Precipice: The Retrieval, Book Two, has been released and is now available.
What better way to celebrate Kevin’s new release than a giveaway!
Enjoy my review of Precipice, The Beginning.
Don’t forget to enter the awesome Giveaway!
I love books about space travel and other planets. I also love stories with horrific creatures.
I found both in Precipice.
A large ship is swallowed up in the ocean and it sounds the death knell for Earth.
Meanwhile, 55 million miles from Earth, Lieutenant Travis Daniels and his elite team are little more than prisoners.
After a FUBAR mission, Travis made a deal to keep his team from a death sentence and they are now on Mars, helping to colonize it.
When they aren’t mining, they spend most of their time in their cells.
“The excitement of being stationed on the fourth planet from the sun has long since worn off.”
Travis was already on Mars when his wife, Annie, discovers she’s pregnant. Since then, he’s only seen his son, Logan, twice, and that was on a monitor.
When they lose all communication with Earth, and finally do get a transmission, it shows an Earth with deep trenches ripped through it and flashes of strange creatures crawling out of them.
Travis has to find a way to get to his family while dealing with a madman that has control over them and the only ship able to get them home.
I enjoyed the camaraderie between Travis and his team. Each had their own distinct voice and their own place in the story. Without good secondary characters a story falls flat. Not so with this book.
While the situation on Mars is deteriorating, Earth has fallen into ruin. What crawls out of those trenches is terrifying.
They are so fast, you barely have time to blink before they’re on you. With lizard like skin and jaws of a hell hound, once they get close to you, you’re dead. I call them the ‘dobiegators.’
Then there’s the big guy. He is so huge he is beyond comprehension. The best description I can give you is the creature from the movie Cloverfield.
This thing is so big it crushes buildings, reaching in to grab the people cowering inside.
It’s one thing after another, both on Earth and on Mars.
With Earth overrun and Mars not ready to be colonized yet, these people are between a rock and a hard place.
Kevin has written a thrilling, terrifying story with special ops, the end of the world, madmen, creatures from the bowels of Hell, and action galore.
When I finished reading Precipice, I said, “Yep, just what I needed.”
I love my horror and suspense and that’s just what I got!
5 Stars
Here is the amazing cover for Precipice, The Retrieval, Book Two
Sherry and I, the Tag Team Sisters, are both posting our reviews and having a giveaway.
For a second chance to win visit Sherry at fundinmental
I’ll be giving away one paperback of Precipice and some Bookmarks from his other thrilling story Faithful Shadow.
An International Giveaway.
To enter, please leave your email address and answer this question:
“Do you think we will ever colonize another planet?”
Giveaway ends June 5th.
I’ve also read Faithful Shadow
Faithful Shadow takes you beyond the splendor of nature to the terror that lies beneath, one that should have never been discovered. Yellowstone is suffering from the largest forest fire in the park’s history. Ranger JOE RAND, once passionate about nature and now drowning in alcohol after the recent death of his son, notices something is very wrong within Yellowstone after a string of disappearances. But when a fireman is found dead in the Old Faithful Inn after falling into a hole earlier that day, his body mauled and deprived of all its fluids, Joe knows he has no choice but to set down his flask and investigate. Joe and Lieutenant DALE CAFFEY of the Billings Fire Department go into the woods to search the hole the fireman had fallen into. They discover a series of tunnels lined with bones, the air thick with smoke. Joe and Dale conclude that the creature that had killed the fireman had left its subterranean dwelling to flee the overwhelming smoke from the fire above. The creature takes shelter inside the Inn, concealing itself within the darkened crevices, emerging to feast on passersby. After staging an evacuation of the park, they lock themselves inside the Inn to hunt the creature. After just a short while it becomes frighteningly clear that it is, in fact, the creature that is hunting them.
Hell has come to Yellowstone and it’s just getting started.
Kevin Howard lives with his family in Washington. He worked in Yellowstone National Park for the summer season as part of a family tradition. Kevin, his wife Melissa, and his two young children enjoy spending summers there.
For fans of Stephenie Meyer comes a chilling love story that will have you hooked from the very first page. Super Dark is a tale of passion, guilt and redemption with a whopping, knock-you-to-your-knees twist!
Darkness stalks seventeen-year-old Sam Harper. Ten years ago on Halloween night, grotesque creatures snatched her best friend Elliot and Sam narrowly escaped with her life. Now a decade on, the police investigation has ground to a halt and Elliot’s whereabouts remains a mystery.
Traumatized by her ordeal, Sam finds it hard to make friends. She is mistrustful of authority and changed schools more times than she cares to remember. To her, the world is cruel and unforgiving.
Then she meets the enigmatic Lee Weaver. With his gorgeous face and magnetic presence, he turns heads wherever he goes. Sam has never wanted anyone as much as she wants Lee, but there are things about the alluring stranger that don’t add up, leading Sam to ask unsettling questions about her past. Soon she discovers the boy of her dreams is keeping a terrible secret: one that threatens to destroy everything Sam holds dear.
Super Dark is a seductive love story that will keep you guessing right until the final page.
~
My Review
Who or what is Lee Weaver? That is a question I couldn’t wait to have answered.
When you find out, you’ll be surprised!
When Sam Harper was only seven years old, strange beings abducted her and her best friend Elliott. Elliott convinced the kidnappers to let her go and that is the last time she sees him.
Now, ten years later, Sam is still dealing with her feelings of guilt and shame.
She’s hoping to just blend in at her new school, be invisible.
Then Becky and Frasier enter her life, pushing past her barriers and becoming her friends, not because of the sensational news story that was her life back when, but because they really like her.
Along comes the sexy Lee Weaver, looking better than any guy has a right to. Her attraction to him is immediate and very powerful, which makes Sam even more drawn to him.
