Nicole Langan

Ah, angst. When women are stressed out and dealing with emotional, life changing events, they tend to worry themselves to no end.

Young women of the Victorian era were expected to be pristine, unblemished, and pure. But how did they really behave? Were calculated means employed to achieve desired marital ends?

Do men really find women who knit sexy?

Some pieces of literature are art in its highest form. Sea Change by Jeremy Page is one of those books.He paints with words instead of merely constructing a narrative.

Not since the glory days of Buffy the Vampire Slayer has a female killer of the undead burst onto the scene with such aplomb.

Promise Me, by Christmas mega-author, Richard Paul Evans (The Christmas Box, The Christmas List) is one of those sentimental stories that a reader either devours or detests.

Royalty is common fare for historical fiction, but the lives of the saints are usually not.

The Winter Sea is one of those novels that a reader doesn’t come across too often. It is a creative tour de force.

Nuns in outer space? Churches in virtual reality? Priests as robots? Sometimes the most unlikely pairings lead to the most interesting literary achievements.

“The life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
—Thomas Hobbes, English political philosopher (1588-–1679), The Leviathan

A lobster isn’t the most likely character for a children’s book. Yet Dave Wilkinson creates a modern-day fable based on the life cycle of the crustacean in The Aspirant.

Teaching a child to have compassion is important. Jane Bregoli’s The Goat Lady is a true story that shows how love can bring an elderly outcast back into the folds of society.

Royal families hold the title of being the precursor of reality entertainment. These infamous courts provide more melodrama and intrigue than chivalry and decorum.

How to Master Your Muck by Kathi Burns hits everything on the checklist for a well-designed book. A “how-to” title? Check.

Nothing stirs a female heart more than a handsome man with a physical challenge. The inherent mothering instinct is intertwined with a mixture of physical desire and deep-seated admiration.

Believability is key in historical fiction, especially when your main character is a female assassin.

When author B. Lynn Goodwin became the primary caregiver of her elderly mother, she turned to writing as a form of therapy. In her book, You Want Me To Do What?

What is G. F. Skipworth’s The Simpering, North Dakota Literary Society?

A manic desire. A refusal to let things go. An unwavering belief in one’s importance. Meet Philippa Gregory’s The Red Queen.

Reading the work of a truly talented author is a well-savored delight for a book lover. When it comes to the art of writing, C. W. Gortner’s name can be added to the list of master craftsmen.

 Imagine a pristine world out of the realm of Avatar peopled by creatures from Where The Wild Things Are and you have a glimpse into the mental imagery of Ray Shoop in his sci-fi work

Marilyn Meredith captures the essence of an untimely death in her paranormal romance, Lingering Spirit. Police officer Steve Ainsworth is gunned down during a routine traffic stop.

The guys from T.A.P.S. are delving into the scariest territory of all: adolescence.

Many turn to God in times of trouble. Chicken Soup for the Soul: Devotional Stories for Women hits its stride when it tackles more serious subject matter. Editors Susan M.

Beyond Those Distant Stars is science fiction that plays well to a female audience. The heroine, Stella McMasters, is a cyborg.

Blackwyrm Publications, May 2009 Twilight’s Jacob Black isn’t the only teenage werewolf with issues.

When perusing a thriller, readers are expected to suspend their disbelief. Circumstances that are improbable in reality are readily accepted in a fictitious world where anything is possible.