This morning, I have a nonfiction book in our book blitz spotlight! Learn about The Archaic Thesaurus by author Nina Spinello! 

Rediscover the Poetry of Forgotten Words

Date Published: July 18, 2025

Publisher: ‎MindStir Media

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From “abstruse” to “zealous,” each entry is meticulously presented with: 

● The word’s pronunciation

This A-to-Z compendium invites readers to embrace words like anathema, bellicose, laconic, and quixotic—expressions steeped in literary tradition and capable of transforming any piece of writing into something timeless. 

Whether you’re an author in search of the perfect word, a language enthusiast craving the eloquence of yesteryear, or a student eager to expand your vocabulary, The Archaic Thesaurus opens the door to a more expressive, poetic, and nuanced way of communicating. 

Bring history into your vocabulary. Let these powerful words rekindle your imagination and elevate your expression. 

 Rediscover the art of language—one magnificent word at a time.

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This morning, I have a coming-of-age novel in our literary fiction book blitz spotlight! Learn about The Smallest of Miracles and author Douglas Carpenter. 

Literary Fiction

Date Published: March 6, 2025

Publisher: Seacoast Press

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In The Smallest of Miracles, Douglas Carpenter crafts a masterful literary debut that merges gripping storytelling with profound life lessons. The novel follows Ted Carrington, a wealthy, brilliant, and emotionally distant man on the autism spectrum, who returns to the private elementary school that shaped him—for better and worse. He intends to make a large donation, but what begins as a business transaction slowly becomes a reckoning with his past. 

As the story transitions between Ted’s present and his childhood, readers meet the deeply flawed, often cruel boy he once was—especially to a vulnerable new classmate named Anna. But life, in its quiet way, begins to turn his world upside down. 

What emerges is not only Ted’s transformation, but an invitation to the reader: to reflect, to slow down, and to reconsider how the smallest decisions—the ones we barely notice—can lead to the greatest changes. 

This is not just a novel. It’s a call to awareness. A self-improvement guide disguised as a coming-of-age story. 

Read it once for the story. Read it again for the insight.

His debut novel, The Smallest of Miracles, took ten years to write—a deeply personal and intricately crafted journey of self-discovery and transformation. Drawing on his keen eye for detail and analysis, Douglas poured over every word, shaping a literary fiction novel that functions as both an engaging story and a guide to personal growth. 

The book explores how tiny, seemingly insignificant choices shape our lives far more than major events. Readers are invited to slow down, reflect, and discover truths hidden in the smallest details—just as Douglas has done through his writing. 

Douglas hopes his novel will find a place in high school curricula and on the bookshelves of thoughtful readers young and old. His message is clear: "The truth is always hidden behind things that are out of place." 

Connect with Douglas Carpenter to discover a new perspective on life, character, and the miraculous power of small decisions.

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This morning, I have a historical fiction novel in our book teaser spotlight! Check out The Well-Tempered Violinist and learn about author Barbara T. Carlton. 

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.

FEBRUARY 1949, HEIDELBERG

In the very beginning was the sound, bright and rich, with an edge of darkness. 

I knew it before birth, my mother said, for whenever my father played, I became still in her womb, as if I were mesmerized. 

In the sitting room of our house in Eberlinstrasse, I became the audience, propped with pillows before I could sit up, listening to my father and his friends play string quartets on Saturday nights—for love, he said, not money, for he was a banker, though as a young man he had studied with the famous Schradieck in Hamburg. Later, he told me I never fussed, never had to be removed, but remained transfixed, no matter how rough the music nor how often they repeated it. So perhaps my mother was right. 

***

The second beginning was my fourth birthday, when my baby sister Anni stuck her fist into my birthday cake when no one was looking and my grandparents gave me a music box that played “Papageno’s Magic Bells” from The Magic Flute, which I listened to until everyone but me was sick of it. Best of all, my father gave me my own small violin and began to teach me its mysteries. First, the names of the strings and their personalities: A, sensible and even-tempered; D, cheerful and impetuous; down to G, serious and thoughtful; up to E, nervous and temperamental, with a tendency to squeak. How to tune them, how to find the notes and make them pure instead of scratchy. He turned exercises and drills into games and improvised harmony to my children’s songs, something different every time. Alle Meine Entchen, All My Ducklings. Bruder Jakob, a round. Kleines Mädchen, Little Girl—my favorite, because it was about me. 

I practiced every afternoon for my evening lesson. Occasionally, with nerves like caterpillars in my stomach, I played for the applause and praise of my father’s friends. I might have thought all children were as docile as myself, if not for Anni. Anni’s temper tantrums, Anni thundering up and down the stairs, Anni meddling with my toys and often breaking them. I couldn’t imagine where my parents had found her, or why. Someday, I thought—preferably soon—she would run off to become a pirate and leave us in peace. 

The pirate would surely come to no good. But I dreamed I would become a famous violinist and lead an exotic and sophisticated life on the concert stages of the world.

***

When I outgrew my first violin, Anni inherited it and my father began to teach her—at least, he tried. Anni never practiced and she hated lessons of all kinds. The experiment was short-lived and a spectacular failure. 

I felt horribly smug for weeks.

My father and I shared a secret language, a world full of treasures where Anni couldn’t stick in her fat little fist and grab anything and where my mother didn’t care to go. A bond grew between us as between two fibers of the same tree, pure and deep. . . 

***

MARCH 1906, KÖLN

Both of these beginnings came before the real one, like the prologue in fiction. 

The third beginning, the real one, is now: a cold March morning a month past my eighteenth birthday, before the grand front door of one of the grandest houses in Köln. Herr Dietrich keeps a firm grip on my elbow, probably to keep me from running away. In my other hand, I carry my violin in its case. This house, on Leopoldstrasse in the heart of the Lindenthal district, belongs to Herr Ferdinand Kurtz, president of the Bank of Köln. My father’s bank. 

Yes. It begins here.

The violin I carry is my father’s, because he is dead.

*** 

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

Today, I have a women's fiction novel in our book release blitz spotlight! Learn about Love's Harvest and author Judith Keim,  

Women's Fiction with Romantic Elements

Date Published: August 18, 2025

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Aaron Collister was Sarah’s high school boyfriend. They connected with their sensitivity to nature and poetry, which might have seemed strange unless you knew that big, tough, Aaron was part Abenake Indian and had been given many life lessons by his mother. They renew their friendship, but neither is ready to commit to more until a crisis leads them to their answer. 

About the Author 

She enjoyed her childhood and young-adult years in Elmira, New York, and now makes her home in Boise, Idaho, with her husband and their adorable dachshunds, Wally and Kacy, and other members of her family. 

 While growing up, she loved the idea of writing stories from a young age. Books were always present, being read, ready to go back to the library, or about to be discovered. All in her family shared information from the books in general conversation, giving them a wealth of knowledge and vivid imaginations. 

 Ms. Keim loves to hear from her readers and appreciates their enthusiasm for her stories.

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