Who, or what, is the mysterious Lee Weaver, and why does he fill her every thought.
This is where it really gets going.
Weird things start happening when Lee is around. Frasier swears Lee healed his broken leg and a mysterious black car seems to be following Rose.
As Rose learns more about Lee, she’ll wish she never found out. Her life and that of her friends are in jeopardy. She’ll wish she never opened Pandora’s Box. Curiosity kills the cat, don’t ya know?
Super Dark is a perfect title for this story. The paranormal aspects are revealed late in the tale and you are kept in the dark about the mysterious Lee, teasing you to read faster and find out what he is or isn’t.
I sped through Super Dark and got much more than I expected. I’m already starting Super Dark Two.
4 Stars
About the Author:
Tanith Morse grew up in Wandsworth, south London. From a young age she developed a great love of horror films and gothic romances. Her favorite director is Tim Burton and her favorite authors include Charlotte Bronte, Stephenie Meyer and Suzanne Collins. When she isn’t writing, Tanith enjoys directing short films for the festival circuit and looking after her cat, Mambo. An avid tea drinker, Tanith can be found hanging out in cozy London cafes in search of new brews to tease her taste buds. Super Dark is her first YA novel.
The best word I can use to describe Taylor Deans writing is ‘haunting.‘
I have read all of her books, and they all stayed with me, lingered.
The same can be said about Sierra.
Taylor is my guest today. She’ll be talking about her book and revealing some fun facts.
Enjoy her post, read my review, and don’t forget to enter the wonderful giveaway!
Please welcome Taylor Dean.
She’s here to reveal some fun facts about Sierra!
~~~
TEN Things you Don’t Know About Sierra
1. Sierra is my first novel.
2. Sierra was originally a 165,000 word monstrosity. (It’s now 100,000 words.)
3. Sierra was inspired by the true-story-TV-movie of the ordeal endured by Olympic Medalist Kari Swenson, entitled, Abduction. (1987) This movie inspired a ‘what if’ story in me. What if the kidnapping had been successful? What if she was taken deep into the woods? What if she was rescued there? What if she had to stay with her rescuer through the winter?
4. The first ten pages of Sierra were handwritten back in 1991 (pictured below) on a day when I just couldn’t stand it anymore, I had to write my story. If I didn’t commit it to paper right then, I was going to die! Frankly, the hastily written pages are really, really awful. But, the gist of the story is there and it’s eerily similar to the published version that stands today. Back then, for some unknown reason, I thought Nightmare into Paradise was a good title. (I blame it on the nineties.) I’ve come a long way.
I didn’t officially write Sierra until 2006.
5. My sister—one of the first people to ever read Sierra—stayed up ALL night to read it and still says it’s the best book she’s ever read.
My sister’s thoughts on Sierra:
If you only read one of her books, it should be this one. Dean captures the real terror and thoughts of a woman in a dangerous situation; the real fears we have in love; the realistic responses of survivors of terrifying scenarios.If you like to see the man you love chopping wood with his shirt off, save you from any situation you encounter, and then go inside and make you dinner, Sierra is the book for you!
6. Of all of my novels, Sierra is my personal favorite.
7. The original cover of Sierra was an actual picture of a snowbound cabin. (It was never published with this cover.)
8. In my original story of Sierra, Alyssa takes Alex to court to have their marriage declared legal. Ugh. It was one of the first plot lines to get DELETED. Thank goodness. But I sure had fun writing it.
9. It took me one year to write Sierra. (and even longer to EDIT, EDIT, EDIT!)
10. The original (awful) title of Sierra was Sanguinity.
Below is how my family and friends read my early manuscripts–somehow they still liked them! When people enjoy your early unedited and unformatted stories–you know you’re on to something.
I am about to release TWO more books! (June 2013)
Zachary Drake had love in his life–and tragically lost it. He knows it won’t come his way again.
Andie Parker would do anything for the love of her life.Even marry a total stranger.In spite of the unorthodox manner in which Zach and Andie come together, there is no denying that things are unexpectedly good between them, taking them both by surprise. However, when secrets come between them–and trust does not–Andie soon finds herself vowing to never make the same mistake again. But, she’d do it again in a heartbeat and she knows it. She’d marry a hundred strangers if it helped Nick.She’d do anything for Nick . . . anything.
After Marisa survives a traumatic experience in her youth, she finds comfort in the form of a photograph of Joshua, her foster mother’s nephew. She falls in love with him, creating and refining an image of the man of her dreams. When Marisa has the opportunity to visit Joshua’s cattle ranch outside of Amarillo, Texas, she meets Joshua in person for the first time. She quickly realizes he is someone she could really fall in love with, not just a silly childhood crush.
Life is seemingly perfect for Josh and Marisa, with endless possibilities before them. That is, until Josh’s reservations take a toll on their relationship and their summertime romance ends rather unexpectedly.
Will Marisa be able to forgive Josh for his folly?
~~~~~
My Review
Taylor classifies her books as love stories.
There is romance in all of her books, but I classified some of them as horror and thrillers.
Sierra starts out with your typical happy family on vacation.
Then it turns dark in a hurry.
Two maniacs abduct Alyssa and Sam and their son Clay, forcing her to drive them deep into the woods.
Pa and Adam had found their Eve. They had no use for the man and the boy.
Sam and Clay are gunned down right before her eyes and Alyssa succumbs to the shock.
When she comes to, her reality is horrifying.
Her escape attempt is thwarted by her kidnappers, but now they’re lost.
But wait, they stumble upon a cabin.
Alyssa dares to hope. Could her savior be inside? Maybe she can survive this, but does she want to?
I can’t imagine anything more soul-destroying then to see your loved ones murdered.
