Zeke Comes Out of His Shell follows a young hermit crab living in Southern California who is swept away from home during a storm and must find his way home. What was the inspiration for your story?
Zeke Comes Out of His Shell came to me as a surprise. I am not a children’s author by any means—and I am still learning the ins and outs of writing a book for a younger audience—but writing a children’s book has always been something I’ve wanted to do. This story in particular was inspired by a stuffed animal that I’ve had in my room—a hermit crab! The story’s setting was greatly inspired by San Diego and Southern California in general, as that is where I live.
What scene in the book did you have the most fun writing?
Particularly with children’s stories, I’ve always enjoyed writing the first page. To me, that’s the most important part of the story—at least for drawing in young readers. The same goes for this book as well. Writing the descriptions of the tide pools and the ocean waves, and introducing the characters, was the best part.
What educational aspects were important for you to include in this children’s book?
To me, I felt that keeping the book as factual as possible was very important. I included details such as how hermit crabs find and replace their shells, as well as little references as to what they eat and how they live. Other than that, as the book is for a younger audience, I allowed my imagination to take forth!
Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out, and what can your fans expect in the next story?
For now, I don’t have definite plans to write another book in this series—with that being said, continuing the journeys of Zeke and his friends is something I would like to do in the future.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Website | Amazon
Are you ready to explore the ocean? Join Zeke, a young hermit crab from the sunny coast of Southern California, on his quest to return home after being swept away during a storm. Along the way, he will meet new friends and discover a bravery inside himself that he never knew was there—and maybe you will too.
Zeke Comes Out of His Shell is the perfect adventure for budding readers, lovers of the ocean and the creatures that inhabit it, and those still trying to come out of their shells.
Terrence Poppa’s Gray Wrath is an intense tale of humanity’s fight for survival against an alien threat. The story kicks off when astronomer Tepler discovers a mysterious asteroid speeding toward Earth, only to accidentally uncover a terrifying extraterrestrial menace. As this threat approaches, former Directorate agent Michael Kendon and Laura Meller, the daughter of the scientist who cracked the key to defeating the aliens, must work together to save the planet. Their mission takes them to an unlikely place—a lighthouse in Puerto Rico, where a hidden weapon, Tepler’s first discovery, may be Earth’s last hope. With the shadowy Directorate chasing them, Kendon and Laura race to unlock the secrets of the lighthouse and mount a final defense against the invaders. The story showcases humanity’s relentless will to survive, portraying the resilience and determination that define us as a species.
I found the sci-fi elements in Gray Wrath thoroughly enjoyable, particularly the way Poppa grounded the alien technology with a sense of logic that stayed consistent throughout the narrative. The exploration of the aliens’ advanced systems, from their energy sources to their communication methods and the defense weapon crafted by Donald Meller, was fascinating. This attention to scientific detail made the alien menace feel more authentic and immersive.
The book skillfully balanced action-packed moments with emotional depth, maintaining a gripping tension that kept me engaged. Shifting between Kendon and Laura’s journey and Tepler and his close friend Gabriela Estrada’s investigation added layers of urgency and scope, allowing the story to build momentum as the threat intensified. Poppa’s ability to weave these different narrative threads together made Gray Wrath an incredibly captivating read. The emotional stakes and fast-paced action blended seamlessly, creating a world I felt fully invested in. The well-crafted characters and their relationships provided a strong emotional core that resonated alongside the larger battle for Earth.
Gray Wrath is an immersive and thrilling sci-fi adventure. I highly recommend it to fans of alien invasion stories and readers who appreciate a well-thought-out blend of scientific intrigue and emotional depth.
Heart Trouble for ZZ is a delightful and educational picture book that teaches children the importance of caring for a sick pet. The story centers on ZZ, a spirited and playful dog whose only desire is to enjoy life despite a concerning diagnosis from his veterinarian. When the vet warns that ZZ might have a heart problem and advises him to stay calm until the test results are in, ZZ tries his best to settle down, but his exuberant nature gets the better of him. That’s when his loving family steps in, offering the support and guidance he needs.
