Upcoming tours by Lightning book promotions!

Tomorrow I have two great YA books going on tour. Each of them are equally great even though they are from two different genres. The Frankincense Trail by Jody Kihara is a YA historical based in the Arabian Nights era. Then there is Flame of Surrender by Rhiannon Paille, a debut author, this novel is a YA Fantasy. Both books were a lot of fun to read!

The Frankincense Trail by Jody Kihara (November 1st-10th)

In 200BC, frankincense was worth its weight in gold, making Arabia was the envy
of the world. But wealth comes at a cost: the precious resin had to be
transported along the Frankincense Road, a dangerous route through rocky
mountains and barren desert.

Alia is a princess in a dwindling kingdom
that lies on the Frankincense Road. Having grown up hearing tales of Bilqis, the
Queen of Sheba, she dreams of finding a way to restore her kingdom’s former
might. When a caravan journeying to the mysterious incense lands stops to take
on travellers, she sees her chance.

She soon realises, however, that her
trust in the caravan leaders has been misguided. They are not mere incense
merchants, but traitors and mercenaries. Alia’s journey soon turns from
dangerous to life-threatening.

The Frankincense Trail is a story that
transports the reader to a time and place reminiscent of the Arabian Nights
tales.

Tour schedule:

November:
         1st: Julie @ One Book Shy of a Full Shelf

         2nd Freda @ Freda’s Voice

         3rd Jude @ In between Writing and Reading

         4th Jennifer @ Fictitious Musing

         5th Orchid @ The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

         6th Stormi @ Books, Movies, Reviews. Oh my!

         7th Mary @ Sweeping Me

         8th Jennifer G @ Can’t Put It Down

        9th Laura @ Library of Clean Reads

       10th Megan @ The Book Addicted Girl

With The Frankincense Trail and Jody Kihara, Lightning Book Promotions is trying something a little different. We want to do a twitterview! What is a twitterview you might ask, well its a interview on twitter! Join us November 12th, 3pm central standard time (Be sure to check your own time zones so you don’t miss the fun!) We will be on Twitter and Jody would love to answer any of your questions, just use #TFT and look for @ladystorm33 and @JodyKihara and let’s have a some fun on twitter!

Also, Jody is doing a giveaway over on her Facebook page, so if you would like a chance to win this novel, then head on over to her Facebook page!

Flame of Surrender by Rhiannon Paille (November 1st-14th)


The boy who follows death meets the girl
who could cause the apocalypse.Krishani thinks he’s doomed until he
meets Kaliel, the one girl on the island of Avristar who isn’t afraid of him.
She’s unlike the other girls, she swims with merfolk, talks to trees and blooms
flowers with her touch. What he doesn’t know is that she’s a flame, one of nine
individually hand crafted weapons, hidden in the body of a seemingly harmless
girl.

Nobody has fallen in love with a flame until now. She becomes
Krishani’s refuge from the dreams of death and the weather abilities he can’t
control. Striking down thousand year old trees with lightning isn’t something he
tries to do, it just happens. When the Ferryman dies, Krishani knows that he’s
the next and that a lifetime of following death is his destiny.

And

Kaliel can’t come with him. The Valtanyana are hunting the flames, the safest
place for her is Avristar. Krishani can’t bear to leave her, and one innocent
mistake grants the Valtanyana access to their mystical island. They’re coming
for Kaliel, and they won’t stop until every last living creature on Avristar is
dead. She has to choose, hide, face them, or awaken the flame and potentially
destroy herself.

Tour Schedule:

November:
 1st – JoAnne @ The Fairytale Nerd

2nd- Marissa @ Novels on the Run

3rd – Cherry @ Cherry Mischievous

3rd – Katie @ Curse of the Bibliophile

4th – Valerie @ Stuck In Books

5th – Rabiah @ Confessions of a Readaholic

6th – Wanda @ Books Are Magic

7th – Rozhin @ Zone Out Mode

8th – Erika @ One A Day YA

9th – Vanessa @ Boekie’s Book Reviewer

10th – Gabbi @ The Book Breather

11th – Sally @ Bibrary Book Lust

11th – Aine @ House Millar Series

11th – Rebecca @ Everything To Do With Books

12th – Kellie @ ReaWrite

13th – Bonnie @ Hands and Home

14th – Bree @ The Magic Attic

14th – Gina @ Behind a Million and One Pages

I hope you will join in on the fun and check out all the reviews, interviews and guest post!

Frightfest 2011: Guest Post, author Evan Munday

Hi everyone, please welcome Evan Munday to my blog today. He is the author of The Dead Kid Detective Agency. Today he is talking about how he stopped worrying and learned to enjoy horror.

As I write this, Halloween lies just one day ahead. I returned from a couple costume parties last night, led a workshop for kids on writing supernatural mysteries (at the phenomenal Toronto kids' bookstore, Mabel's Fables) this morning and am gathering items for a 'Nightmare-a-thon on Elm Street' at my apartment this evening. Halloween is my Christmas. It's a way bigger deal to me than my birthday or New Year's Eve or (probably to my girlfriend's chagrin) Valentine's Day.

I'll spend inordinate amounts of time and more money than I can afford on fashioning the perfect costume. So it seemed, on Halloween's Eve (Devil's Night to some, Cabbage Night where I grew up in New Jersey), as good a time as any to analyze how I became obsessed with Halloween, the supernatural and terrifying things in general -- especially since, growing up, I was a complete 'fraidy cat. Maybe I should qualify that: I always felt I was a 'fraidy cat. Two childhood episodes (both involving horror movies) remain vivid in my memory:

1) At a friend's birthday party in the third grade, the birthday boy decided we would all watch Alien and Aliens, two movies that were well beyond my PG-13 experiences. This bold step divided the birthday revelers. Most were happy to have this free pass to watch gory, profanity-laced movies outside the watchful gaze of their parents. (Some probably thought it was some kind of trap.) But three others and I felt unprepared for the jump to restricted films. The four of us sat in the basement like losers, playing Skate or Die on the birthday boy's Nintendo, trying to fathom the terrors the others were witnessing in the living room above. Eventually, I emerged from the basement, having missed only a half-hour or so of Alien, to see my first R-rated horror movie. All but one of my basement companions joined me before the first movie was through.

