It’s a holiday weekend and lots of people have big plans for their last taste of summer, but what if you can’t get away?  Maybe your local weather sucks, you’re stuck working, your kids are sick, or you just plain old don’t feel like doing anything.  A long weekend is the perfect time to start a whole new adventure…inside your head.

Yes, I’m talking about picking up a brand new, fabulous novel and immersing yourself in it.  I guarantee, it’s like a vacation for your brain.  How else can you travel to a land you’ve never been to, meet new people and experience emotions without doing anything but reading about it?  Compared to a vacation, reading a new book is much cheaper!

Reading is also the best way to exercise your brain, studies show that people who read on a regular basis not are not only smarter, but they preserve their brain function later in life and are less likely to suffer from dementia.  Just like any other part of your body your brain needs exercise and all that surfing the internet has made it very flabby.  Work that brain people!

What do I like to read?  Basically everything, but being an editor and publisher I get the opportunity to see all the best stuff.  What do I recommend for you?  Well depends on your tastes, but I do have a few favorites I love to recommend.

First, let me tell you about Kingsmuir Press’ newest hit One Small Bite, by our newest author R. J. Hanrahan.  If you love vampires, this is the book for you.  Let me warn you, these vampires are naughty, so if you are looking for a tame novel, I suggest you steer clear.  If your tastes run more to the “Fifty Shades” type naughtiness only with vampires, then this is the book for you.  These vampires crave blood, power and sex and they will do just about anything to satisfy their cravings.

Next, if you love murder/mysteries check out Jean Marie Stanberry’s Heartless-A Star is Dead.  The brutal murder of aging movie star Sabine Rousseau has hunky hero Doug Bellamy and his partner Chris Salazar completely consumed.  Obviously a crime of passion, the detectives suspect someone close to the woman has committed this murder, but a lack of evidence and a family that borders on the bizzare, has this team stumped.  When the evidence finally starts to fall into place, they fear the killer has another victim in mind, and it’s possible they stumbled onto this information too late.  You won’t be able to put this one down till the very last page!

Also by Jean Marie Stanberry, check out The Illusion Of Order.  This book literally soared up the charts in Great Britain, actually making it to #2.  Brits love romance, scandal and royals and this book has it all.  When American Jenna Bruce travels to Scotland to recover from a devastating car accident she’s not looking to be in a relationship, but when she attends the prestigious Ascot, she meets three men.  One old acquaintance and two brothers.  If you’ve ever been prodded along by well meaning friends and relatives only to end up in a relationship with the wrong person, you will understand Jenna’s frustration.  When she finally realizes her mistake, scandal erupts, but keep reading, there’s always a happy ending.

Think racial tensions are something new?  Take a trip back to the 70’s in Lyoness Bradley’s Imperfect World.  This book follows the life of Leigh Webster, an idealist who’s parents are small minded and controlling.  In the throes of court ordered desegregation Leigh’s high school is in an uproar.  When Leigh falls in love with and begins a secret romance with a desegregation student she knows her family and her community will never approve of their match.  When they finally go their separate ways, they cross paths occasionally but eventually live separate lives.  When the unthinkable happens they are finally reunited and they realize that perhaps there was actually a reason that they went their separate ways in the first place.  This heartwarming novel spans over two decades and is based on a true story.  I hope you love it as much as I do!

Those are my top picks for the holiday weekend but Kingsmuir Press has so many more novels to offer.  All our works are available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and at select, privately owned bookstores.  Depending on the author’s preferences, most are available globally on e-readers as well.  Don’t forget to like us and your favorite authors on Facebook and visit their websites to check out all their other books.  Please support our wonderful authors and if you like what you read, tell your friends, write a review or send them an e-mail, they would be stoked to see your feedback!

Vaughn Thompson-Kingsmuir Press