Book Tour ~ The False Paradigms of Today and The Timeless Truth of Tomorrow by John Bliss

 

Essays on Meaning

Philosophy/Spirituality

Date Published: 10-01-2025

Publisher: Sketpika Press

Something’s missing in the world today, and maybe it’s been gone for centuries. The problem: most of us don’t have authentic beliefs or a clear path in life.

What do we believe? Whatever they told us to believe.

What do we do? Whatever other people are doing.

How many lies have we welcomed into our lives without having seriously analyzed them?

It’s the reason many of us feel empty inside—there’s nothing there but convenient mistruths, and at some level, we all know it. We then orient our lives based on these false beliefs, wasting our precious limited time among the living striving for goals that leave us ultimately unsatisfied.

The False Paradigms of Today and The Timeless Truth of Tomorrow by John Bliss takes a steak knife to these common delusions with 13 irreverent essays that rip and tear at the foundations of our collective worldview. Little is held sacred to Bliss.

The essays in Part 1: Your Understanding of Reality is More Fabricated Than You Think dispel our delusions one at a time, including:

• our mistaken belief in progress,
• our misplaced confidence in our own rational prowess,
• our loss of personal identity from group identification,
• our misplaced faith in science as a true representation of the world, and
• our morality: what it is and where exactly it comes from.

 

After carving away these restrictive untruths, Part 2: An Exploration of Truth Across Historical, Mystical, and Philosophical Dimensions introduces a deeper understanding of humanity based on history, mysticism, psychology and philosophy. Some of the topics in Part 2 include:

• how our religions became second-rate pathways to God,
• our reliance on logic and how it warps our decision-making,
• how idealism can lead to mass murder and tyranny,
• the overriding importance of history, where we’ve been, where we are going and why,
• our immaterial connection to all people living and dead—Jung’s collective unconscious, Emerson’s Over-Soul, and Varro’s Soul of the World, and finally
• the bedrock assumption that we all got wrong. Switch this out, and everything changes.

The essays are filled with stories from history, including meetings of the apostles Paul and Peter with the Emperor Nero and Simon Magus the magician, the mystical transformation of Emmanuel Swedenborg, the nineteenth century German intellectual revolution, the establishment of three French religions worshipping not God but Reason and Humanity, the abdication of the World Teacher, and the genocide of the Tibetan culture.

The book is ideal for seekers of deeper meaning, arm-chair philosophers and historians, and those disillusioned with the emptiness of contemporary thought. Discover why your view of reality may be distorted—and how by changing the one assumption on which your entire world-view is based, everything shifts.

 

It may be that the chimpanzee is the most intelligent animal in the zoo. Chimpanzees have excellent memory. They can use tools, and they have developed language skills. But just because the chimpanzee is the most intelligent, does it follow that the chimpanzee can build spaceships? If they are really smart, why would they live in the zoo and not in luxury hotels? They have not even created a printing press, they don’t read books, and they are broke. I suppose, then, we can conclude that the smartest animal in the zoo maybe isn’t so smart after all.

Aren’t we, humankind, the smartest animal on the planet? We like to think so. The planet is just a bigger zoo. And just like the chimps, we are merely the smartest in the collection of species, but that does not mean, by default, that we can understand everything. Nonetheless, that is a conscious or unconscious postulate in most people’s thinking. We are the smartest, therefore, we can understand the world given enough time for science to figure it out. This postulate is based on what? It is extrapolation of the worst kind.

About the Author

John Bliss is a writer and thinker fixated on unraveling the mystery of our lives. He is at heart a skeptic, as very few authorities have provided answers that are believable. He distrusts groups of all kinds, as they are no smarter than individuals, who don't know half as much as they think they do. He even distrusts himself, as no human can understand reality.

Some of his major accomplishments include being kicked out of the National Honor Society and the CEO Round Table. He graduated with a bachelor's in History, and a masters degree in mechanical engineering. He founded and grew an engineering company and sold it after 25 years. And of course, he completed his book, The False Paradigms of Today and the Timeless Truth of Tomorrow, after 13 years of research, writing, and rewriting.

To this day, he continues to ask the big questions: Who are we? What’s truly important? How should we live our lives? On most days he thinks he has them figured out.

