Posts Tagged ‘novella’

Sheryl Winters’ New Release ~ Purr-fect Mating ~ My review and a fun character interview

Posted: July 31, 2014 in Blog Tour, New Release, Novella, Paranormal or fantasy, Romance
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I originally joined the tour because I loved the cover art for Sheryl Winters’ new release Purr-fect Mating and the title was quirky fun.

Then I read the blurb and had to know more.

So, I’ve included my review and hope you enjoy it.

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway.

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Title: Purr-fect Mating (A Lil Genie Series Novella)

Author: Sheryl Winters

Publisher: Roane Publishing

Release Date: June 23, 2014

Keywords: Paranormal, Romance, Shifters

My Review

At around 50 pages, I breezed through this in about 20 minutes.  You might think that’s not long enough to develop genuine characters and a good plot. But the author pulled it off splendidly.

From the moment Fhina discovered a naked man in her front yard I was hooked and from then on it was pure fun.

You have to keep in mind that these characters are not human, they are shifters. And the town is no ordinary town, it’s filled with supernatural beings, including some flighty witches.

When Wulfar and Fhina match gazes, they are bound. They’re soul mates. And things move quickly. The morning after their wedding, Fhina wakes up to a note from her absent groom, telling her to take care of his dog.

You’d think Fhina would fall apart, but she picks herself up and soldiers on.

Wulfar is in no position to tell his new bride where he is. All he can do is watch as the now pregnant Fhina tries to remember her missing husband and prepares for her new arrival.

This was fun from the first page to the last.

You might think Fhina is dumb. Why can’t she even remember who her husband is? Doesn’t she wonder why he left his dog? She’s under a curse, that’s why.

Her family is supportive and quick to help Fhina, but they can’t break the curse. Neither can the creepy witches she turns to for help. I wouldn’t trust them.

When Fhina tries to use a spell, it backfires, leaving her with an unwanted wing to get rid of. Poor girl. She really has no clue.

And poor Wulfar. No way to communicate with Fhina. Unable to be there for her as her due date nears. Fighting his shifter instincts to go run with the pack.

The dilemma for these two had me laughing out loud. What are they to do?

I knew the curse would be broken. I just didn’t know how. And I had a fun time finding out.

Once you start reading this story, you’ll get why the author chose the title.

A quickie romance with hilarious repercussions, Purr-fect Mating left a big impression.

5 Stars

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Blurb:

On their wedding night, at the stroke of midnight, Wulfar changes into his shifted wolf form and cannot shift back. Not even to communicate with the woman he loves.   Fhina, upon waking the day after their mating, no longer recognizes her mate. Pregnant and confused, she’s convinced herself her mate has run away and left her to live alone. With his dog.   Can the cursed pair find a counter charm before Fhina gives birth? Will Wulfar be able to curb his inclination to run?   Or will their mutual curses break up their love affair before it’s really even started.

Purchase Links:

Roane Publishing ~ Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ B&N ~ Smashwords ~ Bookstrand

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Enjoy my character interview with Fhina and Wulfar!

Hi Fhina and Wulfar. Please make yourselves comfortable. I’ll try to make this fun and painless. Shall we begin?

My first question is for Fhina.

What was your first thought when you met Wulfar?

I thought he was a tall drink of deliciousness.

When you woke up and Wulfar was gone and all there was, was a strange dog, did you believe Wulfar had just up and left or did you think something bad had happened to him?

I truly thought he left me. I remember being so upset, so nervous and then well, when I found out I was pregnant I was a little past miffed.

I’m trying to imagine what it must have been like to wake up and find you’re no longer yourself. What was your first thought and I’m curious about if it was hard to adjust to being a 4-legged creature. Was the stuff like walking, or, pardon me, going to the bathroom hard to navigate or was it second nature?

“Laura, if I can be blunt. I’m a wolf shifter so my second form comes quite naturally for me. As to body functions? I’ve always thought that females make a little more out of it than it is. I am after all a male I’ve never had a problem with bathroom functions.

“What he’s saying, Laura is that he has no problem peeing outside.” Fhina whispers.

