New collection of short perfectly scary tales And Night Shall Come

 

And Night Shall Come
David J Rank
October 20, 2026
Cornerstone Press, 208 pp
Collection of short, dark fiction
Paper $24.95

Buy on Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Bookshop

About the Book:

The stories in David J. Rank’s debut collection reveal what things wait in the shadows beyond human vision: creatures best left alone, monsters lurking within ourselves, and dark emotions ready to erupt from tormented souls.

My Review:

In a gated community where you don’t question authority, Rank’s world comes to stunning life. His collect of short, dark-and-scary-night tales speak of things we all fear: a paradise that has never felt so fragile; the witch’s test may or may not lead to the truth; the myth of the Goatman who steals away people on an abandoned road. The title piece, “And Night Shall Come” is a nightmare for that waits for Paulie in a new house that would never be as exciting as Mom thinks. There’s a tree that’s a tree until it’s not; an artist who literally gives her all to her work. Somehow, I always knew chocolate would save the world in the same-name story “Chocolate.”

Many stories feature corrupt religion or morality, such as the witch hunt in “Witch’s Bluff,”, and a woman with too much power ridding her community of liberal filth in “CCTROMC” and dystopian societies with brutal governmental regimes. Rank eerily parallels some components of cultures who battle knowledge, such as those who resolve the problem of curiosity with brutality in a “Wing and a Prayer.” Most the stories are just plain fun, such as describing the good living to be made by being a token of bad luck; one explanation for why someone would hoard pets; a dying world where librarians are the heroes in “Alexandria”; stories where children knew how things that go bump in the night work much better than their adults; a doctor who controls life and death with a miracle patient. I especially enjoy the turnabout tales where the joke is on the zombies and the renters who can’t stay out of the attic.

Be careful what you wish for, and don’t be a Wally who tries to impress his friends with the 13 Names of Hell. And definitely heed the author’s warning to keep the lights on while you read these deliciously haunted tales in And Night Shall Come.

About the Author:

Published author, editor, and recovering journalist, David J. Rank, spies on things found within the darkest shadows deep in unmapped forests where he often finds himself. In 2014, he founded and is the director emeritus of the nonprofit Novel Bookcamp writing education programs, now. His more than 45 dark fiction stories have appeared in regional publications, online zines, and nine anthologies. And Night Shall Come: Stories from the Shadows, first story collection, is being published by Cornerstone Press in October, 2026.

A former president of the Wisconsin Writers Association, he is a member of the Horror Writers Association, organized the HWA-Wisconsin Chapter in 2018, and is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association. He lives in eastern Wisconsin with his wife, near his grown children and grandchildren, in a quiet neighborhood on the side of a hill with a nice view of the moon, not far from two old cemeteries.

Action Into Words memoir with Peggy Rozga

Action Into Words: A memoir of activism
Margaret Rozga
October 1, 2026
WWA Press, 220 pp
Memoir
 
Buy on

Bookshop 

Barnes and Noble 

Amazon

About the Book

Discover the inspiring journey of Margaret "Peggy" Rozga in this captivating memoir, Action Into Words, brought to life by the Wisconsin Writers Association. A poet, activist, and Wisconsin's 2019-2020 Poet Laureate, Rozga's story unfolds against the backdrop of the 1960s civil rights movement, where she marched for fair housing in Milwaukee and stood alongside icons like Father James Groppi. Through personal triumphs and tragedies-including the loss of her husband and raising three young children-she found solace and strength in poetry. Her words, infused with a passion for social justice and the beauty of everyday life, have touched hearts and sparked change. This memoir is a testament to a woman who turned struggle into song, offering readers a profound exploration of courage, creativity, and community. Join us in celebrating a Wisconsin treasure whose voice continues to resonate. Available from the Wisconsin Writers Association Press.

My Review

Filled with up close and personal views of icons in the Open Housing and Civil Rights movements, Margaret Rozga's frank look at the push for equity from the 1960s voting rights marches with Dr. King in Alabama to Milwaukee, Wisconsin is an eye-opening and sometimes sorry look at how American treat each other. Readers gain special insight into America as Peggy Rozga sets out to make a difference for equal housing opportunities, voting rights, and social justice. Join Peggy as she marches and speaks through poetry and action in this powerful memoir.

