In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, these books celebrate everyday heroes who demonstrate courage as they overcome personal struggles and life’s toughest challenges.
Istanbul Dreaming by Denise Derya Brandt
She Writes Press, September 2026
In 1950s Turkey, against the backdrop of the social and political unrest that will culminate in Turkey’s 1960 military coup d’état, a dutiful daughter is torn between family expectations and her dream of becoming a modern Turkish woman.
One night, seventeen-year-old Ayten sneaks away to Istanbul for a night of dancing with her best friend. When her father discovers her rebellion, he forces her into an arranged religious marriage to a distant relative who bullied her as a child. Initially, Ayten resigns herself to her fate—but after her husband sexually assaults her on their wedding night, she flees him and her family for haven in Istanbul.
Living with friends and working as a seamstress at her friend’s boutique, Ayten tries to rebuild her life. Then she meets Earl, an American airman—but as their connection deepens, secrets and her past threaten to upend all she’s built. Torn between her family and a future with Earl, Ayten must decide what she’s willing to sacrifice for freedom and forbidden love.
Can You See Me? by Faye Arcand
Blue Robin Books, September 2026
Someone, somewhere, is always watching…
High school senior Lynxa Dalton wants to be seen. Bullied for years and desperate to leave the loser label behind, she’s determined to reinvent herself before graduation.
Then Damien notices her.
The charismatic new student everyone admires wants Lynxa, and for the first time in her life, she feels chosen. But behind Damien’s charm lies something far darker. The relationship she’s always dreamed of slowly becomes a nightmare of manipulation, coercive control, and isolation. As Lynxa struggles to break free, she doesn’t know that someone else is watching her every move from the shadows. Patient. Methodical. Waiting for the perfect moment.
Can You See Me? is an emotionally charged psychological thriller told through three unforgettable voices: a teenage girl desperate to belong, a loyal best friend forced to watch from the sidelines, and a calculating stalker closing in. It explores bullying, manipulation, stalking, and the devastating consequences of wanting to be seen.
Content Warning: This novel contains mature themes and potentially triggering content. Reader discretion is advised.
In the Company of Whales by Judy M. Taylor
Loon City Press, June 2026
Her small town had no idea who she was until she gave herself away.
Washed-up punk rocker Carla Peterson went from performing for rowdy drunks in dive bars to living from paycheck to paycheck. She’s stuck in a Pacific Northwest town where nothing happens, serving coffee and homemade pies to people who side-eye her leather stompers and heavy eyeliner. She can barely keep her head above water, let alone afford a bus ticket out of there.
The most Carla has helped any animal is moving a spider out of harm’s way and caring for an elderly lady’s sweet dog. Then a pod of orcas becomes trapped in the inlet near the coffee shop, and Carla risks her job — and her life — protecting the whales from unruly tourists swarming in for a closer look.
With the orcas running out of time, Carla must find her voice and fight the local authorities who couldn’t care less. She’s used to going it alone, but with the community’s support, she’s finding a strength she didn’t know she had. If she can save the whales, she might also save herself.
Heartwarming and inspiring, In the Company of Whales is about the power of friendship, finding your purpose, and making your own second chances. Based on true events, a gripping tale of courage and determination with a hero you can cheer for.
A Mother's Power by Sandy Kelps
Self-published, June 2026
In the summer of 1973, Pep Bailey’s stars seem to align. She’s blessed with five healthy children, in-laws who adore her, and wealthy parents who spoil her. She convinces her husband to stretch their budget and purchase a fixer-upper in an affluent Chicago suburb, and her dreams are fulfilled. Things just keep getting better when she finds a Catholic parish that’s compatible with her modern beliefs and two irreverent girlfriends — Margaret and Francie — who keep her laughing. With her days now filled with kaffeeklatsches and home-improvement projects, Pep finds little time to fuss about the lump she’s ignored for months.
Breast cancer isn’t even on Pep’s radar when she sees the doctor; after all, she’s only 36—too young to suspect such a devastating diagnosis. In that moment, Pep’s priorities shift from stripping wallpaper to doing everything she can to save her life for the sake of her children. With help from a young doctor, Pep finds her inner strength and a new sense of hope. Pep must now do everything within a mother’s power to set her kids up for success should the unthinkable happen, because the reality is, the unthinkable is always a possibility.
A Mother’s Power is a moving story of how love, friendship, and family can impact the lives of those fighting the fight.
HIS FOURTH: Love, Lies, Freedom by Abi Crowther
Self-published, May 2026
How well do you really know the person sleeping next to you?
To the outside world, he was a charming, respectable man. But to Maya, he was a master of control. She thought she was special. She thought she was his soulmate. But she was not his first. She was His Fourth.
For twenty-one years, she endured a marriage built on a foundation of calculated narcissistic abuse, psychological warfare, and coercive control. When she finally found the courage to break free and sign the divorce papers, she thought the nightmare was over.
