Tag: horror

#BlogTour Reaper Aftermath by Jonathan Pongratz #NewRelease #horror #RRBookTours

On By Teri PolenIn Promotions30 Comments

I’m so excited to be a part of this blog tour! I read the novella, Reaper, a couple years ago and was really hoping the author would expand on the story. Wishes do come true, and here’s the proof. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but since I’m such a big horror fan, you can be sure it will be soon.

It’s been five years have passed since the Reapers invaded Earth, but Gregory is back and trying to survive the wastelands left behind!

Welcome to the book tour for Reaper: Aftermath by Jonathan Pongratz! Read on for an excerpt and a chance to win 1 of 3 print copies of the book!

Reaper: Aftermath

Genre: Sci-Fi Horror/ Apocalypse

Expected Publication Date: February 5th, 2021

Five years have passed since the Reapers invaded Earth and tore it asunder. Gregory, his mother, Trent, and their group of scavengers hunt the decimated wastelands for survival.

But when a sudden Reaper attack forces Gregory through a Reaper door, he finds himself in a bizarre place, one that may provide answers to the Reapers’ past and where they came from.

Can Gregory put together the pieces of the past and find his way home, or will he just become another human casualty in the lost war against the Reapers?

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Excerpt

I crouched behind a row of old dusty cars beside my mom and two other sharpshooters, my body trembling. Don’t freak out. Be brave. Remember your training.

I took a deep breath and dared a peek ahead between two cars. Across the street was a deserted grocery store covered in grime and soot. It was a small shop, maybe two or three times the size of an average gas station. A bunch of old, rotted wooden planks covered the windows, but the front entrance was untouched. Whoever had been here was either dead inside or long gone. No one in their right mind would leave their home unfortified, not anymore.

All was quiet except for the wind, but I knew better. We all did. Any second and the Reapers could be right on us. Though they never came out during the day, we couldn’t leave anything to chance.

Mom pulled out her walkie. “Proceeding with root-out of potential Reapers.” She retrieved an oddly-shaped ball constructed from cans, tins, and several small bells we called chatter boxes from her supply bag and hurled it over her head.

The chatter box clunked loudly on the ground, bouncing before stopping in front of the seemingly-empty store. For a couple moments we all sat there, waiting for any sign of Reapers.

              Mom’s walkie crackled to life. “Patricia, I think we should–”

              “Quiet!” Mom hissed. “I think I hear something.”

              I couldn’t hear anything, but there was definitely a difference in the air, like it was charged somehow. Just like the basement five years ago. Images of the past filled my mind: My little sister Imogen, the electrified feeling down in the basement, the Reaper’s sudden appearance. I shook off my thoughts and edged close to my mother.

              “You’re right, something’s coming.”

Mom nodded, her gaze fixed on the grocery store. “Be brave, Gregory. If you have to, fall back.”

I shook my head. There was no way I was gonna miss out on this.

Her eyes widened, and she gripped her walkie once more. “Reapers, incoming!”

 I drew my Glock from my holster, turned the safety off, and tried to look through the abandoned store’s smudged entrance. It was dark inside, but I could see two hulking figures scrambling to the front of the store at breakneck speed.

Oh shi–

Two Reapers crashed through the entrance in an explosion of glass that blasted shards in a thousand directions. As the projectiles clinked on the ground I stared at the monsters before us, a chill running down my spine.

 Large, festering boils covered their reddish, emaciated bodies. They stood tall on two clawed feet, but could easily switch to all fours for speed, doubling the danger of their razor sharp appendages. The Reapers opened their mouths, revealing multiple layers of jagged, pointy teeth as they gave ear-piercing shrieks of rage.

A grin spread across my face. Time to die, assholes.

I aimed, then pulled my trigger as deafening gunshots came from my left and right. We’d hit the one on the right several times. A thick, black liquid oozed from its wounds, but it was still in fighting shape and pretty freakin’ pissed based on the hideous snarl on its face.

The aggravated Reaper leaped forward on all fours, bounding over the car we were hiding behind and landing in front of the sharpshooter furthest from me. It gave a mighty roar, snatching him up and throwing him like a rag doll. He went flying, landing on a nearby car’s windshield with a loud crack. The monster eyed the other sharpshooter with furious, predatory yellow eyes.

Shit, shit, shit! I lunged towards the Reaper as I targeted it, then yanked on my trigger.  It gave a high-pitched cry of pain and staggered back a step. Damn it! I’d only hit its shoulder. Its hateful gaze was now focused on me.

