It’s been 12 years since Caffeinated Reviewer began. My humble beginnings started on Blogspot as Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. I was a member of B&N Book forums & active on Goodreads before beginning the blog on August 14, 2011. I chose Kimba because my Dad called me Kimba as a baby after, Kimba the White Lion. Caffeinated for my love of coffee and all things caffeine. Book Reviewer told what I was doing on the blog. My blog transformed to Caffeinated Book Reviewer when I moved to WordPress. Eventually I dropped the word Book and became Caffeinated Reviewer when half of my reviews were audiobooks.

The blog has evolved from the genres I read to the events I host, like Fraterfest Read-a-thon, the HoHoHo Readathon, Audiobook Challenge, and Sunday Post. When I began blogging, I was an empty nester. I now have three grandchildren and two of my adult children are currently living with us.

I started reading physical books, then switched to Kindle and hardcovers for favorite series, and now also listen to audiobooks. In 2015, I used my background and love of books to start my business, Caffeinated PR. Through the years I have attended book cons, and have made book friends both online & IRL. Even though bloggers have come and gone, those friendships remain.

I’ve lost track of the number of posts I’ve done. When you blog for over ten years and post almost daily, size becomes an issue. I’ve removed hundreds of Sunday Posts, events, meme posts, spotlights, giveaways, etc. I currently have over 4,000 posts.

Here is a look back at the blog….

Giving Thanks

Thank you to everyone who has supported the blog by following, commenting or taking part in the Sunday Post or joining an event. You bring me joy & I thank you. To my fellow book bloggers, thank you for introducing me to new genres and authors. If you are visiting for the first time, welcome.

As a thank you, I am offering a $50.00 Amazon gift card. As always, may the odds be forever in your favor. Open to anyone who can accept a US gift card.

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Source

Original source: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/2023/08/twelve-year-blogoversary.html

This eBook serves as a prequel to Seattle Pioneer Midwife. It’s based on the early years of my great-grandmother Alice Ada Wood and her family in Wisconsin during the 1880s-1890s. Written from Alice’s perspective as a young girl, the book delves into her experiences and journey into the world of midwifery, including her fears, accomplishments, and traumatic events. As a Birthing Researcher, I was privileged to hear countless women share their birthing stories. Thus, I was able to learn from birthing experts in the field, including grand multiparous women. During births I gathered great advice from nurses, physcians, and mothers. I did spend time as a midwife apprentice 2017 – 2018, where I was fortunate to be mentored by experienced midwives who generously shared their valuable tips and insights with me. Therefore, I was able to assist many women in achieving normal physiological births, allowing them to respond to their bodies just as women have done for thousands of years.

Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/08/14/midwife-apprentice-alice-ada-wood/

The Witch follows a young and powerful witch who has to hide her abilities while trying to help secure a future for her people. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

The inspiration came from a writing prompt that gave me the idea for Harper. Once Harper Grim was created, the world formed around her, a world that she was going to have influence over.

What were some of the emotional and moral guidelines you followed when developing your characters?

The emotional and moral guidelines that I followed come from my belief as a Christian. Being in the only monotheistic culture, Idrudelia has a fear of magic, but Harper proves that the gifts given to her are gifts that she uses for good. The moral guideline that Harper follows are that of using her gift for the benefit of those around her instead of a selfish gain as that of the evil power-rising Dark Sword.

Did you plan the tone and direction of the novel before writing, or did it come out organically as you were writing?

I wrote a plot that reaches over each of the stories while still having a separate plot for each book. With a rough outline, the direction and tone came organically as I was writing. I had the points that I was trying to get to, but I let the characters lead me to those points.

Will this novel be the start of a series, or are you working on a different story?

This novel is the start of a series. There are three more installments of this story: The Tree, The Soldier, and The Stone. One book for each piece of the prophecy that the characters are fulfilling.

