Genius Book Publishing

05/26/2026

Some stories never truly disappear; they’re just forgotten by everyone except the families still waiting for answers.

We’re proud to share our latest release announcement for The Lost Girls of Arkansas by award-winning investigative journalist and victims’ advocate LaDonna Humphrey. A powerful, deeply human look at missing persons cases and unsolved murders that still haunt Arkansas decades later.

Read the full post here.

The Lost Girls of Arkansas

05/22/2026

A missing cat. A concerned neighbor. A sweet elderly woman. And one very suspicious nephew.

Michael A. Black’s Six-Toed Ollie starts with a simple act of neighborly concern and turns into something much darker with one unforgettable cat at the center of it all.

Mystery lovers, crime fiction readers, and anyone who believes cats know more than they let on… this one’s for you. 🐾https://open.substack.com/pub/geniusunbound/p/murder-mystery-and-one-very-unforgettable?r=5voqwu&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

05/21/2026

If your reading tastes lean toward mystery, suspense, true crime, psychological fiction, or the darker corners of storytelling, we’ve got several new Genius titles to share. 📚

From wrongful conviction movements and true crime culture to coastal murder, eerie short fiction, buried trauma, and long-hidden secrets, there’s a little something unsettling here for every kind of dark-reader mood.

Take a look at the latest releases from Genius Book Publishing:

05/20/2026

This piece started after a parent-teacher conference conversation unexpectedly opened my eyes to something I hadn’t fully considered before:

We talk a lot about adults discovering aphantasia… but what about the children quietly growing up feeling confused, “slow,” or different because they don’t realize other people can actually visualize?

I wrote this for parents, teachers, and anyone who may recognize themselves or someone they love in these experiences. ❤️

What does aphantasia look like in children? Andrea Thorfinson explores how children with aphantasia may experience learning, visualization, memory, and self-esteem differently — and why awareness matters for parents and teachers.

05/15/2026

Stories stay with us when the characters feel real. Not perfect. Not polished. Just deeply human.

This piece from Steven Manchester dives into why the people in Ways to Be Wicked and the upcoming She’s a Lot Like You make the choices they do—and why that matters. It’s thoughtful, layered, and a great look at character-driven storytelling done right.

If you love fiction that feels honest and emotionally true, this one’s worth reading.

What I try to do in my novels—Ways to Be Wicked and the upcoming She’s a Lot Like You—is build characters who feel like people you might actually know.

05/13/2026

One of the biggest things I’ve learned through meditation is that waiting for the “perfect moment” usually just keeps us from beginning at all. Life is noisy. Minds are busy. Dogs bark, phones buzz, dishes wait in the sink. Meditation doesn’t require escaping real life it can happen right in the middle of it. This one is especially for the people who think they’re “bad” at meditating. 💛

One of the biggest misconceptions about meditation is that you need the “perfect environment” before you can begin.

05/13/2026

Cold cases stay with us because the questions never really go away. This one is haunting not just because of the crime itself, but because decades later there are still no clear answers. If you’re drawn to true crime, unsolved mysteries, and the stories that linger long after the headlines fade, this is a gripping read from Genius Unbound.

Some murders leave behind evidence.

05/08/2026

Every time there’s a major case, everyone wants answers immediately.

But according to former homicide detective Justin Bocock, press conferences are often carefully limited, delayed, incomplete… and sometimes unintentionally inaccurate.

This was a fascinating look behind the curtain of real investigations.

WHAT ARE PRESS CONFERENCES GOOD FOR?

05/06/2026

What if storytelling doesn’t begin with seeing at all?

As a writer with aphantasia, I don’t have an inner movie playing in my mind. No vivid scenes unfolding behind my eyes. And for a long time, I quietly wondered if that meant I was doing writing “wrong.”

This piece is about what I discovered instead and how stories can be built through memory, sensation, observation, and meaning, even without visualization.

For any writers, creatives, or curious minds who’ve ever wondered how differently people experience imagination… this one’s for you.

Can you be a writer if you can’t visualize? In this essay, Andrea Thorfinson explores how aphantasia shapes her storytelling process, and why great writing is built, not seen.

04/29/2026

Two of the biggest myths that stop people from even trying meditation: that you have to visualize, and that you have to stop your thoughts.

Neither is true. This piece breaks both down in a much more practical, real-world way.

In this next part of my Meditation Myths series, I want to look at two of the most common beliefs that quietly stop people before they ever give meditation a real chance.