☼ A Place In The Spotlight ☼ with M.C.V. EGAN

Sunday, September 6, 2026

The Human Language Release

Develop psychological safety, improve your relationships, transform your life. Launching The MECAnism, a practical framework

Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Business, Parenting, Mind/Body/Soul, Inspirational

Date Published: September 2026

Publisher: Serapis Bey Publishing

TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE WITH THE WAY YOU SPEAK

As human beings, we have a deep need for social connection, yet our primitive fight-or-flight response can be a major barrier to achieving it, leading to misunderstanding, conflict and disconnection.

Fortunately, there is a solution.

The Human Language delivers a compelling message. By replacing our habitual, learned patterns of communication we can experience greater understanding, empathy and connection in our relationships, transforming our lives.

Through easy-to-follow chapters, this book introduces The MECAnism, to calm your instinctive reactions, gain emotional clarity and develop psychological safety. It gives you the practical tools and techniques to listen, speak and act in your daily life with compassion, for yourself and others, enabling you to meet your needs with confidence.

"I will recommend using The Human Language 1000 times. It helps me verbalise my feelings and work through moments of overwhelm. There are applications across all areas of life.It can, and will be, a transformative book."

Pam Bryant, Oxford, UK

"Penny uses just enough science to help the reader understand why they behave the way they do while focusing on simple techniques to get to the heart of change.

The Human Language should be required reading for anybody who has to work or live with other people, which is most of us."

Diana D'Ascoli, Philadelphia, US

About the Author

Penny Newton-Hurley is the founder of CommPassion Ltd. She has worked with large private organisations in the UK and globally, and in the public sector across the areas of government, military, healthcare and education for more than 30 years. CommPassion provides training in interpersonal communication skills, resolving conflict between individuals and building psychological safety within teams for higher workplace and relationship performance.

In 2025, her company launched their first four online courses, taking their expertise and experience from the world of business directly to individuals in all areas of their lives. This book reveals the details behind her courses and supports the learning of improved communications skills.

Communication has been a fascination for Penny since childhood, when she spoke with her father in Morse Code! After a few exciting years spent working in International Marketing, Penny had an opportunity to be involved in the nascent field of Internal Communication where she began to understand the importance of humanto-human connection in the workplace. In 2005, she was introduced to the teachings of nonviolent communication. From that moment on, it became her purpose to spread this message as far as possible, a mission to change the way we talk and listen and communicate with each other; to change the way the world speaks.

Today, she is a trainer of compassionate communication techniques, Workplace Mediator, Certified Psychological Safety Facilitator with the Fearless Organisation; as well as a UK Samaritans Listening Volunteer. Penny holds a BA (Combined Honours) in Modern Languages (French/Spanish) with Politics, Economics and Linguistics.

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Website

Instagram: @pennynewtonhurley

Facebook: Penny Newton-Hurley

LinkedIn: Penny Newton-Hurley

TikTok: @pennynewtonhurley

YouTube: Penny Newton-Hurley

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Saturday, September 5, 2026

Everything That’s Left Behind

Fiction/Science Fiction

Date Published: June 28, 2026

Publisher: Sapphire Stories

When Nichola Rodale stumbles upon information suggesting her father—a renowned scientist and brilliant puzzle maker—may not have died during The Great Drought, she embarks on a perilous journey across the desolate American Southwest to discover the truth.

About the Author

Kelly Lydick’s writing has appeared in Natural Awakenings, Co Yoga + Life, True Blue Spirit, American Art Collector, Western Art Collector, and many others. She has been featured on NPR’s The Writers’ Block and the Word podcast, and on iHeart radio. She is the author of the experimental Mastering the Dream, a contributing author to the anthology Dreams That Change Our Lives, and the author of Dream Incubation for Greater Self-Awareness: A Handbook. Everything That’s Left Behind is her first novel.

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https://mybook.to/EverythingLeftBehind

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Friday, September 4, 2026

Tree Trek

A Daughter's Walk Through Grief

Nature, Botany of Trees, Healing Through Nature, Grief Journey

Date Published: 05-23-2025

Publisher: Holy Cow! Press

These intimate portraits of trees are a balm that heals grief.

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

In my scientific study of trees, I have learned the particular traits and idiosyncrasies of each species which, in a nonscientific way, imbues them with personality. As my dad used to say about any species, “That’s their nature, just the way (fill in the blank) are.” These traits can reflect our own inner natures and make connections to our own lives. A swamp white oak in winter holding onto its leaves may strike some people as stubborn, others as steadfastly persevering, still others as merely decorative, or it might make a connection to some memory from long ago. Depending on what experiences we bring to the situation, we will be drawn to one or more favorite trees that somehow speak to us.