2) A little older, in fifth grade, a few friends decided we'd hit the local strip mall to see the latest (and last -- a promise many times broken) Nightmare on Elm Street. At the last second, I chickened out and instead watched Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (also playing) for the third time. I had seen it twice before and knew I could handle the instances of arrow violence and Kevin Costner's bare bottom. My decision earned me the scorn of my classmates for some time afterward. That said, it was really only film horror that I avoided. My favourite books as a child always contained an element of horror or terror.

I devoured the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books by Alvin Schwartz and Stephen Gammell, which anthologized classic campfire tales with some of the by-far scariest ink illustrations I have ever seen. My perennial favourites were a series of classic horror mysteries (A House with a Clock in Its Walls, The Eyes of the Killer Robot) by John Bellairs. Even the more comical talking-animal mysteries of Bunnicula and Howliday Inn had a horror bent. Vampire pet rabbit? Genius! In the world of nonfiction, I obsessed over whatever books the library stocked on unexplained phenomena: pseudo-scientific texts on sasquatches, UFOs, Jersey Devils, Loch Ness Monsters, werewolves, chupacabras. Clearly, those proverbial things that go bump in the night have been a lifelong obsession. Eventually, I moved on to more adult horror: Stephen King's

Night Shift, a collection of his short stories, gave me nightmare after nightmare. But did I ever put the book down, trade it for something less harrowing? No. So perhaps it's not so strange that my first book for young readers is such a morbid tale, complete with ghost children and murder at a high school. (Though it's a more humorous than scary novel, despite the numerous dead people that populate its pages. Closer to Bunnicula than Night Shift.) But I really have no idea how I overcame my fear of scary movies. Maybe it's like public speaking: do it often enough and it becomes commonplace.

Given the number of horror movies and books I've viewed or read in the past ten years -- I even have a jar on our bookshelf at home, 'Evan's Depraved Movie Jar,' to distinguish those from the movies both my girlfriend and I might to see together -- I can't imagine myself hiding in a basement, playing Nintendo until the monsters on screen disappear. Or maybe it's more like how one grows to love the vegetables he or she hated as a child. Those things that were once unpleasant become some of our favourite things. The youthful repulsion becomes a fascination. Either way, I'm glad I overcame my fears, because there are so many great stories (in book and film form) that I would have really hated to miss. Happy Halloween!

Thanks Evan and I hope you have a great Halloween!

Frightfest 2011: 5 of my favorite scary books!

Everyone has those books that they have read that gives them goosebumps when reading it. They make you jump when something scraps along your house, or the wind starts to blow. You read them at night even though you know they are going to scare you, but its all part of the fun of reading Horror novels.

Here are five of my favorite horror novels:

5) The Harrowing by Alexandra Sokoloff

Baird College's Mendenhall echoes with the footsteps of the last home-bound students heading off for Thanksgiving break, and Robin Stone swears she can feel the creepy, hundred-year-old residence hall breathe a sigh of relief for its long-awaited solitude. Or perhaps it's only gathering itself for the coming weekend.
As a massive storm dumps rain on the isolated campus, four other lonely students reveal themselves: Patrick, a handsome jock; Lisa, a manipulative tease; Cain, a brooding musician; and finally Martin, a scholarly eccentric. Each has forsaken a long weekend at home for their own secret reasons.
The five unlikely companions establish a tentative rapport, but they soon become aware of a sixth presence disturbing the ominous silence that pervades the building. Are they the victims of a simple college prank taken way too far, or is the unusual energy evidence of something genuine---and intent on using the five students for its own terrifying ends? It's only Thursday afternoon, and they have three long days and dark nights before the rest of the world returns to find out what's become of them. But for now it's just the darkness keeping company with five students nobody wants and no one will miss.

(I read this book a couple of years ago and remember it being really interesting and I thought the ending was pretty cool. It had a real creepy feel to it.)

4) Pet Sematary by Steven King

"Sometimes dead is better...."


When the Creeds move into a beautiful old house in rural Maine, it all seems too good to be true: physician father, beautiful wife, charming little daughter, adorable infant son — and now an idyllic home. As a family, they've got it all...right down to the friendly cat.

But the nearby woods hide a blood-chilling truth — more terrifying than death itself...and hideously more powerful.

(This was the very first horror novel by SK I read when I was a teenager and I was hooked on his novels ever since. I will admit that his earlier works are much better than some of his later works but the classics like this one will always be creepy to me.)

3) Dracula by Bram Stoker

The aristocratic vampire that haunts the Transylvanian countryside has captivated readers' imaginations since it was first published in 1897. Hindle asserts that Dracula depicts an embattled man's struggle to recover his "deepest sense of himself as a man", making it the "ultimate terror myth"

(When one thinks horror I am sure we all think of Dracula! Dracula is some what hard to get around the prose of what everyone knows is a great classic horror novel. Many books and movies have drawn from Bram's creation and I am sure many more will be made as the myth of the vampire will always live on.)

2) Watchers by Dean Koontz

From a top-secret government laboratory come two genetically altered life forms. One is a magnificent dog of astonishing intelligence. The other, a hybrid monster of a brutally violent nature. And both are on the loose...

(This was the first book I ever read of Dean Koontz and it hooked me to reading his work as well. Like a lot of authors some books are better than others and to me this one was a great one!)

1) The Shining by Steven King

Danny is only five years old, but he is a 'shiner', aglow with psychic voltage. When his father becomes caretaker of an old hotel, his visions grow out of control. Cut off by blizzards, the hotel seems to develop an evil force, and who are the mysterious guests in the supposedly empty hotel?

(Steven King again I know but this was my absolute favorite of SK's work. This book is full of creepiness and things that go bump in the night! I also find it really interesting to learn more about the hotel and its affects on SK and the reason he wrote the book. It was on one of those Ghost hunting shows once.)

So what are some of your favorite horror novels?

