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Sunday, March 17, 2024

Code of Reanimation: A Father of Contention Spin-off by Lanie Mores + givaway

Code of Reanimation: A Father of Contention Spin-off
by Lanie Mores
11-14-2023
Genre: Paranormal Thriller, Science Fiction, Horror
Freedom is a state of mind.

Brigita Nowak has only ever wanted one thing—her freedom. Labelled psychotic and committed to a mental institution at seventeen, she missed the chance of a “normal” life. She never held a job, owned her own place, or experienced love. Until now.

After awakening sprawled on the common room floor—the hospital in ruins, the staff and patients missing—she realizes it’s her chance to escape. Seeking sanctuary with her sister, she meets “the boyfriend” Renner Scholz, a vile yet brilliant geneticist. He has developed a bioweapon, the Code of Reanimation, destined to destroy the world. Or so Brigita believes. She’s been seeing zombie hallucinations as of late, a sure premonition of the highly contagious bioweapon getting out of hand. Why the connection? Because the bioweapon reanimates dead organisms into bloodthirsty killing machines.

Brigita has typically experienced death-based hallucinations, blamed on her mental illness. She, however, always felt they were psychic premonitions. Convinced that Renner intends to release the bioweapon at a public fundraising event, she teams up with a handsome love interest to thwart the catastrophe. But, as Brigita’s visions kick into hyperdrive and timelines blur, she must determine which events are based on reality or delusional constructs of her subconscious mind...

before it’s too late.

 

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Father of Contention
There was only ever meant to be one Creator.

In 1972, German scientist Renner Scholz travels to Barbora Bay, Washington to continue his research in recombinant DNA technology. Only believing in things proven by science, his deeply held beliefs are challenged when he meets Milena Nowak, a psychic. After a whirlwind romance, Renner becomes obsessed with understanding Milena's unexplainable ability. Stumbling upon an exclusive occult ritual involving an evil spell that connects him to the spiritual realm where psychic abilities and power originate, he finds the answers he's been searching for...but at a cost.

Compelled by the ritual, Renner pursues a new vein of research. He develops the genetic blueprint to produce psychic abilities in humans—creating a superhuman—without realizing he is the main player in a plot to destroy mankind.

Milena senses that Renner has changed and a new darkness resides within him. Helplessly she watches as the man she loves transforms, becoming deceptive, volatile and both physically and mentally more powerful. Can Milena save Renner from this evil presence? Or will she become an unwilling participant in his next experiment—one of the darkest kinds?

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About the author
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Lanie Mores is the award-winning author of the science fiction and fantasy book series, Father of Contention. She has an Honours Bachelor of Science Degree, a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology, and is a certified hypnotherapist and personal trainer. An active member of the Canadian Authors Association, Lanie enjoys sharing her perspectives through her fictional novels and poetry. When she isn't writing, you'll find her reading, binge-watching Netflix, baking, and slaughtering zombies and other monsters on her Xbox. She lives in Ontario with her family and forever barking fur babies, Batman and Petri.

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Friday, March 15, 2024

Interview: Paranormal Urban Fantasy Author Martin J. Best + giveaway

Where do you live?
I was born, and have mostly lived, in the English Riviera town of Torquay, in the county of Devon, England. It’s an interesting place: the oldest human skull in North West Europe, dating from forty-four thousand years ago, was found in our local limestone cave system, Kents Caverns; author Agatha Christie was born here in eighteen ninety; occultist Aleister Crowley founded his second Abbey of Thelema here in nineteen forty; and in twenty twenty-one it was named the most likely place in the UK to see a ghost!

In keeping with this reputation, I grew up in an actively haunted house, where apparitions were seen, things inexplicably moved, and disembodied voices heard. The former owner, a Victorian era widow, practiced Spiritualism, and regularly conducted séances. In a similarly macabre vein, not far from where I live now, stands Gallows Gate. It marks the boundary of four Parishes, and served as a place of execution for over a thousand years. I suppose it’s no wonder that I like it here!

