
Category Fiction


Otherworldly Humor in Sunnyside Up
Book Review by Dana Taylor
Rea Nolan Martin is not an ordinary writer, she is an extraordinary writer. Her progression as an esoteric visionary author (Mystic Tea, The Anesthesia Game) has been interesting to watch. Her new release, Sunnyside Up, takes her multidimensional writing to a new level. The novel revolves around the Somers sisters, Adelaide and Felicity, who run the Sunnyside Up Funeral Home of Outskirt, Kentucky. At first glance it appears Adelaide is the hard worker, trying to keep the 150 year old family business going while her sister, “Flitty,” is too fanciful and downright “touched” to be much good. Martin excels at writing engaging characterization, revealing Adelaide’s battered emotional state in her own words and thoughts. Kentucky colors the words and, indeed, it feels like maybe we’ve dropped into a macabre Mayberry.
Things are not as they seem. Felicity and Adelaide are caught up in a karmic connection, light and darkness spinning through time. It takes a while to figure out exactly what happened between these two. Layers of reality weave around them. Other characters who make up the tapestry of their lives ebb and flow. Mother, Julian (the forbidden love), assorted ghostly relatives, teachers and counselors all push the sisters to a climatic final reckoning.
What makes this a delight to read is the quirky humor laced throughout, including zany obituaries of the various family members now hanging out in the graveyard. Addie likes a good smoke and shot of whiskey. Flitty wears bizarre clothes conjured from the ether. By the end, Martin rips the veil between the earthly and heavenly realms. By facing their most traumatic moments, the sisters finally see deep truths and make their peace.
Sunnyside Up is a unique and entertaining tale. Rea Nolan Martin continues to the pave way in the genre of visionary writing. Now available is several formats at Amazon.

A Bot with a Heart

Book Review by Dana Taylor
SET MY HEART TO FIVE is a book that pretty much defies description. It isn’t like any other book you’ve ever read. Author Simon Stephenson creates a bright futuristic tale starring a “bot” named Jared. In the year 2054, after the great Internet crash, when too many people could not remember the name of their first pet passwords, the world changed irrevocably. Jared is a bot dentist, living in Michigan. He is made from human DNA, but he is not human. He is a bot, akin to a glorified toaster or microwave. A feelingless machine to cheerfully do the work that humans don’t like to do, like root canals.
Bots are designed to perform functions with a smile on their soulless faces. The fact that modern entertainment has created an industry devoted to portraying “killer bots” has turned them into a perceived necessary evil. People are suspicious of bots. A malfunctioning bot is reported and immediately “wiped” or even incinerated.
Of course, our hero bot, Jared, isn’t your run-of-the-mill AI. Through watching pre-crash films, he has developed FEELINGS. Bots are logical machines, they don’t have feelings. But Jared evolves beyond his programing into the specter of emotions. His logical mind struggles to analyze and understand the human experience of feelings and emotions.
While the AI-becoming-human isn’t a fresh story line, the satirical observations on human behavior is what sets this book apart from the rest. Seen through the eyes Jared, humans are the most illogical and bizarre of creatures. Jared embarks on a journey from Michigan to LA with the dream of writing a screenplay that will change the minds of humans about bots. Story line tension is provided by an inept inspector from the Bureau of Robotics is in pursuit of the wayward bot. Through Jared’s Everyman adventures, we see ourselves and the society we have created. Through the laugh out loud excellent narration of Christopher Ragland in the audio version, the absurdity of human behavior is revealed again and again, usually punctuated with Jared’s exclamation, “I cannot!”
By the end, Jared has experienced all the highs and lows of human experience– fear, joy, love , loss and compassion. In fact, he may be an improvement on the human race. Author Simon Stephenson has penned an insightful satirical gem.
I picked up the audio version at Chirpbooks.com for $4.99, which will be at that price through June 2021.
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Santa Discovers the Aloha Spirit
ALOHA SANTA is on sale for $1.99 in the Kindle Store through December 16!
Amazon US Amazon UK
Website special! $10.00 Author autographed copies available while supplies last. Send me an email at SupernalFriends@yahoo.com to request your copy.
ALOHA SANTA began as a performance piece for the Na Leo Lani Chorus Christmas show in Honolulu a couple of years ago. Encouraged by chorus members to turn it into a children’s book, I enlisted the wonderful artist, Jaana Baker, to do the illustrations. Jaana’s bright pictures really bring the ALOHA SANTA story to life.
Enjoy the new book trailer:
Available in print and ebook at Amazon.com
A lovely Christmas tale told in sweet sing song rhyme, with gorgeous illustrations that bring the story of Mrs. Claus forging the way for Santa and crew to relocate to Hawaii. A great Christmas gift for the kids on your list, that adults will also delight in. Amazon Customer

Santa Goes Hawaiian
Mrs. Claus is so over cold weather ~~~
Twas a chilly night at the North Pole,
Santa snoozed by a fire in a warm, woolen stole.
A bang of the door ruined his sleep.
Mrs. Claus stomped in with soggy, wet feet.
“That’s it,” she said. “I’m sick of this cold place,
the ice, wind, and snow always stinging my face.
What’s worse, I get chased by a big polar bear,
and Santa, I think that you don’t even care!”
It’s my great pleasure to announce the publication of ALOHA SANTA. Two years ago I wrote the verse to perform in my Sweet Adeline chorus Christmas show. My singing sisters encouraged me to turn the fanciful rhyme of Santa and Mrs. Claus moving Hawaii into a children’s book. Illustrator Jaana Baker brings the story to life with her clever and charming pictures.
ALOHA SANTA is now available in paperback at Amazon. Delight the youngsters in your life with this bright, fun holiday tale. Makes a delightful gift.
20% of all royalties from November 25 thru December 25 will be donated to the Na Leo Lani Chorus of Sweet Adelines International.
Order at Amazon today! ALOHA SANTA
