Lamplighter Mysteries; 302 pages; Buy Link; Blog Tour

Now available from Lamplighter Mysteries is the mystery thriller Murder in Disguise: A Preston Barclay Mystery by Donn Taylor.

The novel centers on Preston Barclay, a visiting professor who's working at a state university for the summer. Out of nowhere, he finds himself investigating the strange death of a department chairman. While the local authorities have ruled the man's death as a suicide, Dr. Barclay believes foul play is at hand.

With the help from Mara Thorn, Dr. Barclay seeks out to find the truth behind the mystery, while at the same time trying to dodge a sexy assistant, campus radicals, and criminals.

Lionsgate; PG-13; 127 minutes; Amazon

Now available on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD from Lionsgate Home Entertainment is the emotional drama The Glass Castle. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, the film stars Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts, and Max Greenfield.

Based on the memoir of the same name by Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle tells the story of Walls' real-life troubled childhood. Her father, Rex (played by Woody Harrelson), is an alcoholic who can't keep a job and her mother, Rose Mary (played by Naomi Watts), is an eccentric artist. Jeannette and her siblings (Lori, Josh, and Maureen) never had a normal life. They lived in poverty and were dragged from place to place, as their parents squatted in abandoned homes.

The film flips back and forth from the '80s where an adult Jeannette is trying to have a normal life in New York and then it flashes back to show what life was like during her childhood.

While the cast received great reviews for their performances, the same cannot be said for the film itself, as it was heavily criticized for the mishandling of the source material.

Special Features include:

• Deleted Scenes
• The Glass Castle: Memoir to Movie
• A Conversation with Jeannette Walls
• Making of "Summer Storm" by Joel P West
• Scoring The Glass Castle

RLJ Entertainment; Not Rated; 109 minutes; Amazon

Available today on DVD from RLJ Entertainment is the British horror-mystery The Limehouse Golem. Based on the book Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem by Peter Ackroy and directed by Juan Carlos Medina, the film stars Bill Nighy, Olivia Cooke, Douglas Booth, Daniel Mays, Sam Reid, María Valverde, Henry Goodman, Morgan Watkins, and Eddie Marsan.

Set in Victorian London, the film centers around Elizabeth Cree (played by Olivia Cooke), who is accused of poisoning her husband John (played by Sam Reid). At the time of John's death a coincidence occurs - the Limehouse Golem murders stop.

Someone has been brutally killing random people all over Limehouse and has been leaving behind cryptic messages written in the victim's blood. Scotland Yard has no clue to who is behind the killings. Due to pressure from the public, Scotland Yard assigns Inspector Kildare (played Bill Nighy) to solve the case.

After finding a diary at a library that is believed to have been written by the Golem, Inspector Kildare narrows the Golem down to four suspects - Dan Leno (played by Douglas Booth), Karl Marx (played by Henry Goodman), George Gissing (played by Morgan Watkins), and John Cree. Now it's a race against time to prove which suspect is the murderer, before Elizabeth Cree is hanged.


Special Features include:

• Behind the Scenes Featurettes about the Cast, Locations, Look, and Making of The Limehouse Golem
• Photo Gallery

Now available on Amazon and Smashwords from Devildog Press is science fiction horror novel Prey by Tim Majka.

The Other Side Has Broken Through

Following the mysterious death of his parents, Detective Eric Archer goes home to the idyllic Western New York town of Chadwick Bay. There, he joins old colleagues and makes new acquaintances in Jessica Benitez, Eliseo Gomez, and the enigmatic Dr. William Dirk.

They uncover decades-old family secrets that shakes the foundation of their reality.

Alliances are formed, friends become foes.

An ancient entity’s plan to enslave the people of Earth is about to be unleashed. With the fate of humanity at risk, Eric Archer and his friends must race to unravel the mystery of how to defeat a God-king.

When did you become interested in storytelling?

My seventh grade English Language Arts teacher, Mrs. Lynn Clarke got me hooked on storytelling. We had a unit of study in creative writing during which I wrote an episode of STAR TREK (the original series), she gave me an A on it and many positive accolades about pacing and characterization. I didn’t write much creatively for many more years, but as a history teacher I need to be able to tell a story to hook the students, as veteran teacher once said to me, “You have to perform five shows daily and you need to have as much energy in the last as you do in the first.”