When he is not writing, he cuts wood and digs ditches. Bliss remains at large somewhere in the mountains of California.

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Release Blitz ~ The VOTE - A Story of Political Peril by David Swanson

 

A Story of Political Peril

Fiction

Date Published: 09-10-2026

Publisher: Mission Point Press

A cautionary political tale that shines a light on the danger to our country when the wrong people have too much money and power.

The Vote is a political thriller built around a conspiracy among powerful political actors, billionaires, and party operatives who seek to manipulate the constitutional amendment process in order to permanently reshape the structure of American government. The mechanics of American politics, particularly the Article V constitutional amendment process, is the framework that informs the central premise of the novel. The current political landscape of the country lends credibility to the story and gives the narrative an interesting and timely foundation.

The manuscript opens with a series of interconnected storylines involving political figures, wealthy conspirators, and emerging state-level candidates. These threads gradually reveal a coordinated effort to gain control of state legislatures and Congress as part of a broader plan to fundamentally alter the country’s political system. The concept itself is ambitious and grounded in recognizable political realities.

 

About the Author

David Swanson was raised on a dairy farm in central Michigan. He received a degree in political science from the University of Puget Sound and an advanced degree in foreign trade from the Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management. Between degrees, he served a stint in the United States Navy.

In 1981, he founded Daavlin, a medical technology company that eventually grew into a prominent player in the field of dermatology. As part of his career, he stepped foot on every continent and dipped his toes in every ocean on earth. Reading, writing, traveling, acting, and directing live theater are his favored pastimes.

He’s also a lifetime political junkie. As this book goes to press, Swanson is a candidate for the Ohio House of Representatives.

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Week Blitz ~ The Safe Room by Sarah A. Denzil

 

Thriller

Date Published: 09-10-2026

When I was fifteen years old, I made a mistake. I trusted the warm smile of a stranger called Peter Harlow, and accepted a ride home in his car.

It would be the last moment of my life I’d ever feel safe again.

The trauma of what happened that night will never leave me—and it was only the beginning. For the last nineteen years, I’ve been trapped in a nightmare of blocked numbers, violated restraining orders, and the compulsion to scan every face in every crowd, waiting for the day when his will be among them.

But I've also spent the time preparing. My home has become a fortress, with reinforced doors, perimeter cameras, and a safe room in the cellar. I've even taught my seven-year-old daughter how to call for help. When I finally have to face Peter Harlow again, I’ll be ready.

Or so I thought.

Because on the night of a furious snowstorm, a terrified stranger arrives at my gate. Emily is barefoot, bruised, and desperate for help—claiming her husband just tried to kill her.

To let her in from the storm would mean breaking every rule I've made to protect myself and my daughter—but could I live with myself if I didn’t?

But what follows is everything I've lived in fear of for all these years. First, the lights go out. Then, the internet dies. Next, the phone line goes dead—and finally, I find myself trapped inside my own safe room, watching through a camera feed as the man who stole my life for two decades walks the halls of my home, playing happy families with my little girl.

I built this fortress to keep him out. Now, it’s the only thing keeping me from protecting my child.

 

The Safe Room is a heart-stopping psychological thriller by bestselling author Sarah A. Denzil, the "mistress of twists." Essential reading for fans of Alice Feeney, Freida McFadden, and Caroline Kepnes.

 

About the Author

Sarah A. Denzil is a million copy bestselling author of psychological suspense novels. Her books include number one bestseller Silent Child, which was a Goodreads Choice semi-finalist in 2017. Her books have been published in several different languages and have appeared on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list.

Sarah lives in Yorkshire with her husband and cats, enjoying the scenic countryside and rather unpredictable weather. She loves to write moody, psychological fiction with plenty of twists and turns.

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Book Tour ~ The Rough Life by Danny Fanelli

 

 

Children's Book

Date Published: June 10, 2026

Publisher: MindStir Media

The Rough Life is the adventure of a brand new golf ball named Vic, who finds himself playing his very first round of golf. Things start off well, but Vic quickly learns how humbling the game of golf can be when he is lost in the rough. Vic journeys through the rough, finding a home and making friends with other lost golf balls. While it’s a comfortable life, Vic is not content just watching golf as it happens around him. Vic and his new friends devise a plan to get out of the rough and back in the game.