No matter how much she grieves for her husband and son, Alyssa’s will to survive drives her on.
There is a miracle in the cabin. The miracle is Alex.
He’s damaged goods, but then, so is she.
Two people, trapped in a cabin for the winter, turn to each other.
What I like most about Sierra was how Taylor lulls you in the beginning, then she shreds the peaceful scene to pieces. It happens so fast you barely have time to comprehend what is going to happen. Just like in real life.
You’ll be proud of Alyssa. Her heart has been shattered, she doesn’t want to live, but she can’t quit.
So she fights. with everything she can dredge up, she fights to live.
And life is waiting. Alex is waiting. He just doesn’t know it yet.
So, Sierra is a thriller, wrapped around a love story.
Of all of Taylor Dean’s books, this one moved me the most.
I cried, wiped the tears so I could see to keep on reading, and cried some more.
I smiled, then grinned, then laughed, and finally clapped.
Taylor gives you stong, genuine characters, a horrifying scenario that could happen, and the healing power of the human spirit.
I guarantee, after you read Sierra, you’ll have to read Taylor’s other books!
5 Stars
Taylor, I’m waiting for more!!
Giveaway
Look at what you can win!
To enter, please leave your email address and answer this question,
“If you were snowbound in an isolated cabin, who would you like to have there with you?”
***This swag pack is for US/Canada Only***
Please specify you are entering for the swag pack.
You will also be entered for the e-book.
***I also have 5 e-books of Sierra to giveaway ~ International & US***
Giveaway ends May 30th.
About Taylor Dean
Taylor Dean lives in Texas and is the mother of four grown children. Upon finding herself with an empty nest, she began to write the stories that were always wandering around in her head, quickly finding that she had a passion for writing, specifically romance. Whether it’s paranormal, contemporary, or suspense-you’ll find all sub-genres of CLEAN Romance in her line-up.
I couldn’t resist giving a shout out about Troy’s free download of Just Past the Trees on Amazon this weekend!
I’ve read several of Troy’s short stories and enjoyed them immensely.
So, I’ve added in my previous reviews so you can learn what I thought of them!
Don’t forget to get Just Past the Trees free here!
I liked this one. It’s got a couple of writers in it.
I’m a young guy, still live at home. Yeah, I know, get a life. But I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do.
I know I want to be a writer, have for as long as I can remember.
I’ve always felt writing is my strongest suit. I hope you agree. Story ideas can walk into my head like strangers at Thanksgiving, and before I know it, I’m fleshing out characters, plotting some pretty evil schemes for them to fall into, and hearing lines of prose…
But until I become famous, got to earn a living. I work for a company that repairs big rigs. I’m the runner. If they need a part of a tool, it’s my job to get it. Not glamorous, but it’s a living.
One of my jobs is keeping the property mowed.
During a Florida summer breathing makes you sweat.
You’d think I was certifiable, cutting the grass with an old push mower in the blazing afternoon heat. It’s a huge piece of property and takes all week. By the time I’m done, it’s time to start all over again.
“Job security” is what my dad calls it. “Perpetual motion through redundancy” is what I call it..
Anyway, that’s how I discovered the body, or what was left of it.
Like I said , it has two writers in the story. The other one is Doug Robbins. He’s a crypto-zoologist traveling through Florida on the trail of the Skunk-Ape. Ever heard of it? It’s the southern version of Bigfoot.
After hearing about the dead body, Doug suspects the skunk-ape may be involved. He’s here to finally get proof it exists and hopes to write a book about it.
The two young men hatch a plan to get said evidence of its existence and that’s when it gets hairy! Pardon the pun.
Troy can condense a story and make it have such an impact. I felt like I knew these guys. And a story about writers, the struggles they go through and how far they’ll go to write that story is interesting and fun. You get two different views from two writers.
Visually written. You’ll feel like you’re there, looking into the woods, and wondering what may be looking back at you.
Nothing less than Five Stars will do!
~~~
Here is my review of Little Bernie’s Map.
This was just supposed to be a nice, relaxing family trip. A way to escape the daily grind and forget, for a while, the problems and worries at home.
Daniel and Gina, along with their son Bernie, are heading home after a trip to Disney World. Daniel just lost his job, but they decide to go on this vacation anyway. It may be the last one they can take for a long time.
Bernie and his father have a game they play. Bernie loves map, he collects them. At random points in their trip, Daniel would ask Bernie how much farther they had to go and he would look on the map to track their progress.
Bernie had one map that was special. A map given to him by an old woman when they stopped for a break at the Florida Welcome Center. She told him to be careful with it and Bernie tried to be.
But when weird and frightening things start to happen, the map is not first on any of their minds. All they can think about is what just happened.
What came down from the sky that day would be discussed for years to come. Each person would draw their own conclusions. One thing most agreed on was what they saw, what it looked like.
My Thoughts
It has been a long time since I have been this surprised by a story. I had to reread several scenes just to wrap my mind around what was happening. I wanted to try to form an image in my head. I sure wish this had been a movie. You’ll know what I mean when” The Flashpoint” happens.
Troy has a wonderful way of leading you into the story. There is much about this family that you can relate to. The characters are genuine and very likeable. I felt their anguish and their perseverance and really wanted things to be alright for them.
When the event happens I am stunned. I can’t wait for you to read it. It is so wild and kind of funny. It definitely makes you think. Think and say, yeah, I hear ya.
If you like Twilight Zone and Tales From the Darkside, you will love this. I also got a flash of that dread you feel in the scene from the movie The Mist by Stephen King. The one where they are driving into the mist and you just know something inexplicable is going to occur. The feeling lasts long after you finish reading.
Another 5 Star story from Troy
~~~
And last, but certainly not least, The Uninvited Guest.