Tell me about you, and why you write.
I was born in Torquay, England, in nineteen sixty-five, and, for those of you to whom it matters, I’m a Sagittarius. I’ve always had an (over) active imagination, which wasn’t encouraged by my parents. I am a voracious reader, and as a child worked my way through all the Doctor Who books and Alan Garner’s novels, amongst others, quickly graduating to adult science fiction, fantasy, and horror. A significant moment was reading Clark Ashton Smith’s Lost Worlds, and he has remained a firm favourite of mine.

Feeling compelled to translate my thoughts into something more palpable, I quickly discovered that I wasn’t an artist, so set about using words to bring my stories to life. Over the years, I’ve written on and off as time and circumstances permitted, and have piles of handwritten A4 paper to prove it. It’s only relatively recently, when I gave up work to care for first my elderly mother, then my mother-in-law, that I found time to devote solely to writing. I published short stories The Moth Trap - which had been kicking around for over twenty years - The Novice Ghost Hunter, and A Step Aside. My daughter told me that The Novice Ghost Hunter deserved a sequel, and the six novel Ghost Hunter series was conceived, followed by the Carolyn Hunter Stories. I take so much pleasure from writing that it’s difficult to describe it as work. That said, it can be incredibly frustrating when the right words won’t come, it’s remarkably time consuming, and difficult to make a living from.

Do you have a favourite movie?
It’s difficult to choose just one, but the two thousand and two film Dog Soldiers, starring Sean Pertwee, is definitely up there. A grimly humorous, blood drenched, werewolf epic!

Who is your hero and why?
Ian Fraser Kilminster, better known as Lemmy, the bass player and vocalist of Motörhead. I’ve seen Motörhead play quite a few times, always a great show; consummate professionals. Lemmy lived his life, and played his music, without compromise; I admire that.

What are you passionate about?
Apart from writing, and the paranormal, I have always been passionate about music, and enjoy a wide variety of genres; I ran my own mobile DJ business for many years. In the last few years I have become captivated by throat singing, particularly Mongolian folk rock bands such as The Hu, Nine Treasures, Tengger Cavalry, and Suld, the Siberian shamanic duo Nytt Land, and Pagan folk band Heilung.

A complex and engaging blend of paranormal urban fantasy and occult horror!

A Matter of Faith (Ghost Hunter I )
by Martin J. Best
Genre: Paranormal Urban Fantasy
Fledgling Ghost Hunter Malachi Hunter is back with a vengeance in the first full-length novel of the macabre Ghost Hunter series!

Lonely paranormal investigator Mal yearns to find some direction and true happiness in his life. His world is rapidly changing- and not necessarily for the better. That is until he receives a fateful call which will once again put his eerie expertise into play. Fiercely independent single parent Teena Maunder is determined to handle anything which dares to cross her path. She is resolute and determined. However, when her home becomes the scene for a terrifying and baffling haunting, Teena appears to have met her match. Turning to Mal for help, the scene is set for a deadly paranormal onslaught. Mal quickly finds himself embroiled in a supernatural battle unlike any he has faced until this point. He could very well be out of his league this time. Be that as it may, the stakes could not be any higher as a blossoming romance has ignited between Mal and Teena. This could finally be his chance to claim the love and happiness he so desperately craves. All that stands in the way is a hideous entity which has entirely different plans!

Come join Mal as he continues his journey to become an elite paranormal investigator. When you have managed to regain your composure, be sure to check out the other chilling titles in the Ghost Hunter series!

 
The sound of someone moving around downstairs focussed Teena’s attention. Carolyn’s best friend Emily was staying over, and the sounds likely meant that one, or both, of the teenagers were raiding the kitchen for an illicit snack. She glanced at the bedside clock; it was after two in the morning. Teena smiled in the darkness. Let them have their fun, there might even be an innocent explanation such as fetching a glass of water. She closed her eyes and relaxed. A moment later, she sat up in bed and switched on the light; footsteps were coming up the stairs. Concerned now, Teena waited for her bedroom door to open, prepared to diagnose and remedy an ailment. Instead, she heard the door to the spare bedroom open. Puzzled, she searched for an explanation. Perhaps Emily, unfamiliar with the house, was half-asleep and confused? Sleep-walking even? Teena quickly left the bed, put on her dressing gown, and hurried out onto the landing. The door to the spare bedroom was open, and she could just make out movement within. With a half-formed notion about not startling sleep-walkers, she crossed the landing and peered in through the doorway. The curtains were open, and there was sufficient ambient light that it was obvious the room was unoccupied. Uncertainly, Teena stepped back onto the landing. How could she have been mistaken? Before she could ponder any deeper, she heard footsteps in the kitchen. “Carolyn? Emily? Is that you?” There was no answer, but footsteps started up the stairs. Thoroughly disconcerted, Teena reached out and switched on the light. The footsteps stopped. The staircase was empty. An icy chill ran up her spine, and she stood petrified for several seconds, before racing back to her bedroom.