A sudden gunblast boomed from my comrade, and the Reaper fell to the ground, unmoving. A large pool of black sludge gathered underneath its head where the bullet had exited.

Before I could rejoice in the kill, Mom shouted nearby. I spun around. She was battling the other Reaper in front of the grocery store with a long knife in hand. She had deep cuts on her arms and legs, while the monster sported several nonfatal gunshot wounds. I tried to aim for the Reaper but they were moving too fast, desperately circling one another for an advantage. One wrong move and I’d shoot my own mother.

The Reaper took a wide-arching swipe at her, but she dodged to the side, cutting its leg as she went. The monster screeched and turned to attack, but mom slid between its legs and was now behind it. Point blank, Mom whipped out her revolver and fired three shots into the back of the Reaper’s head. It fell to the ground, twitching in its final death throes.

Mom lifted her combat boot and stomped on its head with a sickening crunch. The Reaper didn’t move anymore. She spat on it, then pulled out her walkie as I approached. “All clear. Torch the bodies.”

I glanced back. Twenty yards away behind another row of dead cars, our small group of noncombatants emerged. Mom strolled towards the grocery store and I jogged to catch up to her, eager to see what was inside. Whatever it was, it had better be worth it.

Available on Amazon!

About the Author

Jonathan Pongratz is a writer and author of captivating horror, urban fantasy, and paranormal stories. When he’s not writing, he’s busy being a bookworm, video game junkie, and karaoke vocalist. A former resident of Dallas, he currently resides in Kansas City with his halloween cat Ajax. By day he works magic in finance, by night he creates dark and mesmerizing worlds.

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Twitter Tags: @RRBookTours1 #RRBookTours

IG Tags: @jonathanpongratz @shannon_rrbooktours #rrbooktours #reaper #reaperaftermath

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Guns of Perdition (Armageddon Showdown #1) by Jessica Bakkers #bookreview #darkfantasy #TuesdayBookBlog

On By Teri PolenIn Book Reviews44 Comments

IT TAKES GRACE TO HUNT WHEN IT’S DARKSOME

Jessie expects he’ll be forever cleaning up after the cowpokes of the Bad Hoss Saloon. That’s until the day a drifter strides through the doors, and blows away a blood-sucking demon, along with Jessie’s belief in an everyday world. Jessie is captivated by the enigmatic Grace, with her pearl-handled revolvers, and wolf companion. He throws in his normal life and follows her across the Wild West, as she hunts down and slays the evil creatures that roam the frontier.

Along the way, they seek the aid of a Native American warrior, cross paths with a Cajun Queen, and encounter a small-town tycoon with a deadly hunger for gold. Animosity and distrust plague Grace and Jessie, and their strange group of allies, but they must put their differences behind them if they’re to have any hope of finding and defeating the frontier’s true evil, the Darksome Gunman.

The Armageddon Showdown is a dark-fantasy, weird western series of epic proportions, focusing on the age-old battle between good and evil, though in the Wild West, it’s not always clear just who is good and who is evil.

Join Grace Dyer and her band of miscreants as they battle demons and demi-gods, in the frontier’s deadliest conflict…the Armageddon Showdown. 

I haven’t read many westerns – to my knowledge this book makes a sum total of two. It’s not one of my favorite genres, but toss in Armageddon, dark fantasy, and a battle between good and evil and I’ll snatch it right up regardless of the genre.

The genre blend of western, dark fantasy, and horror is done so well and will appeal to a wide variety of readers. Some parts are a bit graphic, so heed the warning if that’s something you prefer to steer clear of (or just skim over those parts). It’s clear the author did her research for this time period, and I really enjoyed the western vernacular.

Morally gray characters are my favorite and these characters? Shades of gray dripping on nearly every page. Jessie had no idea what he was getting into the day Grace walked into the saloon where he worked or how much his life would change after leaving town with her. His character arc from young and naive to weathered and jaded is fascinating, but also kind of heartbreaking at his loss of innocence. It’s one of the things I enjoyed most. And Grace? She’s badass, hardened, lethal and ruthless, but I loved how the author also allowed her softer side and undying loyalty to her friends to shine through.

Vile creatures, unsavory characters, shocking twists, somber moments – my emotions were all over the place. Alexa read this to me from my Kindle and I had to rewind her more than once because I let some curses slip out over suprising plot developments. The author absolutely didn’t pull her punches from the first page to the last.

Readers of westerns, horror, and dark fantasy will be delighted with this gruesome, gritty tale and after this book, I’ll have to retract my statement about not being a western fan. It’s a powerful debut, and I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here.