The adventures of ZZ throughout this vibrant children’s book are a joy to witness. His antics, whether bouncing on the couch or racing around the yard, perfectly capture the playful spirit of a typical dog, and children will be thoroughly entertained by his lively behavior. However, beyond the fun and silliness lies a deeper lesson. As readers follow ZZ’s journey, they learn ways to help a rambunctious pet calm down, even when it’s essential for their health. Heart Trouble for ZZ excels in demonstrating gentle and compassionate ways to care for pets who struggle to settle down when it matters most.
The book’s charm is further enhanced by Zoe Saunders’ stunning illustrations. Her use of a soft color palette and beautiful sketch-style artwork vividly conveys ZZ’s emotions, whether he’s feeling frightened at the vet or discouraged while hiding in the closet. Every page is a visual treat, and children will be captivated by the expressive depictions of ZZ’s experiences.
Heart Trouble for ZZ is a heartwarming and insightful children’s book, ideal for families with pets, especially those dealing with health issues. Even for those without pets, young readers will be enchanted by ZZ’s rambunctious nature and come away with a valuable lesson in caring for loved ones.
Annie Sklaver Orenstein, author of
Always a Sibling: The Forgotten Mourner’s Guide to Grief
that grief is complicated but there are simple things someone can do for those going through it.
Dictionary wants to bring her pages to life but then a hungry alligator chasing a donut crashes into a queen who slips on some soap and chaos ensues. Can Dictionary put herself back together again?
Danzy Senna was born in 1970, just a few years after Loving v. Virginia legalized interracial marriage. “Just merely existing as a family was a radical statement at that time,” she says.
In our September 19 issue, Andrew Katzenstein writes about one of Hollywood’s most distinctive contributions to the world: “The hope is that in figuring out what we mean by ‘screwball comedy,’ we might be better able to understand just what it is about these films that transports us.” Surveying dozens of movies from the 1930s and […]
Calliope Wakes follows a young adult woman who is plagued by relentless nightmares and strange uncontrollable events happening around her. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I grew up in the Midwest where I looked like no one else. First-generation immigrant families sometimes don’t assimilate well and I was stuck straddling two very different cultures. You want weird looks? Bring chopsticks for your school lunch. My happy place growing up with the tiny city library and that’s where I started exploring. All the good classics–Lloyd Alexander, Patricia McKillip, Alice Hoffman, Andre Norton, Katharine Kerr, Susan Cooper. If it was available, I read it. I wanted to write a book about an outsider trying to reconcile two completely different worlds. And, of course, I wanted sweeping romance, epic battles, and earth-shattering endings.
Callie struggles with her nightmares and the return of Erik into her life leaving her questioning what is happening and if she is the cause. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
I needed Callie to earn her self-actualization. There’s always someone else telling you who you should be, what you should do, and weighing your worth, screw all of that. It took me a long time to realize I needed to run my own race and I pushed for Callie to start having faith in herself.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
For all young folks moving from high school to college, the mission should be to discover yourself. What do you believe in, what do you want to do with your life, what are your hard limits, or do you even have them? Emerging adulthood is a time like no other because you’re still unformed and that is your first shot at making yourself who you want to be. A key part of that is letting go of the past or resolving old trauma because you don’t want that weighing you down going forward.
Will there be a follow-up novel to this story? If so, what aspects of the story will the next book cover?
I always intended for this to be a one-shot but now I want to write a full trilogy! Let’s see what my lovely publisher at Evernight Teen thinks. Celtic and Norse mythology is vast and wide-ranging but there are some fantastic myths that I want to tie to the young adult experience.
Something is wrong in Bellhaven, and Callie doesn’t know how to stop the nightmares. She just wants to be safe in her small city by Lake Michigan, but there are strangers in town and evil around the corner. Is she causing the troubles, or is there something more sinister? Erik has come back into her life and seems to know more about her bursts of insanity than her, but she doesn’t know if she can trust him or if he’s trying to distract her.