With the door shut, she switched the main light on, picked up her phone and dialled the police. Assured that they were on their way, she summoned the courage to go downstairs and check on the girls. The house was quiet as she made her way nervously downstairs. She turned on the front room light and looked inside before entering; it was untenanted. Teena entered and crossed to the door that led to Carolyn’s basement bedroom, opening it quietly. She walked down three steps of the steep wooden staircase and looked across the room. Enough light was coming from above that she could clearly see that Carolyn and Emily appeared to be sound asleep. Satisfied that they were alone, she retraced her steps, closed the door, and went to the window to await the arrival of the police.

As Teena waited, she attempted to rationalise what had happened. She was convinced that an intruder had been in the house, and that they had probably been scared off when she switched on the light. However, that didn’t explain the opening of the spare bedroom door. It occurred to her that she hadn’t checked the back door. Perplexed now rather than frightened, she saw the police patrol car pull up outside, and went to open the front door. The two male constables introduced themselves as PCs O’Brien and Stevens, listened to Teena’s account, and joined her on a tour of the house. Back in the front room, the two officers sat on the settee, Teena in an armchair. “As far as we can tell, Miss Maunder, your property is secure,” O’Brien said, “there’s no evidence of a forced entry, and the only keys are accounted for.” He leaned forward, hands clasped. “I don’t mean to doubt your story, but is it possible that you made a mistake?”

“I’m starting to believe that I must have, but I don’t understand how.”

“Perhaps the noises came from one of the adjoining properties,” Stevens suggested. “When everything’s quiet at night, sounds that you would normally hardly notice seem much louder; particularly if you’re half-asleep.”

“Perhaps you’re right.” Teena was sure that he wasn’t, but was starting to feel embarrassed. “I’m sorry for wasting your time.”

“You haven’t,” O’Brien said firmly, “far better to be safe than sorry.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that.”

The two men rose and made ready to leave; Teena showed them to the door. O’Brien paused, his hand on the latch. “Your surname sounds familiar, have we met before?”

“No, I don’t think so, but you may know my brother, Bradley Maunder, he’s a detective constable in Torquay.”

O’Brien nodded. “That’s it. I knew I recognised the name. Well, we’ll bid you good-night, Miss Maunder.”

“Good night, and thank you.”




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Martin J. Best was born in Torquay, England, in 1965, where he lives with his wife, Kim, and their dogs, Shadow and Raven. Dubbed the Prince of Paranormal by antipodean author Mark Carnelley, Martin grew up in an actively haunted house, which probably accounts for his abiding interest in all things supernatural. He has had a varied work life, and spent many years running his own mobile disco business. He now writes full-time, and when not working, is a keen walker, music enthusiast, and ghost hunter.

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Sunday, March 10, 2024

It Came From… The Stories and Novels Behind Classic Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction Films by Jim Nemeth and Bob Madison + giveaway

What inspired you to write this book / How did you come up with the concept?
Ever since I was a young boy (I won’t say how long ago that was!) J I’ve always loved films of the classic horror, science fiction, and fantasy genres. You know, Dracula, with Bela Lugosi, Frankenstein with Boris Karloff, The Wolfman, etc. (For the young ones out there, “classic horror” here is roughly the 1930s through the early 1970s!)

Hand-in-hand with that, I’m also a cinefile—someone with an interest in all aspects of filmmaking. In particular, I’m an avid devourer of a film’s opening credits. When a screenplay is based on other material, the one credit in particular that always captures my attention is the “Based on…” credit.

Invariably, one of two scenarios occurs after viewing such a film:

· I’m familiar with the material the film was based on and have either a “That was really a faithful adaptation!” or a “That was NOTHING like the book/story!” moment.

