New near future tech thriller from Bruce Landay

 

Electromagnetic Assault
Bruce Landay
Science fiction action adventure
 
Sisyphus Triumphant, April 2026,
361 pp print
$4.99 ebook

$15.99 print

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About the Book

They thought no one would survive. They were wrong.

Five years ago, a high-stakes rescue mission at a Chinese military base turned into a massacre. Navy Special Ops pilot Jazmin Hassani lost her SEAL team in a burst of electromagnetic energy — a live-fire test of a top-secret directed-energy weapon. Horrifically injured, she was never expected to live.

Today, a new strike, this time on American soil — silent, invisible, and devastating. Governments would kill to possess this weapon — or to keep it hidden.

As the military investigator assigned to the case, Jazmin is driven to uncover the truth. She’s forced underground when a powerful US Senator stops the investigation and the Defense Intelligence Agency denies the weapon’s existence.

Defying orders, she partners with a rogue Cyber Command operative to expose the culprits behind the weapon. Hunted by elite operatives and betrayed by her own government, Jazmin is on the run, armed only with her training, her instincts — and a promise of retribution.

The tech is unstoppable. But so is she.

My review

In the near future the military has use of astonishingly helpful tech, neuro implants and transmitters that allow instant communication and control of ships and weapons. It’s a powerful advocate for world peace.

But like anything that uses electronic signals, it has a weakness: there’s always a more powerful signal that could potentially override or knock out transmission.

Potential has become reality. And when the enemy experiments in electromagnetic assault messed with Navy Lt, eventually Commander, Jazmin Hassani, on a SEAL team rescue mission, they chose the wrong victim. Five years and a lot of rehab rebuilt Jazmin, and now she’ll stop at literally nothing to get to the bottom of which evil empire is interrupting the world’s fragile balance of power. Certainly not senators, powerful criminal enterprises, or the threats and murder of her friends and family.

But then Harry Dexter, former military crazy ex-boyfriend, reconnects when Jazmin’s world flips, she has little option but to team up with a fabulous band of misfits on a secret base in northern Wisconsin. Yes, that Up North is the seat of power for an officially sanctioned but well-funded operation that goes and does what the US military cannot.

Is it enough? Jazmin has tough choices ahead of her to keep herself, her family, but most of all her country safe and at relative peace.

Sleeper spies, outside influences, clones, and tons of action will keep readers of near future science fiction action turning pages long into the night. I hope this isn’t the last we’ll see of Jazmin. Well done!

 

About the Author

Bruce Landay writes military political techno-thrillers. He is a former Air Force officer who brings an authentic vibe to his military characters, their mission focus, and internal motivation to defend their core principles and their country.

Following his time as a US Air Force Officer stationed at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia as part of the 1st Fighter Wing, he spent 35 years working for manufacturing companies in global supply chain and IT roles traveling to multiple European countries, as well as Mexico, Dominican Republic, and China.

He is a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and lives with his wife in Madison. Follow his weekly email newsletter on Substack, Future Trends and Science Fiction, and visit his website https://brucelanday.com/for more information and photo gallery .

A Thousand Miles of Poetry

 

A Thousand Miles of Poetry: Poemwalking Wisconsin’s National Ice Age Trail
Katrina Serwe
 
 
Wisconsin Writers Association Press, April 1, 2026, 220 pp
7.99 ebook
29.99 paperback
39.99 hardcover
 
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About the Book
Wisconsin's Ice Age National Scenic Trail is a dream woven in single-track, multi-use, bike trails, and back roads. It's tacked together through shared public spaces, private lands and easements. Every year the trail gains miles toward the goal of uninterrupted path ribboning off-road over 1,200 miles of Wisconsin's glacial terrain.In this evocative poetry collection, poet, hiker, and outdoor enthusiast Katrina Serwe traces a thousand-mile odyssey along the Ice Age Trail, each segment etched into verse. Poemwalking, as Serwe describes it, captures the trail's pulse across every season, woven into reflections, layered metaphors, and the whispers of ancient moraines. These poems, like the glacial till that inspired them, walk the reader over the rugged and gentle landscapes of Wisconsin, shaped by the energy and ice of long ago.
 