Looks can be deceiving as is the cover for The Uninvited Guest.
It was supposed to be a celebration. Good times for all. A wedding and new beginnings.
Harlan is crashing the party, kind of. Jose’s mother insisted he go to the wedding and when he asks Harlan to go, he figures why not. There’ll be free food and booze and maybe some babes to dance with.
It seems like it takes forever to get there. The wedding is being held in a lodge surrounded by dense woods.
Finally, they arrive. The wedding goes off without a hitch. Now it’s time to eat, drink, and be merry. Except it’s taking forever to get to the dancing.
Finally the music starts and the happy couple do the traditional bride and groom shuffle. Everyone is oohing and aahing, taking copious pictures and video.
Harlan, standing at the back of the gathering, happens to glance out one of the windows. Everyone else is watching the happy couple, but something made him look.
Something outside, maybe a shadow, slid along the windowsill. No, not a shadow, it had bulk. It seemed to take a long time to pass.
The windows are spaced about 5 to 6 feet apart. In the time it took to glance to the next window, it was sliding past that one too!
Everyone is still watching the couple. Harlan feels frozen in time. A look at the doors shows they’re still standing wide open.
An overwhelming feeling of dread passes over him. Something is coming. It’s almost to the doors.
The author wrote this story from Harlan’s point of view. It worked really good. I experienced everything with Harlan, felt his confusion, dread, and disbelief. And then his terror.
Have you ever had that feeling like something really bad is going to happen? That’s how I felt, right along with Harlan.
Harlan may have been an uninvited guest, but he’s not the only one.
This getsa Five from me!
~~~
And now from Troy
If you are looking for a story behind the story, I can’t honestly recall what sparked the idea for Little Bernie’s Map all those years ago when I originally wrote it. Although I can say that after hearing about the disheartening news about the debt crisis, along with the various problems many people in the Rust Belt were experiencing – a personal hit for me since I’m from southwestern Ohio – a terrifying thought started eating at the back of my mind: What if I was in one of those situations? What if I had a family to feed and I was out of work? It’;s scary, and my heart truly does go out to those families. Of course, this was around the time that I found Little Bernie’s Map(originally conceived as Little Ian’s Map for those who care) in my writing desk. Naturally, the cogs and gears started turning like they do when I start thinking about the serious issues in the world and how I would express my feelings toward them. In other words, when guys like me consider the money problems of the world, we consider how we would react to a giant mutant….(left blank by me so as not to avoid spoiler). Then again, maybe that’s just me and why I’m not running the show.
About Troy Aaron Ratliff
Troy Aaron Ratliff was born and raised in Hamilton, Ohio and self-educated in writing, art and voice impersonations. When he’s not reading, writing and cooking up his next monstrosity, you can generally find him defending the galaxy from the forces of evil, feeding hippopotamuses, dining with foreign dignitaries and Zen masters, waking up to his supermodel wife, altering the space-time inter-dimensional warp or, more than likely, stuck in traffic somewhere in Southern California.
Freakin Fridays is my own little meme. I’ll be posting about books, movies, and all things scary.
Feel free to join in and do your own Freakin Fridays posts!
Tune in every Friday. Get your scare on!
Let’s have some fun!
For today’s post, I’ll be telling you about The Dead of Winter by Lee Enderlin
For a horror story to be really good, it has to have a bad-ass villain.
This book has one.
Don’t let her small size fool you. She’s no longer human and she’s got a taste for man flesh.
This story starts a long time ago. Back in 1714, when Indians had never met the white man.
It’s the worst famine any of them can remember. They have to make another hunting trip to replenish their food or they’ll all starve when winter truly sets in.
When the hunters fails to return from a hunting foray, White Moon fears the worst. She fears the white men have killed her tribe.
She’s all alone. The only one left alive after the white men killed the other women and children.
It’s been days and she has no idea when or if anyone is coming for her.
It couldn’t hurt to just have a little. Just one small piece. What else could she do?
So, White Moon strips off a small piece of meat from one of the dead. Just enough to get her through one more day.
The next day, other members of her tribe find her. She’s saved.
But she can’t let them see what she’s done. If they do, she’s doomed.
I’m sure you’ve figured out she’s doomed.
They perform a grotesque ritual and bury her body.
One day, she’ll rise again and take revenge on the white men.
Present day in Claridge, Connecticut.
It’s been a long winter and spring is no where in sight.
Bodies are being discovered. They’ve all been devoured and posed in the same strange position.
No animal could pose them like this, so who or what is killing them.
As the medical examiner puts it, ” I hesitate to use the word ‘human’ in a bizarre case like this, but you got something out there that ain’t no bear or anything like it. In other words, someone put those people in that position.”
There’s some thing out there in the bone chilling darkness. Something hungry. Hungry for man flesh and hungry for revenge against the white men.
That tiny creature lurking just on the periphery of the light, standing hunched over and so still. Just creepy.
In the beginning, you feel for White Moon, but by the end, you’ll fear the Windigo.
The story flashes to the past to give the necessary background. Then it returns to present day, where all hell breaks loose.
A very insidious horror story, with some ‘the sins of the fathers’ in it.
I felt sorry for the town of Emergence. These people had no idea why revenge was upon them. Why this creature demanded its pound of flesh.
I had a scary good time reading The Dead of Winter.
I especially liked the authors take on the Windigo. I haven’t found too many stories with this supernatural being in them, and this one had a curious spin on it.
5 Stars for this chilling tale.
I’ve read Lee’s short story collection
Four tales of extreme suspense and mystery aimed at getting the heart pumping. Hard. A soldier on D-Day finds an enemy soldier acting very strangely indeed; a jilted husband creates a grisly scavenger hunt; a marriage reconciliation service ABSOLUTELY guarantees positive results—the question is, how? And more!
