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Success In the Press: Article 9 by Daniel Holub

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Featured in CALIFORNIA BOOKWATCH June 2025 & MIDWEST BOOK REVIEWS

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Featured in CALIFORNIA BOOKWATCH June 2025 & MIDWEST BOOK REVIEWS ★

From the Author: On Thanksgiving, the first high-profile abduction and assassination by ISIS operatives is broadcast online. As the world watches in horror, American agencies struggle to respond. The best intelligence organizations cannot predict (much less protect) the next victim.

Deep in the heart of Texas, Brooks Davis is thrust into this drama. He started the day at a construction site, then is drugged and trafficked across the Mexican border. Brooks must battle his way across the Mexican wilderness, determined to reach the demarcation line between life and death. As he uses his wits to evade Mexican cartels and military forces, Brooks’ wife, Molly, and their sons are coping with FBI surveillance and protection.

From the Oval Office to the Mexican presidential palace, a battle is unfolding over Article 9 in the US/Mexican extradition treaty. Geopolitics weave a new net that threatens to ensnare him. How can Brooks escape and atone for the harm he has done to the love of his life?

Our Take: Fast-paced and high-stakes, Article 9 is part survival thriller and part geopolitical drama, with a strong sense of place and immediacy. The novel moves quickly from borderland violence to international tension, blending action sequences with questions of policy, loyalty, and personal redemption. For readers drawn to modern-day thrillers with a patriotic edge, this one reads like a movie—gritty, tense, and unrelenting.

From a Reader:

"An extraordinary tale of the new west in which mortal peril is met with fearless resolve. The book's opening paragraph grabs your attention and doesn't relinquish it until the end. It is an intense and gripping hybrid of physical courage and political intrigue."

"Holub's debut novel grabs you from the beginning, shakes you in the middle, and doesn't let go. This political thriller is a fast-paced, character-driven saga you'll want to finish in one sitting. Hold on and buckle your seat belt for a supersonic ride that will not disappoint."

Amazon | Goodreads | Author Site

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Smells of the Lamp: Debloating Your Writing

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As writers we try hard to not look like we’re trying hard. We want to keep readers from smelling all of that midnight oil that we burned, so sometimes we’ve got to kill our darlings. In revision, there are some elements we can turn to immediately to let the air out of our writing.

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Success In the Press: Hate Follow by Erin Quinn-Kong

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2022 Women’s Fiction Writers Association Rising Star Awards Finalist ★ 2021 Writers League of Texas Manuscript Contest Finalist

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2022 Women’s Fiction Writers Association Rising Star Awards Finalist ★ 2021 Writers League of Texas Manuscript Contest Finalist ★

From the Author: Influencer Whitney Golden has it all: beautiful, photogenic children, a handsome new boyfriend, a gorgeous house, and designer clothes and beauty products that arrive on her doorstep every day. After spending years building her brand as a widowed mother of four (including twins!) to over a million followers, the thirty-seven-year-old is at the peak of her career.

It all comes to a screeching halt when Mia, her teenaged daughter, announces she’s tired of the social media life. She wants nothing more to do with her mother’s online brand—and demands that not just she, but her siblings and their deceased father be removed from Whitney’s Instagram, blog, and just about everywhere else on the internet.

When Whitney doesn’t agree, Mia does the unthinkable: She sues her mother. What started as a family spat turns into a monumental case about child privacy, individual agency, and modern parenting that shatters Mia and Whitney’s relationship and wreaks havoc on both their lives. As the case ignites a media firestorm and unrelenting online bashing from a Greek chorus of internet snarkers, Whitney has to decide whether she’s willing to risk everything she’s built to win back her daughter.

““...a sharp and satirical novel that explores the complexities of social media, online personas and real-world relationships, as a woman navigates the consequences of a viral feud and the blurred lines between public and private lives.””
— The New York Post

Our Take: A sharp, timely novel about the blurred lines between family and followers, Hate Follow explores the dark side of influencer culture with wit, heart, and just the right amount of chaos. At the center is a mother-daughter conflict that spirals into a legal and emotional storm, raising big questions about privacy, parenting, and identity in the digital age. This one’s for readers who love drama with depth—especially when it unfolds under a ring light.

From a Reader:

“Erin Quinn-Kong reminds us there are two sides to every story with this powerful, vivid, and relatable page-turner that's nearly impossible to put down.”

Bragging Rights:

2021 Writers League of Texas Manuscript Contest Finalist

2022 Women’s Fiction Writers Association Rising Star Awards Finalist

Excellent review from the New York Post!

Amazon | Goodreads | Author Site

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Editing For Non-Native Speakers: Practical Advice for Tutors, Editors, and Allies

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It’s difficult to write in English even you have been speaking it your whole life, but for folks that speak and write in English as a secondary language it’s even trickier. As editors, tutors, and allies, we have a responsibility to adapt to different writers, so that we can give them the help they need. By learning how assist non-native speakers with their writing, we can make the literary industry a more open and comfortable space for all.

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Success In the Press: Let's Go! How Great Leaders Shape the Future by Jamie Ramsden

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SILVER MEDAL WINNER of The Nonfiction Authors Association award 2025

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SILVER MEDAL WINNER of The Nonfiction Authors Association award 2025 ★

From the Author: Jamie Ramsden has thrived in the leadership world as a successful executive, an elite coach, and an academic. Let’s Go! lays out his own powerful leadership framework, which merges hands-on business knowledge with profound insights into human motivations.

The effective leader is a role model, a community builder, a sense maker, and a future shaper. In this inspirational book, Jamie blends theory and practical application to show you how to excel in each of these four leadership roles—and bring your team, your family, and your whole community along for the ride.

Let’s Go! empowers executives and leaders to elevate their game, better understand themselves and their world, and live to their fullest potential—not for a few months or even a few years, but forever.

Our Take: This isn’t your typical leadership manual. Let’s Go! bridges the gap between high-level theory and the unpredictable reality of day-to-day leadership. Jamie Ramsden’s framework is practical, flexible, and rooted in real experience, offering a clear model for building influence, clarity, and long-term vision. Whether you're leading a team, a company, or a community, this book delivers both structure and inspiration for doing it with intention and doing it well.

From A Reader:

“This book is a must-read for all leaders looking to fully understand their roles and maximize their leadership potential in a very pragmatic and straightforward manner.”

Amazon | Goodreads | Author Site