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The Confessor (Logan Hollister 1) by Noah Christopher-review

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The Confessor (Logan Hollister 1) by Noah Christopher-review & interview

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 4, 2026

A killer is making Los Angeles confess.

The Confessor is never wrong. He has built his whole life around being sure of it.

He chooses people who got away with it — never charged, never even suspected. The charity director who gutted his own foundation. The smiling influencer who built an empire on a lie.

He sits them down alone with a pen and a yellow legal pad, and waits as long as it takes for the truth in their own hand.

Then he balances the account.

The confessions are real. But on paper, nothing connects the victims — separate lives, separate crimes, no thread that should tie one death to the next.

Detective Logan Hollister has every reason to stay out of it. The money came a long time ago; the house is an hour down the coast, the kind of quiet other men spend their whole lives chasing. Logan can only tolerate it in small batches before he wants back in. He keeps the badge, works the cases that still mean something, and this is the one he can’t walk away from.

On the surface, he and the man he’s hunting are opposites. One has everything a life can hold. The other spent years making himself into no one at all.

But the bodies keep coming, and the difference between them keeps thinning — until Logan can’t always tell whether he’s hunting the man or recognizing him.

••••••

REVIEW: THE CONFESSOR is the first instalment in Noah Christopher’s contemporary, adult LOGAN HOLLISTER crime thriller focusing on LA Detective Logan Hollister.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual omniscient third person perspectives (Logan and The Confessor) THE CONFESSOR follows the search for a killer. Three murders with no comparable connections except the manor of death finds LA Detective Logan Hollister following the clues that lead to nowhere. The Confessor, who forces his victims to write down their sins and questionable activities, made a mistake, and Logan is determined to understand the who and why. Logan, along with officer Curt Alton, and Rachel Voss, forensic accountant begin to ferret out the possibilities, and it is the killer’s ‘mistake’ that will lead Logan Hollister in the right direction.

The world building follows two pathways, both focusing on police investigations. From stolen goods to a serial killer, the reader is up close and personal with Logan Hollister and the break down of the W5-who, what, where, when and why. Employing real-world locales, the story line looks at the ultimate betrayal by and against the victims, as one man declares himself judge, jury and executioner.

The secondary and supporting characters aid the hero as he endeavors to uncover the truth. Without the help of ‘his people’ behind the scenes, Logan Hollister may be like every other detective but a detective who has the ability to take down a killer.

THE CONFESSOR is a slow building story line of obsession and madness, perceived betrayal and vengeance, power and control, righteousness and judgement. The premise is detailed and intriguing; the characters are desperate and determined.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Hi Noah, and welcome to The Reading Cafe. Congratulations on the release of The Confessor.

TRC:  Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Social Media: Goodreads/Website/ Amazon Author Page/

I’ve been a writer by trade for many years, just in a variety of different mediums. Writing a novel was always one of those things I thought I might do someday, until I finally decided that someday had to become today and jumped in.

The Confessor is my first novel, so the entire process was a new world for me. I learned as I went, and I’m still learning, but I found my rhythm along the way and discovered that I loved it enough to keep building the Logan Hollister series. I’m already at work on Book 2, and it’s a blast!

TRC:  Who or what influenced your career in writing?

John Sandford has probably been the biggest influence on my fiction. I still remember reading Rules of Prey for the first time and being pulled into the alternating perspectives of the hero and villain. I loved that book immediately and have read every other Sandford book ever since. His style, tone, dialogue, and fast pacing were all things I wanted to emulate in these books. I’m also a fan of Michael Crichton, John Grisham, and classics like The Catcher in the Rye, Catch-22, 1984, and Animal Farm.

TRC:  What challenges or difficulties did you encounter while writing and publishing your first novel?

The first challenge was simply learning how to write a full novel. I had plenty of writing experience, but a book requires a different kind of endurance and structure. I had to learn pacing, continuity, when to slow down, when to accelerate, and when a scene was doing too much. Even despite my best efforts to storyboard a master outline for the book upfront, I learned that the book becomes a living thing as you go and even the best-laid plans change once you start writing. I kept the general direction, but it surprised me how many times I had to reroute and pivot once I started getting the chapters onto the page.

Publishing brought a second education. I chose to self-publish through Amazon KDP, which meant learning every part of the process rather than handing the manuscript to a traditional publisher. It was a massive learning curve, but it also gave me control over the book and taught me not to wait for someone else’s permission before starting.

TRC:  Would you please tell us something about the premise of The Confessor?

The book begins with a killer who has become disgusted by the injustice he sees around him. He targets people he believes have escaped accountability, forces them to confess to their crimes, and then kills them anyway.

Logan Hollister is the detective trying to stop him, but the story becomes more complicated as the line between justice and vengeance starts to blur. The two men increasingly feel like opposing sides of the same coin. My goal was to write a fast, entertaining crime thriller that also leaves readers wrestling with some uncomfortable questions about morality, justice, and who gets to make those decisions.

TRC:  Do you believe any of your characters in The Confessor have a fundamental flaw that readers may question?

Definitely. Logan is the hero, but I didn’t want him to be morally spotless or an untouchable ‘Superman’ character, even though he does have a lot going for him. He has a strong sense of justice and a willingness to trust his own judgment, and both qualities can become dangerous when pushed too far. He also cannot rest, relax, or enjoy the moment; he has to be in pursuit or he gets restless.

The Confessor takes those questions of justice and moral certainty to their darkest extreme. Part of the tension comes from seeing how differently the two men act on impulses that may not be as far apart as either of them would like to believe. I expect readers to question some of their choices. That moral friction is central to the book.

TRC:  What kind of research and plotting did you do, and how long did you spend on it before beginning The Confessor?

I started with the core idea, built Logan and The Confessor in parallel, and mapped the major turns of the plot. But I didn’t complete a fixed block of research and then begin writing. The research continued throughout the draft and the editing process, so there isn’t one clean number of weeks I could give you.  I just jumped in!

Los Angeles geography was especially important to me. I wanted the streets, landmarks, travel, police procedure, legal details, and other small pieces to feel true to life. I used modern research tools to move faster, including AI as a researcher and sounding board, while making the book as accurate to reality as possible. The result is a book you can practically drive through Los Angeles and recognize.

TRC:  How many books do you have planned for the Logan Hollister series?

At least two! And hopefully a lot more than that. I already have the core idea for my third or perhaps fourth book in the series. I haven’t announced this anywhere else, but it’s called The Ghost. As long as it continues to be a fun process and people continue to enjoy the books, I hope to do at least one a year going forward.

TRC:  Do you consider The Confessor a psychological thriller as well as a crime thriller?

Yes. It has the structure and momentum of a crime thriller, but the psychological side is a major part of what drives it. The alternating perspectives let readers spend time inside both the investigation and the killer’s moral reasoning.

The deeper question isn’t only whether Logan can catch him. It is what happens when a man convinces himself that violence is justice, and how close a good person can move toward that same line while pursuing him.

TRC:  How do you use the physical environment or setting to heighten tension and psychological intimacy in your storylines?

Los Angeles gave me a great contrast to work with. It is bright, sunny, familiar, and full of life, which makes the darkness of the crimes feel even more unsettling. The city isn’t just a backdrop; its streets, neighborhoods, distances, and landmarks shape how the characters move and how the investigation unfolds.

I also like narrowing the lens when a scene becomes psychologically intense. A huge city can suddenly feel very small when two characters are locked into the same room, car, or conversation. That contrast between the scale of Los Angeles and the intimacy of the confrontation helps build tension. Early on, with multiple murders and almost zero evidence, the size of Los Angeles – with a killer hiding among millions of people – feels almost impossible to overcome.

TRC:  Believability is important in both writing and reading. How do you keep a storyline believable without sacrificing content?

I try to earn every major turn. That means doing the research, making sure the geography and procedure work, and asking whether the characters are behaving like real people rather than simply doing what the plot needs them to do.

Restraint helps too. Sometimes the more believable choice is to imply something, move part of a scene off-page, or let the reader complete it in their head. I don’t see that as sacrificing content. If anything, the content lands harder when the reader believes it.

Ultimately, even the best entertainment requires some suspension of disbelief, but I try to limit the need for that whenever I can. If the tension or turns don’t feel real, the book won’t work.

TRC:  Do you believe the cover image is a deciding factor for many readers selecting a book or a new series?

Absolutely. A cover can’t rescue a book readers don’t enjoy, but it is the first promise the book makes. Before someone knows the characters or reads a line of the story, the cover tells them what kind of experience they are being invited into.

I had a very specific vision for The Confessor, and I probably went through more than a hundred variations before it felt exactly right. That process reinforced how much a strong cover matters, especially for a new author asking readers to take a chance on an unfamiliar name.

TRC:   When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing, or do you direct the characters?

It is a mix of both. I begin with the core idea and the major turns I need the story to hit, so I am directing the overall journey. Logan came first, then I developed The Confessor alongside the central plot, and many of the supporting characters formed as the story needed them.

Once the characters become real, though, they earn some influence. If a planned action no longer feels honest for that person, I have to listen and adjust the route. I know the destination, but the characters sometimes find a more believable road to get there.

TRC:  A good writer pulls readers into the story so they experience the emotions alongside the characters. What must a writer do to make that happen, and where do writers fail?

The emotion has to be earned rather than announced. Specific details, believable choices, pacing, body language, and what a character does not say can pull a reader in more effectively than explaining exactly what everyone is supposed to feel.

I think writers can lose that connection when they over-explain, force a reaction before the story has earned it, or confuse intensity with constant volume. A thriller can’t run at its highest pitch on every page. The quieter moments create the contrast that makes the big moments hit. One rule I had governing the writing of this book was to trust the reader. Readers are smart. They can connect dots in their heads. Whenever possible, I wanted to allow readers to understand a joke or make a connection on their own without needing to tag it with explanatory narration. That’s a hard urge to fight, but I think it makes for a much better finished product.

TRC:  Do you listen to music while writing? If so, does the style of music influence the storyline or characters?

No. I need almost complete silence when I write. I’m definitely not someone who can settle into a busy coffee shop with background music and produce a chapter. I work best alone in my quiet office, where I can disappear into the scene.

Music can help me think about the tone of the book outside the actual writing session, but once I sit down to put words on the page, silence wins every time.

TRC:  What do you believe is the biggest misconception people have about authors?

Probably that authors begin with some complete understanding of how to write a book, or that they wait for inspiration and the story simply arrives. I can’t speak to other authors’ processes, but that was not my experience at all. I learned by doing it, making mistakes, solving problems, and becoming more confident one chapter at a time.

You do not need to feel completely ready, and you do not need someone else to declare that you are allowed to begin. You need an idea you care about, a willingness to learn, and the discipline to keep going when the work stops feeling magical.

TRC:  What is something that few, if anyone, know about you?

That I build a big chunk of myself into the Logan character. Obviously not everything, but I had a lot of fun sprinkling in small Easter eggs involving Logan that only people who know me well would pick up on. There’s no mass-market payoff to those details, but they were great fun for me while I was writing the book. One of the core premises of the book – Logan’s ownership of WLTLH – is one such Easter egg.

TRC:   What are you currently working on?

I’m working on Book 2 in the Logan Hollister series. I already have the first ten chapters drafted, and I may be biased, but I think it is even better than the first book.

The challenge now is to keep the continuity straight, move the characters forward, raise the stakes, and still make the next book satisfying on its own. Another challenge is successfully landing the plane with a payoff that leaves the reader satisfied. I’m learning again as I go, which is half the fun.

TRC:  Would you like to add anything else?

Only that I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who has read, reviewed, or shared The Confessor. The response has been more encouraging than I could have hoped. We launched recently, and based on the current stats Amazon provides, I can estimate that readers are moving through roughly 2,000-plus pages of the book each day across all formats. It’s both humbling and incredibly encouraging to know that, at any given moment, people are reading a book I wrote. And they really seem to be liking it!

If you enjoy a fast-moving crime thriller that also leaves you with a few uncomfortable questions about justice and morality, I hope you’ll give it a try. And thank you for having me at The Reading Cafe.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite food: That might change based on the day, but it’s hard to top a medium- are filet.

