Review – Baby Talk by Mike Wells @MikeWellsAuthor

Posted on October 11, 2022 by fundinmental

MY REVIEW

There is no way I would pass on Baby Talk by Mike Wells, just by looking at the cover. It made me think of Rosemary’s Baby, and, as I got to reading, it made me think of The Omen. Baby Talk is Book I of a trilogy and a quick read. Mike Wells managed to pack a lot into Baby Talk. Suitably creepy and I felt bad for Neal Becker. Even though it is not such an original story, I still enjoyed (?) my time with the characters and want to see where Mike Wells takes the story.

GOODREADS BLURB

In this creepy horror novel, Neal Becker is convinced that his 5 month old baby daughter can talk. But that’s impossible…isn’t it? Except that Neal didn’t really want to get married in the first place – the pregnancy was the result of a one-night stand, and he preferred an abortion. Now, Baby Natasha knows it, and she’s out to get him! Or so Neal believes…join the two in a terrifying battle for survival that will make your blood run cold.

ABOUT MIKE WELLS

Email me at mike (at) mikewellsbooks.com or follow me on Twitter (@MikeWellsAuthor) and get a FREE copy of one of my bestselling books. I’m an American author best known for my Lust, Money & Murder series and and written more than 25 other thriller and suspense novels. I also have taught in the Creative Writing program at Oxford. I’m known for my super fast-paced, ‘unputdownable’ books.

Please visit my website/blog at:

http://www.mikewellsbooks.com/

And please join me on Twitter and Facebook:

http://twitter.com/mikewellsauthor

http://facebook.com/mikewellsauthor …more

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Giveaway – Hungry Business Maria DeBlassie @EnchantmentLL @RoxanneRhoads

Posted on October 10, 2022 by fundinmental

The Terrible Delights of Spooky Stories

I love scary stories. I’m also a total chicken. I grew up telling stories on the playground, huddled around trees or crawling into quiet places with friends to to listen to urban legends and frightening tales, from La Llorona to to Bloody Mary, to strange tales of a woman with the ribbon around her throat that literally held her head on to creepy dolls come to life the moment you closed your eyes to sleep at night…I couldn’t help myself. I devoured them!

In class, we learned more about La Llorona (a figure that inspired my novella, Weep, Woman, Weep), Baba Yaga, and all sorts of spooky stories that gave me a good chill but were rather less terrifying than what I heard on the playground.

Of course, there was no better time to tell and listen to these stories than the fall, as the season slowly ripened into Halloween, the days got shorter, and the cool evenings and turning leaves were the perfect backdrop for stories that reminded us that there is more to this world than meets the eye.

I would come home from school filled up on those terrible tales and, after playing in piles of leaves in my backyard, would feel a growing sense of unease as the sun began to set and darkness took over. I was certainly grateful for the comforting presence of my dogs when darkness stole across the sky. The feelings were pushed away with dinner, in the cozy brightness of the kitchen and the warmth of family, but readily came back when I was tuckedin bed later that night.

Every creek, howl of wind, or cricket chirp sounded like aghostly footstep, theweeping woman, or all manner of supernatural threats. Mirrors were not to be looked in, when the sun went down. Windows must be closed at night, lest La Llorona find a way in. Blankets were to be tucked around you up to your chin to protect you from whatever might be lurking under the bed.

I felt would never fall asleep!

But, of course, I did. And with the coming sun, came the confidence of youth that there was nothing truly scary in this world and I went right back to the playground ready to consume more lurid and horrible tales.

They were terrifying. They were also thrilling. I couldn’t help myself—even when they gave me nightmares and my mom tried to get me to stop listening to these stories—they had this allure to me, pulling me into a world of the strange and gothic.

The feeling didn’t go away as I got older. Take, for example, the time I went trick o’ treating with a friend in middle school, one of the last times I would venture out on that childhood ritual. I was no stranger to haunted houses—there were plenty in my neighborhood. I livednext door to one and there was another a few blocks away that looked like something out of a gothic novel: big, dark, looming, and a story about a murder so strange and unexpected it devolved into its own neighborhood legend with everyone having a slightly different explanation for why the house just felt…off.

