How to Stop Scrolling Through Your Life and Start Living It

 You’re not broken. You’re overstimulated.

They sat on
the beach with their backs to the ocean, faces in their phones, watching clips
of someone else’s vacation. As Heather Henderson stood a few feet away,
ready to capture the perfect Cabo moment, she realized we were promised more:
more connection, more freedom, more possibility — not a life spent
refreshing feeds.

Handed devices before we were taught how to live with
them, most of us inherited this algorithmic world. We learned to let
notifications and endless recommendations choose for us in small, quiet ways,
until the choices no longer felt like choices at all, and we found ourselves
scrolling through life instead of living it.

The problem goes beyond
casual screen time. It is unconscious time — the moments we surrender
without realizing the cost.

Drawing from her years inside major tech
companies, including Google and Uber, Heather Henderson invites readers to
ask:

Did I choose this, or was it chosen for me?

If you feel wired
but tired, connected but lonely, or busy but empty, this book is an honest
look at how we lost presence — and a guide to reclaim it.

 

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Spiritual, Meditation

Date Published: September 22, 2026

Publisher: Serapis Bey Publishing

Experience a transformative journey of resonance. Pairing 99 activation cards
with eight hours of unique vocal soundscapes, this book guides you to remember
your innate truth. Discover the power of sound to restore balance, align with
the Earth’s natural frequency, and return to a state of wholeness,
truth, and love. Immerse yourself in these galactic keys and awaken the voice
within your soul.

 

About the Author

Carmen Belle White is a visionary composer and artist who crafts unique,
otherworldly soundscapes designed to transport listeners to realms of
awakening. By weaving her voice with over eight hours of original, recorded
vocal sound activations—each approximately four-and-a-half minutes in
length—she guides her audience into spaces of deep remembrance. Her work
serves as a bridge, translating the vast, timeless frequencies of the universe
into healing resonances for the human soul.

A Book of Cosmic Frequencies: The Galactic Sound Keys is the culmination of
this transformative project. Designed to be experienced alongside a set of 99
cosmic activation cards, this book provides a profound way to articulate the
sense that when we become “nothing,” we become everything. Each of the 99
cards is paired with a specific vocal sound activation, exploring a vast
spectrum of cosmic themes—from anchoring grounding Earth-based
frequencies to traversing ethereal, celestial realms. Through this journey,
Carmen integrates the interplay of voice and sound within each frequency,
inviting you to engage with these powerful keys to discover your own unique
resonance and inner potential.

Carmen’s unique relationship with sound stems from childhood experiences
that heightened her sensitivity to high-pitched frequencies. This allowed her
to “tune in” to the Earth’s natural hum—a constant, grounding
surround sound that defines her music. This deep connection to resonance has
taken her across the globe, from the sacred waters of Southern France to the
recording of her debut album, forever seeking locations that hold ancient,
sacred memories.

Today, Carmen offers this extensive body of work as a practical tool for your
own journey. She invites you to explore these sound activations, starting with
the card corresponding to your date of birth, to uncover your innate truth.
Her mission is to help us remember our own voices, restore balance with the
Earth, and return to a state of wholeness, truth, and love.

We are all waking up to a resonance that requires no words—only the
willingness to listen. To explore the full collection of sound activations and
resources, please visit the author’s website.

 

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Carmen Belle White Website

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Date Published: 05-23-2025

Publisher: Holy Cow! Press

In this memoir, Stephanie Mirocha weaves a blend of botany, philosophy,
personal reflections, and healing through nature from grief after the loss of
her father. Trees provide the backdrop of friendly support she clings to as
she revives her father’s educational Tree Trek. She “speaks for the trees,”
bringing enthusiasm to the treks she leads. Each chapter focuses on the
science of a different tree, connecting the reader with the beauty of nature,
and the vitality that comes from listening to the guiding wisdom of one’s
inner voice.