Favorite dessert: Ice cream.

Favorite TV show: I’ll go with the first three seasons of Arrested Development.
Runners-up: Frasier, Seinfeld, Severance, Succession, Star Trek: The
Next Generation, The Orville, Battlestar Galactica, and so many
others!

Last movie you saw: He-Man remake with my son!

Dark or milk chocolate: Milk chocolate.

Secret celebrity crush: Oh boy, I don’t think I need this one on the record in print!

Favorite sport: Basketball.

Last vacation destination: Lake of the Ozarks.

Do you have any pets ? No. I told the kids we can get a dog as soon as I can buy an Optimus robot from Tesla to clean up after it. No Optimus release yet, so no dog yet.

Last book you read :John Sandford’s Dark Angel.

Thank you, Noah, for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the release of The Confessor. We wish you all the best.

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Charlie Goes Sideways by Bob Marsocci-review & interview

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Charlie Goes Sideways by Bob Marsocci-review & interview

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / B&N /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 14, 2026

He had a one-way ticket to the top. Now, he’s sleeping in his childhood bed.

Math genius Charlie Garrity had a simple checklist: power, prestige, money. With an MIT Sloan MBA in his pocket and a dream job in the front office of the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was rounding the bases toward a perfect life. Then came the blindside.

With his rocket-like trajectory abruptly stymied, Charlie is forced to do the one thing he swore he would never do: move back in with his zany, chaotic, filter-free family. Between his wine-guzzling mother’s weekly allowance, his weed-loving father’s high-stakes business pitches, and his curmudgeonly grandfather’s constant grousing, Charlie’s life has become a documentary of errors—literally, thanks to his aspiring filmmaker brother. To make matters worse, his older sister tries to guilt-trip him into joining her dog-walking business, and his younger sister manipulates Charlie into posing as a Speedo-clad art model.

Charlie is desperate to reclaim his once-lofty status, but when a path back to the top forces a choice between his ambition and his ethics, he has to do the hardest math of his life. He knows what he wants—but is he ready to calculate what he actually needs?

••••••

REVIEW: Charlie Goes Sideways starts with a blurb that feels familiar…. the high achieving young man who has everything mapped out… MIT Sloan, a dream job with the Dodgers, the clean trajectory of power and prestige… only to find himself suddenly derailed and sleeping in his childhood bedroom!

What follows isn’t a simple “back home to find himself” story, but more like a collision between Charlie’s carefully constructed self image and the loud, messy, unfiltered reality of his family. 😬

The wine guzzling mother with her weekly allowance demands, the weed loving father forever pitching high stakes schemes, the grandfather’s constant complaints, the brother turning the whole ordeal into documentary footage, the older sister pushing the dog walking business, and the younger one maneuvering Charlie into the Speedo modeling gig, all of it feels exaggerated in the way real families sometimes are, and the book leans into that exaggeration without apology. (I felt sorry for poor Charlie and exasperated most of the time! He just can’t get a break)

Charlie’s discomfort is on every page, every attempt to reclaim his old status is undercut by the chaos around him and then eventually by the ethical choice the plot forces him to confront.

What i liked was the quiet shift the story makes from pure farce toward something more pointed. The “hardest math of his life” isn’t just a clever tagline, it’s the moment the story asks whether the checklist Charlie once lived by still makes sense once the supporting structure of status is stripped away.

The book doesn’t lecture, but it does let the question hang… ambition is easy when it’s winning, when it asks you to compromise…. what do you actually need?!

It’s a brisk, character driven comedy with enough heart and enough bite to keep the laughs from feeling empty. I really liked Charlie, I wasn’t too keen on his freeloading family!

I enjoyed it immensely and recommend it.👍🏻

So does Charlie finally escape the family he loves? Or will he accept his lot in life? 🤐

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Julie B 🦋

TRC: Hi Bob and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on the release of CHARLIE GOES SIDEWAYS.

We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Social Media: Amazon Author Page /Goodreads/ X (Twitter)/ Facebook/

BOB: I am a New England native, having grown up in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. I moved to Southern California nearly 39 years ago after I graduated from the University of Rhode Island. I am married with two daughters (24 and 19, respectively), and we have the best dog in the world, an American Staffordshire Terrier named Blaise. I remain a diehard Red Sox and Patriots fan, and I am a car enthusiast – I love European sports cars (Ferrari, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, etc.) from the 1950s and 1960s. I was fortunate to be able to retire early and, in addition to writing, I usually play pickleball several times a week.

TRC: Who or what influenced your career in writing?

BOB: There wasn’t a particular person or incident that influenced my writing. I have always loved telling stories, especially writing. Over the years, I have read several novels that have inspired me to write.

TRC: What challenges or difficulties did you encounter writing and publishing this story?

BOB: I think the biggest challenge I encountered while writing (and rewriting) CHARLIE GOES SIDEWAYS was a nagging question in the back of my head: Is anyone going to care about my characters and this story? As an author, my goal is to make the reader want to turn the page. The reader may not like my protagonist or other characters, but if she/he is compelled to turn the page, I feel I have accomplished what I set out to do.

TRC: Would you please tell us something about the premise of CHARLIE GOES SIDEWAYS?

BOB: I came up with the premise for CHARLIE GOES SIDEWAYS sometime during COVID. I read several stories about young adults (mid-20s to mid-30s) who had to move back into their parents’ house during COVID, because they were either laid off or couldn’t find a job. I wanted to write a story about a young adult (Charlie is 28) who had everything going for him: he is a brilliant math genius, and his career was on a rocket-like trajectory, but he got blindsided, and then his life spectacularly falls apart forcing him to do the one thing he swore he would never do: move back into his parents’ house and live with his zany, dysfunctional family.

TRC: Do you believe any of your characters in CHARLIE GOES SIDEWAYS have a fundamental flaw that may be questionable to the readers?

BOB: Given that Charlie is an arrogant math genius who just graduated second in his class from MIT Sloan, one of the top business schools in the world, I believed his fundamental flaw (his desire for power, prestige, and money) would resonate with readers. At one point, I did, however, question if his dad’s copious use of weed would be believable to the readers but stuck with it.

TRC: What kind of research/plotting did you do, and how long did you spend researching /plotting before beginning CHARLIE GOES SIDEWAYS?

BOB: I am a plotter (as opposed to a pantser) and spent considerable time developing the roadmap and outline for my novel. Before I began writing, I had already identified key plot points for the three-act structure, such as the inciting incident that would turn Charlie’s life upside down, as well as myriad scenes and storylines for Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3. I also spent a good amount of time developing Charlie’s character arc: what is his character flaw, what would his transformation look like, and how would his worldview change from the beginning to the end of the story?

I am considerably older than Charlie, so I spent time researching the lifestyle of a 28-year-old guy – everything from music to movies to games they play on their phones. I spoke frequently with my nephew, who is in his early thirties, for his recommendations and ideas.

TRC: Believability is an important factor in writing and reading story lines. How do you keep the story line believable without sacrificing content or plot points?

BOB: I write contemporary fiction, which, as you know, takes fictional characters and puts them in the world today. Before I begin, and while I am writing, I ask myself whether a storyline or scene is believable or too far-fetched. I also rely on my beta readers for candid feedback. One of my CHARLIE GOES SIDEWAYS beta readers told me he thought the original ending I wrote was not believable. His feedback was particularly valuable as it made me go back to the drawing board (so to speak), and I wrote a new ending that I think is much better: it’s surprising and believable. Early in the novel, I included foreshadowing that came full circle at the end of the story.

TRC: Do you have plans for a series, and if so, will it continue to focus on the same characters?

BOB: Currently, I do not have plans for a series.

TRC: Do you believe the cover image plays a deciding factor for many readers in the process of selecting a book or new series to read?

BOB: I do believe the cover image plays a deciding factor, and I had a specific image in mind for the cover before I hired the cover designer. I spent a lot of time going back and forth with the designer over the cover design – everything from the color to the font to the image of my main character, Charlie. While we ended up going with a different image from the one I had initially envisioned, I think the cover image we chose of Charlie clearly conveys that he is going through a life transition, and that his life is about to dramatically change.

TRC: When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?

BOB: This is an interesting question. I would say when writing a storyline, I primarily direct the characters based on the character profiles I created before writing the manuscript. While a character’s physical traits are important, I believe that a character’s motivation and his/her flaws, misbeliefs, wants, and goals are more important. A character’s inner journey and the transformation that he/she goes through are more important than the exterior journey (the things that happen to the characters).

TRC: The mark of a good writer is to pull the reader into the storyline so that they experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer must do to make this happen? Where do you believe writer’s fail in this endeavor?

BOB: I think a good writer pulls the reader into the storyline by putting him/her into the character’s head. What is the character thinking? How does the character feel, both mentally and physically? Why does the character behave a certain way? What is the character’s internal conflict? If a writer doesn’t put the reader in the character’s head, it leaves a lot for interpretation.

TRC: Do you listen to music while writing? If so, does the style of music influence the storyline direction? Characters?

BOB: I do listen to music while writing, primarily Reggae music and new wave 80’s music. For CHARLIE GOES SIDEWAYS, I did weave in, throughout the story, music playing in the background in bars, in Charlie’s car, and at his dad’s birthday party. Just about all the songs were either Reggae tunes or ‘80s new wave, such as the Talking Heads.

TRC: What do you believe is the biggest misconception people have about authors?

BOB: People often ask me, “How long did it take you to write your novel?” I think the biggest misconception people have about authors is that they don’t realize that writing is rewriting and more rewriting. I lost count of how many times I rewrote scenes, paragraphs, even sentences. As mentioned, I scrapped and rewrote the entire last chapter of CHARLIE GOES SIDEWAYS after receiving feedback from one of my beta readers.

TRC: What is something that few, if anyone, know about you?

BOB: When I was a kid, I was on a popular 1960s/70s TV show, Romper Room. My dad worked for the local ABC affiliate in Boston most of his career. As a result, my brothers and I appeared on Romper Room regularly.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

BOB: I am working on my next manuscript, which, like CHARLIE GOES SIDEWAYS, is contemporary fiction. My lead character is a woman in her late 40s whose near-perfect life suddenly unravels when she discovers divorce papers in the glove compartment of her husband’s car. Not only does she discover he wants a divorce, but when she confronts him, he also discloses he lost most of their savings in his friend’s now-defunct AI company, and as a result, he can’t move out of their home.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

BOB: I encourage anyone who has an idea for a novel to pursue it. Writing a novel is like driving cross-country. It can seem daunting, and it’s a long journey, but if you set small daily goals and achieve said goals, you’re on your way.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food
I grew up on Italian food, which to this day remains my favorite cuisine

Favorite Dessert
Authentic New York cheesecake

Favorite TV Show
Curb Your Enthusiasm

Favorite author
Dave Barry

Favorite sport
I enjoy watching NFL games and college football games

Last Movie You Saw
In the theatre, F1

Dark or Milk Chocolate
Milk chocolate

Secret Celebrity Crush
Penelope Cruz

Last Vacation Destination
Newport, Rhode Island

Do you have any pets?
We have an American Staffordshire Terrier named Blaise, who we rescued several years ago. He’s a great dog!

Last book you read
I am reading MARGO’S GOT MONEY TROUBLES

TRC: Thank you Bob for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the release of CHARLIE GOES SIDEWAYS. We wish you all the best.

BOB: Thank you for this opportunity!

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The Third Estate (Devil’s Tango)by D.R. Berlin-review & interview

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The Third Estate: Devil’s Tango (The Third Estate 1) by D.R. Berlin-review & interview

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date  August 10, 2026

When Sophie Allard is accused of murder, her only chance of surviving is to trust the last man on earth she should.

Trying to bury her past and build a future, medical student and military officer Sophie Allard lives by precision, discipline, and instinct—until a dying gunshot victim whispers a message in her ear meant for someone else. By sunrise, she is suspended, framed for murder, and hunted by people who don’t leave witnesses. Evidence vanishes. Someone is tying off loose ends—and Sophie just became one of them.

