Tag Archives: short stories
Not Like Any Wrestling You Know – Wrestle Maniacs Anthology @Adam_G_Howe
Giveaway – A Holiday Tradition Collection @SDSXXTours
Myths and Magic: An Epic Fantasy and Speculative Fiction Boxed Set @_TerriBruce
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Myths and Magic has16 Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels by 16 New York Times, USA Today, and Award-winning and Break Out Authors!
With there being 16 stories by 16 authors, it will take me some time to work my way through them all, so I wanted to give you a taste of what is in store for you.
MY REVIEW FOR IRENE BY TERRI BRUCE
Irene and the Witch – Afterlife Book 3.5
Irene is dead, stuck in Purgatory, trying to return to Earth as a guardian angel.
Her traveling companion, Andras, is a 12th century Spanish knight, dead since 1911. Most of the time he is invisible. It takes tremendous effort for him to appear in ghostly form. Makes me think of when Bobby was a ghost in the Supernatural TV show.
They have a psychic link.
Are there things worse than death? You betcha.
Ya want to know what it’s like being in a crystal ball? Ask Irene. Even dead, her impatient recklessness has her in trouble.
Can a ghost burn, feel pain, be tortured, die again?
Irene worked through her fear, knowing they would all die if she didn’t persevere, push through, overcome.
I have been loving this series ever since I read Hereafter. I knew it would be a different kind of ghost story and Terri Bruce’s imagination and creativity have taken me into a world both wondrous and frightening, and I am so happy I am only here as a visitor.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Irene, which is included in the Myths and Magic: An Epic Fantasy and Speculative Fiction Boxed Set. I will be reviewing more of the books, so keep in touch and we’ll talk more.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
16 Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels by 16 New York Times, USA Today, and Award-winning and Break Out Authors!
There is adventure out there … if you’re brave enough to risk it.
Explore worlds of darkness, danger, and magic in sixteen exclusive fantasy and science fiction novels, available for a limited time. There are tough choices to be made and dastardly villains to outwit in this breath-taking collection that will have you at the edge of your seat.
Plucky heroes and devastating anti-heroes face off against demons, spirits, shifters, witches, and more in this limited-edition arrangement that features a satisfying combination of epic fantasy, science fiction, romance, urban fantasy, sword and sorcery, and more!
This killer deal won’t last forever, so grab your copy today!
ABOUT TERRI BRUCE
Terri Bruce has been making up adventure stories for as long as she can remember and won her first writing award when she was twelve. Like Anne Shirley, she prefers to make people cry rather than laugh, but is happy if she can do either. She produces fantasy and adventure stories from a haunted house in New England where she lives with her husband and three cats. Her second novel, Thereafter (Afterlife #2), will be released May 1, 2014.
Website/Blog / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter
MY REVIEWS FOR TERRI BRUCE
One Sentence Review – With Love At Christmas #ChristmasReading #Vetsports
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Happy Holidays to you and yours.
I am very happy to be sharing With Love at Christmas, a short story anthology with eight fabulous authors sharing their stories.
MY REVIEW
The lovely and festive cover does not begin to convey these hot and steamy, sexy stories of friendship, instalove, some sugar and spice and a lot of hot loving, from eight authors that I think, after you read this, you will want on your reading list.
I won a signed paperback copy of With Love At Christmas An Anthology and figured this is the perfect time to share it. All proceeds go to Vetsports.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Christmas can be a time of year for all things new and exciting. These stories take you through every emotion and back again. With something for every style of romance reader with stories from eight very different authors, you are sure to fall in love.
In this anthology, you will find humor, love, and how the spirit of the holidays can be the beginning of things to come. Experience these stories in, With Love at Christmas.
100% of all proceeds to benefit VETSports.
Five Slices of Halloween Horror – Bad Apples #BadApples
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Bad Apples is Five Slices of Halloween Horror.
I received and read this book in October of 2014, but…
MY REVIEW
These unique, gruesome and devilishly delicious stories will have you looking over your shoulder, jumping at every noise and shadow.
Be careful of wandering dark streets at night.
The authors twisted imaginations take horror to the highest levels with surprise endings and plenty of twists and turns along the way.
Four stars all the way!