About the Author

Margaret Rozga, emeritus professor of English at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee - Waukesha campus, served as the 2019-2020 Wisconsin Poet Laureate and the 2021 inaugural artist/scholar in residence at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee at Waukesha Field Station. She is the author of six books of poetry, most recently Restoring Prairie and Holding My Selves Together. She has also co-edited four poetry anthologies with Madison poet Angela Trudell Vasquez. She is a member of the Wisconsin Writers Association, the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, and the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature, an organization that honored her with their 2026 Mark Twain award. She lives in Milwaukee.

 

Pumpkin gore from Brent Michael Kelley

 

Pumpkin Guts

Brent Michael Kelley
Horror
Oct 1, 2026
Mystery Potion Books, 265 pp
Ebook 5.99

Buy on Kindle

About the Book

Hiding out from the Icelandic mafia in the middle of nowhere, Lia Rail finds herself offered up as the annual Halloween sacrifice to an oversized pumpkin-monster called Jack o’ the Patch. After a narrow escape, Lia is pursued by a growing horde of Jack's pumpkin-minions. Monstrous worms, bats, and spiders will tear the town apart until their master gets his victim. As the creatures flood the town and close in, Lia’s survival depends on making friends and giving them a reason to trust her. She'll have to do it quickly, too, before Jack o' the Patch himself comes down from the mountain to destroy the city in search of his prize.

My review

A mythic curse travels the oceans to America…or is there a real curse in Squatter’s Notch? A little backwater in New England is as good a place to hide as any for a young quirky lass named Lia Rail. She’s running from the mob due to some serious misunderstanding, and realizes she’s jumped from the frying pan into the fire. It’s Halloween, which has an unusual reputation in Squatter’s Notch. Lia, who’s been in residence long enough to make both friends and enemies, finds herself on the wrong side of the fence when the sweet little old lady she does odd jobs for has one final and unfortunately fatal request. A sightseeing drive up the cliff takes a sinister twist, and Lia runs again, this time convincing Notchians to defend their town from the evil Jack even while he takes their neighbor’s souls.

Squatter’s Notch will enchant the reader with its fun cast of police, townsfolk, gas station owners with a heart of gold, and self-sacrificing firefighters who jump into the fray to save a school full of children from the mad Jack o’ the Patch on a rampage of terror. Lia stays true to herself while reaching out to her enemies and showing the people of Squatter’s Notch they can work together in an attempt to overcome their terrible curse. Some gore and possession, but overall, a good time read.

About the Author

Since 2011, Brent Michael Kelley has had six books published. Those works include the first three novels of an ongoing dark fantasy series following Chuggie, the embodiment of Drought on a monster-filled world called Mag Mell (Chuggie and the Desecration of Stagwater, Chuggie and the Bleeding Gateways, Chuggie and the Prisoner Gods). Also included is a YA comedy-horror called Keep Away From Psycho Joe, a dystopian future-sports novella Cruce Roosters, and a short story collection Doomsday Furnace. Brent lives in northern Wisconsin with his wife, son, and two weird dogs, whose names are S'mores and Lil' Smokey.

Soccer to the Max MG by Bibi Belford

 

Soccer to the Max
Bibi Belford
 
Ten16 Press, September, 2026
Middle Grade, 195 pp

About the Book

Sandburg has big summer plans. Win the 3v3 Tournament trophy, then escape for a long-awaited vacay on his grandparents’ ranch. But when he’s left behind at soccer camp while his family visits his sister’s doctor, everything unravels. He really wants to follow his dad’s advice, “Do better to be better,” but as disappointments pile up, it seems like me-first is a better option. That decision sets in motion a disastrous chain of events that even Zander, his amazing superhero-loving roommate, can’t prevent.

My Review

Suprises are usually excellent or not-so-great; it turns out many of the surprises in almost-fifth grader Sanburg Zaproski’s summer are of the not-so-great variety.

Soccer camp would have been the coolest thing for Sandy, if it hadn’t meant missing the family annual vacation to Grandpa’s Texas ranch. Meeting new kids and working on soccer skills would have been completely awesome if Sandy hadn’t drawn the fearsomest opponent in soccerdom, the one who strikes fear in every kid’s heart because of his height and abilities. A head taller than every kid his age, Sandy, who’s tasked by his father to see with empathy eyes, starts to look deeper at the people around him. Lessons at camp come as another unwelcome surprise when he realizes he’s not as good of a player as he thought he was. Sandy has a lot of growing up to do, and once he realizes that other kids have similar quirks and fears, he’s slowly learning to be more forgiving.