Three years off the grid hasn’t erased Kai Lovac’s name from the kill lists. Cold, disciplined, and lethal, he knows exactly what happens to people who uncover the wrong secret. His friend died protecting Dossier 1627—a file powerful enough to expose the Third Estate, a covert syndicate that kills to remain invisible. Lovac once worked in their shadows. Now they want him erased.

Driven together by a shared threat and a past neither can escape, Sophie and Lovac are pulled into a labyrinth where assassins close in, hidden labs bury the truth, and betrayal waits at every turn. Each clue pulls them deeper. Alliances fracture without warning. Every step demands perfect timing. A single misstep carries a body count. And when the music stops, one wrong move will end everything.

Relentless, cinematic, and razor-sharp, Devil’s Tango is a high-stakes thriller of precision, power, and survival—where every turn is calculated, every secret is lethal, and trusting the wrong person can be your last mistake.

••••••••

REVIEW:DEVIL’S TANGO is the second instalment in D.R. Berlin’s contemporary, adult THE THIRD ESTATE psychological thriller focusing on medical student and US military officer Captain Sophie Allard. THE THIRD ESTATE should not be read as a stand alone as if picks up three years after the events of book one SECRETS OF THE MANOR. If you have not read book one, there may be spoilers in my review.

SOME BACKGROUND: Three years earlier, before her final exam and flight test, US fighter pilot cadet Sophie Allard is called home in the wake of a lab explosion that killed her father Professor Milo Anderson, a man who had worked for the US government. Approximately ten years earlier, Sophie’s beloved adopted mother Aunt Violet was murdered, and in the ensuing time Sophie felt the rejection of her adopted father, a man whose contract with the military was dangerous and secret. In the ensuing years, Sophie finds herself the target of a group known as The Third Estate, and the people who work for the Assassin’s Guild.

Told from omniscient third person perspective (Sophie) DEVIL’S TANGO finds Sophie Allard at a disadvantage when at every turn someone is targeting our story line heroine. Believing she was ‘gifted’ important information on a death bed confession, the Assassin’s Guild have targeted our story line heroine, as operatives of The Third Estate take aim at Kai Lovac, the man who is determined to keep our heroine alive. Unable to trust friends, co-workers, law enforcement or the military, Sophie goes on the run with Kai, having been suspended from the hospital, hunting for the truth as friends become enemies, and enemies become friends.

The world building reads like John Wick™ meets Jason Bourne™. Kai Lovac is an assassin, a ghost believed to have gone rogue, a man with a target on his back but a man who has proclaimed himself guardian and protector of our story line heroine. Working together to uncover the truth, Kai and Sophie journey cross country in the hopes of retrieving what was lost.

There is a large ensemble cast of questionable, colorful, powerful and desperate secondary and supporting characters including Assassin Guild agents, and members of The Third Estate. We are reintroduced to manor managers and Sophie’s mentors Nicolas and Marge Komea, as well as a cameo by Major Ned Carter.

THE THIRD ESTATE: DEVIL’S TANGO is an action packed, twisted story line of secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance, espionage and the power elite, family and relationships, friendships and acceptance. The character driven premise is detailed, dramatic, twisted and intriguing; the characters are numerous, determined and not always whom they appear to be. DEVIL’S TANGO ends on a big of a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

TRC: HI D.R. and welcome to The Reading Cafe. Congratulations on the release of THE THIRD ESTATE.

We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Social Media: Facebook / Website/ Amazon author page/ Blog/ LinkedIn/

D.R.: I’m Debbie Berlin, MD, an award-winning author, U.S. Army veteran, and general surgeon. My background in medicine and the military shapes the way I write. I’m drawn to stories built on discipline, pressure, loyalty, and the split-second decisions that can change a life.

I write mystery, thriller, military fiction, espionage drama, and character-driven psychological suspense. My stories tend to blend procedural realism with emotional tension, using high-stakes action, moral complexity, and characters who must stay controlled even when everything around them is collapsing.

As a surgeon, I’m fascinated by precision, consequence, and how people respond under extreme stress. As a veteran, I understand duty, chain of command, and the cost of following orders. Those experiences helped shape The Third Estate series, especially Sophie Allard’s world of medicine, military discipline, and hidden danger.

At the heart of my writing, I’m interested in people under pressure. I like characters with secrets, flaws, loyalty, fear, and courage they may not recognize in themselves until they have no choice but to act.

TRC: Who or what influenced your career in writing?

D.R.: My writing has been influenced by a mix of life experience, discipline, and the people I have met along the way. My military background taught me about duty, loyalty, command structure, and the pressure of making decisions when there is no perfect choice. My work as a surgeon shaped the way I think about precision, consequence, and how fragile life can be.

I have also been influenced by strong, complex people, the kind who keep going even when the cost is high. Those are the characters I’m drawn to write. I like stories where courage is not loud or obvious, but revealed through action, sacrifice, and resilience.

Books, film, medicine, military service, and human behavior all shaped my career as a writer. I’m fascinated by what people hide, what they fear, and what they will risk to protect someone they love.

TRC: What challenges or difficulties did you encounter writing and publishing this story?

D.R.: The biggest challenge was finding the time. I have a full-time job that keeps me very busy, so writing had to happen in the margins, early mornings, late nights, weekends, or whatever spare minutes I could find. I write because I enjoy it, so the process became both a creative outlet and a personal challenge.

Another difficulty was learning how much work happens after the story is written. Writing the book was only one part of the journey. Revising, editing, formatting, publishing, marketing, and learning the business side of books all required patience and persistence.

The story itself also demanded focus. I wanted the plot to feel believable, the suspense to keep moving, and the characters to feel real. Balancing action, emotion, mystery, and pacing took many revisions.

In the end, the challenge became part of the reward. I wrote this story because I loved the characters and wanted to see where they would take me. Publishing it taught me discipline, resilience, and how much effort goes into turning an idea into a finished book.

TRC: Would you please tell us something about the premise of THE THIRD ESTATE: DEVIL’S TANGO?

D.R.: The Third Estate: Devil’s Tango is a suspense thriller about Sophie Allard, a disciplined medical student and military officer whose life changes when a dying gunshot victim whispers a message meant for someone else. By morning, she is suspended, framed for murder, and hunted by people who do not leave witnesses.

The story pulls Sophie into a dangerous world of assassins, hidden files, buried family secrets, and a shadow organization known as the Third Estate. Everything she believed was solid, her training, her career, her family history, and her understanding of the truth, begins to fracture.

Her only chance of survival is Kai Lovac, a lethal assassin with his own enemies and his own reasons for needing her alive. Neither one fully trusts the other, but they are forced together by a shared threat and a past neither can escape.

As the foundation of Sophie’s life crumbles, she has to question what is fact, what is manipulation, and who has been moving the pieces around her. The game is already in motion, and she cannot control the board. All she can do is fight to survive long enough to build a future from the ruins.

TRC:  Do you believe any of your characters in THE THIRD ESTATE: DEVIL’S TANGO has a fundamental flaw that may be questionable to the readers?

D.R.: Yes, and I think that is what makes the characters interesting. Sophie Allard’s fundamental flaw is that she believes discipline, facts, and hard work will always lead her to the right answer. She trusts structure. She trusts evidence. She trusts that if she follows the rules and does everything correctly, the world will make sense.

In Devil’s Tango, that belief is challenged from every direction. The facts she depends on are incomplete. The people in authority may not be trustworthy. The foundation she built her life on begins to crumble, and she has to decide who she is when the rules no longer protect her.

Kai Lovac also has a questionable flaw. He is controlled, precise, and dangerous, but he believes survival depends on emotional distance. He has spent years treating life like a calculation. That makes him effective, but it also makes him isolated and morally complicated.

I don’t want perfect characters. I’m drawn to people who make questionable choices under pressure, then have to live with the consequences. Their flaws are not accidents in the story. They are the pressure points that force them to change.

TRC:  What kind of research/plotting did you do, and how long did you spend researching /plotting before beginning THE THIRD ESTATE: DEVIL’S TANGO?

D.R.: I am definitely a plotter. I did a combination of research and instinctive plotting before beginning The Third Estate: Devil’s Tango. Because I have a full-time job, I don’t have the luxury of disappearing for months to research and outline. Much of the work happened in small pieces, during spare time, when an idea, scene, or character problem came to mind.

My background in medicine and the military gave me a foundation for the medical scenes, trauma setting, chain of command, discipline, and procedural details. From there, I researched areas that needed more accuracy, including flight training, weapons, surveillance, intelligence work, and how shadow organizations might operate without being obvious.

The plotting developed in layers. I knew the main pressure points: Sophie would be pulled into a conspiracy she did not understand, Lovac would be both dangerous and necessary, and the Third Estate would move pieces on the board long before Sophie realized she was part of the game. After that, I worked backward and forward, connecting clues, betrayals, secrets, and character choices so the story felt surprising but earned.

I probably spent more time thinking about the book than formally plotting it. The story grew over time, scene by scene, question by question, until the pieces started locking into place.

TRC:  Do you have plans for a series, and if so, will it focus on Sophie and Kai, or a new couple each instalment?

D.R.: Yes, I do have plans for a series. The Third Estate Devil’s Tango is the second installment of a larger story. The Third Estate Secrets of the Manor lays the foundation. The world of the Third Estate is too layered, and the consequences are too far-reaching, to resolve in one book.

The series will continue to focus on Sophie Allard and Kai Lovac. Their relationship is complicated, tense, and built on distrust, shared danger, and a past neither one fully understands. I’m interested in watching how that partnership changes as the stakes rise and as Sophie learns more about who has been moving the pieces around her.

There may be other important characters and relationships along the way, but Sophie and Kai remain at the center. Their story is not finished. In many ways, Devil’s Tango is where the foundation cracks. The rest of the series explores what they build from the wreckage, and what it costs them to keep going.

TRC:  Believability is an important factor in writing and reading story lines. How do you keep the story line believable ?

D.R.: Believability matters a great deal to me. No matter how high the stakes become, the story still has to feel grounded. I try to build every scene on cause and effect. One decision creates a consequence, that consequence forces another choice, and the pressure keeps building from there.

My background in medicine and the military helps with that. I understand trauma, discipline, chain of command, and how people behave when stress narrows their options. I use those details to keep the medical and military pieces as realistic as possible, even when the story moves into conspiracy, espionage, and assassins.

I also try to make the characters’ emotional reactions believable. Sophie may face extraordinary danger, but she still responds like a real person. She questions herself. She gets scared. She makes mistakes. She tries to rely on facts, training, and logic, but those tools do not always give her the answer.

For me, a believable story is not about making everything ordinary. It is about making the extraordinary feel possible because the characters’ choices, fears, and consequences feel true.

TRC:  Would you say THE THIRD ESTATE is a psychological thriller or action thriller?

D.R.: I would say The Third Estate is an action thriller with strong psychological elements. There is constant danger, movement, violence, espionage, assassins, and a race to survive. The story has the pace and pressure of an action thriller.

But I also wanted the danger to affect the characters on a deeper level. Sophie is not only trying to stay alive. She is forced to question everything she believed was true: her past, her family, her career, and the systems she trusted.

Kai Lovac also brings a psychological edge. He is tactical, precise, and controlled, but his past and his choices follow him. His world is violent, but it is also built on rules, guilt, loyalty, and survival.

So, if I had to choose one label, I would call it an action thriller with psychological suspense, mystery, and espionage woven through it.

TRC: Do you believe the cover image plays a deciding factor for many readers in the process of selecting a book or new series to read?

D.R.: Yes, I do. People do judge a book by its cover. I think the cover image plays a major role in whether a reader stops long enough to consider a book, especially with a new series or an author they may not know yet. The cover is the first promise the book makes.

For The Third Estate: Devil’s Tango, I wanted the cover to suggest danger, mystery, movement, and hidden power. Before a reader reads the description, the image should already create a question. Who is in control? What is being hidden? What kind of world am I about to enter?

A strong cover does not have to explain the whole story. In fact, I think it works better when it does not. It should capture the tone, signal the genre, and make the reader curious enough to turn the book over or click for more.