My friend and I were alone on the street and were doing our best to casually walk past the house, feeling very brave and very adult in our fairy costumes, proud of the fact that we could trick-or-treating unchaperoned. But once we neared that house, suddenly home felt so very far away, the other groups of Halloween revelers so very far away. There was only the darkness surround us and the specter of that gina those before us.

Then we heard something—a yip, a yell, from someone in the distance—and we screamed, running for the safety of my home.Gone were the bold, brave adults and in their place were two frightened children who wanted nothing more than the warm lights and safety of home. As it turns out, the noise we heard was from a bunch of wildpartiers, but it became so much morefrightening when it was disembodied and the shadows fed my imagination, as did all the terrible tales I’d been coming that season.

As scary as that was, and as silly as my friend and I felt in retrospect, there was no denying the fun we had, nor the deep sense of comfort we felt in returning to my house. That’s what scary stories do for us. They bring us home. We find catharsis in facing the darkness and making it out the other side. We appreciate the light where and when we can find it.

Here I am now—still loving scary stories. Still a total chicken. Still ready for a good tale of terror…in the daylight. Still not looking in mirrors and closing all my windows at night. And I speed up whenever I have to walk by that haunted house, indeed any haunted house, less the specters inside think to invite me in.

That’s the beauty of these early childhood frights. They gave me a solid appreciate of the thrills of a good scary story and a healthy respect for the unseen worlds or even vibes I get that tell me a person or situation is more than meets the eye.

This is why I tell spooky stories today. They reveal so much more about ourselves and the world around us than many an ordinary tale. From writing horror comedy about the terrors of dating in Hungry Business to the haunting wails of La Llorona in Weep, Woman, Weep, all my tales are inspired by the ordinary gothic all around us, pairing catharsis as we face the dark and find the light. What do you love about scary stories?

MY REVIEW

Hungry Business by Maria DeBlassie is a quick read horror story with a little snark on the side. Dating during a zombie apocalypse is not and easy thing to do. Are you eating or being eaten? Do they have a heartbeat, even if half their face is missing? Will she be alone for the rest of her days? Is there any point in leaving the house? The cat in the window….

Hungry Business by Maria DeBlassie is an okay read and the cover does intrigue me.

Hungry Business: A Gothic Story about the Horrors of Dating

Maria DeBlassie

Genre: horror, comedy

Publisher: Kitchen Witch Press

Date of Publication: October 12, 2020

ASIN: B08L48MVHD

Number of pages: 20

Word Count: 4400

Tagline: Dating. It’s hungry business.

Book Description:

Looking for love can be deadly…

A short story on the horrors of dating during a zombie apocalypse by bruja and award-winning writer and educator, Maria DeBlassie.

“Simple yet detailed, unique, and innovative. A brilliantly written little gem that is equal part creepy with the plague of walking dead and equal parts cozy with the hot chocolate and watching the neighbor’s cat.”

“Drawing parallels between the pitfalls of dating and dating in the zombie apocalypse, this short story packs a big world into a few pages.”

“Just the right size to occupy your time while waiting. I hope you find the humor I found.”

You know how it goes.

You go out, hoping to meet someone.

You wade through your fair share of brainless automatons, lifeless bodies, and ravenous undead, good at passing as human.

The more you go out, the less hope you feel and the colder your body gets.

But you keep at it.

All you need is one beating heart to match your own before yours stops pumping altogether.

How hard can it be to find one living, breathing human in a city full of bodies?

Dating.

It’s hungry business.

CW: Assault

Amazon

He said he’d love to have you for dinner—but you are careful.

A woman has to be careful. Never give them your address. Don’t drink too much. Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Carry grave dirt to throw at them if they get too forward. Be ready to run to the nearest safe space if needed. The good news is that the Hungries, while persistent, are dumb as fuck (brain rot, you know) and slower than the sickness overtaking their bodies. Unless, of course, they are well fed, which is rarely the case.