They reflect what we need, like healing from grief, as we focus both within ourselves and beyond ourselves at the same time. In this way, trees bring us home.

Let’s fill in my dad’s blank with juniper. Imagine a juniper coming into view as we walk through the forest. Juniper stands there pure, unmasked, with no agenda at all. Something makes us stop and admire her, feeling her truth flow through us. What does juniper give us? Different things for different people. She is just benignly there, presenting her dark blue “berries” amidst her prickly fronds, always extending an invitation to rest beneath for a while and contemplate…what?

That is for you to find out!

There are many paths to take through grief. Nature offers one way to help move through this powerful emotion and find our way forward, but each path is different and deeply personal. As you walk with me on my grief trek through the trees in these pages, my hope is to open one possible doorway for you to process your own suffering. I have found that spending time in nature offers a trail leading directly into the heart, and, at the very least, to a sense of calm. This is doable for everyone because we are part of nature. The calmness we find beyond ourselves reflects the meditative truth and beauty of our own inner wisdom shining from within. One key moment is all it takes to start things in motion

About the Author

Stephanie Mirocha is a visual artist, author, Minnesota master naturalist and science communicator who grew up climbing trees and exploring the city park across from her childhood home. Her creative art expression not only takes form in her passion for writing but also translates into her career as a fine art painter. Besides creating the art for this book, she has illustrated four children’s picture books connecting children to nature. Frog in the House won the 2016 Giverny Award for a science picture book in English, and My Little Book of Bald Eagles won 1st place, Juvenile Nonfiction, in the 2010 Next Gen Indie Book Awards. She and her scientist father shared a poetic heart and a love for nature, each informing and supporting the other throughout their close relationship. Graduating from the University of Minnesota with a BA in Philosophy, Stephanie followed her free spirit and embraced the unconventional life of an artist after moving to Aitkin, a small town in north central Minnesota. This is her first written book. Her art business website is https://stephaniemirocha.com/.

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Thursday, September 3, 2026

You Are Your Own Lost Love

Memoir • Inspirational • Spiritual Growth • Personal Transformation • Mindfulness • Self-Help

Date Published: July 15, 2026

Publisher: MindStir Media

Our journey through life is rarely smooth sailing. We weather tempests of anguish, traverse valleys of despair and fractured hopes, and carry the scars of battles fought both within and without. Trauma becomes an indelible mark etched upon our souls, a testament to survival. Landgrebe, a cancer survivor, shows us that amidst these tempests, and within the quiet recesses of our being, lies a sanctuary, a realm where healing begins and self-love blossoms. It beckons us to shed the veils of doubt, to release the burden of seeking validation, and to speak the truth of our own worthiness. This book is a guide through the labyrinth of self-discovery, healing, and love. It invites you to embark on a transformative quest: to heal the wounds of the past, to nurture the seeds of compassion, and to bloom into a positive force. You will journey through the art of becoming whole again. Through stories, ancient wisdom, and practical practices, YOU Are Your Own Lost Love leads us from the shadows of trauma into the luminous expanse of self-acceptance and peace. Join Landgrebe on this sacred pilgrimage to return to the heart of our existence. Together, you will rediscover the brilliance within and unveil the timeless truth that has been waiting all along: YOU are your own lost love.

About the Author

There comes a moment in every life when the search outward becomes a journey inward.

For more than three decades, Susanne Landgrebe has devoted her life to helping others remember what she believes is the deepest truth of the human experience: we are not broken, and we have never been separate from the love we seek.

A Nurse Practitioner certified in Family Practice, Dermatology, and Integrative Medicine, Certified Yoga Therapist, and Certified Meditation Teacher, Susanne has spent more than twenty-five years blending the wisdom of modern medicine with contemplative practice, mindfulness, and the profound healing that arises through self-compassion, presence, and authentic connection.

Her understanding of healing has been shaped not only by decades of caring for patients, but by walking through her own darkest valleys. As a survivor of Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia and multiple life-threatening complications, she discovered that even in the face of profound uncertainty, the human spirit possesses an extraordinary capacity to awaken, love, and begin again.

A lifelong meditator, retreat leader, writer, mother, grandmother, and mountain climber, Susanne finds her greatest teachers in both silence and nature. Whether sitting in meditation on the Iowa prairie, leading others in retreat, or standing atop a fourteen-thousand-foot peak in the Rocky Mountains, she is continually reminded that the outer journey mirrors the inner one: every ascent begins with a single courageous step, and every summit reveals an even wider horizon.

Her writing weaves together science, spirituality, psychology, and lived experience with warmth, honesty, and hope. She invites readers to move beyond fear, perfectionism, and the endless search for fulfillment outside themselves, returning instead to the quiet wisdom and love that have always lived within.

