Book Review: The Trauma Machine

What if you could fix everything broken in your life before it happened?

Nate Johnson spends most of his time ruminating about what might have been. The charitable categorize the Nate-experience as There, but for the grace of God, go I. And the rest throw him into the pile of people they see every day and never give a second thought.

One day, Nate begrudgingly accepts a legacy gift, a semi-coherent manuscript which describes a mechanism to construct and enter a secret pathway. It’s a portal to undo what seemingly can’t be undone. All he has to do is decipher the manuscript and build The Trauma Machine. Then he can go back, correct the past, and return to the present.

What could have been will become what is. Simple.

Book Review: The Ultimate RPG Villain Backstory Guide

In the varied and diverse worlds of tabletop RPGs, there are a myriad of genres, play styles, and creative opportunities for players and game masters to sink their teeth into. The Ultimate RPG Villain Guide is an essential tool for game masters and RPG players seeking to craft memorable antagonists and morally complex heroes. This guide delves into the art of villain creation, offering innovative strategies to develop characters that drive the narrative and captivate players. Whether you’re plotting the downfall of a kingdom or the rise of a conflicted anti-hero, this book has you covered.

With its step-by-step processes, engaging prompts, and expert insights, this guide solves the common problem of flat, uninteresting villains that fail to challenge players’ creativity. These tools empower creators to design layered personalities, intricate backstories, and compelling motives that enrich any campaign setting.

Book Review: The Sound of Story

Voice in writing can seem elusive and hard to define. It’s more than just style it’s rhythm, energy, attitude, and the unique fingerprint of a narrator or character. Voice is shaped by culture and history as much as the mechanics of language.

In The Sound of Story, author and writing teacher Jordan Rosenfeld demystifies voice and its close companion, tone, offering writers the tools to develop and refine their own. Through contemporary examples, this book explores how syntax, point of view, emotion and more shape voice on the page. Whether you’re crafting fiction or nonfiction, this book will help you shape and refine voice to create compelling, authentic narratives. It empowers writers to wield voice and tone with purpose, increasing their chances of publication, and delivering a compelling story that leaps off every page.

Book Review: How to Write Stunning Sentences

In this new edition of How to Write Stunning Sentences, you’ll find more stylish sentences that mesmerize and rearrange a reader’s world. Think of this book as a private lesson with Nina Schuyler (award-winning author and long-time instructor on style in prose) featuring guest appearances by the masters, including James Baldwin, Lauren Groff, Grace Paley, John Updike, Toni Morrison and newly added Virginia Woolf, Anne Carson, Justin Torres, Don DeLillo, Doris Lessing, Rachel Cusk and Kevin Barry. It’s a masterclass with some of the best writers of the 20th century. Whether a novelist, essayist, short story or nonfiction writer, How to Write Stunning Sentences will elevate your writing from good to stunning.

Book Review: Seven Drafts - Self-Edit Like a Pro from Blank Page to Book

Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro from Blank Page to Book divides writing and revision into distinct stages, with a new focus in each draft. Allison K. Williams' frank, funny voice encourages writers to tackle even big editing tasks with a sense of humor and a feeling that someone who understands is on their side. After sections on story, elements of writing craft and structure, seeking and using feedback, and the publication process, Seven Drafts goes beyond the technical and into the mindset of a writer. How can envy be employed to fuel your own work? Where do you find a writing community? How will literary citizenship influence personal process?

This book was first published January of 2001 by Woodhall Press.

Book Review: Racer X vol. 1

Rex Racer was burned, betrayed, and left for dead, but he came back as Racer X, a masked vigilante on a mission to take down the corrupt racing syndicates from the inside. As he protects his brother Speed from the shadows, he battles deadly rivals, rigged races, and his own past. With every race, he inches closer to the vengeance he seeks, using his skills to level the playing field for those who race with honor. But when returning home risks the lives of those he loves, Rex must choose between family and the fight.

Coming from the world of Speed Racer, Racer X volume 1, written by Mark Russell with art by Nuno Plati, will be published on February 17, 2026. Mad Cave Studios provided an early galley for review.

Book Review: Speed Racer vol. 1

We're going pedal to the metal in this all-new interpretation of Tatsuo Yoshida’s classic manga/anime MachGoGoGo, known to Western audiences as the demon on wheels -- Speed Racer!

Speed Racer lives for the thrill of the race, but on the underground circuit, the rules are anything goes. Dodging bullets, explosions, and dirty tricks, he’s got one goal: to prove he’s the best. But when a dangerous syndicate targets his family, Speed’s greatest challenge won’t be on the track…it’ll be on the streets. With the police closing in and a masked racer lurking in the shadows, Speed is about to learn that some races can’t be won with horsepower alone.