Ink by Jonathan Maberry #bookreview #horror #paranormal

On By Teri PolenIn Book Reviews22 Comments

From New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry comes a standalone supernatural thriller Ink, about a memory thief who feeds on the most precious of dreams.

Tattoo-artist Patty Cakes has her dead daughter’s face tattooed on the back of her hand. Day by day it begins to fade, taking with it all of Patty’s memories of her daughter. All she’s left with is the certain knowledge she has forgotten her lost child. The awareness of that loss is tearing her apart.

Monk Addison is a private investigator whose skin is covered with the tattooed faces of murder victims. He is a predator who hunts for killers, and the ghosts of all of those dead people haunt his life. Some of those faces have begun to fade, too, destroying the very souls of the dead.

All through the town of Pine Deep people are having their most precious memories stolen. The monster seems to target the lonely, the disenfranchised, the people who need memories to anchor them to this world.

Something is out there. Something cruel and evil is feeding on the memories, erasing them from the hearts and minds of people like Patty and Monk and others.

Ink is the story of a few lonely, damaged people hunting for a memory thief. When all you have are memories, there is no greater horror than forgetting.

Take a moment to appreciate this exquisite cover – the designer did a magnificent job.  It’s been a while since I’ve read a Jonathan Maberry book, and after Ink, I’m kicking myself and wondering why.

From what I’ve seen in other reviews, the town of Pine Deep is featured in other Maberry novels, as are Monk and Patty.  I haven’t read those, but never felt as if I was missing anything.  Newcomers won’t be confused.

Antagonist Owen Minor is compared to a “psychic vampire” – he feeds on the tattoos and memories of others.  With such a large cast of eclectic characters, he’s got a veritable buffet to choose from in “The Spookiest Town in America”.  Two of his victims are Monk and Patty, who are easily my favorites.  Their stories are tragic and profoundly moving, and the loss of their memories and tattoos is deeply personal and gut-wrenching.  I ached for both of them.  Minor is abdominable, revolting, and intensely disturbed, and I felt slimy after every scene he was in.  I’ll never look at flies in the same way again and will be quicker to swat them in the future.

And that action-packed ending!  Holy crap, I don’t think I blinked once while reading it.  While it was mostly satisfying, I did feel as if some of the characters’ stories fell to the wayside and were left unresolved.  As a warning to readers who are faint of heart, Ink contains some graphic, gory scenes so be prepared.

This novel is bizarre, freaky, horrific, and often times gut-wrenching, but it makes me want to read the Pine Deep series.  I’d also love to see Patty and Monk in future books, so I’m hoping the author has a plan.  Highly recommend for horror fans!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#BadMoonRising Finding David by Stevie Turner #paranormal #horror #shortstory

On By Teri PolenIn Bad Moon Rising62 Comments

Today’s author is making her first appearance at BMR, but some of you are probably familiar with her books – she writes in a variety of genres. Between sleeping in a coffin or spending the night in a haunted house? She’ll take the haunted house – she’s already lived in one, so what’s another to add to the list? Welcome Stevie Turner!

Would you rather sleep in a coffin for one night or spend the night in a haunted house?

I am claustrophobic, and so nothing would ever induce me to spend the night in a coffin.  When younger, a flatmate and I made a coffin for a party we threw at our new flat, but everybody had a go at climbing into it except me!  I spent many nights in a haunted flat as a child.  My bedroom was haunted by the ghost of a previous tenant who had committed suicide, and so yes, I’d rather spend the night in a haunted house.

Name three items you’d take to spend the night in a haunted house.

I’d take my phone of course, just in case I needed to call in reinforcements.  I’d also take in a good time-lapse camera and leave it running, and lastly I’d take something to eat because I know I’d not sleep a wink!

Would you rather use an Ouija board or participate in a séance?

I’ve done both in the past, although neither one was very successful. 

If you had to give up snacks or drinks during writing sessions, which would be more difficult?

Drinks, definitely.  My salivary glands hardly function at all due to 34 sessions of radiotherapy to the neck for thyroid cancer back in 2017.  The cancer is gone, but the after-effects linger for life.  I sip, sip, sip all day long…

Do you write to music?

No, I have to have total silence as I find music too distracting.  I cannot write a word if music or the TV is playing in the background.

What are you working on now?

I’ve just finished ‘Barren’, a family relationship drama, and am in the process of reading it through a few times.  By the time this promotion comes out, the book will be published.