What was your first book/story published?

Prey from Devil Dog Press in June of 2017 was my first published work.

What inspired you to write Prey?

I was having a conversation online with an old high school friend, who happened to be writing some horror short stories. I had recently hung up my whistle after 13 years of coaching high school football and didn’t know what to do with myself (it is all consuming if you want to do it the right way). I had always wanted to write, as we talked I got more excited at the prospect of putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys, as it were). Searching through my desk, I found an CD-ROM with no label, I popped it in my desktop tower and it contained one Microsoft Word document titled PREY. It was three lines of a story I had started to write back at the beginning of my teaching career, how and why that disc was in the drawer at that time, I have no idea. I started writing from there.

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

The main character of Prey, Eric Archer, loves his family and always wants to do right by them. He is intelligent, tough, sarcastic, and funny, but when there is work to be done, it’ll get done. In many respects he’s the most like me.😀

I am least like Sheriff Pontillo, that bastard. 😀

What is your favorite part in Prey?

Jimmy Patterson; 310 pages; Buy Link: Amazon

Since this is November, I'm 100% positive that all kids are back in school by now. I had originally planned on posting one more Back to School Read several weeks ago, but due to all the Halloween posts/articles that were scheduled, I had to delay my review for Laugh Out Loud until today!

Anyhow,  now available from JIMMY Patterson (an imprint of Little, Brown, and Company) is the "laugh out loud" middle grade book Laugh Out Loud by bestselling author James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein.

Believe it or not, Thanksgiving is only three weeks away, which means you better start putting together your meal prep grocery list right now and start buying whatever ingredients you need this weekend. While the big turkey dinner is the main attraction for Thanksgiving Day, as well as pumpkin pie, make sure to get all the essentials that will make your day go by more smoothly - aka, less stressful.

Trust me when I say that finding ways to make Thanksgiving Day go perfectly can be a life saver. Last year, I volunteered to do most of the cooking/baking, which I didn't mind taking on the task, but between getting up really early, cooking/baking, cleaning, and practically babysitting my little cousins, I was already worn out by the time I went to the Black Friday sales (well, Thanksgiving evening sales).

I'm once again going to be doing the majority (if not all) of the cooking and baking, but I'm going to be more prepared this time. This year, I'm teaming up with the great people at Oriental Trading to bring you this post, titled "Clever Items to Simplify Your Thanksgiving!



Cleaning up after a Thanksgiving meal can take a bit of time and energy, so this year I'm going the paper plate route! Oriental Trading has a big selection of different paper and plastic plates, and I went with the "Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner Plates." The sturdy paper plates measures 11" and retails for $2.99 for one package containing 8 plates, but it's currently on sale for $1.98. Additionally, I got the matching "Thanksgiving Turkey Dessert Plates," which comes in a package of 8 paper plates (7") and retails for $1.79 per unit. I also got the 5" "Thanksgiving Turkey Beverage Napkins." There are 16 napkins in one package, which retails for $1.99, but it's currently on sale for $.98.

Of course, the last thing I want to do on Thanksgiving is to wash a bunch of silverware, so the next item on my list is the "Chocolate High Count Cutlery Set." The set contains 70 plastic forks, 70 plastic spoons, and 70 plastic knives, which retails only for $9.99! If you don't like the chocolate color, don't worry, as the set is available in other colors.

Lastly, I picked out the "Clear Plastic Cup Set," which retains for $5.99. That's a great price for 50 cups!


A small centerpiece or decoration can go along way on a dinner table, coffee table, or just about anywhere in a home. Oriental Trading has a big section of DIY craft kits for children and adults that can be used for a centerpiece, or you can buy a decor to display. I picked out the "Carved Thanksgiving Pumpkin Set" (look at the picture above). The set includes three decor pumpkins with metal leaves and wire vines. The pumpkins are between 5" to 6" tall. Each one has a printed saying - "Give Thanks," "Be Joyful," and "Be Thankful."

While the pumpkins are small, they are adorable and will look great as a Thanksgiving centerpiece.