Spotlight: Unruly Human Hearts by Barbara Southard

A tale of faith, passion, idealism, and betrayal, perfect for book clubs, fans of Sue Monk Kidd’s The Invention of Wings, and those fascinated by love triangles, contradictions between public images and private lives, and the limitations faced by women in the nineteenth century.

Elizabeth Tilton, a devout housewife, shares liberal ideals with her husband, Theodore Tilton, and their pastor and close friend Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, both influential reformers of the Reconstruction Era who promote suffrage for women and former slaves and advocate for the spiritual power of love rather than Calvinistic retribution.

Elizabeth is torn between admiration for her husband’s stand on women’s rights and resentment of his dominating ways at home. When Theodore justifies his extramarital affairs in terms of the free love doctrine that marriage should not restrict other genuine loves, she becomes closer to Henry, who admires her spiritual gifts—and eventually falls passionately in love with him.

Once passion for her pastor undermines the moral certainties of her generation, Elizabeth enters into uncharted emotional and ethical territory. Under what circumstances should she tell the truth? If she does, will she lose her children and her marriage? Will she destroy her own reputation and the career of the reverend who has done much good? Can a woman accustomed to following the leadership of men find her own path and define her own truth?

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About the Author

Barbara grew up in New York City, holds a PhD in history from the University of Hawaii, and has served as a professor of history, Chairperson of the History Department, and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies at the Río Piedras Campus of the University of Puerto Rico. 

She is the author of a book on Indian history, The Women’s Movement and Colonial Politics in Bengal, 1921–1936, and has also published numerous articles in history journals.  Barbara has also published short stories in literary journals, and she is the author of The Pinch of the Crab, a collection of ten stories set in Puerto Rico, exploring social conflicts of island life, mostly from the female perspective. 

Barbara has also been active in raising funds for the Shonali Choudhury Fund of the Community Foundation of Puerto Rico, helping local community organizations working to protect women from domestic violence. She does this work in honor of her daughter, a public health professor who died of a brain tumor. You can find more information about Barbara on her website: https://www.barbarasouthard.com/.

Follow her on Instagram @barbara.southard45

Find her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraSouthardAuthor

Spotlight: Womanist Bioethics: Social Justice, Spirituality, and Black Women's Health by Wylin D. Wilson

Black people, and especially Black women, suffer and die from diseases at much higher rates than their white counterparts. The vast majority of these health disparities are not attributed to behavioral differences or biology, but to the pervasive devaluation of Black bodies.

Womanist Bioethics addresses this crisis from a bioethical standpoint. It offers a critique of mainstream bioethics as having embraced the perspective of its mainly white, male progenitors, limiting the extent to which it is positioned to engage the issues that particularly affect vulnerable populations. This book makes the provocative but essential case that because African American women– across almost every health indicator– fare worse than others. We must not only include, but center, Black women’s experiences and voices in bioethics discourse and practice.

To this end, Womanist Bioethics develops the first specifically womanist form of bioethics, focused on the diverse vulnerabilities and multiple oppressions that women of color face. This innovative womanist bioethics is grounded in the Black Christian prophetic tradition, based on the ideas that God does not condone oppression and that it is imperative to defend those who are vulnerable. It also draws on womanist theology and Black liberation theology, which take similar stances. At its core, the volume offers a new, broad-based approach to bioethics that is meant as a corrective to mainstream bioethics’ privileging of white, particularly male, experiences, and it outlines ways in which hospitals, churches, and the larger community can better respond to the healthcare needs of Black women.

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About the Author

Wylin D. Wilson is Assistant Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke Divinity School where she teaches Womanist Bioethics within the Theology Medicine and Culture program. She is author of Economic Ethics and the Black Church.

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Spotlight: The Landmark Achilles by James George Brianas

In Search of His Palace, His Family, Homer, the War, and the Bronze Age Mediterranean

Nonfiction

Date Published: October 30, 2024

Publisher: Mindstir Media

The Bronze Age Mediterranean, 3200 1200 BC, was a period of high movement, intrigue, and warfare. In this book, the author, through extensive research with "Boots on the Ground," provides a new, cohesive, and comprehensive view of that age, the evolution of the Greeks into the Mediterranean, the kings and commander with their fortresses and palaces, and capped in the final years with Homer's war, "The Greatest War Story Ever Told." He describes not only how the Greek hero Achilles and events of that war leave a lasting legacy but also weaves in five generations of the family of Achilles, the truth about Homer and his war, and solves the mystery of the palace site of Achilles and his father Peleus. Excavations of Troy from 1871 to the present are revealed as are the discovered clay tablets of the Hittites identifying numerous wars at Troy and along the Aegean Sea in western Anatolia. The ultimate collapse of the Bronze Age and its kingdoms brings this author's epic saga to its final conclusion, the devastation of that end period harboring ominous signs for our own world today.