My review:
Poetry, like hiking, is an experience best served in chapters, much like each segment of Wisconsin's Ice Age Trail in this new book that combines the art of walking and observing. Serwe's loving tribute to Wisconsin's National Ice Age Trail through poetry will bring you back over and over to explore the trail which are is the process of being established along the edge of the last glacier advance across the state. Some segments hard to traverse, some easy walking, some through cities and some on rough terrain where you can get lost without signs. Full of insight and self-discovery, the poetry will carry you along, as "I would give you a trail / wide enough / to navigate with ease / and close enough / for nature to touch you / in spiderweb and leaf tickles" from “When You Are Stressed” and the pleasure of finding new friends from "I Remember": Let’s go make a trail friend! / It’s not that easy, I say. She laughs, of course it is— / if they’re on the same trail as you, they’re your friend!" Not just for poetry lovers and hiking enthusiasts, A Thousand Miles of Poetry will teach you something about Wisconsin and maybe even push you into poemwalking your own neighborhood. The book includes maps and background information on the trail and creating poetry.
 
About the Author
Katrina Serwe, PhD, worked as a therapist, professor, and researcher in the field of occupational therapy for over two decades. She started writing poetry after a transcendent midlife crisis brought her back to her love of literature, art, and nature. Her first collection of poetry, First Steps (Brain Mill Press), was published in 2025. Her poems have been featured in a variety of publications such as The Solitary Plover, Blue Heron Review, Bramble, Portage Magazine, and Scrawl Place. Serwe's awards include the Jade Ring in poetry (Wisconsin Writers Association, 2024) and the Muse Prize (Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, second place, 2025). Her favorite pastime is a made-up hobby she calls poemwalking. You can follow her journey at www.katrinaserwe.com.

Fantasy romcom in Wisconsin with TK Sheffield

 

The Valentine Lines

(The Cupid Chronicles Book 1)
TK Sheffield
Fantasy rom-com, 373 pages
December 9, 2025, Making Hay Press
Print: $19.95
Ebook: $.99
Buy on Amazon

About the Book

Cupid swaps arrow for scones in a magical screwball comedy perfect for Valentine's Day!

The Valentine Lines reimagines Cupid—aka Bart McGee—as an underdog ditching the corporate grind of Mt. Olympus, Inc., for small-town life in quaint Mineral Point, Wisconsin. When Bart launches a matchmaking business and falls in love with a local baker, chaos ensues as his meddling Olympus relatives crash the scene. It’s packed with snappy banter, slapstick escapades, mythological mishaps, and thoughtful explorations of love, trust, and self-discovery. It’s a light, literary escape for readers craving whimsy with emotional resonance.

My Review

TK Sheffield’s new series brings the Greek gods to Wisconsin again, but in a much more cozy and sweet manner than other authors have tried. Olympus has evolved into a big business, and Cupid, as a minor god, is tired of it. He chanced to fall in love on a visit to a small town, a goddess of a baker, who might return his attempt to woo her if only his pesky clients and Olympic family would stop interfering. Cupid, taking one of his middle names of Bartholomew, or Bart, opens Romance Realm, and is soon up to his quiver in shenanigans as the lonely folks of Mineral Point alternately hire and fire him, or beg him for oddball jobs that don’t always match his business. When Uncle Apollo and his trusty steed Pegasus, complete with chariot, turn up shortly after Bart settles in, little do they know the fun is only about to begin.

Mortals and gods, quips and quotes from classics of antiquity and modern times flow freely in tis zany comedy, where even gods feel deep loss, real tragedy, love, and compassion. From the Men’s Group, organized by Apollo, everything Wisconsin fun from ice fishing to horse stables, not to mention cheese, baked goods and any excuse to party, readers will get a kick out of Sheffield’s tale.

It’s a long book with lots going on, first in a planned series which I hope to read, so reserve plenty of time for zinging…I mean, reading.