Turn out the lights and enter a bizarre world, but remember—don’t go in the basement!
Jake Weir, while on the set of his parent’s ghost hunting TV show, agrees to help a ghost investigate a 61 year-old murder.
Jake Weir is not like the other kids in Dusk, North Carolina. Then again, Dusk, North Carolina is not like other cities. Known as one of the most haunted cities in America, behind Salem, Massachusetts and New Orleans, Louisiana, Dusk is ground zero for Jake’s ghost hunting parents.
The Weir family has arrived in Dusk eager to scope out some of the town’s 127 reported “paranormal properties,” which just happens to be the name of their own ghost hunting show: Paranormal Properties. What Jake doesn’t know, and what his parents could never imagine, is that Jake can see ghosts! And hear them. And talk back to them! This talent comes in handy when he runs into Dusk’s oldest, most famous ghost: one Frank Barrone, a one-time lounge singer made famous by his booze-soaked ballad, “Barroom Eyes.”
Frank was gunned down by a local mobster in 1951 and has been searching for his killer ever since. When he learns that Jake can see and hear him, Frank makes young Jake a deal: if Jake will help Frank find his killer, Frank will help his parents find a ghost to film for their upcoming Halloween Special on Public Access Channel #319. Jake enlists the only friend he’s made in Dusk, an overweight tomboy nicknamed “Tank,” to help him track down Frank’s killer. As clues emerge and old leads heat up, Frank and Jake learn they make quite a team. But will Jake find Frank’s killer? And will Frank find a real haunted house in time for Halloween?
“Paranormal Properties is a great, family-friendly Young Adult novel about a boy who can talk to ghosts. Equal parts Scooby-Doo, CSI and the Hardy Boys, you will enjoy getting to know Jake, Frank and Tank as much as I did. Now, if only ‘Paranormal Properties’ was a real show I could watch on TV every week…” ~Rusty Fischer, author of Zombies Don’t Cry
~
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Short Excerpt:
“Silas…”
The voice was eerie, barely above a whisper. Jake paused, his sneaker poised above a grave as he stood in the middle of DuskCemetery.
It was nearly midnight and he’d grabbed the wrong flashlight before sneaking out of his bedroom window. It had run out of juice halfway through the graveyard, and he’d been blindly stumbling around ever since.
The moon was full, but it was frequently obscured by heavy cloud cover and he had to wait until another patch moved through to see very well.
He wasn’t scared, so much. Jake had a special relationship with graveyards, and this was far from his first time at the rodeo. Still, it was the first time a headstone had ever talked to him.
The voice grew louder.
“Silas…”
It was a female voice, sounding dark in a way a ghost might: dark and deep and frosty.
He risked another step, letting the moonlight guide his path. It was a big cemetery, and well-maintained as cemeteries go. There were headstones everywhere, some leaning, some taller than Jake.
“Silas…”
Jake turned to the left to follow the sound. It was coming from a massive tombstone two feet taller than he was, and three feet wider. He pointed the flashlight at it, but the beacon was dim, even after he banged it three times on the palm of his hand.
Then, suddenly, it lit, falling upon the dead soul’s name: “Rose Colder.”
It was there on the grave stone, but the flashlight flickered out just before he could read the dates.
“Silas…” came the eerie voice again, so close he could hear the ghost’s lips smacking.
But, wait. Did ghosts really have lips to smack?
Jake parted his own lips and spoke for the first time since walking into the graveyard. “R-R-Rose?”
He hadn’t meant to stutter, but he couldn’t help it. He heard a rasp, or a cough, and then the crunch of dry leaves behind the headstone.
“Silas?” was the reply, and then the rustling of cheap plastic against flesh. The clouds broke, the moon shone down, and a giant, yellow monster reared from behind the headstone, smiling.
Smiling?
“Gotcha!” said the beast, in a boastful, girlish voice. It was a girl, a giant girl, a living girl in a big, yellow raincoat.
“W— who are you?” Jake stammered, trying to hold his ground. He had to look up a good four inches to see her face.
Her eyes glittered beneath her short, greasy hair. She was heavy, but with her big smile and that cheerful way about her, she looked more nice than scary.
“I’m Tank,” she said proudly, inching closer to him with big black and white sneakers crunching over dry, dead leaves. “Who are you?”
“Jake Weir,” he said, relieved he didn’t stammer that time. “And who…who’s Silas?”
“Don’t you know?” she asked, sitting down on one of the large marble slabs that surrounded Rose Colder’s grave. She patted the one next to him, and he sat, too.
He didn’t know why, but even in a graveyard, even after pranking him in her big, yellow raincoat that made her look like a linebacker for an NFL team, this “Tank” girl didn’t scare him.
Much.
“No,” he replied.
Tank frowned. “Rose Colder,” she explained, “snuck out at midnight to meet her boyfriend, Silas Miner, in this very cemetery over a hundred years ago. But Silas’s Dad didn’t approve of his son dating a commoner, so he kept Silas from seeing her and sent a couple of local thugs to teach Rose a lesson. When the thugs showed up, Rose fought back…and lost. They buried her here, and legend has it that every night, at midnight, she rises from her grave to take revenge on the men who ended her life.”
“So…so that’s why you were calling me Silas?”
Tank nodded, and then slugged him on the shoulder. “What are you doing here, anyway?” Jake shrugged. He didn’t really want to tell her.
She pulled a flashlight from her raincoat pocket and flicked it on, right in his eyes. “Hey!” He held up a hand to shield his face.
“Wait, hold up.” Tank pointed the beam up. “What’s that on your hat?”
Jake blushed. He’d grabbed the hat at the last minute, not thinking about it. He had so many of them, and they all looked alike: black ball cap, neon green writing that spelled “Paranormal Properties.”