When Karen and Mick Curtis attend a demonstration of clairvoyance for the first time, Karen is singled out by the medium, Rae Cordelle. Rae has a message from Karen’s son David, who passed over to the spirit world many years before. The message shocks Karen and sends her on a journey of discovery, rocking her previously happy relationship with second husband Mick, David’s stepfather.

Purchase Link

Amazon

Author Bio

Stevie Turner is a British author of romantic suspense, humour, paranormal stories, and women’s fiction family dramas.  She is a cancer survivor, and still lives in the same picturesque Suffolk village that she and husband Sam moved to in 1991 with their two boys. Those two boys have now grown, and she and Sam have 5 lovely grandchildren.

One of her short stories, ‘Lifting the Black Dog’, was published in ‘1000 Words or Less Flash Fiction Collection’ (2016). She has also written an article ‘Look on the Bright Side of Life’ which was included in the 2016 book ‘They Say I’m Doing Well’ which are articles about mental illness, proceeds of which go to the charity MIND.  Her screenplay ‘For the Sake of a Child’ won a silver award in the Spring 2017 Depth of Field International Film Festival, and her novel ‘A House Without Windows’ gained interest in 2017 from an independent film production company based in New York.  ‘Finding David’ reached the quarter-finals of the 2019 ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story Competition. 

https://writers.coverfly.com/profile/writer-d3b3affc7-6104#accolades

Social Media

Website:  http://www.stevie-turner-author.co.uk/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/StevieTurner6

Blog:  https://steviet3.wordpress.com/

Google: https://plus.google.com/u/0/105747643789021738179/posts/p/pub

Pinterest:  https://uk.pinterest.com/stevieturner988/

Amazon Author Page:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stevie-Turner/e/B00AV7YOTU/

 Email: stevie@stevie-turner-author.co.uk

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7172051.Stevie_Turner

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClWFuLQHDqGmOM3KbKJ-Z0g

#BadMoonRising Of Witches… by Steve Stred #horror #occult

On By Teri PolenIn Bad Moon Rising29 Comments

If you’re a witch fan or just looking for some creepy Halloween tales, this author’s collection of short stories and illustrations could be just what you need. Read below about his harrowing experience with a Ouija board after the tragic death of a friend and why he’s scarred for life by the Tristar Pictures music and Pegasus. Welcome Steve Stred!

Has a movie or book scared you so much you couldn’t sleep?  Which one?

When I was younger we had an unconventional ‘Christmas’ movie that we’d watch each and every Christmas. The Monster Squad. I don’t know why that ended up being our Christmas movie, but it did and when I first watched it I was maybe 6 or 7 and it scared me so bad. Each year, I would be petrified of it and it gave me a lifelong fear of Werewolves. Additionally, for many years after first watching the movie, I was terrified when the Tristar music and Pegasus would begin before any movie.

Would you rather use a Ouija board or participate in a séance?

I’ve actually used a Ouija board before and had a very uncomfortable experience. Where I grew up, a friend died in a horrible car accident. After her memorial a bunch of us were at a different friend’s house. We were having a remembrance sleep over/party for her. Someone decided to try and ask the deceased some questions with the Ouija board. We all uncomfortably laughed, but later on the board was brought out and they started messing with it. I was laying on the couch (trying to snuggle up with a crush!) when I felt a pressure on my chest and infinite sorrow. I began to cry uncontrollably, but could talk just fine. I told my freaked out friends what was happening and they were unable to help me get off the couch. It was as though I had been super glued to the material. After another few minutes of this, someone took the board and put it somewhere and poof, I was free to move again and didn’t feel any of the sadness I had felt. I don’t think I’ll ever mess with another one again.

As for a séance, I think it would be a unique experience, but only if it was with a group of people who were taking it completely seriously.

If you were in a horror movie, would you rather have a loaded gun or a car that wouldn’t break down?

I think part of this is situational. I mean if a car won’t break down, get in and drive, yeah? Leave Mr. Leatherface in the dust? But if you were trapped in a house, a gun would be much more efficient for your survival than a car parked outside.

Do you write to music?

Absolutely. Usually, I’ll have 2 or 3 albums specifically for each thing I’m writing. I listen to a lot of different music, but for writing sessions I’ll only listen to those specific works that make up the backdrop for emotional leverage of each release. For ‘Scott: A Wagon Buddy Tale’ which is the sequel to ‘Wagon Buddy’ I listened to Tom Petty and Arcade Fire. Currently for book three of my ‘Father of Lies’ trilogy, I’m listening to a lot of SepticFlesh and Dimmu Borgir. So, it really just depends on what I’m writing as to what I’m playing.