This one looks a little better, you think optimistically.

You sit across from each other at the dinner table. The white tablecloth is as smooth and unblemished as his collared shirt. He has dressed for the occasion, taking care to hide the evidence of his affliction as best he can (though truly there is only so much he can do with a missing ear and half a brain). Still, the tuxedo and carefully applied makeup are enough to create the illusion of pumping blood beneath his pallid, blush-stained cheeks—in the right light. Which is another reason why you chose this place. Candlelight can hide a multitude of sins.

His manners are studied and smooth, as if he has spent a lot of time practicing more human-like movements and behavior. You admire a man who makes that kind of effort. He watches you as much as you do him, as if he is trying to remember what it was like to be alive. When you reach for your wine glass, so does he—only his thick decaying fingers almost crush the stem, whereas your nimble live ones carefully bring the dark red liquid to your mouth. You try not to notice how he stares at your lips—stained now from the wine—wondering, perhaps, how you taste. As it turns out, he does get a taste of you. You’ve been surreptitiously picking at a hangnail on your pinky finger—that’s how scintillating the conversation is—when you looked down and realize it is your whole fingernail that has come off. You stare at it in horror, letting the truth of your situation sink in.

At least he has the decency to wait until you’ve left the table before grabbing your napkin and stuffing your bloodied nail in his mouth. A little color comes back into his face. He groans in ecstasy.

Nice to know you could still have that effect on a man.

About the Author:

Maria DeBlassie, Ph.D. is a native New Mexican mestiza blogger, award-winning writer, and award-winning educator living in the Land of Enchantment. Her first book, Everyday Enchantments: Musings on Ordinary Magic and Daily Conjurings (Moon Books 2018), and her ongoing blog, Enchantment Learning and Living are about everyday magic, ordinary gothic, and the life of a kitchen witch. When she is not practicing her own brand of brujeria, she’s reading, teaching, and writing about bodice rippers and things that go bump in the night. She is forever looking for magic in her life and somehow always finding more than she thought was there.

Find out more about Maria and conjuring everyday magic at www.mariaddeblassie.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/enchantmentll

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/enchantmentll

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdeblassie.writer

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7rY-gLkSH-w8uuVyrhVALA

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Review – Inexora: The Killing Plan by Tobias Hall #TobiasHall

Posted on October 6, 2022 by fundinmental

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Opifex is an organization committed to Inexora, a ritual that, when completed, will begin a new era. What does that mean?

Running, searching, faced with the ultimate task, Thomas, Rex, Malachi and Karel meet in a face off. Will darkness be unleashed? Is the end of world nigh?

I felt I was in a Supernatural TV episode. I had a hard time deciding who was good and who was bad. Many lives will be sacrificed and I can’t imagine the terror as they met their end.

The story flowed smoothly. The major players stood out, but I knew who I was rooting for. I had no idea how the story would end…and I was eager to find out. Soooo, buckle your seat belt, because this is a wild ride.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Inexora: The Killing Plan by Tobias Hall.

GOODREADS BLURB

“Something is at the door, pushing against the frame.
The handle rattles and thousands of voices whisper through the keyhole.
The Opifex removed the locks that kept everybody safe.

A god is awakening in the darkness, with a hunger invoked by a thousand years of sleep. It spreads fear, corrupts and destroys, leaving this world hollow.

Time is running out and as the world tumbles into chaos, Thomas must unearth the past of the Archontix to save himself and change the fate of humanity. “

ABOUT TOBIAS HALL

I write about the things which push people into the darker side of life. I’m fascinated by resilience, strength, and human resourcefulness.

Skipped school for the first time at age nine because I had to finish Tolkien’s “Return of the King”.

I love music, especially metal and old punk and hip-hop.

I’m passionate about philosophy, psychology and studied archaeology at Gothenburg university.

I grew up in Sweden, Italy and now live in Chelmsford, UK with my family.

I like to write late in the evening, then reluctantly try to sleep while having too many things on my mind.

