WHO IS A. A. EDWARDS

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A. A. Edwards is a Bristol-based author whose writing grew out of a life-changing battle with bowel cancer. Following major cancer surgery, Aaron began looking differently at what he wanted to do with his life and the experiences he had been through. Writing became both a creative outlet and a way of turning difficult experiences into something that might help other people.

His first books were nonfiction. Porn Addiction: A Sex Addict’s Honest Guide to Recovery draws on lived experience to offer an open and practical perspective on addiction and recovery, while From The Cutting Room Floor: A Cinematic Guide to Mental Well-Being uses his love of film to explore mental health, recovery and emotional wellbeing.

He then turned to fiction with his Bristol-set Killer Seasons crime series, beginning with Bristol Summer and continuing with Bristol Autumn. Although fictional, the novels still allow Aaron to explore subjects and emotions that have affected him personally, weaving elements of real human struggle into crime stories rooted in the city he now calls home.

Since beginning this journey, Aaron has self-published five books, appeared twice on BBC Radio Bristol and been featured by the Bristol Post. His ambition is to continue building a career as an author while using both fiction and nonfiction to make something meaningful from the experiences life has given him.

Cancer gave me a different sense of purpose. My first two books were deliberately about taking difficult things I had experienced and trying to turn them into something that could help other people. Even after moving into fiction, that instinct stayed with me. The Bristol books are crime stories, but I still find myself writing about emotions, struggles and experiences that have touched my own life. For me, the thread connecting all five books is trying to make something worthwhile from difficult experiences.

The first case in the Killer Seasons series.

A city under siege. A killer with a pattern. And a detective already on the edge.
The hottest summer in Bristol’s history.

And a killer is just getting started.

As record-breaking heat grips the city, a brutal serial killer begins stalking Bristol’s streets, leaving a trail of murdered young women and a city paralysed by fear.

With the body count rising and the public demanding answers, the police are running out of time.

The investigation falls to two detectives who couldn’t be more different.

DS Dai Edwards is old school — a battle-scarred detective from the South Wales valleys, haunted by his past and distrustful of modern policing.

His partner, DC Chloe Price, represents a new generation of policing. Idealistic, intelligent and determined to change a broken system.

But a killer is watching.

As the temperature rises and the murders become more twisted, the two detectives must learn to trust each other before the city explodes into panic.

Because if they fail… this summer will become Bristol’s bloodiest.

Perfect for readers who enjoy dark, gritty crime thrillers in the tradition of Karin Slaughter and Ian Rankin.
This is the first book in the Detective Dai Edwards & Chloe Price series.

A city divided. A killer on the loose. Time is running out.

Three months after the events of Bristol Summer, Bristol is a city on edge. Political tensions are rising, protests are growing more volatile, and the divide between left and right has never felt wider.

When a prominent activist is brutally murdered, DS Dai Edwards and DC Chloe Price are called in to investigate. As the body count rises, it becomes clear they are hunting a killer with a mission, someone who believes murder can force change and is determined to push Bristol towards chaos.

With every new victim, tensions escalate across the city. Rumours spread, anger grows, and both sides begin looking for someone to blame. As public order teeters on the brink, Dai and Chloe find themselves in a race against time to stop a killer before Bristol explodes into all-out conflict.

But while they hunt a murderer, both detectives are fighting battles of their own. Old wounds, strained relationships, addiction, and personal demons threaten to undermine everything they have built.

Dark, gripping, and character-driven, Bristol Autumn is the second novel in The Killer Seasons series, a crime thriller that explores not only the hunt for a killer, but the lives of those trying to stop them.

Every life is a journey through the Forest. Some of us are simply given better maps.

Aaron grows up among the green valleys of an ancient world, never quite certain where he belongs. When the time comes for him to enter the vast and mysterious Forest of Life, he carries wounds he does not yet understand—and something follows him into the trees.

The Dementor knows his weaknesses. It feeds on shame, desire, secrecy and the desperate need to feel wanted. Under its influence, Aaron takes paths he was warned against, hurts innocents and discovers that some wrong turns leave scars that cannot simply be erased.

But a man is more than the worst road he has ever taken.

Through imprisonment, fellowship and an encounter with the terrifying Canker, Aaron begins the long task of understanding the creature that has followed him for years. Instead of trying to erase his past, he begins mapping it, hoping his mistakes might help another lost traveller recognise a dangerous path before it is too late.

Then he meets Sarah.

Beautiful, fiercely independent and carrying scars of her own, Sarah has spent a lifetime battling the Tremor, a beast born from anxiety that followed her from childhood to lands far beyond the Black Sea. Now training to become a healer, she and Aaron find themselves falling for one another—but before they can discover where their shared road might lead, Aaron must show her the darkest parts of his map.

Mapping Out Life is an adult fantasy about monsters that cannot always be killed, scars that should not be hidden, accountability, recovery, illness, courage and the frightening possibility of allowing another person to truly see you.

Some battles are won with swords.

Others are won by finally laying them down.

What if improving your mental health didn’t feel like homework?

In a world full of rigid advice and endless “fix yourself” checklists, From the Cutting Room Floor offers something different.

This refreshingly honest book explores mental well-being through the lens of cinema, storytelling and real life. Instead of telling you who you should become, it invites you to step back and look at your life the way a filmmaker views a story — with perspective, patience and compassion.

Drawing on personal experience, film references and moments of reflection, Aaron Edwards explores anxiety, addiction, recovery and the search for meaning.

Your story isn’t broken.

It just might need a different perspective.

Sometimes the scenes we think define us are simply part of a larger narrative still unfolding.

This book is for readers who:

• Struggle with anxiety, low mood or feeling stuck
• Feel disconnected from traditional self-help advice
• Love film, storytelling and reflective thinking
• Want reassurance rather than rigid instruction

There are no ten-step programmes here. No pressure to “be positive”.

