John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

About John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

Providing exceptional writing, editing and publishing services to hundreds of international clients, ranging from nutritional copywriting and long-form ghostwriting to substantive editing, assessment/analysis of academic texts and structural/content editing for bestselling novels.

Review: Devel Django: A Dark Wave Journey by D.S. Quinton

Devel Django: A Dark Wave Journey by D.S. Quinton

Seeking the ultimate answers to where we came from and why life exists can set a brilliant foundation for any suspenseful novel, and author D.S. Quinton does just that with Devel Django: A Dark Wave Journey. Brilliantly melding elements of sci-fi futurism with ancient significance, alien life and the evolution of humanity, this book is difficult to put down in a way that will stay with you long after reading.

When a meteor storm strikes in the mountains of Italy, the unfortunately named Dr. Brad Bradley, happens to be in the right place at the right time. As a […]

2018-12-05T12:12:38+02:00December 3rd, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: The Yin and Yang of an Electrical Conductor by Jose Scaramanga

The Yin and Yang of an Electrical Conductor by Jose Scaramanga

A wild, mind-bending tale, The Yin and Yang of an Electrical Conductor proposes a fascinating world where one can have a chat with an eminent scholar from the Age of Reason, or a holy man from thousands of years ago. While the title of the novel might sound like it belongs to a daunting textbook, this is actually a wildly imaginative sci-fi novella that eliminates the boundaries of space and time in search of existential truth, and shares a good bit of knowledge about physics along the way.

In this oddly charming adventure, readers are taken from Neolithic times to […]

Shifting Sands (A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story) by Ray Keating

Shifting Sands by Ray Keating

Pastor Steven Grant always manages to find himself in the middle of a thriller, and author Ray Keating has created yet another complicated plot for his favorite protagonist in Shifting Sands.

Although considerably shorter than many of this series’ full-length novels, this quick read features Pastor Grant and a cadre of his old friends taking in the sights of an outdoor volleyball tournament with a deadly secret. As is so often the case with Keating’s hero, it isn’t going to be a peaceful getaway for the intrepid holy man, not with a terrorist plot brewing amidst the sun and […]

2018-11-28T11:39:43+02:00November 28th, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: |

Review: Farewell to Follies by Xingu Fawcett

Farewell to Follies by Xingu Fawcett

Farewell to Follies establishes Xingu Fawcett as a formidable short story writer with a firm finger on the pulse of human nature, as well as the natural world.

These stories vary wildly in their subject matter, but the underlying themes are universal – wrestling with death, balancing nature and the city, exploring unknown places, and the long-term impact of trauma. With an artful, yet sensitive approach to these intense issues, the stories are both harrowing and heartwarming. Fawcett understands the dynamic nature of life, and effortlessly embodies characters from different times, social backgrounds and life paths.

What is immediately noticeable […]

2019-01-22T10:30:54+02:00November 20th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: |

Review: The Departing (The End Time Saga Book 4) by Daniel Greene

The Departing (The End Time Saga Book 4) by Daniel Greene

Having read this series from the beginning, one can expect something approaching greatness in Daniel Greene’s writing, and he does not disappoint with The Departing, the fourth installment of his End Times Saga. The stakes have been consistently raised throughout the course of this series, and the characters have traveled on impressive and well-planned plot arcs, revealing a talented writer and a body of work clearly conceived with a passion for the genre.

The world is still in chaos as the dead mindlessly push back the ranks of the living, threatening to exterminate humanity as we know it. However, […]

2019-01-21T09:36:36+02:00November 19th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: , |

The Unkillables by J. Boyett

The Unkillables by J. Boyett

Blending genres is a popular approach in modern literature, as these fusions have endless potential for new revelation, so clearly shown in The Unkillables, a surprising dark horse of a novel that pits cavemen against zombies, with a few time travelers thrown in for good measure.

Gash-Eye and Chert stand at the center of this strange story – she a clever Neanderthal prisoner, and he a stubborn Cromagnon ruler, bound by a child and their determination to survive in a rapidly changing world of zombies and death. Romance takes a distant backseat to the action of the tale, but […]

2019-01-21T09:36:44+02:00November 16th, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: , |

Review: Demon Heart by David Crane

Demon Heart by David Crane

Thrillers set in far-flung locales hold extra appeal for those readers looking for an exciting escape, and the exotic, unbelievable nature of Demon Heart, a new novel by David Crane, certainly fits that bill. Similar to the author’s earlier work, this novel is an intense, chaotic and brilliantly executed story that dances on the edge of reality.

Naoko Kitamura is a rough-around-the-edges cop on the streets of Osaka with a dark family secret. A creature of Japanese tradition and mythology, she is a demon hybrid, capable of unleashing incredible powers when she needs to. However, she is also half-human, […]

2019-01-09T10:49:12+02:00November 14th, 2018|Categories: Book Excerpt|Tags: |

Review: Raised on Rock by Thomas Drago

Raised on Rock by Thomas Drago

Anyone who has ever set a personal dream aside understands the pain and nagging doubt that can come along with such a decision. Youthful ambition drives us to pursue even our most outlandish hopes, but as the years pass, those old possibilities dwindle and narrow, even if we hate to admit it. In Raised on Rock, a novel by Thomas Drago, this challenging shift in reality is explored in stark detail.

Dante Rose has been enthralled by rock and roll since he was young, and chased that rocker lifestyle for years through small-town North Carolina with his band Thorn[…]

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