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Early Review – The Nightmare Man by J H Markert #TheNightmareMan #NetGalley @jamesmarkert

Posted on October 5, 2022 by fundinmental

Awesome cover! I usually wait until it is closer to release day, which is 1.10.23, but I thought this might peak your interest for October. I want to thank NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read and review The Nightmare Man by J H Markert.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

The cover caught my eye and when I read the blurb, I thought of Stephen King. How can I go wrong? Blackwood Mansion. The Atrium. Oswald Asylum. A family, murdered, hung by the barn rafters in a cocoon. A book that comes to life.

I want to share so much, that I quit taking notes. I was afraid of spoiling the horror for YOU.

This is my first novel by J H Markert/James Markert and I thoroughly enjoyed the grim story. I love books that deal with the depravity of humanity. It also brings about the best in people. All I KNOW is that you won’t find me wandering around in the cornfield. You never know what might be out there.

I didn’t find any mind blowing moments, but I did find myself wondering what was coming next, at times rapidly flipping the pages because I had to know.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Nightmare Man by J H Markert.

GOODREADS BLURB

T. Kingfisher meets Cassandra Khaw in a chilling horror novel that illustrates the fine line between humanity and monstrosity.

Blackwood mansion looms, surrounded by nightmare pines, atop the hill over the small town of New Haven. Ben Bookman, bestselling novelist and heir to the Blackwood estate, spent a weekend at the ancestral home to finish writing his latest horror novel, The Scarecrow. Now, on the eve of the book’s release, the terrible story within begins to unfold in real life.

Detective Mills arrives at the scene of a gruesome murder: a family butchered and bundled inside cocoons stitched from corn husks, and hung from the rafters of a barn, eerily mirroring the opening of Bookman’s latest novel. When another family is killed in a similar manner, Mills, along with his daughter, rookie detective Samantha Blue, is determined to find the link to the book—and the killer—before the story reaches its chilling climax.

As the series of “Scarecrow crimes” continues to mirror the book, Ben quickly becomes the prime suspect. He can’t remember much from the night he finished writing the novel, but he knows he wrote it in The Atrium, his grandfather’s forbidden room full of numbered books. Thousands of books. Books without words.

As Ben digs deep into Blackwood’s history he learns he may have triggered a release of something trapped long ago—and it won’t stop with the horrors buried within the pages of his book.

ABOUT J H MARKERT/JAMES MARKERT

J. H. Markert is the pen name for writer James Markert, an award-winning novelist, producer screenwriter, husband, and father of two from Louisville, Kentucky, where he was also a tennis pro for 25 years, before hanging up the racquets for good in 2020. He graduated with a degree in History from the University of Louisville in 1997 and has been writing ever since.

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Review – The Deep by Michaelbrent Collings @mbcollings

Posted on October 4, 2022 by fundinmental

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

#1 The author
#2 The cover
#3 The story

I have read numerous books by Michaelbrent Collings and will grab anything I see by him. I love, love, love creature features that read like B movies and The Deep definitely fits that bill. We have good characters, bad characters, and a down right evil one. Treasure? Desires? The ocean is a vast mystery and when you seek, you will find. Just what you will find is the question.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Deep by Michaelbrent Collings.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos — 4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

There are places we were never meant to go…

A woman searching for a sister lost at sea. A man bent on finding lost treasure. A mother who has lost all hope. A maniac who believes all life exists for his pleasure. The man who would keep them all safe.

Together, they will all seek below the waves for treasures long buried, and riches beyond belief. But those treasures hide something. Something ancient, something dark. A creature that exists only to feed on those that would enter into its realm. A creature… of The Deep.

ABOUT MICHAELBRENT COLLINGS

Michaelbrent Collings is an internationally-bestselling novelist, multiple Bram Stoker Award nominee, produced screenwriter, and one of the top indie horror writers in the United States.

He hopes someday to develop superpowers, or, if that is out of the question, then at least to get a cool robot arm.

