Heartbroken. Traumatized. Laser-focused on vengeance.
All I ever wanted in life was to fall in love. Which was a little ironic, all things considered. I grew up in a secretive commune of magical warrior women. We were the hidden powerbrokers of the supernatural world; spies, assassins and undercover operatives, trading in secrets and death. We didn’t help anyone except each other, and we didn’t trust anyone at all. Especially not men. Only my sisters mattered. Everyone else in the world was a target, a tool to be used, or totally irrelevant. The Flowers of the Sword didn’t fall in love. I never really fit in with my family, though. Even from a young age, I knew I wanted a different life. A soft life—one without pain, without fighting, without hiding, without deception. A life where I didn't need to use my magic as a weapon. A life where I could trust people, and use my powers to help them heal. So I turned my back on my family, and I walked away. And I did it; I fell in love. I thought I was going to be happy forever. I was wrong. My family was right all along. Men weren’t to be trusted. Love isn’t real. Now, vengeance will be my legacy. I’m going to rip the whole world apart to find the people who did this to my sisters. The path to revenge will take me right to the doorstep of the powerful political factions that rule the biggest supernatural city in the whole continent. Witches and wizards, vampires, combat mages, shapeshifters and fae... it doesn't matter to me. The Senate of Magical Detroit won’t know what hit it. Mistress of Fear is book one in A Legacy of Vengeance and Magic, a gripping Urban Fantasy series with nail-biting supernatural suspense, magical political intrigue, and a sizzling enemies-to-lovers slow-burn romance.
Lauretta is an Amazon bestselling urban fantasy author with a passion for writing kickass characters, weird magical creatures, hilarious banter, and a touch of romance.
When she’s not writing, you'll find her enjoying terrible craft projects, unnecessarily complicated cocktails, and hanging out with her two little kids and her dog, Lola the delinquent lab cross.
In case you're here to check, please know that Lauretta does NOT use generative AI in any story or in any artworks in her books AT ALL. Every weird character and bizarre plotline comes entirely from her own brain, and she types every word herself. Support human art!
Blurb: The headlines read: Human Bitten by Werewolf. Story of my life. The name's Joey Santana and my twenty-fifth birthday didn’t necessarily go as planned. In a world where supernaturals and humans live together, I was attacked, then saved by none other than the Alpha of the Los Angeles Pack. But with survival came a price. And I wasn’t sure if I was ready to pay it. Fast forward and I’m waking up the next morning in some stranger’s house with a half-naked man coming out of a bathroom. Awkward. And it so happens to be the Alpha’s son, Reed Stone. Right off the bat, he knows I’m trouble with a capital T since there haven’t been any humans turned into supes since supernaturals were outed five years ago. But if he thinks I’m going to sit back and take whatever he’s got coming, he’s painfully mistaken. I might have been human, but I now have canines, and I bite. We’re forced to work together to wade through the supernatural politics and threats that await me. Our personalities clash in a battle of wills for dominance as the two of us grow closer together to solve the biggest mystery of all—why the hell would my father want to kill me?
Karina Espinosa is the Urban Fantasy Author of the Mackenzie Grey novels and The Last Valkyrie series. An avid reader throughout her life, the world of Urban Fantasy easily became an obsession that turned into a passion for writing strong leading characters with authentic story arcs. When she isn't writing badass heroines, you can find this self-proclaimed nomad in her South Florida home binge watching the latest series on Netflix or traveling far and wide for the latest inspiration for her books. Follow her on social media!
Skip Carter: Henchman for Hire J. Von Swan Publication date: October 13th 2026 Genres: Action, Adult, Humor
From the award-winning author of the Wolf of Vanaheim series comes a story about the guy nobody roots for — until now.
Skip Carter isn’t a hero. He’s a former soldier, ex-con, and lifelong screw-up whose only real talent is taking punches and showing up anyway. So when a shady agency offers to rent him out as muscle for supervillains, he figures it’s just another paycheck.