The story still has to deliver, of course. A cover may open the door, but the characters, pacing, and suspense have to keep the reader inside.

TRC:  When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?

D.R.: I think it is a combination of both. I usually start with a general direction for the story, the major conflict, the stakes, and where I think the characters need to go. But once I understand the characters, they begin to influence the choices on the page.

A character can only do what feels believable for that person. If I try to force Sophie or Kai into a decision that does not fit who they are, the scene stops working. Sophie is disciplined, analytical, and driven by facts, so her choices have to come from that foundation, even when the foundation starts to crumble. Kai is controlled, tactical, and guarded, so his actions have to feel precise, even when emotion slips through.

Sometimes the characters surprise me. I planned to kill off one of the bad guys, but he really grew on me. Not only did he survive, but he ended up delivering one of the biggest twists in the book.

So, I guide the plot, but the characters decide whether the path makes sense. Those unexpected turns are often the most interesting because they come from who the characters become on the page, not from forcing them into a preset outline. And, somethings, they even surprise me!!

TRC:  The mark of a good writer is to pull the reader into the storyline so that they experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer must do to make this happen? Where do you believe writer’s fail in this endeavor?

D.R.: I think a writer has to make the reader care before asking the reader to feel. Action alone is not enough. A car chase, a murder, a betrayal, or an explosion may create excitement, but emotion comes from understanding what that moment costs the character.

For me, the key is to stay close to the character’s experience. What do they notice? What do they avoid noticing? What fear are they trying to bury? Sometimes the strongest emotion is not what a character says, but what they refuse to say. A pause, a physical reaction, a delayed realization, or a choice made under pressure can pull the reader deeper than a paragraph explaining how devastated someone feels.

I believe writers fail when they tell the reader what to feel instead of creating the situation that makes the feeling unavoidable. If the page says, “She was heartbroken,” the reader understands the information. But if the reader sees her fold a dead man’s shirt, straighten the cuffs, and realize she will never hear his voice again, the emotion lands differently.
Writers can also lose readers when the characters’ reactions do not feel earned. The danger may be dramatic, but the emotional response has to match the character, the moment, and the history behind it. Readers will follow almost anywhere if the choices feel true.

To pull readers into a story, a writer has to trust them. Give them the details, the tension, the silence, and the consequence. Let them feel the emotion before naming it.

TRC:  Do you listen to music while writing? If so, does the style of music influence the storyline direction? Characters?

D.R.: I don’t listen to music when I write. I’m more likely to have the television on in the background. It keeps me company and gives me something familiar in the room while I work.

Writing can be a very solitary process, especially when it happens during spare time after a busy full-time job. The background sound helps me settle in without feeling like I’m sitting in complete silence.

The background noise helps me stay relaxed to let the scene unfold. The story still comes from the characters, the conflict, and the choices they make, and the TV comes along for the ride.

TRC:  What do you believe is the biggest misconception people have about authors?

D.R.: I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that writing is a lonely, competitive world where authors cannot become friends because everyone is fighting for the same space. That has not been my experience at all.
I have made wonderful friendships with other authors through meetings, conferences, award banquets, and even online. The writing community can be incredibly generous. People share advice, encouragement, resources, and sometimes exactly the right words when you need them most.

I also think it is important not to be jealous of another person’s success. You never know what someone went through to reach that moment, how many rejections they faced, how many years they worked, or how much they sacrificed along the way.
There is room to cheer for other people and still celebrate your own wins. Someone else’s success does not take anything away from yours. In fact, seeing other writers succeed can be inspiring. It reminds me that persistence matters, community matters, and none of us has to do this alone.

TRC:  What is something that few, if anyone, know about you?

D.R.: Something few people may know about me is that I played varsity volleyball at MIT. I was the setter. Yes, I’m short. I like strategy, timing, teamwork, and being part of something bigger than myself.

I’m also an avid sports photographer. I love capturing those split-second moments when effort, emotion, and motion all come together in one frame.

Most importantly, I am insanely in love with my husband, my children, and my family. They are the center of my life and the reason so much of what I do matters.

And every day, I try to be a better person than I was the day before. Some days I succeed more than others, but I keep trying.

TRC:  On what are you currently working?

D.R.: I just finished my second book, The Third Estate: Devil’s Tango, which launches August 10, 2026. Right now, I’m working on the final polish, entering award contests, and obtaining reviews.

This stage is exciting, but it is also a lot of work. Finishing the manuscript is only part of the process. There are edits, details, marketing decisions, review requests, and all the final steps needed to give the book the best possible launch.

Once the book is released, I plan to take a little time to celebrate the win. I think that matters. It is easy to rush from one goal to the next, but finishing and launching a book takes persistence, and I want to appreciate that moment before moving forward.

After that, I’ll start the next book. The world of The Third Estate still has plenty of secrets left to uncover.

TRC:  Would you like to add anything else?

D.R.: I would like to thank everyone who takes a chance on The Third Estate: Devil’s Tango. Writing this book has been a long, challenging, and rewarding journey, and I’m grateful for every reader who steps into Sophie and Kai’s world.

I hope readers enjoy the suspense, the twists, the action, and the mystery, but I also hope they connect with the characters. At its heart, this story is about loyalty, truth, resilience, and finding the strength to keep moving when the life you trusted begins to fall apart.

I’m also thankful for the people who have supported me along the way: my family, friends, fellow authors, early readers, and everyone who encouraged me to keep going. No book reaches the finish line alone.

Most of all, I hope readers have fun. That is why I write. I love the characters, the secrets, the danger, and the ride, and I hope readers feel that on every page.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food: cheese pizza

Favorite Dessert: vanilla ice cream with cherries

Favorite TV Show: Supernatural

Last Movie You Saw: Toy Story 5

Dark or Milk Chocolate : Milk Chocolate

Secret Celebrity Crush : Some secrets are meant to be kept.

Last Vacation Destination: The splendor that is Rome

Do you have any pets? : 12 y/o Cavalier Spaniel named Bentley

Last book you read : Agatha Christie And Then There Were None

TRC: Thank you D. R. for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the release of THE THIRD ESTATE.

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The Asterist by A.T. Sayre -review & interview

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The Asterist by A.T. Sayre -review & interview

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 13, 2026

Dull days drift by at the dead end of the galaxy for misanthrope Bill Jeffries fulfilling his mundane duties as an Asteroid Station Commander, or “Asterist.” But everything changes when his only companion, the monotone computer he has nicknamed “Nag,” alerts him to an unknown spacecraft that has crashed near the station. Thus begins A. T. Sayre’s science fiction novel with equal parts humor and suspense.

Suddenly thrust into circumstances far beyond his experience or pay grade, Jeffries investigates the puzzling wreckage and makes the shocking discovery of a four-foot-long spider-like being inside. If the alien still lives, Jeffries and his superiors from light years away debate if it should be treated as an ambassador, a test subject, or a threat. But as Jeffries studies the alien and attempts to communicate with it, his cynical exterior begins to shatter and a bond grows.

With the alien’s life in his hands, Jeffries must race against the clock to understand its origins and save it before his superiors arrive to determine their fate. Otherwise, both of them may be forced to commit the ultimate sacrifice.

•••••

REVIEW: THE ASTERIST by AT Sayre is an adult, sci-fi, futuristic, first contact story line focusing on Asteroid Station Commander Bill Jeffries.

Told from omniscient third person perspective (Jeffries) THE ASTERIST follows in the wake of a downed spacecraft found in a debris field that crashed into the asteroid on which Bill Jeffries has been stationed. Well into a solo two year assignment ,housed in an asteroid outpost with only an AI computer for companionship, Bill Jeffries is bored but boredom is about to turn into excitement and curiosity with the unexpected arrival and crash of an unknown spacecraft , wherein Bill Jeffries will rescue, against orders, a small spiderlike creature who will become both his life and his atonement.

THE ASTERIST is a story of survival and sacrifice as Jeffries struggles to assist, communicate and ultimately save a being he knows nothing about. With a language barrier beyond human capabilities, and a potential threat to his own endurance, Jeffries, refusing to adhere to command protocol, finds himself guardian and protector of a creature struggling to subsist on what has been offered by our story line hero. The premise is poignant and heart breaking; our hero is compassionate and empathetic.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

TRC: Hi A.T. and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations of the release of THE ASTERIST

A.T. Sayre: Thank you. It’s quite an exciting time. It wasn’t so long ago that I thought I would never manage to write a book, let alone get it published. And this is my second.

TRC: We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Social Media: Amazon Author Page / Website/ Facebook/ X (Twitter)/ Goodreads/

A.T. Sayre: Well, I was born in Kansas City, and moved with my family as an infant to New Hampshire when my father, who was in the Air Force, got stationed nearby. When he retired a few years later, my parents decided they liked the area and stayed. So that is where I grew up.

As long as I can remember I have been a pretty voracious reader, as everyone in my family is. And there were always more than enough books laying around. Reading The Lord of the Rings was essentially a family requirement (there were literally something like four different copies of the series in the house at one point; one sibling would get the books and not share them, or would misplace them, so another sibling would get their own). There was also The Chronicles of Narnia, kid’s classics like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and A Wrinkle in Time. A few others here and there. Mostly sci-fi and fantasy, as one of my older siblings had left behind a huge box of them in my closet (though none of my siblings agree on whose box it was), but not exclusively. I remember going pretty deep into The Black Stallion series when I was seven or so, for example. But mostly things like the ThievesWorld series, the Dragonlance Saga, the Mythadventures books, and I think I must have read every Piers Anthony series he wrote.

It didn’t take long before I had it in my head to create my own stories. I think the first time I did I couldn’t have been older than eight or nine. It wasn’t much of a story, though—actually it was a total rip-off of Harry Harrison’s Stainless Steel Rat books. And to this day remains unfinished. But I have been creating stories in some form or other ever since. It has not always been particularly prodigious, as other things going on took precedence at various times, but it has been a constant at every stage of my life, from weird little kid, to delinquent teen, to pretentious film student, to also pretentious starving artist.

TRC: What or who influenced your career in writing?

A.T. Sayre: The above mentioned books, plus several dozen others that I have undoubtedly forgotten about completely, naturally had a great influence on me when I was very young. As did the more sophisticated and mature authors and books that came later, your Nivens and your LeGuins, the Sturgeons, the Bradburys, and the Ellisons.

As far as people… I have to say I don’t really remember anyone sitting down with young and dumb little me and giving me a pep talk, or taking a red pen to something of mine with an eye on improving it or otherwise furthering my grasp of the craft. To be clear, nobody was discouraging either; I never got the ‘you’ll never make it as a writer’ or the ‘you’re not good enough’ type of attitude from anyone. If anything everyone was positive about it. If I had to encapsulate how people have reacted to the idea of me being a writer throughout my life it would be them giving a simple nod and saying ‘yeah.’ Almost like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

TRC: Would you please tell us something about THE ASTERIST?

A.T. Sayre: THE ASTERIST is my second book, the first one, THE LAST DAYS OF GOOD PEOPLE, being published in Analog Magazine in summer 2024, and then as a standalone novel in February 2025 (and available at various online sites via its Goodreads page). Much like my first book, I didn’t start out working on THE ASTERIST intending to write a novel. I thought at most it would be a novella. Single location with a limited number of characters. Deep, yet simple ideas needing to be expressed. But as I started putting it down, I found there was a whole lot that I wanted to get in there, far more than I had conceived of when I began. And the story kept going, and growing. It was somewhere around halfway through writing the first draft, when I realized I had just crossed over the length I thought the whole story was going to be, that I accepted that I once again had started out to write a novella and missed.

There are many ideas in the book, most of which evolve around the overall vibe of life on one of the lower rungs of the ladder, but I would say the central theme of this story, and the main reason I wrote it, would be about expanding empathy to ‘the other’. Or perhaps moving towards the expulsion of ‘the other’ from humanity’s psyche. There is no question that in pre-civilization, the instinct to protect against ‘the other’ was important for both your own self and for your tribe when resources were so very scarce. Driving the strangers out of your valley might be the reason why you and your children didn’t starve the next winter. But we don’t live in pre-civilization anymore, we don’t have the caveman’s problems, and this same instinct is more of a hindrance than a benefit today. Getting rid of this instinct completely will be very difficult—if we can do it at all. But at the very least it is important to keep expanding who is in your tribe and who is ‘the other’. And at its core this book is about someone doing just that.