Michaelbrent has a wife and several kids, all of whom are much better looking than he is (though he admits that’s a low bar to set), and also cooler than he is.

Michaelbrent also has a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/MichaelbrentC… and can be followed on Twitter through his username @mbcollings. Follow him for cool news, updates, and advance notice of sales. You will also be kept safe when the Glorious Revolution begins!

STALK MICHAELBRENT: Website / Twitter

MY MICHAELBRENT COLLINGS REVIEWS

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Giveaway – The Cannibal’s Guide To Fasting by Dana Hammer @GoddessFish

Posted on September 8, 2022 by fundinmental

I had to share this for the title alone. It cracks me up!!!!!!

I am a sucker for a great cover and it’s usually the first thing that hooks me. I am happy to have Dana Hammer here to share her thoughts of the cover for her latest novel, The Cannibal’s Guide To Fasting.

The Cover — The Cannibal’s Guide to Fasting

First of all, I just want to thank the folks at Cinnabar Moth for putting together such an awesome cover. I myself have never been good at graphic design. To give you some idea of how bad at graphic design I am — I created the programs for my mother’s funeral … and they were vetoed. They were so bad that people simply could not allow them to be used, even at the risk of offending a grieving daughter. So any graphic designer who does a good job is basically a godlike magician in my eyes.

The cover for The Cannibal’s Guide to fasting shows a bunch of pressed wildflowers on the front. Igor, my main character, presses wildflowers as a hobby, and as a distraction from his craving for human meat. In his former life, as a research scientist, he thought botany was a silly hobby, not worthy of serious consideration. Now, he spends his free time pressing, observing, and meticulously labeling the specimens he collects. The pressed wildflowers are a symbol for how his world has changed.

The back cover features a tomato-based beverage. For legal reasons, this beverage does not have a name, but if you read the book, you will likely be able to guess what it is. I was especially pleased with the drink graphic, and I think it turned out beautifully.

The Cannibal’s Guide to Fasting by Dana Hammer

GENRE: Comedic horror

BLURB

Igor Fenenko, a former research scientist, is a scary, scary man. Not only is he a massive bodybuilder with a spider tattooed on his face, he has also been infected with Pestis Manducans — viral cannibalism. Igor tried to resist indulging, but his research specimens smelled so delicious. Who did it hurt, really, to nibble a corpse?

Caught, disgraced, and sent to a ‘rehabilitation’ center, Igor is now forced to live in a government-mandated Containment Center. He spends his days pressing wildflowers, growing blueberries, and doing his best to avoid human meat. More than anything, he wants a cure for the virus that has ruined his life.

Igor’s brother, Karl, is also infected with Pestis. But unlike Igor, he does not live in a Containment Center. He lives down by the river, where he runs a cannibal rights group. At first, the group seems harmless enough, if a bit creepy and overzealous. But when Igor discovers their evil practices, he is forced to intervene.

Aided and opposed by rich eccentrics who have their own agendas, Igor must use brains and muscles to find a cure while fighting the urge to turn brains and muscles into a delicious lunch.

EXCERPT

Igor’s home is a single-wide trailer in a “community” that the government has set up for former cannibals. Decent, lawabiding, non-infected folks do not want man-eaters to live in their neighborhoods, but they won’t go so far as to demand executions for the infected, and so the forced cannibal community was born.

For a time, the infected were held in prisons and jails, until those became too overcrowded, and the state was forced to find other solutions. Now, the official plan of action is this: identify the cannibals, send them to a treatment center, and then house them in secure, guarded communities with their own kind.

Igor’s community is one of the nicer ones. The trailers are small but clean, and the neighborhood is kept tidy and quiet. Each trailer even has a small patch of lawn, for residents to use as they please. Igor uses his for fruit and vegetable gardening. Some other people plant flowers, and some of them plant nothing at all, but fill their yards with furniture or above-ground pools.