· I’m not familiar with the material the film was based on and if I liked the film, I’m intrigued to read the story or novel to discover just how faithful (or not) the film was to its source. I’m also keenly interested in finding out all I can about the literary piece’s author, his/her inspiration, as well as everything surrounding the screenwriter’s thought process behind the adaptation of the material.

What I found lacking in reference books through the years, particularly those covering the horror, fantasy, and science fiction genres, is this missing connection: a truly comprehensive history that ties and compares—in any amount of detail—a film adapted from other material back to its origins. It’s frustrating to pore through a reference book and find little more concerning the inspiration behind a film than the credit one finds in the film itself (“Based on the novel XXXXX, by so-and-so.”)

And so…IT CAME FROM was born.

What did you edit out of this book?
So many films on our initial list—The Hound of the Baskervilles, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The House That Dripped Blood—were planned, but pruned for space. Also, we tried to limit ourselves to only one pre-World War II film (The Wizard of Oz) because we strove to include more contemporary films that are underserved in genre criticism.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

The cover. I had no control over that.

What is your favorite part of this book and why?
My favorite part of IT CAME FROM is that Bob (my co-author) and I brought something new and fresh to the coverage of classic horror films, which, to be honest, has been done nearly to death. My feeling here can best be summed up with the following except from one of the reviews the book received:

As a fan of these kinds of films and a voracious reader of any books and magazines I could find devoted to them over the last thirty years, it has been quite a while since I've read anything about them that has been anywhere near as informative and interesting as this fine book.

The only book to completely examine the origins of classic fantasy films by including an in-depth examination of the source material and its author, the screenwriter’s contribution in adapting it, and an analysis of how that combination resulted in the production of the final film.

 

 It Came From ...The Stories and Novels Behind Classic Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction Films
by Jim Nemeth and Bob Madison
Genre: Film History, Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction
How many times have you said, the book was better? And how many times was that actually true?

The cinema of the fantastic has benefitted from literary adaptations on a level unlike any other genre. With such brilliant authors as Mary Shelley, Robert Bloch, Pierre Boulle, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert Louis Stevenson to choose from, it's no surprise that fantastic film shares its pedigree with literary fiction.
But do films never live up to their literary inspirations? Or are some movies just ... better than the books that inspired them?

Join genre critics Jim Nemeth and Bob Madison for a rule-busting examination of 21 classic - and not so classic - horror, fantasy and science fiction films, and the classic - and not so classic - books that inspired them.

It Came From...The Stories and Novels Behind Classic Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction Films will delight legions of movie buffs along with devoted readers of cherished fantastic fiction. 

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The Face Isn’t Finished: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

“There’s no emotion—none—just the pretense of it. The words, gestures, the tone of voice, everything else are the same—but not the feeling. He isn’t my Uncle Ira.” – Wilma Lentz, “The Body Snatchers.”

The loss of one’s self, one’s identity, everything that comprises who we are as individuals—not just our physical bodies, but our emotions, desires, passions, imagination, our essence—is a terrifying concept. Death, of course, is the ultimate such loss—the universal absolute. Some fight the inevitable tooth-and-nail, some are gracefully accepting, while the remainder of us fall somewhere in between. But ultimately, no one escapes their encounter with the Grim Reaper. Equally terrifying, to some more so, is a form of “living death:” the erosion of one’s mental faculties while still alive. Said degeneration can occur through such avenues as Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Agonizing for all concerned, family and friends helplessly watch on as these diseases rob vibrant loved ones of their core humanity. Left behind is little more than an empty vessel, now devoid of the totality of what they had once been. A living zombie, of sorts. The only saving grace of such insidious afflictions is that there comes a point at which the victim mercifully becomes no longer aware of what is occurring.

This concept of stolen humanity is horrifying enough for occurring naturally. Now, image a scenario where something of unnatural origin—oh, let’s say an otherworldly alien—involuntarily robs you of your individuality and essence. Compound this horror further with the loss of your physical body, destroyed once duplicated, by aforementioned alien, thus easing its “recruitment” of family and friends in order to exponentially perpetuate an invasion no one suspects. Frightening, no? Writer Jack Finney imagined such a scenario, and his resulting tale, “The Body Snatchers,” first saw publication in 1954, serialized in Colliers Magazine. Hollywood quickly seized on the hot property and released Invasion of the Body Snatchers a mere two years later. The film is the first of four (to date) major cinematic adaptions of Finney’s tale.