Frightfest 2011: Review of Nine Frights

Today for Frightfest I am reviewing a book by Jeff Mariotte!

Nine Frights by Jeff Mariotte

Format: Kindle Digital Devices

Publisher: ILT Publishing

Review Source: author

Rating: 4/5

Reviewed by: Stormi

Janey in Amber: A woman visiting her mother’s house encounters some uncomfortable realities about her own life.


Santos del Infierno: In a tale set in the world of Clive Barker’s “Hellbound Hearts” (Hellraiser), a man loses his family and gains a new friend—one with a dark agenda.

The Strip: At the edge of a city plagued by zombies, a small community gathers to try to watch out for one another’s humanity. But when it goes, it’s gone...

Nine short works of terror by award-winning novelist and comic book writer Jeffrey J. Mariotte (The Slab, The Devil’s Bait, the Dark Vengeance Quartet, Missing White Girl, River Runs Red, Cold Black Hearts, four 30 Days of Night novels, and more). Some of these stories have appeared in Hellbound Hearts, The Stories in Between, and Zombie Cop, while others are published here for the first time.

Reviewer TT Zuma, writing in Horror World, called Mariotte, “one of the most talented horror writers plying his trade today.” Bestselling author Don Winslow (Savages) said, “Mariotte can flat-out write.” Christopher Golden (Waking Nightmares) said, “Mariotte’s a hell of a writer,” and Brian Keene (The Last Zombie) called him “One of the best storytellers in the business.” Download this e-book exclusive collection of 50,000+ words of terrifying and spellbinding fiction and see why the stars of contemporary horror are raving about his work. (from Amazon.com)

Before Jeff Mariotte asked if he could be a part of my Frightfest I had never heard of this author. When I look at some of the works under his name, I couldn't believe that I had never heard of him. He told me "I'm the most unknown famous horror author in the business." This guy has written books for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, CSI, Criminal Minds, 30 days of Nights! and yet I had never heard of him, is that not just  crazy!

Nine Frights is a collection of very strange and creepy short stories. Each of them was unique in their own way, but some I liked more than others. Janey in Amber had one of those twilight zone fills to it. The Sick Doll, I didn't really care for much, but I really enjoyed, Santos del Infierno which was rather creepy, and The Strip was cool even though I am not a huge zombie fan. The Cloud had a really horrible ending, but was really creepy at the same time. Staking a Claim, was actually for funny than scary. Walkaway, was interesting and creepy. The Unpleasantness at the Circle P wasn't one of my favorites but still sort of creepy. World of Books this one was really cool! Definitely strange and to me the best of all the stories! This is called saving the best for last! lol

Jeff Mariotte gives a small introduction to each story, giving you a little background about himself and why he wrote each story which I found very interesting. I think if you like weird, strange and slightly creepy short stories then you will like the stories in Nine Frights.

Check it out at amazon as its a amazing deal for only $.99!

Jeff's website: http://jeffmariotte.com/bio.htm

I am wondering if there are a lot of you out there like me who has not heard of Jeff Mariotte! So I am thinking of creating a reading challenge for his books! Every year I sign up for all sorts of challenges but I have never created one! I am on a quest to try and make the most  famous unknown author KNOWN! :) What do you think, would you join my challenge?

Help I have a important poll: What time are you most likely on twitter!

Hello all my peeps! I am going to host my very first twitterview (twitter interview) with Jody Kihara at the end of her blog tour for The Frankincense Trail! I am trying to decide what would be the best time to host the twitterview, in the early afternoon, late afternoon, or evening.  So I want to know what time are you my peeps usually online for  tweeting? :)

I have put up a poll on my side bar so if you would please let me know I would love you forever and ever! :) *hugs*

Thanks,
Stormi

Frightfest 2011: Guest post author Ross Payton

I would like you to welcome Ross Payton to my blog. He is the author of Zombies of the World. Its a fun and entertaining guide to all kinds of zombies. I actually never knew there was that many types until I read his book. You can find my review here.

What’s the real difference between a zombie and a vampire?

By Ross Payton

Zombies and vampires seem to be the cornerstones of the horror genre but there’s no exact definition for either monster. Are zombies slow or fast? Are they silent or do they moan for BBRRRAAIINNS? Are they mindless or do they retain at least some intelligence? In my book, Zombies of the World, I described 20 different species of zombie based on various portrayals in movie, myth and literature. It just shows you how many variations.

Vampires are even worse when it comes to defining them. Some are vulnerable to the sun, crucifixes, garlic and wooden stakes while others literally sparkle in daylight. They might be beautiful or they might be monstrously ugly.

The question then is: how do you define monsters that have been given so many varying traits? To truly define what makes a vampire and what makes a zombie, we have to look at how they are used in stories.

The zombie is almost always the Other, the savage horde that wants all of the protagonists dead. Even in the relatively few fictional settings where zombies retain some intelligence (like the classic movie Return of the Living Dead) they work as a mob, surging forward to attack the living. They are collectivists, acting as one to remake the world in their own image – a force of nature that ends civilization. They are unstoppable because civilization is too weak to stop them. The government is incompetent and corrupt. Corporations are sociopathic, gladly sacrificing as many lives as it takes to make a profit. No institution can be trusted when the zombies show up.

The vampire is the hidden predator inside society. They almost never end civilization because they thrive in it. They lurk in the shadows of cities and suburbs, preying on isolated victims. A vampire may be seductive, violent or both to get its victims but it can usually choose which approach to use. While there may be vampiric groups and societies they parallel the mainstream human society in some way, a distorted mirror that reflects our worst traits. A vampire can be a cunning mastermind or a brutish fiend but it makes its own choices. The vampire is seductive because it represents the passionate beast within us, able to break any law it wants to fulfill its own desires, take pleasure whenever it wants. Normal people have to deny their urges on a daily basis. The vampire does what it wants when it wants.