Just thoughtful reflections that remind you that even the scenes left on the cutting room floor still matter.

From the Cutting Room Floor is a calm companion for anyone navigating addiction recovery, mental health struggles or life after difficult experiences.

The truth is, I was a bad boyfriend, a dropout, and a sex addict. I lost everything. This is my honest guide on how I started to get it back.
Porn, a sex addict’s honest guide to recovery is not a clinical textbook. It’s a raw, unflinching account of hitting rock bottom, written from the only perspective I know: that of a sex and porn addict. I hold nothing back, detailing my journey from the isolation of addiction to the hope and stability I finally found in a 12-Step fellowship.
Inside, you will find:
A direct, no-nonsense account of life with a compulsive sex and porn addiction.
Practical, honest insight into the 12 Steps and how they work in real life.
A message of hope: it’s possible to recover, to rebuild, and to find a life of purpose, even when you feel completely powerless.
If you’re ready to stop waiting and start the painful, beautiful work of recovery, this book is your first step. It’s the lifeline I wished I had when I was still suffering.


Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

Kate Daniels is a sharp, guarded mercenary whose vulnerability emerges slowly beneath her confidence and sarcasm. Her interactions with shapeshifter leader Curran are tense and entertaining without dominating the central investigation. The alternate Atlanta setting, where waves of magic interfere with technology, is imaginative but initially complicated. Once the world begins to make sense, the story delivers strong action, intriguing mythology, and excellent long-term potential.

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

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Stories Worth Remembering

Today is Veterans Day.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the men and women whose stories rarely make it into history books.

Not every act of courage happens on a famous battlefield. Not every act of courage is captured on film or in print for history to remember.

Sometimes courage looks like leaving your family because duty calls.

Sometimes it looks like coming home carrying memories no one else can see, so that no one else has to carry them.

As the daughter of a Veteran, I grew up knowing my father had made sacrifices in life. He had enlisted at a young age, during the Vietnam war so that his siblings wouldn’t get drafted. That was courage. That was bravery.

I knew he had seen death and had felt the pain of losing his friends and brothers in arms… But, not having gone through it, I could never imagine what that must have felt like. His bravery allowed so many others to live in peace.

As a storyteller, I think we have a responsibility to remember that every person has a story worth telling.

To every veteran, past and present, reading this…

Thank you.

Because of your service, the rest of us have the freedom to tell our stories.

~Nina Soden #TheRedheadedAuthor


Fallen by Lauren Kate

Luce arrives at Sword & Cross carrying guilt, confusion, and questions about a tragedy she cannot fully remember. Her development is gradual because much of the novel focuses on uncovering Daniel’s identity and their shared history. The gothic setting and reincarnation-based romance are compelling, though the plot occasionally withholds information for too long. Readers who enjoy tragic love stories and brooding supernatural mysteries will find plenty to appreciate.

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

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Celebrating Other People’s Wins

This past week I spent a lot of time celebrating other people.

Clients finding homes.

Agents reaching goals.

Actors mastering difficult scenes.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that someone else’s success doesn’t take anything away from our own, especially when you feel like you’ve been personally struggling.

However, I’ve discovered the opposite is true – Joy multiplies when it’s shared.

Maybe that’s one of the greatest lessons both life and storytelling teach us.

Every hero needs people cheering them on.

And sometimes we get to be that person. I feel truly blessed to be the cheerleader for so many amazing people in my life.

~Nina Soden #TheRedheadedAuthor


Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Celaena Sardothien is confident, vain, talented, and emotionally wounded, creating a heroine who is entertaining even when her abilities appear exaggerated. Her relationships with Dorian and Chaol reveal different aspects of her personality, while the competition provides danger and mystery. The first novel feels lighter and more romance-focused than later installments, but it establishes characters and conflicts that eventually grow into a much larger fantasy saga.

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

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Fall Feels Like Story Season

There’s something about Fall that makes me want to write.

Maybe it’s the cooler mornings.

Maybe it’s the earlier sunsets.

Or maybe it’s because everything outside reminds me that change isn’t something to fear, it’s something to celebrate.

The trees don’t fight the changing seasons, and God knows I love to see the leaves changing colors as I stare out at the mountain views around my town.

Change is a way of life. Something or someone simply become something new.

I wonder how much easier life would be if everyone just trusted change as naturally as nature does.

For now, I’ll keep chasing stories while the leaves fall outside my office window.

~Nina Soden #TheRedheadedAuthor


The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Hazel Grace is intelligent, guarded, and determined not to become an emotional burden to the people around her. Augustus is charming and theatrical, but his confidence hides a profound fear of being forgotten. Their relationship is romantic without erasing the physical and emotional realities of illness. The dialogue can occasionally feel more polished than natural teenage speech, yet the characters’ vulnerability gives the story genuine power.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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The Gift of Pretending

One of my favorite things about directing theatre is watching someone become someone else.

Actors step onto a stage carrying their own worries, their own responsibilities, and their own stories. Then, for two hours, they become another person entirely.

Writers do the same thing.

Every time I sit down at my keyboard, I spend a little while living inside someone else’s life.

It’s funny how pretending can provide so much comfort.

The best stories help us relax… imagine… and forget the stress of our day to day lives; and still, they help us understand it.

~Nina Soden #TheRedheadedAuthor


Divergent by Veronica Roth

Tris Prior develops from an uncertain girl into someone willing to challenge the identities society assigns to her. Her courage grows through fear rather than replacing it, making her progression satisfying. Four is appealing because he combines strength with emotional restraint and vulnerability. The faction system is fascinating even when its logic is imperfect. Fast pacing, training sequences, romance, and political conspiracy make the novel highly entertaining.

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

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