WELCOME TO SUGARVILLE by J. J. Haas_Review

Welcome to Sugarville by J.J. Haas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: WELCOME TO SUGARVILLE by J. J. Haas

Wow! Sugarville, GA, is such an adorable small town--except when it's not, which is at the conclusion of each story. A suburb of Greater Atlanta (though I wondered throughout if this fictional community might be founded in one or more of the 19th century towns and villages sprinkled in all directions around Atlanta, formed decades before the City grew into the oversized metropolis it is in this early 21st century), Sugarville is a quiet community of folks living the good life (or not), peaceably (or not). As "a novel told in short stories," this format gives the author ample opportunity to introduce numerous characters and unusual situations, even including some futuristic commentary. I was enraptured throughout, and very impressed. More, Mr. Haas, please.

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PARAVISION by Rodrigo Medeiros_Review

Paravision: Theory and Practice of Visual Clairvoyance by Rodrigo Medeiros


Review: PARAVISION by Rodrigo Medeiros

Almost everyone understands the definition of "clairvoyance," literally "seeing clearly" and taken to mean either seeing the future, or seeing more than "meets the eye," as in understanding more about a person than is revealed. I think a lot of people actually do this latter process, intuitively and largely unconsciously. Author Rodrigo Medeiros recommends and teaches the art and process of "paravision" as a tool to impel personal growth and evolution. Paravision is a means of seeing beyond the ability of our physical eyes. To see Auras, nonphysical energies, and nonphysical dimensions is the goal and purpose of Paravision. The author clearly delineates techniques, and presents this in a scientific approach, including anecdotes.

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EARTH: ASTROLOGY'S MISSING PLANET_Review

Earth: Astrology's Missing Planet: Reconnecting with Her Sacred Power by Chrissie Blaze
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: EARTH: ASTROLOGY' S MISSING PLANET by Chrissie Blaze

I won't debate the validity or value of Astrology here. What is of prime significance to me in this nonfiction book is the author's tremendous emphasis on the urgency of a change, actually a transformation, in human consciousness and perspective, from selfishness, greed, and plundering of this planet's resources, to a perspective of valuing Spaceship Earth, becoming thoughtful stewards of Earth's resources, and caring for the planet and its populations. I have for some time feared that it may be too late, that the planet may have reached the tipping point. So to read a book like this is encouraging, with its emphasis on science, quantum physics, rational thinking and enlightenment, as well as a conscious determination to evolve, each of us (not devolve).
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THE NECRONISTS by J. M. Bannon_Review

The Necronists: A Paranormal Steampunk Thriller by J.M. Bannon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE NECRONISTS by J. M. Bannon

I really enjoyed this paranormal-steampunk-metaphysical-dark fantasy-historical, set during the Victorian Era, in England, France, Italy, and America's Frontier period. I had not first read the first in this series, THE ALCHEMISTS, but that never interfered with the intrigue nor with my understanding of the story and continuing characters. Although I am not an aficionado of nor expert in fantasy, I do love a story in which magic works and is a way of life. I also love science, and to me, steampunk is like alternate history with science (and steam engines). Here, too, is metaphysics, spirituality, and secret societies! You want to see character evolution? Look right here! We've got it in spades--even with characters who are in a sense virtual {not existing on the mundane plane, in reality}; and we get Homunculi (and golems). Plus we have a heroine who is the first female detective constable at Scotland Yard, the White Witch of London, a metaphysical engineer--and formerly a nun!! I found myself glued from the first chapter and totally enjoyed. Now, off to read the first in the series.

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DAYS OF NIGHT by Jonathan Stone_Review

Days of Night by Jonathan Stone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Review: DAYS OF NIGHT by Jonathan Stone

DAYS OF NIGHT is a Hemingway-esque thriller set on the planet's final frontier, Antarctica. Joseph Heller, detective of long experience, is appointed by the US Marshals' office to investigate an unsolved (possibly unsolvable) cold case murder at McMurdo Station. Heller, for quite serious reasons of his own, welcomes the opportunity. However, the case is really difficult and clearly the killer is highly cunning. His progress is nearly nonexistent-and then the unthinkable happens: McMurdo Station loses all contact--with anywhere. Apparently the worst has come to pass, and the end of the world has manifested. Even other Antarctic stations are unreachable...and it's "winter-over," the season of unending night, when travel is impassable. It's just 157 lonely scientists, technicians, administrators, and maintenance personnel, isolated, in the way below freezing pitch dark Antarctic night, likely the last humans on Earth. 157..156...