Some stories depict animalistic hordes of vampires (like the blood starved vampires of the movie Daybreakers) and others describe intelligent and cunning zombies (like the master zombies of the novel Monster Island) we define these monsters by how they are grouped and how they attack civilization. Zombies are the existential threat facing every civilization, the barbarians at the gate while vampires are the insidious corruption already inside our walls, festering like a cancer within us. Zombie fans fear the masses while vampire fans are afraid of giving into their darkest desires. That’s the real difference between the zombie and vampire.'

About the Author: Ross Payton is a writer and podcaster. His first two books – Curriculum of Conspiracy and Road Trip - are tabletop RPG campaigns that satirize fantasy and horror clichés. He has directed a horror comedy movie, Motor Home From Hell, about an RV driven by a demon. His podcast, Role Playing Public Radio, discusses tabletop gaming and pop culture issues and attracts listeners from around the world. Ross lives in Springfield, Missouri, a relatively zombie-free area.

Frightfest 2011: Guest Post Author Laurie Bowlers

Today on my blog I have Laurie Bowlers, author of several horror novels. Her newest novel is called A Real Slasher. To check out some more of her books you can find her on Goodreads here.

A weird but seriously true spooky story
by Laurie Bowler

When I was growing up, we moved around, and lived in so many different places and new houses all the time, it never bothered me, and I cannot remember much about the houses etc except for this one.

I was 12 when we moved in there, a normal average house.

A massive garden that was split in half, one for that was over grown, and the other that was seriously pruned.

My mother decided to have one half to use as the ‘posh’ area and the upper half myself and my siblings could use to play in. It had awesomely long grass, and because I was a bit of a tomboy I loved to collect insects, at the time, it was grasshoppers, that I would inspect for some strange reason, I cannot think why I wanted to do that.

Now, an insect comes near me and I run away screaming, I do not like creepy crawlies.

Anyway, while we were there loads of things started to happen there was nothing that sparked it off at all. My younger sister woke up screaming one night, when we asked her what was wrong she swore blind that there were a couple of dogs asleep on the end of her bed. Now we did not have any dogs at all, the only animals we had were hamsters and gerbils so this was weird. Of course, I teased my sister intensely about what she saw but I was kid myself lol.

The next time anything spooky happened was to me. I was laid in bed with my eyes closed (pretending to be asleep so I wouldn’t get into trouble) and had this strange feeling that I was being watched, and then the bottom of my bed sunk down as if someone had sat on my bed.

Within minutes, the bed felt normal but my younger sister’s teddy was making a noise, this particular teddy had a pull string to activate the voice and it started talking. When I peeked over to my sisters side of the room the teddy was floating in the air, at first I thought my sister was messing about so I shouted at her and turned over in bed, fuming with her for trying to get her own back for all my teasing.

Then the sinking sensation on my bed started again, I did not want to look but at the time, I was incredibly curious to see what was happening. I pulled the duvet back and stared, one of my books was floating in the air, the pages were being turned on their own and I could this weird laughing that sounded female...

Spooked? Yes definitely. I scrambled out of bed, down the stairs and got into bed with my mother, and boy I did not live that down with my sisters.

It wasn’t until a few days later when my mother was talking to the elderly neighbour that he happened to mention an old woman had died a month before we had moved in, and she had two dogs that had died in the room my sister and me slept in. Coincidently the room we slept in was also the old woman’s bedroom.

So that was it, the house was haunted. My sister constantly made ghost noises at me, her way I suppose of getting me back for all my teasing lol.

The ghost was not dangerous though, at one point we had a trespasser in the back garden, this man jumped over the 6ft fence, whatever he wanted he certainly wouldn’t have got because we didn’t have much growing up.

Anyway, he freaked out apparently; when the police arrived, he was standing still in the garden staring at my bedroom window. The police asked my mother if she had our grandmother staying with us, when we replied no, they were like so who is the old woman in the bedroom window. The old lady had manifested herself and scared away the intruder which was awesome, but I can say I didn’t really sleep all that good in that particular house and I wouldn’t go upstairs on my own either, logically there was nothing to be worried about but it was a ghost and I wasn’t taking any chances.

According to the police the trespasser was shaking uncontrollably when they took him away, he was muttering something about some grey fog that looked like an old woman in the window, staring down at him with eyes that had enough power and hate it scared him out of his wits!

He certainly never turned up again to try and trespass in our garden!

Needless to say my sisters, one older and one younger, thought me being scared as tomboyish as I was, was the most hilarious thing in the world and I constantly found myself teased and I never did live it down.

This is my true Halloween story, and it really did happen to me when I was a kid. If you want to be scared some more this Halloween try out my stories Death Bite, Hacked Up, A Real Slasher and Bloodthirsty Gruesome Tales or try one of the many vampire stories I’ve got out there in particular Order of Blood!

I can honestly say writing horror scares me as much as it does anyone who reads them, most of the time I just want to dive back under the blankets and stay there till the bogey man goes away!



Crime Time Wednesday! (3)

Wow, this week has  been one hectic week. It is inspection week where I work and for two days everyone has been on edge, but as always we aced the inspection! :) So tired I forgot about posting a Crime  Time Wednesday post, so its a little late but at least its up. :)

The Affair by Lee Child

Pages: 416

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Everything starts somewhere. . . .For elite military cop Jack Reacher, that somewhere was Carter Crossing, Mississippi, way back in 1997. A lonely railroad track. A crime scene. A coverup.

A young woman is dead, and solid evidence points to a soldier at a nearby military base. But that soldier has powerful friends in Washington.

Reacher is ordered undercover—to find out everything he can, to control the local police, and then to vanish. Reacher is a good soldier. But when he gets to Carter Crossing, he finds layers no one saw coming, and the investigation spins out of control.

Local sheriff Elizabeth Deveraux has a thirst for justice—and an appetite for secrets. Uncertain they can trust one another, Reacher and Deveraux reluctantly join forces. Reacher works to uncover the truth, while others try to bury it forever. The conspiracy threatens to shatter his faith in his mission, and turn him into a man to be feared.

A novel of unrelenting suspense that could only come from the pen of #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child, The Affair is the start of the Reacher saga, a thriller that takes Reacher—and his readers—right to the edge . . . and beyond.

