Over the last forty years, historians of the Civil War era have illuminated how enslaved blacks helped bring about the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and then, two years later, the abolition of slavery. Building on W.E.B. Du Bois’s iconoclastic Black Reconstruction in America, first published in 1935, these studies have described how hundreds of thousands […]
A sudden shock of rain in Bologna that pours quite literally just like a storm on the frigid sea way up north. Scarcely a drop and it instantly devastates the plan on the face of a tourist, furrows with skill the up-to-now concealed map of the homeland: clear cuts, pastures, barren tracts, a swollen storm […]
In September 1944, not long after the liberation of Rome, the first issue of Mercurio (“a monthly of politics, arts, sciences”) appeared. The editor was Alba de Céspedes y Bertini, a Cuban-Italian writer whose grandfather led Cuba’s revolt for independence from Spain and then served as its first president. She had newly returned from exile […]
1. “Bitch”—this is the title of the first short story in the July 1974 issue of Playboy. Its author is Roald Dahl, famous for the children’s books James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The story’s plot is a plot, a conspiracy by an English rake and raconteur, Oswald Cornelius, to […]
If eros, as Freud believed, is what binds us to the world, creating ever-larger units of society, economics could be seen as the child of eros. So it has been at least since the eighteenth century, when “commerce” and “intercourse” began to be used interchangeably and the modern idea of the economy was born in […]
The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly or for a monthly wrap up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.
I managed eleven books/audios for the Ho-Ho-Ho readathon. I hope everyone who took part had a wonderful time. For the month of November, I read/listened to 18 books. As of November 30th, I am 186/200 for Goodreads & 109 for the Audiobook Challenge. I am hoping I hit my goals in December. I am still dealing with this head cold funk, and will probably concede and go see the doctor this week. The weather has been downright cold, with lots of wind and snow flurries. My grandson has put in a request for a good snowstorm with the guy in the red suit. He wants to build a snowman. Stay Caffeinated.
Last Week on the Blog
The Haunting Of Maddy Clare By Simone St. James (book review)
You Can Hide By Rebecca Zanetti (book review)
#NewRelease: The Red Slippers By Ruth A. Casie (spotlight, giveaway)
A Very Merry Bromance By Lyssa Kay Adams (book review)
The Case Of The Disappearing Beaune By J. Lawrence Matthews (audio review)
This Week on the Blog
The Christmas Spirit By Debbie Macomber (book review)
A Hard Day For A Hangover By Darynda Jones (book review)
The Sandcastle Hurricane By Carolyn Brown (book review, guest post)
A Wish For Winter Viola Shipman (book review)
Gray Witch By Hailey Edwards (audio review)
New Arrivals at the Caffeinated Cafe
Learn more:
The Poisoner’s Ring by Kelley Armstrong
A special thanks to St. Martin’s Press
Around The Blogosphere
2023 Upside Down COYER hosted by Because Reading Is More Fun
Romance Choice Awards 2022 hosted by Addicted to Romance
Caffeinated PR
Open Events
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If Trees Could Testify follows a defense attorney who is investigating and trying a double homicide that has more questions than answers. What inspired you to write a fictional novel based on this real case?
The actual case upon which my book is based generated a significant amount of publicity, particularly in the Asheville area of the western NC mountains. As is noted, I was the principal defense attorney and therefore privy to information that would be subject to varying degrees of privacy concerns. Those factors, combined with a need to protect both the innocent as well as the potentially guilty, gave me no choice but to fictionalize the account to some degree.
How do you balance story development with shocking plot twists? Or can they be the same thing?
The plot twists really weren’t planned or sensationalized as they were based largely upon an accurate rendition of how the case transpired, although I did take the liberty of injecting some degree of diversion with regard to characters such as the draft-dodging son of the snake-handling minister.
What was the hardest part about writing a mystery story; where you constantly have to give just enough to keep the mystery alive until the big reveal?