The Riggle Twins by Gregor Xane
Pretty gross and devilishly delicious with tricks and treats for the Halloween hater. Do you have a dark house on Halloween, no candy for the treaters? Beware…egging and tping are not the only tricks these children have in store for you. 4 Stars
Pumpkinhead Ted by Evans Light
What they did to Ted is so awful…I can’t tell you. You’ll have to read it for yourself. BUT, he is back, one year later, for payback. OMG. I never saw that coming. Evans Light takes me to a place that smacks me around and makes me scream UNCLE! 4 Stars
Ghost Light Road by Adam Light
Of course, someone saw the light. Of course, what happens next, had to happen. I actually laughed. Dumbasses! Here comes the badness. You think vampires and werewolves are scary, you haven’t met Uncle Jesse’s children…and you really don’t want to. 4 Stars
Easy Pickings by Jason Parent
Beware. What goes around, comes around. Like a cat playing with its prey, I know something is coming…Now…No, now….Uh Oh. 4 Stars
The Scare Rows by Edward Lorn
Children of the Corn and Supernatural on steroids. I didn’t see this story developing the way it did, but I should not have been surprised, with Edward’s twisted imagination. Horror, perverted sex and evil do go together well. I wondered how he would end The Scare Rows and I couldn’t help but laugh when I got there. Corn Whisky…HA HA HA HA HA! Excellent. 5 Stars
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Bad Apples.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
The five freshest voices in horror will make you reconsider leaving the house on October 31st with these all-new Halloween tales:
• A brother and sister creep out of the darkness with bags full of deadly tricks in Gregor Xane’s THE RIGGLE TWINS.
• A boy with a misshapen skull just wants to be normal in Evans Light’s PUMPKINHEAD TED.
• A group of thrill seekers learn that looking for terror is a whole lot more fun than finding it in Adam Light’s GHOST LIGHT ROAD.
• Two bullies go looking for trouble but instead find a young boy and his imaginary friend in Jason Parent’s EASY PICKINGS.
• When a mysterious, Halloween-themed attraction comes to the town of Bay’s End, everyone is dying to pay a visit in Edward Lorn’s THE SCARE ROWS.
Wedding Horror – Severing Sidney by Jason Werebeloff Review @JasonWerbeloff
New Release – Severing Sidney by Jason Werebeloff.
Severing Sidney is not my first book by Jason Werebeloff, nor will it be my last.
If you are into Science Fiction, you will want this author on your reading list.
At the moment Severing Sidney is free, so why not give it a try?
MY REVIEW
Jason Werebeloff writes some wicked horror, science fiction stories and I am happy to share the latest…about a marriage in the Bubble. But, it’s not like any marriage you’ve ever heard of before and the tools Gepetto brings to the wedding are scalpels, staplers, anesthetics, and more.
He’s not happy about the marriage, but his daughter is very happy. Should he intervene? Is it true that Father Knows Best?
The events take place in the future. Jason weaves good and bad elements in his world of the future making me think I don’t want to live there, but as I read on…well, maybe it’s not so bad.
His descriptions are gruesome and humorous.
I think it’s hard to create suspense in a short story, but Jason Werebeloff manages to do just that. I know something is coming…And I am eating up the pages to find out what.
Uh oh…I see a problem. And boy was I in for a surprise.
How creative and thought provoking the premise. The possibilities…
What an ending! Wonderful job, Jason.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
In the Bubble, marriage is the literal merging of two bodies. So when Geppetto receives an invitation to his daughter’s wedding, he’s devastated.
He must find a way to stop the ceremony, or lose her forever. And if the wedding goes ahead … He doesn’t want to think about that, but Geppetto has his scalpel on hand. Just in case.
Slice into SEVERING SIDNEY, the latest sci-fi horror from the Bubble.
ABOUT JASON WEREBELOFF
He’s the author of the sci-fi thriller trilogy, Defragmenting Daniel, two novels, Hedon and The Solace Pill, and the short story anthology, Obsidian Worlds. His books will make your brain hurt. And you’ll come back for more.
Subscribe to his newsletter to receive a free book, and a lifetime of free and discounted stories.
MY JASON WEREBELOFF REVIEWS
Short Story Anthology – Worlds of Wonder by Emily Martha Sorensen @CleanYAFantasy
I have recently found author Emily Martha Sorensen and am loving her writing, so when I was offered a chance to read this short story anthology, I couldn’t resist.
MY REVIEW
These sixteen short stories will have you traveling, flying high, using magic, and having action and adventure in bite sized pieces. We have some science fiction, some fantasy and some life lessons, with choices to be made.