Excerpt

His tomb lies on the plains of Troy, a mound of earth some 30 feet (9 m.) in height and crowned by large white stones. Today it is an isolated spot along the far northeastern Aegean coast, far from his homeland on mainland Greece, visited by no one, some 7 miles (11 km.) southwest of the citadel, the fortress of Troy, whose once massive walls repelled the Greek armada of over 1000 ships and the thousands of battle-tested Greek warriors.

Yes, he was the fiercest and the most courageous amongst them—the great Achilles. No tourist visits the tomb. It is now a desolate area surrounded by farmland and rolling terrain with the Aegean Sea a stone’s throw to the west. It was here along the coast that the armada landed and set up camp, a rather secluded coast protected from the winds streaming out of Thrace to the north and the Hellespont, today’s modern Dardanelles strait. It was here that the war began between the Greeks and the Trojans, Homer’s Trojan War, that 10-year long struggle in which it was prophesized Achilles would die. But in his death, he rises above all other Greek warriors. He is the hero. His immortality is secured and the legend begins.

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About the Author

Connect on his website: https://achillesfoundation.org/

Spotlight: Hope & Harmony Anthology

Release Date: January 28

Including stories from romance's top authors, including #1 NYT bestsellers Helen Hardt, Rachel Van Dyken, & Meredith Wild, a star-studded anthology of exclusive, heartfelt stories celebrating the enduring connection between love and music.

Hope & Harmony is a groundbreaking anthology of entirely new and exclusive romance stories from fourteen of romance’s best-selling authors. Authors include Chelle Bliss, Stacey Marie Brown, Mari Carr, Jaine Diamond, Helen Hardt, Jillian Liota, Kat Mizera, Layla Reyne, M. Robinson, Becca Steele, Rachel Van Dyken, Meredith Wild, Kaylene Winter, and Julia Wolf.

Vibrant, poignant, and heartfelt, each tale is a testament to the enduring connection between love and music. From the vibrant, upbeat tracks signifying new beginnings, to the slow, soulful tunes accompanying dramatic happily ever afters, each story is like a song on your “playlist”, bursting with authenticity and passion.

Whether you're a fan of classical harmonies or hard rock, jazz or emo, the authors of Hope & Harmony will tug at your heartstrings and leave you wanting more.

Hope & Harmony is a music romance anthology supporting MusiCares.

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About MusicCares:

MusiCares helps the humans behind music because music gives so much to the world. Offering preventive, emergency, and recovery programs, MusiCares is a safety net supporting the health and welfare of the music community. Founded by the Recording Academy in 1989 as a U.S. based, independent 501(c)(3) charity, MusiCares safeguards the well-being of all music people through direct financial grant programs, networks of support resources, and tailored crisis relief efforts.

For more information, visit https://musicares.org/

Spotlight: Eternal Ashes by Janelle Marie

(Ash & Rage, #1)

Publication date: January 21st 2025

Genres: Adult, Thriller

Synopsis:

One night. One moment. One mistake.

Now life will never be the same.

In her hometown of Auburn Village, Sofie Collins has built a good life for herself and her teenage daughter, April.

Sofie’s business is growing, and they are both happily in love, with April about to graduate from high school in only a few weeks.

Life – although far from perfect – is good. But one moment is all it takes.

Just one moment and now Sofie’s world will never be the same again.

Instead of building a brighter future with each passing day, Sofie suddenly finds the happiness she found slipping further and further through her fingers.

And it seems as though all the blame and guilt lies with her…

Or does it?

This mesmerizing drama is the compelling first chapter of a story of heartbreak, betrayal and cold revenge. When her world breaks, will Sofie find the strength to rebuild the pieces? Or is she about to send it crashing down?

Excerpt

Sofie stared out the window of Chief Edison’s unmarked police car, a cold sense of dread spreading through her chest as she awaited her daughter’s fate. The local hospital wasn’t far, but the ride felt like it was hours. They had left immediately after throwing on some clothes. Sofie wasn’t sure what she had grabbed, or if she should bring anything for April. What had happened? What could’ve possibly happened? Why hadn’t she come home?