Fhina, when Wulfar vanished and you’re left with this dog, did you immediately think there was something different about it, or did you accept it as an ordinary dog?

“I was so confused and then there was that fact that Wulfy, excuse me,” Fhina giggles, “My Wulfar makes such a beautiful dog.”

“Honestly, Fhina,” Wulfar snorts.

“Well you do. But to answer your question. I accepted him as an ordinary dog. I was after all cursed.”

Wulfar, so you’re stuck in wolf form. Which was harder. Trying to communicate to Fhina or resisting the call of the wolf?

Truthfully it was the begging for food that got me. It might come naturally for dogs but as an Alpha wolf I had a hard time with it. In my wolf form I’m more than capable of taking down a deer but the constant grovelling for food was very wearying.”

Thanks so much for being such fun to interview Fhina and Wulfar I hope we can chat again sometime.

Oh, I almost forgot one last question. This ones for both of you.

Are either of you wanting to get a dog now?

“I think the twins are more than enough challenge for us.” Wulfar laughs heartily. He’s bouncing Colton on his knee pushing the baby carriage with Angel sound asleep in it.

“I think perhaps later on.” Fhina pats her stomach a mysterious smile on her face.

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Author Sheryl Winters

I never set out to be an author. Only a story teller. Some days I succeed better than others.

  Winter’s Links:

Website /  Blog   /  Facebook / Twitter

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An eBook copy of Purr-fect Mating and a $10 Amazon Gift Card

Click on the Rafflecopter below to enter.

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!

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Tag Team Freebie Event~ Fanged Princess by Elisabeth Wheatley ~ My Review and how to get your FREE copy!

Posted: July 27, 2014 in Freebies!, Novella, Paranormal or fantasy, reviews, Romance, Vampires, YA
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This is a Tag Team Event hosted by myself and Sherry.

 Elisabeth Wheatley has some exciting news to share with you about her YA Paranormal Novella, Fanged Princess. Read on to learn how you can get your free copy!

After reading my review, head on over to Sherry’s blog at fundinmental for more from Elisabeth and check out Sherry’s review!

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And now here’s Elisabeth!

After much consideration, I have finally made the first book in my Young Adult vampire novella series free. Why? Because all the cool kids are doing it and I know how much I adore freebies, so why not?
Fanged Princess is what I like to call a vampire love story from the perspective of the third wheel. It’s told in first person present tense by Haddie, the sister of a vampire prince who’s had the misfortune to fall in love with a human. (Though she has a bit of her own romance, don’t worry.)
I got the idea for Haddie’s story reading another vampire series and thinking how much it sucked (no pun intended) that the vampires I read about really tended to have crappy sibling relationships. As a tragically unsocial little country girl, my brothers were some of my closest friends and I thought it would be fun to transpose that onto vampires. Hence, the idea for Fanged Princess was born.
As always I am very excited to share this story with the world and it is my hope that through this I will be able to reach more people than ever before. So grab a copy at your favorite eBook retailer and tell your friends. Tell lots and LOTS of friends.
Thank you Laura for hosting me on your blog! It’s fun as always.
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It’s a pleasure having you Elisabeth!

Check out Elisabeth on her blog and tell her hi!

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My Review

Haddie gets it. Love chooses you and you’re powerless against it.  She doesn’t want to though. Like her brother Damian, she too fell in love with a human. And she wears the scars for her transgression.

Her father is the Vampire King and he’s okay with dallying with and feeding on humans, but draws the line at love.

So Haddie rushes to her brother’s side, determined to save him from the same horrific events she went through. And to save the life of the girl he loves, Madelynn.

Haddie (Princess Hadassah) won me over quickly. She went through a horrific punishment for her sin of loving a human. Her father extracted a terrible price and she wants to protect her brother from the same fate.

She knows the enforcers will be coming, led by the most feared one of all, her Uncle Devin. He’s cold, remorseless and efficient, always getting the job done. And he’s brought along the twins, Jerome and Ayden.