About the Author, TK Sheffield

As a Wisconsin-based author, I write funny cozy mysteries, screwball romantic comedies, and children's horse stories. My books are for readers seeking humor, heart, and wholesome escapes without graphic violence, foul language, or explicit content.

Alexandrias Genesis new dystoptian novel from SW Strackbein

Alexandria’s Genesis

Steven Strackbein
Dystopian
 
Buy on Amazon
ebook $4.99
408 pp
Sisyphus Triumphant, Feb 24, 2026

About the Book

The world has ended.

What followed was not silence, but continuation. Roads still lead somewhere. People still gather. Old words still carry weight, even after the structures that gave them meaning have collapsed.

John moves through what’s left, carrying a past that refuses to stay buried. Kyra tries to hold onto something fragile in a landscape that rewards endurance more than mercy. Their lives intersect without design, in a world where endurance is mistaken for virtue and survival offers no absolution.

Alexandria’s Genesis is a post-collapse novel concerned with what people hold onto when everything else is stripped away. Persistence replaces hope. Memory endures as burden, shaping who people become when there are no longer clear answers.

This is not a story about the end of the world.
It is about what continues—and the cost of allowing it to continue.

My review

Strackbein’s latest novel is, at its deepest level, a story of resilience. Some people cling to what they know, some people adjust for good, many adjust for personal gain at the expense of any level of humanity. What would you do when everything you know is changed?

We step into a desert with a man named John, robed against the flying sand and thinking in flashes of sarcastic contemporary pop culture. The story feels like a Western until things don’t add up. A woman hanged on the grounds of a modern school building. Mostly empty towns guarded by piles of junk and men with weapons. Secrets…lies…want…greed. Even kindness has an underlying price. John was forced by desperation out into this unforgiving landscape in search of some means to stay alive. When he visits a nearby town, he unwittingly gets caught up in a post-apocalyptic struggle between an unhinged community leader and a girl, Kyra, who carries a secret worthy of hope. When John reluctantly calls on his past skills and teaches Kyra survival strategies, he hopes he’s given her enough and moves on, only to fall into another compromising situation.

Gradually through related flashbacks we learn the depth of the world’s woe and John’s personal story of tragedy. He becomes a grudging hero in spite of his fears and failures, and for that, his character is perhaps the best test of what makes us human. Strackbein’s novel is a thoughtful and provocative look at a potential future, of courage, and choice, and of keeping the light in sight.

About the author

SW Strackbein began writing in his early thirties, during his military training in the final days of the Iraq War. That season of intensity and reflection sparked a lifelong pursuit of storytelling—one rooted in a fascination with human nature and the hidden forces that shape people’s lives. He went on to earn degrees in Psychology, Mental Health Counseling, and an MBA, each one deepening his understanding of human behavior, motivation, and the struggles that define us. His writing reflects that layered insight—an exploration of the choices we make, the relationships we forge, and the moments of joy and despair that transform us.

  

Review of poetry What the Current Cannot Swallow

 

Review of What the Current Cannot Swallow by Debra Hall
 
December 15, 2025, 43 pp
Poetry (Chapbook)
Paperback, $10; Ebook $3.99
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About the Book:

What the Current Cannot Swallow is a soulful collection of poetry that traverses the vast and intimate geography of love, illness, caregiving, and mourning. Set primarily between Rome and the American Midwest, Debra Hall's poems move through embassy lines, a hospital on the Tiber, catacombs, hospice rooms, mountain trails, and a family kitchen. Hall attends to small, exact particulars-a deli counter, bear bells, a peppermint, a rosary, hail at the window, a grandson's birth-and lets them carry the weight of what cannot be said. The work stays close to the body and to the world. The pieces in it mark a crossing, and the daily work of living in the aftermath of survival.

My Review:  

When the dedication is a twist of joy, you know you’re in for a fulfilling experience.

