ll say I look tired in the morning. I’ll nod.
We won’t talk about the rest. Both of us knowing I’m lying.
I sip ginger water. Bitter.
Hope it burns the hormones out of me.
It doesn’t.
Night 20 โ Resi’s Awake Too
3:14 a.m.
My phone lights up.
Resi. My sister.
You awake?
I type back. Yep.
Three dots. Then: This is ridiculous.
I almost laugh.
She’s five minutes away in her village. Bruno and Gabriel asleep in their beds.
Both of us awake in the dark.
It helps. Knowing I’m not the only one.
Go back to bed I type.
You first she sends back.
Neither of us will.
Night 47
3:42 a.m.
I’m so tired of this.
Two years of waking up at 3 a.m. and I’m still here. Still awake. Still typing at this desk.
When does it get better? Does it get better?
Everyone talks about acceptance like it’s this peaceful thing you arrive at.
I don’t feel peaceful. I feel exhausted.
Tomorrow the alarm at 6:30. The coffee that doesn’t help. The fog.
My eyes burn. My back hurts. I just want to sleep like a normal person.
The lemon water’s gone cold. Again. I drink it anyway.
Maybe tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow I’ll sleep through the night.
Probably not.
Night 57 โ So Quiet
3:59 a.m.
The quiet’s different tonight.
Not lonely. Just… full.
I can hear my pulse. My breathing.
I’m not trying to fix anything. Just sitting here. Breathing.
Usually that feels too loud. Tonight it’s okay.
Maybe peace looks boring.
I’ll take it.
You’ve Read 6 Nights.
There are 54 more.
More raw nights. More honest moments. More company in the dark hours.
“This is definitely a great read, especially as we get olderโit gets harder. It feels good to know there’s others that go through the same things.” โ Tina, Amazon Reader
Thank you for being awake with me. โ S.A. Sterling
About The Author
S.A. Sterling
S.A. Sterling writes about real life: the quiet struggles, late-night thoughts, and moments that push us to grow. Sheโs lived across oceans, taught languages for years, and met women from all walks of life who share one thing in common: the desire to keep showing up, even when life gets messy.
Her latest book, AWAKE: Notes from the Quiet Hours, was born from sleepless nights and honest reflection. Before that, she wrote Ride On!โthe story of Dame Sarah Storeyโs extraordinary journey of resilienceโand several books designed to help women navigate everyday life with more clarity and courage, including Executive Functioning Skills for Women with ADHD, The 369 Manifestation Journal, and The Women Rising Strong 2024 Workbook.
She lives in northern Italy with her husband, where she teaches, writes, and keeps a pot of lemon water on her desk for the early hours that refuse to sleep.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author KZK for her latest release, Filaments.
Book: Filaments Author: KZK Publication Date: Sept 23, 2025 Genres: Psychological Thriller, Murder Mystery, Quiet Horror Page Count: 215 Formats Available: Kindle & Paperback For Readers Who Loved Reading: Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon
About the Book
Drawn back to her Minnesota small town, Thea begins to unravel the mystery behind her mother’s erratic behavior and two men’s disappearances. She unknowingly awakens a force that has patiently waited in the shadows for her return. With each new revelation, Thea’s accosted by her small town’s prejudice and simmering bitterness of former friends. What started out as a trip to save her mother becomes a fight for her own survival and sanity.
As a debut author, KZK infuses thrillers with a touch of creepy and a bit of scientific flair. KZK enjoys incorporating quiet horror through the natural world to plant readers in her setting.
If you are an author and wish to be featured as our guest or if you are a publicist and want to get your author featured on TRB, then please get in touch directly by e-mail at thereadingbud@gmail.com
Welcome to the TRB Lounge. Today, we are featuring author S.A. Sterling for her latest release, AWAKE: Notes from the Quiet Hours.
Book:AWAKE โ Notes from the Quiet Hours Author: S.A. Sterling Publication Date: 25 October 2025 Genres: Creative Nonfiction, Memoir/Personal Essays, Womenโs Personal Growth/Midlife Reflection, Mindfulness & Self-Reflection, Contemporary Journal, Midlife Diaries Page Count: 75 Formats Available: Kindle, Paperback For Readers Who Loved Reading: The Year of Magical Thinking โ Joan Didion, I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death โ Maggie OโFarrell, Tiny Beautiful Things โ Cheryl Strayed, Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace โ Anne Lamott and Untamed โ Glennon Doyle
About the Book
2:47 a.m. Again.
For two years, she woke in the quiet hoursโwhen the house slept, when the world felt suspended between night and morning. In that stillness, she began to write.
AWAKE is a collection of sixty nights lived in real time: the hum of insomnia, the weight of perimenopause, the questions that surface at 3 a.m. when defenses are down.
These pages don’t offer solutions. They offer presence.
For anyone who’s ever felt alone in the dark hours, this book is company.
You can findย AWAKE: Notes from the Quiet Hourshere: Ebook| Paperback
About The Author
S.A. Sterling
S.A. Sterling writes about real life: the quiet struggles, late-night thoughts, and moments that push us to grow. Sheโs lived across oceans, taught languages for years, and met women from all walks of life who share one thing in common: the desire to keep showing up, even when life gets messy.
Her latest book, AWAKE: Notes from the Quiet Hours, was born from sleepless nights and honest reflection. Before that, she wrote Ride On!โthe story of Dame Sarah Storeyโs extraordinary journey of resilienceโand several books designed to help women navigate everyday life with more clarity and courage, including Executive Functioning Skills for Women with ADHD, The 369 Manifestation Journal, and The Women Rising Strong 2024 Workbook.
She lives in northern Italy with her husband, where she teaches, writes, and keeps a pot of lemon water on her desk for the early hours that refuse to sleep.
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