But between ridiculous costumes, insane bosses, and jobs that always end in broken bones, Skip starts to realize the real losers are the guys stuck cleaning up after the chaos. And when a world-ending threat finally hits Skytropolis, he gets one shot to stop being the disposable henchman and start being the man his daughter believes he can be.
Darkly funny, surprisingly heartfelt, and packed with action, Skip Carter, Henchman for Hire is for anyone who’s ever felt like the sidekick in their own story.
Mrs. Fuller glanced down her list. “Okay! Next we have… Mr. Carter.”
Peggy turned around in her chair and locked eyes with me. Her smile wasn’t just excitement. It was encouragement. A silent You can do this.
My chest tightened as I stood, smoothing the front of my suit jacket with sweaty hands. The room stared at me with pure, unfiltered child curiosity. No judgment yet. Just curious attention like they were hoping I might be someone I’m not.
I walked to the front of the classroom, facing a row of small faces that believed adults were all responsible, stable people with their shit together. And I realized, with sudden clarity, that I had no idea what to say.
I opened my mouth but nothing came out.
Awkward, uncomfortable silence stretched. The kind that crawls across your skin and whispers everyone is watching you screw this up.
I cleared my throat and glanced at Dr. Ramirez. He studied me like he was trying to place how he knew me from his emergency room.
“Uh. Hi, kids.”
A few of them waved like I was a minor celebrity. Someone whispered something and giggled.
“My name is Skip Carter. I’m Peggy’s dad.”
Peggy sat up straighter at that. Pride radiated off her like a heat lamp.
“I, uh… I used to be in the military.” That part was safe and true. Technically documented despite the dishonorable discharge. “And now I work in… private security.”
That sounded boring enough to pass. Mrs. Fuller nodded approvingly.
Jayden, the dog lover, raised his hand immediately. “Do you protect people?”
Every instinct screamed at me to lie. To say yes. To let that be the end of it. Protecting people was clean. Simple. Noble.
Instead, honesty slipped out like a bad habit.
“Not really,” I said.
Jayden frowned with confusion. “So then what do you do?”
I choked a little. “I… help make sure certain situations go the way they’re supposed to.”
That felt vague enough to dodge the truth while still being technically accurate. I had spent years perfecting that skill.
A girl with neat, black braids and a pink sweater raised her hand. “Do you stop bad guys?”
“No,” I said, and immediately regretted it. “I mean, sometimes other people stop them.”
She also frowned like I’d just told her Santa wasn’t real.
Another hand shot up. “Do you stop burglars from stealing stuff?”
I shook my head. “No.”
The kids started exchanging confused looks. The magic was leaking out of the room.
From the back, a voice cut through the air. “My mom says he’s a henchman.”
Some of the kids immediately giggled.
I looked toward the sound. It was Billy from next door. He was wearing a Captain Justice T-shirt and a smug expression. The kind of kid who repeated adult conversations without understanding why they hurt.
Peggy whipped around in her seat. “Shut up, Billy!”
Mrs. Fuller stepped forward. “Billy, that’s not appropriate–”
Billy wasn’t done. “She says henchmen work for supervillains and help them hurt people.”
Every pair of eyes swung back to me.
I felt heat crawl up my neck, into my face. The suit suddenly felt too tight.
Peggy stood up in her seat. “My dad knows all the superheroes!”
That part was technically true. Unfortunately.
Billy smirked. “Then does he know Captain Justice?”
I exhaled slowly. “Yeah,” I said. “I know Captain Justice.”
Billy’s eyes lit up. “Is he awesome in real life?”
I thought about Captain Justice and all the times he had knocked out my friends. About him swooping in to stop us even when the jobs were small. About the time he punched a henchman who was injured and trying to surrender.
“He’s kind of a blowhard,” I said.