Jack Finney (1911-1995), was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After graduating from Knox College, he moved to New York City and worked for many years as an advertising copywriter. He married Marguerite Guest in 1949 through which they had two children. In the early 1950s, Finney and his family moved to Mill Valley, California, a small city a short distance north of San Francisco. Mill Valley would shortly become the inspiration for Santa Mira, the fictional locale where much of the setting for Body Snatchers takes place.

Finney’s writing career began in the 1940s, writing short stories and serials to such varied magazines as Collier’s, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, the Saturday Evening Post, and Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. Finney’s writing during this period was most frequently within the thriller and light fantasy/science fiction genres. Finney later turned his hand toward writing novels when, during the 1950s there came a reduced demand for short stories in the magazine market. His first novel, 5 Against the House, which tells the story of several college students who set about an attempt to rob a nightclub in Reno, was published in 1954.

Later that same year, Finney wrote the story that would set him upon the path of success and later acclaim. Collier’s magazine published The Body Snatchers as a three-part serial in late 1954. Finney shortly thereafter revised and expanded the material, which subsequently saw publication as a Dell paperback novel the following year.

Finney granted few interviews throughout his life. As such, little is known regarding the author, let alone insights into his fictional works. However, in personal correspondence to famed horror author Stephen King in 1979, Finney wrote of his remembrances on the origin of his famous pod tale:
The book…was written in the early 1950s, and I don’t really remember a lot about it. I do recall that I simply felt in the mood to write something about a strange event or a series of them in a small town; something inexplicable. And that my first thought was that a dog would be injured or killed by a car, and it would be discovered that a part of the animal’s skeleton was of stainless steel; bone and steel intermingled, that is, a thread of steel running into bone and bone into steel so that it was clear the two had grown together. But this idea led to nothing in my mind…I remember that I wrote the first chapter-pretty much as it appeared, if I am recalling correctly-in which people complained that someone close to them was in actuality an imposter. But I didn’t know where this was to lead, either. However, during the course of fooling around with this, trying to make it work out, I came across a reputable scientific theory that objects might in fact be pushed through space by the pressure of light, and that dormant life of some sort might conceivably drift through space…and this eventually worked the book out.


About the Author:
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By day, Jim Nemeth is a technical writer within the fields of computer software and biotechnology.

As a professional writer, in 1993, Jim won 1st Prize in a national magazine’s short story writing contest for which novelists Ray Bradbury and Robert Bloch were judges. Winning held special meaning for Jim, as Robert Bloch remains his favorite writer and main literary influence. Jim has had essays, articles and reviews printed in a variety of magazines, including Filmfax, Mad About Movies, and Scary Monsters.

A long-time community activist, Jim is particularly committed to the causes of animal rescue and breast cancer research.

It Came From…: The Stories and Novels Behind Classic Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction Films is his first book.

Born and raised in Chicago, Jim now lives with his husband in historic Marblehead, Massachusetts.


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Saturday, March 9, 2024

Excerpt: The Undead Wars (A Cry in the Moon’s Light Book 2) by Alan McGill + giveaway


Love Never Dies

The Undead Wars (A Cry in the Moon’s Light Book 2)
by Alan McGill
Genre: Horror Romance, Dark Fantasy
A LEADER WILL RISE AND A KINGDOM WILL FALL.
The former Duchess of Harcourt lives a quiet life. The events of the Dark Forest are a distant memory. But evil does not forget so easily. The sinister Witch King has sent new creatures to find the remaining witches.

Gruesome murders plague the land as eerie Wolf Song echoes from the mountains. Is this the return of Seth? Or something else?

Alessandra de Moreau must decide if she can work with those who killed her love, for only together will they be able to stop the Undead Army. But first, she will have to find the Dagger of Dark Silver and unravel the Mystery of the Wolf, if they are to survive The Undead Wars.

 

Excerpt from The Undead Wars: A Cry in the Moon’s Light Book Two

The men and women of the East Side watched in horror. It was devastating to see creatures they thought destroyed come back to life. What hope did they have if something can bring the dead back to life again and again?