Other communities aren’t so lucky. Igor is grateful for his home, despite the security guards who occasionally take their jobs a bit too seriously. Despite the constant scrutiny of the inspectors, despite the fact that his ID lists his address as “High Risk Containment Center” and that any time he has to show that ID to anyone, he gets glares or looks of disgust or flat refusals of service. He is grateful, because without it, and without a job, and without anyone willing to take him in, he would likely be homeless.

AUTHOR Bio and Links

Dana Hammer is a novelist, screenwriter and playwright. She has won over forty awards and honors for her writing, few of which generated income, all of which were deeply appreciated. She is not a cannibal.

Website / Facebook / Amazon Buy Link

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New Release – Magnum Opus by Caitlin Marceau @CaitlinMarceau

Posted on September 2, 2022 by fundinmental

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Magnum Opus by Caitlin Marceau is a quick story, that read like a Twilight Zone episode, where a person’s mind can become so twisted they see shadows, or in this case, eyes, at every turn and an ending that will make you think…WT?

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Magnum Opus by Caitlin Marceau.

GOODREADS BLURB

Charlotte Curran is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure her newest book is a best seller… even if that means murdering her best friend.

Nobody suspects her of killing renowned author Kim Lavoie, but when Charlotte starts seeing Kim everywhere she turns, she quickly realizes it’s more than just her guilty conscience haunting her. With each passing day, Kim’s judging gaze grows more difficult to escape.

Magnum Opus is a dark look at the price of fame and the legacy we leave behind.

ABOUT CAITLIN MARCEAU

Caitlin Marceau is an author and lecturer living and working in Montreal. She holds a B.A. in Creative Writing, is an active member of both the Horror Writers Association and the Quebec Writers’ Federation, and spends most of her time writing horror and experimental fiction. She’s been published for journalism, poetry, as well as creative non-fiction, and has spoken about horror literature at several Canadian conventions. Her debut collection, Palimpsest, is available from Ghost Orchid Press and her second collection, A Blackness Absolute, is slated for publication later this year. If she’s not covered in ink or wading through stacks of paper, you can find her ranting about issues in pop culture or nerding out over a good book. For more, check out CaitlinMarceau.ca.

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Giveaway – Awaken by Vanessa MacLellan @XpressoTours @McCVan

Posted on July 30, 2022 by fundinmental

Awaken
Vanessa MacLellan
Publication date: July 30th 2022
Genres: Adult, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Horror

Balin stands between two great Powers. One will shatter his mind; the other will destroy his soul. Only one of them can save his people.

Fort Resonbirg, a Norse stronghold in the New World, is besieged by the evil sorcerer Ursulard the Dreamspinner. Though their fields are scorched and homes destroyed, the residents and refugees do not worry, because Fort Resonbirg is Awakened with the power to provide, protect, and grow. But not all is as it seems when a wall of impenetrable mist surrounds the fort, and within the mist hunts the dragon, Nidhogg. Nidhogg hungers for more than flesh and bone. It instills nightmares on its prey, feeding on fear and pain, inevitably taking lives.

Balin Tremore, a commoner bound for the militia but hoping to stay by his noble love’s side, never expected to amount to grand things. When the great power of Cradleweaving is awakened within him, Balin unknowingly becomes the one person with the power to pierce the wall of mist and banish the deadly beast within before it destroys them all—if he can master the new power in time. But to master the power, he must sacrifice much. The question is, will it be his position, his Lady, or his very soul?

The Mist meets Nightmare on Elm Street in this classic tale of personal sacrifice.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

He rapped his knuckles against the wooden door, leaning against the frame to take the strain from his leg.

“Who is there?”

“It is I, Balin Tremore.” He glanced up and down the hallway. Vacant. “I request an audience.”

The door swung open. “Please enter with an open heart, Balin.” Elaine beamed at him, her joy evident in the musical laughter in her words.

Balin stepped inside, and Elaine slammed the door closed.

“Is Kirsten here?” he asked, scanning the suite for Elaine’s handmaiden.

Elaine shook her head. “She’s getting fabric.” With no warning, she threw her arms around Balin’s shoulders and hugged him close. “I’m so, so, so glad you are well,” she said, her words held stiffly, as if voicing a vow. “Don’t ever do that again. Don’t ever.” She squeezed him. His body took a moment to react, and then he melted into her hold.