“You…you work for that TV show? The ghost hunting one?”
“You know about it?” Jake was surprised. They’d just gotten into town, and his parents hadn’t even filmed an episode here yet. That’s what he was doing out in the graveyard at midnight, trying to find something extra special for a new episode.
Of course, they’d kill him if they found out, but he figured it would be worth it if they finally got more than a handful of people to watch.
“Know about it?” Tank shouted. “I watch it every week! You know, the live feed on the web page. We don’t have any local channels that play it.”
Jake beamed in appreciation. “Cool,” he said.
“So,” Tank urged, nudging his knee with her own. He noticed she was wearing plaid pants under her yellow rain coat. “Do you work for it or what?”
“My Mom is the host. My Dad is the cameraman.”
Tank gasped and shoved Jake with each word. “No. Way! Get. Out. Of. Town!”
She stopped shoving him and stood up instead, yanking him by the sleeve of his T-shirt. Dragging him from the cemetery, she said, “I love your Mom. You have to tell me all about her.”
“Where are we going?” he asked, finally regaining use of his feet and catching up to her.
She saw him at her side, looked down and let him go. “There’s a diner around the corner, open all night. I’m buying you a hot fudge sundae and you’re going to tell me all about what it’s like to have famous parents.”
“Famous?” he chuckled as he followed her past the cemetery gate. His Mongoose bike was sitting there, dry and rusty, just where he’d left it.
“Sure thing.” She reached behind some bushes and lifted out a green ten speed with just one hand.
They mounted their bikes and, now that he was looking for it, Jake saw the neon sign for the Dusk Diner just around the corner. Yet, something was still bugging him. “Hey,” he said, “what were you doing in the graveyard at midnight?”
Tank shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep.”
“So you went to a cemetery?”
She shrugged again, pedaling off. While struggling to catch up, Jake heard her say, “Hey, I met you, didn’t I?”
My Review
The beginning made me realize the author is a prankster, just like Frank is.
Frank may be dead, but he’s never boring, as Jake finds out.
Jake figures Dusk, North Carolina is just like every other town. He’s seen plenty. Always moving town to town, haunting to haunting, with his parents.
You see, his mother is the host of the TV show Paranormal Properties and his dad is the cameraman.
They chase from one haunted place to the next, hoping to catch on video that elusive moment, proof of the afterlife.
Jake is their gopher, always helping with the setup, but never in front of the camera. No way, Jose!
He’s not unhappy, but he is lonely. Hard to make friends when you’re always moving on.
He does make a friend in Tank. She’s a bit of a prankster too.
These two are good for each other, and they need each other. They’ve both had to grow up fast.
Tank isn’t the only friend Jake makes.
Frank makes himself known to Jake. It’s taken him years and years to materialize into a solid, visible form, and it figures that this kid, Jake is the only one who can see him.
Beggars can’t be choosers and he enlists Jake’s help to solve his murder.
Once Jake gets used to having Frank appear whenever he likes, he agrees to help solve his murder.
But this is a secret, just between them, and Frank, being a prankster, uses his abilities to tease Jake’s parents. It’s all in fun and keeps them from moving on.
A sleuthing Jake will go.
The best place to start is with Crackers, the caretaker at the Lido Lounge, the speakeasy where Frank died.
There’s not many witnesses left. Most are long dead.
Crackers was there that night, and as he describes how it went down, Jake is distracted by ghostly images. He looks at Crackers and all he sees is the rundown building. When he glances to the stage, he sees the club the way it was. Cigarette smoke floats above the room, people are laughing, ice is tinkling in glasses, and the band is jammin. Then he hears the whiskey velvet voice of Frank crooning out his song.
Back to Crackers and the rundown lounge. Jake is the only one seeing this.
This scene was some great visual writing. Felt like I was there.
I had so much fun following Jake from clue to clue. I felt like I was a ghost, following him around, urging him on.
And I got some chuckles out of Jake’s parents.
They are so obsessed with finding proof of ghosts, they don’t see what is going on right under their noses.
Kind of reminded me of the mom in E.T. She was always so frazzled she never had a clue an alien was living in her daughters closet.
You quickly become attached to the characters, engrossed in the puzzle of Frank’s murder, and can’t wait to see how it all ends.
The ending had me grinning from ear to ear.
Please tell me there will be more soon.
Paranormal Properties is a quick, fun read. All ages will enjoy it.
5 Stars
Thanks for the goose bumps:)
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A Tourwide Giveaway
4 signed print books and sets of two trading cards
I was fascinated with the paranormal when I was very young. I always felt like someone was around me even when I was alone. It caused me to be inspired to write a paranormal book where a teenager can see and hear ghosts and actually makes friends with one.
I use to love to write short stories in school and always wanted to be a writer. But raising children and working jobs I just could not find the time to indulge my passion. Then my children grew up and I ended up having two teenagers at home who did not need as much attention from me. I started toying with the idea of writing once again. So setting aside 5 to 10 minutes per day to write at least one page I could end up with a book a year. Now Paranormal Properties is published and I have a list of 8 more books to write. I don’t think I”ll be slowing down anytime soon.
I’m really excited to tell you about Brandon’s new release.
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There’s something in the woods behind Jake Marsden’s house – and someone wants him to find it. A strange dream shatters his sleep, night after night, and a compulsion to find the dark presence in the forest wars with his logical and ordered nature. What’s a geek to do?
When his small hometown of Wynn falls under an ancient curse, Jake will find himself in a battle against creatures worse than any he’s faced in a game. Playing for keeps, it will be geek versus god in the fight to stop an evil force bent on destroying everything he holds dear.
The Geek Shall Inherit The Earth – If They Live Long Enough.