Excerpt

I’d known all along my dad was volunteering for tree projects in the park, starting with invasive buckthorn shrub removal. My daughter had told me about Grandpa’s tree tags. For 15 years, I might have randomly come across one or two tagged trees on my exercise walks, probably telling my dad how much I liked what he was doing. Beyond that, I didn’t look for more information or even think about it. My work took me away on weekends, and Tree Trek was only one Saturday a year. A favorite photo my mom gave me years earlier I knew perfectly well was a Tree Trek promo taken for the neighborhood newspaper. Yet, never before had I noticed that in it, he’s wearing a pair of binoculars around his neck! In fact, I ended up using that photo for his memorial service, creating a birch bark frame to surround it. How many people are like me, needing big arrows under a spotlight before they take notice? Understandably, we’re distractedly putting energy and effort into making a living. Our focus is directed elsewhere as parents. Sometimes we’re just not paying attention.

When I started paying attention, the whole picture swung into a full and complete view. My perspective shifted. Things no longer lined up within me the way I was accustomed, and as a consequence a new picture presented itself. My heart led me to realize that I very much wanted to pick up my dad’s legacy and continue where he had left off. Like Douglas-fir, you could say I needed to place myself in a new genus, a genus I never imagined existing in previously. I no longer, however, fit in the former one. Being here now feels familiar and safe, like home. It makes me feel connected and alive. There is no going back!

Each one of us evolves as we go through the many ups and downs of life. Even in the midst of grief and loss, opportunities present themselves for listening, paying attention, taking notice and following where your own arising inner wisdom leads. As we unlock from the inside and nurture what we find there, a new purpose can reveal itself allowing us to share latent gifts we each possess within us. We may even emerge significantly changed.

The winter after my dad died, upon getting the go-ahead from the park district to revive Tree Trek, I waited for spring to arrive and the snow to melt. Then, I walked my dad’s original route using his initial map to locate trees while planning for my own, first Tree Trek. I was so excited! The Douglas-fir from my dad’s photo was the first tree I looked for when planning my route. The probability was high that it would prove to be one of his tagged trees. Great anticipation of confirming this filled me as I crested the brick stairway of the park memorial that rests nearby Douglas-fir’s hill. That monument was familiar, but then I stepped beyond into an area of the park where I had never set foot before.

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Date Published: 09-15-2026

Publisher: Oculus Print

ZOMBIE ZOO is Book 1 in a five-book middle grade adventure series for readers
ages 8-13, blending paranormal mystery, zombies, unlikely friendship, and
STEAM-powered problem-solving.

To find a cure, Felix must team up with Ninja, a shadow-dwelling orphan who
trusts her instincts and never backs down. Intense and razor-sharp, she
notices what others overlook and lives up to her name as the island’s most
mysterious sleuth. With their eccentric mentor Doc Brunne compromised and the
town’s water supply contaminated by a glowing bioluminescent substance, the
two mismatched investigators must combine scientific observation with sharp
intuition to stop the outbreak before their island home is devoured.

Featuring diverse protagonists, quirky humor, spooky-but-fun scares, and
strong female and male leads. ZOMBIE ZOO is ideal for reluctant readers and
fans of Max Brallier’s The Last Kids on Earth, B.B. Alston’s Amari and the
Night Brothers, and Goosebumps. Comprehensive educator resources-including
discussion guides, vocabulary lists, STEAM extension activities, and printable
maps-support classroom use, library programming, book clubs, and make this
title ideal for cross-curricular lessons bridging ELA, STEAM, and SEL.

About the Author

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LGBTQ Dark Fantasy Romance

Date Published: September 18, 2026

House Severn is in turmoil with the mysterious death of its leader’s
omega mate. No one knows how he died, and it falls on Malik Devries, the
House’s resident Spiritori priest, to find answers.

Dorian Morrow was only fifteen when his family fled House Severn. He always
thought his dads wanted to get away and live life free of any House ties.
He’d been wrong — so very, very wrong.

Wails echoed down the hall, anguished and utterly heartbreaking.

I leaned against the wall halfway down and closed my eyes. This whole
nightmare had come out of nowhere, and no one had answers. Not even me.