Then buildings are collapsing, wolves are attacking, people are dying and only Callie can save them. Will this time be different? Will they finally live to see the sun rise on All Hallows’ Eve?
Janszoon follows Hollywood icon Humphrey Bogart through his tumultuous personal and professional life who longs for adventure and a lasting legacy while learning about his ancestor, pirate Jan Janszoon van Salee. What inspired you to write this story?
At the heart of all of my historical fiction writing is my soon-to-be-published series about German immigration in the early Eighteenth Century. As the family historian, my wife and I undertook a journey tracing the path of my German ancestor, Hans Heinrich Gruber (no relation to the Die Hard Hans), from Basel, Switzerland, up the Rhine River to Rotterdam. From there, Hans embarked on a ship to New York City. While researching the New Netherlands, specifically the island of Manhattan, I stumbled upon the story of the infamously famous, fabulously wealthy Dutch Barbary pirate Jan Janszoon Van Salee. His sons were among the earliest settlers, and their descendants now number in the millions. Among these descendants is believed to be the Hollywood legend Humphrey Bogart.
As I traveled through the Northeast, from Philadelphia to Canada to Boston, gathering facts for my series, the idea for this book struck me. I envisioned Bogart, amid his career, exploring his connection to Jan Janszoon Van Salee. The story became a journey of self-discovery, legacy, and adventure as Bogart delves into his heritage to understand what it means to leave a lasting mark on the world.
What kind of research did you do for this novel to ensure you captured the essence of the story’s theme?
Bibliography
Widing, Roy. Sluggy: Bogie’s Other Baby. Mayo Methot – Star of Stage, Screen & Wife of Humphrey Bogart. Orlando, Florida: Copyright 2019 Roy Widing. (pgs 131, 142-4)
Thompson, Verita, and Donald Shepherd. A Love Story: Bogie and Me. Pinnacle Books, Inc., 1982. (pgs. 10-14, 17-25, 27-33, 45-49, 53-56)
Hyams, Joe. The Humphrey Bogart Story: BOGIE. The New American Library, Inc., 1966. 1301 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019. (pgs. 63, 72, 79-80, 87)
Sperber, A.M., and Eric Lax. Bogart. HarperCollins Publishers, 1997. 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007. (pgs. 227, 235)
Meyers, Jeffrey. BOGART: A Life in Hollywood. A Peter Davison Book, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, New York, 1997. (pgs. 138, 160-163)
Bogart, Stephen Humphrey, and Gary Provost. Bogart: In Search of My Father. Penguin Books USA Inc., 1995. 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Humphrey Bogart and the rest of the gang.
…and of course, lots of old movies.
What draws you to the Golden Age of Hollywood and makes it ripe for you to write such a great biographical fiction story in it?
My draw to the Golden Age of Hollywood stems from a deep love for the silver screen and history. As a longtime fan of classic films, I’ve always been captivated by the larger-than-life personalities and stories that shaped that era. The glitz, glamor, and drama of Hollywood’s golden years offer a rich world for storytelling, where real-life legends like Humphrey Bogart navigated personal and professional challenges while leaving an indelible mark on cinema.
Retired from dentistry, I now have the luxury of immersing myself in history and letting my imagination run wild. Daydreaming about the lives of iconic figures allows me to blend factual history with fictional narratives, creating stories that entertain and explore the human side of these legends. Writing biographical fiction set in this era is my way of paying tribute to the stars who shaped our cultural landscape while indulging my passion for history and classic cinema.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
There are several thrilling historical fiction projects in the works, each offering a unique dive into the past and beyond. First up is an ambitious eight-book series that will take you on a journey through German immigration from 1700 to 1780, capturing the trials, triumphs, and enduring spirit of those who shaped the Pennsylvania Dutch community. Spinning off from this series is an intriguing standalone novel set around 1715, centered on a girls’ school that spurred the transfer of none other than Yale College to New Haven—a story rich with secrets, ambition, and early American history.
