Read an excerpt from Lisajoy Sachs's fabulous novel - Bright One

Bright One

By Lisajoy Sachs

Publication Date: October 18th, 2025

Publisher: Historium Press

Pages: 332

Genre: Historical Fiction

When desperate choices mean the difference between life and death.

Inspired by true events, Bright One tells the story of Jetti Finkelthal, Lisajoy Sachs’ great-grandmother.

In Czernowitz, Romania, this young Jewish mother is forced to face impossible choices as the world begins to collapse around her. As antisemitism tightens its grip and war edges ever closer, Jetti holds fast to her daughter, Berta, with the fragile belief that love and courage might still carve a way through the darkness.

Heartened by her grandmother Berta's letters, photographs, and family oral histories, Sachs revives a story both intimate and universal—stitched with the fabric of daily life, the pull of memory, and the quiet heroism of women who refused to yield to despair. Told with vivid, sensory detail, the novel unfolds as if you are walking beside the characters, witnessing what they see and sharing in what they feel.

Through Jetti’s resilience and sacrifices, Bright One reveals the enduring strength of family ties and the shadow of trauma that lingers across generations. It is a story of survival, of loss, and of the unbreakable connection between mother and child.

For readers captivated by historical fiction that lingers long after the final page, Bright One offers a profoundly human portrait of love tested by history’s darkest hours.

Excerpt

Joel’s eyes roamed the room again, seeking an anchor to steady his turbulent thoughts. The canopy bed, draped in fine linens and accented by plush pillows, exuded comfort and security. Lavender lingered on the sheets, intertwining with the sweetness of the candles. It was a scene so removed from the barren trenches and the grim realities he had lived through. The suite was a testament to permanence, to wealth, to a life he wasn’t sure he deserved anymore.

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Lisajoy Sachs

Lisajoy Sachs is a dedicated writer and advocate for the preservation of history and culture through storytelling. Born and raised on Long Island and in the Catskills Mountain region of New York, Lisajoy's early years were shaped by the picturesque landscapes of mountains and the sea. Growing up, she embraced her family’s deep connection to community and tradition.

Her professional journey is as dynamic as her personal interests. With a diverse career spanning Fine Arts, Interior Design, Metal Smithing, Lapidary, and the craft beer and hospitality industries, she has cultivated a deep and varied understanding of her many fields of interest.

Ms. Sachs holds several prestigious degrees and certifications, including a Master’s Degree in Fine Arts from the City University of New York, a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Alfred University, and an Accredited Jewelry Professional (AJP) certification from the Gemological Institute of America. She is also a graduate of the Hop and Brew School at Yakima Chief Hops and holds a CiceroneCertified Beer Server© credential, underscoring her expertise and passion for the craft beer industry.

As a writer, Lisajoy’s work spans a variety of themes, from beer culture and community engagement to her most prized projects in historical fiction. Her writing reflects a profound appreciation for history, particularly focusing on how personal stories intertwine with larger cultural narratives. She has published multiple articles celebrating the craft beer industry’s ability to foster diversity and unity and continues to explore new ways to inspire her readers through her storytelling.

A deep passion for history, coupled with a fascination with family ancestry and vivid storytelling, is reflected in Lisajoy’s creative projects. Her fiction often delves into richly detailed settings and explores characters navigating the complexities of their times. Whether writing about the harrowing journey of her family in pre-WWII Europe or capturing the resilience of individuals in the face of change, Lisajoy brings depth, authenticity, and emotional resonance to her narratives.

Outside of her professional life, Lisajoy is an avid cyclist and skier, often traveling in her camper van with her partner and standard poodle Hops exploring new adventures. She has recently relocated to the Catskills Mountains, a decision influenced by her desire to embrace a balanced, family and community-focused lifestyle.

Lisajoy’s dedication to her craft, her community, and her passions makes her a multifaceted creative force. Through her writing and professional endeavors, she continues to bridge the gap between history, culture, and the shared human experience.

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Poinsettia Girl by Jennifer Wizbowski

Poinsettia Girl

By Jennifer Wizbowski

Publication Date: October 18th, 2025

Publisher: Historium Press

Pages: 336

Genre: Historical Fiction

Venice, 1710

Poinsettia Girl is based on the story of Agata de la Pieta, an orphan musician of the Ospedale de la Pieta.

Ten-year-old Agata's world is shaken at the sudden death of her mother. Left only with her egregious father, a working musician in Venice, her ailing grandmother sends her to the well-known orphanage, hidden from everything she's ever known.

Agata auditions for the conservatory style music school where music is both salvation and spectacle. Hidden behind ornate metal grates, adorned with poinsettias in their hair, the singers are veiled in mystery, their ethereal music drawing noble audiences, including gilded young men who see them as treasures-not only for their sound but as coveted marriage prizes.

Just as she reaches the height of her musical journey, a marriage proposal from someone outside the audience tempts her with the promise of a new life-a return to the old neighborhood she's longed for and a home she barely remembers. Torn between the music that has defined her and the hope of belonging to a family, Agata must confront the most profound question of her life: is her purpose rooted in the music that shaped her, or in the love that might free her?

Excerpt

Although the environment differed from the bakery house, Agata felt a familiar playfulness in it. She let her thoughts wander, and her body moved with exertion instead of forced rigidness: sheets meeting one corner with the next, sides smoothed and creased with her hands. The noise and the movement made her lighter. It would have been easy and not an unhappy way to spend her days, downstairs with women such as these, as she got older. Maybe she should settle on that, staying safe, working with her hands and avoiding the competitiveness and heartache of the musically driven upstairs.

The surprise of the lower-level workrooms came in the subtle interactions with the outside world. The couriers who retrieved the silks from grander houses came to chatter and tell, as well as carry and deliver. They brought the complaints of those customers who wanted their silks done a day earlier than their neighbors and their opinions of them back to the laundry room. The laundry front door, so named by everyone because of its location, which opened right to the laundry room, was a side door on the canal used for all Pietà deliveries, including dry supplies and food. The couriers used small boats to retrieve and drop off their laundry, as did the delivery man, who brought the sapone and other household supplies used in the laundry room, hospital, kitchen, and for bathing. Each time he arrived, he insisted on coming in and carrying the heavy supplies to the storage room.

“Poooooeta!” he called that day from the gondola. It echoed through the open door like the song’s chorus he had been humming on the water minutes before. Agata snuck around the corner to watch the interaction. She could tell he liked to say her name. Poeta giggled, then recovered. Their eyes spoke to each other in a glimmer.

After the man was back on his way, the women downstairs teased Poeta openly as she smoothed her unruly curls against her head.

“He never carries the supplies in for me when you’re not around, Poooeta,” sang another laundress.

Agata heard stories of the women at all levels getting married and wondered how marriage could even be possible when they were closed in. As far as she knew, the women in the laundry room were stuck inside like the foundlings were. Clearly, she still had much to learn about this place, which dictated futures she could not foresee. She saw the flirtatious man walk into the laundry, but did anyone ever walk out of it?

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Jennifer Wizbowski

Jennifer Wizbowski spent her childhood days lost among the spines of her favorite books. Inspired by the daffodil fields of Wordsworth and the babbling brooks of Shakespeare, she earned her bachelor’s in English literature, a minor in music, and a secondary teaching credential, then wrote freelance for local business journals, taught in classrooms, and authored a Teen and Tween column for a parent magazine—all while raising her family.

As those years ended, she knew it was the right time to pursue her lifelong aspiration of bringing her own books to life. She now devotes herself to illuminating everyday women’s stories often lost in the shadows of history, revealing how they became heroines of their own time and place.

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