Author Bio:
J. Von Swan is the award-winning author of the Wolf of Vanaheim series. He retired from law enforcement as a Sergeant in 2024 after the birth of his first daughter. During his career, he served on both the SWAT team and the mental health unit, experiences that now influence his writing and dark sense of humor. He now writes full-time and instructs law enforcement part-time at the community college.
J. Von Swan lives in Colorado with his family, where he spends his time enjoying the outdoors and imagining dragons that still need slaying.
The assassination was only the beginning. When the President of the United States is killed in a coordinated drone strike, the nation spirals into chaos. But this isn’t terrorism. It’s strategy.
Behind the attack stands a brilliant and ruthless leader of a shadowy global cabal known only as New3—a group convinced the age of American dominance is already over.
They’re just speeding it up.
Their plan is devastating in its simplicity:
First, kill the president.
Then cripple the nation’s power grid.
Finally, plunge the United States into darkness long enough for rival superpowers to make their move.
Civil engineer Jake Bendel never expected to be part of that war. As one of the architects of America’s AI-driven energy grid, he helped design the very system now being turned against the country.
As blackouts spread and order begins to fracture, Jake teams up with FBI agent Kristi Konnors to follow a trail of digital clues—only to uncover a conspiracy far bigger than a cyberattack. One that could hand America’s collapse to China and Russia.
Then it becomes personal.
Evidence emerges that Jake’s wife, Cynthia—presumed dead for years—may still be alive, trapped inside the organization behind it all.
Now Jake is running out of time. Because if the lights go out across America, the invasion won’t be far behind. And the system he built may be the only thing that can stop it.
Perfect for fans of David Baldacci and Tom Clancy, BLACKOUT is a high-stakes techno-thriller where cutting-edge technology collides with global power—and one man is forced to decide how far he’ll go to stop what’s coming.
BLACKOUT Trailer:
Book Details:
Genre: High-Concept Thriller Published by: Jaytech Publishing Publication Date: October 6, 2026 Number of Pages: 436 ISBN: 9798990527386 Series: Jake Bendel Thrillers, Book 3 || Learn More About the series on Amazon & Goodreads Book Links:Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub | Books2Read
Read an excerpt:
FACTS:
The United States power grid is divided into three largely independent systems, considered one of the most complex machines ever built with over 160,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines. Large portions of the grid infrastructure are decades old.
Modern societies rely on electricity for nearly every critical system including: water treatment plants, fuel pipelines, telecommunications networks, hospitals, and transportation systems.
GPS signals are surprisingly weak and vulnerable to interference.
The largest blackout in North American history affected 50 million people in August 2023 involving eight states and Canada.
Small inexpensive drones can now carry lethal payloads.
The U.S. military (under DARPA’s OFFSET program) have tested drone swarm “curtain” formations.
Chapter 1
Friday, September 27 - 8:49 a.m. -
AIRPLANE #1 - Private Gulfstream Jet - Coast of Venezuela
The day was perfect for flying, sipping Russo-Baltique vodka—and an assassination.
In exactly eleven minutes.
Ominous black clouds churned miles beneath the Gulfstream cruising high above the Atlantic. Far away, 1,600 miles north, thick fog rolled across the runway at Tampa International Airport—with Air Force One descending on approach.
Tracy strode the cabin aisle, air thick with sweat and heavy leather. Her smartwatch pinged. Florida ground team: Eight minutes to launch. All good.
Fiddling with her charcoal pearl necklace, she eyed the dozen technicians, each tracking a sliver of the covert op. Right on schedule. She halted behind her lead coordinator, Boris, bent over a pulsing, colorful weather map.
When Tracy placed her hand on his shoulder, Boris stopped typing and adjusted his headset. She stood erect, arms crossed and chin high, her gold silk blouse complementing her team’s black combat uniforms like a leather-banded Swiss watch.
Seeds of anarchy thrive in a nation stripped of electric power.
The enormous gravity of today’s operation weighed on everyone aboard. Their goal: to plant kernels of chaos.