The author did an excellent job with the little details that make a story feel real, like this scene:

“I recognize them as Jerome and Ayden Thatcher, twin brother’s who’ve been working for my uncle for years. I’ve always had trouble telling which was which. They even smell the same.”

Even smell the same. That right there struck me. The author stayed in character, referencing their smell, something a human wouldn’t notice, but a vampire would.

There’s some humor here too. Take this scene when Haddie arrives to help her brother:

“Come off it Damian,” I say, dismissively waving my hand. “I didn’t come out here to eat your girlfriend.”

As the enforcer’s tightened the circle, getting closer and closer to these three, I couldn’t help but wonder how they’d survive. That’s where the author threw me a bone. A stranger who just might help them, if he doesn’t kill them too. I won’t mention a name, but I kind of hope Haddie and the handsome stranger get together. They’re a good match. Both fiercely loyal, tough as nails, and just as stubborn.

I could see this union infuriating her father even more. But, I’ll have to read Fanged Outcast to find out what happens with these two. And I’m hoping we get to meet some of the other beings mentioned in this first book. The rusalkas, makaras, koschei, harpies, ogres…and whatever else exists in Elisabeth’s world.

I read this in one sitting, racing to the explosive finale.

Who will survive?

Will family kill family?

The answer awaits.

5 STARS

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Check out this awesome trailer for Fanged Princess.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_HaRcOwYaY?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent]

Synopsis

I will not let my brother suffer the same loss…

Hadassah’s father, the Vampire King, punished her harshly for her choice to love a human. Now her brother, the only person in the world who still matters to her, has fallen for a human girl. Determined to keep the girl safe, the three of them flee from their home in New England and find themselves cornered with their father’s minions closing in. If they want to escape, their only hope may be to join forces with the mortal enemies of their kind…

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Author Elisabeth Wheatley

 

Elisabeth Wheatley

Elisabeth Wheatley is a teenager of the Texas Hill Country. When she’s not daydreaming of elves, vampires, or hot guys in armor, she is reading copious amounts of fantasy, playing with her little brothers, studying mythology, and training and showing her Jack Russell Terrier, Schnay.
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For more about Elisabeth and her other books use the links below.
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Click on the links below to get your free copy of Fanged Princess!

This is a Tag Team Event hosted by myself and Sherry at fundinmental.

You can visit Sherry’s blog for her review and more from Elisabeth Wheatley  HERE.

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!

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Jordanna East is in the Spotlight and her debut ~Blood in the Past is free!

Posted: July 31, 2013 in Author Interview, Freebies!, reviews
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Jordanna East is in the spotlight!

And she’s got a surprise.

Her thriller, Blood in the Past, is free right now on Amazon!

Go HERE to get yours.

But first, enjoy our interview and my review for Blood in the Past.

See what’s cooking and what you’re in for!

I don’t want to keep ya’ll waiting, so let’s get started.

