Tuesday, 19 May 2026

In the spotlight today is Some Starry Night by Irene Latham






Some Starry Night
By Irene Latham


Publication Date: April 14th, 2026
Publisher: Historium Press
Pages: 264
Genre: Historical Fiction

Under the pale glow of a Parisian spring in 1886, two restless souls move toward the same horizon-unaware that their meeting will ignite a love as luminous and fleeting as the stars themselves.


Vincent van Gogh arrives in Paris with little more than paint-stained hands and an aching determination to create something worthy of the world. Living in the cramped apartment of his brother Theo, he struggles against poverty, doubt, and the relentless pull of his own restless mind.


Across the ocean in Amherst, Emily Dickinson receives news that changes everything. Faced with the nearness of death, the reclusive poet does the unthinkable: she leaves the quiet safety of the Homestead and sails for Paris, determined to taste life before it slips beyond her reach.


When Emily agrees to sit for Vincent's portrait, their worlds collide in a blaze of color, poetry, and dangerous intimacy. Through letters, poems, and whispered confessions, the two artists discover in one another a fierce, unguarded understanding-one that will shape their art, their faith, and the fragile hours they have left.


But love between stars is never simple. As time grows short and darkness gathers, Vincent and Emily must decide whether beauty is meant to last...or simply to burn bright enough to change the night forever.


Some Starry Night is a sweeping, lyrical imagining of the hidden story behind Vincent van Gogh's most iconic painting – an unforgettable tale of love, creativity, and the courage to live fiercely, even in the shadow of the end.



Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link

Historium Press Buy Link


Irene Latham


Irene Latham writes poems and stories from the Purple Horse Poetry Studio & Music Room in Blount County, Alabama. She is the author or co-author of many books for young people, including African Town, winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Outstanding Historical Fiction.

This is her first novel for adults.





Thursday, 14 May 2026

Read my review of Firevein: The Awakening (Firevein Saga Book 1) by Hanna Park

 



Firevein: The Awakening 
(Firevein Saga Book 1)
By Hanna Park


Publication Date: 14th April 2026
Publisher: Baisong Press 
Print Length: 246 Pages
Genre: Fantasy Romance 

I went to Røros for a wedding—not to fall for a man
who looked at me like he had already mourned me once.

From the first moment Rurik touched me, something beneath my skin burned. Every kiss felt inevitable. Every glance pressed at the edge of memory. He says I’ve lived before, that I’ve died before, that he has loved me through it all. I don’t remember him—but the mountain does.

The tunnels beneath Røros hum when I pass. Runes flare in the stone. The deeper I fall into his arms, the more something inside me begins to awaken—hot, wild, and impossible to ignore. I was never meant to survive what should have killed me. Now something ancient is stirring, and I can’t shake the feeling that it’s because I did.

I have buried Cristabel in every lifetime—though she has worn different names.

Across centuries, I have found her and lost her to the curse my bloodline was sworn to guard. She was never meant to live this time—but she did. Now the fire in her veins is awakening too soon. The balance beneath the mountain is shifting, and the oath I have carried for generations is beginning to fracture.

I waited lifetimes to hold her again. This time, I will not let her go—even if saving her means unleashing what should have remained buried.

A steamy Nordic fantasy romance of reincarnation, fate, and fire.

Triggers: Female cancer survivor. Steamy open-door scenes. 


Review – Five Stars

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I started Firevein: The Awakening one evening thinking I’d read a few chapters before bed and ended up staying awake far longer than I should have. It has that sort of pull to it straight away. The atmosphere is probably the first thing that grabbed me — everything feels cold, sharp, and heavy with tension, which fits the story so well.

Cristabel felt refreshing because she doesn’t instantly become fearless or all-knowing. She’s trying to understand what’s happening around her at the same time as the reader, and I liked that sense of uncertainty running through the story. It made the world feel bigger and more unpredictable.

Then there’s Rurik. Every time he appeared, the entire mood of the book shifted. He’s guarded, intense, and honestly quite difficult to read at times, but that’s exactly what made him interesting. The chemistry between him and Cristabel isn’t gentle or sweet — it’s immediate and messy and full of tension from the beginning.

A lot of fantasy romances lose me once the romance takes over the plot, but that didn’t happen here. There’s still a strong fantasy story underneath everything, with magic, secrets, and hints at a much bigger history behind the world. I liked that the book trusted the reader to piece things together slowly instead of explaining everything immediately.