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FINAL GIRLS by Mira Grant_Review

Final Girls by Mira Grant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

,Review: FINAL GIRLS by Mira Grant

FINAL GIRLS is an absolutely amazing novella, extraordinarily conceived and tautly and intricately plotted. A tapestry of near future science, virtual reality, psychology, mind control, aversion therapy, friendship, intellectual genius, Victor Frankenstein, bullying, crowd behavior, supernatural experiences, industrial espionage, and so much more. The ending left me speechless. The first Mira Grant title I ever read was INTO THE DARKEST DEEP, just days ago, and (pun intentional) blew me out of the water. FINAL GIRLS rocketed me out of reality. Mira Grant is a genius.

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WAVE OF TERROR by Jon Jefferson_Review

Wave of Terror by Jon Jefferson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: WAVE OF TERROR by Jon Jefferson

Scientific thriller WAVE OF TERROR takes as its premise a very real possibility, with a terrifying series of consequences. Since reading a few years ago of Antarctic ice melting and subsequent sea level rise, I've taken it upon myself to read thrillers and science fiction and horror focusing on a drowning planet. In this novel, author/journalist/filmmaker Jon Jefferson, co-author of the Body Farm series, postulates a concerted terrorist attack on the fault line of La Palma, a volcanic island in the Canary Islands off Spain. A sufficient earthquake, or series, at its fault line would collapse the mountain into the Atlantic. The resulting tsunami could easily destroy Northwest Africa, Britain, and America's Eastern Seaboard. If that isn't enough to keep you wide-awake and terrified, read WAVE OF TERROR, a missile-paced heart-in-mouth suspenseful thriller, leavened with character, humour, and growing romance.

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CREATURE FROM THE CREVASSE_Review

Creature From The Crevasse by Michael Cole
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: CREATURE FROM THE CREVASSE

A rip-roaring roller coaster horror thriller, CREATURE FROM THE CREVASSE will also wring your heart and water your tear ducts, leaving you wondering how humans can be so blinded by greed and perceived fact. A peaceful lake community in Michigan, a new chief of police, a new hospital doctor...and a terrifyingly vicious new predator, unstoppable and implacable. Humanity fancies itself the apex of the food chain and the species in control of the planet. Sometimes Nature likes to ironically prove us wrong.

Something that "could not" exists is now hunting prey in Ridgeway Lake, and due to its enormity, it gets hungry very fast. Fish won't keep this predator satisfied.

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Jason Parent_Guest Post_Tour

It’s a good time to be a short story writer. As in right now, this very moment. Though I don’t subscribe to the theory some writers put forward that it is harder to write short stories than novels, short stories certainly have unique difficulties. With little time for character development or plot set up, the writer needs to invest his or her readers in the story from the first sentence on.

Another issue is finding a market. Several sites assist with this, such as Dark Markets, Ralan, and Submission Grinder, as well as several Facebook groups and writing communities. And at this very moment (or soon to come), a number of fantastic markets have opened for submission.

Though I’m probably missing a few, here are some of the markets I’m excited about (though I lack the material to submit, unfortunately):

1. The Twisted Book of Shadows (Haverhill Press) – Edited by Christopher Golden and James Moore with a diverse editorial committee consisting of a virtual who’s who in horror, this anthology pays pro rates and offers a royalty share. Even better, it’s blind submissions, putting everyone on a level playing field. Stories should be a minimum of 3,000 words (the max seems negotiable), and the theme is open. However, you need to act fast – this one closes February 28th. Full submission guidelines can be found here: http://www.twistedbos.com/submission-guidelines/

2. Monsters of Any Kind (Independent Legions Publishing) – Edited by Alessandro Manzetti and Daniele Bonfanti, this anthology is looking for “horror stories containing at least one non-human monster/creature (and not vampires, ghosts, werewolves, zombies). Unusual creatures will be particularly appreciated.” Stories should be between 3,500 and 5,000 words, and you have until July 10th to submit. The submission guidelines )and kickass cover) can be found here: https://www.independentlegions.com/news/open-submissions-monsters-of-any-kind-anthology

3. Blood Bound Books “Best of” Anthology – I know what you’re thinking: wouldn’t you have to have been previously published by BBB to be accepted in its best of anthology. Nope. The publisher is including additional stories in a hardcover volume, and the types of stories are broad-ranging. The story length can range from 500 to 6,000 words. Full guidelines can be found here: http://bloodboundbooks.net/bloodboundbooks/submissions/