 

About the Author

 

 Danny Fanelli is a husband, father, elementary school teacher and coach from Westchester, New York. He began playing golf and fell in love with the game at 30 years young. One of his biggest fears in life is sinking a hole-in-one while playing solo (he’s come close). When he is not playing golf or practicing his form in the living room, Danny takes turns with his wife chasing his two, wild children.

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Book Tour ~ The Hero of Pamplona by Len Wechsler

 

And Other Mostly True Stories

Memoir

Date Published: June 12, 2026

Publisher: MindStir Media

What makes a life worth remembering? Is it danger—or joy? Triumph—or deception? Sometimes it’s all of them, tangled together in moments that refuse to fade.

The Hero of Pamplona and Other Mostly True Stories is a memoir told through twenty-two vividly rendered short stories drawn from the extraordinary life of Len Wechsler. Spanning decades and continents, these deeply personal reflections move effortlessly from New York to Los Angeles, Paris to Pamplona, Lisbon to Tangiers—each place leaving its mark, each moment carrying emotional weight.

With the voice of a philosopher, the instincts of a filmmaker, and the honesty of someone who has lived fully, Wechsler explores friendship and betrayal, risk and reinvention, longing and belonging. These are stories shaped by youthful bravado, artistic pursuit, cultural collision, and the quiet reckonings that come with time.

Sometimes humorous, sometimes haunting, and always human, this memoir invites readers into a life lived on the edge of experience—where truth and memory blur, and where the author believes one simple thing: if a story touches him, it may touch you too.

Whether you read it as travel memoir, coming-of-age reflection, or a meditation on identity and chance, The Hero of Pamplona and Other Mostly True Stories is a journey worth taking.

 

Preface

In Paris, adoring fans yelled “allez le trieze.” Go number 13. I was number 13. When I was fourteen, my ninth-grade teacher said I made her vomit. At twenty-one, I was the hero of Pamplona. I was almost raped in Tangiers, Morocco. I hated my name, except when Flossie said it. Twenty-one years ago, I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Believe the diagnosis, never the prognosis.

The first time I thought about writing stories was over
twenty-five years ago when I was living in Portugal. I wrote the stories in my head while sitting in a café in Lisbon’s Rossio Square drinking an espresso as I watched dawn touch the tops of 400-year-old blue, yellow, and pink buildings. And that was the problem. Once I had the stories in my head, the excitement was gone and the motivation to put the story on paper was lost.

When I returned home to Los Angeles, a storyteller friend suggested I submit a story to a venue called Spark Off Rose. On April 4, 2011, I read “The Hero of Pamplona” aloud to an audience of one hundred people at a theater in Venice, California. That was it. I was hooked on storytelling.

In the end, I gathered these stories for two reasons. The first is that doing so made me smile, and as I wrote, I was reminded once again to never take the good times for granted. The second reason is because of a line in a letter my father sent to me a few years before he died. “The spoken voice is wonderful, but the written word has a special permanence.”

Perhaps one of these stories will bring a smile to the face of someone I know, or even to the face of someone I don’t know. Maybe a story will resonate with a reader and encourage that reader to write his or her own story.

The Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa wrote about people who are “but a series of marginal notes in the book of life.” Are the people in this book “marginal notes in the book of life?” Not if you know them—and that’s the point. Everyone has a story. The key is to take the time to listen.

 

About the Author

Len Wechsler is a writer, filmmaker, and lifelong storyteller whose work spans continents, cultures, and creative disciplines. Raised in New York City and educated in the Midwest, Wechsler studied philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris before earning a master’s degree from New York University. His early adult years were marked by adventure and movement—from playing professional basketball in France and Italy to traveling across Europe and around the Mediterranean.

In the United States, Wechsler taught in both New York and California before launching a filmmaking career in the mid-1970s. He was among the earliest filmmakers to capture the raw beauty, risk, and exhilaration of surfing and skateboarding on film, later transitioning into screenwriting for feature films. His creative life continued overseas when he lived and worked in Portugal for thirteen years as a teacher and theater director.

More recently, Wechsler co-wrote a stage play exploring the underbelly of Los Angeles, which debuted in New York City. A member of the Writers Guild of America West, he now lives in California, where he continues to write—and still plays basketball when he can, even if the three-pointer no longer falls as easily.