Describe your writing space.

BORING! Haha! Is that accurate? I do 99% of my writing at work on my lunch break, so it’s a computer on a desk with a fan beside it. Tada! I also do some very, very, very rare writing on my phone. So, it’s a Samsung and that’s really it. Not a very amazing spot like I’ve seen a lot of people’s set up!

What are you working on now?

Oh lord. What a loaded question! Well, “Of Witches…” just came out September 4th. So, that was my newest collection of 8 short stories about witches. It also featured 15 pieces of stunning art by Miranda Crites! I’m prepping my last release of the year, ‘Scott: A Wagon Buddy Tale,’ for its arrival. This is a sequel to my release ‘Wagon Buddy.’

Otherwise, I’m working on Books 2 and 3 respectively of my ‘Sermons of Sorrow Trilogy,’ Book 3 of my ‘Father of Lies Trilogy,’ my ultra-limited release ‘456 Blatchford Drive,’ my novel ‘Mastodon,’ the horror-western I’m co-writing with David Sodergren, and three other releases that I can’t share any more details on!

I’m always busy working on stuff!

“Of Witches…” the newest collection by dark fiction author, Steve Stred, brings together eight stories all revolving around one of history’s great curiosities – the witch.

Steve Stred will once again take you into the deepest, darkest places.

Accompanied by fifteen stunning photographs/illustrations, as well as an amazing foreword from Miranda Crites, this collection is sure to quench your crone thirst.

Within this collection you’ll find tales about;

-A watery reunion

-A story shared in a bar

-Letters left after a family member dies

–A chance encounter while camping

-Three sisters who live on the outskirts of town

-The events that follow the loss of a loved one

-Strange occurrences at a property

-A teenager starting to work at the family business

“Of Witches…” is sure to become both a Halloween classic as well as a collection classic.

Purchase Link

Amazon

Author Bio

Steve Stred writes dark, bleak horror fiction.

Steve is the author of a number novels, novellas and collections.

He is proud to work with the Ladies of Horror Fiction to facilitate the Annual LOHF Writers Grant.

Steve has appeared alongside some of Horror’s heaviest hitters in some fantastic anthologies.

Steve Stred is based in Edmonton, AB, Canada and lives with his wife, his son and their dog OJ.

Social Media

Website: stevestredauthor.wordpress.com

Twitter: @stevestred

Instagram: @stevestred

#BadMoonRising The Sea Was Angry by Armand Rosamilia #horror #seastories

On By Teri PolenIn Bad Moon Rising68 Comments

If you’ve followed Bad Moon Rising from the beginning, you’ll probably recognize today’s author – he’s participated every year. Today he brings his newest release, a tale of horror on the sea (love the cover!) With his list of things he’d take to a haunted house, I’d probably tag along – the man has excellent taste in bourbon. Welcome Armand Rosamilia!

Would you rather sleep in a coffin for one night or spend the night in a haunted house?

Neither, but if I had to choose it would be the haunted house. I’m too fat (too many peanut M&M’s and bourbon in my diet) so I’d have to be stuffed into a coffin. That would be quite uncomfortable. Bring on the ghosts!

Name three items you’d take to spend the night in a haunted house.

A five lb. bag of peanut M&M’s. A bottle of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon. A paranormal investigator. I’d drink the bourbon and eat the M&M’s and hope the paranormal investigator will keep the ghosts busy so I can enjoy my dinner.

If you were in a horror movie, would you rather have a loaded gun or a car that wouldn’t break down?

Definitely the car. Bullets won’t work against monsters. I mean, it might knock them down, and then you think they’re dead, but as soon as you walk away they rise behind you and start to slowly walk at your running form, until they catch up because you trip over something trying to look back, and… at least with a car I have a fighting chance.

Do you write to music?

I have to. I can’t stand when it is quiet. I need background noise. I’ll have my Spotify on very low, just enough I can hear the song but not enough I am focused on it. It’s usually a mix of thrash metal, black metal and random stuff like Bowling For Soup, Barenaked Ladies and Volbeat. I’m all over the place with music lately.

What was the hardest scene to write in your featured book?

In The Sea Was Angry, a lot of the beginning of the book relies on a shrimp boat crew. I’ve never been on a shrimp boat. I don’t like going in the ocean despite always living near it. So having to make it read authentic (as authentic as you can get in a horror book, I guess) I asked a lot of questions. Luckily I grew up in a fishing village in NJ so I had a few people to ask about it. A lot of it was cut in edits but I think I faked my way through it!