4. Sugar & Teeth: Halloween Nightmares (Corpus Press) – So full disclosure, I’m a Contributing Editor on this one, along with Evans Light, Adam Light, and Gregor Xane. I can tell you we already have some exciting stories lined up. First and for most, we’re definitely looking for a theme, that being Halloween stories – not stories that just happen to take place on Halloween but stories intertwining with the holiday. Stories can be from 4,500 to 8,500 words and submissions will be open through March 30th. Full guidelines can be found here: https://www.corpuspress.com/call-for-submissions/

I know there are lots others. Please feel free to let me know of them, and I will be sure to share. Happy writing!

FURY OF THE ORCAS by Hunter Shea_Review

Fury of the Orcas, Synopsis
File Size: 2713 KB
Print Length: 150 pages
Publisher: Severed Press
Publication Date: December 6, 2017
They call them the wolves of the sea.

From marine parks to the deepest oceans, the world’s killer whale population has turned against man and beast alike. Orca show trainers are ripped to pieces before stunned audiences. Ships are capsized. Oil rigs are bashed without mercy. What has driven the apex predators stark raving mad?

Chet Clarke has dedicated his life to preserving the health and dignity of orcas in captivity. Along with orca trainer Rosario Benitez, he embarks on a whirlwind journey across the globe to witness unconscionable carnage and uncover the mystery for the sudden outbreak of mania. Is this the start of a catastrophic pandemic? Or do the clues lead to an enigmatic experiment in the wilds of Alaska and shadow operations in a Russian ghost town? Time is running out faster than the lives of those in the path of the orcas.

Hunter Shea, Biography

Hunter Shea is the product of a childhood weaned on The Night Stalker, The Twilight Zone and In Search Of. He doesn’t just write about the paranormal – he actively seeks out the things that scare the hell out of people and experiences them for himself.

Publishers Weekly named The Montauk Monster one of the best reads of the summer in 2014, and his follow up novel, Hell Hole, was named best horror novel of the year on several prestigious horror sites. Cemetery Dance had this to say about his apocalyptic thriller, Tortures of the Damned – “A terrifying read that left me wanting more. I absolutely devoured this book!”

Hunter is an amateur cryptozoologist, having written wild, fictional tales about Bigfoot, The Montauk Monster, The Dover Demon and many new creatures to come. Copies of his books, The Montauk Monster and The Dover Demon, are currently on display in the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, ME.

He wrote his first novel with the express desire to work only with editor Don D’Auria at Dorchester (Leisure Horror). He submitted his novel to Don and only Don, unagented, placed on the slush pile. He is proof that dedicated writers can be rescued from no man’s land. He now works with Don, along with several other agents and publishers, having published over ten books in just four years.

Hunter is proud to be be one half of the Monster Men video podcast, along with his partner in crime, Jack Campisi. It is one of the most watched horror video podcasts in the world. Monster Men is a light-hearted approach to dark subjects. Hunter and Jack explore real life hauntings, monsters, movies, books and everything under the horror sun. They often interview authors, crytid and ghost hunters, directors and anyone else living in the horror lane.

Living with his wonderful family and two cats, he’s happy to be close enough to New York City to get Gray’s Papaya hot dogs when the craving hits. His daughters have also gotten the horror bug, assisting him with research, story ideas and illustrations that can be seen in magazines such as Dark Dossier.

You can follow his travails at http://www.huntershea.com, sign-up for his newsletter, or follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Praise for Hunter Shea

“Loch Ness Revenge is not only monsterific, but it's also comedic.” – Tim Meyer, author of Worlds Between My Teeth

“Shea delivers a tense and intriguing work of escalating tension splattered with a clever, extensive cast of bystanders turned victims…An otherwise excellent, tightly delivered plot…Fans of cryptid creatures are likely to revel in this love letter to a legendary menace.”– Publishers Weekly

“Bloody good read! This guy knows his monsters!”- Eric S Brown, author of Bigfoot War and Boggy Creek: The Legend is True, on Swamp Monster Massacre

“Hunter Shea is a great writer, highly entertaining, and definitely in the upper echelon in the current horror scene. Many other writers mention either loving his work and/or having the man influence their own, and for just cause. His writing suits anyone with a taste for the dark and terrifying!” –Zakk at The Eyes of Madness/The Mouth of Madness Podcast

Purchase Links

Amazon

Want to feature this book/author?