Author Links: GoodReads

Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/08/14/i-let-the-characters-lead-me/

The Self-Liberation of Parson Sykes is a documentary novel based on a true story and actual events and was drawn from a variety of historic sources, including published government materials and family chronicles. A trilogy, the story profiles Private Parson Sykes’ evolution from enslavement in Southampton County, Virginia, followed by his enlistment into the Union Army, and culminating with his emancipation and return to the county. The initial part subtitled, Enslavement in Southampton County Virginia, of the trilogy, takes place in 1864 near the end of the American Civil War on the slave-holding Jacob Williams’ middle class family farm in Southampton County Virginia. During the 1831 Southampton Insurrection, the farm came under attack by Nat Turner and his insurgents, which haunts Jacob. Before the Civil War started, Parson began discussing human rights and the political implications of the abolition of slavery with his two brothers. In December 1864, he planned to liberate himself by running away from Jacob Williams’ farm and following an eastward path along the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad to reach Norfolk, Virginia, which was a Union occupied city. Upon reaching Norfolk and in the hands of Union troops, Parson had liberated himself from bondage. The Self-Liberation of Parson Sykes also functions to draw attention to the important role Black soldiers and their White officers played during the Civil War as members of United States Colored Troops (USCT). Though less heralded, the USCT regiments were the precursors to Black army units famously nicknamed as the Buffalo Soldiers., Smoked Yankees, the Harlem Hell Fighters, Tuskegee Airmen, and the Red Ball Express.

Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/08/14/the-self-liberation-of-parson-sykes-enslavement-in-southampton-county-virginia/

A Little Piece of Heaven by Jeffrey Arnold is a fun, witty, and engaging read that centers around a city’s eccentric mayor, Ted Torgenson, and the quirky characters around him. Acquiring the oddball nickname “Turd” from childhood, Mayor Torgenson is introduced from the start at city hall, where he faces several battles, including legal challenges. As a political figure, he must navigate between his supporters, staff, and key players in life and at work, to find the best solution while remaining at the top. After remaining in office for several terms, every move Mayor Torgenson makes, along with his associates, is vital to his future success.

Jeffrey Arnold expertly weaves humor throughout the story from the opening paragraph. While he’s sharp and quick, he quickly realizes that his fate lies in the hands of his staff and constituents, especially as he faces the courtroom. The reader is reeled into the mayor’s world during the unfolding of key events, from a determined prosecutor to the campaign funding elite and a street-wise assistant, among many others, who play an integral role in the case.

The story is entertaining for anyone who enjoys a comedic, action-packed tale with a quick pace and witty humor. It’s packed with great character development, plot twists, and unexpected turns throughout the book. While it’s densely written with hour-by-hour, day-by-day narration, this page-turner will be an exciting, enjoyable read that you can finish in a day or weekend!

A Little Piece of Heaven by Jeffrey Arnold is a fantastic read that I highly recommend and I look forward to reading more about the author and his amazing talent for writing a vibrant storyline with unique characters. Jeffrey Arnold’s work is worth considering for a film or mini-series based on the character interactions and layers of intriguing developments in this book.

Pages: 155 | ASIN: B0CDQGLZMX

Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/08/14/a-little-piece-of-heaven/

Perpendicular Women follows two women living in different universes who, through an unlikely turn of events, are connected. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

First, thank you for inviting me to interview with Literary Titan. It’s an honor and a pleasure.

What got the story going—the spark, if you will—were my personal fantasies and questions. Like all of us, I wondered: What would a “perfect” life look like? Would it bring happiness? How much can we shape our lives here and now? These questions drive Kara’s journey.

Then I pondered the future. We’re talking future-future, like seventy years from now. What might it look like? Would the greed, anger, and fear we see today escalate as our world faces overcrowding, scarcity, and the rise of artificial intelligence? Even now it’s easy to get lost in news stories bloated with messages of doom. We’ll need solutions, for sure. Could everyday people discover them? These questions drive Pandora’s journey.

From these deliberations, Perpendicular Women’s plot, characters, settings, and literary mechanisms evolved.