She clucked her tongue, gave a sharp nod and pointed to a green and yellow blob on his screen. “Tell me that’s not fog.”
Successfully executing their mission—polished for years—would bring infamy to her name and enter Tracy Daniela Ciacchella into the history books alongside John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald. Not desirable, but exitus acta probat: the outcome justifies the deeds.
“It is, but ma’am, your yacht is in perfect position in Old Tampa Bay,” Boris said, a hint of a Russian accent slipping through on certain syllables. “All four hundred drones fully programmed, ready for activation and deployment from boat deck. We have new problem.”
A sitting US president hadn’t fallen since ‘63. Today’s mission was the culmination of years of planning, subversion, and digital sleight of hand. No bullets. No lone gunman. Just 400 Semtex-laden drones guided by a matrix of stolen GPS coordinates and a rigged FAA exemption buried three years ago by one of her assets.
A clean kill.
Boris nodded. “Not worried about fog, ma’am, but light rain, not good for drones. Moved in faster than expected.”
Each drone carried a two-pound brick of homemade Semtex.
Washington had talked counter-drone defense for years. But as was typical with US leadership, nothing actually got done. No productive decisions. Only political wrangling and posturing—mixed with unhealthy levels of toxic masculinity.
Incompetent politicians. Yet another reason to raise my curtain of death—weather permitting.
For the final time, Tracy confirmed the ground team in position. On her iPad, she tapped open the video chat app connected with her two generals: first, the captain on her yacht in Old Tampa Bay, Florida; and second, her trusted, longtime friend Bob Huffington—nicknamed
Huff—perched atop the Macy’s roof near I-275. Positioned a mile south, Huff had an unobstructed view of the final approach flight path for runway 1R at Tampa International.
Although Tracy herself was nowhere near Florida, both video feeds from her team streamed clean and crisp via satellite. Rolling fog thickened, obscuring her views.
“Wind speed?” she asked Huff.
“Twenty-two knots. For now, acceptable, but if gusts start pushing above twenty-five, our chances drop to ten percent.”
Getting Goldberg into place had been her masterpiece. After today, with President Whitehead out of the picture, Vice President Goldberg would give Tracy direct access to the power levers controlling the federal government. Her puppet would be in perfect position for the next phase of world domination.
It was now or never. Time for the all-important decision.
Even if the wind began gusting, the drones might still fly close enough to do catastrophic damage.
Tracy brought her iPad close and announced into the tiny speaker, “Green. Repeat, we are green for Operation Black Flock.”
On her screen, both generals nodded in confirmation. Now—shadowy iPad feeds showed Huff entering the launch code while workers on the boat peeled off a massive blue tarp to reveal a cargo container with four hundred off-the-shelf quadcopter drones—all made in China—packed inside a customized carbon fiber lattice. Each carried a two-pound payload of Semtex and a pre-programmed set of GPS-coordinated waypoints—latitude, longitude and elevation—to travel to.
“Gusts up to twenty-four knots,” Huff said, nervously tugging at his earlobe before giving her a thumbs up, indicating her ground team had programmed the drones and activated them. Assuming the weather cooperated, the small black machines would follow precise paths using exact signals from dozens of GPS satellites—all in working order as of five minutes ago, according to her inside man at the Department of Defense. Her DOD contact had also confirmed the Air Force One plane on descent was, in fact, carrying President Whitehead, not a decoy.
Boris leaned back in his chair, away from his laptop, and squinted at Tracy. “I still think we could have come up with a better name for this op.”
She nodded, anxiety rising, wondering whether the drones would perform as intended. “Perhaps.”
“How about Operation Kill Racist Xenophobic Pedophile?”
“Come now, Boris. Way too long.” Tracy gave a silent smirk.
A tiny matrix of red and green lights blinked on her iPad, communicating status from every craft, as propellers whirred, creating a bee-like buzzing sound crackling from the embedded speaker.
The swarm of drones lifted skyward and disappeared into the gray blur of rolling fog.