TRC: What is the meaning of the word ‘asterist’?

A.T. Sayre: An asterist is, simply, someone who lives on an asteroid. In the universe of this book it’s used to describe the people who staff the isolated outposts of an intergalactic empire. And it’s actually something of a pejorative term for them—people who take these posts are not often the cream of the crop, as it were, though by virtue of being the only person at the outpost they are given a de facto commander’s rank, regardless of their service record. Hence referring to them with a term that sounds an awful lot like asterisk.

TRC: Is THE ASTERIST a standalone or do you have plans for a series?

A.T. Sayre: There is no plan for a series right now, but never say never. I’ve had ideas for follow up books to this one, and I may very well pick one up some time. But I also have tons of ideas for a lot of things. Ideas come in and out of my head all the time. I literally came up with one just answering this question.

TRC: How do you keep the plot unpredictable without sacrificing content and believability?

A.T. Sayre: This can be a tricky juggling act. And a fairly important one—though I think being engaging, which often is done through unpredictability, but not always, is more important. And I think this is solely up to what makes sense to me. Instinctively. If I find the story plausible, if I find it engaging, then it’s good to try. Other people can weigh in, and I always look for feedback, but in the end I am the only judge that I can fully rely on. This ability to sense when an idea works, when it’s both engaging and believable/ plausible, might be something that needs to be innate in a writer as opposed to a learned skill.

And for me, any issues involving these kinds of things have to be ironed out in my head and very clear before I start working on something. At least the broad brushstrokes—I can leave some of the finer details and adjacent themes/ ideas to flesh out as I go. But if I don’t find any potential story to be both engaging and plausible at its very core, then I won’t work on it until it is. If the story doesn’t ring true from the start, then no amount of sophistry or fancy phrasing will make a difference.

TRC: Speaking of believability, believability is an important factor in writing story lines especially stories of science fiction or speculative fiction. How do you keep the story line believable? Where do you think some author’s fail?

A.T. Sayre: Well, I think plausible is the better word for what I think you are going for here. And it’s not so much about the storyline as such, because I don’t think a story needs to necessarily be plausible/ believable. There have been some truly absurd, downright insane stories in speculative fiction over the years, ones where the plot, premise, or the universe of the tale is so ridiculous that it’s not supposed to be believed in any way. And those stories are sometimes quite glorious, and among the best things ever written.

But where you do have to be vigilant is with your characters. They and what they do in the story has to be plausible, believable, no matter how fantastic the world you put around them is. You can’t have your astronaut hurtling through space at warp nine in a ship powered by the soul of an orphan child, acting or behaving in anyway the guy who runs the deli down the street wouldn’t. What they do and think has to make sense, what they feel and how they react has to resonate. And this is something too many writers fail at. They are so desperate to get the character from point A to point B and move the story along in an orderly fashion that they don’t really make it make sense that their character would want to go to point B in the first place. And thus they lose the audience.

TRC: Which Sci-Fi or fantasy authors have inspired your writing?

A.T. Sayre: Oooh boy, there are so many. The ones mentioned above, of course, Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Douglas Adams, Piers Anthony, Robert Aspirin when I was very young, Harlan Ellison, Ray Bradbury, Larry Niven, Ursula K. Le Guin, Theodore Sturgeon, Philip K. Dick, Connie Willis and Octavia Butler when I grew older.

Of course I have never limited myself to just reading speculative fiction, because doing so would be a disservice, even for someone who is not a writer. And those non-genre writers have influenced me just as much: Franz Kafka, Milan Kundera, Haruki Murakami, Russell Banks, John Irving, Joseph Heller, Virginia Woolf, Michael Chabon, Tom Robbins, Thomas Pynchon, Christopher Ishwerwood.

And I could never omit Kurt Vonnegut from any list like this, whose Barnes and Noble promotional display poster that was discontinued thirty plus years ago still hangs on the wall above my desk today.

(I will note that a few of those ‘non-genre’ writers I would argue are actually at minimum quasi- speculative fiction writers—Kafka, Robbins, Vonnegut, and Pynchon in particular. And all of them at least dabbled in it from time to time.)

All of the above have influenced me, have added at least something to the soup in my head where all this stuff comes from. Some in very profound ways. As do many writers plugging along today, some of whom are my friends. I’ll refrain from listing them though, because I’m too afraid of overlooking someone. And while Vonnegut couldn’t care less what I say about him because he’s dead, the last thing I need is a friend being pissy with me next time I see them because I didn’t mention them.

TRC: Did you encounter any difficulties or problems publishing your novels?

A.T. Sayre: Not really. By the time I had finished my first novel I already was talking with my agent, and he has the connections and can send things around to publishers without it getting tossed right into the circular file. So I never experienced trying to shop my books around on my own. Short stories, yes, I still submit those myself, and deal with all the joy that whole process bestows on you, but not my novels. Which I do count myself lucky on.

Now the whole process before and right after a book’s release? That’s still a struggle. All the promotional stuff I feel compelled to do is not easy, because I do not enjoy self-promotion. Maybe it’s the New England upbringing, but talking myself up so much makes me uncomfortable, and I’d just as soon deflect all of it. It takes literally everything I can do to keep me from ending any statement I make implying how great a writer I am or how wonderful something I have written is with some nullifying snark about how much in reality I totally suck.

Promotion has to be done, I know, that’s how this all works, but I would love if I could just write things and get everyone else to do the ‘this is awesome!’ posts on social media and the like.

TRC: Do you believe the cover image plays a deciding factor for many readers when selecting a new book or author?

A.T. Sayre: I expect they do for most people. I’m a little different. And it’s odd, really, I consider myself a pretty visual person, but book covers very rarely stick with me for long. The only ones that stick out to me are from decades ago, the old 70s cover for Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, the one that was solid white with a little circle in the center with a landscape image in it. Or the mid-80s Dune cover from around when Lynch’s adaptation came out, and was riffing on the visuals from that film. But I don’t know if I’d say those compelled me to read those books, because I already knew about them otherwise.

The one time I think a cover actually grabbed me was in high school, when I came across Harlan Ellison’s Alone Against Tomorrow short story collection, which had this wild, insane looking collage sort of cover of a medusa like figure on it, all done in playdough pastel colors. The kind of cover you could only get in the 1970s. I’m not saying it’s a good cover, because I think 99 out of 100 people would say it isn’t (and I’m not sure I’d be the one contrarian, either), but it was definitely like nothing I had ever seen in my life. And it did get me to pick up this book and start reading a man who at that moment I had never heard of before. And Harlan Ellison has been one of the greatest influences on me and my writing. I have been reading him ever since.

TRC: What do you believe is the biggest misconception about authors?

A.T. Sayre: That any of us are completely, 100% aware of everything going on in our work. I’m not, other writers I’ve asked are not, and sometimes when I see how a writer will answer a question about some motive in their book, I can tell they are using a bunch of fifty cent words in a convoluted salad to avoid admitting that they have no idea why they did something a certain way, sometimes even something really pivotal.

I don’t mean there is no reason, because there definitely is, it’s just that the decision was made in the subconscious, which plays a huge role in most artistic decisions in all mediums. And it doesn’t often share the reasons behind many of the choices with the rest of the brain, going with simply saying to the conscious mind ‘do this, it’ll be neat’ or something like that. Then later on when you are going over your work, in a proofread or something, you’ll suddenly realize what it is your subconscious was doing. That has happened to me more time than I can count.

I don’t know how much people realize how much of even the most outlined and planned out writing is still effectively flying blind and going on vague vibes.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

A.T. Sayre: I have a few things I’m working on right now. Whether any of them will actually ever be realized I couldn’t say, but I’m optimistic about most of them. I don’t want to go into detail on what any of them are, though, because I find if I verbalize a story idea makes it harder to actually write it.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

A.T. Sayre: I hope you all will follow one of the links to pre-order THE ASTERIST today, because while all sales are wonderful, and I humbly appreciate everyone who buys a copy, accruing a healthy amount of pre-order sales is the best way to grab the attention of the big book chain stores and Amazon—or at least their algorithms. And getting their attention is key to them giving the book attention. So the more people who get the book now before it’s official release, the more people who will in the future. I’m quite proud of this book, and think it needs all the love it can get.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food
Burgers. Or maybe BLTs made by someone who’s better at cooking bacon than me.

Favorite Dessert
The banana ice cream from Haywards in Nashua, NH when I was six. In a sugar cone, of course.

Favorite TV Show
The Prisoner has been a HUGE influence on me. But the one I’ve rewatched the most is Farscape.

Last Movie you saw
I do a movie night with some friends once a month, and finally got them to sit and watch Brazil, which crazily enough most of them had never seen. They loved it, of course. As far as new movies, I think it was One Battle After Another. P.T. Anderson riffing on Pynchon’s novel Vineland, how could I not?

Dark or Milk Chocolate
Dark. Like my soul.

Favorite Sports Team
Boston Red Sox.

Last Vacation Destination
Vacation? Why would I need time off from being an economic burden on society?

TRC: Thank you Andrew for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the release of THE ASTERIST

A.T. Sayre: Thank you. I hope you all like the book. Because it would imply you bought it.

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Bad Decisions & Back Roads by Zoe Forward-review & interview

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Bad Decisions & Back Roads by Zoe Forward-review & interview

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Indigo /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 3, 2026

The problem with bad decisions is you never stop wanting them.

I used to be the rebellious girl from the wrong side of the fenceline. He was the local hellraiser nobody could tame. While our families carried on a feud older than indoor plumbing, we fell for each other.
Then my vicious father found out. To save Timothy’s life, I broke his heart and disappeared.

Now over a decade later, I’m back as a large-animal veterinarian, working at his brother’s clinic and treating everything from prize dairy cows to Timothy’s homicidal llama. Avoiding him should be easy.
It isn’t.
He’s a single dad running two businesses, still infuriatingly irresistible, and determined to make me pay for every year he spent hating me.

The problem? I never stopped loving him. But if he learns why I really left, I could lose him forever.

••••••

REVIEW: Bad Decisions and Backroads: Second Chance Vetrinarian Romance is book two in the Southern Vetrinary book series by Zoe Forward.

When they were teenagers Gia McClary 14, and Timothy Hurst, 17 became quick friends. Despite their families long standing rivalry. But when Tim decides to ask Gia to marry him because he sees the abuse she has suffered at the hands of her father. Gia, decides to cut all ties with Tim, for both of their sakes.

Now in their thirties, Tim is single raising his young daughter. When he accidentally slams his dad’s dog’s tail in the car door he must take Buck to the vet clinic. When he gets there he is confrontef with the one woman he hasnt stoppwd thinking about since he was a teen. Dr. Gia McClary Stevens is back in town and helping out at Tim’s families vet clinic.

The moment their eyes meet they are transported back the feelings and the attraction that both of them have fought so hard to walk away from.

Will Tim reveal that he never stopoed thinking about Gia all these years?

And what will Gia do with all the feelings that came flooding back the moment she saw Tim?

A wonderful slow second chance romance. This was a hard fight for their happy ever after, but I thoroughly enjoyed it! Recommend reading both books in this series.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Erin

TRC:  Hi  Zoe and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on the release BAD DECISIONS AND BACK ROADS.

We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

SOCIAL MEDIA: BLOG/ Amazon Author page/ Goodreads/ Website/ Instagram /

ZOE:  So excited to be here! I’ve been a fan of The Reading Café for years. I live in the South where, at the moment, it’s roughly a hundred degrees with enough humidity to make you sweat just thinking about going outside. The mosquitoes are convinced I’m an all-you-can-eat buffet. When I’m not writing romance, I’m a small-animal veterinarian practicing integrative medicine.

TRC:Who or what influenced your career in writing?