The “mystery” was not overly difficult to recount in that it was based on events that had essential components of an intriguing story already built in. Many rabbits were chased in the form of biker gangs, organized crime, etc., but the essential and unfortunate message was that justice was a struggle to achieve for both defendants and victims. Human impacts can be lingering and strong when our system fails to fulfill its purpose.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
My next book will likely be a sequel to my first, that being “Pioneer Paddling Colonial Carolina.” I am an avid kayaker with a data base of over 350 bodies of water, but also a history buff with a passion for paddling in historical areas wherever they are found. I hope to expand and update the Carolinas, but also include much of Florida together with parts of Virgina, Georgia and Tennessee. Thank you for asking.
Author Links: Amazon | Website
IF TREES COULD TESTIFY… is a historical mystery novel based on the true story of Madison County’s infamous Gahagan murders. The homicides occurred near the Appalachian mountain town of Marshall, North Carolina, known by some as the “Jewel of the Blue Ridge,” but known by locals to be “a block wide, a mile long, sky high and hell deep.” The French Broad River bisects the town, which harbors both ghosts from Civil War events and the lore of mermaids.
On a quiet summer night in 1983, two elderly siblings were tragically murdered in their colonial, Georgian-style home across from Big Laurel Creek. Known for their distrust of banks and having a collection of antiques, gold, and silver coins, it was naturally assumed that robbery was the principal motive for the double homicide. The murders captivated a close-knit rural community for nearly two decades, as the local family roots of the victims dated all the way back to the early 1800s.
During the years that followed the senseless tragedy, a time during which the home was boarded up and abandoned, local folks rumored that they had occasionally seen the house lit up like a Christmas tree at night. There were also stories where the ghost of an elderly woman, walking and swinging a lantern, was reportedly seen along the highway which runs adjacent to the property. Some county residents have further claimed to have seen this apparition standing in a window on the second floor of the home during the time that it was vacant.
Suspects came and went as the case investigation spanned three different sheriff administrations. “Who done it” rumors abounded, with theories of involvement ranging from organized crime to outlaw biker gangs to even local family members. Finally, almost eighteen years after the murders, warrants were issued charging a father and two of his sons with having committed the crimes. The defendants maintained their innocence throughout the course of the legal proceedings, which blazed a trail of intrigue with numerous twists and turns along the way.
According to Fred Hughes, at the time the publisher and editor of the Madison News-Record and Sentinel, a Hollywood film crew was interested in producing a major motion picture based on the case. As noted in a subsequent editorial, Hughes was “reasonably certain” that the story could have made the silver screen, as it was full of “stranger than life events.”
This book should be categorized as a fictional mystery novel which is based on the true story of the murders and subsequent prosecution of those accused. Names have been changed to protect the innocent (as well as the potentially guilty), and a haunting tale is told with a focus on the search for justice for both victims and defendants. Colorful characters, including the draft-dodging son of a snake-handling minister, intertwine with more serious undertones as a surprise ending eventually unfolds. The author, William Auman, was the principal defense attorney in the actual case, and provides the reader with a dramatic and informative account of what was otherwise a tragedy to many.
Guardian: Into the Light of Day, by J L Meredith, is about an alien who takes a human’s body to bring her back to life. In this new body, this alien took on the human’s name, Elizabeth, and energy, but since she isn’t genuinely human, she lives on. Over eight centuries, she has worked to save lives without revealing her identity. This changes when an asteroid is about to hit Earth. Elizabeth stops it, but the explosion sends her crashing back down with meteorites. Caught on video, Elizabeth loses her anonymity. In the turmoil of this and the meteorites, meta-humans emerge, there’s a media frenzy, and one politician seeks to take advantage. Among this, a more significant threat emerges, one that wants to use Elizabeth to destroy Earth.
I enjoyed that it wasn’t just a superhero comic book. While Elizabeth wasn’t truly human, she was relatable. As a doctor, she wanted to keep people safe and save their lives, but she didn’t want to be in the spotlight.
Meredith did a great job of making Elizabeth strong and courageous. But he also gave her a couple of enemies that weren’t easy for her to overcome. However, her heart and willingness to help really brought her to life.
Guardian into the Light of Day, by J L Meredith, provides readers with a great story, a great protagonist, and some nail-biting moments. This action and adventure superhero novel will keep readers engaged from the start and even give them a bit of romance without going over the top.
