Why am I passionate about this?

I am a mother, wife, sister, teacher, artist, officer, and writer. I retired from the USAF after serving active duty and as a reservist as a C-130 navigator, executive officer, and maintenance officer for over 20 years. Currently, I teach physical science in northern California. My main passions have always centered around story-telling, and I have been a lifelong dabbler in writing fiction. With my experiences in male-dominated fields like military aviation and my love of science, I feel particularly drawn to tales involving women striving to overcome obstacles in a male-dominated culture. I enjoy traveling, art, and, most of all, lounging on my sofa and reading. 


I wrote...

The Spectral Saga

By Joanne Alain Cook,

Book cover of The Spectral Saga

What is my book about?

Just when Janine is getting her life back on track, the universe throws her a curve ball. Does she findā€¦

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Witching Hour

Joanne Alain Cook Why did I love this book?

Anne Rice is a wonderful poet disguised as a novelist who creates dreamy and eerie landscapes in this book. She paints backdrops of multiple settings and weaves those landscapes with the mood of her characters: modern and bustling San Francisco to mysterious and moody New Orleans.

The plot involves an analytical science girl who is suddenly immersed in a mysterious past that includes witches and other supernatural beings. It explores the roots of societal misogyny by recapping the history of the Mayfair clan and an unleashed demon spirit that haunts the family, all with a romance lurking in the subplot.

It is written like a dark fairy tale that weaves a contemporary world with supernatural elements. Donā€™t miss this!

By Anne Rice,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked The Witching Hour as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

SOON TO BE A MAJOR TV SHOW, FROM THE NETWORK BEHIND THE WALKING DEAD

'[W]hen I found Rice's work I absolutely loved how she took that genre and (...) made [it] feel so contemporary and relevant' Sarah Pinborough, bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes

'[Rice wrote] in the great tradition of the gothic' Ramsey Campbell, bestselling author of The Hungry Moon

On the veranda of a great New Orleans house, now faded, a mute and fragile woman sits rocking. And the witching hour begins...

Demonstrating once again her gift for spellbinding storytelling and the creation of legend, Anne Rice makesā€¦


Book cover of A Discovery of Witches

Joanne Alain Cook Why did I love this book?

This a fun, easy-to-read, novel that includes bits of dark academia mixed with the paranormal characters. In this novel, we find a reluctant witch with links to a pagan coven at odds with an ancient evil. Itā€™s a bit of historical fiction with touches on alchemy, pagan lore, and herbal sciences, with a perfect blend of personalities to keep the conversation interesting.

As a lifelong student of science, I love when books explore how our modern scientific understandings and practices were spawned by a more magical mindset. This novel does more than entertain; it explores the roots of modern beliefs, customs, and roles. It's a high recommendation!

By Deborah Harkness,

Why should I read it?

25 authors picked A Discovery of Witches as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this tale of passion and obsession, Diana Bishop, a young scholar and a descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript, Ashmole 782, deep in Oxford's Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont.


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Book cover of Glimmer of the Other

Glimmer of the Other by Heather G. Harris,

Delve into this internationally best-selling series, now complete! A fast paced laugh-out-loud mix of Urban Fantasy and Mystery.

I can tell when youā€™re lying. Every. Single. Time. Iā€™m Jinx, a PI hired to find a missing university student, I hope to find her propped up at a barā€“yet my gutā€¦

Book cover of Outlander

Joanne Alain Cook Why did I love this book?

What happens when you take a modern woman and place her in Scotland 200 years in the past? Outlander. This has it all: epic romance, the science of medicine in its herbal beginnings, historic references, and an intelligent, relatable FMC.

Claire is torn from her present and thrown into a mindboggling situation where she must use her smarts to survive a dangerous environment and a fiendish villain. She also finds herself battling a physical attraction to the perfect Scotsman, all while hoping she makes it home to her husband.

I loved immersing myself in the fantasy of highland lore with a minimum of supernatural parts that ask: what happens when a modern, capable, smart woman is thrown back into a world of total male domination? Highly recommended!

By Diana Gabaldon,

Why should I read it?

39 authors picked Outlander as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ā€¢ The first book in Diana Gabaldonā€™s acclaimed Outlander saga, the basis for the Starz original series.

One of the top ten best-loved novels in America, as seen on PBSā€™s The Great American Read!
 