She was wrong. Five years later, despite strict police warnings to stay away, the abuse had not stopped. When he could no longer reach her, he shifted his target. Armed with a burner phone and a new SIM card, he targets her sister, spreading a web of vicious lies and venomous abuse to tear her family apart.
His Fourth is a chilling domestic noir that exposes the reality behind closed suburban doors. It is a story of survival, the lingering shadows of trauma, and the ultimate fight for freedom.
Terminal Lucidity by Jo Loveday
Tall Leaf Press, August 2024
First, do no harm…
A deadly storm is brewing off the sultry coast of Florida and within the sterile walls of Palm Beach County’s Becham Hospital. Nurse Ariel Savin thrives in the demanding world of critical care, but on an assignment to the neurological unit, she discovers a horrifying secret: esteemed neurosurgeon Dr. Harold Goss is performing questionable experiments on his helpless patients, trapping them as living cadavers in a shadowy half-world between life and death.
Goss built his neurological unit for research in brainstem regeneration to save the life of his brain-dead wife. But funding for Goss’s noble quest has dried up. Dark investors step in with a plan to commodify human consciousness, trading lives for profit. They’re demanding more bodies. It’s up to Goss to provide them. He won’t let Ariel or ethical dilemmas get in his way.
Falsely accused of causing a patient’s brain death, Ariel’s reputation is in shambles. Her father’s life hangs by a thread, and her partner is unwittingly tangled in a web of deceit. Ariel faces a whirlwind of betrayal and loss as a hurricane draws closer. She’s in a harrowing race against time to outwit death and unravel the truth. Seconds matter, and the next breath is not guaranteed. Can Ariel outwit sinister predators and thwart a medical massacre, or will the oncoming storm demolish all hope for love and justice?
Virtuous Women by Ann Goltz
Quiet Publications, March 2024
Yesteryear meets The Handmaid’s Tale.
The sheltered eldest daughter of a Quiverfull family. Her naive new stepmother. The patriarch who controls them both.
Raised and homeschooled in her family’s home, isolated from the world except for their insular church community, Hope Wagner has little exposure to people and environments outside of her father’s beliefs. That all changes when her father marries the worldly newcomer to their church.
Jennifer Levine has always wanted a large, close-knit family that lives according to traditional family values, just like in her beloved historical novels. But after she marries Michael, a handsome widower at her new church, Jennifer’s life becomes a nightmare of inadequacy and futility as she tries to embody her husband’s idea of a virtuous woman.
Michael Wagner will stop at nothing to ensure his wife and daughters fulfil their God-given roles as helpmeets and mothers and does everything in his power to eliminate the dangerous ideas his new wife has introduced into his family.
When Jennifer finally rejects Michael’s authority, she throws the family into crisis. Now, to escape the future her father has planned for her, Hope must find the courage to leave the only world she’s ever known and pursue a life she’s never been given the tools to manage.
Virtuous Women shows the reality of Christian patriarchy and the terrible price paid by women who have no choice but to be virtuous.
The Solitary Sparrow by Lorraine Norwood
Atmosphere Press, February 2024
But still, they stand in her way.
In 14th-century England, Meg of St. Michael’s Mead endures a life of abuse and isolation due to her birth deformity. However, her fortunes change when the village wise woman saves her and teaches her the art of healing. After witnessing a shocking birth, Meg discovers her true purpose: to become England’s first licensed female physician and provide compassionate care to women.
To achieve her goal, Meg seeks the tutelage of William of Oxford, a gruff surgeon who agrees to mentor her. But there’s a catch. She must keep a secret — William and his son Gerard are performing illegal human dissections, and she must assist them. As Gerard and Meg work together, their feelings for each other deepen.
Amidst a civil war, Meg makes an enemy of the Queen, who accuses her of treason. Forced to flee to Montpellier, France, Meg tries to enter medical school but meets resistance. She is told to marry, stay at home, and please her husband. Meg refuses to conform. When a deadly epidemic breaks out in Montpellier, Meg has one last chance to prove herself, but at the risk of losing Gerard.
A story of one woman’s courage and persistence, this captivating tale follows Meg’s arduous journey of overcoming prejudice and adversity as she battles societal expectations amidst the spectre of a lethal epidemic.
Let It Be by Colleen Coyne
The Wild Rose Press, August 2026
Aiden Hadley thought his past was behind him, until an email from a former lover reveals a daughter he never knew existed and a dangerous secret tied to his wife’s death. When his estranged son is accused of a crime he didn’t commit, Aiden must navigate blackmail, betrayal, and a deadly chain of events before the truth destroys them all.
Let It Be is a gripping thriller about buried secrets, fractured families, and the devastating cost of silence. A heart-pounding suspense story where every secret has a cost — and no one escapes unscathed.
