THE BRICK IN THE HOLY DOOR
FULL BOOK TITLE: The Brick in the Holy Door: A Prophecy Buried in Rome
AUTHOR NAME: C.R. Owens
PUBLISHER NAME: C.R. Owens
LINK: https://www.amazon.com/Brick-Holy-Door-Prophecy-Buried/dp/B0G3HSPB84/
C.R. Owens’s debut novel, The Brick in the Holy Door, brings together religion, politics, and mystery in a story that often feels uncomfortably close to the world outside the book.
The novel opens in 1983, when a hermit living in Loreto, Italy, receives a vision: “Daniel Trace will lead America back to God.” Trace is not yet a political figure. He is a loud, ambitious New York real estate developer whose chances of becoming president seem remote. Still, his name is written down and hidden inside the Vatican’s Holy Door, where it is meant to remain until the Jubilee of 2025.
What follows is a gradual collision between that private prophecy and public history. Trace eventually reaches the White House, and when an assassin’s bullet grazes his ear, another part of the vision appears to have come true. From there, the story asks readers to decide whether these events are coincidences, the result of human manipulation, or evidence of something beyond human control.
Owens handles the premise well because he places the unusual elements of the story within a world readers will recognize. The politics are contentious, powerful institutions have secrets to protect, and faith is sometimes used for reasons that are not entirely spiritual. The Vatican setting gives the novel a natural air of mystery, but the story is just as interested in the people who interpret prophecy—and the choices they make because of it.
The Brick in the Holy Door is an intriguing first novel with an original premise and a timely subject. It should appeal to readers who enjoy political thrillers, Vatican mysteries, and stories that examine the uneasy space between faith and doubt.
Author Bio:
C.R. Owens is a debut author, educator, and lifelong storyteller with a passion for exploring history, faith, and the extraordinary moments that shape our world. The Brick in the Holy Door marks his first publication, offering readers a riveting tale of prophecy, power, and destiny.
GROWING UP IS HARD TO DO
FULL BOOK TITLE: Growing Up Is Hard To Do Part 2 (A Grumpy the Iguana and Green Parrot Adventure)
AUTHOR NAME: Susan Marie Chapman
PUBLISHER NAME: Gourmet Dog LLC
LINK: https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Grumpy-Iguana-Parrot-Adventure/dp/B0DT5PV2R1/
There is something reassuring about a children's story that can make young readers laugh while quietly teaching them something meaningful. Susan Marie Chapman's Growing Up Is Hard to Do: Part 2, another installment in the Grumpy the Iguana and Green Parrot Adventure series, accomplishes exactly that. The adventure begins when Grumpy the Iguana, Green Parrot, Mr. Squirrel, and Little Mouse encounter a mysterious creature in the water. Their initial reaction is hardly courageous: Little Mouse scrambles onto Grumpy's head, Green Parrot escapes into a tree, and Mr. Squirrel freezes, hoping no one will notice him. The frightening stranger, however, turns out to be Baby, a friendly young manatee. Chapman uses the encounter to introduce children to these fascinating marine mammals. When Little Mouse wonders whether a manatee is a type of whale, Baby explains that manatees are known as the "gentle giants of the sea" and eat algae and seagrass rather than the assortment of nervous little animals standing before her. Later, readers learn that manatees and whales breathe through lungs and are mammals, while fish use gills. These educational moments are one of the book's strengths because they rarely feel like lessons. The story also carries an effective message about courage. Mr. Squirrel is afraid to climb onto Baby's back and needs Grumpy's help to take the leap. At the end of the adventure, Grumpy recognizes his friend's accomplishment: "You were very brave today, my friend." More importantly, Mr. Squirrel realizes how much it means to have friends who support him "no matter what." Chapman also introduces a gentle environmental message. When a motorboat approaches, the friends observe it slowing in a No Wake Zone and learn why boaters must proceed carefully around manatees. Grumpy's concern for Baby turns an environmental concept into something personal: protecting wildlife matters more once that wildlife has become a friend. Natalia Loseva's illustrations are a big part of the book's charm. The soft, hand-drawn quality and bright blues, greens, yellows, and pinks create a playful world that feels perfectly suited to Chapman's characters. Particularly effective are the visual jokes—the frightened friends encountering Baby, Mr. Squirrel hiding behind his enormous tail, and the group piled onto Baby's back for their marina tour. The underwater spreads filled with colorful fish, plants, and jellyfish also encourage children to stop and explore the pages visually rather than simply rush through the text. By the time Baby returns to her mother, the once-frightened animals have gained both knowledge and a new friend. Grumpy closes their day with the perfectly appropriate observation: "Another day, another adventure." Chapman and Loseva make an effective storytelling team, creating a book that gives young readers plenty to look at, plenty to learn, and—most importantly—another adventure worth taking.