YOU Are Your Own Lost Love is the first of what she hopes will be many books exploring healing, awakening, resilience, and the extraordinary beauty of being fully alive. Her greatest wish is that every reader closes her books feeling a little lighter, a little freer, and more deeply at home within themselves.

Because the greatest journey we will ever take is not toward becoming someone new, it is toward remembering who we have been all along.

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Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Uprising

Historical Fiction with Speculative and Romantic Elements

Date Published: 09-01-2026

Publisher: Literary Wanderlust

Book One of the Fitzjohn Duology

England, 1381 AD: Blanche Fitzjohn is an outcast in her small coastal village. Not only is she the illegitimate daughter of John of Gaunt, the man responsible for her neighbors’ over-taxation, but she possesses strange abilities: hearing sound from miles away and smelling people’s emotions.

She takes solace in her studies with the local wisewoman and in her friendship with Geoff, a groom at the local manor. Until the day Henry of Lancaster, Blanche’s half-brother, brings her news of an arranged marriage to Sir Thomas Prescott, Constable of the Tower of London. Although she smells cruelty on him, Blanche agrees to marry Thomas in the hopes that her influence may help better the lives of Geoff and all England’s villeins.

But soon, the peasants’ discontent turns to revolt. Though her heart is of the people, Blanche’s nobility makes her an enemy to the rebels. To save herself and Henry from the executioner’s ax, Blanche must use every power at her disposal, even those she once considered a curse.

About the Author

J.E. Rizzo is a life-long history fanatic and writer of historical fiction, and her work can be found in Vanity Fair, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, The Tudor Times, Tudor Life Magazine, Scary Mommy, and Ultrarunning Magazine. Rizzo won Manuscript Academy’s Agent Choice Award in 2024, and her article Past and Precedence: Abortion Law in the Middle Ages and Its Use to Overturn Roe v. Wade won History Inquiry’s Medieval History Writing Challenge.

By day, Rizzo works in Human Resources—a field offering more than ample opportunity to observe the follies and fancies of humankind. Before her career in HR, Rizzo worked as an opera singer, a professional baker, and a dog walker. These days, when not writing she can be found running ultramarathons through the forests and mountains of New England, knitting, reading, sewing, baking, or performing any number of (what some might call) old-lady hobbies. She also keeps busing caring for her two children and forty-seven houseplants, making her husband carry heavy things and cook her gourmet meals, and rehabilitating her rescue dog and semi-feral ginger cat.

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The Book of Ribbner

Fiction

Date Published: July 27, 2026

Publisher: MindStir Media

What would you sacrifice for one more chance to speak with someone you lost?

The Book of Ribbner by Ronnie Vergnolle is a sweeping literary adventure that travels across wild rivers, distant oceans, and sacred landscapes in search of answers to humanity’s most enduring questions.

At the center of the story is Hannah Ribbner, a grieving adventurer drawn into a mysterious prophecy involving the legendary Golden Mahseer, the haunting song of the 52-hertz whale, and a decision that could change the relationship between humanity, nature, and artificial intelligence forever.

As Hannah’s journey unfolds, she encounters extraordinary wildlife, ancient wisdom, spiritual mysteries, and the unspoken code shared by those who understand the water. Each discovery leads her closer to a truth that challenges everything she believes about love, loss, consciousness, and the sacred connections that unite all living things.

Blending adventure fiction, environmental themes, spiritual discovery, grief and healing, and thought-provoking questions about AI, The Book of Ribbner is an imaginative and emotionally resonant novel for readers who enjoy meaningful stories set against the beauty and danger of the natural world.

Can technology understand the human soul? Can a machine experience awe? And can one sacred fish help restore the balance between humanity and nature?

The prophecy is waiting. Hannah must decide how the story ends.

About the Author

Ronnie Vergnolle is the author of The Book of Ribbner, a sweeping literary adventure inspired by his lifelong connection to fishing, nature, and exploration. His journeys across some of the world’s most remote rivers and wild landscapes have shaped his perspective on conservation, spirituality, grief, human connection, and the mysteries that exist beyond what science can explain.

Through vivid storytelling and firsthand experience, Vergnolle invites readers to consider profound questions about humanity’s relationship with the natural world. His writing explores the healing power of water, the responsibility people have to protect vulnerable ecosystems, and whether artificial intelligence could ever experience wonder, love, or awe.

In The Book of Ribbner, Ronnie Vergnolle blends global adventure, sacred wildlife, emotional discovery, and philosophical fiction into an unforgettable story about loss, purpose, and the choices that may determine humanity’s future.

Learn more at www.ronnievergnolle.com.

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