My Bully, My Aunt, and Her Final Gift by Harold Phifer

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Aunt Kathy made his childhood miserable—now her funeral might just set him free.

In this wickedly funny and deeply honest memoir, Harold Phifer revisits the chaos of growing up under the thumb of a domineering aunt who ruled with twisted wisdom and unpredictable wrath. As he plans her awkward memorial, Hal finds healing in the most unexpected place: her absence. My Bully, My Aunt, and Her Final Gift is a heartfelt journey through trauma, truth, and the strange gifts we inherit from those who hurt us most.

 

Read an Excerpt

The closer I got, the more definite the sounds of dishes breaking, kids playing, and infants testing their lungs, and TVs watching themselves became. Jerry and his wife had separated some time ago. Regardless, he was left with four adult daughters still in the nest. Obviously, the girls brought kids of their own to the mix. But everything unfolding before me appeared chaotic on the other side of that threshold. That entire scene grew larger and more intimidating with every timid step I took.

About the Author:

Harold Phifer was born in the rebellious South of Columbus, Mississippi. As a kid, he worked the streets, hustled the neighbors, and bused tables at bars he didn’t belong in. After graduating from Caldwell High School, he went on to earn degrees from Mississippi State and Jackson State Universities. He became an Air Traffic Controller in Memphis, Tennessee, but after 23 years, he sought purpose elsewhere—working as an international contractor alongside soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. After narrowly escaping the Taliban takeover in 2021, he took refuge at Guantanamo Bay and resumed his writing while continuing his work as a controller. In 2024, he returned to the Middle East, where he continues to write about life, love, and the human spirit.

Twitter: https://x.com/hephifer
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Website: https://riseandread.com/

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Theirs Until Always by Mae K. Knight

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Mae K. Knight will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Adam:

Men like me don’t get happy endings.
When my demons talk to me, I talk back.
I heeded their call when they demanded my parents’ death.
I even listened when they ordered my own.
And they nearly won.
Until her.
One night changed my life. Then I lost it all. I lost her.
Now, I’ll do anything to get my sunshine back.
But can a sinner like me be willing to share after learning I’m not the only one craving her light?

Jordyn:

When a man shows you his red flags, run.
But running from Adam is easier said than done.
When he re-enters my life, my world implodes with the secrets he’s keeping.
Can I forgive him and learn to live in his shadows? To be the light he thinks I am?
Or will his darkness consume me?

Abel:

Witnessing your twin nearly die, hardens something in you.
I’ll do whatever it takes to keep Adam breathing.
As kids, he’d protected me, even though that was my job as the older brother.
Now, it’s my turn to protect him.
You can run little sunshine, but you won’t get far.
If Jordyn’s what my brother needs to keep his demons at bay, then I’ll claim her for us.
She’ll be ours, always.

Read an Excerpt

This place really does serve a mean cup of Joe.

I lift the delicate-looking porcelain cup to my lips, letting my lashes flutter against my cheeks as I take another hearty sip of my mocha latte. Licking my lips, I glance around the bustling coffee shop, sunlight bathing my fellow caffeine fiends, kissing the glass enclosure showcasing treats and the checkered tile flooring. Behind the green counter, four uniformed bodies move in sync to crank out orders as people filter in and out of the building.

I wait, settling back into the booth I’d snagged early, only moments after the shop opened. I know Jordyn will be strutting her bubbly self through the frosted glass doors at any moment and there’s not a damn thing Adam can do about me intercepting her, unwilling as he is to blow our cover.

But I am fixing this, dammit.

I’ve wiled the hours away on my phone, gathering intel on the next assignment I plan to take as soon as things are cleared up here.

A vacation with your twin and girlfriend wouldn’t be a bad idea.

I freeze, sucking back air as the woman in question strolls in, oblivious to my position at the back of the shop and at the turn of my own thoughts.

My girlfriend?

No. Jordyn is Adam’s. He’s said so, and I’ve respected that, chalking up my moments with her to brotherly duties. My twin needed me and… God, look at the way that dress rises and falls from the delicious jiggle of her ass. I swipe at my mouth in the event drool slipped past my lips.

About the Author Mae K. Knight is a self-published author based in Louisiana, who enjoys writing “trauma boys” as her readers coined them, BIPOC FMCs that look like her and fast, smutty stories that leave you craving for more. When not writing, she’s reading monster romances penned by her fellow indie authors, studying for her nursing degree, or lifting heavy weights in the gym to feel like a bad bitch on a competition platform.

If you want to read more of her work, check out her website: https://maeknight.carrd.co, buy signed paperbacks directly from her: https://mackandmae.shop or go directly to her Amazon page for her KU titles: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Mae-K.-Knight/author/B0D3674KWR. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560507610143
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/49729390.Mae_K_Knight
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@maek.knight
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maek_knight

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