About the Author:

Lee Child was born in 1954 in Coventry, England, but spent his formative years in the nearby city of Birmingham. By coincidence he won a scholarship to the same high school that JRR Tolkien had attended. He went to law school in Sheffield, England, and after part-time work in the theater he joined Granada Television in Manchester for what turned out to be an eighteen-year career as a presentation director during British TV's "golden age." During his tenure his company made Brideshead Revisited, The Jewel in the Crown, Prime Suspect, and Cracker. But he was fired in 1995 at the age of 40 as a result of corporate restructuring. Always a voracious reader, he decided to see an opportunity where others might have seen a crisis and bought six dollars' worth of paper and pencils and sat down to write a book, Killing Floor, the first in the Jack Reacher series.


Killing Floor was an immediate success and launched the series which has grown in sales and impact with every new installment.

Lee has three homes—an apartment in Manhattan, a country house in the south of France, and whatever airplane cabin he happens to be in while traveling between the two. In the US he drives a supercharged Jaguar, which was built in Jaguar's Browns Lane plant, thirty yards from the hospital in which he was born.

Lee spends his spare time reading, listening to music, and watching the Yankees, Aston Villa, or Marseilles soccer. He is married with a grown-up daughter. He is tall and slim, despite an appalling diet and a refusal to exercise.

Website: http://www.leechild.com/

Review of Predators of Darkness: Aftermath

Predators of Darkness: Aftermath by Leonard D. Hilley II
Pages: 326
Publisher: Author
Review source: digital copy provide by the author
Rating: 2/5
Reviewed by: Tai

Fear What Lurks In The Shadows

The desolate streets of downtown Pittsburgh in 2073 are a reminder of the missile attack that forever changed the lives of the surviving scientists and students hidden in the fallout shelter of Helmsby's Genetic Research Center. Believing themselves to be the only survivors, they station themselves inside the center until food supplies near depletion. Thinking the fallout has lessened, they emerge three years later to discover strange creatures patrolling the streets in search of human flesh and blood.

The creatures possess the ability to shift their genomes and alter their appearances by realigning their genetic sequences. Daniel Hutchinson, their leader, teams with Lucas Ridale and together they set out to scavenge the area for food and supplies with the hope to find other survivors. But Daniel's most recent journey uncovers mysteries more frightening than the shifters. He discovers the tip of Pittsburgh has been fenced off from the rest of the area. Low-flying helicopters observe the streets, making him ponder the question: Were the shifters released as simply part of a military experiment with humans being their prey?

Thoughts

The plot premise got me through but it was a challenge not to give up on this book.

Why I struggled with this book?

For a first in series I understand that there will need to be some build-up and back story so I can understand what is going on but in this book I felt as if the back story was an after thought thrown in to explain why the author decided this course was taken. The story didn’t flow for me an obstacle would need to be overcome, a build-up in anticipation for how the obstacle would be solved and then problem solved in a way you weren’t expecting which is fine if you had some clues or lead in to the it being a possibility. For instance when a character does some spectacular thing I should not be going WTH?!? I should be cheering the character on not wondering why I am just learning this important characteristic half way through the book with not mention or hint of it before. I’m all for character development but don’t just throw pieces at me as you need it to make your story work.

Characters well I don’t feel like I connected with any of them. I didn’t get a real sense of who any of them were as they all sounded the same. The book switched point of views through out the book which I’m all for (take me to where the action is). However it all came across the same word choice, attitude, thinking pattern no variety at all which shouldn’t be the case when I am suppose to be seeing through multiple people’s point of view.

The dialogue was primitive, thankfully it wasn’t that much of it. For me no emotions were brought forth other than my WTH?!? moments when I just couldn’t believe what just came out of a characters mouth.   

Why I stuck with the book?

The plot premise was intriguing. I liked the concept and wanted to see where it would lead me.

I was enticed enough by the plot to finish this book but I will not be continuing with this series as I have no investment in the characters and I am not curious enough to know what happens next to attempt to get through the next book. 2 Stars because I liked it enough to finish it.

Frightfest 2011: Guest Post Paul D. Dail

Paul D. Dail is a independent author who writes horror novels. His first novel is called The Imaginings and he has several short stories that you can view for free on his website.

One Night after Going to a Horror Movie

or

Why it’s Scary Being Me

by Paul D. Dail

As some of you have seen from my post “10 movies that scared the bejeezus out of me” (and which has caused considerable debate), one movie that got me pretty spooked when it came out in theatres was The Blair Witch Project.

*shields self from rotten vegetables being thrown by the crowd*

I won’t go into all of my justifications here (although, if you’re curious, you can certainly check out my list at my blog), but what bears repeating for the sake of this story is that the marketing for this movie, back in the early days of the internet when rumors weren’t so easily disproved, was brilliant, leaving just enough question early on in its release to make the public wonder if it was actually true.

Now, by the time I went to see it, I had figured out that it was not a real story. Possible? Sure. Even probable? Why not. But this is coming from the same person who would say that quite a few bits of folklore and superstition (along with various things going bump in the night) are possible. And I’d say some are even probable.

However, I knew it wasn’t a true story when I went to go see it with a friend and his girlfriend, even though I still had those dark smudges on my viewing perception from previously wondering. And by the time I got to the end of the movie, I had been, as I said, pretty well spooked.

As the three of us sat, all sat a little stunned by the ending, my friend’s girlfriend spoke up. “So that really happened?”

I was actually jealous. There were freaky enough moments knowing that it was just a movie. I wish I could’ve gone back and watched with her eyes, believing it was all real.

But again, I give fair credence to many things others dismiss as fiction. I believe this is how many horror writers think. To give you an example, I just recently wrote a flash fiction piece entitled The Death He Expected. In doing so, there was actually a little part of me that hoped writing the story would remove what that same little part of me believed might actually be an Indian curse.

Crazy, right? I can’t help it.

So I wasn’t lying when I told my friend Mike (also the name of one of the characters in the movie) that if he made good on his joking threat to come mess with me later that night, I would probably have a heart attack.