If you are a blogger, author, or member of the media and you would like to feature Fury of the Orcas or Hunter Shea in a review or interview, please contact Erin Al-Mehairi, publicist, at hookofabook@hotmail.com. Thanks! Fury Of The Orcas by Hunter Shea
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: FURY OF THE ORCAS by Hunter Shea

Noted cryptid author Hunter Shea rocks marine horror yet again in this super-fast horror thriller. "Just when you thought it was safe to go into the water" you discover the new biggest threat is not sharks, but Orcas. Yes, those adorable killer whales whose species is actually not whale, but dolphin. Here they are suddenly killing, attacking trainers and visitors to marine parks. Is it years of confinement in captivity? Or is the real cause something far more dangerous, and far more sinister?

Mr. Shea trots out one of my most favoured conspiracy topics; and he makes the connection really plausible. I had some unexpected moments in this book: tears more than once, and at one point, my stomach literally dropped, like an elevator rush. The endings saddened me, though as a conspiracy theorist those events made perfect sense, in context.

All in all, I had a fine time with this novella and raced through it in one sitting. One wonders--where will Mr. Shea travel next?

WHAT HIDES WITHIN by Jason Parent_Tour & Review

Clive Menard is just an ordinary guy living an ordinary life.

But when a talking spider crawls inside his head, things get a lot less ordinary…and people start dying.

Could an itsy-bitsy arachnid be behind the killing spree terrorizing Clive’s community?

To evade a sharp detective and find a murderer among friends, Clive must shake the cobwebs loose and piece together the puzzle of his life, all without falling prey to a dark force beyond his comprehension.

A genre-twisting dark comedy, What Hides Within is an EPIC Finalist and Independent eBook Award Runner-Up for Best Horror.

“I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes horror. It will make you cringe. It will make you shudder. It will make you want to take a shower. But you won't be able to put it down.” - Thomas W. Everson, author of The Rain Experience Trilogy

What Hides Within by Jason Parent
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Review: WHAT HIDES BENEATH by Jason Parent

Know that I enjoy feckless protagonists--I really do. But there's a gulf between ordinary individuals who are dogged by inexplicable bad luck and constraining circumstances, and those who are just not worth the paper they're printed on. {Sigh.}
Starting out, I was really prepared to give feckless Clive the benefit of the doubt. Here's a guy abused by a surgeon, who operated on his frontal lobe for no reason, messed up the operation, and plans to buy the patient off with tickets to a baseball game? Please! This is flying in big-time megabucks personal injury lawsuit land here!

I do feel sympathetic for that....but Clive is a malingerer, absent drive, motivation, or ambition; and early on, he dives headlong (quite literally) into REALLY SERIOUS DANGER, out of a dearth of good common sense. Head plant territory. I wouldn't wish Clive' s tragic difficulty on anyone {except maybe serial killers or tinpot dictators}, but still, I often found myself wishing I could drum up more sympathy for this character and a little less HO-hum doldrums, will this guy get a clue?

Meanwhile, while protagonist Clive {anti-protagonist?} suffers through his may-or-may-not-be life-threatening situation, an egotistic, narcissistic, amateur bomb-maker decides to show the world his stuff (or at least his corner of Massachusetts), and someone has killed a child and abandoned the corpse, traumatizing her family and the young boy who found her. That kind of puts feckless Clive' s biological/mental predicament into perspective, or does it? Seemingly, Clive has a biological parasite which medical attention should readily cure. But when you're Clive, good fortune comes your way about as often as the boy with the permanent cloud over his head in the 1960's comic strip--never.

In his head, Jason Parent lives in many places, but in the real world, he calls New England his home. The region offers an abundance of settings for his writing and many wonderful places in which to write them. He currently resides in Southeastern Massachusetts with his cuddly corgi named Calypso.

In a prior life, Jason spent most of his time in front of a judge . . . as a civil litigator. When he finally tired of Latin phrases no one knew how to pronounce and explaining to people that real lawsuits are not started, tried and finalized within the 60-minute timeframe they see on TV (it's harassing the witness; no one throws vicious woodland creatures at them), he traded in his cheap suits for flip flops and designer stubble. The flops got repossessed the next day, and he's back in the legal field . . . sorta. But that's another story.

When he's not working, Jason likes to kayak, catch a movie, travel any place that will let him enter, and play just about any sport (except that ball tied to the pole thing where you basically just whack the ball until it twists in a knot or takes somebody's head off - he misses the appeal). And read and write, of course. He does that too sometimes.

