Introduction: BettyJoyce Nash interviewed Valerie Nieman, author of Upon the Corner of the Moon. She and Nieman share a background in news reporting at the Greensboro News and Record, and both earned MFAs from Queens University of Charlotte. A prolific novelist, Valerie Nieman’s latest book re-imagines Shakespeare’s Macbeth. She weaves literary legend and history into […]
“The Medici Curse” by Daco S. Auffenorde
A novel set in a Tuscan villa might seem like an odd choice for Southern Literary Review. Obviously, the setting completely misses our locale. Yet The Medici Curse (Scarlet Books 2025) hits the mark because it was penned by a talented Huntsville, Alabama, author Daco S. Auffenorde. The story contains a heavy dose of gothic horror and supernatural […]
“When the Earth Was a Comfort” by Victor Depta
The Buddhist concept of emptiness appears frequently in Victor Depta’s latest collection of poetry, When the Earth Was a Comfort (Blair Mountain Press 2025). The collection is divided into four parts, corresponding to the seasons. I related strongly to the title poem, which is placed first in the book. Depta references the floods, the heat, […]
“Good Eye, Bad Eye” by Jeanne Malmgren
Readers of Jeanne Malmgren’s engaging memoir, Good Eye, Bad Eye, will find the universal themes and the clarity of her writing style appealing. From her personal story of trauma following a childhood eye injury, life truths emerge as Jeanne struggles to find her way in the world. This is not another poor-pitiful-me memoir. Instead, it […]
May 2025 Books of Note: Jim Melvin’s “Do You Believe in Magic?” and Jack Woodville London’s “Dangerous Latitudes”
Do You Believe in Magic? (Green Bird Publishing 2025) by Jim Melvin is a highly imaginative fantasy novel starring three thirteen year olds who find themselves transformed from middle school outsiders into leaders with special powers when they travel through a portal into a parallel world. Billed as “Book One of the Dark Circle Trilogy,” […]