Before continuing, we should step back. It’s important that you know that at the time, I was living at the rural edges of Missoula, Montana, in an old barn that had been converted to a house. Mostly surrounded by fields. But not far back from the original house on the property, now mostly in ruin. And probably haunted as far as I was concerned.

The one nice thing about being more removed from town was the fact that we never had to lock our door. I had literally only locked it two other times in three years (and I think it was in the early days when I left town on a trip, back when I still thought I needed to).

This particular night would be the third time. It would surprise my roommate, but she could just use her key. And again, you have to remember that any other day, I could’ve probably ruled out this side of my personality. But when we’re in fearful situations (or just sat through almost two hours of someone else’s), we don’t think rationally. And honestly, what was I hoping to lock out? Well, probably my friend Mike, even though I suspected he would be too preoccupied with his girlfriend to seriously consider messing with me.

So after sitting up a little later to watch something funny, I went to bed, still somewhat shaken, refusing to look out the window just over my bed into the darkness of the field just outside my room, but relatively confident that I just needed to sleep it off.

Such would not be the case.

Midway through the night, I was awoken by a banging that seemed to be coming from every part of the house (ala, the violent rattling of the tent scene in the movie, except on a rickety house that used to be a barn). My eyes shot open. This was no practical joke. If it was Mike, I’d kill him. But this was too much to be a joke.

The banging continued. Lying in bed, I could see just a sliver of the window over my bed, but I didn’t sit up. Because then my head would be right by that window. And I didn’t want to think about what might be right outside that window… what might be grinning at me as it smashed through and attacked me.

Basically, I was paralyzed by my fear. And I had no idea what to do.

Now, as my wife will tell you, I’m a pretty good sleeper, even if I’ve just woken myself up with my frequent night terrors. I’ll drop back off pretty easy.

It was with this in mind that I came to my decision. I would force myself to go back to sleep. I knew that if the banging was just a joke, it would end soon. What was harder to accept, but which I ultimately did, was that if it wasn’t a joke, there was a good possibility I wouldn’t survive the night anyway.

So I forced myself to go back to sleep.

What I hadn’t counted on in the midst of my mid-night terror, but which I discovered the next morning, was a roommate who had lost her key months ago.

Frightfest 2011: Review of Ghost Files

Ghost Files by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson
Pages: 549
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Review Source: Melissa of Simon and Schuster
Rating: 4/5
Reviewed by: Stormi

FINALLY IN ONE BONE-CHILLING VOLUME, TV’S GHOST HUNTERS SHARE ALL OF THEIR CREEPY TRUE STORIES OF UNEXPLAINED PHENOMENA!



What did a paranormal investigation uncover at the Stanley Hotel in Colorado, the hotel built in 1903 that inspired Stephen King’s The Shining?


What is the chilling history behind the Rolling Hills Asylum in Batavia, New York?


What happened when a man was overcome by an evil entity as Jason and Grant surveyed his home?
How can a Connecticut woman seem to exist in two places at once?
In this hair-raising omnibus, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, founders of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (T.A.P.S.), reveal the memorable and spine-tingling cases featured in their smash-hit collections, Ghost Hunting and Seeking Spirits. From their never-seen-on-television adventures as budding paranormal investigators to the behind-the-scenes accounts of heart-pounding supernatural encounters featured on their popular show, these fascinating and frightening real life tales will keep you up at night!


Ghost Files is a collection of stories from Ghost Hunting and Seeking Spirits. Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson are the co-founders of the hit paranormal series on the Syfy channel called Ghost Hunters. I love watching the Paranormal shows that are on TV, some I like better than others. Ghost Hunters is probably one of my favorites to watch though I will be honest I don't really believe in Ghost much and I am not sure of how much of those shows are actually real, but they are fun.

Reading the stories and getting a little more background information into how the Ghost Hunter series started was really interesting and finding the lengths people will go to be on the TV series. Like The Ghost in the Wall, they found a tap recorder feeding sounds into some speakers inside the wall making it sound like their was something in the wall all because they wanted to be on TV.

If your a fan of the show and like reading about paranormal experiences then you will probably find Ghost Files interesting to read. I am from Missouri, the show me state, so I need to see something with my own eyes before I truly believe in the paranormal, but for entertainment value I really enjoyed reading the stories!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading is hosted by Shelia at Book Journey. It is the time of the week to tell about what we have read, reading or going to read! :)

Finished:

Seers by Heather Frost (review to come)

Reading:

The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton (almost halfway through and so far it is interesting but not wowing)

So what are you reading?

Frightfest 2011: Guest Post Jeffery J. Mariotte

Everyone please welcome Jeffrey J. Mariotte to my blog today. Jeffrey has his name associated with a lot of cool horror/suspense novels, and comics. He has written books for CSI, Criminal Minds, Supernatural, etc. Today instead of fiction he is giving us a true ghost story! (Look for my review of Nine Frights coming up in a couple of days)

An Empty Place

By Jeffrey J. Mariotte

An empty place—a room, a house, a building—has a different feel to it than one that’s occupied. It’s sound and motion, but it’s more than that, too. There’s an energy in a place where people are that dissipates when they’re gone. Try being the last to leave the office, or the classroom, and after a little while you’ll be able to tell.

So when a place is supposed to be empty, but it’s not...things can get a little creepy. Or more than a little.

During the summer before my senior year of high school, my parents and my sister and I moved to Germany, because my father’s Department of Defense job transferred him there. We wound up in a small city called Worms, a pretty place absolutely dripping with history and myth. It was a cool place to live, though I didn’t like being torn away from the friends I had known all through junior high and high school. And moving to a foreign country is always a little disorienting.

For weeks and weeks, while searching for a place to live, we stayed in a hotel. School started. Except that we were staying in a hotel room and eating in restaurants a lot, life, as it will, began to take on a routine.

We found an apartment that suited the family, but it was in the midst of a major interior reconstruction. In order to get out of the hotel, we agreed to sublet the rented home of an American couple who were returning stateside for several months. Their house had a bedroom for my parents and one for my sister. The plan was that I would sleep downstairs, in the finished basement.