Many of them are fairy tale remakes with morals to the stories that may leave you thinking…
A few of my favorites:
Beauty and the Brave: A fun twist on the Ugly Duckling. The young female dragon becomes the hero.
The Dragon and the Santa: What would you think if you heard a clatter on the roof top at Christmas, only to see Santa claus and a dragon? The ending…oh so good, you bad bad dragon.
Invoice: Ya gotta read that yourself. It is a HA HA HA morbid moment.
4 STARS
GOODREADS BLURB
A bunch of science fiction and fantasy short stories aimed at young adult and middle grade readers. There are fairy tale retellings, time-traveling, giant babies, dragons, and even a short story set in the middle of Black Magic Academy.
Contains the following short stories:
“Rite of Passage”
“A Phone Conversation”
“The Spinning Talent”
“Unicess”
“Cindy’s Fairy Godmother”
“Monster Under the Bed”
“Time Switch”
“The Apple of Discord”
“Advanced Precognition”
“Beauty and Brave”
“The Dragon and the Santa”
“Invoice”
“Interplanetary Edition”
“Schedule TMTR”
“On the Way Through the Woods”
“When the Wilkinsons Grew”
The anthology is about 26,500 words
ABOUT EMILY MARTHA SORENSEN
Emily is a prolific writer with many titles to choose from. She writes of fairies, dragons, fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, world peach in short stories and flash fiction.
You can find her on Goodreads & Amazon
- You can see my Giveaways HERE.
- You can see my Reviews HERE.
- If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
- Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
- Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
- Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
- Thanks for visiting fundinmental!
MY REVIEWS FOR EMILY MARTHA SORENSEN
Horror at its Finest! Wrathbone by Jason Parent @AuthorJasParent
Jason Parent writes some the best horror stories, so there was never any doubt that I would want to read Wrathbone.
Soooo…let’s step into his world and get our scare on.
MY REVIEW
After reading Kealon Patrick Burke’s rousing recommendation and knowing from previous Jason Parent works, I’m eager to read this collection of short stories. The writing is top notch, the evil ever present and the suspense…well you won’t forget these stories any time soon.
I will start with a review of the entire collection, and afterwords, give you a little taste of what’s to come.
I pictured the scenes as a movie unwinding in my mind’s eye, making me wonder, “How in the hell do you dream this stuff up, Jason?” Are you stoned on something?
Some of the horror is the subtle kind, others more blatant, but make no mistake, the terror takes the mind into insanity, and a thirst for blood.
One of the best horror anthologies I have ever read. Tension filled, upchucking moments, and I can’t believe I’m going to say this to you, but I couldn’t help but smile at a job well done.
5 Stars and a puke bucket please.
Wrathbone
I like that Jason shows President Abraham Lincoln’s personality in this dark and morbid tale of a man trapped in his mind and haunted be demons or insanity…you decide. The writing is fabulous and the evil oozes off the pages. Would make a great Twilight Zones episode. I give it 4 stars.
The Only Good Lawyer
…is a dead lawyer. Couldn’t resist the joke. The horror Bradley experineces was brought on by himself, by his own actions and I, for one, feel like he gets what’s he deserves. Lawyers beware, your actions may have repercussions you never could have foreseen. I give this a rousing 5 stars.
Dorian’s Mirror
He had it all, looks, women, money…but the mirror would take him so far down the rabbit hole that the terror will never end. Another 5 star read that will have you stumbling around the Twilight zone wondering if you will ever find your way out.
For The Birds
I knew what was going to happen right away, but the twisted mind of Jason Parent had me feeling like I wanted to upchuck. Great job and a 5 star terror filled read.
Revenge is a Dish
So much about this story creeped me out. I felt a lot of his fear, understood that it was all in his mind, but Jason Parent has a way with words. He took this to an even more twisted, perverted, pukingly (is that a word?), gruesome place than I could have ever anticipated. 5 stars.
Terror follows those who let it into their hearts.
Wrathbone
Guests of President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln, Major Henry Rathbone and Clara Harris attend a showing of Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865. On that fateful night, a great man falls, but he is not alone. For Henry and Clara, the night is only the beginning of lives wrought with jealousy, madness, and horror.
The Only Good Lawyer
Bradley is a savvy defense attorney with no scruples. Under his representation, many a guilty man has gone free. But when a voodoo priest takes the stand, Bradley soon discovers that he, too, is on trial, and the punishment for guilt may be more than he could bear.
