Literary Flits has moved to Ko-Fi

After six & a half years of almost-daily book posts here on Literary Flits, I am moving my blog to a new Ko-Fi My WorldReads hub.

There are book review posts on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, a weekly news roundup post each Monday and plenty of other bookish content to keep you entertained throughout the week!

I'm also hosting a monthly Readalong - December's book is Mama Hissa's Mice by Saud Alsanousi - participating in fun reading challenges, and creating fun printable bookish items to stock my Ko-Fi shop. I've even started posting some of my own creative writing too.

Come visit soon!

https://ko-fi.com/MyWorldReads

Night of Mysterious Blessings by Sally Metzger + Guest Post

 

Book Details:

Book Title:  Night of Mysterious Blessings by Sally Metzger
Category:  Children's Fiction (Ages 5-8), 40 pages
Genre:  Picture Book/Early Reader
Publisher:  Elk Lake Publishing
Release date:   November 3, 2021
Format available for review:  print-softback (USA & Canada), PDF
Tour dates: Nov 7 to Dec 16, 2022
Content Rating: G. My book is rated G because it has a Biblical world view. 

Book Description:

Have you ever had great big tingly goosebumps? Or tossed and turned too long on a sleepless night? Have you ever seen tall shadows dance in your doorway? Or found a RELAX-let-go peace deep inside? In Night of Mysterious Blessings, you’ll share in the adventures of a boy and his beloved dog. Enter this curious, oh-so-mysterious night, and be amazed at what you see in the morning's light. Best of all, uncover the priceless key to worrying less and smiling more.

​So many books stress God is always with us. How fantastic for a book to proclaim the Scriptural truth that God is also within. It's a lifelong gift for children to discover God makes his home inside them while their hearts are open to receive the mystery.

Buy the Book:
Amazon ~ B&N ~ BookBub 
add to Goodreads

How Is Night of Mysterious Blessings Unique?

When you look for books about God for your little one, there is no shortage of options. My book is different in several exciting ways. 

First of all, I incorporated the Sandman into the story to add to the fun. My Sandman is a cross between Santa Clause and an extremely laidback hippie, wearing a flower headband, matching lei, and flip-flops. He's an expert on the importance of relaxing and has advice on reaching a state of tranquility before bed. He tells our little protagonist that trusting God is the key to letting go of worry and counting his blessings, not his problems, will help him drift off to sleep. 

The Sandman is a self-effacing fellow who declares, "I'm just a guy from a fairytale place, but God is as real as the nose on your face." His bag of sand is lacking in power as well. "This sand from the sea can't compare to (God's) care. Breathe in his calm. He's as near as the air." I haven't found a single book about God where the Sandman is one of the characters. By the book's end, the young narrator and the reader are clear that the Sandman doesn't exist but is part of a strange yet wonderful dream.

Secondly, the book is different in emphasizing that God is within our young insomniac. Many religious children's books emphasize God's nearness, but to proclaim God lives inside us is comfort on a more profound level. The indwelling Spirit is a concept found not just in Christian Scripture but also in spiritualities around the globe. Aiming our prayers inward is a powerful way to develop intimacy with God, and finding a power greater than ourselves within us is finding strength. How much are we loved by an eternal Being who wants to live inside us?

Finally, it's pretty unusual for a book about God to have a funny twist at the end. That part of the book is only for readers. This post won't be a spoiler.

I hope all of you find joy, peace, and confidence as you mine your spirituality. 

Meet the Author:

As a teacher, spiritual director, and retreat leader, Sally Metzger has helped young people discover God’s boundless love for them for over 20 years. She developed and taught a course in faith formation for university students, religion teachers, youth ministers, and parents, and she is the author of two children’s books, Night of Mysterious Blessings and Jesus, Were You Little?

​Sally has a Master of Theological Studies degree, focusing on pastoral care, and is active in chaplain ministry. Her message: It’s Raining Grace! And through God’s power, we can find and joyfully fulfill our purpose in life. Sally is married to her high school sweetheart, cherishes her children and grandchildren, and enjoys outdoor adventures and travel.