A few days ago, Cesar, our leader’s mate, had been healthy, laughing and
smiling with the rest of us. Then everything changed almost overnight. Darrien
had rushed to my chambers and begged me to come with him, which I had. Cesar
had been so pale, I’d feared he was already gone. He hung onto life for
another couple of days before succumbing to whatever ailed him.

As I listened to one of my best friends mourn his partner’s death, I
couldn’t help but curse the gods themselves. Darrien and Cesar ruled
House Severn with kindness, and to hear such gut-wrenching sorrow was surreal
in this place.

A door farther down opened, and I looked toward it. Darrien’s advisor,
Christian Morelock, stepped into the hall. He headed my way, his expression as
torn as I figured mine to be. He sighed and leaned against the wall opposite
me, hands shoved into his pockets. He closed his eyes, and neither of us said
a word for a moment while we listened to Darrien’s cries.

“Send any petitioners or issues to me for the time being.”

“Understood.”

“Don’t suppose you have any clue what happened, do you?”

I wished I could’ve said I had all the answers, but I had none.
“No. Doc is just as stumped. Once Cesar is delivered to the chapel,
I’ll see what I can divine.”

Christian studied me for a few seconds before replying. “You think
it’s magic, don’t you?”

“I do,” I admitted. “Beyond the fact that we are less
susceptible to illness than humans, my gut tells me this isn’t something
so easily explained away.”

He nodded. “My question is: who is behind it? Who the fuck would target
Cesar? That man never harmed a fly.”

That was the crux of this situation. Darrien and Cesar honestly had no true
enemies. It just didn’t make a damn bit of sense.

“Anyway,” Christian said, dragging my attention back to him,
“I need to go downstairs and call a meeting. Darrien will be out of
commission for a while.”

This was one reason why I avoided relationships. Beyond being a Spiritori and
dealing with the issues it came with, the thought of finding love, only to
possibly lose it, was more than I really wanted to face.

Christian pushed off from the wall and put a hand on my shoulder.
“I’ll make sure Cesar’s body gets to you as soon as
possible.”

“Don’t rush anything,” I said. “Give Darrien time.
I’ll be here.”

Nodding, Christian continued down the hall toward the bank of elevators. He
stepped into one, and the doors slid shut, leaving me alone in the hallway
again.

Darrien had quieted, but I could feel the soul-deep heartbreak with uneasy
clarity. This was personal. We had been friends for centuries. Cesar’s
death hit us all with devastating precision.

Like it had been planned.

That thought took root in my mind, and I couldn’t shake it. I hurried to
the elevators and headed down. My apartment was on the same floor as
Christian’s, but I worked in the basement. I enjoyed the solitude and
quiet more than the usual bustle of the rest of the complex.

As soon as the doors opened, I stepped out, only to find Seth Gates, the head
of security and the fifth member of our close-knit friendship circle, waiting
for me. I nodded in greeting and unlocked the door, gesturing for him to join
me. The moment we were alone, I turned to him.

“You’re thinking the same damn thing.”

“I am,” Seth said. “For several reasons.”

“Talk to me,” I replied as we walked through the entryway and
toward my workspace. I pressed my hand to the sensor on the wall, and the
door’s lock clicked. Confident Seth followed, I headed to my lab,
turning on lights as I went. Once we were alone again, Seth sat on one of the
nearby stools while I booted up my computer.

“I don’t think Cesar was the actual target.”

One eyebrow raised, I glanced over at him. “Okay…”

Seth shrugged. “I think we all were.”

I sat down and signed into the network. “Explain?”

“He was the only omega in Darrien’s inner circle. At least the
only one anyone knew about,” he added. “He’d be the ideal
target for magic, too, since he was a laicas.”

“True.” I turned to him. “Do you recall a trouble-making
asshole named Jules Morrow?”

Seth scowled. “Bastard was a fucking pain in my ass. Why?”

“He and his laicas mate, Roman, struck out on their own about seven
years ago. Before they left, Jules had been in touch with someone outside
House Severn, asking about delayed magic.”

“How the hell did you find that out, and what the fuck is
‘delayed’ magic?”

“Let’s just say I do have contacts throughout the area,” I
replied. “I can’t elaborate for their safety.”