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When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
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I was always a creative person, but mostly in the visual arts. As the bio I’ve posted all over the web states, I started writing because I was broke and unemployed and my cable had been shut off. I read a lot of true crime and crime fiction and, since I went to school for Biology, Psychology, and Criminology, I thought I’d try my hand at writing and see how it went. Well, when I finally found a job, some coworkers came across the few chapters I had written and couldn’t stop gushing about them. But it wasn’t until recently, when one of my good friends passed away (after which one of the characters was named), that I decided to go ahead and finish the story. One thing led to another and I really started to love writing and hate when I wasn’t writing. The idea of finishing the one story turned into the goal of finishing a series. And my love of writing turned into a notebook full of future ideas.
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I see that Blood in the Paint is coming this winter. When writing this series, did you already have a general idea for each book or did it start as one book and you made it into more than one? I’ve always wondered about that.
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Dammit, I kind of already answered that in the previous question. I’ll elaborate. I actually started writing Blood in the Paint first, but as the story progressed and became more about the characters’ psychopathies, I wanted to show the chain of events that led them there. So I wrote Blood in the Past. Somewhere in there I realized these characters would make for a great series and I sketched some general ideas for two more full-length books.
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How do you feel about cliffhanger endings?
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I honestly LOVE a cliffhanger ending that makes me stark-raving mad with fury. But, obviously, that’s just me, so I try to write cliffhanger endings that tie up most of the story with the cliffhanger only alluding to next book’s story arc. My husband has read the first draft of Blood in the Paint and he lost his mind over the ending. But in a good way. Not in a stark-raving mad with fury way.
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Which character was easiest to write and which was the hardest?
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This is going to make me sound like a complete psycho to those who have already read Blood in the Past, but Lyla Kyle was the easiest to write. I started the story with her. I love writing her, but I can’t say why for fear of ruining anything for anyone. As for the rest of the characters, my own experiences are scattered among each of them, so they’re all easy to write in spots. But I would have to say that Jason Brighthouse was the hardest. He was my first male character, so I wanted to get him right (CJ is a male, but I kind of wrote him based on someone, so he wasn’t so bad). I’ve read too many books where the male leads just screamed “written by a woman!” and I didn’t want to fall into that category.
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Books are listed under many different genres. What genre would you say best describes Blood in the Past?
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I actually had to look that up when I first finished Blood in the Paint! They are technically Psychological Thrillers. They don’t fall under mystery/suspense because you know who’s doing what. I suppose they can be considered as Crime Thrillers, but the focus of the series is more on the criminals where most Crime Thrillers are about the investigation of the criminals.
Are you finding it easier to write Blood in the Paint than it was to write Blood in the Past?
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As I mentioned, I wrote Blood in the Paint first, but I can still compare the two. They each had their own challenges. Blood in the Paint was my very first piece of fiction writing. I wrote it by the seat of my yoga pants and as I did research and learned more about writing I had to keep going back and changing things. By the time I wrote Blood in the Past, my creative writing skills had vastly improved. Unfotunately, the story takes place–you guessed it–in the past, so I had to make sure everything I wrote worked with what takes place later, which was just plain annoying. Note to self: don’t write things out of order.
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Do you have any hobbies?
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Well, like any good writer, I’m a voracious reader. I also enjoy painting and drawing, though I don’t get much time to do either anymore.
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Now for five fun short questions! Yay! I love these! It’s like a lightning round!
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Favorite TV show? Right now, Scandal.
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A phobia? Jellyfish scare me more than sharks.
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Cook or go out to eat? If everyone could cook like me, they’d never go out.
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A steak or a burger? Big, bloody steak.
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Sweet or salty snack? The sweeter the better.
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Thanks so much for visiting my blog and taking time out to answer my questions. I would be thrilled to have you back again when Blood in the Paint is released.
Thank you so much for having me! I love your blog and I’m thrilled to be a part of it. And you can definitely expect me back this winter!
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Jordanna Logo Final

Jordanna East readily confesses that she started writing a novel one day when she was broke and unemployed. Her cable had been turned off. SHE WAS BORED. So she sat down on her bed and started writing…and she hasn’t stopped. Though, now she has cable and pens her Psychological Thrillers at an actual desk. Blood in the Past is the prelude novella to her debut Blood for Blood Series, which follows three lives entwined by deaths and consequences, revenge and obsession. Blood in the Past is scheduled for release June 19, 2013.

Visit her website here

See what she’s up to.

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A psychological thriller sure to get your endorphins pumping!