Describe your writing space.

I have my own office in the front of the house, so I can write while watching the street like an old man. We recently installed a Little Free Library out front, so I get to also watch the neighbors as they come and go, taking books and leaving books. Then I run outside and see what’s new. I collect Funko Pops, too, so there are hundreds of them on shelves in my office now, crammed in with my comic book art, Conan prints, Jaws stuff, zombie stuff, coffee mug collection, and so much more. I’ve had a few guests think the room is for a teenager. I guess it is, only I’m fifty.

The fishing industry near Daytona Beach is crippled when the shrimp stop coming up in nets, when the trout and flounder stop taking the bait… and when mysterious black sea life begins to attack the boats, the swimmers and the land, can anyone escape the horror as the oceans fight back?

Purchase Link

Amazon

Author Bio

Armand Rosamilia is a New Jersey boy currently living in sunny Florida, where he writes when he’s not sleeping. He’s happily married to a woman who helps his career and is supportive, which is all he ever wanted in life…

He’s written over 150 stories that are currently available, including horror, zombies, contemporary fiction, thrillers and more. His goal is to write a good story and not worry about genre labels.

He not only runs two successful podcasts…

Arm Cast Podcast – interviewing fellow authors as well as filmmakers, musicians, etc.

The Mando Method Podcast with co-host Chuck Buda – talking about writing and publishing

But he owns the network they’re on, too! Project Entertainment Network

He also loves to talk in third person… because he’s really that cool.

Social Media: https://armandrosamilia.com, Twitter: @ArmandAuthor, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorArmandRosamilia, Facebook Fan Club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1637817943125835

#BadMoonRising Tales From the Annexe – 7 Stories From the Herbert West Series by Audrey Driscoll #horror #occult #shortstories

On By Teri PolenIn Bad Moon Rising51 Comments

Some readers aren’t quite prepared to jump into novel-length horror, but they can handle the torture scares in shorter spurts. Today’s featured book of short stories checks off that box. Read on to find out which chilling book has stuck with this author since the age of twelve. Welcome Audrey Driscoll!

Would you rather sleep in a coffin for one night or spend the night in a haunted house?

A nice new, padded coffin in a coffin showroom would be okay, as long as the lid was left open. If it had to be closed, or if the coffin had been previously occupied, I might just go for the haunted house. On the other hand, spending time in a closed coffin might be a useful experience for writing a horror story.

Has a movie or book scared you so much you couldn’t sleep?  Which one?

Yes, terribly! When I was about 12, school kids could order books from a company called Scholastic. One of the books I bought was called Stories of the Supernatural, and one of the stories was “The Willows” by Algernon Blackwood. It’s about two guys who take a canoe trip down the Danube River. They camp in a place where the river flows among many small islands overgrown by willow bushes. Seriously weird things happen. The terrifying thing about this story is its subtlety. It hints at the horror rather than describing it in any concrete way. It’s not a ghost or a monster, but Something Else. And there’s a lot about the experience of fear and the narrator’s awareness of it as it develops from vague unease to full-on terror. I was a nervous wreck for months after I read it.

Would you rather use a Ouija board or participate in a séance?

I’ve never wanted to participate in a séance because I just assume they’re faked, but I have used a Ouija setup, decades ago. It wasn’t a board, though, but a homemade arrangement. Each letter and number was written on a separate small piece of paper, and the paper bits were randomly arranged in a circle. They were not in order. We used a glass instead of a planchette. When everyone placed a finger on the glass, it skittered around and spelled things out. While I can’t remember what the message was, the fact that actual words were spelled out was so creepy we never tried it again.

Do you write to music?

I have done, to the point where the music found its way into the writing, and even exercised an undue influence on it. Both those things happened to my first novel, The Friendship of Mortals. There is a scene in which characters attend a performance of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations. And listening to Loreena McKennitt’s album The Mask and Mirror while I was writing, especially “The Dark Night of the Soul,” nudged the plot in an unintended direction. Then there’s my not-yet-published novel about a young woman’s experience with Franz Schubert’s gloriously gloomy song cycle Winterreise. Listening to that music compelled me to write about it.

What was the hardest scene to write in your featured book?

In one of the stories in Tales from the Annexe, the main character is physically immobilized. In another, mobility is limited by illness. Action has to happen in memory, imagination, or hallucination. Since I haven’t experienced situations like these, writing them strained my imagination engine to the utmost. I hope it and I succeeded, but only readers will be able to say for sure.