The night was still and silent. Everything was so quiet and peaceful, in such stark contrast to the turmoil raging through Sofie’s whole body.

Please, let my baby girl be okay. The thought repeated itself in her head, right along with the last image she had of April walking hand-in-hand out of the pub with Drew. April’s last words to Sofie had been “I love you.” But Sofie couldn’t remember if she’d said those all-important words back to her.

Sofie’s breath clutched in her chest, her gasp disturbing the silence inside the car. Chief Edison glanced back at her through the rearview mirror, concern in his eyes despite his blank expression. Beside her, Parker took Sofie’s hand, interlocking their fingers.

Chief Edison hadn’t given them many details beyond the fact April and Drew had been in an accident. He’d shared no insight into their condition. He didn’t need to though. Sofie could read between the lines. If the kids were okay, they would have been driven home.

April would have called.

If the kids were okay, Chief Edison would have said so instead of staying tight-lipped. His silence was a red flag. A bad omen.

Please, let my baby girl be okay…

Sofie’s vision blurred and she blinked back tears, refusing to let any fall yet. She was convinced crying prematurely would only bring bad luck. Sofie was fearing the worst, but she needed to hold on to some kind of hope. At least now, before she knew for certain how bad it was.

Maybe the kids were banged up and in shock. Maybe there were some broken bones. Maybe some concussions. Scrapes and scratches. Bruises. A bunch of stuff would heal quickly…

And maybe one day, a few weeks or months from now, they would remember this incident as a scary close-call they’d overcome. A minor setback.

Someday in the future, April and Drew would be married and in their forties, telling their kids about the bad crash they had weeks before graduating high school. Their yearbook would have pictures of all the signatures they’d gotten on their matching casts.

There was no need to panic.

No need to panic. Sofie let these words replace the chant in her head, wanting so badly to believe them. Yet, no matter how hard she tried to cling to some optimism, the prolonged drive provided ample time for dread to take hold again.

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About the Author

Janelle Marie is a distinguished voice in the realm of thriller-suspense fiction. Residing amidst the towering evergreens and cascading mountains of the Pacific Northwest, she infuses her stories with the essence of her surroundings, creating a unique and immersive experience for her readers.

With a talent for weaving tales, Janelle embarked on her writing journey, driven by a love for a great book. She discovered her passion for crafting stories that send shivers down the spine, skillfully spinning narratives that are tapestries of suspense, where unexpected twists and turns keep readers guessing until the final, gripping conclusion.

Janelle Marie invites readers to join her on a journey into the heart of suspense, where the landscapes are as unpredictable as the twists in her tales. Through her evocative prose, she aims to transport readers into a world where danger lurks in the shadows and the only way out is to keep turning the pages.

Connect:

https://www.facebook.com/people/Janelle-Marie-Author/61552059479974/

https://www.janelle-marie.com/#/

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/179793453-janelle-marie

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/575133379

https://www.instagram.com/janellemarie_author/

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Spotlight: The Language of Love by Nancy Christie

The Language of Love and Other Stories is about all types of love relationships: the ones that exist between parent and child as well as between generations, the bonds that grow between new lovers as well as those that exist between long-settled couples. The 20-story collection explores all the stages of love: the tenuous yet exciting beginning, the calmer, more mundane phases, the uncertain periods, and finally the ending—sometimes anticipated, other times devastatingly unexpected. It’s about whom one loves, how one loves, and what one does when the love is reciprocated, rejected or over.

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About the Author

Nancy Christie is the award-winning author of two Novels, Reinventing Rita and Finding Fran (both from BookBaby)—the first two books in her Midlife Moxie Novel Series; four short story collections: The Language of Love and Other Stories,  Mistletoe Magic and Other Holiday Tales, Traveling Left of Center and Other Stories and Peripheral Visions and Other Stories (all from Unsolicited Press); two books for writers: Rut-Busting Book for Authors and Rut-Busting Book for Writers (both from BookBaby) and the inspirational book, The Gifts of Change (Atria/Beyond Words). Forthcoming books include Moving Maggie, the third in her Midlife Moxie Novel Series that is scheduled for release in 2025.

Her short stories and essays have appeared in numerous print and online publications, with several earning contest placement. 

The host of the Living the Writing Life podcast and the founder of the annual “Midlife Moxie” Day and “Celebrate Short Fiction” Day, Nancy teaches writing workshops at conferences, libraries, and schools. She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), the Florida Writers Association (FWA) and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA).

Visit her website to follow her updates. You can also follow her on X, Facebook, and Instagram.