***
Excerpt from Blackout by J. Luke Bennecke. Copyright 2026 by J. Luke Bennecke. Reproduced with permission from J. Luke Bennecke. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
J. Luke Bennecke is an Amazon #1 bestselling thriller author who writes about what happens when technology gets smarter—and people don’t. A former civil engineer and longtime executive, he spent decades designing real-world systems in California before turning to fictional ones that fail far more spectacularly. His novels explore artificial intelligence, surveillance, memory manipulation, and the dangerous gap between innovation and ethics. He is currently at work on his tenth novel.
Luke lives in Southern California with his wife of thirty-five years and their four spunky cats. When not writing, he enjoys philanthropy, consulting as an engineering expert witness, traveling, playing golf, creating videos, and voiceover acting.
London, 1923. American expat librarian Eden Brior thinks things are bad when she is accidentally locked overnight in the St. Cecelia’s Library vault with the charming and unreliable Simon Cross. Then she emerges to find the body of his estranged wife — a celebrated French actress — draped over a chair upstairs.
Detective Inspector William Garrett is methodical, quietly perceptive, and already fairly certain he has his man. He tells Eden firmly to go home and leave the detecting to the professionals. But how can she?
Racing to clear their names before Garrett closes the case, Eden follows the truth from the bright footlights of the London stage through the sleek drawing rooms of Jazz Age society, and into secrets that someone will kill to keep buried.
Steeped in the style of the golden age of detective fiction, The Harlot of St. Cecelia’s captures a London still glittering on the surface and shadowed underneath — where every drawing room hides a secret and every secret has a price.
Perfect for fans of Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs series.
Praise for The Harlot of St. Cecelia's:
"This novel consistently delights, from the spicy title to the last page." ~ Kirkus Reviews
Book Details:
Genre: Historical Mystery Published by: Independently Published Publication Date: May 3, 2026 Number of Pages: 306 ISBN: 979-8195315580 Series: Inspector Garrett Mystery Series, Book 1 Book Links:Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | BookBub
Read an excerpt:
Author Bio:
Darcy Graves grew up in Boston and holds an MA in English history and a BS in copywriting. A marketing content writer for over thirty years, she brings to her work a deep love of the golden age of detective fiction — particularly Agatha Christie and P.D. James — and the whimsy of P.G. Wodehouse.
Darcy lives in the Berkshires with her daughter, two ragdoll cats, and a very naughty terrier named Merial. The Harlot of St. Cecelia's is her first novel.
Don’t Get Locked Out... Enter for a Chance to Win!
This giveaway is hosted by Partners in Crime Tours for The Harlot of St. Cecelia's. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.
The Magical Run of the College Team That Lost Its School
Nonfiction; Sports, Baseball
Date Published: 11-17-2026
Publisher: Mission Point Press
In the spring of 2024, Birmingham-Southern College’s baseball team
learned that their 170-year-old school would close before their season ended.
Rather than surrender to disappointment, Head Coach Jan Weisberg and his
players rallied around the program’s culture of playing for the person
beside them. Amid uncertainty, grief, and growing national attention, the
young team mounted a remarkable final run built on resilience, brotherhood,
leadership, and purpose. More than a baseball story, Not Done Yet explores how
people respond when the future they expected disappears—and what it
means to finish with integrity when everything around you is ending.
Excerpt
The rise and ultimate fall of Birmingham-Southern College, a small
liberal arts school on a hilltop in Birmingham, has a history that mirrors the
fortunes and struggles of the United States since the mid-nineteenth century.
In 1859, Alabama Southern University opened its doors in Greensboro but nearly
closed them two years later when most of its all-male student body left to
fight in the Civil War. By 1866, the student body had dwindled to
twenty-eight. The school quickly rebounded, however, and in 1889, the
graduating class numbered 289 students, including the first woman graduate.