Only, not so much.

My first night in that basement, I couldn’t shake the powerful sensation that I was not alone. The sense that I was being watched was strong. That energy I mentioned above, that is felt in a place that’s occupied, was there with me.

I barely slept that night. I don’t remember ever passing a night that took so long, and was so uncomfortable. If we had just landed, I would have put it down to jet lag, or anxiety about a new place, a new school. But we had been in the country for more than a month, and I was already getting used to the school. I tossed and turned and tried to close my eyes, to drift off. But I wasn’t able to. The feeling of another presence in the basement—and an accompanying sense of dread—was too pronounced.

When morning came, I hurried upstairs, greatly relieved.

After that first night, I refused to sleep in the basement. Though I was a high school senior—typically a person who requires a lot of privacy—I spent the rest of our time in that house sleeping on a couch in the living room, with no privacy at all. The couch was too short for me, so I couldn’t stretch out. Didn’t matter.

I went into that basement only when absolutely necessary, and never stayed long. I never felt alone there, or at peace.

Life went on. We moved into our apartment, which was fine. I went away to college. Years passed.

And then, after my father’s retirement, after my parents had moved to South Carolina, I was talking to my mother once, and she told me the story she had heard many months after we’d left the house.

There had, she had learned, been only one murder in the city in the last hundred years. The house had been owned, at one time, by a gay man who had picked up a teenager someplace and taken him home. After a couple of days in the house’s basement, the teen wanted to leave. The man didn’t want him to. They argued, then fought. I was never clear on which one prevailed, but my impression was that the older man did, and the teenager died.

In that house. In that basement.

Where I—knowing nothing of this history, of this tragic tale—had never known an instant’s peace, or a moment of solitude.

Are ghosts real? I can’t tell you that. This one—if that’s what you’d like to call him—never tried to contact me, never made anything move, never manifested any physical or visual presence whatsoever.

He was just there. And he filled the place with a feeling of foreboding.
So I don’t know if ghosts are real or not.

But if you tell me a true ghost story that happened to you, I’ll believe you. Because this one definitely happened to me.


Jeffrey J. Mariotte is the author of many novels, comic books/graphic novels, nonfiction books, and more. Most of his work—like the horror novel The Slab (http://www.kindleboards.com/book/?asin=B0054EKU6G) and short story collection Nine Frights (http://www.kindleboards.com/book/?asin=B005FAKL90)—are about supernatural terror. For more, visit http://jeffmariotte.com./

Frightfest 2011: Review of The Sleepwalkers

Participating in the Dewey's 24hr Read-a-thon and forgot that today was the start of my Fright Fest!

Today I will post a review of one of the creepy books I have read for this occasion!

The Sleepwalkers by J. Gabriel Gates
Pages: 336
Publisher: HCI Teen
Review Source: Netgalley
Rating: 4/5
Reviewed by: Stormi


Privileged and popular Caleb Mason is celebrating his high school graduation when he receives a mysterious, disturbing letter from his long-lost childhood playmate, Christine. Caleb and his jokester friend Bean decide to travel to his tiny hometown of Hudsonville, Florida, to find her. Upon arrival, they discover the town has taken a horrifying turn for the worse. Caleb's childhood home is abandoned and his father has disappeared. Children are going missing. The old insane asylum has reopened, and Christine is locked inside. Her mother, a witch, is consumed with madness, and Christine's long-dead twin sister whispers clues to Caleb through the static of an a.m. radio. The terrifying prophesies of the spirits are coming to pass. Sixteen clocks are ticking; sixty-six murdered souls will bring about the end of the world. As Caleb peels back layer after layer of mystery, he uncovers a truth more horrible than anything he had imagined, a truth that could only be uttered by the lips of the dead.

Never heard of J. Gabriel Gates till I seen this book at Netgalley, but it sounded like a good October read. My first initial thoughts was its strange, but not real creepy, but then I got farther into in and it got super creepy! Thank you J. Gabriel Gates for bringing a little old school horror back to the genre!

Caleb had his whole life planned, he knew exactly what he was going to be doing with his life, but then he got a letter from a old friend. This letter changes his whole life when Caleb and his friend Bean go back to where he use to live. The town of Hudsonville is really strange, kids are disappearing, but nobody does anything about it. The sheriff acts as if nothing is wrong but Caleb knows things are not what they seem. His dad is missing, his friend is at a place called The Dream Center and there are a bunch of scary teens walking around at night killing people!

Caleb calls them sleepwalkers because they look just like a person who is sleepwalking, they have their eyes close, but they can still find you. Caleb knows he should leave and just forget about everything but something just keeps pulling him back. Even if his childhood friend is crazy, he just can't leave her their, and it could cost him his life.

Caleb is a interesting character, at first you think he seems to  be a kid who has it all together.  He is going to go to Africa and write about AIDS and save the world. Then he gets a letter and in a instant he makes a totally irrational decision to go help his childhood friend who he hasn't had any contact with in years. He is a strong character though as he faces a lot of things not many people could go through and come out with some sanity.

Christine was interesting because you really never quite new if she was crazy or sane. One minute you think she is crazy, the she does something and its like well maybe she isn't crazy. She went through a lot of things in her childhood, then getting taken to the dream center. They did weird things to her their so it had to affect her sanity a little bit, but she always loved Caleb.

The  Sleepwalkers was a very creepy, insane read that I was glad I decided to read it. I have been trying to  find something spooky, that could really creep me out, but I have been having a hard time finding it. Nobody writes like Steven King anymore (not that I want all that detail), but nothing has seriously creeped me out like his work did when I was younger. The Sleepwalkers really brought back that classic horror feel and is definitely something you want to read with the lights one.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to get spooked. Its a great Halloween read!

Read-a-thon! *Update*.hr13

Just getting started, had to go do some shopping first and buy groceries but now that its out of the way I am ready to read!

1)Where are you reading from today?
   Reading from my couch.

2)Three random facts about me…
    - I have seven dogs
    - Not married
    - Like to write when not reading

3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
   4 and I will be lucky if I make through  them all..shooting for at least two!