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Teaser ~ Salva Me by Autumn Montague

 

LGBTQ+ Regency Vampire Romance

Date Published: September 11, 2026

England, 1816. A nosferatu, a rogue vampire, hunts unchecked through Sussex. Jeremy Takeshi Colbourne is honor-bound by ancestral duty to find and destroy such madmen. Foremost among the vampires of England, he must find a way to ensure the safety of the English citizens and the vampires that live among them.

Then Jeremy and his blood-host Morgan Holland discover a brutally savaged girl. With this latest victim of the nosferatu, Jeremy realizes the time has come to make Morgan aware of the Colbourne responsibilities. But the situation could not have come at a worse time.

For years, Morgan has served as Jeremy's blood-host. Though Morgan adheres faithfully to his Contracted terms, he refuses to surrender to the sexual seduction that completes each feeding. He yields neither his body nor his heart, though Jeremy yearns for both.

As the nosferatu's atrocities grow, Jeremy must ask everything of Morgan to gain the strength needed to fight the ravening monster. Will Morgan relent and give up body and heart to help Jeremy defeat their enemy, or will the battle destroy them both?

EXCERPT

 

Jeremy cursed at the knock on the oaken door of his study. Morgan had attempted to corner him several times today. Pure cowardice had driven Jeremy to take refuge here, a place his loyal Host rarely intruded on, since it held the Buddhist shrine housing his mother’s mortuary tablet. He glanced at the portrait standing behind the black stone, wishing for a bit of Keiko Yamakawa’s legendary strength.

Evading Morgan had taken a toll on Jeremy. The Contracted day for his feeding had come and gone. Today marked two full weeks since Morgan had wrenched himself from Jeremy’s grasp, nearly bleeding to death before Jeremy could administer the requisite clotting agent. The sight of Morgan’s injuries had seared itself into Jeremy’s mind, rendering him unwilling to risk another such incident.

It almost made him wish to return to Japan, despite the difficulties involved. Obtaining the necessary dispensation from the Tokugawa Shogunate had been hard enough when he left. Lord Matsumae had done what he could, but it had taken his mother’s personal attendance on Emperor Kōkaku and an appropriate gift to Tokugawa Ikeharu to get it done. Going back would be far worse, despite his home’s exemption from the Sakoku Edict. Even so, he was tempted. If only to avoid what he now faced.

The knock came again, harder than before, followed immediately by the entrance of Morgan Holland. “Excuse me, Lord Colbourne. While I am always loath to disturb you in your sanctum, you cannot avoid me forever.” Exasperation filled Morgan’s voice, underscored by heavy concern.

Jeremy risked a glance at his Host, unwilling to see but drawn nonetheless. The wounds on Morgan’s neck had healed; his skin flushed a healthy hue. Unlike usual feedings, the last one had left two ragged scars, visible reminders of Jeremy’s lack of control. Even now, the remnants of Morgan’s refusal echoed in his mind, invading his dreams.

“I am not convinced you are well enough to support a feeding, Holland,” he hedged, though his Host showed no lingering signs of ill effects. “Your wounds have barely healed.”

Morgan sighed. “I understand your reluctance after the debacle last time, but you cannot risk your health or your sanity by some idiotic attempt at endurance. I am prepared to meet my Contracted terms without qualms.”

“So you say. Nonetheless, your refusal made quite an impression. I’d prefer not to endure that again so soon.”

Morgan’s cheeks heated with angry embarrassment. “Then break Contract, my lord, and find someone more willing to accommodate all of your needs. Or go back to Japan.”

The slap of the words felt like a further refusal. Jeremy straightened in his chair, denying the spike of pain, determined to retain his rationality. Fear was anathema to the Barons of Colbourne and to the Yamakawa family. Being afraid to feed on his Contracted Host shamed both houses. He stood, feeling the weakness of flesh from self-deprivation.

“After twelve years? I’d rather not, thank you. You’re all I need. Or want.” Jeremy considered the irony of his irrational thoughts mere moments before. “It is far harder to return than to leave,” he added. “While my home in Matsumae is exempt from the Sakoku Edict, only my status as a noble Chi no Kami allowed me to leave in the first place. I have no wish to reverse the process any time soon.”