He embraced her, brushing his cheek against her plum silk shirt, holding her close, praying to Baldr that she’d never be taken from his arms. He inhaled her lilac scent and closed his eyes.

She pulled back, and the intensity in her gaze captured his breath. They were of a same height, except for when she wore ball shoes and could stare down at him with haughty superiority. She’d tease him then, drape her arm over his shoulders when nobody was looking their way. He didn’t mind, he just enjoyed being close to her. Now, however, no tease twinkled in her stormy eyes. Only worry and determination resided there, and he hated to see all those emotions in turmoil over her sweet features.

“Balin, would you just give in? You don’t have to return to the field.”

Balin took in a breath and let his gaze slip from hers to stare at the side of her nose. “I can’t do that.”

“Yes. You can.” She pulled away sharply, turning her back on him as she charged into her sitting room, her strong trouser-clad legs cutting the distance to a few strides. She gleaned pieces of paper from her writing desk and tromped back towards him, shaking the papers in his face. “I’ve completed the requisition. All I need is the Hauld’s approval, and after you and William—” she waved her hands through the air in a grand gesture, the papers crackling under the abuse, “—there’s no way he wouldn’t agree to you being my steward.”

They’d had this argument before, and Balin found it harder and harder to refuse her.

But he wanted to be so much more to her than just her steward.

“I don’t even need your approval, you know.” Her eyes narrowed, and her mouth turned into a frown.

He dropped his shoulders back, attention wandering over the copper molding encircling her ceiling. “You wouldn’t do that.”

“Don’t you tempt me, Balin Tremore. If it means keeping you out of the war, I will do what I have to do.”

The command in her voice drew his attention back to her face. He scooped up her hands, papers and all, and pressed his forehead to hers. They stood that way for a moment, Elaine’s breathing fast, Balin’s heart thumping in his ears. Those weeks in the cage, cold, starving, he’d wanted her. Wanted her soft touch. Her amused smile. He’d kept her stored in his mind in the hidden places Zebbens couldn’t beat out of him.

“We have to fight him, Elaine. Every one of us, we all have to do what we can.”

“Then, Balin,” she argued, her voice a terse whisper, “that means I need to be out there, too.”

Through his bangs, he saw her looking at him. He rolled his forehead against hers until their noses touched. “You can’t go out there, Elaine,” he whispered, the words hovering between their nearly touching lips.

“I’m a better fencer than you.”

“Fencer, not swordsman, they aren’t the same.”

Behind him, the door opened.

“Oh, Miss, I’m so sorry to intrude,” Kirsten said.

The air crackled with anticipation, but Kirsten, so-sorry-to-intrude, didn’t leave.

Balin bowed his head and slowly pulled away. Then he turned to the handmaiden. “Hello, Kirsten.”

Author Bio:

Vanessa MacLellan was born and raised in the farmlands of eastern Washington, works as an environmental engineer, and is an avid birder, naturalist and hiker living in Portland, Oregon.

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Horror Library, Volume 7 by Eric J Guignard @ericjguignard

Posted on May 30, 2022 by fundinmental

I had read another book, Professor Charlatan Bardot’s Travel Anthology to the Most (Fictional) Haunted Buildings in the Weird, Wild World by Eric J Guignard and really enjoyed it, so when given the opportunity to read and review another work, Horror Library, Volume 7 by Eric, I hopped on it.

Besides that, I couldn’t resist the fabulously creepy cover.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

First off, I want to tell you about the special guests gallery of horror(ible) images by Allen Koszowski included in the anthology. His first published piece was in 1973 and he is still going strong.

Horror Library, Volume 7 by Eric J Guignard includes 30 original short stories. We have plenty of thrills and creepiness. These leaders of the macabre with take you down a dark path…and I hope you return…wanting more. Some authors were familiar and others were new to me, but they all contributed something that gave me chills, leading me on to the next one and the next one and the next one.