ZOE:  I’m hopelessly addicted to silly romantic comedy movies. Bring on the Christmas romcoms. Oh, and there are so many incredible books now getting high quality productions on streaming services. At the same time, I can watch a solid action flick in a heartbeat. A fusion of the two is perfection.

TRC:What challenges or difficulties did you encounter writing and publishing your first novel? 

ZOE:  At first, I took every bit of criticism about my work personally. I’d poured my heart into those pages, so hearing what wasn’t working stung. Looking back, though, the critiques were exactly what I needed to make the work better.

Learning to separate myself from the manuscript took time, especially when editors were tearing it apart. My first book with a major publisher was passed between three different editors, each with a completely different vision. I rewrote that novel from beginning to end three separate times. It was frustrating in the moment, but it also taught me to be flexible, trust the process, and remember that every revision made the story stronger.

TRC:Would you please tell us something about the premise of BAD DECISIONS AND BACK ROADS?

ZOE:  Small Southern town. Ancient family feud. Forbidden love. One man who refuses to forgive her for breaking his heart. And…toss in veterinarian antics.

TRC:Do you believe any of your characters in BAD DECISIONS AND BACK ROADS has/ have a fundamental flaw that may be questionable to the readers?

ZOE:  My main hero, Timothy, believes love requires sacrifice, but vulnerability is weakness. Because of that, he tries to carry everything alone.

My heroine, Gia, on the other hand, believes loving someone means protecting them from herself, even if that means breaking their heart. She runs away from home to escape a bad situation when sixteen.

TRC:What kind of research/plotting did you do, and how long did you spend researching /plotting before beginning BAD DECISIONS AND BACK ROADS?

ZOE:  Much of my research had to be into large animal medicine. I am a veterinarian, but I see small animals (dogs, cats, rodents, hedgehogs, etc.). Second, I had to do research into emotional abuse by a parent (that’s a trigger warning for the book, folks), and how someone might survive if they ran away from home when sixteen.

TRC:How many books do you have planned for the SOUTHERN VETERINARIAN series?

ZOE:  This is book two…each story is a standalone with interwoven characters. At least four are planned. Then we will see if any other characters want their story told.

TRC:Believability is an important factor in writing and reading story lines. How do you keep the story line believable?

ZOE:  My characters are firmly based in reality of a small town in NC (grew up in one and I know these characters well) with a strong, messy family. There are real veterinary medicine antics and then realistic reactions of the characters (there’s no easy HEA, although they get there).

TRC:Do you believe the cover image plays a deciding factor for many readers in the process of selecting a book or new series to read?

ZOE:  Of course. I’m guilty of judging a book by its cover! This cover is gorgeous and designed by my sister. She’s genius.

TRC:  When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?

ZOE:  It’s a combo for my works. For BAD DECISIONS & BACK ROADS, the characters are so strong they drove much of it.

TRC:The mark of a good writer is to pull the reader into the storyline so that they experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer must do to make this happen?  Where do you believe writer’s fail in this endeavor?

ZOE:  Believable characters with quirks, flaws, and enough sparkle to be real. A fleshed out world that isn’t perfect. Secondary characters that try real hard to steal the show. And most importantly? Humor.

TRC:As a romance writer, where do you draw the line between romance, erotic, and erotica-graphic language, descriptions or character reactions?

ZOE:  Every writer has a particular comfort level in how deep he or she prefers to go when characters get into the spicy stuff. I like my novels super spice. The line in my head has to do with if the characters/story drives the novel or the spicy-spice drives the novel. For my books, it’s the characters and story that drive the novel…their conflict and growth. Along the way we get chemistry, spice, and the reader gets to experience it.

TRC:Do you listen to music while writing? If so, does the style of music influence the storyline direction? Characters?

ZOE:  Music helps me plot and opens my mind to where the story is going, but I can’t write with music playing. As a violinist, my mind gets too sucked into music to be able to think while writing. Now, I will sometimes put on the sound of rain to block out distracting noise.

TRC:What do you believe is the biggest misconception people have about authors?

ZOE:  The biggest misconception is we spend our days lounging with a cup of coffee, waiting for inspiration to strike. The reality? Most of us have day jobs because writing alone rarely pays the bills. While creating stories is the fun part, it is the cake and ice cream. The writing, itself, is only one piece of the job. Editing, marketing, social media, newsletters, bookkeeping, and all the behind-the-scenes work takes just as much time and energy as writing the book. Being an author means wearing a lot of hats. We just happen to have the best one when it’s time to make stuff up and put it on the page.

TRC:On what are you currently working?

ZOE:  Book THREE in the Southern Veterinary series. We get Jackson Hurst’s story—an accidental Vegas marriage, a presumed-dead Navy hero, and a veterinarian heroine who discovers her biggest problem isn’t her husband coming back from the dead. It’s that she still loves him despite the fact he brings danger with him.

TRC:Would you like to add anything else?

ZOE:  Thank you for having me visit! Thank you for reading this far along into the interview.  If you’re interested in my IRL appearances, find me on insta.

  

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food: Chocolate

Favorite Dessert: baklava

Favorite TV Show: Mythic Quest

Last Movie You Saw: Mandalorian and Grogu

Dark or Milk Chocolate: Milk chocolate

Secret Celebrity Crush: Ryan Gosling

Last Vacation Destination: Nevada

Do you have any pets?Yes…many. Dogs, cats, guinea pig, fish

Last book you read: Vicious by LJ Shen

TRC:Thank you Zoe   for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the release of  BAD DECISIONS AND BACK ROADS.  We wish you all the best.

 

 

 

 

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The Fifteenth Depth: The Unseen Boundary by Joseph Vale-review

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The Fifteenth Depth:The Unseen Boundary by Joseph Vale-review & interview 

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 22, 2026

At fifteen kilometers beneath Valdsee, the drill reached a boundary no human system was built to understand.

Then the ground answered.

At first, the catastrophic failure inside Shaft C looks like a technical accident: a correction-system error, a timing drift, a collapse no one can fully explain. But what happened beneath Valdsee does not stay buried there. Trains begin to hesitate across Europe. Underground routes close without command. Operators hear pressure inside sealed rooms. City maps start showing levels that do not exist.

Geologist Adrian Weiss searches for a way to stop the descent before the system answers again. Journalist Sophia Vogel follows the evidence governments are trying to bury beneath new language. Resonance analyst Elias Werner sees the pattern first, and understands that Valdsee may not be an accident, but a threshold.

The deeper humanity looks, the less the Earth resembles the silent ground it thought it knew.

As ministries, corporations, and emergency forces fight to control the truth, Valdsee becomes the first visible edge of a question civilization was never ready to ask: what if the ground beneath its feet was never what it believed?

••••••

REVIEW: THE FIFTEENTH DEPTH: The Unseen Boundary by Joseph Vale is an adult, science-fiction thriller following in the aftermath of a catastrophic shaft failure in the year 2056.

Told from several omniscient third person perspective, using time stamps, locations and critical analysis, THE FIFTEENTH DEPTH focuses on the what-ifs in the wake of a perceived accident in Shaft C in Valdsee Germany. What starts as little glitches in Valdsee Deep Geological Operations, results in slight time variances and seismic shuffles, pressure changes, acoustic irregularities, phase shifts, the collapse of Shaft C, and the rerouting of city maps , routes that should never exist. One known survivor warns of impending danger, and all attempts to recover information is met with instability and overridden commands-someone or something is controlling from below, below the fifteenth kilometer depth, and the resulting fall-out is felt all over the world.Is it an environmental disaster or something else?

Reading like a journal, a history of timelines, events and fall-outs, THE FIFTEENTH DEPTH is an amalgamation of supposition, reflection, introspection and conjecture resulting in a worldwide warning of impending disaster and political machinations fighting for control. Unaware of how it happened, dependant upon readouts and algorithms, the professionals refuse to guesstimate or speculate about the how and why, but the possibilities are endless, including the loss of life.

THE FIFTEENTH DEPTH is a sci-fi story of what if? of humanity believing itself to be in control; and the possibility of worldwide collapse. A pandemic of fear, and of the unknown, THE FIFTEENTH DEPTH is a dramatic, dark and immersive story with a large cast of desperate and determined characters actively struggling to avoid a worldwide apocalypse.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

TRC: Hi Joseph and welcome to The Reading Cafe. Congratulations on the release of THE FIFTEENTH DEPTH.

JOSEPH: Thank you very much for having me. I truly appreciate the opportunity to speak with The Reading Cafe and its readers. Releasing The Fifteenth Depth has been a meaningful moment for me, because this is a story that grew from a very simple but unsettling question: what happens when humanity reaches a boundary it was never prepared to understand?

TRC: We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

JOSEPH:  I write under the name Joseph Vale, and I am drawn to stories that combine atmosphere, mystery, and human pressure. I am especially interested in the point where ambition meets fear – where people believe they are in control, only to discover that the world is deeper, stranger, and less obedient than they imagined.

I do not see myself as a writer limited to one narrow category. The Fifteenth Depth is a literary science-fiction thriller, but my interest as an author is broader: human behavior, belief, fear, power, and the hidden emotional forces behind major decisions. Science fiction, for me, is not only about technology or the future. It is a way to ask very old human questions from a different angle.

TRC: Who or what influenced your career in writing?

JOSEPH:  I have always been influenced by stories that leave space for silence and mystery. I am drawn to fiction that does not explain everything too quickly, but allows the reader to feel that something larger exists beneath the surface.

My influences are not only literary. History, philosophy, religion, science, and human psychology all shape the way I think about stories. I am fascinated by how people respond when their certainty begins to collapse. That emotional moment – the moment when a person realizes the world may not be what they believed – is something I often return to in my writing.

TRC: What challenges or difficulties did you encounter writing and publishing this story?

JOSEPH:  One of the biggest challenges was balance. The Fifteenth Depth needed to feel scientifically grounded enough to be believable, but also mysterious enough to create awe and unease. I did not want the story to become a technical manual, and I also did not want it to drift into fantasy. The challenge was to keep the atmosphere serious, physical, and human.

Publishing also has its own challenges, especially as an independent author. You are not only writing the book; you are also thinking about presentation, editing, positioning, cover design, and how to reach the right readers. It requires patience. But that process also teaches you to understand your book more clearly.

TRC: Would you please tell us something about the premise of THE FIFTEENTH DEPTH?

JOSEPH:  The Fifteenth Depth begins beneath Valdsee, where a deep scientific drilling project reaches a depth that should have remained only a number. At fifteen kilometers below the surface, the team encounters something that does not behave the way earth should behave.

The novel follows what happens when a controlled scientific mission becomes something far more disturbing. It is not simply a story about digging deeper into the ground. It is about the limits of control, the arrogance of certainty, and the fear that comes when the world answers back in a way no one expected.

TRC: Do you believe any of your characters in THE FIFTEENTH DEPTH have a fundamental flaw that may be questionable to the readers?

JOSEPH:  Yes, and I think that is important. Many of the characters are intelligent and capable, but intelligence does not protect people from blindness. Some are driven by ambition, some by fear, some by loyalty, and some by the need to be right.

The flaw that interests me most is the belief that control and understanding are the same thing. Several characters believe that because they can measure something, name it, or contain it, they can master it. That confidence becomes dangerous. Readers may question their choices, but I hope they also recognize something human in them.

TRC: What kind of research/plotting did you do, and how long did you spend researching / plotting before beginning THE FIFTEENTH DEPTH?

JOSEPH:  For The Fifteenth Depth, I spent a great deal of time thinking about pressure – physical pressure, psychological pressure, institutional pressure, and moral pressure. The story takes place around a deep-earth drilling project, so I wanted the scientific environment to feel grounded, even when the mystery begins to move beyond ordinary expectation.

My research focused on deep drilling, geology, subterranean environments, scientific facilities, and the kind of language and mindset that surround major research operations. But I also researched the emotional side of discovery: how people behave when the data no longer gives them comfort.

The plotting took time because I wanted the novel to unfold gradually. I did not want the mystery to reveal itself too quickly. The structure had to feel like a descent – not only into the earth, but into doubt.

TRC: Do you have plans for a series, and if so, will it continue to focus on the same characters?

