This blog feature amusing and heartwarming stories about our late Leonberger dog Bronco, as well as other Leonbergers. It also has a lot of information about the Leonberger breed, the history, care, training, Leonberger organizations, etc. I also wrote a Leonberger book, which I am featuring in the sidebar.
In my Leonberger blog I sometimes post about books that are not about Leonbergers but that I want to promote, and this is a book that I would like to promote. I recently read Sounds in the Silence by D.L. Finn: a mystery novel and thriller with paranormal aspects. I found this book to be very imaginative, suspenseful and fun to read and therefore I would like to promote it. It comes in a paperback edition and a Kindle edition.
Paperback – June 22, 2024, ASIN : B0D7SQJJHD, ISBN-13 : 979-8986158785, 230 pages, item weight : 14.4 ounces, dimensions : 6 x 0.52 x 9 inches, it is currently $ 9.99 on Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
Kindle – June 24, 2024, ASIN B0D4C82RVQ, 232 pages. It is currently $0.99 on Amazon.com but free with Kindle unlimited. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
This is a scan of the front cover of the book Sounds in the Silence. Click on the photo to go to the Amazon location for the paperback version of the book.
This is Amazon’s description of the book.
Maria and Logan Davis stumbled upon the perfect old house by a secluded lake—a prime candidate for their dream inn. They knew a renovation was involved but didn’t expect a persistent ghost that pleaded to be found. Determined, Maria delved into the mystery, only to uncover a haunting love story and murder from the Roaring Twenties. Yet, the young couple’s curiosity shifts to fear when they realize someone is taking a dangerous interest in their barn. With time ticking away, they must unravel the secrets of their home’s past before it’s too late.
A Captivating Murder Mystery with Paranormal Components
Helen and Charlie live in a mansion in a small town in the mid-twenties during the prohibition. They are a happy and outgoing couple who loves to party, but they are breaking the law by drinking and serving alcohol to the indignation of many of the locals who are under the spell of an ultra-religious and menacing preacher. Maria and Logan move into the same mansion 40 years later. Maria and Logan realize that their mansion harbors a ghostly presence who seems to want to communicate.
The story is told using two timelines, which at first seem disconnected. However, the two parallel stories are presented in a seamless fashion, and they eventually connect and merge in clever ways. The secrets of the past are discovered and explained 40 years later using this technique. I think this novel primarily is a detective story and a thriller with paranormal components. With the help of the hints from the ghost, and their keen minds and perceptiveness, Maria and Logan begin to unravel the dangerous mysteries from the past thus putting themselves in danger. The evil forces from the past are still lurking in the little town.
This book is quite thrilling as well as fun to read. The story is clever and unique and there is something unexpected and interesting happening on every page. The author’s idea of how ghosts behave and the explanation for their limited abilities in the world among the living is as believable as anything I’ve read or seen in the movies. I highly recommend this intriguing and fun book.
This is a scan of the back cover of the book Sounds in the Silence. Click on the photo to go to the Amazon location for the kindle version of the book.
About the Author
D.L. Finn is an independent California local who encourages everyone to embrace their inner child. She was born and raised in the foggy Bay Area, but in 1990 she relocated with her husband, kids, dogs, and cats to Nevada City, in the Sierra foothills. She immersed herself in reading all types of books but especially loved romance, horror, and fantasy.
She always treasured creating her own reality on paper. Finally, surrounded by towering pines, oaks, and cedars, her creativity was nurtured until it bloomed. Her creations include children’s books, adult fiction, and poetry. She continues on her adventure with an open invitation to all readers to join her.
The books I review in this blog are typically Leonberger books but sometimes I review other kinds of books that I love and want to promote. In this post I will review the third and fourth book of an incredible series of books called the Harbor Point series. To see my reviews for book one and two click here.
The Destination comes in a paperback edition, and a Kindle edition and I read the kindle edition.
Paperback – October 31, 2023, ISBN-13 : 979-8865687214, 74 pages, Item Weight : 4.6 ounces, dimensions : 5 x 0.17 x 8 inches, it is currently $5.99 on Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
Kindle – October 31, 2023 : B0CCQB7X1S, 64 pages. It is currently $2.99 on Amazon.com (free with kindle unlimited). Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
The Destination by D. L. Finn
This is Amazon’s description of the book.
The Harbor Pointe Inn has loomed on California’s cliffs for generations of Hawthornes. For some, it’s been a blessing. For others, a curse. Travel through two centuries of stories to discover the old inn’s secrets.
