Non-Fiction, Self-Help
Date Published: May 29, 2026
Publisher: Manhattan Book Group
Non-Fiction, Self-Help
Date Published: May 29, 2026
Publisher: Manhattan Book Group
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Griselda grew up in Malabrava. Her family founded the town. The streets, the smells, the houses, the people, and even the squirrels with knives run through her veins. She loves Malabrava and all its quirks.
Grizzy is a Del Monstruo. Not the youngest, not the oldest. She’s the middle-aged one. The Auntie. The one who never married, never wanted to. Grizzy’s the one people call when something needs to be handled. Because that’s what Grizzy does. Grizzy handles things.
Nobody asks how. It’s understood. Grizzy is what some might call sketchy with a heart of gold. She’ll go to war for the people she loves, and she has a clean, no-fuss method of decapitation for the ones she doesn’t.
She lives in the family home, dead center in the town of Malabrava. Her parents retired to a smaller place on the outskirts, saying they needed more land for at-home burials. Her sister Gracie prefers her condo near their parents. Gracie said that the convenient burial space is a plus. Makes cleanup easier.
They left Grizzy the house. You’d expect a gothic mansion, right? This is Malabrava, where things creep in broad daylight. A home for someone called Del Monstruo should come with bats, cobwebs, a gong, a butler who only groans, and a maid with wild frizzy red hair and access to the gong.
But no.
Grizzy’s grandfather was a modernist. Way ahead of his time. He wanted to be a supervillain, and in his mind, supervillains needed sleek, sprawling homes with underground bunkers, hidden rooms, and plans for a moat.
He never made it to “super.” He was a decent villain. He refused to recycle and regularly flipped off children, but he lacked the follow-through. He couldn’t commit to one evil scheme long enough to earn the title.
Grizzy’s grandmother was the true force. A science-minded woman with dangerous ideas. She adored the modern mansion. It gave her room for her lab.
That lab became Grizzy’s favorite place in the world.
Grizzy the fixer, the inventor, the one always tinkering away in her lab is deeply loved by her family. But her mother, a devout occultist with a dramatic streak, had other hopes. She wanted Griselda to be witchy. Ideally, a Voodoo Priestess. She always said Griselda looked striking in white. Though, in the end, she would’ve settled for a kitchen witch with a solid essential oil game.
Her father, a known vampire, had his hopes too. Gracie inherited the thirst. Gracie was the one born with a taste for blood.
But not Grizzy.
Instead, she snuck into her grandmother’s lab as a child. Touched everything labeled “Do Not Touch.” Sniffed everything marked “Hazard.” Dreamed of beakers and blueprints. She ignored every warning.
At twelve, she came out to the family as a Mad Scientist.
Her parents told her they loved her. Accepted her, a little reluctantly. Gracie grinned. She had another reason to be the favorite now.
They threw a family barbecue for her official announcement. The cousins came. The uncles, the aunts, the vaguely-related lurkers. Grizzy cut a cake shaped like a beaker and declared, “I’m a Mad Scientist, like Granny.”
There was a pause.
Some awkward glances.
Then applause.
The Del Monstruos were known for monsters...being them, birthing them, bargaining with them. But Grizzy wasn’t rattled by the hesitation. She knew the truth.
What was better than being a monster?
Inventing them.

Fire at the Track: A Harness Racing Mystery
by M.J. Evans
Fire at the Track: A Harness Racing Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting - Pennsylvania
Publisher : Dancing Horse Press
Publication date : April 21, 2026
Print length : 285 pages
Paperback ISBN-13 : 979-8993879406
ASIN : B0GPKL86Z1
Digital ASIN : B0GMDMX3HY
Twenty-eight horses. One deadly fire. A racetrack hiding secrets.
When a late night blaze destroys Barn 7 at Liberty Racetrack, killing twenty eight prized Standardbred horses, authorities rule it arson. Insurance investigator Callie Oaks knows the fire wasn't random. Raised in the harness racing world, Callie goes undercover at the track, posing as an exercise driver to investigate suspicious insurance claims. As she digs into the tight knit backstretch community, she uncovers secrets worth killing for. From the author of "Silver Charm," "The Sand Pounder," "Pinto," and "The Stallion and His Peculiar Boy."
Someone set the fire. Someone profited. And when Callie gets too close to the truth, she becomes the next target.
Perfect for readers who love:
Horse racing mysteries
Arson investigations
Small-town crime fiction
Female amateur sleuth / insurance investigator thrillers
Suspense with authentic equestrian detail
Fire at the Track is a fast-paced mystery thriller packed with insider racing drama, financial deception, and high-stakes suspense.
At Liberty Racetrack, everyone has a secret. And one of them is a killer.
M.J. Evans is the award-winning author of twenty six published works spanning middle-grade, young adult, and adult fiction, as well as a selection of picture books. Her writing often explores themes centered around horses and equine fantasy, reflecting a lifelong passion for these remarkable animals. A graduate of Oregon State University and a former educator with experience teaching both middle and high school students, Ms. Evans brings both educational insight and storytelling flair to her work. She resides in beautiful Colorado with her husband, Tom, where they enjoy the company of their horses and Standard Poodle. She is the proud mother of five and grandmother of thirteen.
M.J. Evans was the recipient of the 2024 Colorado Authors League Lifetime Achievement Award.