Morgan considered for a moment and then gave him the ghost of a smile. “Then please stop delaying the inevitable. Despite what happened before, I refuse to watch you kill yourself, however noble your ancestors may have found the practice. It would render all my efforts worthless.”

“Such things are not reserved for my ancestors,” Jeremy growled. “If I chose seppuku, who would be my second? You’d still have to watch me die.”

“At least it would not be this slow death you’re attempting now.”

Trust Morgan to know him well enough to hit so close to the truth of the matter. Jeremy allowed silence to reign for a moment and then gave a grudging chuckle. “No quarter, I see. You win, Holland. Give me two hours, and I’ll meet you in the sanguis cubiculum.”

Two hours would give Jeremy sufficient time to contact William Carter. After this long, the sexual urges would be difficult to suppress, but he could not afford another mistake like the last time.

Morgan nodded to him. “Two hours, then, Lord Colbourne. I will be ready.”

* * *

At the appointed time, Morgan waited as instructed, nervous despite his earlier words to Colbourne. He touched the scars on his neck gingerly, wondering. For all his bravado and calm facade, the thought of facing Colbourne’s fangs disturbed him. That last bite had driven into his neck without preparation, the savage sting a hint of what mankind had faced in the early days of the nosferii. Yet beyond the pain, another sensation had lurked, one he was reluctant to recall.

Perhaps it was only the remnants of the lust that rose in him every time Colbourne fed, but the agony of the unprepared bite had seemed to turn into a hazy pleasure at the end, before he’d passed out. Perhaps the recollection was only some perverse blending of his memories.

Colbourne entered the sanguis cubiculum through the far door. Morgan caught a brief glimpse of another person before the closing door blocked his view.

So he arranged for his companion to be available immediately after he is finished with me.

In spite of the obvious benefits to the situation, the idea irritated Morgan for some reason. Though he refused to offer up his body for postfeed sex, he’d always steadfastly ignored Colbourne’s subsequent retreat to his rooms for several hours. To have that person here, in the antechambers of the sanguis cubiculum, the mere thought left a burning ache in Morgan’s gut. This was his domain, his sacred trust, no one else’s.

“Are you ready, Holland?”

The deeply sensuous voice rippled over Morgan’s skin, bringing him to a half-aroused state before the feeding started. He did his utmost to quash the reaction, trying vainly to focus on something other than Colbourne’s mouth.

A hand reached for his chin, gently turning his face away to expose the length of his neck.

“I’m sorry, Morgan,” Colbourne whispered.

Morgan felt the faintest tremble in his master’s hand. He turned his head the opposite direction, offering the undamaged side. “Here, Master,” he urged, “feed from here.”

Colbourne’s tongue touched him gently, tracing a line across his skin before stopping. “No, I think not,” he said, trailing his fingers past Morgan’s throat. “I’d rather feed from a different source today. Your neck is still healing.”

Morgan shivered as his master’s hand roamed down his front, then stroked along the inside of his thigh.

 

About the Author

Autumn grew up loving history, mythology, and all things Japanese, not necessarily in that order. This eclectic love affair has bled over into her writing, and her stories are always well spiced with the taste of Japan, strange mythological beasties, or the lords and ladies of the ton. Sometimes all three, leading to dark desires and forbidden loves.

And after all, dangerous passions should lead to uninhibited love.

 

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Release Blitz ~ Discovering Elizabeth by Alexandra Khayat Dahl

 

Historical Fiction

Date Published: September 9, 2026

Before Vicky could truly understand herself, there was a story she needed to understand in her Great Aunt Elizabeth.

 

Queens, 1984. Dr. Elizabeth Khayat—Palestinian-American, former pilot and pioneering physician—is recently widowed and fiercely private about her past. When her rebellious teenage grandniece, Vicky, is sent to spend the summer with her, the two clash immediately. Vicky is consumed by romance and rebellion; Elizabeth has built her life on discipline and hard-won independence. But Elizabeth’s guarded presence conceals a wartime history in World War II France—where, as a young doctor learning to fly, she formed a dangerous alliance with a German-Jewish colleague and became entangled with the French Resistance. Survival demanded impossible choices, and not all of them can remain buried.

As Vicky’s own reckless relationship begins to spiral, long hidden truth threatens to surface—forcing both women to confront who they are.

