Success in the Press: Blood Throne of Caria by Roy Casagranda

"A gripping, fast-paced adventure." -Kirkus Reviews

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"A gripping, fast-paced adventure." -Kirkus Reviews ✹

From the Author: In the early fifth century BC, Artemisia is trained in medicine, the sword, and statecraft--and no one cares. Her marriage will cement an alliance for her father and make a prince heir to his throne. However, this Amazonian spitfire will not be reduced to a traded commodity.

When the Persian Emperor demands a hostage, Artemisia's father sends his thirteen-year-old daughter in her brother's place. Refusing to succumb to loneliness, Artemisia charms the Imperial Court and converts her exile into her own private tutelage.

Three years later, she returns to Caria as the heir to her father's throne. Princes fight to marry her. Artemisia delays the wedding, only to discover that her suitors are willing to kill for her hand. Brutally forced into wedlock, she outmaneuvers the kings of Caria in the palace and on the field of battle, cleaving the ramparts of patriarchy to become one of history's fiercest heroines.

““A gripping, fast-paced adventure that delivers passionate writing””

— Kirkus Reviews

Our Take: A fierce and cinematic reimagining of a real-life ruler, Blood Throne of Caria brings ancient history to life through the eyes of a girl who refuses to be ruled. Roy Casagranda charts Artemisia’s transformation from political pawn to sovereign force with vivid detail and steady pacing. This one’s for fans of historical fiction with teeth—especially readers drawn to untold stories of bold women who shaped the world against all odds.

From a Reader: "A true historical thriller - The Blood Throne of Caria is a brilliantly researched, riveting read about Artemisia, whose struggle to direct her own destiny in a brutally patriarchal world is as relevant today as it was more than two thousand years ago."

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Success In the Press: Follow the Dragon by John Daniel

"Well paced and skillfully plotted." -Kirkus Reviews

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"Well paced and skillfully plotted." -Kirkus Reviews ✹

From the Author: In 1980 Jake Salter returns to Hong Kong for his father's funeral and vows to unearth a problem cryptically hinted at in their last phone call. Jake finds secret WWII journals with his dad's personal wartime history: the British SOE's Operation Remorse and the British Army Aid Group ― the BAAG. The enlightening entries include saving the life of Commander M.T. Kwan.

Kwan, now an elderly billionaire called the Dragon, convinces Jake to step in for his deceased father to help confront an existential threat, resulting in Jake risking his life on an outlying island during a typhoon and facing a dogged Royal Hong Kong Police Inspector's related investigation. Jake and Kwan realize their family names and fortunes may encounter monumental disaster as his dad's cryptic problem is revealed.

““Daniel delivers a first-rate adventure and mystery that’s well paced and skillfully plotted.””

— Kirkus Reviews

Our Take: Part historical mystery, part family reckoning, Follow the Dragon moves between the shadows of World War II and the shifting political landscape of 1980s Hong Kong. Through secret journals, buried alliances, and a powerful figure known as the Dragon, the novel weaves real wartime operations into a suspenseful search for truth and legacy. With a strong sense of place and rising tension, this is a great pick for readers who love historical fiction grounded in espionage, intrigue, and the complicated ties between past and present.

From a Reader: “A well-written and engaging story providing a glimpse of the tangled web of intrigue, loyalty and tradition in the Hong Kong culture.”

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Success In the Press: What Awaits by Ernie Gammage

American BookFest 2022 Book of the Year Finalist

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American BookFest 2022 Book of the Year Finalist ★

From the Author: Relationships are tough. Present or future, crazed or loving, they’re tough. Full of the “what ifs” that define speculative short fiction, some stories are an easy read, heartwarming even; others…not so much. In some there’s peace, love, and epiphany, in others revenge, horror, and death. From Mexico to Titan, Memphis to the foothills of the Himalayas, the unpredictable and the unexpected await in this exploration of the predicament that is the human condition.

• This Room of Gold – Across time and space, Myla stumbles into what might be her best future. Is it?

• Tattooed – Laird gladly loses himself in Nita’s tattoo, but how is he going to find his way back? And if he doesn’t…?

• In The Black Wood – Efram wades into the Black Wood and finds more than he anticipated. Have he and his friends unleashed the End Times?

• The Reader – Channeling gifts from a long family line, Lysette becomes a clairvoyant. When the role becomes too much for her, can she find a way to escape its grip?

• Stockyards – Angie has the perfect marriage until the old woman gives her a frightening gift, one that will change her life forever. Now what?

For fans of Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, Kurt Vonnegut, Haruki Murakami, and George Saunders. For Adult and New Adult readers. Not appropriate for children.

Our Take: A bold, cerebral collection that moves through genres, geographies, and timelines—but always lands on the messy complexity of being human. Each literary tale is surprising and deeply varied: some intimate and unsettling, others cosmic and tender, all with twists that linger long after the last page. From the eerie to the uplifting, this collection invites you to consider the paths we take—and the strange, beautiful, or terrifying possibilities that lie just beyond them. A smart, genre-crossing read for fans of literary weirdness and emotional depth, What Awaits is great for readers seeking contemplative fiction.

From a Reader: “[…] a collection of short stories that will leave you bewildered and intrigued. Each story has a twist, an understood assumption, or at times the author lets you fill in the ending with your own imagination.”

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