Which comes first for you – plot or characters?

Characters, definitely. I think that’s why my novels are slow burns; I get too involved with my characters and have a hard time pushing them along through the plot and making them suffer. Sometimes plot ideas of the “what if” type go nowhere because the inspirations don’t come with equally good characters.

Seven stories from the world of Audrey Driscoll’s Herbert West Series, followed by seven other tales of illusions, delusions, and mysteries on the edges of logic.

Discover Herbert West’s connections to Egypt, and how a dead man can help solve a mystery.

Share Charles Milburn’s ruminations as he explores another dimension of his friendship with Herbert.

Experience the horror of a long-anticipated revenge.

Sample the treats on offer from the ice cream truck from Hell.

Ride along with a dad who abandons his ten-year-old son in the woods where something howls.

Find out why a woman paints her bedroom a very special colour.

Accompany fifteen-year-old Ann as she tries to prove she belongs to the glamorous family on the other side of town.

These and seven other curious encounters may be found in this annexe to the ordinary.

Buy Links for Tales from the Annexe:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon Canada

Amazon Australia

Author Bio

Three quarters of the way through a career as a cataloguing librarian, Audrey Driscoll discovered she was actually a writer. Since the turn of the millennium, she has written and published five novels and a short story collection. She negotiates with plants, juggles words, and communes with fictitious characters in Victoria, British Columbia. Her opinions on gardening, writing, and things that bug or delight her, along with information about her books, may be found on her blog at https://audreydriscoll.com

Social Media

Blog: https://audreydriscoll.com

Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Audrey-Driscoll/e/B00J7X7QVC

Amazon.uk:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Audrey-Driscoll/e/B00J7X7QVC Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4202146.Audrey_Driscoll

#BadMoonRising: Diaballein by Cage Dunn #horror #darkfantasy

On By Teri PolenIn Bad Moon Rising49 Comments

Today we have an author making a first time appearance at Bad Moon Rising.  I read a wonderful review of Diaballein last week at D. Wallace Peach’s blog HERE  The list of three items to take into a haunted house totally makes sense – well thought out.  Welcome Cage Dunn!

Would you rather sleep in a coffin for one night, or spend a night in a haunted house?

For prickly-skin inspiration, I’d like to walk through a haunted graveyard at midnight on my way to sleep in the abandoned haunted house, but not in a coffin.

What three items would you take to the haunted house?

  1. eReader, of course, ‘cos how else am I going to get weird reflections of the ghosts who think I can’t see anything behind me?
  2. Pump-up mattress, ‘cos even sleeping with ghosts should offer some comfort, and old haunted houses are not conducive to a good night’s sleep, are they?
  3. A notebook, so I can offer to relay the stories the ghosts want to have told.

Ghosts have many stories to tell, many woes to share, and if I can steal one idea from any of them, or show a reader what it feels like to be there, how the heart races at the tickle of cold air that touches the face like a dead lover’s caress – that’s a good moment. Fear is the anticipation of something bad happening, and I love to talk to the things that cause fear, find out why they do it, how it works.

Would you rather boogie down to Monster Mash or get your groove on to Thriller?

For musical inspiration, I’d like to boogie down with Monster Mash followed closely by Thriller.  Music is the soul of writing stories. A piece of music can inspire a story or enhance it. The rhythms of the sound transferred to the story demonstrate the subtext, the pace, and the sense of movement. Not every piece of music works for a story, but when it’s right, it’s so very, very right.

Do you write to music?

Funny you should ask that. I do, but only sometimes. I’m tone deaf, so the music can’t have voices, and if it’s the wrong music, I can’t write. So the music has to be non-vocal, and clearly defined between beats. It’s the beats I feel that need to be expressed into the pacing of the story, or the feel and atmosphere. It may not make sense, but it’s fun.

What is the hardest part of writing an author bio?

Do I have to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? I mean, I tell stories … but in the end, I told enough of the truth mixed with enough of the dreamer to satisfy both me and the muse. Maybe.

What are you working on now?

There are two series, or maybe serials, in novella formats.

The stories are based on the paths taken to achieve the highest level of magic. Not the type of magic that waves a wand, but the real magic where a person calls on their elemental nature, their strengths through familiars, and patterns of power to assist the people in the world who need it.

The second is a series about a man I’d call a negotiator, a fixer. He knows everyone on the dark side, and everyone knows him. The man youu call when you want a good thief to retrieve the family secrets, or to barter for the return. This man employs the skills of psychics and future-tellers as well as punishers and common thieves. You want something done on the quiet, he’s your man.