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Blood in the Past 2

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My Review
Actions have consequences.
You’ve heard of the ripple effect. A pebble tossed in the water creates ripples, which grow, expanding outward.
Jillian is the pebble, and her affair with a married man is the first ripple.
What happens after are the expanding ripples.
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I didn’t expect to like  Jillian so much.
She’s messing with a married man, and no matter what lies of his she chooses to believe, it’s a big no-no in my book.
Powerful writing drew me to Jillian. I wanted more for her. I wanted her to be happy and free.
As she gets tangled in a web of lies and infidelity, I became more and more fearful. Her obsession with her lover grows and takes a bizarre turn.
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If only Jillian and her roommate hadn’t been mugged.
If only  Calvin Kyle hadn’t been the responding police officer.
If only he hadn’t been so attractive.
If only they hadn’t started their affair.
A lot of if onlys.
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There are so many people affected by this affair. So many victims.
I guess you could call them collateral damage.
Jillians act of desperation plows through several families, leaving bodies in her wake.
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I almost didn’t want to continue reading. I just knew this wasn’t going to be pretty, but I had to know what happened.
Boy, was I right.
This short story had me sweating blood! It was relentless.
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Blood in the Past is only 8 chapters, but by the time you finish reading, it will feel like a lot more.
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The writing is bold, making this cast of dysfunctional and flawed characters come to life in the pages.
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As Blood in the Past is the prelude novella to the Blood for Blood Series, I can hardly wait to see what the author has cooked up for her other stories.
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Such strong writing, if I didn’t already know, I never would have guessed this was the authors debut novel.
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5 Stars
Don’t forget to get your free copy of Blood in the Past HERE.
Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew
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Freakin Fridays #6 ~ I heard the dueling Banjo’s of Deliverance!

Posted: April 12, 2013 in Adult Fiction, horror, Novella, reviews, suspense
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Freakin Fridays!

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!

This book should come with a warning on it.

“Read at your own risk!”

It’s truly not for the faint of heart.

The Clearing of Travis Coble

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Description

Travis Coble didn’t kill and eat his family. At least that’s what a jury decided twenty years ago. But like Lizzie Borden, Travis Coble was branded guilty by an angry public and consigned to a life of suspicious whispers and sidelong stares. Now, Professor Dick Myers wants to clear Travis’s name once and for all. An interview with the reclusive mountain man would not only bring Myers fame—it could save his job.

But Myers will find more than a good story in Coble’s isolated shack in the Smoky Mountains. He will find the truth about what happened twenty years ago…and the true meaning of horror.

My Review

I love character driven stories and there are some doozies in this one.

The author wrote each character so distinctly, their voices were so individual, I could pick them out without reading which was which, just like hearing their conversations.

Travis Coble is the stereotypical red-neck. He lives in the mountains in a ramshackle house. The yard is filled with rusted out junk and broken toys, and the weeds have taken over.

Professor Myers has his doubts about Coble’s guilt. He’s thinking how great it would be if he could prove the man’s innocence. What a big splash it would make.

The professor has an air of superiority about him, which doesn’t sit well with Travis, and he needs this story so he brings it down a notch. He’s researched Travis and his murder trial and knows the man is crafty, has an evil intelligence. He needs to keep his wits about him.

As the interview progresses, so does Travis’s belligerence.  Professor Myers is no match for him.

The suspense is subtle at first. It creeps up on you slowly and you become aware of something nasty coming soon. I swear I would have screamed if someone had spoken while I was reading the ending.

I was so wrapped up in the final scenes. While I was grossed out by what was happening and what I visualized was coming next, it was more suggestion than graphic description. That’s what made it so horrifying.

I swear I heard the whisper of dueling Banjo’s while reading this. If you’ve seen the movie Deliverance, you’ll know what I mean.

5 Stars for making my skin crawl!

Thanks to Brendan at untreed reads for providing me with this book.

And thank you, Jonathan, for making me afraid to go to sleep! That’s what a horror book should do.

About the author

Jonathan Janz

Jonathan Janz grew up between a dark forest and a graveyard, and in a way, that explains everything. Brian Keene named his debut novel The Sorrows “the best horror novel of 2012”. The Library Journal deemed his follow-up, House of Skin, “reminiscent of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and Peter Straub’s Ghost Story.”

Samhain Horror will also publish his third novel, The Darkest Lullaby, in April. Look for his fourth novel, an action-packed survival horror thriller called Savage Species, this summer. He has also written three novellas (The Clearing of Travis Coble, Old Order, and Witching Hour Theatre) and several short stories.

His primary interests are his wonderful wife and his three amazing children, and though he realizes that every author’s wife and children are wonderful and amazing, in this case the cliché happens to be true. You can learn more about Jonathan at www.jonathanjanz.com. You can also find him on Facebook, via @jonathanjanz on Twitter, or on his Goodreads and Amazon author pages.

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