 

Discovering Elizabeth is a dual-timeline novel about legacy, sacrifice and the complicated inheritance between generations of women.

 

About the Author

 

Alexandra Khayat Dahl is a fourth-generation American whose family’s origins are from the Levant region of the Middle East. Raised in Washington, DC and educated in Catholic schools, she went on to attend an international university that set the course for a life defined by global experience. She spent the majority of her adult years in Europe, where living across cultures sharpened her perspective and strengthened her voice. A mother of four adult children, she returned to the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic with a renewed commitment to preserving the stories that shape generations.

Inspired by the true life of her great aunt and godmother—a fearless doctor, aviator, supporter of the French resistance and a trailblazer who defied an arranged marriage to marry for love— Alexandra celebrates a legacy of courage, conviction, and uncompromising independence.

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Book Tour ~ A Boy Becoming - Reflections from Ages 10 - 16 by Eddy Yang

 

A Renewed Vision for a Kinder, Gentler World

Coming of Age Memoir

Date Published: May 14, 2026

Publisher: MindStir Media

What if the most important lessons in life came from the ordinary moments we often overlook?

A Boy Becoming: A Renewed Vision for a Kinder, Gentler World is an inspiring coming-of-age memoir that invites readers into the private journals, drawings, reflections, and life experiences of young author Eddy Yang. Compiled from diary entries written between the ages of ten and sixteen, this powerful memoir chronicles the journey of a young boy learning how to navigate family, faith, friendship, sports, responsibility, and personal growth.

Through honest reflections and meaningful life lessons, Eddy explores what it means to build character in a world that often values achievement over integrity. Along the way, he learns that becoming a better person is not about perfection—it is about practice.

As an ice hockey goalie, Eddy discovers courage, resilience, humility, discipline, and the ability to recover from failure. Through conversations with his parents, guidance from teachers and coaches, experiences with service, and moments of self-reflection, he learns that true strength comes from within and that growth happens one choice at a time.

Filled with wisdom beyond his years, A Boy Becoming explores timeless themes including:

✔ Character Development and Personal Growth

✔ Kindness, Compassion, and Empathy

✔ Family Values and Faith

✔ Self-Reflection and Emotional Growth

✔ Discipline, Responsibility, and Resilience

✔ Youth Leadership and Positive Decision-Making

✔ Sportsmanship and Life Lessons from Hockey

✔ Gratitude, Forgiveness, and Humility

✔ Identity, Purpose, and Self-Discovery

At the heart of this reflective memoir is a simple but powerful truth: character is built slowly through ordinary moments. Every mistake, every challenge, every act of kindness, every lesson learned, and every effort to improve becomes part of the process of becoming.

Perfect for teens, young adults, parents, educators, coaches, mentors, and anyone interested in personal development, A Boy Becoming offers encouragement, insight, and hope for readers navigating their own journey of growth.

Inside You'll Discover:

●      Honest diary reflections from childhood through adolescence

●      Life lessons from family, faith, sports, and service

●      Thought-provoking insights about character and self-improvement

●      Inspirational messages for young people facing challenges and uncertainty

●      Practical wisdom about becoming someone you respect

Memorable Quotes from the Book

"Kind is more important than smart. Logic has no moral. We must be nice no matter what."

"Forgiveness frees you more than it frees the other person."

"Possessions should not possess you."

"A distracted driver misses exits. A distracted life misses destiny."

"Remember: you are not your trophies. You are not your mistakes. You are the daily effort that nobody sees."

If you enjoy inspirational memoirs, coming-of-age stories, personal growth books, youth leadership, family-centered nonfiction, or books that encourage reflection and character development, A Boy Becoming will resonate long after the final page.

Because becoming a better person isn't a destination—it's a lifelong journey.

 
 

When I first started writing, I didn’t know I was writing a book.

These were just diary entries. Sometimes I wrote because I was upset. Other times, I wrote because I learned something, or because a parent, teacher, or moment made me think deeply. I didn’t write every day. I didn’t always know what I was trying to say. But now, looking back, I see a path. A trail of thoughts, drawings, struggles, and questions.

From age 10 to now, 16, I’ve changed a lot. But some things have stayed the same: I still want to understand life. I still think about who I am and who I want to be.

