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Memoir

Date Published: December 11th, 2025

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

Vincentia Schroeter dreams of building a family of her own and expects an easy pregnancy. She imagines following in her mother’s footsteps, surrounded by the love of children. However, when complications mount, she must face the likelihood that her wish will never come true.

As her sisters bear children, and women all around her share their happy baby news, Vin grows more envious than ever. The frustration continues as hard truths test her patience and faith and medical professionals deliver devastating blows. The only thing she knows for sure is that she is determined to become a mother.

A story of one woman’s harrowing path through trauma and disillusionment, Babymaking is a heartfelt memoir of vulnerability, rupture, and repair. Vin’s journey reminds us that hope and unconditional love have the power to lead us to the place we were always meant to be.

 Vincentia Schroeter grew up in a small town in central California as the fourth of twelve children. Intrigued by the many different personalities in her family, she knew by the age of sixteen that she wanted to be a counselor. She put herself through college and graduate school in order to pursue her dreams.

Vin is the author of the award-winning self-help book, Communication Breakthrough: How Using Brain Science and Listening to Body Cues Can Change Your Relationships (2018). She also co-authored a training manual on somatic psychotherapy that has been translated into three languages.

After a forty-year career as a psychotherapist listening to clients’ stories of pain and trauma, Vin felt drawn to share her own story. She now lives in San Diego with her husband Steve and enjoys pickleball, painting, and time with family, including her dog, Ren.

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Thriller

Date Published: March 26, 2026

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

New to the neighborhood and reeling from the traumatic birth of her second child, Marlowe Moore is barely holding it together. Battling postpartum depression and anxiety, she’s desperate for stability.

But when she learns that a woman who once lived in her family’s new home vanished without a trace, Marlowe becomes obsessed. As strange things happen and neighborly smiles feel like veiled threats, Marlowe can’t shake the feeling that someone is hiding something.

She spirals further into paranoia, fixated on the abandoned case and determined to seek justice. But how can a woman who feels lost find a missing person?

Juggling the demands of her beloved family and her harrowing mental illness, Marlowe doesn’t realize she is caught in a cat-and-mouse game that could cost her everything … including her life.

About the Author

 Ashley Hanna-Morgan is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) certified in perinatal mental health (PMH-C). In addition to her work as a psychotherapist, she writes about mental health to advocate for change and inspire hope. In 2016, she wrote The Afterglow, a mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy curriculum that supports parents with postpartum depression and anxiety. In 2017, she published I Gave Birth to My Heart, a collection of poems about the secret anguishes and innumerable joys of reinventing oneself after postpartum depression.

When she isn’t counseling clients or volunteering with Postpartum Support International, Ashley loves to experiment in the kitchen and spend as much time outside as possible in San Diego, where she resides with her family. In Her Own Backyard is her first novel.

Speculative Fiction

Date Published: December 5, 2025

Tima Chelovekova lands her dream job with IZON, the hottest AI and robotics startup in Silicon Valley. But IZON CEO Jase Vestiger doesn't just want to get fabulously rich. He wants Tima’s invention to take over rival tech companies, replace humans with IZON services, corner governments - and run the world. This puts them on a collision course in a whirl of mega-corporations, AI prompts and Chinese hackers. Their conflict spans from Vienna to California, from superyachts to prison cells, from the peaks of technology to the deepest ethical questions. A striking tale of the AI age, a truly 21st century masterpiece of speculative fiction.