It’s 1967, and best friends Lacey and Sandy are enjoying a beach vacation, completely unaware of the danger that is lying in wait outside their door. Their room is quaint, with an amazing view of the Pacific Ocean and an old lighthouse, but a killer is stalking their next victim. Powerless, Annie the ghost watches, knowing there’s nothing she can do to help—not even her parents, the innkeepers. Who will survive their stay at the Harbor Pointe Inn, where the edge of evil lurks within the shadows?
Two best friends Sandy and Lacey are on vacation, and they are staying at Harbor Pointe Inn, a hotel next to a lighthouse by the California coast. There is a serial killer on the lose and there is also a ghost who is trying to be helpful. The setting is depicted skillfully so that you really feel as if you are present at the ocean side, the beach, the cliffs, the cave, the old hotel and lighthouse, and the old friendly couple at the Inn, etc. The story is entertaining and imaginative but foreboding and it builds tension. It features an ominous presence which is hinted at throughout the story until we find out about it at the end. To me this is a new take on the serial killer genre and seeing the situation develop through the eyes of unsuspecting people as well as through the eyes of an innocent ghost who knows the truth but has limited powers is quite intriguing.
The characters are well developed and believable, the dialogue is engaging, and the story is compelling and unique. You need to keep reading because you want to find out what is going on and what will happen. The ending was unique and emotional. I highly recommend this short story.
About the Author
D.L. Finn is an independent California local who encourages everyone to embrace their inner child. She was born and raised in the foggy Bay Area, but in 1990 relocated with her husband, kids, dogs, and cats to the Sierra foothills in Nevada City, CA. She immersed herself in reading all types of books, but especially loved romance, horror, and fantasy.
She always treasured creating her own reality on paper. Finally, being surrounded by towering pines, oaks, and cedars, her creativity was nurtured until it bloomed. Her creations vary from children’s books, young adult fantasy, and adult paranormal romance to an autobiography with poetry. She continues on her adventures with an open invitation for her readers to join her.
The fourth book The Seas of Time also comes in a paperback edition, and a Kindle edition and in this case, I read the paperback.
Paperback – November 13, 2023, 2023, ASIN : B0CMLMDC87, ISBN-13 : 979-8865687214, 151 pages, Item Weight : 8 ounces, dimensions : 5 x 0.35 x 8 inches, it is currently $7.50 on Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
Kindle – November 14, 2023, 2023 : ASIN : B0CCQGRXH9, 145 pages. It is currently $2.99 on Amazon.com (free with kindle unlimited). Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
The front cover of The Seas of Time (scan)
This is Amazon’s description of the book.
The Harbor Pointe Inn has loomed on California’s cliffs for generations of Hawthornes. For some, it’s been a blessing. For others, a curse. Travel through two centuries of stories to discover the old inn’s secrets.
In 1858, a ship carrying ice from Alaska wrecked off the coast of California, and little does Taliah Keldan realize how that tragedy will impact her life in 1972.
When Tali decides to quit college and become a civil rights activist, her disappointed parents encourage her to think it over. What better spot for contemplation than at her aunt and uncle’s Harbor Pointe Inn, a charming seaside getaway with its own lighthouse? The place is under renovation and empty of guests. All she’ll have to deal with is the construction crew.
But the inn is far from peaceful.
Tali discovers an old Bible hidden in the lighthouse keeper’s cottage. Strange prayers angle down the margins, all but one ruined by the sea. When she deciphers the crude writing, a dark portal gapes open to a pre-civil war night when an escaped slave in a foundering ship prayed to his voodoo God. A winged creature emerges from the watery void, and her stay transforms into a nightmare.
With the aid of the construction foreman, Tali is determined to send the beast back through time, a choice that will risk their lives, test her convictions, and change her future.
Voodoo, Imagination, Action, a Great Story Originating with Slavery
This is a somewhat scary paranormal fantasy story with some comical passages, but above all, it is a good story. It is part of a series of books centered on a lighthouse at Harbor Point on the northern California coast. The story begins in 1858 on a ship traveling from Alaska to California. Onboard is an African American escaped slave whom the crew is planning to sell back into slavery. To save himself he uses voodoo. Next, we move forward to 1972 where we meet Tali, a young and determined African American woman who comes to Harbor Point for a temporary job as a caretaker. She accidentally summons the supernatural and so begins a wild adventure.