Ice hockey, especially goaltending, has been a huge part of that journey. It taught me to face fear — literally — as pucks flew toward my body. It taught me patience, repetition, and how to fail in front of people. But more than that, it forced me to balance ego and humility.

This book isn’t about being perfect. It’s about practicing — not just with your talents, but with your thoughts, your choices, your character. It’s about growing, slowly and painfully sometimes, into someone you respect.

If you’re someone who’s growing up, too, I hope something in these pages speaks to you. Whether you're in the classroom, with your family, or just trying to figure things out, you’re not alone.

 

 

About the Author

 

 Eddy Yang is a student, writer, ice hockey goalie, and young author whose work focuses on self-reflection, personal growth, family values, faith, discipline, and character development.

His passion for writing began long before he imagined becoming an author. Throughout childhood, Eddy kept journals, diary entries, drawings, comics, and reflections that documented his experiences, thoughts, challenges, and questions about life.

Over time, these personal writings evolved into something larger—a record of growth from childhood into adolescence.

The Beginning of a Writer

Eddy never started writing with the intention of publishing a book.

He wrote to understand himself.

Sometimes he wrote after difficult experiences. Other times he wrote after learning valuable lessons from parents, teachers, coaches, teammates, or faith. Writing became a way to process emotions, reflect on mistakes, and preserve important moments.

As he revisited years of journals and drawings, he recognized a story unfolding: the story of becoming.

Hockey and Character

As an ice hockey goalie, Eddy has learned lessons that extend far beyond the rink.

Goaltending taught him courage, resilience, humility, patience, and discipline. It taught him how to handle pressure, recover from failure, and continue improving after setbacks.

These experiences became a powerful influence on his understanding of personal growth and are woven throughout his writing.

Why He Wrote A Boy Becoming

Eddy wrote A Boy Becoming because he believes growth happens through ordinary moments.

Character is not built overnight.

It develops through repeated choices, honest reflection, mistakes, perseverance, gratitude, forgiveness, and love.

His hope is that readers—especially young people—will recognize that they are not alone in their struggles and that becoming a better person is a lifelong journey worth embracing.

Mission

Through his writing, Eddy hopes to inspire readers to:

● Practice kindness

● Develop discipline

● Embrace humility

● Learn from mistakes

● Strengthen character

● Value family and faith

● Continue growing every day

"Kind is more important than smart. Logic has no moral. We must be nice no matter what."

 

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Teaser ~ Cressida's Circle by Mikala Ash

 

Steampunk Adventure Romance

Date Published: September 11, 2026

In a world overthrown by witchcraft, a giant love has been lost. Can Cressida be saved?

 

Mourning the loss of her husband, Cressida Troy is on her way to Earth. Her mission; to meet the Queen of England and cement relations between the Lunarians and humans to present a united front in the approaching war with the Martians. For Cressida, the mission has a much deeper and personal meaning. Being human, as well as the Lunarian Empress, Cressida is plagued by doubt and guilt and seeks redemption for what is seen by many as the betrayal of her species. Matters are complicated when she is kidnapped by the pernicious witch, Lady Neva, who is hell-bent on revenge against Queen Victoria. Armed with unlimited magical power, Lady Neva is planning to usurp the crown and rule both Earth and space.

Meanwhile Jacob McLeary, Cressida’s former fiancé, is under the watchful and lascivious eye of Lavinia Branscombe, a Lunarian agent. Knowledge of the dark secret at the heart of the Lunarian society fuels Jacob’s loathing of the aliens, but with so much at stake, can love overcome the barrier of hate? Will Cressida find redemption?

EXCERPT

 

Like a child’s toy, the cradle of humanity filled the bridge windows with brilliant colour: blue, green, and brown, flecked with white, a gemstone set against the black velvet of space. If only people could know how insignificant this world was in the scheme of things, floating silently in the incomprehensible emptiness.

Pointless philosophising distracted me for only a moment. My heart trembled with anticipation. I was nearly home.

The Lunarian crew, in their natural form, goblin like, winged with leathery skin and large bright eyes, ignored my presence, as they should. Though they were experienced, with hundreds of trips behind them, piloting a spacecraft was not something to be taken lightly, especially with me on board creating the expectation that everything should be executed perfectly.

