A satisfying whodunit goes beyond the genre’s cliches by creating believable characters. There doesn’t seem much to be done with the crime narrative anymore. From the sarcastic gumshoes to the psycho killers and mafia brotherhoods of... Read More

Whenever predator hunts prey, there is always an element of risk. Sure, an animal like a lion may have claws, sharp teeth, and superior strength to bring down another animal, but the swift kick of a hoof in a lion’s snout could knock... Read More

In the realm of spirituality, the phrase “the way” refers primarily to two major images. In the Gospel of St. John, Jesus refers to himself as the way, the truth, and the light; and in traditional Chinese philosophy and Eastern... Read More

It is not mandatory that a reader be familiar with (let alone a lover of) the works of the late novelist Thomas Wolfe in order to appreciate the new anthology, 27 Views of Asheville: A Southern Mountain Town in Prose & Poetry. And... Read More

It is 1989, and twenty-three-year-old Michigander Dante “Doopers” Lanza has had a black cloud following him for as long as he can remember. As a child, he watched his overbearing mother, Genie, drive his sickly father, Tommy, out of... Read More

Love, marriage, and then baby carriage: as the nursery rhyme goes, so follow our general expectations. Yet life doesn’t always comply with our jovial plans, as Victoria Hopewell (a pseudonym) discovers in this memoir detailing her... Read More

One generation passes its beliefs down to the next, either by word of mouth or by written documentation, and, as time passes, the stories are embellished and mixed with the histories of succeeding generations. They become a hybrid of... Read More

Despite or perhaps because of social taboos against exhibitions of uninhibited behavior, the commercial appeal of erotica, sometimes classified as a lusty subgenre of romance, may exceed that of tamer types of fiction. With a guaranteed... Read More