Dorian’s Mirror
Dorian loves himself, and why wouldn’t he? Every guy wants to be him, and every girl wants to be with him. He would trade all he has to make his looks last forever, but bargaining with the devil may leave him short a soul.
For the Birds
Nev’s best friend is his parrot. In fact, it’s his only friend… and his only ally when his home is invaded.
Revenge is a Dish
Maurice has landed a dream job, chef for a rich couple on their yacht. The wife has carnal desires for him. Maurice has some carnal desires of his own.
“From the eerie opening tale to the grisly closer, and all of the wonderfully mean-spirited tales in-between, Wrathbone is a winner!” –Jeff Strand, author of Dead Clown Barbeque
“This is horror of the mind at it’s very best . . . Very dark, very atmospheric, very powerful writing. Excellent stuff . . . Only the second time ever that I have given every story in a collection five stars. This one is going to be hard to beat.” –Nev Murray at Confessions of a Reviewer and Scream Magazine
“Wrathbone and Other Stories is a hard-hitting collection that you can completely immerse yourself in. The title story is a beautifully written period tale of love and tragedy.” –Mercedes M. Yardley, author of the Bram Stoker Award winner Little Dead Red.
“Jason Parent channels the darkness. Wrathbone and Other Stories offers a glimpse into the twisted mind of a gifted storyteller, whose characters are every bit as vivid as the demons that haunt them. Parent’s definitely an author to watch!” –Michael McBride, author of Subterrestrial and Burial Ground
“An elegantly written novella of madness, murder, and demons, Jason Parent’s Wrathbone reads like Edgar Allan Poe’s take on ‘Jacob’s Ladder.'” –Adam Howe, author of Tijuana Donkey Showdown, Die Dog or Eat the Hatchet, and Black Cat Mojo
ABOUT JASON PARENT
In a prior life, Jason spent most of his time in front of a judge . . . as a civil litigator. When he finally tired of Latin phrases no one knew how to pronounce and explaining to people that real lawsuits are not started, tried and finalized within the 60-minute timeframe they see on TV (it’s harassing the witness; no one throws vicious woodland creatures at them), he traded in his cheap suits for flip flops and designer stubble. The flops got repossessed the next day, and he’s back in the legal field . . . sorta. But that’s another story.
When he’s not working, Jason likes to kayak, catch a movie, travel any place that will let him enter, and play just about any sport (except that ball tied to the pole thing where you basically just whack the ball until it twists into a knot or takes somebody’s head off – he misses the appeal). And read and write, of course. He does that too sometimes.
Please visit the author on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJasonP…, on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AuthorJasParent, or at his website, http://authorjasonparent.com/, for information regarding upcoming events or releases, or if you have any questions or comments for him.
- You can see my Giveaways HERE.
- You can see my Reviews HERE.
- If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
- Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
- Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
- Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
- Thanks for visiting fundinmental!
One Sentence Review – The Grownup by Gillian Flynn #GillianFlynn
I borrowed The Grownup by Gillian Flynn, a short story, from my sister, Laura, and I am so glad I did.
I sat, stunned, saying over and over WTF!
Gillian Flynn is now a MUST READ author for me.
MY REVIEW
The Grownup by Gillian Flynn is a fabulous short story that had me twisting, turning, wondering, WTF…hand jobs to fortunetelling to aura cleaning, Gillian had me laughing at the fun writing, wondering along with Susan where she would end up…and once again saying WTF!
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB: A canny young woman is struggling to survive by perpetrating various levels of mostly harmless fraud. On a rainy April morning, she is reading auras at Spiritual Palms when Susan Burke walks in. A keen observer of human behavior, our unnamed narrator immediately diagnoses beautiful, rich Susan as an unhappy woman eager to give her lovely life a drama injection. However, when the “psychic” visits the eerie Victorian home that has been the source of Susan’s terror and grief, she realizes she may not have to pretend to believe in ghosts anymore. Miles, Susan’s teenage stepson, doesn’t help matters with his disturbing manner and grisly imagination. The three are soon locked in a chilling battle to discover where the evil truly lurks and what, if anything, can be done to escape it.
- You can see my Giveaways HERE.
- You can see my Reviews HERE.
- If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
- Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
- Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
- Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
- Thanks for visiting fundinmental!