One man, one woman, one Diaballein — who will survive?

Kano Varre seeks a rare mineral in Outback Australia to prove his controversial and dangerous research — what he finds is a nightmare.

His body is possessed by the Diaballein, whose purpose is to open a gateway for his brethren, Kano must defeat the enemy while there’s only one, and he needs Eyza’s help to do it before the world falls into slavery, torture, death — worse than any nightmare ever imagined.

The gate is open …

Purchase Links

Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/cagedunn 

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cage-dunn

Books2Read: https://books2read.com/ap/nkG5gn/Cage-Dunn

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/CageDunn

Author Bio

Cage Dunn is a dedicated Fibber, Fabricator, Teller of Tall Tales who writes Australian stories, rural and outback urban/dark fantasy, horror, and twisted tales, stories about fearful things, dreams and horrors.

Cage was born in the wide-open landscape of inland Western Australia, lived all over the startling country of Australia – now in Adelaide – and worked at everything from sewage collection to computer programming. Still learning, still writing, still scaring the pants off those willing to listen to the stories …

Social Media

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cage_dunn   @cage_dunn
Blog: https://cagedunn.wordpress.com

Calling #Horror, #Thriller, and #Paranormal #IndieAuthors for #BadMoonRising

On By Teri PolenIn Bad Moon Rising30 Comments

It’s that time again – Bad Moon Rising is coming!  Thirty-one authors for thirty-one days in October.  If you’re an indie author of horror, thriller, or paranormal/supernatural books and would like to be featured, send me an email.  FREE publicity, book sales (hopefully!), new authors to follow, and more books added to the TBR – what’s not to like?

Each post will feature one of your releases, a blurb, author bio, social media links, buy links, and a short interview.  If you’d like to include a giveaway or have alternative ideas for your post, I’m always open to suggestions.

This is the sixth year of Bad Moon Rising and spots tend to fill up fast, so if you’d like to be included, email me at tpolen6@gmail.com.

I’ll be traveling today, so I probably won’t be able to get to emails until tomorrow.

Fractured Tide by Leslie Lutz #bookreview #YA #thriller #scifi #TuesdayBookBlog

On By Teri PolenIn Book Reviews22 Comments

Lost meets Stranger Things in this eerie, immersive YA thriller, thrusting seventeen-year-old Sia into a reality where the waters in front of her and the jungle behind her are as dangerous as the survivors alongside her.

Sia practically grew up in the water scuba diving, and wreck dives are run of the mill. Take the tourists out. Explore the reef. Uncover the secrets locked in the sunken craft. But this time … the dive goes terribly wrong.

Attacked by a mysterious creature, Sia’s boat is sunk, her customers are killed, and she washes up on a deserted island with no sign of rescue in sight. Waiting in the water is a seemingly unstoppable monster that is still hungry. In the jungle just off the beach are dangers best left untested. When Sia reunites with a handful of survivors, she sees it as the first sign of light.

Sia is wrong.

Between the gulf of deadly seawater in front of her and suffocating depth of the jungle behind her, even the island isn’t what it seems.

Haunted by her own mistakes and an inescapable dread, Sia’s best hope for finding answers may rest in the center of the island, at the bottom of a flooded sinkhole that only she has the skills to navigate. But even if the creature lurking in the depths doesn’t swallow her and the other survivors, the secrets of their fractured reality on the island might.

With Lost and Stranger Things being the comp titles (and two of my fav shows) for this book, I was soooo hoping to not be disappointed – and I absolutely wasn’t.  The comps are perfect descriptions.

Creepy, bizarre, mind-bending – all are apt descriptions of the island Sia finds herself stranded on.  Honestly, I’d be afraid to close my eyes at night.  This book held my attention from page one, and I probably could have finished it in one sitting.  Pacing is brisk and tense – I couldn’t wait to see what happened next.

Characterization is another strong point, from the MC to supporting characters – flawed, layered, and relatable.  I loved that Sia was a diver, and it’s obvious the author did her research on the subject.  I tried diving several years ago, but I was too claustrophobic – so I really felt the tension when Sia was caught up in dangerous underwater situations.

Although completely riveted by this book, I dreaded the ending because I was sure to be disappointed by some weak excuse for what was happening.  But I wasn’t at all, and that made my sci-fi loving heart so happy.

Fractured Tide is a fantastic blend of thriller, sci-fi, and horror and fans of any of those genres are in for a treat.  With such an amazing debut novel, this is an author to watch.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.