JOSEPH:  I do have ideas that could expand from the world of The Fifteenth Depth, but I am careful about calling it a series too early. I believe a sequel should exist only if it has a real reason to exist, not simply because a first book has opened a door.

If I return to this world, I would want the next story to deepen the consequences rather than repeat the same mystery. Some characters and forces from The Fifteenth Depth could certainly continue, but the focus would be on what humanity does after crossing a boundary it cannot fully close again.

TRC: Believability is an important factor in writing and reading science fiction story lines. How do you keep a science fiction story line believable without crossing over into the inconceivable or outlandish?

JOSEPH:  For me, believability begins with human reaction. A concept can be strange, even impossible by ordinary standards, but if the people inside the story respond in ways that feel emotionally and psychologically true, the reader is more willing to follow the idea.

I try to ground the extraordinary in ordinary details: procedures, hesitation, fear, disagreement, fatigue, ambition, and denial. In The Fifteenth Depth, the mystery is large, but the human responses are intimate. People do not immediately understand what is happening. They argue. They interpret. They make mistakes. That uncertainty helps keep the story believable.

The key is not to explain everything. Sometimes the unknown becomes more convincing when the characters are also struggling to understand it.

TRC: Do you believe the cover image plays a deciding factor for many readers in the process of selecting a book or new series to read?

JOSEPH:  Yes, absolutely. A cover is often the first emotional conversation between a book and a reader. Before someone reads the description or opens the first page, the cover has already told them what kind of atmosphere to expect.

For The Fifteenth Depth, the cover needed to suggest depth, isolation, mystery, and pressure. I did not want it to feel like a simple action-thriller image or a fantasy creature story. The book is atmospheric and unsettling, so the cover had to carry that seriousness. A strong cover does not explain the whole story; it creates the right question in the reader’s mind.

TRC: When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?

JOSEPH:  I think it is a balance. In the beginning, I direct the story. I need to know the central pressure, the atmosphere, and the direction of the narrative. But once the characters become clear, they begin to resist easy decisions.

A good character should not feel like a tool for the plot. They should have their own fears, blind spots, loyalties, and contradictions. Sometimes a scene changes because a character would not honestly behave the way the outline wanted them to behave. When that happens, I listen. The story usually becomes stronger when the characters are allowed to feel human.

TRC: The mark of a good writer is to pull the reader into the storyline so that they experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer must do to make this happen? Where do you believe writers fail in this endeavor?

JOSEPH:  I believe emotion comes from consequence. A reader does not feel something simply because the writer says a moment is tragic, frightening, or beautiful. The reader feels it when they understand what is at risk.

To create that connection, a writer has to slow down at the right moments. Not every scene should rush toward the next event. Sometimes the most powerful emotion comes from a silence, a hesitation, or the realization that a character cannot return to who they were before.

Writers sometimes fail when they explain emotions too directly or when they force the reader to feel something before the story has earned it. Trust is important. If the characters feel real and the consequences feel honest, the reader will bring their own emotions into the scene.

TRC: Do you listen to music while writing? If so, does the style of music influence the storyline direction? Characters?

JOSEPH:  Yes, I often listen to music while writing, but usually instrumental music or atmospheric soundtracks rather than songs with strong lyrics. Music helps me enter the emotional temperature of a scene.

For The Fifteenth Depth, the sound I imagined was not heroic or loud. It was slow, tense, and subterranean – music that suggested pressure, distance, and something moving beneath the surface. I do not think music changes the plot directly, but it can influence rhythm. It affects how long I stay in a moment, how quiet a scene becomes, and how deeply I feel a character’s fear or uncertainty.

TRC: What do you believe is the biggest misconception people have about authors?

JOSEPH: One misconception is that writing is only about inspiration. Inspiration matters, of course, but most of writing is discipline, revision, doubt, and patience.

Many people see the finished book and imagine the process was clear from the beginning. In reality, a novel is often built through uncertainty. You make choices, question them, return to them, and slowly discover what the story is really asking. Writing is not only creating pages; it is learning how to listen to the story until it becomes honest.

TRC: What is something that few, if anyone, know about you?

JOSEPH: Few people know that I often live with a story privately for a long time before I begin writing it.

Sometimes an idea stays with me quietly for months, or even years, before it becomes a book. I like that hidden stage of the process, when the story is still private, unfinished, and almost like a secret conversation with myself.

By the time I begin writing seriously, I have usually been living with the atmosphere of the story for a while.

TRC: Who or what influenced your path towards science fiction?

JOSEPH:  I was drawn to science fiction because it allows a writer to ask large questions without losing the human element. The best science fiction, for me, is not only about machines, discoveries, or distant worlds. It is about what happens to people when reality becomes larger than their beliefs.

I am especially interested in the boundary between knowledge and humility. Science fiction gives us a powerful way to explore that boundary. It asks: what if the universe is not waiting to be mastered? What if discovery changes the discoverer more than the discovered? That kind of question is what pulled me toward the genre.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

JOSEPH:  I am currently developing new fiction ideas that continue to explore atmosphere, mystery, and human belief under pressure. Some are connected to speculative fiction, while others move closer to philosophical or psychological drama.

I do not want Joseph Vale to be limited to only one narrow genre. What connects my work is not just science fiction, but the kind of question at the center of the story: what happens when people are forced to face something they cannot easily explain, control, or escape?

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

JOSEPH:  I would like to thank The Reading Cafe for the opportunity to speak about The Fifteenth Depth. I am grateful to every reader who takes a chance on a new author and enters a world they have not visited before.

For me, this novel is about more than what lies beneath the earth. It is about human certainty, ambition, fear, and the moment when the world becomes stranger than our explanations. I hope readers come away with a sense of mystery, but also with questions that stay with them after the final page.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food: Mediterranean food.

Favorite Dessert: Chocolate cake.

Favorite TV Show: Dark.

Favorite Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Last Movie You Saw: Solaris.

Dark or Milk Chocolate: Dark chocolate.

Secret Celebrity Crush: I will keep that one a secret.

Last Vacation Destination: Sharm- El sheikh.

Do you have any pets?: Yes, I have a cat.

Last book you read: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.

 

TRC:Thank you Joseph for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the release of THE FIFTEENTH DEPTH. We wish you all the best.

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AHELNO (Lietvia Galaxy 1) by MK Stephenson-review & interview

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AHELNO (Lietvia Galaxy 1) by MK Stephenson-review & interview

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 27, 2026

Claimed by an alien prince. Bound by a mistake neither can undo. Can love bloom, even in their darkest hour?

Andie
One moment, I was a college student with Broadway dreams. The next, I was kidnapped from Earth, sold to alien traffickers, and stranded on a planet light-years from home.

When a giant, winged alien found me in the wreckage of my captor’s ship, I screamed and ran. Now the entire Ptexari kingdom believes I initiated a mating ritual with Crown Prince Dakleth—a four-armed warrior who chased me down and claimed me.

Dakleth may regret what happened between us, but remorse doesn’t erase trauma. I may never go home again. I may never see another human being. But I will never accept this alien as my mate.

Dakleth
The moment I saw the tiny human emerge from the crashed vessel, I knew she was mine. I believed she had chosen me, according to the traditions of my people, and instinct overtook reason.

By the time I understood the truth, the damage was already done. I will accept any punishment demanded of me, because no sentence could equal the harm I caused my mate.

Andie may never forgive me. She may hate me until my dying breath. Still, I will spend the rest of my life protecting her, earning her trust, and proving that I would sooner destroy myself than ever hurt her again.

Because she is my mate… even if I no longer deserve to be hers.

•••••

REVIEW:I went into this one because the “accidental mating claim” trope is one of my favorites, and the setup grabbed me immediately.

Andie, a college student with Broadway dreams, is suddenly ripped from Earth, kidnapped, and then stranded after a crash….

When the massive four armed, winged alien prince Dakleth finds her and believes she’s initiated a traditional mating ritual by running and being chased, everything spirals into a cultural collision neither of them saw coming.

The story unfolds in dual POV, which works really well here because you get to feel both sides of the pain and confusion.

What I liked most was how seriously the book treats the emotional fallout. Andie’s trauma and sense of total isolation are portrayed with real weight, she didn’t choose this, and she’s not about to just accept an alien prince as her mate no matter how protective or remorseful he is. Dakleth, on the other hand, is consumed by guilt once he realizes the truth. His determination to atone, protect her, and slowly earn her trust makes for a very satisfying slowburn redemption story. The romance feels earned rather than rushed, and the cultural differences add depth without overwhelming the character focused story.

The spice is nicely done too,creative use of those extra alien features without tipping into pure novelty. 😜

If you’re looking for nonstop space battles or galaxy hopping adventures, this one stays more intimate and relationship driven, which I personally enjoyed. It left me wanting to see more of the Lietvia Galaxy in future books.

It’s a comforting yet pretty intense read that’s perfect for fans of alien romances that balance heat with genuine healing and consent exploration.

If you like stories where the hero has to work hard to deserve his mate after a serious mistake, this one hits the spot.

Looking forward to the rest of the series! 🌌

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Julie🦋

TRC:  Hi MK and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on the release of ALHENO

M.K: Thank you, I appreciate the opportunity to connect with you and your readers.

TRC:  We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Social media: Website / Goodreads/ Instagram/ Facebook/

M.K: I grew up in a small town in the southeastern U.S. Like many sci fi writers, I’ve been a sci-fi/fantasy nerd most of my life–books, movies, games, etc. Writing is still a side gig for me, but I’d love to do it full time some day. When I’m not writing, I spend my free time reading, cooking, and traveling. I love learning about new places and meeting new people.

TRC:  Who or what influenced your career in writing?

M.K: I had an amazing English teacher in high school, and I credit her for holding her students to a high standard when it came to the mechanics of writing. I won’t name her here, since I write anonymously under a pen name, but I appreciate her for so many reasons.

A lot of people dream of becoming writers, but I was never one of them. Recently, though, I’ve had a few stories circulating in my head that I had to put to paper. My characters demanded their stories to be told. They pushed me to become a writer.

TRC:  Is ALHENO your first official published novel? How much difficulty did you encounter getting the novel published?

M.K: Yes, it’s my first published novel. I published it three weeks after I finished the final draft– or what I thought was the final draft. KDP makes it very easy to self-publish. I knew that I didn’t want to go the traditional publishing route.

First, because it could take years for a publisher to show interest in my novel, and then it would be another eighteen months for the release. Second, because I knew my book would be difficult to market. It features some disturbing scenes, which a lot of publishers don’t want to touch, especially when the author is unknown.

So I took the self-publishing route, and I’m glad I did. I’ve gotten a great response from readers who appreciate the emotional depth and the crossover elements between sci fi and romance.

TRC:  Would you please tell us something about the premise of ALHENO ?

M.K: Ahelno explores the healing journey of Andie, a human who is kidnapped from Earth and is sexually assaulted by an alien who believes she has initiated his people’s mating ritual. It is a devastating experience for both of them—for her, because of the trauma of the incident itself, and for him when he realizes that she never consented.

The book is, as many readers have described, an emotional rollercoaster. Yet despite the weighty backstory, a very sweet and emotionally satisfying romance blooms. Ahelno is a very slow burn, but hopefully worth it for readers who are in it for the long haul.

TRC:  How many books do you have planned for the series? And will each book focus on a different couple?

M.K: There are currently three books planned in the series, although there could be more in the future. Each book can be read as a standalone that follows a different set of characters in a connected universe.

TRC:  What do you hope readers will take away from ALHENO?

M.K: I hope readers develop an emotional connection to both of the main characters. That’s hard to do when one of the characters hurts the other, but I hope the healing arc for both characters feels authentic enough to allow readers to still root for them in the end.

TRC:  What types of research/plotting did you do, and how long did you spend researching /plotting before beginning the series?

M.K: The first book in the series was ruminating in my head for about a month before I started writing. I replayed scenarios between the two main characters over and over. I just couldn’t let them go. When I finally sat down to write, the story flowed consistently. Within three months, I had a complete first draft of over 100,000 words.

TRC:  What would you say to romance readers who struggle with the science fiction tags and premise?