The great thing about short stories is you can finish them while waiting…whether in line at the drug store, waiting in the doctor’s office, or just having a minute or two to spare. Whether you like to read your horror in the light of day or in the dark, be wary. You may get more than you bargained for.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Horror Library, Volume 7 by Eric J Guignard.

GOODREADS BLURB

The +Horror Library+ anthologies are internationally praised as a groundbreaking source of contemporary horror short fiction stories—relevant to the moment and stunning in impact—from leading authors of the macabre and darkly imaginative.

Filled with Fears and Fantasy. Death and Dark Dreams. Monsters and Mayhem. Literary Vision and Wonder. Each volume of the +Horror Library+ series is packed with heart-pounding thrills and creepy contemplations as to what truly lurks among the shadows of the world(s) we live in.

Containing 30 all-original stories, read Volume 7 in this ongoing anthology series, and then continue with the other volumes.

Shamble no longer through the banal humdrum of normalcy, but ENTER THE HORROR LIBRARY!

Included within Volume 7:

• In “Hand of Glory,” a despairing prison inmate studies astral projection in order to escape his cell.

• In “The Key to Mabella,” a cemetery groundskeeper discovers a mysterious vault key held by his predecessor and investigates what it unlocks.

• In “Abandon,” a tour guide takes friends to visit his home village, long-since deserted and languishing under superstition.

• . . . and more!

• Also including a special guest-artist’s gallery of Allen Koszowski!

ABOUT ERIC J GUIGNARD

ERIC J. GUIGNARD is a writer and editor of dark and speculative fiction, operating from the shadowy outskirts of Los Angeles, where he also runs the small press, Dark Moon Books. He’s twice won the Bram Stoker Award (the highest literary award of horror fiction), been a finalist for the International Thriller Writers Award, and a multi-nominee of the Pushcart Prize.

He has over one hundred stories and non-fiction author credits appearing in publications around the world. As editor, Eric’s published multiple fiction anthologies, including his most recent, Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror , and A World of Horror , a showcase of international horror short fiction.

He currently publishes the acclaimed series of author primers created to champion modern masters of the dark and macabre, Exploring Dark Short Fiction ( Vol. I: Steve Rasnic Tem ; Vol. II: Kaaron Warren ; Vol. III: Nisi Shawl ; Vol. IV: Jeffrey Ford ; Vol. V: Han Song ; Vol. VI: Ramsey Campbell).

He is also publisher and acquisitions editor for the renowned +Horror Library+ anthology series. Additionally he curates the series, The Horror Writers Association Presents: Haunted Library of Horror Classics through SourceBooks with co-editor Leslie S. Klinger.

His latest books are Last Case at a Baggage Auction ; Doorways to the Deadeye ; and short story collection That Which Grows Wild (Cemetery Dance).

Outside the glamorous and jet-setting world of indie fiction, Eric’s a technical writer and college professor, and he stumbles home each day to a wife, children, dogs, and a terrarium filled with mischievous beetles. Visit Eric at: www.ericjguignard.com, his blog: ericjguignard.blogspot.com, or Twitter: @ericjguignard.

MY ERIC J GUIGNARD REVIEWS

Professor Charlatan Bardot’s Travel Anthology to the Most (Fictional) Haunted Buildings in the Weird, Wild World

You can see my Giveaways HERE.
You can see my Reviews HERE.
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Horror and Humor – The Doll by J C Martin & Fing by Papa G @JCMartin_author #PapaG

Posted on May 24, 2022 by fundinmental

I picked up The Doll by J C Martin and Fing by Papa G from Amazon on the same free day, 6.26.16.

666 should have told me to read it. Don’t want any bad luck coming this way

Amazon / Goodreads

MY ONE SENTENCE REVIEW

The creepy cover for The Doll does fit the creepy story inside of a trip to an island of dolls that it is wise not to touch, but a young girl finds them so irresistible…so beware, what is done cannot always be undone and the ending undone me, which was worth a star on its own.