Connect with the Author: Website ~ Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Goodreads 

Enter the Giveaway:

Win a signed copy of Night of Mysterious Blessings by Sally Metzger (one winner / (USA only) (ends Dec 17)

NIGHT OF MYSTERIOUS BLESSINGS Book Tour Giveaway

In The Daze of My Youth: A Memoir by Joshua Kraushar

 Book Details:

​Book Title:  In the Daze of My Youth: A Memoir by Joshua Kraushar
Category:  Adult Non-Fiction (18+),  160 pages
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Publisher:  Mascot Books
Release date:  December  2022
Content Rating:  PG-13 + M: Parts of the book talk about illegal drug use 

Book Description:

Hello! I’m Josh―and with the exception of friends, family, former colleagues, and students, you don’t know me from Adam. This autobiography is a down-to-earth, intimate memoir of my life, spanning the bulk of the 1950s through 1970s. Since I’m almost seventy now, my life today has zero resemblance to that of the person I’ve written about. The drugs I partake in today, like Lipitor and Flomax, don’t seem to be as much fun as acid and mescaline were many decades ago. Nonetheless, my memories of youth are vivid and amusing. Many of the vignettes that I have incorporated into the book are true-to-life anecdotes that I have related over the years at dinner parties to amuse my friends. Having taught high school for thirty-five years following the events of this book, I intentionally neglected to relate any of the stories to my students knowing full well that I would be fired on the spot. Since I am now very happily retired, I have absolutely no fear of retribution from irate parents or Board of Education members. In the Daze of My Youth traces my life from good Jewish boy to New York City checker cab driver to degenerate druggie to world traveler. Even though I’m a happily married dad with grown children who are infinitely more responsible than I’ll ever be, I sometimes still feel like the wild man I was many years ago . . .

BUY THE BOOK:
​Mascot Books
Amazon ~ B&N
add to goodreads

Meet the Author:

​Joshua Kraushar is a former history teacher, cab driver, and New York City tour guide. He received numerous awards during his 35-year career in education, including New Jersey Humanities Teacher of the Year. He was inspired to tell the story of his formative years by friends who generally found his anecdotes related to taxi driving and world travel to be compelling and particularly funny. He also wishes to give anyone who was born during the last forty years a good sense of what it was like to grow up in the ’60s and ’70s and to freak out his former students who assumed he was reasonably sane. Joshua and his wife Terri currently live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with their incredibly hairy golden retriever, Khaleesi, and are the parents of two sons, Jeremy and Zack. ​

The First State (The Judgement series Book 1) by Tshekedi Wallace

 

Book Details:

Book Title:  THE FIRST STATE  (The Judgment series Book 1) by Tshekedi Wallace
Category: Adult Fiction (18+), 237 pages
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Review Tales Publishing & Editing Services
​Publication Date: August 18, 2022.
Content Rating: G 

Book Description:

​England is run by the dictator and tyrant Gregory Christopher in the year 2079 from London Metropolitan state. He is crushing the citizens will by enforcing unfair laws using his statesmen, and he has used the police and his alpha hunters to put fear in the people’s hearts. Kofi Achebe and the urban fist revolution factions are fighting the evil head statesman and the men he uses to inflict pain on those who go against him as he continues to rule over the masses. The battle between the state police, unified security services, and the urban fist militia starts to become brutal and gruesome as the mad leader slowly begins to tighten his grip. He knows that he must keep the citizens in line so he can continue to rule. Slowly the despot leader begins to feel that his power is being challenged to the point where he must make the people suffer. Kofi and the urban fist militia leader Trevor Brown know that they must fight to break free of the statesmen’s evil regime and destroy the system they created once and for all. The final war in London Metropolitan becomes a fight to the death that will decide the fate of many citizens.

Buy the Book:
Amazon

Meet the Author:

Tshekedi Wallace is named after Tshekedi the Great, the King of the Bamangwato of Botswana. In keeping with his namesake, Tshekedi Wallace, who was born in Leeds, is a committed advocate for freedom due to his upbringing. He was born into a well-known family of struggle heroes who fought for the liberation of their people. He grew up listening to vigorous debates about politics, history, and issues of the day mostly discussed at the dinner table. This has given him an enduring love for history, literature, art, and politics. Although he likes to read books across all kinds of genres, he has a special love for science fiction, thrillers, poetry, and non-fiction. In his spare time, he avidly follows what’s happening in movies. He loves music from all cultures and is steeped in African culture in all its manifestations, particularly in the Caribbean and the Americas. In his spare time, he writes poetry.