In 1898, another Methodist school, Birmingham College, was established less
than a hundred miles away. The new college was perched on a hill near the
western edge of the rapidly growing city of Birmingham. After the Civil War,
the two cities were a study in contrasts. While Greensboro was still largely
dependent on cotton, Birmingham had made the smart move to steel, and its
booming economy led to its nickname: “The Magic City.” By 1918, it
was clear that two Methodist colleges this close together would be
unsustainable. The answer: merge the two and call the new school
Birmingham-Southern College.
The merger solved an immediate problem, and BSC thrived—for a
while—but faced a devastating enrollment drop during World War I. The
college hung on during the Great Depression but lost most of its male students
and faculty during World War II. Two decades later, the Civil Rights Era
brought new challenges. BSC became an early supporter of the movement,
enrolling its first Black students in 1965, and continued to embrace diversity
as a core part of its mission.
About the Author
Brian Nelson is a lifelong baseball fan, former player, and dedicated coach
whose love for the game spans generations. A pitcher at the University of
California, Santa Barbara in the 1980s, he later coached his three sons and
their teammates through Little League, high school, and college. Drawing
inspiration from a deeply literary family—especially his grandfather and
mother—Nelson brings an analyst's brain, a storyteller’s heart,
and impressive baseball knowledge to his writing. After a multi-decade career
in finance, he has returned to his earliest passion to tell this story. This
is his first book.
Blindsided by the sudden death of his mother, 21-year-old Will Lockhart can no longer afford the rent or bear the haunting memories of their shared Massachusetts apartment. While packing up his mother's belongings, he discovers his long-dead father's deed to a house in upstate New York. With nowhere else to go, he settles there, intent on making a fresh start. But odd things happen as soon as Will moves in. He's unnerved by evidence of fire damage in the cottage, and alarmed by the seizure his elderly next-door neighbor suffers upon meeting him. Most shocking of all are the rumors of a long-ago murder in his house. Now, trapped in a town full of strangers, unsure of whether local murmurings are true or simply small-town gossip, he's determined to discover what really happened all those years ago, and how he's connected to the chaos. The truth will set him free. Or get him killed.
Praise for Maybe You Lied:
"Sadera has done it again! Maybe You Lied is an evocative and compelling tale of family trauma, betrayal, and the chilling truth that the most dangerous secrets are those buried by the people closest to us." ~ Lisa Malice, bestselling author of Lest She Forget, winner of the 2023 IBPA Best New Voice in Fiction Award
"MAYBE YOU LIED is a spectacular thriller that instantly grips you and refuses to let go. With great emotional depth, this novel plunges you inside Will Lockhart's mind, soul, and angst. He's a down on his luck, grief and guilt-ridden young man stuck in a hopeless rut. When he discovers a deed to a house he believes he's inherited, it seems like his luck just might change. Page by page, he uncovers hidden layers of a past he could never have imagined. But when nothing is as it seems and everything you knew about your family and your past is a lie, be careful of digging up the truth. It might set you free...unless it kills you first. This darkly suspenseful, romantic journey knits a cast of intriguing, deeply unreliable characters into a clever, twisty narrative. You won't want to put down this edgy story of loss, love, identity, and family truths as you hurtle towards its surprising end." ~ Zelly Ruskin, award-winning author of Not Yours to Keep and the forthcoming One of Us Must Die
"Maybe You Lied is a twisty, emotionally charged domestic suspense that ramps up to a jaw-dropping, visceral finale. Don't miss it!" ~ Bonnie Traymore, Author of The Rich Guy's Wife
"Family ties? Or family lies? Will Lockhart is coming home to a woodland cottage he never knew existed, his life in shreds and fragments. In a novel as intricately woven as a web, Jennifer Sadera explores sociopathy, nature versus nurture, and the one thing that can never die--a chance at love and redemption." ~ Jenny Milchman, Mary Higgins Clark award winning author of the Arles Shepherd thrillers
"A young man's attempt to piece together his family's dark history propels this gripping mystery, which moves with an electric speed through secrets twistier than the branches of a mangled family tree. Combining thrills, romance, and a moving exploration of grief, MAYBE YOU LIED is perfect for fans of sinister family dynamics who want to devour a thriller in one breathless go." ~ Ashley Winstead, national bestselling author of This Book Will Bury Me
MAYBE YOU LIED Trailer:
Book Details:
Genre: Psychological Suspense, Domestic Suspense Published by: Creative James Media Publication Date: September 22, 2026 Number of Pages: 344 ISBN: 9781965648919 (ISBN10: 1965648916) Book Links:Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads
Read an excerpt:
Landlords don’t rent apartments to zombies.