Some scenes genuinely stuck in my head after I finished reading, especially the quieter moments between the characters where you could feel how much was being left unsaid. Those were the parts that made me keep turning the pages more than anything else.

I also appreciated that the story never felt repetitive. Every time I thought I had a handle on where things were going, something shifted. It kept the tension going the whole way through and made the book ridiculously easy to binge read.

By the end, I was completely invested in both the characters and the world. It’s the sort of fantasy romance that leaves you wanting to immediately start the next book because you’re not ready to let go of the characters yet.

Buy Link:
Read with #KindleUnlimited

Hanna Park

I began my writing career in the pre-dawn of a winter morning while my husband snored like a train. We could call my husband the catalyst. If it weren’t for him, I would never have gone to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee, feed the cat, and sit on the loveseat in front of the fire. It was there, in those moments of wondrous quiet, that I did something I had never thought possible. I opened my laptop, and while the coffee went cold, I wrote a story. My husband had no idea that these sojourns to the loveseat in front of the fire would become a daily occurrence, that writing would become an obsession, but the cat knew. She knows everything.

I write stories that make you laugh, make you cry, and make you love. Thank you, friends, for reading!

In the beginning, there was an empty page.

I am a writer who lives in Muskoka, Canada, with a husband who snores, a hungry cat, and an almost perfect canine––he’s an adorable little shit.


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Thursday, 7 May 2026

In the spotlight today is That Catskill Summer by Bart Charlow



That catskill summer

Lived-In Love TM
By Bart Charlow


Publication Date: April 21st, 2026
Publisher: independently published
Pages: 318
Genre: Historical Romance / Literary Romance

He wrote the book he lived. Now she wants to rewrite the ending.

For fans of the 1960s Catskills era of Dirty Dancing, this is a very different kind of love story.

Author Aaron Ben-Ami’s steamy novel, based on a failed youthful love affair in the "Summer of Love" Borscht Belt, is a sensation. Love was easy to come by in the resort culture of the early sexual revolution, but not so easy to keep. Now, as his story is being made into a movie starring Isobel “Izzy” Sandler, the past and present are about to collide.

Ironically, it was a chance meeting with Izzy that inspired Aaron to write the book in the first place—she was his muse. But as they grow close during filming, Izzy discovers the raw truth behind the fiction. She is the granddaughter of Elyse, the real woman who modeled for the novel’s lead—and Aaron's greatest "what if".

Set against the richly textured backdrop of a disappearing American era, That Catskill Summer is a story of what we miss in the moment and what stays with us long after. It is a journey through the humor, the heat, and the heartbreak of youth, told through the reflective eyes of someone who survived it.

Perfect for readers of emotionally rich, time-layered fiction who value reflection over resolution – and those who believe that a single summer can define a lifetime.



Buy Link:



Bart Charlow


Bart A. Charlow is an author, consultant, and retired therapist whose writing explores the intricate intersections of memory, legacy, and the human heart. With over 45 years as a visual artist and photographer, Bart brings a painterly eye to his prose, capturing the atmospheric beauty and lingering shadows of the people and places that shape us.

Born into the carnival life of a Borscht Belt Catskills hotel family, he has never let the ordinary constrain him.

His first book, A Catskill Carnival: My Borscht Belt Life Lived, Lost and Loved, is a memoir of his early years in a unique setting, coming to terms with it and cherishing its life lessons. Pickle Barrel Tales: More Borscht Belt BS is the companion book of over 50 wry vignettes from several “mountain rats”.

A true son of the Catskills, Bart’s deep connection to the "Borscht Belt" Dirty Dancing era serves as the foundation for his storytelling. His novels delve into the complex emotional landscapes of mature characters, often focusing on the ways the past refuses to stay buried and how new love must contend with old ghosts. His latest series is “Lived-In LoveTM”, dedicated to telling realistic relationship stories with deep emotional connections, not the usual tropes.

Whether through a camera lens, a paintbrush, or the written word, Bart is dedicated to capturing the "circus of memories" that defines the mature experience.

He writes a regular column, “Bart on Art”, for The San Mateo Daily Journal.

Bart has been a favored speaker on TV, radio and in print media for decades and is recognized for his service in the United States Congressional Record.

Among honors he holds is the Jefferson Award for his community leadership and service.

He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, grown children and grandchildren.

Connect with Bart:





In the spotlight today is Some Starry Night by Irene Latham

Some Starry Night By Irene Latham Publication Date: April 14th, 2026 Publisher: Historium Press Pages: 264 Genre: Historical Fiction Under t...