But worse than that, they watched the Phoenix bring their dead neighbors back to life. Only they returned as undead. The resurrection bird would swoop in tight to a dead corpse, use its wings to sprint straight up and pull the body back as a member of the Undead Army.

The charred corpses of those who died by fire would rise with amber eyes that shined against blackened skin. They all moved in jerky motion like the Skeletons, stumbling along and picking up weapons. The peasants were horrified and reluctant to fight someone they once knew.

Those who didn’t run or fight were cleaved to death. The Phoenix wasted no time bringing them back to fight. Their wounds were still fresh and oozing blood. As with the burnt corpses, they picked up weapons and attacked in those weird jerky movements.

The Phoenix passed over the areas where the Skeleton Soldiers had concentrated first before it made its way to Alessandra. The bird swooped down over the Skeleton she dropped. Its wings flapped hard, climbing high into the air, but nothing happened.

The puzzled demon looked confused. This was not something the Phoenix had encountered before. Determined to carry out its master’s order, the creature made another pass but still nothing happened. An eerie cry of frustration erupted from its beak.

The Witch King watched but was not surprised. The black glow intensified as he recalled his flaming pet. The Phoenix immediately looked at him and with a blood-curdling caw, swooped down angrily toward Alessandra.

Alessandra rolled out of the way as the flaming bird tried to ram her. It flew past, going straight into her home. The creature then burst through the roof, engulfing the entire structure in flame. This was the most searing heat she’d ever felt. It was so intense she had to step back.

She returned home to help her neighbors, but she also wanted to retrieve the dreamcatcher. It was the one thing the Drabarni gave her to commune with Seth. Everything she owned, including that, was now lost.

As she stood helplessly watching her house burn, a singular blue flame materialized in the middle of the blaze. The light was so bright she used a hand to cover her eyes. The color was very distinctive, unlike the other flames around it.

The heat from the fire subsided. It was still too hot to approach, but not as before. Her eyes adjusted, allowing her to see. The blue flames center now turned white.

A shadow figure appeared in the flame. The figure of a man slowly came into focus. It was Seth! The only man she’d every loved. The man she’d grown up with from Parlimae village. How was he here? He died on that beach nearly fifteen years ago.

He wore a long dark coat, knee-high boots, and grey pants. His long blonde hair was tied in a ponytail. His blue eyes took in the surroundings before turning to her.

Then she heard his voice. It seemed to echo in her mind. “You must find the Drabarni” then a pause. “Do not blame him. You must work together.”

“Seth! Who? Don’t blame who?” She yelled.

Seth voice distorted, “Go to the Red Door.” The last sounds began to fade as the image disappeared. Within seconds, he was gone. The blue flame consumed the white, then diminished leaving only the blaze that consumed the house.

Alessandra wiped the tears from her eyes. As the shock wore off, she picked up a sword next to the pile of bones. Her mind ran through memories of Seth. His face at the Abandoned Church. Her stitching his wounds after the battle with the Black Wolf. And she remembered the kiss just before they had to flee.

The warm remembrance went away as her thoughts turned to anger. Right after that kiss they had to flee. They ended up on that beach surrounded by an angry mob from Mercel. That was when the Hessian shot and killed Seth in front of her.

Thoughts of the Dreamcatcher filled her mind. She looked at her home crumbling under the fire, that very Dreamcatcher somewhere inside. It was gone.

Her eyes moved over the entire area. Buildings were on fire, the whole neighborhood in turmoil, and people desperately tried to escape. Skeletons chased many across the Stone Bridge. Not all were fast enough and died horribly.

She looked again at the road north next to the river. There were two Romani wagons leading a group away. With the hordes of skeletons on the Stone Bridge, she thought it best to join the Romani.

The Phoenix was now perched on the Witch King’s pike. Its flames subdued as it rested. The Witch King had observed the blue flame. He didn’t see Seth, but he knew magic when he saw it. Now he watched as Alessandra went north to catch the caravan of people fleeing.

His eyes glowed black again as he instructed his forces to cut off her escape. The Witch King was ordered his minions to bring her to him, alive. The silver dagger and the blue flame convinced him she was the witch he sought.