Author Bio:
Susan Marie Chapman grew up on a farm in rural Pennsylvania as the eldest of eight children. Surrounded by animals and the natural world from an early age, she developed a lifelong love of nature and storytelling—experiences she often describes as the foundation of her storybook childhood. Today, Susan lives in Naples, Florida, with her two beloved white and wonderfully fluffy Pomeranians, Cookie and Sugar, who provide plenty of inspiration of their own. Susan is the author of the popular Grumpy the Iguana and Green Parrot Adventure series, which includes 17 books, as well as the Sugar and Cookie series, featuring four books, two of which are also available in Spanish. Through her stories, Susan brings together her love of animals, adventure, friendship, and the natural world to create engaging books for young readers. Her work has received recognition from several national and independent book award programs, including the NYC Big Book Award, Independent Press Award, Next Generation Indie Book Awards, and Pinnacle Book Achievement Award. With more than 20 published books to her name, Susan continues to create imaginative stories that encourage children to read, explore, and appreciate the animals and world around them.
SMILING FACELESS WOMAN
FULL BOOK TITLE: Smiling Faceless Woman
AUTHOR NAME: Thomas J. Gebhardt III
PUBLISHER NAME: Publisher Ghoti
LINK: https://www.amazon.com/Smiling-Faceless-Woman-Thomas-Gebhardt/dp/B0FKYDG346/
Smiling Faceless Woman is a refreshingly strange and nostalgic blend of ghost story, coming-of-age drama, paranormal mystery, and darkly humorous thriller. Thomas J. Gebhardt III creates a story that is about things that go bump in the night, but beneath the supernatural surface is something more personal—a story about relationships, loneliness, memory, growing up, and the ghosts people carry with them.
The novel follows Alex, an intelligent but exhausted college student nearing graduation while juggling a demanding schedule. His carefully planned life begins to unravel when unexplained activity invades his dorm room. Sounds emerge from the darkness, objects seem to move on their own, and increasingly disturbing experiences leave Alex questioning whether he is simply burned out or encountering something he cannot explain. At the same time, Alex reconnects with his old friend April, bringing humor and emotion into the story. Gebhardt also wonderfully captures the culture of the era. Readers who grew up on emo music, Nintendo DS, MP3 players, malls, dorm life, and early internet culture will feel a deep tug of recognition. These throwbacks aren’t forced; instead, they create the world in which Alex lives. Even his music becomes an extension of his personality, with artists such as Jet, OK Go, Franz Ferdinand, My Chemical Romance, and others accompanying his journey.
Things become considerably stranger when Alex's experiences lead him into the world of paranormal investigation. Alex is gradually pulled into a world of haunted locations, disturbing visions and dreams, unexplained phenomena, and the mysterious faceless woman herself. The paranormal mystery grows darker as the story progresses, and Gebhardt uses twists and shifts in perspective to keep the reader questioning what is real. At times the experience can feel deliberately disorienting, but that uncertainty feels part of the charm. Like Alex, the reader is continually trying to separate coincidence and the genuinely supernatural. Yet the strongest aspect of Smiling Faceless Woman may be what lies underneath the horror. Alex is haunted both literally and emotionally. Relationships change. People disappear from our lives. Memories fade. The things we once believed would last forever sometimes become difficult even to picture clearly. That idea ultimately gives the title greater meaning. The faceless woman works as an unsettling paranormal presence, but facelessness also becomes a powerful metaphor for memory and loss—the frightening realization that someone who once occupied such an important place in our lives can slowly become harder to remember.
The dialogue is sharp and often funny, the paranormal sequences provide suspense, and Alex's personality gives the novel a cerebral quality. He isn't simply running from ghosts; he wants to understand what is happening. This curiosity and vulnerability makes him an engaging protagonist.
Equal parts spooky and sincere, Smiling Faceless Woman doesn't simply tell a story about haunted places. It is a story about haunting itself—of places, people, relationships, and memories.
Author Bio:
Thomas J. Gebhardt III has been seriously writing for eleven years after long days in healthcare, doing occupational therapy in the hospital setting. He lives with his wife and two sons in his hometown of Honolulu, Hawaii. SMILING FACELESS WOMAN is his third book, and he did extensive research for authenticity including talking to experts, interviewing a paranormal investigator as well as a preacher, and visiting haunted locations by himself at night with a flashlight. His work is heavily influenced by pop culture including movies, music, shows, video games, comic books, anime and manga.