But that’s not all! There’s also the first installment of a gripping murder mystery series, promising twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat. And if that weren’t enough, a mind-blowing multi-book sci-fi saga is in the works, ready to transport readers to worlds and dimensions that defy imagination.
The funny thing about crafting a long series is that by the time you’re knee-deep in books, new revelations or ideas often pop up, prompting rewrites and tweaks to earlier volumes. It’s a creative journey that truly only ends once everything falls perfectly in place. One day, these stories will be polished, perfected, and released as a complete set, and I hope readers will enjoy them as much as I’ve loved bringing them to life.
Author Links: Amazon
It’s 1942 and Humphrey Bogart seems to have it all. By day, he’s reading lines for Casablanca with Ingrid Bergman; by night, he’s drinking bourbon on the Sunset Strip with friends like Peter Lorre and Leslie Howard. But to Bogart, life is not so glamorous. High-profile fights with his wife Mayo and a rigid studio contract committing him to a series of mediocre films have him feeling personally and professionally trapped. That is, until one day a mysterious note arrives on set. Heeding the strange invitation, Bogart finds himself in a series of long, secret conversations with his aunt and cousin about the swashbuckling tales of their ancestor, the pirate Jan Janszoon van Salee. These tales of the high seas ignite a fire within Bogart to carve out a path that is uniquely his own—even if it means shedding the roles and people who made him famous. Janszoon is more than a Hollywood fantasy; it’s a journey into the heart of a man wrestling with ambitions and desires, an actor who yearns to balance his on-screen personas with his off-screen reality. From his tumultuous marriage and infamous USO tour, through his affairs with Verita Patterson and Lauren Bacall, Janszoon imagines a life in which the enigmatic Humphrey Bogart seeks a legacy that transcends the ephemeral glow of stardom.
The Space Between Dreaming follows two women struggling to have a family of their own who meet at an art gallery and form an unlikely friendship. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I had always wanted to write a story that featured strong friendships that was perhaps a bit unexpected. I decided to do this through friendships that spanned different generations and different circumstances as a way to show the strength we gain from women who are in our corner. Since I’m also an artist, I took a lot of inspiration from my own experience in showing in galleries and working at art fairs.
Grace and Jane are both relatable characters that readers are drawn to and want to help. Are there any emotions or memories from your own life that you put into your characters’ lives?
I used my real-life great-grandmother’s name for one of the characters, although the personality of the character is totally different. The character of Jane loves the Milwaukee Art Museum and has since she was a kid, which is something I took directly from my own life.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
My love of art and the power of expressing emotions through painting is something I wanted to convey. I wanted readers to feel how valuable the practice and appreciation of artistic endeavor can be in healing, decision-making, and everyday life. Also the theme of moving forward despite difficult circumstances was an important one to include. I wanted this to be an inspiring, hopeful book for someone to pick up.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
I just released an art book called Poetry and Paint. It features my original paintings and poetry. I’m also working on another novel, but I don’t have a date for its release yet.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Amazon
Grace and Jane both crave family but for much different reasons. Grace longs for the child she was never able to conceive and Jane for the new family she will have once she marries her boyfriend. They meet and become unlikely friends when Grace’s husband paints his masterpiece and Jane’s gallery represents him.
As they ponder their future, Jane’s meddling 80-year-old landlady helps them see the beauty in letting go of expectations. Grace and Jane each see something different in the painting, and it causes them to look beyond their stubborn dreams to a fresh reality that could hold the key to their happiness.
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In our September 19 issue, Andrew Katzenstein writes about one of Hollywood’s most distinctive contributions to the world: “The hope is that in figuring out what we mean by ‘screwball comedy,’ we might be better able to understand just what it is about these films that transports us.” Surveying dozens of movies from the 1930s and […]