A Cry in the Moon’s Light (A Cry in the Moon’s Light Book 1)

In a time of castles, muskets, and hideous creatures of the night, a beautiful woman travels across the treacherous Dark Forest to be by the side of her dying grandmother. With only a young carriage driver to protect her, she must use her wits and all of her courage to cross the wild country—and to evade the mysterious beast who stalks her.

What follows is a tale full of horror, mystery, and romance: gruesome murders at a village hidden deep in the forest, a castle that holds dark secrets, and a black wolf leading a deadly pack. Nothing is as it seems, and this journey has only just begun. The beautiful lady in the carriage will learn that only love can defeat evil, but is it love or danger that cries out to her in the deceitful light of the moon?

 
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About the Author:
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Alan McGill is an American author who lives in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a clowder of cats. Alan was close to his grandparents who grew up in the Great Depression. They were married young and remained together until his grandmother’s passing. His grandfather served in the Navy during WWII and was a gifted storyteller who weaved humorous tales about tough events. Alan grew up with these stories of right and wrong along with watching fictional heroes such as The Lone Ranger, Adam West’s Batman and Captain America. Heroes who stood up to bullies and protected those who could not protect themselves. This made an impression on the author to always do what was right in his own life and shaped his love for storytelling. He is a multi-genre author with his debut novel being A Cry in the Moon’s Light which is a horror romance and mystery series. As with all his books, one of the primary themes involves characters who strive to do the right thing regardless of the adversity they face. The second theme present in all his books is love. A pure and deep love that defeats all evil.

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Friday, March 8, 2024

Book Review: Serendipity at the End of the World by Karissa Laurel

Serendipity at the End of the World
by Karissa Laurel
November 8, 2023
Genre: Gaslamp fantasy, fantasy romance
Steampunk, Zombies, and Romance…

Serendipity Blite inherited her father’s crackerjack shooting skills, while her sister, Bloom, got his knack for mechanical engineering. The siblings’ talents make them a formidable pair capable of surviving the apocalyptic aftermath of the Dead Disease. Their skills also attract the unwanted attention of Moll Grimes, a ruthless woman intent on building a new empire in a city infested with undead.

When Bloom goes missing, Sera suspects Moll has something to do with it, but attempting a rescue mission on her own would be suicidal. Sera seeks help from a band of unlikely allies, including Erik LaRoux, an enticing young man with a curious scar, and a collection of alchemists obsessed with developing a cure for the Dead Disease.

Sera’s alliance with Erik challenges her old ways of coping, and so do his kisses. Her fierce independence won’t be enough to save her sister. But as she opens herself to new possibilities, an unfortunate accident sets Sera teetering on the edge of a deadly abyss. Surrendering to it would bring an end to her grief, pain, and fear, but surviving could mean finding family, love, and maybe even a cure.

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Sisters Sera and Bloom take refuge in an abandoned bank amidst the post-apocalyptic wild west-scape that was once their hometown. They are seemingly content, if not resigned, to scrounge for food and safety while dodging scores of undead. But when Bloom is missing, Sera fears the worst. Using savvy detection skills, Sera discovers Bloom has attracted unwanted attention from local kingpin, Moll Grimes. Moll seeks to use Bloom’s talent for mechanical engineering to help further her territorial monopoly. Sera joins forces with the dark and mysterious Erik LaRoux. Erik’s connections with a neutral faction of alchemists living a life of luxury in a time of impoverished scarcity.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, despite my objections to post-apocalypse tropes, zombies, and the Young Adult genre altogether. The characters, storyline, and action simply won me over. I found the book difficult to put down and would sneak in quick reading sessions before work. I’ve been a long-time Karissa Laurel fan and her writing is always a win for me. She is imaginative and creative in her storytelling. I found the book exciting, romantic, and touching.

I would love a sequel to this book. There’s lots of road ahead for these characters and this world.

Five Sheep


 

 

Bianca Greenwood

Karissa lives in North Carolina with her son, her husband, the occasional in-law, and a polka-dotted puppy. Some of her favorite things, other than reading books and writing them, are super heroes, Star Wars, Southern cuisine & crochet. She loves summertime and is happiest when she's at the lake.