Literary awards include: Chanticleer International Book Awards Readers’ Favorite International Awards Eric Hoffer Awards Nautilus Awards Literary Classics awards Literary Global Book Awards Feathered Quill Book Awards Purple Dragonfly Awards Royal Dragonfly Awards Page Turner Award Next Generation Award Global Book Awards CIPA Evvy Book Awards Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards Incipere Book Awards International Impact Book Awards Maincrest Media Book Awards Book Excellence Awards Mom’s Choice Awards
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Mummy's Locket (Mallory Grayson Mysteries) by Nan S. Russell
Mummy's Locket (Mallory Grayson Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting - New York State
Publisher : Next Chapter
Publication date : May 25, 2026
Print length : 308 pages
Hardcover ISBN-10 : 482417029X
ISBN-13 : 978-4824170293
Paperback Publication date : May 1, 2026
Print length : 306 pages
ISBN-13 : 979-8195110321
ASIN : B0GZ8JW9P4
Digital ASIN : B0GZ6XLDDB
The truth doesn’t stay buried forever. After losing everything, Mallory Grayson retreats to a quiet town, hoping a vintage shop and a fresh start will help her rebuild her life. But when the mummified body of her long-missing great-grandmother is discovered, Mallory is pulled into a mystery. Clues hidden in heirlooms, a secret room, and a past lover’s return offer answers … if she’s willing to risk everything to uncover them. In a story steeped in secrets and history, her courage may be the only thing that can break the curse. The past and present collide in MUMMY'S LOCKET, the first book in the Mallory Grayson Mysteries series by Nan S. Russell.
With both a bachelor’s and master’s in psychology, Nan S. Russell was fired from her first professional job. Taking a minimum wage position to pay the rent, sixteen promotions later, she decided to end a successful corporate career as a Vice President of a multibillion-dollar East Coast company, to pursue a life dream to live and write from the Rocky Mountains, first in northwestern Montana and now along the Front Range of Colorado. With a desire to help others live their dreams, too, she turned her real-world experience into writing award winning non-fiction career and business books and articles, and became a speaker and consultant on leadership, trust, and culture development. But she always knew she wanted to write fiction, too. That point arrived during the pandemic pause which provided the catalyst for rethinking her writing and its purpose, sparking the decision to move towards fiction with more time to study the craft, take online classes, hone skills and work on her first novel. Now, she is living her second dream: Writing mysteries. Mummy’s Locket is her debut novel and the first in her Mallory Grayson series. More at www.nanrussell.com.
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Literary Fiction
Date Published: May 14, 2026
Publisher: Manhattan Book Group
About the Book:
In the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial reckoning of 2020, two unlikely friends are forced to confront what home really means.
A young Black man and a middle-aged White man meet through the Indianapolis tech company where they both work. Though separated by age, race, and life experience, they discover a powerful connection through music, poetry, and the emotional landscapes that have shaped them. What begins as an unusual friendship becomes something deeper as both men find themselves questioning the world around them—and their place within it.
Disillusioned by their state’s response to the pandemic and shaken by the racial strife unfolding across the country, the two men leave Indianapolis on a transformative journey. Against the eerie backdrop of a fractured America, they face isolation, grief, uncertainty, and the complicated truths that define love, loyalty, friendship, and identity.
As the road carries them away from everything familiar, they begin to reevaluate their beliefs, their histories, and the meaning of belonging. Through shared adversity, conversation, art, and memory, they forge a bond that challenges them to see themselves—and each other—with greater honesty and compassion.
The Edge of Motherland by Michael Leppert is a moving work of cultural heritage fiction for readers who appreciate character-driven literary fiction, contemporary historical fiction, stories of unlikely friendship, and novels that explore race, resilience, connection, and hope during uncertain times.
About the Author:
Michael Leppert is an award-winning lecturer, columnist, essayist, and author based in Indianapolis, Indiana. A longtime communicator, public affairs professional, and educator, Leppert brings decades of experience in government, policy, business, and storytelling to his work.
He teaches speech and writing at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and serves as an adjunct professor at IU’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He earned his B.S. in Public Affairs from Indiana University and his M.S. in Communication from Northwestern University, building a career rooted in the two fields that have shaped his life: government and communication.
Before entering academia and writing, Leppert spent thirteen years in public service for the State of Indiana. His career began at the Indiana Boys School, where he worked for five years and later served as program manager in the Intensive Treatment Unit. He then spent eight years at the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, ultimately serving as Executive Director of the IURC. In that role, he became known for his ability to explain complex and often controversial issues with clarity, insight, and accessibility.
After leaving state government in 2002, Leppert spent two decades as a private-sector lobbyist, public affairs consultant, and communications advisor, working with corporations, nonprofits, government leaders, community organizations, and business executives to help advance strategic priorities. His experience with public policy, political systems, and institutional decision-making has deeply informed his fiction and nonfiction writing.
Leppert began writing a weekly column in 2014, with his work appearing in newspapers throughout Indiana. His first book, Contrary to Popular Belief: A Chronicle of a Progressive in Indiana, was published in 2016. His novel Flipping the Circle, published by Greenleaf Book Group in 2021, is a political thriller that draws from his deep knowledge of Indiana politics, lobbying, and government culture. His fiction explores power, corruption, identity, morality, and the complicated human stories behind public life.
At the heart of Leppert’s work is a passion for helping people understand complicated ideas through story. Whether in the classroom, in public commentary, or on the page, he is driven by the belief that storytelling can bring clarity, challenge assumptions, and create meaningful connection.
Michael lives in a historic neighborhood in downtown Indianapolis with his wife, Amy Levander, and their rescue dog, Birdie. He has two adult children, Alex and Jack. He and Amy are competitive golfers, beach walkers, and enthusiastic lovers of live music, comedy, and theater.
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