Readers Roost: cults

Showing posts with label cults. Show all posts

Saturday, October 24, 2026

The Gershwin Cutter Book Blitz #rabtbooktours

Thriller, Drama, Suspense, Action, Redemption, Healing

Date Published: July 9, 2026

Publisher: Manhattan Book Group

INSPIRED BY TRUE EVENTS.

RESCUED FROM A BRUTAL CULT, SHE BELIEVED SHE HAD ESCAPED THE SHADOWS. BUT TEXAS HARBORS EVEN DARKER SECRETS.

Blake is a steely, enigmatic force, fiercely loyal to her one-eyed horse, Ira. As she navigates the patriarchal arena of cutting horse competitions, her steadfast devotion teeters on the brink of danger, unearthing a dark past she had long sought to bury.

Across the scorched Lone Star badlands, retired detective Sonny Harrell hunts the killers who murdered his father. His trail of blood and lies uncovers a ruthless syndicate that would flay you to the bone to guard its empire of corruption.

When Sonny's path collides with Blake's, she is swept into a vortex of violence. Outnumbered and outmatched, they must claw through the chaos-or vanish into oblivion.

About the Author

Paul’s debut crime thriller Nannerl’s Symphony—based on Mozart’s history—was published soon after he completed his PhD in Mathematics from Imperial College London. He has since authored over 100 academic papers in top journals. The Gershwin Cutter is his second thriller, with two more on the way. Currently, he holds an endowed professorship at the University of Texas in Austin. A recipient of multiple research awards, Paul was also a finalist for the U.S. National Library of Poetry Award. He has lived on three continents and is fluent in several languages. An animal lover, Paul is the proud pet parent of a blue-eyed Alsatian.

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Friday, August 29, 2025

Diary of a Cult Girl Book Blitz #rabtbooktours

Cult, Memoir, Diaries

Date Published: June 26, 2025

A Historical Account of Fear, Control, and Escape

“When you’re raised to fear the world, you never question the cage.”

Before she ever knew what freedom felt like, she documented captivity.

Told through the actual journals and letters written while trapped inside one of America’s most quietly dangerous religious cults, Diary of a Cult Girl is a chilling first-person account of life under the rule of Bill Gothard’s teachings—what many now recognize from the “Shiny Happy People” movement.

Raised in rural Alabama, in poverty, with church at home, school at home, and six younger siblings to raise, Crystal Ball’s childhood was shaped not by freedom, but by an addiction to control. Not drugs. Not alcohol. But military-grade submission, inside a cult franchise that gave abusers unchecked authority in God’s name—a system that weaponized fear, shame, and guilt like narcotics to keep women and children quiet and compliant.

In the spirit of The Diary of Anne Frank, this is not just a memoir—it’s evidence. A record of indoctrination. Of blind obedience mistaken for faith. Of a young girl awakening to the unbearable cost of survival.

Alongside her firsthand accounts, Crystal introduces the 3P Framework—Personal Psychological Perceptions—to examine how control systems form in the mind and how they keep victims psychologically trapped, even long after physical escape.

This is the tragic story of a beautiful mind locked in the chains of repression, desperately longing for a better life she was told didn’t exist—until she found the courage to leave it all in the red clay Alabama dust that almost choked her.

About the Author

Crystal Ball went from the bottom 5% of poverty, raised in an extreme religious cult, to the top 5% of earners as a self-made entrepreneur. Her journey spans the gritty aisles of the convenience store industry to high-level real estate deals, with stops in journalism, public speaking, and personal reinvention along the way.

Crystal writes with brutal honesty and piercing insight, drawing from years of painful isolation, spiritual control, and emotional suppression. Her work offers a raw, eye-opening perspective on the lasting damage of authoritarian belief systems—especially in a world where right-wing extremism is on the rise.

Now living her dream life in Panama City Beach, Florida, Crystal is the proud mom of two incredible sons. Her mission is to spark courageous conversations, dismantle shame, and champion the power of self-liberation—one story at a time.

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Tik Tok: @crystalballpcb

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Thursday, August 15, 2024

Where Do I Belong Book Blitz #rabtbooktours

Memoir

Date Published: April 17, 2023

This is a memoir of Sarah Carrington. Born and raised in a religious community, Sarah knew nothing about the outside world. Everything she ate, wore, read, and did was governed by the beliefs of her community. A community she grew to call a cult.

Sarah spent most of her free time as a child in nature with her survival-enthusiast parents. She learned to survive and thrive in all seasons, with few supplies. Then her father died in a tragic accident.

As adolescence changed her body, it also changed the way some men treated her. At thirteen, needing to escape she left the commune. Woefully unprepared, with minimal education and no believable work skills, she teetered on the brink of homelessness. Her naivety drew her into a world of sex and drugs, without the rock and roll.

Despite enduring traumas and indignities, she became a sexually confident woman as she searched for a place to belong.

By age twenty-three, Sarah became an orphan, pregnant, a stepmother, and a guardian to her siblings. But the world wasn't done with her yet.

About the Author

I'm a nature lover by birth. Kayaking, paddle boarding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, you name it I am game to try it.

I've been fortunate enough to swim in a few oceans, see a few castles, and get a few stamps on my passport over the years. A far cry from sleeping in bus stations and phone booths.

This year marks a few big changes in my life: full-time college in the fall, a book release mid-spring, and I'm an empty nester!

My handsome rescue dog Dudley smiles and keeps me company. He loves to kayak and paddleboard on the lake with me. He races ahead to sniff out any animals while we hike the neighbouring hills. I hope you love animals as much as I do, for if you're following my Instagram, you will see more of him than me.

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