About the Author

 Peter Heavenheld is a neo-classical playwright and poet. A childhood in Australia, Fiji, Hungary and Japan made him desirous early on to understand the cultures and stories of the world - especially through the medium of theatre. Since then, his plays have been produced all over the world. His most recent tragedy, Cleo's Stratos, received rave reviews durings its season at the Cracked Actors Theatre in Melbourne, Australia, in November 2023. A Greek-Australian migrant family's journey through lockdowns, it was cleverly intertwined with the Greek myth of the sun-god, Helios. Peter's tragicomedy, Life, Rehearsed, enjoyed sell-out performances during a production by the MIDAS Theatre, Moscow's main English-speaking theatre. British actor Jonathan Salway starred as an actor living a bigamous double life, until his lies unravel - and he finds redemption. True Words from False Teeth, a Monty Pythonesque sketch revue, ran successfully at the University of Western Australia in Perth. He has also had public reading performances of numerous other plays, such as Saga Australis - The Macquariad (a historical drama about Australia's most influential colonial-era governor) and Freedom Born from Torture's Fires (a harrowing true story of Soviet spy chief and mass murderer, Lavrentiy Beria). Peter's poem Concerto for Auctioneer’s Mallet was a June Shenfield Poetry Award prize winner in Canberra, Australia, in 2021. Peter published a collection of his verse tragedies, Altar of the Muses, in 2010. Peter lives in Tokyo, Japan. When not writing, he enjoys driving his classic Aston Martin, experiencing Tokyo's galleries and museums, and listening to Baroque music. Indeed, he claims he can only write when inspired by the music of Antonio Vivaldi. The Brain that Breeds all Villainy is his first published novel.

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Horror/paranormal

Date Published: 11-22-2025

Nine Tales. Nine Secrets. All Before Dawn.

Anthony pushed through the thick brush that had swallowed the old path. His friends told him the house was hidden somewhere ahead, rumored to be haunted. When he finally saw it, the place looked half-demolished, with climbing walls that had paint curling and peeling. Yet every window was perfectly intact.

He opened the front door. Stale, cold air rushed out, thick with dust. His footsteps echoed through the empty living room.As he moved down the hallway, the front door suddenly slammed. He spun around and ran back, and in that moment, he was sure he heard a whisper: Sam.The door wouldn’t budge. He was trapped. He tried the windows too none of them opened.

Again, the whisper came, louder this time. Sam.

“Who’s Sam? I’m not Sam!” he shouted.

A hiss answered him, followed by footsteps upstairs. Heart pounding, he raced up the stairs. At the top, he stopped and listened. The footsteps were clear, moving steadily into an empty room. He followed them.

Moonlight spilt across the floor through a bare window. The invisible footsteps crossed the room and came to a stop at the closet. Inside, there was only a small box containing a single book. The spirits wanted him to find it; maybe it would explain everything.

He lifted the book. It was an old, battered ledger. Inside, a name was written: Samuel. He began to read.I made a promise to the spirits trapped here. One of them is buried downstairs. I swore I would help free them with my rituals. I study the occult, and they own a golden statue worth a fortune. It must be used in the ritual. If I hide it now, I can return for it later. No one alive will see me take it.

Anthony reached deeper into the box and pulled out a loose page, a torn sheet from another book. It carried a chant and the instructions for a ritual to free spirits.A freezing gust swept through the room. Then a booming voice declared:“Complete the ritual by dawn, or be trapped here forever!”

“What am I supposed to do?” he asked the spirit.

Once again, he heard footsteps descending the stairs and followed them. Near the kitchen, the basement door creaked open. He cautiously stepped down the dark basement steps and saw the cloud-like spirit hovering over a crypt in the floor, where it looked like a ritual had been started over someone’s grave. Candles and matches were scattered nearby.

Literary / Historical Fiction

Date Published: 12-02-2025

Publisher: Scrivener Quill

She and Rhys return to American where their values collide with antithetical and alien attitudes. It is these experiences that come to challenge long-held beliefs and provide a vivid counterpoint to their recent immersion in the Modernist aesthetic and world view.

Resolved to return to France, Gemma shares a final day in America with Gerald Murphy at his ocean front Hampton estate. As this unhurried afternoon unfolds, it becomes clear that Gemma’s skepticism and doubtfulness have been replaced with a clear-sighted maturity and hardened resolve. The next morning, aboard the Ile de France, Gemma and Rhys sail for France. 

Excerpt

“To us, America felt provincial, naïve, and unsophisticated. And there was, and there remains, a certain harshness to daily discourse. By 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment had passed. Prohibition was, and is, in full effect. Although this had been represented as a single-issue campaign, I saw it as a harbinger of evolving intolerance and threatening societal restrictions, ones which I personally found alien.