Now enter the multiverse. The multiverse is a serious cosmological theory that proposes that all possible worlds exist, right now—anything you can imagine. For a writer, it’s golden and enabled me to suggest, metaphorically, a range of possibilities for our future, from cataclysmic to hopeful.

The story owes a lot to three wonderful authors: M.R. Franks, who describes the multiverse in layman’s terms; Peter Frase, who outlines four futures for humankind; and Verne Blanchette, who describes nuclear-survival scenarios. Other resources include the relentless shower of articles, newsletters, and TED talks, all of which made me stop and think.

At the heart of this speculation is a single question: what if? What if we found the “perfect” life? What if humankind did XYZ in the future? These queries form the serious foundation of Perpendicular Women. But the book isn’t all so pensive. I’m a sucker for humor and adventure, and I tried to make the book fun as well as meaningful. So go ahead. Take it to the beach.

I find the world you created in this novel brimming with possibilities. Where did the inspiration for the setting come from, and how did it change as you were writing?

Lots of fun here. I wanted a story that would be relatable, so the worlds in the book are either Earth as we know it or Earthlike. I imagined three worlds that had identical evolutions—until a certain date. It is on that date that a handful of everyday women, including Kara and Pandora, make the difference for the futures of their worlds.

The book opens at a trade show in Arizona—trade shows being familiar territory since I once was a marketing manager. One of the locales, Shell Springs, is loosely patterned after Coral Springs, Florida, where I lived for eight years. Most of the settings, however, were products of my imagination.

For the “future” worlds, the process was straightforward. I projected the issues of today into the future and again asked what if. What if someone did X? What if they did Y? From there, it was a matter of figuring out how that would affect the setting. The fun stuff came next: hovercars, hive-shaped buildings, human-looking robots, and the like. The result was three very different futures—one of which, maybe, could be ours.

As I wrote, the settings didn’t really change; they grew. I’d ask myself, Okay, if we had ABC, would DEF follow? No? Backlash? Then maybe XYZ. With these questions, the worlds gained nuance as I wrote—a process that continues into the writing of the sequel.

The cover for this book is intriguing and really draws attention. How did you create the cover for Perpendicular Women?

I did the proverbial throw-everything-I-can-think-of-against-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks exercise. I wrote down every theme and symbol I could think of (the book has a lot of both), plus descriptions of every significant character and setting. Then I winnowed the document down to six pages and sent it to the publisher’s design team. The designers at Atmosphere Press created nine mockups, bless them, and oh my goodness, they were fabulous.

From there, I narrowed the field to four concepts and ran them by my writing critique group. They chose two. Then I posted both on Facebook and invited comments. People love to share opinions, and the response was a tsunami. And you know what? The vote was even. Exactly fifty-fifty. I could have flipped a coin but decided instead to choose the design that I felt better fit the story’s vibe and characters—thoughtful, frightened, and in the end, courageous. I adore the result. Thanks for the question!

Will this novel be the start of a series or are you working on a different story?

A sequel is percolating. In it are more adventures of some new perpendicular characters, plus two that carry over from the first book. The sequel has a different intent. While Perpendicular Women focuses on the transformation of the individual, the almost picaresque sequel focuses on the transformation of humanity. Think The Wizard of Oz, Gulliver’s Travels, Red Mars, or The End of Men. Check out the sequel’s first two chapters. They appear at the end of the first book.

Here I’d like to interject something. While the themes can be taken seriously in both books, the stories can be read solely for fun and adventure. Or for catharsis. Or, of course, if it fits your mood, for the joy of heavy mental lifting. Reader’s choice.

Thanks again for the questions. Literary Titan does a wonderful service for readers and writers alike. I’m reachable at chrisbusiness@comcast.net, and Perpendicular Women is available on Amazon.

May your universe treat you kindly!

Author Links: Facebook | Website

Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/08/14/what-is-a-perfect-life/