Date Published: November 11, 2025

What would you risk to uncover a secret buried for over 150 years?

From bestselling and multi–award-winning author David R. Leng comes the next pulse-pounding installment in the Echoes of Fortune series. 

His debut, Echoes of Fortune: The Search for Braddock’s Lost Gold, captivated readers and earned a 4.5-star rating on Goodreads. Now the adventure continues with a brand-new novella that plunges deeper into history’s deadliest secrets. 

When historian Jack Sullivan, Smithsonian curator Emma Wilson, and fellow former Navy SEAL Steve Johnson set out for a Thanksgiving dive off Cozumel, they expect nothing more than warm waters and forgotten wrecks. Instead, they uncover a Confederate ghost ship that vanished in 1865—along with a sealed brass tube containing secrets powerful enough to change history. 

But they’re not alone. Shadowy mercenaries and a black-hulled yacht stalk their every move, determined to silence them before the truth surfaces. From dazzling reefs to the back alleys of Veracruz, Jack and his team are forced into a deadly game where history isn’t past—it’s a weapon. 

Some secrets don’t want to be found. And some will kill to stay buried. 

Perfect for fans of Steve Berry, Clive Cussler, Dan Brown, and James Rollins, Shadows Over Cozumel delivers nonstop action, historical intrigue, and a mystery that spans centuries.

About the Author

 David R. Leng, known for his expertise in risk management and insurance, now ventures into the world of fiction with his latest historical thriller, Echoes of Fortune. With a distinguished career spanning over 30 years, David is the author of International #1 Best Sellers including "Insured to Fail" and "The 10 Laws of Insurance Attraction," and has saved clients over $42 million in premiums and overcharges. As Executive Vice President and Partner of the Duncan Financial Group, David is celebrated for his innovative Risk Profile Improvement Process and has earned numerous accolades, including Advisor of the Year by the Institute of WorkComp Professionals. 

An avid contributor to industry publications, David’s passion extends beyond his professional achievements to include boating, skiing, woodworking, and supporting his local high school’s musical productions. His foray into historical thrillers reflects his deep storytelling skills and a lifelong commitment to engaging and captivating audiences.

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Sometimes the best way to rewrite your story is to stop chasing it altogether. Caila Klaiss’s Kennedy Sloane Gets Scooped is a witty, emotional read about rediscovering purpose, love, and balance when life refuses to stick to the script. If you’ve ever dreamed of trading chaos for coastal calm—or wondered what might happen if you did—this one’s for you. 

🌴 Don’t miss the giveaway at the end of this post! Enter below for your chance to win a copy of the book and a little something to encourage your book buying habit!

Contemporary Women's Fiction/Contemporary Romance

Date Published: November 6th, 2025

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

On a rainy Manhattan afternoon, career-obsessed writer and news producer Kennedy loses the interview that was guaranteed to catapult her to senior producer status. Hours later, revered and feared book editor Muffin Evans, aka the Manuscript Eater, shelves the publication of her promising debut novel.

Over a night of tears and too many glasses of wine, Kennedy responds to an internet ad for a villa on the picturesque island of Hilton Head. She books a five-week “hiatus from life,” to focus on herself, free from distractions. 

However, soon after arriving on the island, J.P. Long catches Kennedy’s hesitant eye. Despite a series of serendipitous encounters around the romantic oasis, Kennedy knows there’s no room in her life for a charming professional golfer turned businessman who is battling his own personal and professional insecurities. 

But maybe he’s worth the trouble.

If there’s one thing Kennedy’s learned, it’s that life rarely happens as expected, and sometimes, the best stories unfold when you stop chasing the perfect headline. 

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About the Author

 A graduate of Fordham University, Caila Klaiss is an award-winning network news producer who spent seventeen years crisscrossing the country to cover breaking and developing stories for platforms across ABC News. The bulk of her career was spent producing true crime documentaries for 20/20. 

Since making the difficult decision to leave a career she loved, Caila has pursued her other life-long dream of becoming a writer. When she is not reading, writing, or researching, Caila recharges by practicing yoga.

Born, raised, and currently living in northeastern Pennsylvania, Caila is a New Yorker at heart whose happy place is a warm sandy beach, under a palm tree.

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Music can elevate the soul—or expose its deepest cracks. In The Well-Tempered Violinist by Barbara T. Carlton, art, ambition, and emotion intertwine in a story that resonates long after the final note. Learn about this historical fiction novel and author--and be sure to enter for a chance to win a prize in the book tour giveaway at the end of this post. 

