Vashti's Daughter (Book) - 3/30/2026 6:37:43 AM
At the heart of the novel is Anna Steine, a modern-day book publisher whose life takes a mysterious turn when she begins experiencing vivid dreams connected to ancient Persia. As the story unfolds, Anna discovers she is the reincarnation of Adara the daughter of Queen Vashti linking her present-day struggles with a powerful past rooted in the biblical Book of Esther . This dual timeline creates a fascinating narrative that seamlessly weaves together past and present.
Vashti's Daughter (Book) - 1/11/2026 12:53:46 PM
Bold imagination, intellectual ambition, and feminist reclamation is at the heart of Vashti’s Daughter.
What makes the novel especially compelling is its refusal to accept silence as an ending. By returning to Vashti the woman erased to make room for Esther, West challenges centuries of inherited interpretation and invites readers to reconsider who gets remembered, who gets blamed, and who gets written out of sacred history. Her framing of Vashti not as a footnote, but as the catalyst for everything that follows, is both provocative and deeply resonant.
The narrative bridge between ancient Persia and the present day is handled with confidence and creativity. Anna’s experience haunted by dreams, drawn toward truth through scholarship, spirituality, and intuition mirrors the larger inquiry of the book itself: how the past insists on being heard, even across centuries. The use of reincarnation, Kabbalistic insight, archaeology, and historical detail gives the story a layered credibility that makes the speculative elements feel grounded rather than sensational.
I want to say this plainly: that kind of storytelling matters.
By engaging scripture, feminism, and spirituality in conversation rather than opposition, you open space for readers of many backgrounds Jewish, Christian, spiritual, skeptical to participate in the question rather than be handed an answer. The novel does not merely argue that Vashti was misunderstood; it dramatizes the cost of silencing women and the power of reclaiming narrative authority.
Seen this way, Vashti’s Daughter is not only a reimagining of a biblical story, but a meditation on legacy, agency, and the courage it takes to defy systems that demand submission. Anna’s urgency her deadline, her curse, her emotional risk mirrors Vashti’s ancient defiance, reinforcing the idea that unfinished stories seek completion through those willing to listen.
I don’t believe revisionist historical fiction succeeds by shock alone. I do believe it succeeds when it combines research, empathy, and moral clarity. Vashti’s Daughter does exactly that, offering readers a story that is intellectually engaging, spiritually curious, and unapologetically centered on women’s voice – Gloria Exley
Undercover Reunion (Book) - 7/1/2013 9:15:01 AM
Melanie “Mel” Tyler and Kathleen “Katie” Conner have been best friends since kindergarten. As teenagers, their favorite television show was The Man from U.N.C.L.E. The girls even had a hidden room where they kept files on various schoolmates. But after graduating from high school, everyone in the graduating class went their own way. Mel’s voice landed her a variety of voice-over jobs and she now lives in a Santa Monica Condominium. Katie wed and her husband, James O’Brien, eventually became a Minnesota State Senator.
Today, Mel and Katie find it difficult to believe that they are about to attend Abbeyville High School’s thirtieth reunion. Seeing most of their former classmates should be fun, but there are a few that the ladies hoped would not attend. Unfortunately, the three worst do make an appearance. Charles Haussman and Eric Kramer were bullies back in school and they have not forgotten how the ladies once bested them (thanks to their U.N.C.L.E. addiction.) Then there is Wyatt Gaynes, the jock that Melanie had a crush on – along with many other female students. The deceitful creep had used Mel, just as he did everyone else.
Mel and Katie are soon recruited by U.N.C.L.E., which turns out is a real spy organization, to help thwart a former schoolmate’s plan for worldwide domination.
*** FOUR STARS! I have never seen an episode of the old television show The Man From UNCLE, but after reading this book I plan to search various streaming internet sites in hopes of viewing a few. You do not have to be a fan of the old show in order to fully enjoy this tale. (I guess it does not hurt that I used to watch other spy series, such as Get Smart.) I found this story to be extremely fun to read! Those who have read this author’s previous novel, Red Wine for Breakfast, may even notice the subtle nod to the Sock Test. (I could not help but chuckle when a pair of socks was mentioned in a single, short line.) If you are looking for a story to enjoy during vacation or to make a rainy afternoon fly by, this is it. I have no doubt that I will not soon forget this fun spy thriller. **** HUNTRESS REVIEWS -
Reviewed by Detra Fitch on April 28, 2013
Traffic Jam On the Road To Riches (Article) - 1/25/2026 1:32:52 PM
A very good article for those beginning writing and want to publish. It's a bit repetitive, but perhaps that is to reinforce what you are trying to relate.
I was there with my first novel in 1999 and found perhaps the best and most honest vanity publisher compared with some of those you listed that milk authors 1000s of dollars with false promises. Angela Hoy and booklocker.com are my only choice for vanity publishing. Her newsletter, writersweekly.com, exposes all the scams that have befell so many new authors in this new world of publishing.
I once created a line of type using a California job case and it took me two hours. Imagine what it took for centuries after Guttenberg to create books like those of the 19th century by that hand method. Since after I was paralyzed in 1963, I could only type with one finger stiffened by a hand splint. I embraced computer technology and first began using word processing for my dissertation in 1973 and speech to print in 1993. I am writing this entirely with my voice and editing very little, still with my one finger way of typing.
After 26 years, 15 books and 1300 poems posted on authorsden.com, I've had success with one of my novels. But recently, a story that I posted, a chapter in my novel, War’s End, The Hike, has 330,000 reads here and growing at about 2000 a week. It may just be a bot continually searching for erotica, or actually going viral. Only time will tell.
Ron