It is a unique story filled with horror, mystery, and fast paced action. The story is very imaginative with lots of fantastic imagery including some wormhole-like time travel, as well as some comedy. The character development is amazing, and you’ll find yourself caring for several of the characters. The characters grow and mature in ways that are both plausible and inspiring. I imagined Tali as being an older version of Abra Stone from Stephen King’s Dr. Sleep. It is a very good story, and I was very entertained the entire time as I read the book. I highly recommend it.
About the Author
A long-time reader, best-selling author D. Wallace Peach started writing later in life when years of working in business surrendered to a full-time indulgence in the imaginative world of books. She was instantly hooked.
In addition to fantasy books, Peach’s publishing career includes participation in various anthologies featuring short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She’s an avid supporter of the arts in her local community, organizing and publishing annual anthologies of Oregon prose, poetry, and photography.
Peach lives in a log cabin amongst the tall evergreens and emerald moss of Oregon’s rainforest with her husband, two owls, a horde of bats, and the occasional family of coyotes.
In this Leonberger blog I sometimes post about books that are not about Leonbergers but that I want to promote, and this is a book that I would like to promote. I recently read In the Tree’s Shadow: A collection of stories that exist in your dreams… and nightmares the paperback version, by D. L. Finn. I found this book to be very imaginative, fun and great reading for Halloween, and therefore I would like to promote it. It comes in a paperback edition and a Kindle edition.
Paperback – April 14, 2023, ASIN : B0C1J5GSFZ, ISBN-13 : 979-8986158723, 214 pages, item weight : 10.2 ounces, dimensions : 6 x 0.49 x 9 inches, it is currently $ 11.24 on Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
Kindle – April 17, 2023, ASIN B0BWL7LX9K, 225 pages. It is currently $2.99 on Amazon.com. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
This is a photo of the front cover of the book In the Tree’s Shadow. Click on the photo to go to the Amazon location for the paperback version of the book.
This book is a delightful collection of entertaining and suspenseful horror, paranormal, sci-fi, and fantasy stories. There are a few dark ones, but the stories are mostly imaginative, fun and captivating. Perfect for Halloween for those of you who want something a bit less disturbing than Hellbound Heart. At the end of the book there is also a 23-page teaser for another of her books “This Second Chance”.
This is Amazon’s description of the book.
Nestled inside these pages, you’ll meet a couple in their golden years who take a trip with an unexpected detour, a boy desperate to give his brother the Christmas gift he asked for, a girl with a small glass dragon who is at the mercy of her cruel uncles, and a young mother who has a recurring dream about murder. You’ll be introduced to worlds where people get second chances and monsters might be allowed their desires, while angels and dragons try to help. Happy endings occur, but perspective can blur the line between good and evil in these twenty-seven tales. Since the stories vary between 99 and 12,000 words, whether you have only five minutes or an entire evening to settle into reading, there is something that will suit your time and taste.
My Amazon Five Star Review of In the Tree’s Shadow
Nightmares and Beautiful Dreams
In the tree’s shadow is a collection of 27 captivating and unique short stories ranging from half a page to almost 30 pages. Some of the stories are paranormal horror stories, other stories are delightful fantasy and science fiction stories and yet other stories are personal journeys about finding your self-worth and inner strength to live the life you want. The stories feature nightmares, beautiful dreams, fantasy creatures, ghosts, space aliens, demon-like entities, castaways, karma, and civil war. You just don’t know what you are going to read next as you finish one story.
The book engages your imagination a lot, which I enjoy. It is also well written and easy to read. Some of the stories are dark and scary, like “A man on the pier”, but most of these stories are entertaining and intriguing, and even heartwarming. It is a perfect book for Halloween if you want to keep it a little bit on the lighter and happier side. For me the book was a page turner and I highly recommend it.
This is a photo of the back cover of the book In the Tree’s Shadow. Click on the photo to go to the Amazon location for the kindle version of the book.
About the Author
D.L. Finn is an independent California local who encourages everyone to embrace their inner child. She was born and raised in the foggy Bay Area, but in 1990 relocated with her husband, kids, dogs, and cats to the Sierra foothills in Nevada City, CA. She immersed herself in reading all types of books, but especially loved romance, horror, and fantasy. She always treasured creating her own reality on paper. Finally, being surrounded by towering pines, oaks, and cedars, her creativity was nurtured until it bloomed.
Her creations vary from children’s books, young adult fantasy, and adult paranormal romance to an autobiography with poetry. She continues on her adventures with an open invitation for her readers to join her.
Leonberger Life 