Book 1 of The Gift

Historical Fiction

Date to be Published: November 5, 2025

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

But the violin Marthe’s father left her is a constant reminder of the profound bond between them, and it gives her the strength to begin healing. When the Köln Conservatory offers her an unexpected scholarship, she seizes her chance to reach for excellence.

Under the rigorous tutelage of Professorin Wolff, and subjected to predatory harassment by a fellow student determined to destroy both her self-worth and her chances of success, Marthe quickly learns she will need more than motivation and talent to rise to the top.

Filled with heart, wit, and music, The Well-Tempered Violinist is an enduring coming-of-age tale about an artist striving for greatness against enormous odds.

The Well-Tempered Violinist, Book 1 of The Gift series, is her first novel.

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Facebook: Barbara Thornburgh Carlton, Writer

Instagram: @btcarlton_writer 

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When the wilderness becomes both teacher and test, survival is only part of the story. In Never Lost by Aaron C. Anderson, man and nature meet in a raw, soul-stirring journey through the untamed heart of Idaho’s backcountry. Part survival tale, part spiritual odyssey, this novel explores what it truly means to endure — and to stay connected to the wisdom of generations past. Learn more about this book and its author--and be sure to enter for a chance to win a prize in the book tour giveaway at the end of this post. 

General Fiction

Date Published: October 23rd, 2025

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

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About the Book

 

Zane Carter and his sons, eleven-year-old Ty and thirteen-year-old Joseph, venture one hundred miles into the Idaho wilderness with only a knife and the knowledge of their Nez Perce ancestors. Danger awaits at every deadfall and lurks in every snowy shadow as the boys hunt, fish, make weapons, and build shelter, learning to survive, taking only what they need from the land, and leaving no trace.

 

During their eighteen-day journey, Zane’s determination to fulfill a promise to his grandfather, an Indigenous warrior who exemplified the tenets of a wise and spiritual existence, is thwarted by a fatal encounter that transports Zane into an ancient realm as he straddles the thin line between life and death.

 

He wonders what has become of his boys. Have they learned enough patience, resourcefulness, and courage to complete this rite of passage? Will they make it out of the wildlands alive? Or will the unforgiving forces of the natural world take them too far from home to ever return?

 

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About the Author

After high school, Aaron Anderson set out to see the world, embarking on adventures through North America, Europe, and North Africa. He enjoyed traveling as a bicyclist, motorcyclist, train passenger, and even as a hitchhiker, reveling in the excitement of the unknown.

 

At the age of twenty-two, Aaron returned to the US and worked on oil rigs in Wyoming. He later became a carpenter and eventually a real estate appraiser. However, his true passions have always been writing, developing powerful friendships, and exploring new country. 

 

During the 1980s he and his two sons hunted, hiked, and camped throughout the western states. Here, his love for the natural world and respect for Indigenous people prompted him to write his second novel, Never Lost.

 

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Before video games and smartphones, adventure was homemade — and sometimes a little hazardous. Pintsized Pioneers at Play: Homemade Frontier Fun and Danger by Preston Lewis and Harriet Kocher Lewis invites readers to step back into the dusty boots of frontier childhood, where imagination ruled and every day promised discovery — or danger! Learn about the book and the authors & be sure to enter for a chance to win a prize in the book tour giveaway at the end of this post.

Homemade Frontier Fun and Danger written by Preston Lewis and Harriet Kocher Lewis

Date Published: 11-04-2025

Publisher: Bariso Press

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While their parents settled the land, these pintsized pioneers explored it, creating their own adventures with homemade toys, daring games, wild animal encounters, and risky escapades. This engaging sequel to the award-winning Pintsized Pioneers: Taming the Frontier, One Chore at a Time shines a spotlight on the joys and perils of play in a land still being tamed. 

From exploring the prairie and wrangling critters to celebrating frontier holidays and watching traveling circuses, this book reveals how children carved out fun and entertainment in a rough-and-tumble world. Learn how railroads and mail-order catalogs brought new toys, how schools and churches doubled as social hubs, and how a simple game could end in laughter—or injury. 

Written for young adults but fascinating for readers of all ages, Pintsized Pioneers at Play is packed with history, heart, and a hint of danger. Written at a tenth-grade reading level perfect for curious minds, Pintsized Pioneers at Play includes a glossary of related terms. 

Perfect for fans of Western history, educators, homeschoolers, and lovers of untold American stories!

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About the Authors

 Preston Lewis is the award-winning author of more than sixty western, historical, juvenile, and nonfiction works. In 2021 he was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters for his literary achievements. The Will Rogers Medallion Awards named him the 2025 recipient of the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the literature of the American West.