4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
   Not really, just going to read, read, read!  Would like to make a lot of comments but don't know how many.
5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?
    Take breaks, walk around, and don't make your first book a 400 pager! Read small books.

Getting a slow start this morning but at least I am here!

Just did some cheering so now I am starting to read.

Reading right now:

Seers by Heather Frost! (ebook)

Challenge for Hour 5!

How do I share my books:

Well I do most of my sharing on my blog or goodreads! Nobody in my family really likes reading and I try sharing with my friends at work but they look at me like they really aren't listening..LOL  So I have to rely on all my Internet blogging buddies! :)

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Hour 6

Top five books I am looking forward to either in the last few months or next year.

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
Wide Open by Deborah Coates
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Other Eyes by Barbara D'Amato
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Back to more reading!

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Update Hr 10

Reading  The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton I am on page 97 and so far its not to bad. I might switch out and read on Seers by Heather Frost it has been pretty interesting...having a hard time staying focused. A lot of distractions...my father is testing out a new mic on his computer and can't seem to leave me alone..lol UGH
The mini challenges are distracting but fun!

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Mid Event Survey Hr 13

1. What are you reading right now? Seers by Heather Frost


2. How many books have you read so far? Not had a good readathon as I had to many distractions today. I have read two parts of books but not a whole one. Did more cheerleading that I thought I would to it was sort of fun..lol Got distracted on twitter too!

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
Finishing Seers, it sort of has me wondering right now.
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Nope and that is probably some of my distraction problem..lol

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? I get frustrated but nothing can be done about it, so I just sigh and go on. :)

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? How much it makes you sleepy

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Nope, its always a fun thing to participate in!

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? Figure out a better cheer method, I just sort of went into it with not much thought..lol.  As a reader pick thinner books so I can say I read a lot! LOL :)

9. Are you getting tired yet? I have been tired for a while, but it didn't help that I stayed up to late last night!

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered? Not really. Just have fun and don't stress out. :)

Review of Montana Wildfire

Montana Wildfire by Rebecca Sinclair
Kindle Edition (first published in 1991); Reissued
Review Source: Heather
My review: 4/5
Reviewed by: Stormi
Age Range: 18+

After her father’s sudden death, lovely Amanda Lennox had no money for the long trip from Boston to the ranch she’d inherited in faraway Seattle. When she saw the advertisement for a “wilderness expert” to escort eleven-ear-old Roger Bannister, III to Montana, the adventure-loving woman jumped at the chance, never guessing she’d end up lost in the wilds of Idaho… with a twisted ankle. Then an arrogant halfbreed on a palomino stallion came to her rescue and comforted her with is healing touch. Rugged ranch hand Jacob Blackhawk Chandler knew from experience that prissy white princesses meant trouble. He’d seen Amanda Lennox’s type before — haughty and citified and utterly unequipped to survive in the wide open country. He couldn’t just ride off and leave the lovely minx alone and hurt … but he sure wouldn’t be taken in by that sweet smile, either!

Hot, sexy, and just like the title says its a wildfire! Almost from the very beginning this book was steaming with sexual tension. Amanda's ankle is trapped by a log in a riverbed and there is nobody to help her but the obnoxious brat Roger that she is escorting through the wilderness. He runs off and finds Jacob the oh so sexy halfbreed and from then on the sexual tension spreads like a Montana Wildfire!


After he gets her foot unstuck they find out that Roger has been kidnapped and Jacob agrees to help find Roger. Along the way, the sexual tension grows and Jacob only means to tease Amanda a little because of her prissy little attitude, but it backfires on him when he can't seem to quench is thirst for his white princess. He learned along time ago that 'breeds' do not get involved with white women and he intends to never go down that road again, but something about Amanda just makes him forget everything.


Jacob has had the pain of discrimination and rejection all of his life from white people and he finds it hard to let go of it, but Amanda doesn't seem to care about the color of his skin. He just doesn't know if he can let himself be free of the pain. Jacob is one very handsome and oh so  sexy half breed it was very easy to see how Amanda could fall so easily for his rugged charm, even when she had his temper flaring.


Amanda keeps trying to remember the rules she learned in at the school for girls, but every time Jacob would get close to her it all seem to disappear. Amanda tries to be tough, and lies about being a wilderness expert so she could have a way to travel to Seattle, but it backfires on her when she has to take care of a spoiled brat, then loses him. I think at times she almost forgot about Roger and his kidnapping when she was in the arms of the sexy half breed.


Not that I didn't mind all the sexual tension, etc but my only real problem was that I thought it happened a little to fast. It really was almost from the very start of the book, it was like wow, they don't even know each other and this is already happening. I guess I am more for the gradual tension in my romances, but other than that I thought the book was very good.


If you like your romances rip with sexual tension and sexy half breed Indian's then you should definitely check this book out. It was first published as a paperback in 1991 but has now been made into a ebook and has a new and if I might say, better cover! I love this cover a lot more than the one I seen the 1991 release had.

YA on Friday! (2)

Today's YA pick comes from HarperTeen, I am a huge fan of HarperTeen books. So the spotlight is on Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi!

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Pages: 352
Release Date: November 15th

"You can't touch me," I whisper.
I'm lying, is what I don't tell him.
He can touch me, is what I'll never tell him.
But things happen when people touch me.
Strange things.
Bad things.
No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon.
But Juliette has plans of her own.
After a lifetime without freedom, she's finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time—and to find a future with the one boy she thought she'd lost forever.

This  sounds like a great read and if you are participating in the YA debut challenge its a good pick for November's debut novels! I am not real keen on the cover, but still looks fairly decent. The blurb has me hooked though, really curious about her touch and how they plan on using her as a weapon... I really wish I had this one sent to me or it was on Netgalley I would grab it now!

About the author:

 

She’s 23. She was born in a small city somewhere in Connecticut and currently resides in Orange County, California, where the weather is just a little too perfect for her taste. When unable to find a book, she can be found reading candy wrappers, coupons, and old receipts. SHATTER ME is her first novel.