Seth rolled his eyes. “You know you can trust me, but I get it. Now
what’s ‘delayed’ magic? I thought spells hit when
cast.”

“Most do, but those that are labeled as ‘delayed’ act much
differently. They attach themselves to their targets and only activate when a
certain event occurs or when a certain amount of time has passed. Essentially,
a Magien can cast a spell on someone to activate, say, when that person hits a
particular age or what have you. Follow me?”

“Sort of,” Seth muttered, though his expression said otherwise. He
was a Venari, and, like laicas vamps, they tended to steer very clear of magic
in general.

“Anyway, and this is a very loose hypothesis, what if Jules Morrow did
something along those lines to Cesar? If your idea of all of us being the
actual targets is true, then it would definitely be plausible.”

“I recall Jules being a rather jealous, vindictive shit,” Seth
said. “Wouldn’t surprise me.”

“Jealous being the keyword here,” I pointed out. “Cesar was
an omega in a strong position of power. Jules was an omega with nothing but a
cheating, worthless alpha.”

Seth sighed and raked a hand through his short, spiky black hair. “So
what do we do?”

“I need to see if I can track down one of them.”

“That’s like searching for a needle in a haystack, Malik. How
–”

“They have a son.”

About the Author

Mychael Black has been writing professionally since 2005. He writes gay
romance and erotica, but also het romance as Carys Seraphine and queer fantasy
as Katherine Cook.

He’s an avid PC gamer with a love for RPGs, a horror fanatic, and a fantasy
nut. He also has a weakness for anything relating to skulls, dogs, and
Spongebob Squarepants.

Mychael lives on the Eastern Shore of the US with his family. He loves to hear
from readers, be it via email or Facebook.

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Thriller

Date Published: 11-01-2026

Publisher: Rowan Prose Publishing

But then Sam finds out Rebecca is dating Adam, a man she’d had an
intense relationship with two years ago. She vows to keep it a secret, lest it
sever their newly mended bond.

Sam soon realizes she can’t outrun her and Rebecca’s imperfect
past, nor can she ignore her and Adam’s desire for one another.

As Sam struggles between loyalty and lust, she realizes that vengeance can
make monsters out of all of us.

Prologue

Sam stared at the blood gleaming on the hardwood floor in front of her.
Someone was screaming beside her, but she couldn’t focus on anything
other than the blood’s impossibly bright color. It was garnet-colored
and aromatic–like a splash of copper-scented wine. Its beauty and
grotesqueness transfixed her, and her eyes blinked slowly and heavily as she
gazed at it. Concrete-heavy shock packed her muscles and froze her in place.

Her mouth moved, but the words stuck in her throat as she stared at the
corpse’s crimson neck. A knife stuck out of it, and blood smeared the
black handle. Sam blinked long and slow. Adrenaline began coursing through her
once again, and her muscles loosened, but shock held her mind in its sharp
claws.

Her eyes finally flicked to the fallen gun on the hardwood floor. Tears
gleamed in her eyes. She knew she was the one who had caused this mess. She
knew she had severed her relationships and created the target now on her back.

But vengeance was in control of her body now.

Her gaze scanned the blood-spattered murderer in front of her. Sam’s
heart thundered as reality slammed through her like buckshot.

This person had killed someone Sam loved.

Sam grabbed the gun and pointed it at the wide-eyed assailant.

Let justice be served.

 Jessica Clem is the author of the thriller, This Never Happened (coming
November 2026), and the horror novel In Lieu of Flowers (coming 2027), both
from Rowan Prose Publishing.

Her work has appeared in The Stygian Lepus Magazine, Creation Magazine, Dark
Harbor Magazine (now Macabre Magazine), Ms Magazine, Literally Stories, on the
Creepy Podcast’s Patreon page, and in the horror anthologies Down with
the Fallen from Franklin/Kerr Press, D is for Demons from Red Cape Publishing,
and After Dark from Rowan Prose Publishing. She is a 2026 Next Step Fund grant
recipient, a project made possible by the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council
through a grant from the McKnight Foundation.

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