Western Writers of America (WWA) has honored Lewis with three Spur Awards, one for best article, a second for best western novel and a third one for YA nonfiction in 2025. He has received eleven Will Rogers Medallion Awards (seven gold, two silver and two bronze) for written western humor, short stories, YA nonfiction, short nonfiction, and traditional Western novel. 

Harriet Kocher Lewis is a retired physical therapist and PT educator. As an assistant clinical professor of physical therapy at Angelo State University, she taught documentation and scientific writing among other topics as the department’s coordinator of clinical education. 

After retirement she became the publisher of Bariso Press and in that capacity an award-winning author and editor. Books she has edited have earned a Spur Award, Will Rogers Gold and Bronze Medallions for YA nonfiction and western humor, a Literary Global Book Award for cookbooks, and an Independent Author Award for western nonfiction. Other books she has edited have been finalists for Spur Awards in juvenile nonfiction and for Independent Author Awards for both memoirs and humor. 

Kocher Lewis is co-author with her husband of the Spur Award-winning Pintsized Pioneers: Taming the Frontier, One Chore at a Time and three books on artificial Intelligence, all published by Bariso Press. They live in San Angelo, Texas.

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Today, I have a children's book to share in our book spotlight! Learn about The Wheels on the Stroller and author Claudia Kramer Kohlbrenner & be sure to enter for a chance to win a prize in the book tour giveaway at the end of this post.  

Date Published: 2025

Publisher: Serapis Bey Publishing

Illustrator: Brian Dumm

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Ready…Set…Let’s Roll!

About the Author

When teaching at the preschool level, Claudia encouraged busy parents to utilize the time spent carrying out daily routines as language-rich opportunities. Parents were counseled to talk about what was happening in a child’s “here and now” - while getting dressed, brushing teeth, taking a stroller walk! Claudia used available and self-generated rhymes and songs and involved as many bodily senses and movements as possible to facilitate developmental skills in preschoolers. She considers the repetition used in The Wheels on the Bus book and now in The Wheels on the Stroller to be a valuable learning tool for young children. According to early childhood research, repetition reinforces language processing, pattern recognition and a sense of predictability. It also provides children with opportunities to rehearse new sound and word sequences.

After retirement, Claudia’s love of rhyme inspired her to take a few children’s poetry writing classes. She was pleased to have several poems published in “Highlights High Five” and “Highlights” magazines, with two poems also published in children’s anthologies. The joy of reading to her sons long ago and now her grandchildren sparked her desire to write a children’s book as well. One day, after she and her young grandson enthusiastically sang and motioned along with The Wheels on the Bus book, grandma and grandson set out for one of their many adventure-seeking neighborhood stroller walks. As the wheels on his stroller went round and round, they greeted neighbors with tail-wagging dogs, watched squirrels scurry up trees and delighted in the “ding! ding! ding!” of an approaching bicycle along with other encounters- The Wheels on the Stroller was spontaneously born!

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Sister Acts Brings a Well-Developed Emotional Family Drama to Readers. The author does an excellent job of exploring the life events, challenges, personalities, and family dynamics that unfold over time. For the Malinsky family, grief, dysfunction, jealousy, and drama shape the characters (and influence their paths in life). For readers, this emotional drama is well-organized, well-developed, and realistically portrayed, making it an intense page-turner. 

Expect to Find a Relatable, Provoking Story. I am an only child, so I do not have experience with my own sibling dynamics. However, I have seen complicated relationships in other families, especially after grief resolves (or doesn't). The author presents the sisters' lives and relationships very realistically, giving each a relatable personality that readers will either connect with or love to hate. I felt for Rose, understood Betti and Naomi, and know many women who are very much like Marla. While the story is built on the loss of the girls' mother, it includes family secrets, drama, events and challenges to keep the storyline moving and engaging from beginning to end. 

Would I Recommend Sister Acts by Sharon Adelman Reyes? If you enjoy family dramas with strong, imperfect female characters that are emotional and thought-provoking, this novel is very well done. As the author explores the sisters' relationships and their life paths, readers will grow to understand the characters on a deeper level — and will encounter thoughts that linger after the last page.  

Meet the Author

Sharon Adelman Reyes is a writer, editor, and equestrienne in Oregon, living on the slopes of an extinct volcano and looking out on an active one. During a lengthy professional career, she has published various works drawing on her experiences in multicultural teaching. Sister Acts is her first novel.

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