M.K: I think Ahelno would be a great intro for romance readers who aren’t sure about reading science fiction. There’s not a heavy emphasis on technology or machinery, like you find in a lot of hard science fiction. At its core, Ahelno is a romance about two people from two different worlds trying to see if they belong together. And anyone who’s ever moved to a new city or a new country can relate to Andie’s feelings of homesickness and having to find her way in a new world without a support system.

TRC:  Do you believe the cover image plays a deciding factor for many readers in the process of selecting a book or new series to read?

M.K: Absolutely. A good cover tells you what a story is about; a great cover evokes emotion. If you like the cover, you’re more likely to pick up a book and turn it over to read the back (or click to read the blurb if its an ebook). I don’t think people choose to read a book solely based on the cover, but it’s the first step in the book buying process.

TRC:  When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?

M.K: Generally, I decide certain plot points to hit, but the characters direct their own dialog and interactions with each other along the way.

TRC:  The mark of a good writer is to pull the reader into the storyline so that they experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer must do to make this happen? Where do you believe writer’s fail in this endeavor?

M.K: A character needs to feel three-dimensional for readers to connect to them. They should display a range of emotions, including their fears and vulnerabilities. For me, a character falls flat when they display only one emotion consistently throughout the book. Or if I don’t understand their decision-making process when faced with conflict.

TRC:  Do you listen to music while writing? If so, does the style of music influence the storyline direction? Characters?

M.K: No, I find music too distracting to listen to while writing. But I love music. I took piano lessons for years, and I was in marching band in high school and college. I never had Broadway dreams like Andie in Ahelno, but you’ll see lots of music references in the book.

TRC:  What do you believe is the biggest misconception people have about authors?

M.K: I don’t think most people understand how much work goes into publishing a book. I certainly didn’t prior to publishing Ahelno. Writing the book itself is easy, and that’s what most authors enjoy. The rest of the work–building a website, reader magnets, ARC campaigns, email lists, marketing strategy, social media presence, branding, cover art–is incredibly time-consuming, and is outside the expertise of people who just want to create and tell stories. Writing is art. Publishing is a business.

TRC:  What is something that few, if anyone, know about you?

M.K: I play a mean game of ping pong.

TRC:  On what are you currently working?

M.K:  A.I. Human, the second book in the Lietvia Galaxy series, due for publication in September 2026.

TRC:  Would you like to add anything else?

M.K:  No, but thank you for asking.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food – Shrimp & grits

Favorite Dessert – Anything chocolate

Favorite TV Show – Star Trek (original & TNG)

Last Movie You Saw – Devil Wears Prada 2

Dark or Milk Chocolate – Both

Secret Celebrity Crush – Henry Cavill (Superman & The Witcher)

Last Vacation Destination – Puerto Rico

Do you have any pets? Two adorable dogs

Last book you read – Reasons Found in Promises by Artiranth Fields. Very good dark fantasy. Go read it!

TRC:  Thank you MK for taking the time to answer our questions. Good luck with your career in writing.

M.K: Thank you so much! I appreciate you taking the time.

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Love on the Shelf by Sheila Roberts-review & interview

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Love on the Shelf by Sheila Roberts-review & interview

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 26, 2026

The battle lines are drawn—between a romance-loving bookseller and the shock jock determined to tear happily-ever-afters apart.

Alice Willoughby and her mom run HEA Books, a cozy shop devoted to love stories and the people who crave them. Alice is great at matching customers with their perfect happily-ever-after…she just can’t seem to find her own.

Enter Parker Black, a disillusioned radio host who’s reinvented himself as a romance-bashing shock jock. Bitter from his breakup with a romance author who turned love into a four-letter word, Parker takes aim at the entire genre—and his on-air rants start stirring up trouble for Alice’s loyal customers and their partners. He’s arrogant, aggravating, and absolutely not book-boyfriend material.

Parker’s crusade leads to spirited debates and bookstore protests, but when unexpected sparks fly between the two of them Alice begins to wonder if her favorite trope—enemies to lovers—might actually be playing out in real life. Parker may claim romance is a lie…but is he protesting a little too much?

With sharp wit and plenty of charm, USA Today bestselling author Sheila Roberts delivers a modern battle of the sexes where the biggest question is simple:

Are romance novels ruining love—or rewriting it?

••••••

REVIEW:LOVE ON THE SHELF by Sheila Roberts is a stand alone, cozy, contemporary, adult, story line focusing on book store owner Alice Willouoghby, and radio host / podcaster Parker Black.

NOTE: I will be honest from the start, I struggled with the storyline, the characters, and who and what they represent.

Told from several third person perspectives including but not exclusive to Alice and Parker, LOVE ON THE SHELF focuses on the age-old war of the sexes. Alice and her mother Nola own and operate a bookstore where they host all genre book club meetings but when Alice, her sister Scarlet and their mother Nola hear about a sports podcaster disparaging romance novels, the lines are drawn in the proverbial sand, and all gloves are off.

The world building is a study in pathological misogyny and hidden patriarchy. All but one of the male leads is immature, selfish and their acts of vengeance are childish and demeaning. As Parker and his partner Jay’s podcasts and radio shows gain momentum with the male audience, women are cast as witches, and many men will jump on the ‘band wagon’ threatening families and marriages in the process.

The relationship between Alice and Parker never truly gets off the ground until the final chapter of the book, and even then, I felt no palpable sexual attraction. Alice fantasizes about the men in her books, and no amount of eleventh hour supplication or grovelling can make up for the rampant woman bashing of the male leads. There are no $ex scenes, and the few kisses are meant to be awkward and clearly uncomfortable.

There is a large ensemble cast of interesting and determined characters including several members of Alice’s book clubs. We are introduced to Alice’s mother and co-owner Nola Willloughby; Alice’s sister Scarlet and her troubling husband Mark; Parker’s mother Genevieve, and her brother Jerome, as well as Parker’s co-conspirator and fellow podcaster Jay Barker.

LOVE ON THE SHELF is a story of gaslighting, conflict and animosity, jealousy and vengeance, family and relationships, acceptance and moving forward. The premise is thought provoking, and often frustrating; the characters’ actions and behavior are troubling; there is no romance.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

TRC: Hi Sheila and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on the release of
LOVE ON THE SHELF.

Sheila: Thank you. And thank you so much for having me.

TRC: We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell
us something about yourself?

Sheila: In addition to being a writer I’m also a songwriter. (Which was what I’d planned on doing before my writing career happened. Oh, the many trips to Nashville and money spent on song demos in those days! I did a lot in my little corner of the music world – worked my
way through college as a singing waitress, owned a singing telegram company, played
in bands.) Even though the songwriting didn’t take off I still enjoy doing it on the side.
Next time you’re on YouTube, check out Merry Christmas Mama. I wrote that with a
friend to be a bonus for my Christmas Novel Merry Ex-Mas. And yes, that’s me getting
hauled off by Santa!

TRC: Who or what influenced your career in writing?

Sheila: I want to give credit to Debbie Macomber, who has been both a mentor and a good
friend to me for many years. I learned a lot about how to run my writing business from
her. She is inspiring both as a writer, a businesswoman and as a person.

TRC: How has your writing evolved since publishing your first novel?

Sheila: Oh, my! Where to begin. I started out writing Regency Romances. But honestly, I was
terrible at research, and I really didn’t enjoy it. I eventually realized, even though I will
forever love Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, I am meant to write stories set in the
time period in which I live. Much easier to do research. ☺

TRC: Would you please tell us something about the premise of LOVE ON THE SHELF?

Sheila: This is a battle of the sexes between a bitter shock jock, who has nominated himself as a champion of men (and who thinks romance novels are a bad influence) and the owner
of a romance bookstore. It all starts with an on-air debate, and everything slides
downhill after that with Parker Black, my messed-up hero learning a thing about those
romance novels along the way. And about love. All thanks to Alice Willoughby, co-
owner of HEA Books and her band of loyal customers, who do an excellent job of
setting Parker straight.

TRC: Do you have plans for a series involving any of the secondary characters or
otherwise?

Sheila: I think their stories all get beautifully wrapped up. We’ll leave them to enjoy their happy
endings and move on to someone else.

TRC: What do you hope readers will take away from LOVE ON THE SHELF?

Sheila: I hope they’ll come away quoting the mantra, Love Always Wins.

TRC: What types of research/plotting did you do, and how long did you spend
researching /plotting before beginning the series?

Sheila: I always spend a lot of time planning a book before I begin to write. I like to have a story map in place to follow. As for research, it is handy to live in modern times where I can
hop on the internet or talk to someone in person. I’m lucky to have a friend who owns an
indie bookstore and, while I tried not to make a pest of myself, I did pick her brain a
little.

TRC: How do you keep the plot unpredictable without sacrificing believability or
content?

Sheila: There’s always going to be a certain amount of predictability in a genre novel. Readers
expect the killer to get caught in a murder mystery. In a romance novel they expect the
couple to work out their problems and get together in the end. But along the way it’s
nice to dream up some surprises. And all I can say about that is this is where
imagination comes in. Making up stories is part reality, part imagination and mostly
magic.

TRC: Do you believe the cover image plays a deciding factor for many readers in the
process of selecting a book or new series to read?

Sheila: I can’t speak for other readers, but I know for myself, an intriguing book cover will tempt me to pick up the book and see what it’s all about. I’m also a sucker for a great title!

TRC: When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the
characters?

Sheila: No, for better or worse, I’m in charge and the characters do what they’re told. The
upside to that is that I’m in control. The downside to that is, when someone doesn’t like
my character, I have no one to blame but myself.

TRC: The mark of a good writer is to pull the reader into the storyline so that they
experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer
must do to make this happen? Where do you believe writers fail in this endeavor?

Sheila: Again, I can’t speak for other writers, but I know I need to be emotionally invested in a
story. I need to care about my characters. There have been more than one occasion
when I cried reading a scene I wrote… because I cared. Hopefully, if I’ve drawn my
character well enough, shared enough of that character’s background, hopes and
dreams, that readers will care as much as I do. Of course, sometimes readers don’t love
my pretend people as much as I do – we’re all different, we all see the world differently
– and I have to admit, that’s a little painful. But that’s also life, right?

TRC: Do you listen to music while writing? If so, does the style of music influence the
storyline direction? Characters?

Sheila:  I only listen to instrumental music because otherwise I get too distracted and start
singing along instead of paying attention to my writing. The music doesn’t influence the
storyline but I do like having it playing in the background, keeping me company.

TRC: What do you believe is the biggest misconception people have about authors?

Sheila: That writing a book is easy. To write a novel and do it well is like weaving a tapestry
with many threads. There is a lot to keep track of.

TRC: What is something that few, if anyone, know about you?

Sheila:  I’ve crashed my writing career twice and have had to reinvent myself. I’m living proof
that we can rebuild when our dream collapses.

TRC: What are you currently working on?

Sheila:  Ooh, that’s top secret. But I can tell you what’s coming out next. I’m excited about my
fun holiday romp, Have Yourself a Merry Little Meltdown. This has a book theme also.
What happens when you’ve written a holiday novel and based it on your over the top
family. Do you dare go home for the holidays?

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Sheila: I think we’ve about covered it. The only thing left is my weight. And, like my current
project, that’s top secret. Haha.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food – Chinese!

Favorite Dessert – I have to narrow it down to one? Cake. Love cake!

Favorite TV Show – Dancing with the Stars

Favorite Sport – Tennis. Been playing it for years. (Not fabulously but that’s to be
expected since I’m not really a jock.)

Last Movie You Saw – The Sheep Detectives. Loved that movie so much!

Dark or Milk Chocolate – Used to be milk but I’ve gone over to the dark side.

Secret Celebrity Crush – Tom Selleck. Have loved him since Magnum P.I.

Last Vacation Destination – The Mediterranean. Love cruises!

Do you have any pets? – Not any more. The only animal in my house now is my
husband.

Last book you read – Still working on it: Lonesome Dove.

TRC: Thank you Sheila for taking the time to answer our questions. Good luck with your
career in writing.

Sheila:  Thank you again so much for having me!

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