connect with the author: twitter ~ instagram

Win an ebook Copy of THE FIRST STATE  (The Judgment series Book 1) by Tshekedi Wallace (one winner) (open internationally, ends Dec 17)

FIRST STATE SPOTLIGHT Book Tour Giveaway

A Dress the Color of the Moon by Jennifer Irwin

 

Book Details:

​Book Title:  A Dress the Color of the Moon by Jennifer Irwin
Category:  Adult Fiction (18+),  360 pages
Genre: Women's Fiction 
Publisher:  Glass Spider Publishing
Release date:  October 30, 2021
Content Rating:  PG-13 +M: Though this book deals with sexual addiction, it does not contained explicit sex scenes and the language is tame. The book's focus is on the protagonist's path toward recovery from an addiction.

Book Description:

Prudence Aldrich is a sex addict. Five weeks ago, she checked into the Serenity Hills rehab center to prevent that addiction from ruining every important relationship in her life. Now Prue must face the trail of destruction she left behind, including mending the broken bond with her teenage son, finalizing the divorce from her husband, Nick, and using a newly learned set of skills to ward off her insatiable cravings for male attention-a compulsion that puts her friendship with lifelong pal Lily to the test.

​Adding ever further complications to the hurdles in her path is the arrival into town of Alistair Prescott, her in-rehab romantic obsession, and the one person in the world most capable of throwing Prue off her recovery. Meanwhile, Serenity Hills counselor Mike Sullivan is undergoing a crisis of his own-one that will drive him to the rediscovery of a lifelong passion . . . and causing him to cross paths again with Prue, his former patient.

A Dress the Color of the Moon tracks the rocky and sometimes disastrous path to recovery-a recovery that will require Prudence and her friends to face down the demons of their pasts while learning to accept the fearful uncertainty that comes with living life on your own two feet.

BUY THE BOOK:
Amazon ~ B&N
Powells ~ BAM ~ BookBub
add to goodreads

A Dress The Color Of The Moon is the second of two novels about Prudence Aldrich's sex addiction and recovery. I haven't yet read the first book, but found that didn't detract from my enjoyment of A Dress The Color Of The Moon. There are a few references to earlier events, but on the whole this is a self contained story. The novel starts when Prudence is a resident at an addiction recovery clinic called Serenity Hills where she is learning how to live without triggering her addiction. Unfortunately, she develops an attraction to her counsellor, Mike, who secretly has problems enough of his own. I was interested that a lot of what Prudence struggles with didn't actually seem to be an addiction to sex per se, but to the male validation that intercourse provided. She needed to know that she was wanted physically because her low self esteem did not allow her to feel comfortable simply as herself. Prudence also thinks about starting a relationship with a fellow addict, Alistair, a rich man who I didn't think was taking the recovery process seriously enough for it to work. I couldn't understand why Prudence was attracted to him - other than his bank account - because he came across as a selfish person. Prudence did tend to surround herself with similar types of people though. Her relationship with her best friend, Lily, is also complicated. I thought Lily took a lot of liberties that would have upset me so I could quite understand when Prudence had a moment of indiscreet revenge. I thought that A Dress The Color Of The Moon was as much about navigating interpersonal relationships as it was about recovery from addiction. I didn't like many of the characters ' personalities, but I was quite gripped by this novel. Prudence especially is an unpredictable person and sadly self destructive so it was difficult to anticipate just what kind of a mess she would get herself into next. I did think A Dress The Color Of The Moon got a bit too maudlin and mawkish towards the end, but overall I enjoyed reading this novel.

Meet the Author:

Jennifer Irwin’s debut novel, A Dress the Color of the Sky, was published in 2017 and has received rave reviews, won seven book awards, and was optioned for a feature film. Jennifer’s short stories have appeared in numerous literary publications including California’s Emerging Writers: An Anthology of Fiction. Jennifer is represented by Prentis Literary and currently resides in Los Angeles.

connect with the  author:

website ~ facebook ~ twitter ~ instagram ~ youtube ~ bookbub ~ goodreads

Enter the Giveaway:

Win signed copy of A DRESS THE COLOR OF THE MOON by Jennifer Irwin (one winner)(USA only)(ends Dec 17)

DRESS THE COLOR OF THE MOON Book Tour Giveaway

The Darker The Skies by Bryan Prosek

 

Book Details:

​Book Title:  The Darker the Skies by Bryan Prosek
Category:  YA Fiction (Ages 13-17),  292 pages
Genre: YA Science Fiction 
Publisher:  CamCat Books 
Release date:  November 2022
Content Rating: PG. It's very clean.