The Facets of Death by James Rondinone explores many questions people have about death. The author jumps into the topic of death by studying God’s involvement in death. James Rondinone looks at whether God prevents some people from dying and why God allows others to die. The author talks about his experience with a death in his family and shares his questions after the bereavement. This sets the book up well as it shows the reader that the author is another person on an investigatory journey.
The author looks at the death of Abel from the Bible. He discusses why God did not prevent his brother, Cain, from murdering Abel. James Rondinone then uses this example to look at the topic of free will. However, the author does not stop there. The author discusses complex issues like God’s role in allowing masses of people to die and uses the example of Noah and the flood. These situations are hard to grapple with, yet James Rondinone’s thoughts on the issues are well explained.
One of the most interesting things about the book is that although it was written from a Christian perspective, the author wrote it so that anyone grappling with the topic of death could read it and gain nuggets along the way.
Before picking up the book, I decided it would be a challenging and depressing read. On the contrary, the author wrote the book from a compelling point of view. He tackled a topic from an intellectual level instead of purely an emotional level. This allows the reader to look at death from a broader point of view and gain a bigger perspective. Even though the chapters are short, parts of the book felt slow, making me want to move on to the next section.
The Facets of Death is a thought-provoking book written for people from various walks of life. It contains numerous references from the Bible and deals with a tricky topic well. Even with the Christian references, the intellectual look at the topic makes this book a great resource for anyone looking for a different take on death and grief.
Life was boring, monotonous, and ultimately lonely for Elizabeth Finley. So when she finds her life can become more dynamic and fun after one massively failed stakeout outside the headquarters of the largest secret service in the UK, the MI5, Liz is confident a career change was much needed. Now she wouldn’t have to worry about keeping publishers or writing a sensational book. Life was beginning to have a flavor for Liz. Or so she thought. As she begins her unforeseeable job as a secret agent, betrayal, bondage, and chaos are about to become the new order in Liz’s life. Will she be able to handle the unexpected turn in events, or will the mountain of trouble she’s about to face be too great for her to overcome?
Broken Chains by Karina Kantas tells the story of an aspiring writer, Elizabeth Finley, who’s had it hard with life. Losing her mother at a very tender age and having her father disappear right after meant Liz was left with no other choice but to fend for herself. However, instead of getting better, her life transforms from bad to worse when she begins working undercover for the MI5. However, the rigorous mind-blowing training she would be subjected to at the MI5 will be nothing compared to the hell she will face after she receives a coded email that only she could decipher.
Karina Kantas has done a great job creating a unique storyline filled with twists and suspense. The extreme depiction of the reality of the underworld was incredibly mind-blowing, and the story had me on edge from the turn of the first page. However, I found the book a little rushed. The loopholes in the story made some of the characters’ emotions too intense and sometimes confusing. But the Eccentricity of this book kept me on my toes.
Broken chains by Karina Kantas is a thrilling crime romance filled with suspense and action. With crime rings, kidnapping and abuse, readers will never be at a loss for action. The novel has graphic and mature scenes, so it is intended for a mature audience.
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Over the last forty years, historians of the Civil War era have illuminated how enslaved blacks helped bring about the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and then, two years later, the abolition of slavery. Building on W.E.B. Du Bois’s iconoclastic Black Reconstruction in America, first published in 1935, these studies have described how hundreds of thousands […]
In September 1944, not long after the liberation of Rome, the first issue of Mercurio (“a monthly of politics, arts, sciences”) appeared. The editor was Alba de Céspedes y Bertini, a Cuban-Italian writer whose grandfather led Cuba’s revolt for independence from Spain and then served as its first president. She had newly returned from exile […]
1. “Bitch”—this is the title of the first short story in the July 1974 issue of Playboy. Its author is Roald Dahl, famous for the children’s books James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The story’s plot is a plot, a conspiracy by an English rake and raconteur, Oswald Cornelius, to […]
If eros, as Freud believed, is what binds us to the world, creating ever-larger units of society, economics could be seen as the child of eros. So it has been at least since the eighteenth century, when “commerce” and “intercourse” began to be used interchangeably and the modern idea of the economy was born in […]