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My Review
I heard the theme from Jaws when I started reading this.
No one gets eaten in the beginning of Frostwalker though. But, the terror creeps up on you slowly as the author breathes atmosphere and dread into the story, like an eerie, slow rolling mist.
Jake has been dreaming about a Light in the woods. Dreaming about it for weeks. A Light in the woods behind his house.
It calls to him, pulling him from his sleep. He finds himself standing in the frigid cold, facing the stand of trees, night after night.
His sleepless nights begin to wear him down, make him question his sanity, so he confides in his best friend and fellow geek, Eric.
These two have been best friends since they were knee-high to a grasshopper. They’ve stuck together through thick and thin, and Eric sees no reason to change that now.
Whatever’s in the woods is growing stronger, leaching into the small town, changing people. Those it doesn’t consume, it inhabits, taking over their bodies and minds and turning them loose on others.
The sleepy little town of Wynn is in the midst of the worst snow storm anyone can remember, cutting the inhabitants off and they have no idea of the evil moving closer, advancing house by house towards the heart of the town.
I like a story about men as best friends. It’s like being a fly on the wall, watching how they bond and act when women aren’t present. Jake and Eric are a good example.
When Jake finally sees her, I mean really sees Nancy, his receptionist, he realizes he’s been in love with her for a long time.
Eric and his girlfriend, Wendy, cut Jake no slack, ribbing him about how long it took him to take off his blinders.
Nancy is gentler on him. She fell in love with the shy geek that is Jake, and has just been biding her time.
You can’t help but become attached to these four. The author does an excellent job of giving each one their own unique personalities. Each voice stands out and makes for fun reading.
When the horror ramps up, you’ll be pulling for these guys, cringing when things go bad, as you can see no good outcome.
That’s when it gets even more intense, as the entity in the woods must be confronted and stopped.
I was reminded of a couple of movies while reading Frostwalker. The small town, isolated by snow and ice, had me thinking of 30 Days of Night.
And the insidious power of the entity also reminded me of the movie, Phantoms, from the Dean Koontz book. How the power takes over the town with a palpable presence.
Jake and Eric are ready. They’ve prepared. It’s time to see what’s in the woods. And they won’t be going alone.
Cue some sinister music and the chills will run up and down your spine!
5 Stars for making me afraid to go to sleep.
~~~
Go here to catch my interview with Brandon. We had a lot of fun!
When a strange tarot card appears in a friend’s deck, Jason assumes it’s just a prank done in poor taste. But, when terrible events befall those around him, he must face the possibility that something sinister is afoot.
Death is closing in, along with a suspicious detective who believes that Jason may be the killer he’s stalking. With his life turned upside down, Jason finds that there are worse things to be hunted by than the authorities.
This 4,500 word short is a supernatural horror story in the spirit of the pulp era, but with a modern feel.
A cat and mouse game played by those who stalk the night. Who is the hunter and who is prey? This 2,100 word short explores the classic vampire and hunter story from a different angle.
Born in Statesboro, Georgia in 1976, Brandon Luffman was raised in rural North Carolina from the time he was old enough to walk. In the sixth grade he discovered “The Chronicles Of Narnia”. Soon after that, he was on to Stephen King and Arthur C. Clarke. At the same time, he was making his first forays into writing fiction. After creating a series of short fantasy pieces for a class assignment that were received with praise, he was hooked on writing fiction for the entertainment of others. Now Brandon writes supernatural horror as well as fantasy, science fiction, and other genres. His short fiction is available online in various formats. Brandon still lives on the family farm in northwestern North Carolina with his wife and family. Taking inspiration from his homeland, he brings southern sensibilities and a modern flair to these classic genre themes. His first novel, Frostwalker, was released in May of 2013.
This is my own version of a weekly bookhaul post where I’ll be telling you about all of the books I got this week, whether print or e-book plus all things bookish.
I got a few books this week, some free, some for review, and some I purchased just for my reading pleasure.
I also post reviews on another blog aknifeandaquill . It’s all about horror. If someone doesn’t die, we don’t do it here!
Here’s some I picked up to review on both blogs. Double exposure for the author:)
Here are some I picked up to review on fuonlyknew.
Books I’ll be reviewing this coming week. These will all have giveaways too!
I’m tag teaming my reviews of What Matters Most and Accendo with my sister and fellow blogger, Sherry. Many of you know her as fundinmental . She moved her blog and lost her followers. Here is where you can find her again! Also doing a blogger interview this coming week. Keep an eye out! She reveals all!
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You can read my interview with Brandon here. He talks about himself, his writing, his new release of Frostwalker, and answers some fun questions! You can read my review here.
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I’ll be reviewing Dead of Winter on Friday, May 17th on my Freakin Friday meme.
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I’ll be reviewing Paranormal Properties for the book tour on Thursday, May 16th here.
I managed to get half of last weeks promised reviews done and the others are finished and will be posted this week. Going to be telling you about some fantastic books this week! Also, some of these will have giveaways!
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Go here to find all of my giveaways. Enter one or enter all of them!!
I’ve been waiting for the fragile things to be released!
It’s here and I’ve just finished reading it.
the fragile things is episode one of V. Shaw’s 4 part serial horror story.
My Review
Jennifer has kicked her long time drug habit, but temptation is great as she’s living with her drug dealing boyfriend, Tony.
In desperation, she flees Tony and his druggie friends and camps out in the woods. She’s estranged from her family and has nowhere to go.
Her neighbor, Ebony, from across the street, happens upon her and they form a tentative friendship.
It’s difficult for either woman to trust anyone, or themselves, as they both have baggage.
Jennifer is fighting her soul-eating craving for drugs and Ebony is fighting her craving to not drink Jennifer dry.