I would have put them at ease, but that would have been churlish of me, I realised. They wanted to impress me, and lowering expectations would have been like a slap in the face, a sign of patronising condescension on my part. Not an endearing action no matter how well intended.

I turned my thoughts back to the sparkling globe before us, and the people who awaited me. I’d read how the ancients believed that the souls of the dead fled their bodies and ascended to the moon, a way station before reincarnation, or their ultimate disposition in paradise or the underworld. Little did they contemplate that souls from that grey desert of a world would descend upon the Earth and conquer it.

I had to be careful how I approached not just the Queen, and her parliament, but most importantly the bureaucracy which ruled from the shadows and exerted more power than she could ever hope to wield. I hoped they understood we humans were a conquered species. Of course, behind the mask of cheerful bonhomie and expressions of respect as they delivered begrudging cooperation, there would be fear and hatred. From that febrile soup simple misunderstandings could bubble up and poison the nascent relationship.

The politicians had wanted a state visit to impress everyone with the importance of our relationship, and to thank me for using our power to save them from their European enemies. Though our reasons differed, I agreed with Her Majesty that ostentatious displays of pomp and ceremony were unnecessary. She wanted to maintain her image of the Warrior Queen and didn’t want to share the adoration of the crowds as the saviour of the Empire. She feared the loss of face if I was seen as an equal.

I wanted none of that either, feeling as disloyal as I did for my part in what was fundamentally the takeover of her empire. I requested a low-key, quiet visit. A gentle introduction back into human society. One in which I would not feel such a fraud. With Her Majesty’s relieved endorsement, my desire had carried the day.

The other vexed issue was the taking of her son the Prince of Wales by Lady Neva. I had to placate and convince her that we were doing everything we could to return him to her. Though she detested the Prince -- after all he had been intimately involved in several assassination attempts, and she had come so close to strangling him with her own hands -- he was her son.

Randolf, my bodyguard and general factotum on this mission, floated at my side. “My lady,” he said softly into my ear. “Amanda has prepared a meal.”

“Thank you, Randolf.” I had skipped breakfast, and as always, my body servant had correctly anticipated my needs. I was indeed feeling hungry.

Randolf was a handsome, powerfully built, athletic man. His bright azure eyes reminded me so much of Jacob’s. My body stirred, my nipples hardened, and my quim throbbed. He and his female counterpart, the stunningly beautiful Amanda, had pleasured me delightfully and often since we had left the moon, and I had gratefully surrendered myself to them. That train of thought pushed the need for food aside. I wanted to be pleasured again.

I took Randolf’s proffered hand, and we glided to the access chute that led “down” to the passenger quarters. His body heat pulsed through his tunic and through my gown to warm my flesh. He wore no pants, and his stiff cock swayed enticingly as he propelled himself before me. Amanda was awaiting us, naked and undeniably aroused, the nipples of her ample breasts pink and erect. I gave her an encouraging smile to confirm my thoughts were of a similar nature.

Being firm, she countermanded my desire with the advice that I needed sustenance. She offered a full English breakfast: steaming scrambled eggs, kippers, ham, bacon, and sausages, kidneys, mushrooms, and fried tomatoes. A feast for a multitude. With a petulant pout, I took a dainty bite of each and finished with a cup of tea and a slice of toast. I’d maintained a salacious gaze which lingered on her almond-shaped eyes and gave rise to a pink flush to her cheeks. When I’d finished, I gracefully dabbed my mouth with a napkin and took Randolf’s cock in hand.

“Keep the food warm, and join us,” I told Amanda. “I may eat some more later. My current appetite, though, is for the diverting pleasures of unbridled fornication.”

Making love when one has no weight, once the initial challenges are overcome, is a sublime enterprise, more like an ethereal ballet of the most intimate kind. Holding your partner in a close embrace, limbs entwined, his cock held snugly by one’s tight sheath, so that you become as one, spinning, rotating, pirouetting like a ballerina celebrating a mind-shattering climax.

 

About the Author

Aussie Mikala Ash used to be a mild-mannered training & development consultant by day, and a wild sci-fi and paranormal adventure writer by night. Now she is a brazen full-time writer and nature photographer who is concentrating on having among other things, “… bags, and bags of fun!” Mikala can be found on Facebook and on Twitter.

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