Now available from Montlake Romance is the romantic suspense novel Black Diamond, book two in the Wilds of the Bayou Series by author Susannah Sandlin.



The author has taken a few minutes out of her busy schedule for a Q&A about her newest novel.



When did you become interested in storytelling?

Until six or seven years ago, I was a career journalist, so I have been a storyteller since I co-founded my high school literary magazine more years ago than I care to admit. I wrote my first novel in 2009 as an exercise in turning my own experiences as a New Orleanian during Hurricane Katrina into a fantasy story. I got hooked on fiction-writing as I stumbled my way through that first book, and just kept going!

What was your first book/story published?

That first novel was also my first published novel Royal Street was the first in the Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series and was published under the name Suzanne Johnson. Book five in that series comes out next month! I was incredibly blessed to have gotten a great agent and then get published my first time out.

What inspired you to write Black Diamond?

I began a new series, Wilds of the Bayou, this past spring with Wild Man’s Curse. The series is about a team of wildlife enforcement agents (i.e., highly trained game wardens) working in rural, bayou- and marsh-covered Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. Each book features a different agent, a different case, a different romance, so they can stand alone. I knew I wanted to write about agent Jena Sinclair, a rare female game warden, and began reading about the rash of dangerous synthetic opioid drugs coming into the U.S. these days—“bath salt drugs,” they’re called. I started thinking about how someone might try moving drugs into and through this rural parish, which sits halfway between Houston and New Orleans, and then how my wildlife agents might get caught up in it. Add a mysterious, reclusive hero, and Black Diamond was born!

What character in Black Diamond is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

Now available from Gorillas With Scissors Press is the horror novel COOLANT by author Kenneth Brown.


The author has taken a few minutes out of his busy schedule for a Q&A about his newest novel.



When did you become interested in storytelling?

I believe I’ve always been interested in telling stories. I remember setting up intricate (for a four to five year old anyway!) stories with my action figures as a kid. Comics also played a big role in that as well. For the longest time I wanted to be a comic book illustrator, but I never could amass the skill in the arts for it. In high school that’s when I found out about Dungeon’s and Dragons and learned I loved to truly just make up stuff.

What was your first book/story published?

That would be “Dead End Drive Thru” and “False Awakenings”. Both are short stories. These two were published stories are part of the Nightmares and Echoes 2 Charity Anthology. It’s a book series where half the proceeds went to charity, St. Jude and Camp Hope I believe.

What inspired you to write Coolant?

It's been awhile since I posted a "Fitness & Coffee" that wasn't a review of some sorta product, so I thought I would take this time to share what I've been up as of lately. For starters, I have had a chest cold for nearly two weeks, and I now have a bit of the flu bug as well. Add on top a bit of weight gain from a lack of exercise for the past month, I guess you can say I'm not currently at my best.

This year's Halloween event hasn't been easy on me. There have been several posts I have skipped or just didn't feel like writing. None of these reviews/posts had to be published on specific dates, so I'm not too worried about it. Hopefully, I'll feel like writing one or two those posts later today.

Speaking of Halloween, Oct. 31st is one week tomorrow. Each and every year, I put together 120+ treat bags full of candy for the trick-or-treaters and I decorate the yard with creepy tombstones and other stuff. As I am writing this, I have about 60 treat bags put together. I won't put up the decorations until next weekend or on Halloween Day; all depending on how I feel. Plus, I normally carve a Jack-O-Lantern and roast the pumpkin seeds. I do have a pumpkin, but whether I actually carve it is another story.

I have several books I need to read and review, including The Dead Boyfriend (my book marker is in place) and The Mirror Sisters by V.C. Andrews. Then I need to read High Heat that I had checked out at the library.

TV-Y; 142 minutes; $19.99 ; Walmart

Arriving on DVD this Tuesday from Walt Disney Home Entertainment is Doc McStuffins: Toy Hospital, featuring the full-length adventure - Welcome to McStuffinsville, and 4 bonus episodes. As an added bonus the DVD comes with a fee Toysponder Bracelet.

Created by Chris Nee, Doc McStuffins debuted on Disney Junior in 2012 and quickly become a big hit for the cable channel. The series centers on Doctor Dottie "Doc" McStuffins, a seven-year-old who wants to be a doctor when she grows up. In the meantime, she settles for being a doctor to her toys, fixing up any injuries they receive from playing to rough. Doc even helps other toys in the neighborhood with the help of her own toys (Stuffy the Dragon , Hallie the Hippo, Lambie the Lamb, and Chilly the Snowman).

"Welcome To McStuffinsville" is the first episodes of the fourth season that aired during the summer. Doc's world is turned upside down when Grandma McStuffins reveals she has her very own magical stethoscope that can make toys come alive. Grandma gives Doc a toysponder that will transport her McStuffinsville, a big toy city where she will be working at the toy hospital.


The bonus episodes are all from the third season:

Baby McStuffins / Selfless Snowman - Doc and her little brother Donnie are excited when their parents inform them that they are going to adopt a baby. To get Doc time to practice being a big sister, her parents give her a baby doll. In the second story, Doc holds a stuffing donation drive.

Zonderkidz; 32 pages; $6.99; Amazon

Yes, I'm well aware this isn't really a "Fall Reads" book, but it is autumn and technically a activity book is a book, so here I am writing this review!

What exactly am I review?

Well, I'm reviewing The Berenstain Bears: Christmas Fun Sticker and Activity Book by Jan & Mike Berenstain. Published by Zonderkidz (a trademark of Zondervan), the 32-page book has over 50 reusable stickers.

You might remember me reviewing The Berenstain Bears: Bear CountryFun Sticker & Activity Book earlier this year. This book is very similar, containing puzzles and illustrations to color.


The activities in the book includes:

ZonderKidz; 160 pages; $12.99; Amazon

During my early elementary days in the late 1980s, I was a big fan of The Berenstain Bears books by Stan and Jan Berenstain. I tried to collect every little picture book I could find in the series. Eventually, I got interested into other books and the Berenstain Bears titles just rested on a bookshelf collecting dust. Later, I let my aunt borrow the books for her kids to read, but I never saw the books again. Over the years, I have recollected several of those books; most of them I found at thrift stores.

Now available in bookstores from ZonderKidz is "The Berenstain Bears: Bedtime Devotional" by Mike Berenstain, the son of the late Stan and Jan Berenstain. It features 90 different devotions for young readers.

The small-size book kicks off with a one-page "Bedtime Prayer." The rest of the book is divided between nine chapters/sections - "God Loves You Very Much," "Be Kind and Helpful to Others," "Be Forgiving," "God's Gifts and Blessings," "Be Thankful," "Be Courageous," "Be a Good Friend," "Have Faith," and "Be Joyful."

Each devotion features one Bible verse, followed by a short story involving either Brother, Sister or Honey. Almost all the devotions have a "Carry, On Cub!" paragraph, which basically sums up the life lesson that was in the story. There is also a short rhyming prayer with every devotion.