Until it comes to his younger cousin, Max. When Sandy gets home from camp, squirrely squirt Max seems to get all the attention and praise and treats that Sandy used to get. When Max turns out to be the surprise last-ditch choice to play in a very special soccer tournament Sandy and his friends Zoya and Cole have entered, it’s up to Sandy to find Max’s superpower and decide whether to use it to help the team.

Belford’s wonderful young characters beautifully take the story and run with it. Sandy frequently addresses the reader, drawing us deep into his opinionated actions, sometimes blaming us and sometimes calling out excuses for his behavior. We’re learning and growing social skills right alongside him. When Sandy gets upset at the unfairness of life, he lets us know with a sentence like, “Steam that could roast corn escapes from the top of my head.” When his family tries to surprise him, he says, “I try to remember how to smile. Lift the corners of my lips…stretch them out towards my ears like a guard dog’s muzzle before it bites an intruder.”

Filled with many wonderful quotable quotes, like “chuck in the bucket and move on,” and “an ant has no quarrel with a boot,” as well as wonderful vocabulary words Sandy teaches his audience, like “intimidation,” Soccer to the Max is a delightful story for both the entertainment and character lessons. Highly recommended for any age.

About the Author

Bibi Belford is the author of books for middle grade readers: CANNED AND CRUSHED, THE GIFT,
CROSSING THE LINE, and ANOTHER D FOR DEEDEE. Bibi starting writing books because her students told her they couldn’t find books they liked. She wants her books to challenge kids to make a difference in their world and be everyday heroes. She lives in a high rise building in Chicago, Illinois and when it’s nice writes on her balcony. She enjoys reading, gardening, beach-bumming, and making her grandchildren laugh. Bibi works part time substituting at Bennett Academy and as an educational consultant and trainer. She also volunteers two days a week at a CPS public school. Some of her credentials include:  B.A. English, K-8 Illinois teaching certificate, Reading endorsement, ESL endorsement, and a Masters of Bilingual Literacy. She is a member of CWA – Chicago Writers Association, SCBWI-Illinois, and has served as a panelist and speaker at the UW-Madison Writers’ Institute.

Bicentennial Eve by Julie Jacob review

 

Bicentennial Eve: A Wisconsin Novella is a gentle, slice-of-life tale of a family on the eve of America’s 200th birthday. As the cast of characters go about their day, each struggles with their own hopes, dreams, and regrets. From Grandma Kitty’s quest for some adventure to young Skylar’s search for a taste of first love, each family member is looking for a little independence of their own against the backdrop of a changing country.

232 pages, Paperback, $18; $9.99 Ebook

Freshwater Press, May 19, 2026

Goodreads

Bookshop

 
Review:

Bicentennial Eve is like spending the day with your best friends. There’s a picnic later, and watching the fireworks together. It should be nice and quiet this year without the snooty crowd from Chicago. You know them well – Joe and Claire – and their daughters. Skylar is a new teen, tall and self-consciously awkward, enduring her first crush. Grace is in college now, doing who knows what, but Claire trusts her. Joe’s brother Rob lives a few blocks away. His perpetually unhappy wife Amy is good. Probably for good, but Rob, a school teacher, needs to face reality, like Joe who was laid off and drives too far every day to a crummy job. Claire’s sister will be there, too. But Grandma Kitty is secretly taking off on a cross-country trip with her girlfriend to visit the places she’s always wanted to see.

Told in moment-by-moment fashion from each family member’s point of view, readers will be enchanted as this family shares their day with you. In 1976, the bicentennial, American culture was growing up, just as women were beginning to have careers of their own, divorce was becoming more acceptable, the losses of soldier sons killed in the war wrenched hearts, and the travel bug bit.

As a bonus, Jacob moves the family into the future, twenty-five and fifty years, so we can glimpse how the events of that day in 1976 played out.

Well done with lovingly drawn characters that any reader can identify with in all walks of life at all ages. Each have desires, needs, and dreams and go for life.

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

Barnes and Noble

Amazon
Goodreads

Bookshop.org

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
 
Bookshop 
Barnes and Noble 
Amazon  
 
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.