Two damaged women with no one to turn to but each other.
This book reads like a serial episode on TV.
You know before you start reading it, it’s going to be short and leave you hanging.
That didn’t bother me, as I’ve read another of the authors books and loved her writing.
This book is a dark, psychological read about hope, friendship, and overcoming huge adversities.
I was immediately drawn to Ebony and Jennifer. These flawed characters are genuine and my heart went out to them.
Sure, ones an ex-addict and the other is a vicious vampire, but you forget that somewhat as you learn what makes them tick.
The town of Blackcross has its secrets and something evil is coming.
There’s no shortage of suspense and the horror jumps out and says Boo!
A great beginning to this series and excited to read more, for sure!
I hear Part II will be available later in May.
5 Stars for excellent campfire storytelling.
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I’ve also read and reviewed V. Shaw’s The Lady of Chains and Other Stories
Description from Amazon: “Remember; you have seventy-two hours to do the deed and not a moment longer. Cut her throat and remove her heart. That, my girl, is the only way to destroy the wretched creature.” Greylock. A city supported by a network of scaffolding, bleeding rust and wheezing steam. Patrolled by an army of ‘metal men’ – creatures who’re designed for nothing more than to kill and destroy. Nothing grows. Nothing truly lives. Viola, a young orphan girl, has been thrust into this nightmarish world by the devious Mrs Casket, caretaker of the mysterious tower and maid to the Lady of Chains, a woman imprisoned without a sentence. A woman who almost single-handedly destroyed the world . . . Viola has been gifted with a task which could either see her demise or be her salvation. But who is the Lady of Chains? And why does she insist that she is connected to Viola? With the clock ticking and the metal men drawing near, Viola is about to learn that not everything in Greylock is what it seems. A spellbinding novelette with elements of steampunk. **** ALSO INCLUDES THE SHORT STORIES; Hansel and Gretel Rogan and the Gargoyle The Silent World BONUS MATERIAL: Also contains a preview of the up-coming horror serial, The Fragile Things.
V. Shaw is the author of the short fiction collection, The Lady of Chains and Other Stories. Born in Scotland, she studied Film and Media at Stirling University. Having reviewed horror films for the now defunct FatallyYours.com, she has turned her attention to creating her own stories.
Writer. Urban explorer. Climber. Horror junkie. Beer guzzler. Book obsessed. Cinema and television fiend. Nerd for life.
Freakin Fridays is my own little meme. I’ll be posting about books, movies, and all things scary.
Feel free to join in and do your own Freakin Fridays posts!
Tune in every Friday. Get your scare on!
Let’s have some fun!
I signed up to read and review this book through my Goodreads group.
I haven’t done that in a while, and after reading Mortality, I’m wondering what other wonderful books I could be missing.
This cover art is awesome.
Once you read the book, you’ll see how it ties into the story.
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The zombie apocalypse has already happened. People are now living in small groups, struggling to survive. They have not one, but two kinds of zombies to fear.
You have your typical, shambling, mindless, rotting dead and then you have the living ones. Victims of a supposed vaccine, the Hitchhiker Strain.
If you’ve been given the vaccine, it’s supposed to protect you if bitten. Instead, once bitten you don’t die, but you do develop an uncontrollable urge to munch on anyone near you.
One town has gathered its survivors and taken refuge in the highschool. The adults do the supply runs and clear out any zombies that get too close, while the children and teens are restricted to the school.
Savannah chafes to do something, anything besides sitting and waiting, feeling useless. When given a chance to take some friends and go for more medical supplies, she’s all for it.
What should have been an easy task causes consequences and when they get back, the school has been overrun and those still living have fled.
Now Savannah wishes for those days of boredom.
Mortality is actually about two young women and two separate stories.
Savannah and her friends are now without a safe shelter and on their own, trying to find the rest of their people.
Zarah has seen her parents killed right before her eyes. She’s finally found her aunt, but loses her when she’s attacked and bitten.
Savvy and Zarah’s personalities are as different as night and day, but as you read their stories, you’ll see them become more and more alike as they both try to stay alive and protect the ones they love.
When their stories finally do come together, it won’t be the way you expect.
With each zombie story I read, I wonder how the author will hold my interest, will make me want to keep on reading a plot that has been written so many times.
The main characters may be younger people, but the author wizens them up fast, taking you with them as they are forced to make intelligent decisions. No more brash moves.
They stumble now and then, doing the wrong things, unsure of themselves and scared.
That’s what kept me reading, kept me wanting to know more. I became attached to these characters and feared what was going to happen to them.
And the ending! What an ending. I was so deep into it that I really didn’t see it coming.
Do yourself a favor and try Mortality. I’d love to see your face at the end. The author doesn’t disappoint.
4 Stars and ready for more.
I hear Duality, the next book in this continuing story is expected to be released later this year!
I’ll be waiting.
About Kellie Sheridan
I have been in love with stories in all of their forms for as long as I can remember. Admittedly, sometimes that means falling into places like Stars Hollow and Sunnydale, but books have always been my true love. In early 2011 I began writing a book blog in order to share my favorite reads with book lovers. From there, the bookish community encouraged me to stop sitting on my own stories and share them instead. Since then I’ve been madly devouring everything I can about digital publishing.
For the past two years I have been mainly obsessed with young adult books, but my favorite stories still come from the adult fantasy genre. As far as I’m concerned, Briggs, Bishop, Vincent and Vaughn are all must reads.
I spent part of my twenties living in Galway, Ireland and swooning after various lilting accents but am now back home in Ontario, Canada. My family includes two Glen of Imaal Terriers and a Green Cheek Conure.
Busy, busy, busy. So many delicious reads! Some I’ve read and will be posting my reviews soon.
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