Many thanks to Sally Cronin for this opportunity.
If you’re looking to do guest appearances, I highly recommend checking out what Sally has to offer on her blog.
Many thanks to Sally Cronin for this opportunity.
If you’re looking to do guest appearances, I highly recommend checking out what Sally has to offer on her blog.
This was an interesting story, addressing problems with political systems and media corporations. The characters were certainly colorful and driven to fight back against the system. I liked Waylee’s drive and Charles’s need to prove himself toward the end. My main issue was I had trouble getting into the action and understanding the BetterWorld scenes. This is still a good read however, especially for anyone into computers, dystopia, and freedom fighters. The ending left me wondering what’s going to happen next with these characters, and I do want to find out.
This was an interesting and insightful book. It’s amazing how many people were affected by this terrible tragedy that occurred in Maryland many years ago.
This was a remarkable story which brings together the civilizations of Ancient Rome and China. It is like a modern odyssey where the protagonists find themselves on a series of adventures where they meet several different people. They are all seeking different things, but are drawn together on a journey of survival. Antonius, Marcia, and Ibrahim were my favorite characters. This story shows how the need for survival can show who people are deep down and because of which new friendships can be formed. At times the pace did seem to slow down and it was hard to remember who some charcters were and where they were, but that could just be me due to the story’s epic tale. It was wonderful story, and I think it would make a great TV miniseries.
Having been to St. Mary’s City, I knew very little of Margaret Brent before reading this book. It was very-well researched, and the setting felt very real to me. The archaic language and time jumps made it hard at times to keep track of who was who and when certain events happened. But what really kept me reading was Anicah – she had a remarkable character arc from beginning to end, and I enjoyed reading her change. This was an interesting historical story about the early days of Maryland.
This was an interesting book. I learned a lot about the history of Baltimore that I didn’t know before, in addition to these riots. It is amazing how many people were involved on both sides of the riots, and it’s sad to think about how it all started and escalated. I just found it hard however to keep track of who was who in most cases, apart from some prominent names like Spiro Agnew. Nevertheless, it was an interesting read and a window into a moment in history I knew nothing about.
This was an excellent collection of poems that get right at the heart of the suffering and pain that people have to bear following a school shooting, and the message of that pain and how humanity should not forget is clear and profound. The author shows great talent and passion, and has a strong and compassionate heart.
This was an interesting story, taking Orwellian concepts to a new level. People aren’t just monitored and controlled through technology but drugs, especially people like Nash who are deemed dangerous simply because of their genetic heritage. In this dystopian world everyone has an agenda, and you never know who to trust. There’s so much intrigue and corruption.
Nash is definitely a character one sympathizes with early on because of the way he’s treated. Even if he is difficult to work with he is a victim of prejudice and of the monotone routines that people like him have to live by. His romance with Roz was well done and absolutely sweet, and you definitely root for them as a couple. I definitely hope in future books he finds peace in his life and reunites with Roz.
This was a deeply moving and spiritual story. Seth suffered so many tragedies early on, it seemed he just couldn’t get a break. It makes one wonder how they would react were they in his shoes. But it was clear once he’d lost everything that he was not showing humility (something which he would realize later on), especially in one of the most moving scenes, when he was introduced to cancer patients who unlike him were trying to see and make the best of what they were enduring. In the end Seth was saved and realized he had lost his faith, and he found happiness again. The story not only shows miracles can happen, but that in life we must have faith that things will work out, perhaps not as we thought they might, but that they will work out. I would’ve liked to see a bit more action as opposed to description, and a stronger sense of how much time passed in some areas. But still, this was an enjoyable story that kept me focused the entire time.
In honor of World Poetry Day, I wanted to share all of my poetry publications for anyone who hasn’t yet seen them. To start, here are all those that were published exclusively online:
My first published poem is also available exclusively online as part of an online PDF.
And here are all the anthologies and journals that I’ve contributed poetry to:






















