How much do you owe the older sister who raised you and protected you from a harsh, unforgiving childhood? That question lies at the heart of Sonali Dev’s charming romantic comedy How Simi Got Her Groom Back (Lake Union 2026). Most of us would agree we owe such a sister a great deal—but would we offer her […]
“Lost in the Forest of Mechanical Birds” by Christian Moody
February 18, 2026 by 1 Comment
Winner of the 2023 Dzanc Short Story Collection, Christian Moody’s Lost in the Forest of Mechanical Birds is an imaginative collection comprised of four short stories and a novella. Moody’s eccentric characters find themselves in altered realities involving comical situations. His wonder tales question the peripheries of one’s imagination versus reality. And though the author’s […]
“The Other Revival” by Salaam Green
February 18, 2026 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Tina Mozelle Braziel and James Braziel Walt Whitman contains multitudes, and so does Salaam Green’s debut collection The Other Revival: Poems & Reckonings (Pulley Press 2025). A certified listening poet, Green put her vast skills to work at the Wallace House in Harpersville, AL as a poet-in-residence, interviewing descendants of the enslaved and […]
“Fatulous” by Heather Ream
February 15, 2026 by Leave a Comment
Fatulous by Heather Ream is the sequel to her first memoir, Lunch Ladies Bought My Prom Dress. In this book, we are introduced to Heather when she is a freshman in college, and we follow her through her experiences for several years until she finally graduates. If you were a victim of, or want to […]
“A Florida Dance: Life Stories from the Sunshine State” by Doug Alderson
February 10, 2026 by Leave a Comment
I have enjoyed all of Doug Alderson’s award-winning books, but I was truly blown away by his latest, A Florida Dance: Life Stories from the Sunshine State (Earthways Press 2026). I know Doug through Tallahassee’s writing community and consider him a friend, but the praise I’m offering here is fully earned. These stories are so […]
“1000 Pieces of Time” by Michael Minassian
February 10, 2026 by Leave a Comment
Literate, imaginative, erudite, precise, and lovely—the poems by Michael Minassian in 1000 Pieces of Time (Sheila-Na-Gig Editions 2025) are all that and more. Minassian blends the here and the gone, the realistic and the fanciful, the dreamy and the sharp, in a collection at once creative and impeccably well crafted. Divided into three distinctive parts, […]