Unrivaled storytelling. Unforgettable characters. Rich historical detail. These are the hallmarks of Diana Gabaldonā€™s work. Her New York Times bestselling Outlander novels have earned the praise of critics and captured the hearts of millions of fans. Here is the story that started it all, introducing two remarkable characters, Claire Beauchamp Randall and Jamie Fraser, in a spellbinding novel of passion andā€¦


Book cover of Ghost Hunter

Joanne Alain Cook Why did I love this book?

This is a modern-day second-chance romance novel that uses mystery elements in a supernatural setting. Loved the banter between characters. Elly and Cooper are solidly formed and very likable.

All the elements, sci-fi, paranormal, romance, and mystery, are accessible and written in a fun way that moves the plot quickly along. I was definitely rooting for the HEA and romance readers will not be disappointed. Overall, just a fun, entertaining read.

By Jayne Castle,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ghost Hunter as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Local Guild boss and powerful ghost hunter Cooper Boone is everything botanist Elly St. Clair could ask for-the handsome, strong and silent type. Maybe too silent. For when Guild secrets threaten her career at the college, Elly has to call off their marriage-and leave small-town life behind...

But starting over in the thriving metropolis of Cadence City isn't easy, especially when one of Elly's new friends disappears in the eerie catacombs beneath the streets. Cooper turns up just in time to help Elly investigate. And as the mystery deepens and dangerous ghost myths and legends come to light, Cooper makesā€¦


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Book cover of Broken Mirror

Broken Mirror by Cody Sisco,

A fractured mind or a global conspiracy? Uncovering the truth can be hell when nobody believes youā€¦ and you canā€™t even trust yourself. 

"A fantastic science fiction thriller with a sincere and important message.ā€ā€”Kirkus Reviews. 

ā€œA breathtaking, deeply dark alternate-history Earth with complex characters, layered worldbuilding, and twist after twistā€¦

Book cover of Weyward

Joanne Alain Cook Why did I love this book?

Although this book involves ā€œwitchesā€, it is really a female empowerment tale. Three women from three different time periods must overcome situations exasperated by a patriarchal society. Itā€™s a timely book that examines womenā€™s responsibilities surrounding pregnancy, including personal choices and the ills placed on women by misogynistic mindsets and actions.

Each of the women is isolated in their situation and only breaks free of male dominance through a magical connection with nature. I found the idea disturbing and intriguing at the same time. The women are not prone to violence themselves, but nature is called to set things straight. An interesting and timely read!

By Emilia Hart,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Weyward as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

An Indie Next March 2023 Pick ā€¢ A LibraryReads March 2023 Pick ā€¢ An Amazon "Best Books of the Year So Far" 2023 Pick

"A brave and original debut, Weyward is a spellbinding story about what may transpire when the natural world collides with a legacy of witchcraft." ā€“ā€“Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The London SĆ©ance Society

I am a Weyward, and wild inside.

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, theā€¦


Explore my book šŸ˜€

The Spectral Saga

By Joanne Alain Cook,

Book cover of The Spectral Saga

What is my book about?

Just when Janine is getting her life back on track, the universe throws her a curve ball. Does she find love? Can she accept supernatural events? Will she escape a dark fate? Kiki Mellow is a self-proclaimed witch and medium. Her flamboyant style and personality are the assets that make Spectral Analysis, the TV show, a hit. But are her antics more than entertainment? Does she truly have extrasensory abilities? Can she see into the other side? Itā€™s a battle as old as time. Two sides struggling in our contemporary world where a curse awaits, a scientific theory is formed, and an ancient code is unbalanced by patriarchy.
This the exciting full Spectral Trilogy in one complete volume, which includes author-drawn tarot art of the main characters as the cards of the Major Arcana.

Book cover of The Witching Hour
Book cover of A Discovery of Witches
Book cover of Outlander

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Follow Me to Africa by Penny Haw,

Historical fiction inspired by the story of Mary Leakey, who carved her own path to become one of the world's most distinguished paleoanthropologists.

It's 1983 and seventeen-year-old Grace Clark has just lost her mother when she begrudgingly accompanies her estranged father to an archeological dig at Olduvai Gorge on theā€¦

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Hatching Love by Heidi Matonis,

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The story opens with Tomā€™s wife, Beth, receiving a shipment of duck eggs. She has watched a YouTube video and was charmed by the idea of hatchingā€¦

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