Vocal Expressions

This is the first book I have read by Nick Haskins. The title drew me in and I couldn’t wait to dive into this story full of drama and manipulation. So, let’s meet the characters: Katie, the blonde, self-absorbed wife of Dr. Eric Reynolds; Courtney, the ambitious and ever-loving wife to Dr. Erik Reynolds; and Dr. Eric/Erik/Erick Reynolds, the loving and at time cruel master manipulator who would eventually ruin everyone’s lives.  While I enjoyed the twists and surprising turns in the novel, I couldn’t believe how gullible the wives were. No one bothered to vet the validity of Dr. Reynolds by visiting him at his office, meeting any of his family or friends or even Googling him. They simply took him at face value that he was a doctor, and they were married to a doctor and that’s all that mattered.   Overall, it was a quick read. I loved Haskins’ storytelling voice and his descriptions of the characters and places. However, I didn’t find the characters likeable or endearing. ...

Author’s Bio: Born in Washington, DC, Betsy Ashton claims she was raised in Southern California where she ran wild with coyotes in the hills above Malibu, even though her mother challenged her memory. She was a political activist with the nickname “Buckshot Betsy.” You’ll have to ask her how she got it. She writes in multiple genres: mysteries, including the Mad Max Mystery series, Unintended Consequences, Uncharted Territory, and Unsafe Haven (all republished in 2021) : serial killer psychological suspense, Eyes Without a Face, 2017; and literary or women’s fiction, Out of the Desert, 2019. Her latest is a suspense novel, Betrayal, 2021 . Her short stories and poetry have appeared in several anthologies including Murder by the Glass, 50 Shades of Cabernet, and Candles of Hope. She is the past president of the commonwealth-wide Virginia Writers Club and remains active in the literary communities in Roanoke and at Smith Mountain Lake. Reach her at www.betsy-ashton.com . ...

Author’s Bio: ODESSA ROSE received her B.A. in English from Coppin State University and her M.A. in Literature from the University of Maryland at College Park. Her first novel, Water In A Broken Glass , captured the #6 spot on the On-Demand Best Seller list, received the Just About Books Annual Book Award, is ranked #17 on Accredited Online Colleges’ 20 Essential Novels For African-American Women list, was recorded for the Maryland School for the Blind, and is included in The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Multiethnic American Literature , Ethnic American Literature: An Encyclopedia for Students , and Black Like Us: A Century of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual African American Fiction .  Water In A Broken Glass was also adapted into an award-winning feature film of the same title.  Rose’s second novel, In the Mirror received the African American Expo Award for Fiction.   Rose is a member of the Black Writers’ Guild of Maryland. She and her husband are the creators of the tele...

Author’s Bio: Michelle Morgan Spady is a multi-genre author , entrepreneur, and former middle and high school English and Business teacher. Her passion is writing children’s and women’s contemporary fiction and non-fiction. Mrs. Spady is known to empower others by encouraging them to participate in her writing projects. Teens gain invaluable education in the process of illustrating, publishing and writing books. At this writing, she is enrolled at Dallas Theological Seminary pursuing a Master of Arts Degree in Christian Education with a focus in Women’s Studies.  When not studying or writing, she loves spending time with her husband and artist, son in Reston, VA. She also can’t live without God, family and something to write with or on! Deliah Lawrence: What inspired you to write your book? Michelle Morgan Spady: My current release was inspired by a seminary class titled, “Trinitarianism”. I had to do a class project. I created a PowerPoint and from the research (and good grad...

This is the second book I have read by Michael Cordell and I enjoyed the switch in genres: legal thriller (book 1) to a psychic thriller (book 2). So, let’s meet Matthew Davis, a transplant from Hatchett, Nebraska living in Brooklyn, New York working as a short order cook at a diner for a living. He shares a psychic connection with identical twin brother, Jake and when a sudden pain hits him violently one night, he knew that Jake was killed. It's been 10 years since Matt went back home to Hatchett and this time going back for Jake’s funeral conjured up feelings of regret for not keeping in touch with Jake and their mother and for leaving Claire, his high school sweetheart without giving her a reason. While certain things remained the same when he was high school, the town has now been infested with meth addicts, dealers and corruption.   When Matt first arrived in town, he was attacked at a gas station by someone who thought he was Jake. It was obvious Jake had pissed a lot ...

Author’s Bio: Yvonne Battle-Felton, author of Remembered , is an author, academic, host, and creative producer. Remembered (Dialogue Books 2019, Blackstone Publishing 2020 ), was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction (2019) and shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize (2020). Winner of a Northern Writers Award in fiction (2017), Yvonne was commended for children’s writing in the Faber Andlyn BAME (FAB) Prize (2017) and has titles in Penguin Random House’s The Ladybird Tales of Superheroes and The Ladybird Tales of Crowns and Thrones . Host of Bookable-Space African-American Lit-Literary Salon and Book-able Space Middle-Grade Book Club, Yvonne has a PhD in Creative Writing from Lancaster University and is a 2019 British Library Eccles Centre Visiting Fellow, and Principal Lecturer—Humanities Business and Enterprise Lead at Sheffield Hallam University where she lectures in Creative Writing.  Deliah Lawrence: What inspired you to write your book ? Yvonne Battle-Felton: Remember...