Readers join the author in a fugue of exhaustion as a couple experiences medical crisis in the opening poems: “she (the case worker) warns me not to be so dark,” the author shares in “Flight Risk”; and “the hospital staff is anxious / for us to go home,” she writes in “A Welcome Overstayed.” The twenty-three prose poems set mostly in couplets and short stanzas tumble love and worry across the page. Many of the poems follow the experiences of filling last dreams of travel; revelation; desperation for healing as in the poem “Sacrament,” which holds the title line; and prayers for “a little more time” in “La Pieta.” A muse about how life might have been different made me smile when the author hints living in my hometown of Racine in “Danish Kringle,” with its “chewy almond paste” that persuaded “us to stay.”

Both the dignity of death and indignity of well-meaning advice when “the social worker had  / confused the order of magnitude / prepared me for the aftershock / not the blast” poignantly remind us that death is a unique experience. A dribble of peace comes through in “Legacy” where the author promises to keep Grandpa’s memory: “we will find your spirit there / and he will know your name Grandpa.”

The poem that spoke to me most was “Bear Bells,” in which the author grabs an experience to hold: “I try to remember why I / agreed to a trip more rugged / than romantic, yet saw a chance / to map your wilderness, find / a branch that holds the things you / guard under tooth and claw.”

What the Current Cannot Swallow is a beautiful tribute to a precious partner whose “spirit dances in ripples” and is truly immortalized.

The well-done prose poems will resonate with those who keep memory alive.

Little Book of Living by Jo DeMars

 

About the Book:

The Little Book of Living invites readers on a journey of self-discovery. Walk through gardens, explore the woods, and recollect memories that tickle the imagination, touch the heart, and heal the souls. Change is a constant and all living beings learn to adapt to it. In this ekphrastic memoir, Jo DeMars brings together her vivid photography and poetic reflections, exploring the ways that nature helped her discover the beauty in every day. Perhaps they'll provide a mirror on your life, suggest a new perspective, or simply make you laugh. Life is full of joy-let's share it.

178 pages, Paperback, $15

Published April 21, 2025

Goodreads

My Review:

I picked up this book intending to read one or two of the author's essays a day, but found myself turning page after page. Never overly personal or pedantic, DeMars shares observations and little snippets of life with lovely accompanying photos. One of my favorite selections was "Going the Wrong Way" something I do frequently and sometimes get mad at myself. The author uses one such trip to her advantage by finding an unexpected place to visit and having fun. "I need to do it more often." The Little Book is a wonderful book to keep around and pick up when you need a pick-me-up and also a great gift to share.

A Thousand Miles of Poetry review

 

A Thousand Miles of Poetry: Poemwalking Wisconsin’s Ice Age National Scenic Trail
Katrina Serwe
 
Poetry
Publication April 1, 2026 from Wisconsin Writers Association Press
5.5 by 8.5 inches, 200 pages
$29.99 – paper   $7.99 ebook   $39.99  Hardcover
 
ISBN paper: 979-8-3493-2254-9  ISBN hardcover: 979-8-3493-4121-2
ISBN ebook: 979-8-3493-2255-6
Subjects: Poetry/ Animals & Nature; Place; Motivational & Inspirational

About the Book: In this evocative poetry collection, poet, hiker, and outdoor enthusiast Katrina Serwe traces a thousand-mile odyssey along the Ice Age Trail, each segment etched into verse. Poemwalking, as Serwe describes it, captures the trail’s pulse across every season woven into recollections, layered metaphors, and the whispers of ancient moraines. These poems, like the glacial till that inspired them walk the reader over the rugged and gentle landscapes of Wisconsin shaped by the energy and ice of long ago.

About the author, Katrina Serwe

Katrina Serwe, PhD, worked as a therapist, professor, and researcher in the field of occupational
therapy for over two decades. She started writing poetry after a transcendent midlife crisis brought her back to her love of literature, art, and nature. Her first collection of poetry, First Steps (Brain Mill Press), was published in 2025. Her poems have been featured in a variety of publications such as The Solitary Plover, Blue Heron Review, Bramble, Portage Magazine, and Scrawl Place. Serwe’s awards include the Jade Ring in poetry (Wisconsin Writers Association, 2024) and the Muse Prize (Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, second place, 2025). Her favorite pastime is a made-up hobby she calls poemwalking. You can follow her journey at www.katrinaserwe.com.or scan the QR code.