I scratched the four-day stubble on my jawline and parked my mom’s Camry behind the brown brick walk-up. Home-Not-So-Sweet Home.
As I stepped into the cramped apartment lobby Sergei was waiting.
“The rent,” he said, his guttural Russian accent turning his words into a nonsensical de-REN. I paused, reluctantly meeting the bushy brows lowered ominously over his steely slitted eyes. Easy to translate.
I nodded and darted my own eyes to the stairway. One of these days my landlord would surely raise a heavily muscled arm and crash his ham hock fist into my face. Emitting my zombie grunt, I pivoted to the stairwell and rushed up, expecting Sergei to follow. Relieved when he didn’t.
It would be a brief reprieve. When my mom lived here Sergei only showed up once a month, but in the three years since she died, he’d pounded his frustration with my spotty payments onto my apartment door with increasing frequency, not budging until I opened the creaky steel barrier. Saying nothing, he’d hold out a meaty palm that looked like it could strangle me all by itself.
Back when I still had cash, I’d offer a wad of fifties and hundreds that he’d snatch up like grabbing cash from an ATM. Only the Will Lockhart machine was now empty, and Sergei looked as though he wanted to kick it into compliance. Kick me. Face flushed with fury, he’d study me with those hard gray pebbles, taking in my disheveled hair and sagging clothes. A gaze that told me exactly what he thought about me—a twenty-one-year-old slacker who clearly cared about nothing. A deadbeat. A zombie. And this was mostly true except for the one thing I cared deeply about: those last seconds with Mom. I relived them daily, the guilt as fresh and dangerously addictive as a drunk’s bleary-eyed yearning for a Bloody Mary the morning after a bender.
I deserved the memories. If not for me, Mom would still be alive.
I closed my eyes against the inevitable scene rolling through my mind. The flash of headlights slicing through my Honda’s dusky interior like a white-hot comet, too fast to stop, too bright to blink away; a violent force whirling me into its vortex. My neck twisting painfully, head hitting something hard. The car’s interior exploding into a slow-motion kaleidoscope. How I’d instinctively thrust my arm out to protect my mom, instant pain bolting from fingers to shoulder; glass shattering and raining down upon us like the stinging embers of trailing fireworks.
And then, the stillness. The church-like quiet.
I’d blinked into the silence as the noises trickled in—the hissing of the steaming engine, and a tinny song coming through the radio from somewhere under the car’s hood. A far-off voice belted out a twangy country tune. “Put on the bacon and the eggs, darlin’ . . .”
Mom and her country music. Mom and her . . . Mom. Head throbbing, I’d scanned the smoke-choked twilight. She was right where she was supposed to be, still hooked in place by her seatbelt, staring straight ahead, like she was listening for something.
“Mom? Are you all right?”
Beyond the jagged glass edges of her blown-out window I saw the lines of the truck through the smoky haze, the words “Barclay’s Bread” written in fancy red letters on its wide, boxy side. Mom said nothing.
Painfully bolted into our twisted metal cage, waiting for the Jaws of Life to extract us, I’d reached out, trying to touch her with my other hand, the one that still worked. If I could just shake her out of her trance.
But in those final precious seconds our bodies existed in the same world, I knew. She was already gone.