Many thanks to author and blogger M. J. Mallon for this wonderful review.
Here a few more book reviews from before I began tracking them by year on Goodreads.
This was a compelling and spooky story, incorporating historical events and horror of a good ghost story. It was cleverly structured back and forth in time, which made you want to turn the page and find out what happened next, and how Lara got to be where she was. Barnsley does a good job making us afraid and sorrowful not only for her tragic heroine but for the millions of people who tragically suffered as well in her time. The ending was very provocative, giving new meaning to the notion of ghosts being trapped in the world of the living. I gave it four stars because I wanted a little more, but that’s just me. I do think this novella was very well written.
Goodreads | Amazon (Limited Supply)
This is a compelling and heart-wrenching story which takes you into the heart of the Eugenics movement in the early 20th century. It’s hard to believe in our time that eugenics had the power it did in America, but it did, and Susan Moger succeeds in her goal to show what it is like to be persecuted and treated as if you were not worthy of life. Rowan loses everything, but in the end she not only finds true friendship, she finds herself. She realizes human beings are all human beings, and she finds a new purpose in life. This is a wonderful read.
This was a story I got into right away and stayed with to the end. The main character, Lark, I immediately empathized with her, finding her believable and relatable. The story introduced not only Lark but the reader to the methods of journalistic investigation, of which I learned quite a bit. But it was more than that – it was a story of a young woman discovering herself and earning a second chance at life and love. And she did certainly earn it. So it was a story of redemption and growth as well as justice. A good start to the series. In fact, I think Fast Track could be made into a good movie.
Goodreads | Goodreads | Amazon
John further explores the characters from Fast Track and touches even more emotions and sensations felt by many, including family quarrels, regrets, and the family bonds of love that cannot be extinguished. Lark continues to grow and learn, and once again at the very end as with Fast Track, poetic justice is done for those characters who unjustly lost their lives.
Goodreads | Goodreads | Amazon
John DeDakis continues to dazzle and amaze with Troubled Water. Heroine Lark Chadwick is swept up in a murder mystery and proves how much she’s grown as a journalist and a person. This was an amazing mystery story that touches on many deep, emotional levels, and is filled with a wide variety of characters and many plot twists.
Be sure to follow me on Goodreads if you want to stay up-to-date with my latest reviews!
Many thanks to Nolcha Fox for helping to promote Mystical Greenwood‘s newest edition, having done so for the previous one.
The new edition of Mystical Greenwood is now available!
Goodreads | Barnes & Noble | Other Stores
Don’t forget that the songs are available, too! Listen to them, and maybe you’ll want to add them to your playlists!
I’m continuing to make progress on the final book in the trilogy. And a few other projects have wheels turning. For one, a story that I shared an open mic reading of last year, I am now working with an illustrator to turn it into a children’s book. I never thought I would be exploring that world, but I am. Liz Gauffreau, thank you for the suggestion!
Also, it’s been suggested I compile all my short works, published and unpublished, into a collection. My only reservation on that is how varied they are (it’d be a big mishmash). For anyone who’s seen the anthologies I’m in, it’d be a combination of holiday, scary, fantasy, and so forth. Another writer suggested making eBook-only editions of the stories and essays. So I ask you, would you read a mishmash collection of poetry, short stories, and essays of mine?
Many thanks to Ari Meghlen for this review of Beneath the Deep Wave:
If you are looking for podcasts to listen to, be sure to check out The Merry Writer Podcast, which Ari co-hosts with author Rachel Poli. I have been featured on it twice!
Don’t forget that a new edition of Mystical Greenwood will soon be available! A new edition of Beneath the Deep Wave will follow.
Having signed books at an event at my old middle school once before, I was invited to do so again! People recognized me from my previous signing as well as from the craft fair, and I even got to see some friends and fellow writers!


I sold four books. I didn’t expect to sell too many, but I did, at least, get some more exposure as an author, and that was worth it. One sweet girl even gave me a positive affirmation sticky note, which was truly touching.

The Kindle for the new edition of Mystical Greenwood is available for preorder!
It is also on Goodreads, and you and preorder the Nook and from other eBook venders.
I am grateful for Fae Corps Publishing for allowing me to have my books copyedited and re-launched. And I am especially grateful to Liza Achilles, whom I met at the Maryland Writers’ Conference last October, for agreeing to copyedit my books. If you are looking for a copy editor, I highly recommend Liza.
And I must also thank the conference’s keynote speaker, Reed Farrell-Coleman, for telling me that it’s never too late to hire a copyeditor.
Stay tuned!