Please visit the author on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJasonParent?ref=hl,
on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AuthorJasParent,
or at his website, http://authorjasonparent.com/, for information regarding upcoming events or releases, or if you have any questions or comments for him.

INTO THE DROWNING DEEP by Mira Grant_Review

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: INTO THE DROWNING DEEP by Mira Grant

I've often noted in reviews that I am an aficionado of marine horror, also marine science fiction and marine exploration. I am as fascinated by the Earth' s oceans as I am by space, and the Poles. All this is to say that I leaped headfirst into INTO THE DROWNING DEEP, found it non stop reading, and loved it immensely. This novel has it all: exploration, lots and lots of science (yes, I love that too), human interaction, horror, strong human spirit, human frailty, greed and concupiscence, SCARY "monsters," cryptids and cryptozoology, and an excellent writing style which kept me riveted at seat's edge from the very beginning.

I am so thankful this is a series debut; I can't wait to read what the author will come up with next in this series!

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VARYING DISTANCES by Darren Speegle_Review

Prepare to lose yourself in the mesmerizing voice and worldview of author Darren Speegle…

“Speegle’s delicious evocation of landscape delivers the reader, quite seamlessly, from places of precisely-evoked geography into landscapes of haunting spiritual menace…” – Graham Joyce

In his latest short story collection of dark, unsettling tales, Darren Speegle takes us on a journey through the textured layers of time and space. From Flower Age Ibiza, Spain to present-day war-torn Iraq, from the mysteries of America’s Deep South to those of a haunting future landscape where humans and machines are virtually indistinguishable, these stories explore what it is to be us among the varying distances.

   An infamous German writer searches for the meaning of consciousness.

A future artist is forced by a cult leader to try to capture his soul in a portrait..

An American contractor working a camp gate in Iraq is confronted by incoming vehicles the likes of which he has never seen before.

A godlike being welcomes in Halloween with a special device. 

A hitman tries to determine which woman among a party of three is the android, his target.

This surreal collection includes:
Introduction by Jeffrey Thomas
In the Distance, a Familiar Sound
The Flesh Winks While the Ghost Weeps
The Staging Yard
For Love of War
Balearic Moon
A Carousel of Faces
Death Paper Burn
Twinkle, Twinkle, Amsterdam
That’s the Game
Song in a Sundress
A Puddle in the Wilderness
Nowhere

“There is much poetry in these pages. It is a major component of the original voice of Darren Speegle… And his dialogue? Throughout, it sings, and scintillates. It’s one of his strongest virtues.” – Jeffrey Thomas

Proudly brought to you by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.

Darren Speegle is the author of seven books, including his recently released debut novel The Third Twin (Crystal Lake Publishing).

His second novel, Artifacts, is due in 2018, while a third, The World Is My Oyster, has recently been completed. His fifth short story collection, A Haunting in Germany and Other Stories, was released in 2016 by PS Publishing.

His short fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in numerous venues, including Analog, Best New Horror 28, Subterranean, Cemetery Dance, Clarkesworld, Postscripts, ChiZine, Crimewave, The Third Alternative (now Black Static), Fantasy, Dark Discoveries, and Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy.

His human-evolution-themed anthology Adam’s Ladder (co-edited with Michael Bailey) was released in September 2017 by Written Backwards Press.

A widely traveled American, Darren often sets his stories in exotic or interesting places where he has lived (Germany, Alaska, Southeast Asia) or otherwise explored (broader Europe). Between gigs as a federal contractor in the Middle East, Darren resides in Thailand. When not writing, he enjoys outdoor activities like hiking and biking.

Varying Distances by Darren Speegle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: VARYING DISTANCES by Darren Speegle


I approach any book by Darren Speegle, whether a novel or story collection, with a sense of breathless expectancy and awareness that my mind is about to be expanded beyond its previous limitations. This man is a certified genius. Within a short time, I have read his collection CRIES FROM THE STATIC, and now the collection VARYING DISTANCES. I literally perceive my mind and imagination stretching to untold distances and directions. Whether he explores the Inner Landscape, or the Cosmos unfolded, author Darren Speegle is The Man.

PATREON: Support Creators

Check out this new post from one of my very favorite independent publishers, Crystal Lake Publishing. Learn how PATREON allows you to support authors, artists, publishers, and other significant content creators. Just like the Renaissance, but now you don't need to be excessively wealthy, just have a generous heart and a drive to promote culture.

Supporting Speculative & Dark Fiction Creators via Patreon!