I shook my head, forcing me back to the present, wishing my mind could be like the Etch-a-Sketch Mom bought me when I was six. One harsh shake in each direction and the contents of the screen disappeared. But my mind retained in painful detail the truck driver’s distinctive profile, the beak of a nose angled down, a squinted eye and bulbous cheekbone lit up by his cell-phone screen.
As a kid, the thought of Mom dying had set waves of terror rolling through me. Not just because I loved her, but because a part of me always dreaded the day she’d be taken from me. Convinced it would happen but unsure of when, I’d spent a good four years waking up each night and tiptoeing to her bedroom door, peeking through the crack between the edge of the flimsy wood and the wall to ensure she was still in bed, alive. Ridiculous as it seemed, even then, it was understandable, given our track record. I mean, not long before my dad left us, just after my fifth birthday, we’d been a family of four.
***
Excerpt from MAYBE YOU LIED by Jennifer Sadera. Copyright 2026 by Jennifer Sadera. Reproduced with permission from Jennifer Sadera. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
Jennifer Sadera first worked in the publishing industry as a junior copywriter for NAL/Penguin. She has written and edited for newspapers and magazines as a freelancer and on the staffs of major women's publications, Woman's World and Redbook.
Returning to Sydney, Detective Ramesh Ryan is promoted to the Homicide Squad. Zoe Yang joins him there. Now a detective herself, she is assigned as his junior partner. Straight up, the cops are off and running—investigating the discovery of a murdered company director. Following the clues, Detective Ryan finds that this and a second murder may be linked to past events.
As the pressure mounts for a quick solution to the case, the detective finds that he too, is in the killer’s crosshairs. But Ryan is distracted from the investigation by a romantic encounter with an old university friend. He also worries about his mother, Mumta, and her new obsessive desire for grandchildren from her only son. Could this be linked to her recent medical tests? And there’s another pressing problem—the plague of rats in his apartment block.
Detective Ryan’s hands are well and truly full.
About the Author
Clive Fleury is an award-winning writer of novels and screenplays, including most recently the murder mystery Off Season, which was the first in the Detective Ryan Mystery series. He is also a TV/Film writer, director, and producer who has worked for major broadcasters and studios on a wide variety of successful drama and documentary projects, in the US, the UK, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has written and directed four feature films, one of which, “Big City Blues,” starred Giancarlo Esposito, the late Burt Reynolds, and Balthazar Getty. His most recent film, “Sons of Summer,” is a surfing movie set on the Gold Coast of Australia and stars Temuera Morrison and Isabel Lucas. Clive currently spends his time between Miami, Florida and Sydney, Australia.
Foster Freddy Wants a Family is a heartfelt true story about resilience,
second chances, and the journey to finding a forever home.
Freddy is a spirited rescue dog with a big personality and an even bigger
heart. Though he can be stubborn, bossy, and sometimes a bit of a
troublemaker, his playful nature and determination shine through—even as
he faces serious medical challenges, including multiple surgeries.
Through three foster homes and nearly three years of waiting, Freddy’s
journey is filled with ups and downs, laughter and tears, and the unwavering
hope of belonging. His story offers a meaningful look at the realities of
fostering, the patience it requires, and the profound impact of love and care.
This inspiring and emotional story reminds readers that every animal deserves
a chance—and that sometimes the most challenging journeys lead to the
most rewarding endings.
About the Author
Christina J. Donato is an author with a background in creative writing,
political science, and sociology. Raised on Long Island, New York, she later
relocated to New England, where she built a career as a mainframe programmer.
Now based in Rhode Island, she shares her home with her husband and their dog,
Nera.
Ms. Donato enjoys word puzzles, black-and-white movies, anything
Beatles-related, being active in her church, practicing the frame drum, and
hosting doggy playdates with Nera.
Her love of animals and deep appreciation for poetry and storytelling come
together in her writing, where she highlights meaningful, real-life
experiences with warmth and authenticity.