Jim Landwehr's Review

A Thousand Miles of Poetry is a multi-faceted collection of both beauty and experience. As I read it, it seemed to shapeshift between a travelogue journal, a chronicling of personal achievement, and a documenting of the diverse and wild Wisconsin landscapes. Inside its pages, readers are invited to walk alongside Serwe as she winds her way over the hills and flatlands, past farms, lakes, forests and bogs, in all sorts of weather.

As a person who spent 37 years in mapping and Geographic Information Systems, I appreciate the way the book is structured around seven different sections of the trail. Each section begins with an image taken from the trail that gives the reader a sense of geographic place. Perhaps more importantly, each section also includes a trail segment map labeled with key natural and cultural features. These segments are also displayed in statewide overview maps that help the reader visualize where these poems were written in relation to surrounding counties and the state borders.

But all of this is secondary to the stunning imagery Serwe conjures as she steps her way through mud, across rocks and roots, and over eskers, moraines, and drumlins. As she pushes herself to complete each segment, she writes as part of her daily ritual to record the sights, sounds, and feelings of Wisconsin’s wild landscape.

For example, in “What Comes Next” she highlights the birds and their songs that accompany her and perk her ears.

I close my eyes to the smog and listen—
flicker, robin, rose-breasted grosbeak.
Follow the soundscape through maple shade—
hairy woodpecker, gray catbird, field sparrow.

These vignettes are observations that strike and penetrate the soul of the hiker, sometimes catching her by surprise. But enmeshed with her description of the wildlife, Serwe pays homage to the landscape as well. She eloquently describes how she sees and hears it using poetic prose. In “Inspiring Voice” she writes:

…And I listen to water
as it plays on the rocks downstream where it winds
behind willow and carves its deep ribbons on sand.

Serwe’s sensory-rich narrative pulls us into her journey and makes us a partner with her as she encounters Wisconsin’s abundant natural resources, its diverse wildlife, and the restorative qualities she finds in the quiet of the countryside. She is an evangelist for the environment and reminds us we are mere visitors in a larger ecosystem. This symbiotic relationship is exemplified in “Love is like Mycelia,” where she takes us deeper into understanding the natural cycle of life.

Down underground they are there,
in a network that’s always connecting—
words between roots of the trees,
and the taste of the sun’s sugars shared.

As an avid outdoorsman, I have always been intrigued about the challenges and resulting sense of accomplishment of those who have hiked the entire Ice Age Trail. This 1000+ mile “Poemwalk,” as Serwe so appropriately titles it, gives inquiring minds a sense for both the cost and rewards when undertaking such a formidable quest. I commend Serwe’s perseverance, her keen insights, and her aptitude for wrapping it all up in the beauty of her poetry; poetry she carried with her every step of the way. A Thousand Miles of Poetry is a fantastic collection for any lover of poetry, the outdoors, or both.

About the Reviewer:

Jim Landwehr, author of Tea in the Pacific Northwest, Thoughts from a Line at the DMV, Genetically Speaking, and more. For more on his writing, visit www.jimlandwehr.com

Jim loves outdoor sports including, biking, kayaking, canoeing, camping, and fishing. It was his love of camping in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota that led him to write Dirty Shirt: A Boundary Waters Memoir. The book features humorous accounts of trips he took to the area with his brothers, friends, and children over the past twenty-five years.

Writing Dirty Shirt sparked his lifelong interest in writing and he has since published three other memoirs and six books of poetry. He has a forthcoming short story collection, All That It Seems, (Cornerstone Press). Jim is retired and spends much of his time writing and fishing in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Wisconsin Writers Association and the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets. He was the 2018/2019 poet laureate for the Village of Wales, Wisconsin.