Book Description:

It only takes one to make a difference.

Just days before Jake Saunders plans on proposing to the love of his life, Jake is called upon once again to save his home, Earth. The Earthen Legion troops and its allies think they’re battling only pirates, but a new, more powerful foe from another galaxy flanks their forces and invades, in search of a weapon the planet didn’t even know it had.

​When Jake learns that this new enemy was responsible for the death of his father many years ago, he realizes he can finally face his true nemesis. The odds are stacked against Jake, but with the help of his friends and allies he’s made along the way, he must rally the remaining Legion troops and retake Earth before it’s too late. The fate of Earth and the fate of his love, rest in the balance.

Buy the Book:
CamCat Books
Audible ~ Amazon
B&N ~ IndieBound ~ BookShop
add to goodreads

The Brighter The Stars by Bryan Prosek

 

Book Details:

​Book Title:  The Brighter the Stars by Bryan Prosek
Category:  YA Fiction (Ages 13-17),  256 pages
Genre: YA Science Fiction 
Publisher:  CamCat Books 
Release date:  November 2020
Formats Available for Review: audiobook (Book Funnel download), and ebook (EPUB, PDF, Book Funnel download)
Tour dates: Nov 14 to Dec 9, 2022
Content Rating: PG. It's very clean.

Book Description:

​Caught between love and revenge, Jake has one chance to live up to the man his uncle was.

Earth crashed into interstellar politics as a lightweight, lagging so far behind other planetary weapons systems everyone feared they wouldn’t survive first contact with other worlds without quick action. By 2185, Earth had united itself into five geographic sectors and developed a defense system powerful enough to keep aggressors at bay—for now, at least.

Jake Saunders became a Legion soldier to honor the memory of his war hero uncle, who was brutally murdered in front of him when he was still a young teen. Fast forward a few years, and Jake and his best friend Cal have been tasked with escorting Cal’s older sister Diane to become Earth’s ambassador on a far-off planet. It’s the opportunity of Diane’s career, very likely a lifetime post. But for Jake, that could mean a lifetime’s heartbreak. He has loved Diane since they were kids, and every step closer to that ambassador assignment is a step closer to goodbye.

​But somebody is after more than Earth’s defense, and Jake, Cal, and Diane are on a trajectory to crash headlong into that dangerous plot. Somebody wants to play Earth against its most immediate threat, Craton, and convince both to develop super weapons—and he’s working with the person who killed Jake’s uncle all those years ago. When he reappears on Jake, Cal, and Diane’s journey to the ambassadorship, Jake is faced with difficult choices to look out for his friends and honor his uncle’s memory.

Buy the Book:
CamCat Books
Audible ~ Amazon
B&N ~ IndieBound ~ BookShop
add to goodreads

The Brighter The Stars is the first novel in Bryan Prosek's young adult science fiction series which is set some two hundred years into the future when Earth is a very different place and humans have made contact with a number of other alien races in our solar system. Despite there now being apparent peace between everyone on Earth, our outlook towards other planets still assumes violent intent so the Legion was formed. The book's juvenile heroes, Jake and Cal, both become Legion soldiers and most of The Brighter The Stars follows their maverick escapades as they rush to save Earth from duplicity and potential disaster.

I did feel that Jake especially often felt too young for the role assigned to him. Both he and Cal are meant to be experienced soldiers, yet their impetuousness generally leads them into more trouble and dangerous situations. Of course, they always survive by the skin of their teeth and always have just the right gizmo to hand to save the day! Prosek has certainly written a fast-paced, exciting novel and I could easily imagine its target audience of teenaged boys being enthralled by Jake and Cal's adventure. There's lots of gung ho bravado, fights, spaceship battles and nefarious aliens to defeat. I did enjoy spotting nods to series like Star Trek along the way too. While The Brighter The Stars isn't the sort of story I would usually choose, it did make for a fun diversion.