“But in moving to Antibes we were able to share in the vibrant efflorescence of modern culture that subsequently engulfed all it touched. Some of this seemed to have been a spontaneous outpouring, but was surely catalyzed by the concentration of artistic and creative talent that had populated that small area of southern France.

“I’m confident that some of this free expression was a result of the war’s end. Additionally, the secular traditions of French society, very different from the rigid religious influences plying early twentieth-century America, even encouraged it. It seemed that French culture afforded the liberty for one to be oneself without concern of retribution or shame.

“Likewise, I couldn’t have anticipated that our social circle would become one in which ideas were paramount. That’s not to say that visible and tangible accomplishments, even simple objects, weren’t important. Rather, they became conveyances for the expression of the new ways of thinking and seeing that had permeated our shared reality and become our common language.

“I was aware there were those who thought of us as affluent dilletantes who had traveled

About the Author

Asher and his wife were drawn to Idaho’s arid vistas, glistening rivers, and rugged skylines. As a travelling angler, he has pursued Atlantic salmon throughout their natural range, has sought sea run brown trout in Patagonia, and steelhead in his home waters in the Pacific Northwest. He and his wife have cycled much of France, and, during quiet times at home, he enjoys music and plays cello.

Previously, he has published essays, and short pieces in the British sporting literature. He is a member of the F. Scott Fitzgerald Society, the Barbara Pym Society, and is a proud supporter of PEN America. He lives in Idaho with his wife, adult children, and his bird dogs.

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A Tapestry of Heartwarming Short Stories

Autobiographical Short Stories, Historical Non-Fiction

Date Published: December 2, 2025

Norris's writing is imbued with a profound sense of nostalgia, celebrating the warmth and comfort of family bonds, the innocence and wonder of youth, and the resilience that emerges from overcoming loss. The stories span several decades, beginning with the author's earliest years and progressing through significant coming-of-age moments, family traditions, and historical events that have left an indelible mark on her life. Central to the narrative is the enduring influence of the author's mother, whose presence and guidance serve as a touchstone throughout the collection. The joys and sorrows of growing up are explored with sensitivity and insight, highlighting the universal experiences that connect us all.

A key theme in "Field of Memories" is the importance of preserving family stories for future generations. Norris emphasizes how these stories serve as a bridge between the past and the present, allowing us to honor our heritage and pass on valuable lessons to those who come after us. The narrative is enriched by vivid character sketches, introducing readers to a cast of neighbors, teachers, friends, and relatives who each contribute to the rich tapestry of the author's life. These characters are portrayed with warmth and authenticity, reflecting the complexities and nuances of real human relationships.

Throughout the book, Norris reflects on universal experiences such as childhood innocence, friendship, grief, forgiveness, and the bittersweet passage of time. Her stories are interwoven with poems and reflections, offering readers moments of both laughter and tears. The inclusion of poetry adds a lyrical quality to the narrative, deepening the emotional resonance and inviting readers to pause and contemplate the themes presented.

Ultimately, Field of Memories is a celebration of legacy, love, and the power of storytelling to connect generations. Norris's writing encourages readers to reflect on their own lives, to cherish the memories that have shaped them, and to recognize the enduring value of sharing stories with others. The collection serves as a reminder that our experiences, both joyful and sorrowful, contribute to the fabric of who we are, and that by honoring these memories, we can find meaning, healing, and connection.

 D. L. Norris is a distinguished author and motivational speaker, widely recognized for her insightful contributions to literature and personal development. With a prolific career spanning several decades, Norris has explored themes of health, emotional wellness, family dynamics, and cultural history, earning her a devoted readership. Her acclaimed novels, “The Long Way Home,” “Where the Heart Is,” and “Old Books and Faded Dreams: Collector’s Edition”—are celebrated for their vibrant, humorous stories and authentic portrayal of real-life events and mindsets inspired by her beloved Scandinavian heritage.

Norris’s writing is characterized by its warmth, wit, and ability to capture the complexities of human relationships, drawing from her own experiences and family traditions. Through her work, she invites readers to reflect on the importance of resilience, hope, and unconditional love, weaving together narratives that resonate across generations.

She and her husband, Quincy, reside in the picturesque city of Hartford, Connecticut, where they continue to inspire others through their commitment to storytelling and community engagement.

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