Stephanie Brick, in addition to writing portal fantasy for middle grade readers, is a licensed architect. As a passionate and respected expert in salutogenic design, an evidence-based design strategy to improve human health and well-being in the built environment, she is especially dedicated to applying this design across military installations to improve the well-being of our service members. The Secret Doors of Cannondale plot synopsis An outcast girl looking to belong discovers a secret doorway to other realms in a thrilling portal fantasy novel for middle-grade readers. When twelve-year-o ..read more

Stories about creative and inventive individuals are often reserved for the triumphant. It’s not only satisfying but inspiring to see someone beat the odds and see the fulfillment of their hard work. But more often than not, pursuits fail. People run out of time or desire, and their projects end up discarded, never to be heard of again. But what about those who were ahead of their time and didn’t get to see their ideas succeed but inspired others to take that work and, under different circumstances, see it come to fruition? Is that not a story of success? Is not inspiring to those who put the ..read more

Hello readers of Laura’s Books and Blogs! My name is Catherine Conmy, and I’m a first-time novelist here to get you excited about my upcoming release––a dystopian fiction novel titled Where I See You. As we are experiencing the intensities of living in the digital age, coupled with advanced technologies emerging left and right, Where I See You takes readers on a journey to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of immersive Artificial Intelligence (A.I) technologies through a thrilling story that leaves readers engaged until the last page. Coming May 2024, it’s both a timely and timeless ex ..read more

When I go browsing for a new book to read, I find that you’re more likely going to find a sad, scary, or dramatic story rather than a funny one. Humor is very difficult to pull off in print. The way we read sentences in our heads varies, and a funny line isn’t going to be spoken or read the same by each reader. Humorous situations too aren’t as revered as dramatic, even though both can make you feel strongly and provide the escapism that we’re looking for when we read. The best place to find humorous books is in the children’s genres. Picture and chapter books welcome funny kid characters tha ..read more

When we get too impulsive, we can really mess things up. We can get too hyper and break something. We can say the wrong thing on impulse and hurt somebody’s feelings. Or we can think we’re helping when we’re really making things worse. In my experience, this impulsivity has caused a lot of guilt and shame. But in the case of Catastrophe, the cat protagonist in Catastrophe and the City by father and son author team Stephen and Arlo Baer, he remains unphased by his actions, making a potentially disastrous experience charming and exciting. Below is my review of Catastrophe in the City followed b ..read more

Jo is a post-modern reject who spent most of his time writing jokes only Norm Macdonald, Thomas Pynchon, and Rachel get. Exempli gratia: Much to his amusement, his newest book, the controversial Surviving Gen X has been banned by churches, certain nation states, and from his mother’s house. When not being the top-ranked feline whisperer of Minnesota, Jo juggles his time between academia, his podcasts What’s Kraken? and Streamin’ Demons, and his websites HauntedMTL.com, a haven for horror enthusiasts, and Czykmate.com, a platform dedicated to the art of writing and helping others find their v ..read more

We all know someone who has had it rough. I’m not talking about the friend who tends to spill coffee on themselves each morning or the relative who is always behind on their bills. I’m talking about people who have had one catastrophic thing happen to them after another, and somehow, they remain upright and even moving forward, bracing for the next impact. Author Ericka Clay explores an extended family connected by violence, tragedy, and personal demons in her novel, A Bird Alone. Below is my review of the book followed by an interview with Clay. And be sure to enter to win a hard copy of the ..read more

The purpose of getting away is literally to get away from your life, and hopefully, from your worries and problems that you carry around every day. Unfortunately, those problems can follow you wherever you go, and sometimes, they can even come to a head once you’re away from your daily routine, particularly if you’re with a group of trusted people on whom you can unload your emotional baggage. Author Kim McCollum explores female friendships and their ability to expose those underlying problems and find ways to resolve them in her women’s fiction novel, What Happens in Montana. Below is my rev ..read more

I started the 90’s barely out of my toddler years and ended it a full-blown teenager. That personally makes for a long and definitive decade. And it’s the decade that I’m the most familiar with and the one that I’m the most nostalgic for. It’s been talked about how, aside from our technology, it’s difficult to tell the difference between 2000 and 2010 or even 2011 to 2020 at first glance. I liken it to the early 1900s where 1901 looks the same as 1919 to an outside observer. The 90s was the last decade to actually have a distinct external evolution, particularly when it comes to pop culture ..read more

I don’t need an excuse to drink tea, but in the winter, it’s not only a drink, it’s a tool to keep warm on cold days. Winter is by far my least favorite season, but it does have its charms. One of those charms includes very sweet winter tea flavors from The Whistling Kettle. Below I sample three of these flavors and pair them with three wintery book scenes from classic novels. Check out my picks. Then save 10% off your first order at The Whistling Kettle using my code LAURASBOOKSANDBLOGS. Maple Taffy and the dance at Grandpa’s scene from Little House in the Big Woods Maple is a warm, sweet f ..read more