Gothic

[close] New York City, NY – John M. Spagnoli has battled with manic depression his entire life. However, rather than suffer in silence, Spagnoli has taken matters into his own hands by writing a book to bring the issue to the forefront of society.

However, it isn’t a simple memoir or journal, ‘Shadowed Soul’ is bold psychological thriller that melds fact and fiction into a compelling read.

Synopsis:

Shadowed Soul is a fiction novel about bi-polar Thomas Mitchell, as he struggles to rebuild his life with the aid of his blind wife’s seeing-eye dog. The compelling drama follows Thomas and his wife, Beth, as they embrace and endure the birth of their firstborn through the holiday season in New York City. Fears and anxieties that plague Thomas are personified in the form of the Shadowed Soul a demonic spectra who stalks Thomas’s every move. As his manic-depression escalates, his expectation for more problems is answered in abundance. His life goes from great to bad to worse. With the unconditional love of his dog, Thomas grapples with challenges as he chooses to rebuild his shattered life.

With the exception of the protagonist’s online pornography addiction and the demise of certain relatives, much of the journey through manic-depression is autobiographical. Set in the present, author John M. Spagnoli’s intention is to depict clinical depression in a way that provides a clear road map to leading a full life.

As the author explains, he used his rock-bottom experiences to give his narrative real-world pertinence.

“With a suicide attempt behind me, my dog was my only friend. I was separated from my beloved wife for the umpteenth time, clinically depressed, unemployed, paranoid, self-destructive and in need of a shave,” says Spagnoli.

Continuing, “Much of the journey through manic-depression is autobiographical, with the exception of the main character’s online pornography addiction and the demise of certain relatives. Set in the present, my intention is to depict clinical depression in a way that provides a clear road map to leading a full life.”

Since its release, the book has garnered a consistent string of rave reviews.

“John M. Spagnoli has found a means to open a window into the way in which a mind confused with bipolar or manic depressive syndrome in a way few authors have been successful. Perhaps part of the success of this novel is the fact that Spagnoli presents a near autobiographical story with his main character Thomas Milton reflecting in many ways Spagnoli's own treacherous journey through the complexities of adjusting a mind bruised by bi-polar personality,” says Grady Harp.

Another reader, GiGi, was equally as impressed – “John Spagnoli's own experience with manic-depression has given this story a disturbing sense of reality. This is an intricate mixture of the author's personal foundation and brilliant imagination.”
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[close] Win a free signed copy of the stunning debut novel that acclaimed horror author Brian Keene called "the best horror novel of 2012": Jonathan Janz's THE SORROWS.

Synopsis

The Sorrows, an island off the coast of northern California, and its castle have been uninhabited since a series of gruesome, unexplained murders in 1925. But its owner needs money, so he allows film composers Ben and Eddie and a couple of their female friends to stay a month in Castle Blackwood. Eddie is certain an eerie and reportedly haunted castle is just the setting Ben needs to find musical inspiration for a horror film.

But what they find is more horrific than any movie. For something is waiting for them in the castle. A being, once worshiped, now imprisoned, has been trapped for nearly a century. And he’s ready to feed.

About the Author

FEARnet called Jonathan Janz's debut novel The Sorrows "a wickedly fun read." The Library Journal deemed his follow-up, House of Skin, “reminiscent of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and Peter Straub’s Ghost Story.”

In April 2013 Samhain Horror also published his third novel, The Darkest Lullaby. Look for his fourth novel, an action-packed survival horror thriller called Savage Species, this summer. His fifth novel, a vampire western called Dust Devils, will be released in February 2014. He has also written three novellas (The Clearing of Travis Coble, Old Order, and Witching Hour Theatre) and several short stories. [close]

[close] *1 FREE paperback copy*

Newly orphaned, Leah and her sister are sent to live with their reclusive aunt, and Leah's only friend becomes a boy she can see in the attic window – a boy who died in the same house ten years earlier.

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By age 17, Leah has lost everything.

Her mother left 3 years ago and has not been heard from since. She is at risk of losing her relationship with her younger sister Tabitha, who suffers from injuries that Leah blames herself for. Not only has she lost her family, but her home. After their father’s unexplained suicide, the girls are sent to live with their reclusive aunt, Claire, who seems to live as far from civilization as a person can get.

They are sent to the rickety house.

While dealing with the idea of her father’s death and her mother’s absence, tolerating her handicapped sister as well as her despondent aunt, Leah finds out that there may be more to the old house than she suspected. She begins to find letters and photographs that tell of the family who used to live in the house, and her interest is drawn in further when she finds she can communicate with the ghost of a teenage boy through a window in the attic. In order to distract herself from her own troubled life, she delves fully into his, trying to uncover the mystery of his death in the house – but it remains to be seen how that will affect her own sanity, or if she will lose what little of her own life she has left. [close]